Chapter 22 One Reason
ZADE
"I'm Enid. Zade's Luna."
Those words and the ones before them made me want to hurl. My stomach turned with pure disgust. She stood there in that blood-red dress claiming the title, like she'd earned it. The audacity of this bitch. I was tempted to let my intrusive thoughts win and handle her right then. But my hands were full.
So, I just looked at her and let the silence stretch until her smile faltered. It was the first crack in her perfect mask.
I shifted Indie higher in my arms and took one slow step towards the nearest SUV.
"Know your place, Enid," I uttered flatly.
Her lashes fluttered. She opened her mouth, probably to argue, to charm, or to play the wounded innocent she thought would work on me.
I didn't give her the chance.
"You will ride with the others," I said. "Now."
Mason was already moving, gesturing two of the men forward. They flanked her without a word. Enid's gaze darted between them, then back to me.
I turned my back on her and kept walking.
Indie's arms tightened around my neck. I felt the tremor in her fingers and the way her breath hitched against my throat. She hadn't said a word since Enid spoke, but I could feel the shift in her body. Her shoulders had curled inward, her chin dipping. She was desperately trying to pretend she was unaffected.
I reached the open SUV door, ducked inside with her still in my arms, and settled onto the wide leather seat. I pulled the door shut, silence wrapping around us.
I looked down.
Indie was staring at the floorboard, her lips pressed into a thin line as if she was trying to swallow whatever was pushing up her throat.
Fuck.
I tipped her chin up with two fingers.
She tried to meet my eyes, trying so hard to look tough. But the mask slipped. Her gaze was glassy and uncertain, that old ghost of "maybe I'm not enough" flashing behind her walls.
I hated it.
I hated that Enid's statements had managed to plant even a single seed of doubt after everything we'd just survived.
"You okay, Bunny?" I asked, keeping my voice low.
She swallowed hard. "I'm fine."
Bullshit.
I leaned in, my nose brushing hers. "Does Enid bother you?"
She clenched her jaw instantly. "No."
Another lie.
I flashed her a dark smile, the one I know makes her squirm.
"Liar."
Her cheeks flushed instantly, that pretty rose colour I'd kill to keep seeing for the rest of my life. She tried to look away again. I didn't let her.
"Hey." I softened my voice, my thumb stroking the line of her cheekbone. "No one else comes close to you. Not her. Not anyone."
Her breath caught in her throat.
I closed the distance and kissed her slowly this time. She melted into it. Her fingers gripped my shirt, a tiny moan slipping out of her throat.
When I pulled back, her eyes were shining, her cheeks burning, but the uncertainty in her eyes had retreated a little.
She ducked her head and nuzzled into my chest, hiding her face against the side of my neck as if she was trying to burrow inside me and disappear.
I wrapped both arms around her, tucking her closer. Indie's breathing slowed, her body growing heavy against mine as exhaustion finally won.
My own eyes stung, every muscle in my body screaming from the fever that still hadn't fully broken.
But right now, none of it mattered.
They were safe.
I pressed my lips to the top of Indie's head, inhaling the warm, sweet scent of her hair mixed with smoke.
"Sleep, Bunny," I murmured against her temple. "I've got you both."
I closed my eyes, the SUV rolling forward, tires humming over the road.
The voices in my head had finally gone quiet.
Just long enough for me to doze off with my mate and our daughter in my arms, safe behind bulletproof glass and blacked-out windows.
...
I woke up drowning in heat. My eyes cracked open. The room was dim, the heavy curtains drawn against the afternoon sun. I was in my bedroom, back at the pack house.
Indie sat on the edge of the mattress, one knee tucked under her, a damp cloth in her hand. She was dabbing at my forehead like I was made of glass. Her hair was loose, falling in messy waves over one shoulder, and she was wearing one of my old black T-shirts. The sight of her in my clothes did something stupid to my chest.
"Hey," I rasped.
Her eyes snapped to mine. Relief flooded her face.
"You're awake." She pressed the cloth to my temple again, gentler this time. "You've been out for almost a day. Your fever spiked again after we got back."
I tried to swallow. "Lila?"
"She's okay." Indie's voice softened. "She's sleeping in the guest room down the hall. Her fever broke around dawn. She's just exhausted now. Mason's sitting with her. He said he'd call if she stirred."
I exhaled through my nose, the knot in my gut loosening.
Indie set the cloth aside and brushed the damp hair back from my forehead. Her fingers were cool against my skin. Felt like heaven.
"You're burning up again," she whispered. "Zade... what happened? When we were separated. After I got married. Where did you go?"
Flashes of buried memories flooded my mind right then.
Dark stone walls damp with blood. Chains biting into my wrists until the skin split. The wet crack of bone when they broke my fingers one by one to see if pain would make the dead speak louder. Rough hands on me, forcing me to my knees while they laughed. The first time I resurrected a corpse, they made me watch it tear itself apart again, over and over, until I begged them to stop. They didn't.
I jerked upright. The sheet fell to my waist. My bare chest heaved, my straining for air that wouldn't come. Sweat rolled down the middle of my chest.
"Don't," I said, my voice hoarse. "I don't want to talk about it."
Indie's hand froze halfway to my face. Hurt flashed in her eyes, but she didn't push.
Instead, she asked something else.
"Why do they think you're raising the revenants? The packs... Mason said they're blaming "
Pain shot through my chest, like someone had reached inside and squeezed. I pressed the heel of my hand there, trying to breathe through it.
"I can raise them," I replied finally. "I always could. But I don't control them anymore. Not since the pit. Something... broke. Now they rise when they want to. When I'm weak."
Her eyes widened. "Zade—"
"It's useless," I cut in before she could finish. "Doctors can't fix this. No one can. Except..."
My voice trailed off, our gazes locked. She seemed to understand what I meant right away.
She stared at me for a long second. Then she climbed onto the bed without asking, slid under the sheet, and curled against my side. She draped one arm over my waist, her cheek pressed to my chest.
I let out a shaky breath and wrapped both arms around her, burying my face in her hair.
"Tell me how you plan to handle Enid," she murmured against my skin.
I snorted weakly. "Enid's temporary. She knows it too. We simply made a deal to get the elders off my back."
Indie lifted her head. "She looked at me like she owned you."
"She doesn't." I cupped the back of Indie's neck, my thumb brushing the bite mark I'd left. "No one owns me but you."
Her cheeks flushed that pretty pink I loved. She ducked her head again, nuzzling into my chest.
I smiled against her hair, tired. There was a knock on the door right then. Groaning in annoyance, I sat up and slipped out of bed.
"I'll be back," I said to Indigo, and she nodded.
Willing myself to keep moving, I walked to the door and pulled it open just enough to see Enid standing there.
"We need to talk," she said.
I stepped into the hallway and pulled the door shut behind me with a soft click. The lock engaged automatically.
She didn't back up when I closed the distance. She was either foolishly brave. Or suicidal.
"Go on," I said.
She exhaled through her nose, folding her arms loosely across her chest.
"Your energy is becoming more unstable," she began. "Every time you're near the Flamekeeper, you drain her. You're feeding off her fire to keep the rot at bay, and it's weakening her flame. If this continues—"
I took one step forward, and she shuffled back, her heart thundering. I was in front of her in the blink of an eye, caging her.
My black claws pressed against the silk over her throat. Just enough to remind her how easily I could make her bleed.
"Give me one reason," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, "why I shouldn't snap your neck right here."
"Because I'm the only one standing between you and Varak,” she croaked, and I froze.