Chapter 41 Make Your Choice
INDIE
My hands shook so badly I could barely press them to Leon's stomach. Blood poured through my fingers like warm syrup, thick and dark. The wound was deep. Four ragged claw marks that raked straight across his abdomen. I could see the white glint of rib bone beneath the torn flesh. His breathing was strained and wet.
The bond screamed.
It wasn't the warm, golden pull I felt with Zade.
This was different. A second heartbeat slamming against my ribs, frantic and foreign and terrified. Leon's heartbeat. It echoed inside me, wild and pleading, begging me to stay. To save him. To not leave.
But every fibre of my body wanted to run to Zade.
I could still feel his agony through our bond. He'd stormed out after Leon kissed him. After Leon compelled him. After Leon reminded me of his captivity.
And now Leon was dying in front of me.
I pressed harder, my palms soaked red, trying to summon the golden light that had healed Zade's scars. The familiar warmth ignited weakly at my fingertips, but before it could bloom, pain lanced through my wrist.
I cried out.
The black cracks reappeared on the inside of my arm, spiderwebbing outward in jagged, burning lines. They crawled up from my wrist towards my elbow, faster than before, like the venom had woken up angry. My vision swam. I caught myself on the edge of the bed, gasping.
Leon's hand closed over mine. My eyes widened. He had regained consciousness! This meant...he was healing, right?
"Indie..." His voice was ragged. "Don't—don't hurt yourself. Stop."
I shook my head, tears blurring everything. "You're bleeding too much."
Cold sweat slid down his handsome face, plastering red strands to his temples. His golden eyes were glassy, but his gaze was soft.
"I'm fine," he lied, his voice cracking. "Just... stay with me. Please."
The bond screamed louder. His heartbeat thundered in my chest, syncing with mine, begging me to stay.
But Zade—
The door slammed open. Zade stormed back into the room. His violet eyes were black at the edges, his pupils dilated with rage and something worse. Devastation.
He saw me on my knees, my hands pressed to Leon's wound, tears streaming down my face.
He saw the black cracks on my arm. And he saw the way Leon's fingers were wrapped around mine.
Zade crossed the room in three strides and crouched beside me. His hand closed around my wrist, gently. He turned my arm slowly, exposing the venom mark in the dim light.
The black veins pulsed under my skin like living things.
His breath caught in his throat. Then he looked at Leon. Leon stared back, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth, but his golden eyes were defiant.
Zade's voice was low when he spoke. "Choose."
I froze.
My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it might crack a bone.
"Zade—"
"Choose," he repeated. "Him. Or me."
Leon's hand tightened on mine. His breathing hitched. He tried to speak but coughed up blood instead.
I looked between them.
Zade, my mate. Zade, who lived in my bloodstream and consumed my soul.
And Leon, the stranger who'd bled for me without hesitation. Who'd kissed Zade while he was helpless just to prove a point. Who'd called me 'mate' the second he saw me.
I didn't want to choose. I physically couldn't. The pull of the bond was just too strong. Or maybe I was selfish for wanting both men.
"Don't do this, Zade. Please don't make me choose," I croaked.
"Don't be such a weakling. Indigo, make your choice," Zade insisted.
I shoved myself up from the floor, away from Leon's blood-soaked body, and turned on Zade.
"You are asking me to choose between my mates."
Zade's eyes narrowed.
I took one trembling step towards him.
"Leon is your mate too," I shouted, my voice cracking. "You felt it. You know it. And you still—" My hands flew up, shaking so hard that I could barely control them. "You're still asking me to pick! Like he's nothing—like I could just cut him out of my soul and walk away smiling!"
Zade's jaw flexed so hard I heard the grind of teeth.
"Indie—"
"No!" I screamed, the sound tearing out of my throat. "Don't! Don't say my name like that. You're not being reasonable! You're not! You're terrified, Zade! You're so fucking scared of losing control that you'd rather hurt me than share me!"
His nostrils flared. Something dangerous flashed behind the black in his eyes.
I didn't care.
I moved closer, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to glare up at him.
"You think I want this?" I choked. "You think I asked for another bond? For another person clawing inside my chest, begging me not to let him die? I didn't! But he's here. He's real. And you—" My voice shattered. "You just stood there and made me choose like I'm some prize you can win or lose."
Zade's hand shot out.
He grabbed my upper arm and yanked me away from Leon's body.
I screamed.
The second Zade pulled me away, it felt like someone had ripped a live wire out of my chest. Agony exploded behind my ribs. My knees buckled instantly. I clawed at Zade's wrist, trying to break free, but he didn't let go.
"Zade—stop—Leon—he's—"
He hauled me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing, his arm locked around my waist, and stormed out of the room.
I fought him.
I screamed his name, over and over, thrashing against his hold while tears streamed down my face. The bond with Leon shrieked. Every step Zade took away from that room felt like another inch of my soul being torn away.
"Zade—please—he's dying—he needs me—"
He didn't answer. He just kept walking, down a narrow corridor I'd never seen before.
I clawed at his arm, my nails drawing blood.
He didn't flinch. He kicked open a small door at the end of the hall and shoved me inside.
I stumbled, catching myself on the wall. Then I hurried to the door, pounding my fists on it.
"Open it," I sobbed. "Open the fucking door, Zade!"
The bond with Leon was screaming now, like a siren in my skull. I could feel him fading. I could feel the cold creeping in.
And Zade wouldn't let me go.
My legs gave out and I crumpled. Zade walked in right then. He caught me before I hit the floor, lowering us both slowly until I was on my knees, my forehead pressed to his thigh, sobbing so hard I couldn't breathe.
"Please," I whispered. "Please, Zade. He's dying. He's your mate too. You can't just—"
"I can," he said.
The words hit me like a slap to the face.
I looked up at him through blurry tears. His face was calm again. But his hands were shaking. He could feel it too. So, why...
Sobs tore out of me, endless, my forehead pressed to his thigh as my whole body shook.
Zade sank down with me, pulling me into his lap, his arms wrapping around me so tight. He buried his face in my hair, holding me closer.
I pulled away eventually. Then I cupped Zade's face with both hands, my fingers trembling against his jaw. His skin was fever-hot again. His eyes were locked on mine, blank and distant, as if he'd retreated somewhere I couldn't reach.
"Zade," I whispered, my thumbs brushing the sharp line of his cheekbones. "Look at me. Please."
He didn't blink. He practically stared through me, breathing slowly.
I leaned closer, my forehead pressing to his, my voice cracking.
"I know what Leon did," I said softly. "I know he took your will. He compelled you and reopened every wound Varak left, including every scar and every memory. I saw your face when he did it. I felt it through the bond. You were terrified. And I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry he did that to you."
His jaw flexed under my palms, the only sign he'd heard me.
"But he didn't know," I continued, the words tumbling out faster. "He didn't understand what it would do to you. He didn't know how deep it cut. He didn't know you'd feel it like that again."
Zade's eyes didn't change.
There was no anger or hurt in there. Just... emptiness.
That blankness terrified me more than his rage ever has.
"Zade," I begged, my voice cracking. "Please. Talk to me. Yell at me. Hate me. Anything. Just don't shut me out. Leon is your mate too. I know you hate it. I know it feels like losing control again—like Varak all over. But he's not Varak. He's—"
The door banged open. Mason stood in the frame, his chest heaving, his eyes wide.
"Alpha," he said, his voice filled with tension. "It's Enid."
Zade didn't move. Mason swallowed hard.
"She's gone missing, and so has Leon."