Chapter 49 Prove It
INDIE
Leon's words hung thickly in the air. "What if... she's the key?"
Zade went rigid against the pillows. His violet eyes shifted to Leon, then away, dark and stormy.
His gaze rested on the door when we heard the soft footsteps pattering down the hall.
Right then, the double doors creaked open wider.
Lila poked her head in first, her little curls bouncing, her eyes wide and worried. Sweetpea—or whatever she really was—trailed right behind her, holding Lila's hand like they were best friends on a secret mission.
"Mommy?" Lila whispered, her voice tiny. "Is Daddy okay?"
I forced out a smile, patting the bed beside me.
"Come here, baby."
Lila scampered over, climbing up. She crawled straight into Zade's side. Then she pressed her small body against his arm with her cheek to his shoulder.
"Daddy, you're all white," she said solemnly, patting his chest with one hand. "Like snow. But snow melts. Don't melt, okay?"
Zade's throat bobbed. He lifted his free arm and wrapped it around her. His fingers curled into her hair, gentle despite the tremble.
"I won't melt, princess," he rasped.
Lila nodded seriously, then she looked up at me.
"Can I give him kisses? Like when I have boo-boos?"
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Yeah, sweetheart. Go ahead."
She leaned up and planted three loud, sloppy kisses on Zade's cheek, then one more on his forehead for good measure. "All better now," she announced, beaming.
Zade's lips twitched. It was not quite a smile, but it was close enough.
Sweetpea hadn't moved from the foot of the bed. She stood there, her hands clasped in front of her, watching with those too-big violet eyes.
Then she tilted her head, her curls falling over one shoulder.
"Daddy looks sleepy," she said softly. Her voice was sweet and innocent. "Like when the bad dreams come."
Zade stiffened again. His arm tightened around Lila.
Sweetpea climbed up slowly. She knelt beside Lila, her small hands folded in her lap.
"I can help," she whispered. "I know how to make bad dreams go away."
She reached out, her tiny fingers hovering over Zade's chest, right where his heart beat too slow.
I moved before I thought. My hand shot out, catching her wrist gently but firmly.
Sweetpea froze, her eyes meeting mine. She blinked twice, a shadow flashing behind her eyes. But it was gone before I could catch it.
My pulse hammered.
"Not yet, sweetheart," I said, keeping my voice soft. "Daddy needs rest. No touching right now."
She pouted.
"But I want to help," she said. "Like you helped him last night."
My stomach dropped.
How did she know about last night? She'd run off after biting Leon. She shouldn't have—
Zade's hand found mine under the sheets, squeezing weakly. Lila tugged at Sweetpea's sleeve.
"Come sit with me," she said brightly. "We can sing the sleepy song. The one Mommy sings when I'm scared."
Sweetpea's pout melted into a smile. She let Lila pull her down to the mattress, curling up beside her like a kitten. Lila started humming off-key.
Zade watched them both. His breathing evened out a little, but his eyes never left Sweetpea.
Leon stayed silent in his chair, his golden gaze travelling between the girls and Zade. His bracelet caught the dim light in a faint red shimmer.
I kept my hand on Sweetpea's wrist a second longer than necessary. Her skin was cool. Too cool for a child.
She looked up at me again and gave me a big smile.
"Don't worry, Mommy," she whispered. "I'll take good care of Daddy."
I forced a smile back, released her wrist, and pulled Lila closer instead.
"Sing louder, baby," I said to Lila, my voice steady even though my heart was slamming. "Daddy likes the song."
Lila beamed and sang louder.
Zade's fingers squeezed mine again, harder this time.
I leaned down, my lips brushing his ear.
"She's not right," I breathed. "We need to talk. Soon."
He didn't answer. But his hand trembled in mine.
...
A while later, the room had gone quiet except for the soft drip of the IV and Zade's slow, even breathing. He was finally asleep, deep enough that his lashes didn't flutter anymore, deep enough that the tension in his jaw had eased into something almost peaceful.
I knelt beside the bed with a warm, damp cloth in my hand. Every time I wrung the cloth out and dragged it gently across his bare chest, the droplets caught the low lamplight and made his skin glisten like polished stone.
His pecs rose and fell under my touch, the dark ink of his few tattoos shifting with each breath. Even sick, he was still the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
Leon hadn't left.
He sat in the chair he'd pulled close, staring at Zade like he could will him back to full strength just by glaring hard enough.
His red hair was messy from running his hands through it too many times. The silver bracelet on his left wrist caught every shift of light, the faint red shimmer pulsing lazily.
I dragged the cloth down Zade's neck one last time, and set it aside. Then, I looked across the bed at Leon.
"Your bracelet," I said softly. "There's something off about it."
Leon's gaze snapped to mine. His golden eyes narrowed.
"Off how?"
"It glows. It pulses. You wince every time it does. And you've been rubbing your wrist like it burns since you got here." I tilted my head. "What is it, exactly?"
He let out a short, humourless laugh and leaned back in the chair, spreading his hands.
"You're asking if the magic jewellery on my wrist is the reason our mate is dying in front of us?"
"I'm asking what it is." I kept my voice even. "Because Zade gutted you not too long ago. You bled all over our floor. And now he's the one who's sick. Funny how that works."
Leon's expression darkened.
"You're saying this is my revenge?" he asked, his voice dangerously low. "You're claiming that I'm sitting here watching him waste away because he tried to kill me once?"
I shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time someone held a grudge."
In a blur he was out of the chair and across the small space between us. His hands slammed onto the arms of the chair I was sitting in, caging me in. The wood creaked under his grip. He leaned down until his face was inches from mine, his golden eyes blazing.
"You really think that little of me?" he growled. "After everything? After I bled for you, taught you how to burn the venom out, and begged for more time so I wouldn't have to leave you both to rot?"
His breath was hot against my lips, his chest heaving. The heat rolling off him was dizzying, and so was his scent.
I didn't flinch.
"I think you're a vampire who showed up with a mission," I said softly. "I think you've been very good at pretending you care. And I think that bracelet looks a lot like a leash someone else is holding."
Leon's jaw ticked.
He leaned closer. So close that our noses almost brushed.
"You want to know what this bracelet really is?" His voice dropped to a rough whisper. "It's a fucking countdown. Every day I stay away from vampire territory, it tightens and reminds me I'm on borrowed time. If I don't go back soon, it'll kill me. Slowly. And I'm still here. For him. For you. Because somewhere between getting my guts rearranged by your mate and watching you come apart on my fingers, I decided I'd rather die than watch either of you suffer."
My breath caught in my throat.
His gaze dropped to my mouth. Then lower to the way my shirt had slipped open at the neck, the curve of my breast visible. His pupils dilated.
"You think I want revenge?" he growled. "What I want right now is to pin you to this chair and prove that I'd burn the entire vampire court down before I'd let anything happen to you. Or him."
The air between us crackled. My thighs clenched involuntarily.
I tilted my chin up, defiant.
"Then prove it," I whispered.
His mouth crashed down on mine, and he kissed me hard.
One hand left the chair arm and cupped the back of my neck, his fingers threading into my hair, tilting my head so he could deepen the kiss. His tongue swept in, and I moaned into his mouth before I could stop myself. My hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer.
He groaned against my lips, his voice strained.
The chair creaked as he pressed me back, his body covering mine, hard and unyielding. His free hand slid down my side, his fingers digging into my hip, dragging me forward until I was half out of the seat.
I arched into him. The kiss turned filthy with teeth and tongues and shared breath. His arousal pressed against my thigh, thick and insistent through his pants.
We were seconds away from tearing clothes when we heard the knock on the door.
Leon pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against mine. His breathing was ragged, his eyes fiery.
"Fuck," he muttered.
Another knock sounded at the door, and I swallowed hard, pulse hammering in my throat.
"Who is it?" I called.
The door cracked open, and Enid poked her head in.
"Is my Alpha still asleep?" She asked, and I narrowed my eyes at her.
Her alpha? What the hell?
“What do you want?” I snapped.
“It’s just…I just received information from the sentinels. We’ve got unexpected… visitors.”