Chapter 70 Beginning Of The End

Chapter 70 Beginning Of The End
INDIE
    The cabin smelled like a dead animal had been left to fester in it.

The air was thick, heavy with the coppery stench of dried blood and decay that had been rotting for years.

Broken glass crunched under our boots as we stepped inside. Shelves lined the walls, filled with jars of floating organs and murky liquids.

Papers covered in frantic handwriting were scattered across tables stained dark with old blood. In the center of the room sat the small chest, wrapped in heavy chains that pulsed with a sickly violet light.

Zade's hand never left mine. His grip was possessive. Leon moved like liquid shadow behind us, his blade drawn, those golden eyes of his scanning every corner for threats.

My head throbbed. Memories kept flashing through—violet eyes watching me with dark hunger, strong hands pinning me down while I moaned. But every time I tried to hold onto them, they dissolved like smoke.

Zade stopped in front of the chest. Clicking his tongue, he ripped the chains apart. Metal shattered. The sound echoed like breaking bones.

Inside lay the antidote. A single glowing vial of deep crimson liquid, pulsing slowly like a living heart.

Zade picked it up carefully, turning to me. His violet eyes shimmered fiercely with protectiveness.

"This is for Lila," he said, his voice husky. "We're bringing her home."

Relief sank in, hitting me so hard that my knees almost buckled. But before I could speak, the cabin door slammed open with a violent bang.

West stood in the doorway, breathing hard, his eyes wild with fury and madness. His clothes were disheveled, blood already streaking his shirt from some earlier wound.

"You brought them here?" he snarled at me, his voice cracking with betrayal. "After everything I gave you? After I made you mine again?"

Zade shoved me behind him instantly. Leon moved like lightning to my other side, creating a wall of muscle and menace between me and West.

West laughed. An ugly sound that sent chills down my spine.

"You think you can just take her?" He raised both hands. Dark sigils carved into the walls, and the floor glowed with runes. Invisible barriers slammed down around us, trapping us inside the cabin like a cage.

"This whole place is wired to my mother's magic. You're not leaving with that vial."

Zade didn't hesitate. He lunged forward with a roar that shook the rafters.

West met him head-on, his claws elongated. They crashed together like two beasts. Zade's claws raked across West's chest, tearing through fabric and skin, drawing a spray of hot blood. West screamed and slammed a glowing fist into Zade's ribs, the impact making a sickening crunch.

Leon darted in from the side, his blade flashing. He sliced deep across West's shoulder, but West twisted with unnatural speed and backhanded him hard enough to send him crashing into a shelf. Glass shattered. Vials exploded, spilling black liquid across the floor.

I backed against the wall, my heart pounding, memories fracturing and reforming in my skull.

Zade tackled West to the ground. They rolled recklessly, fists and claws flying. West managed to get on top, wrapping both hands around Zade's throat and squeezing with terrifying strength. Zade's face darkened, his veins bulging as he fought for air.

"You don't have the right to claim her!" West screamed, spittle flying. "She's mine! I remade her! I wiped you out of her head!"

Zade's eyes met mine for one terrifying second, his violet orbs burning with love, rage, and raw possession.

Then he headbutted West with a brutal force. Cartilage crunched, blood spraying from West's nose. Zade flipped them with a roar, pinning West down, his claws at his throat.

But West laughed through the blood, his eyes manic.

"You're too late," he choked out. "The manipulation is already breaking her. She'll never fully remember you—"

Zade didn't let him finish.

With a guttural, animalistic roar that shook the entire cabin, Zade drove his claws straight into West's chest.

West's eyes widened in shock and agony.

Zade twisted his hand viciously, his claws scraping against ribs and tearing through muscle. Blood poured out in a hot, gushing flood, soaking Zade's arm up to the elbow. West screamed, letting out an ear-splitting sound that turned into wet gurgles as Zade ripped deeper.

"You touched what was mine," Zade snarled, his voice demonic and terrifying. "You stole her mind. You poisoned our daughter. You made her forget me."

He yanked his hand back with savage force.

West's still-beating heart came out with it, torn from his chest in a spray of blood and gore.

West's body jerked violently. His mouth opened in a silent scream, his eyes bulging with horror as he stared at his own heart in Zade's bloody fist. Blood bubbled from his lips. His legs kicked weakly against the floor.

Zade crushed the heart in his hand with a wet, sickening squelch.

West convulsed twice... then went still.

The magical cage around us shattered with a sound like breaking glass. The sigils on the walls flickered and died.

And then the fog in my mind exploded.

It wasn't gentle. It was violent.

Memories hit me like knives—Zade pinning me against the gym wall, claiming me with rough, possessive thrusts. Leon's fingers deep inside me during training, whispering filthy praise.

I gasped, stumbling back against the wall as the full weight of my real life crashed over me.

"Zade..." I whispered, my voice cracking. Tears flooded my eyes. "Leon..."

Zade dropped West's ruined heart with a wet thud and covered the distance between us in two strides. He pulled me into his arms, crushing me against his blood-soaked chest.

"I've got you," he rasped, his voice raw with emotion. "You're back. You're ours again."

Leon was there instantly, wrapping around us both from behind, his forehead pressed to the back of my neck.

"Welcome home, love," he whispered, his voice thick.

I sobbed between them, memories still flooding me. I knew we were going to be okay. But first, I needed to get to my daughter.

"Lila.... Where is she?" I asked.

...

The infirmary door felt like the threshold to another world.

My legs were shaking as I stepped inside, Zade's arm locked tight around my waist, Leon close behind us like a silent guardian.

The room smelled of herbs and antiseptic. Giselle looked up from beside the small bed, her face etched with exhaustion, but she stepped back without a word when she saw us.

Lila.

My baby lay so small under the white sheets, her curls damp with sweat, her cheeks flushed an unnatural red. Her breathing was shallow, each inhale a fragile little hitch that made my heart splinter.

I dropped to my knees beside the bed, my hands trembling as I reached for her.

"Lila..." My voice cracked, barely more than a whisper. "Mommy's here. I'm here now."

Tears blurred everything as I gently lifted her into my arms, cradling her burning body against my chest. She felt so light, so fragile. Her head lolled against my shoulder, her skin fever-hot against my neck.

"I'm so sorry," I sobbed, pressing desperate kisses to her damp curls, her forehead, and her little cheeks. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here. I love you more than anything. Please wake up for me, baby. Please..."

Zade knelt beside us, one strong arm wrapping around both of us. His violet eyes glistened as he looked at her.

"Come on, princess," he whispered, his voice thick. "Your daddies are here. Both of us. We've got the medicine. Just open your eyes for us."

Leon moved in behind me, his chest pressing to my back, his arms completing the circle around us. His forehead rested against the back of my head as he reached out to gently touch Lila's cheek.

"We're all here, little wolf," he murmured, his voice soft and full of emotion. "You're safe now. We've got you."

I uncorked the glowing crimson vial with shaking fingers. Carefully, I tilted it to Lila's parted lips, letting the liquid drip slowly onto her tongue. She swallowed twice, letting out a whimper.

For one terrifying moment, nothing happened.

Then her small body jerked.

"Mommy...?" she whispered, her voice tiny and raspy.

A loud sob tore from my throat. I pulled her tighter against my chest, rocking her as fresh tears poured down my face.

"Yes, baby. Mommy's here. I'm here. I'm never leaving you again. I promise."

Lila's little hand reached up, touching my cheek, then Zade's, then Leon's.

"My daddies," she murmured, a tiny, tired smile forming on her lips. "I knew you were real..."

Zade's shoulders shook once as he pressed his forehead to hers. Leon's arm tightened around us, his breath warm against my neck as he fought his own emotions.

For one perfect, shining moment, everything felt right. The three of us holding our daughter. Whole.

Then the fire inside me ignited without warning.

It burst out of me, golden-red flames exploding across my skin in uncontrollable waves. The room lit up with blinding light. Heat pushed through every vein, pouring out of me like I was a broken dam.

Zade gasped.

I felt it before I saw it. The drain slamming back into him with vicious force. His body jerked against mine. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he coughed, splattering across Lila's blanket and my shoulder.

"Zade—!" I screamed, my flames still raging uncontrollably from my skin.

He slumped forward, more blood dripping from his lips, his eyes wide with pain as the siphon tore through him harder than ever. His hand reached weakly for me, his fingers trembling.

Leon lunged forward, grabbing Zade before he could collapse completely, pulling him against his chest while I clung to both of them and Lila.

My joy shattered into pure terror.

But the fire wouldn't stop.

And Zade was coughing up more blood, his body shaking uncontrollably in Leon's arms, his violet eyes fluttering as he fought to stay conscious.