Mag-log in** Ryder’s POV **I never thought I’d see these roads again. Not in this lifetime. Not in any life.The tyres hum steadily beneath us, carrying us straight into the past I thought I’d buried. Old scars itch under my skin. Wolves don’t get phantom pain, not really, but I swear I feel it now. Memories I boxed up years ago rattle loose with every passing mile.Paige must feel the shift in me, because her fingers slip into mine the moment we turn off the motorway.I don’t look at her at first. I can’t. If I do, I’m going to fall apart in ways I don’t have time for.“Talk to me,” she whispers, squeezing gently.I exhale long and slow, letting some of the tension bleed out. “I didn’t think I’d ever come back here.”She tilts her head slightly with a sad smile. &
** Paige’s POV **I’m having a moment where I genuinely believe I might drown in all the changes happening in my life, but I can’t, there are too many people relying on me. As always, Parker senses I need him, and he wraps an arm around me as we discuss the Twiceborn and how we can help them readapt.A few short months ago, I’d never have thought I could be useful in a fight like this. That I could be the one that saves them. I’m so happy that I can, but I also don’t want to lose myself in the process.I can only hope that when this is all over, when the hunters are no longer an issue, that I can return to some normality. That I can live a peaceful life with my family and life can be as normal as it gets for a family like ours.The folder sits open in front of me. It’s just paper and ink, but the weight of it feels like a threat pressed to my chest.&n
** Parker’s POV **The house is quiet when I get back from patrol. Too quiet.I pull on some shorts from the basket we keep stocked by the door and pause. The air smells different. Warm and charged.Ryder catches my eye from the kitchen table, where he’s nursing his coffee like it committed a crime. His hair is a mess, and his shirt is inside out. Ryder never wears anything inside out. He had to come back early from patrol last night; the pull of Paige had got too much for him. So intense that he was more of a hindrance out there than a help.I know how it feels; the same had happened to me when she had marked him. Being marked by her opens up the bond in a way that’s beautiful, but overwhelming at the same time.Callen follows me in, slumping into the chair opposite Rye.“He’s alive,” Ryder mutters before we can ask.
** Remy’s POV **Paige settles over my lap as if she was made for it, her thighs spread over mine, her weight sinking down slowly until I can feel every warm line of her body pressed against me. My hands hover at her hips for a moment, not touching yet, because the second I touch her, I know I won’t be able to stop.Her fingers slide over my shoulders gently, sending a shiver running down my spine. “Remy,” she breathes, and that alone nearly undoes me.I grip her waist finally, pulling her closer. Her soft gasp hits me like a punch to the chest. I lean in, my lips hovering just over my mate mark. I wish I could redo it. Not just to make it a better experience for her, but because, despite the circumstances at the time, making her mine was still one of the best moments of my life.“You have no idea what you do to me,” I whisper against her throat.
** Remy’s POV **By the time Annie is settled in Poppy’s room at the healer’s cabin, the sun is already dropping behind the treeline. The girl looks like she could shatter any second, and Poppy refuses to let her out of arm’s reach, fussing over her blankets and muttering death threats about Greg under her breath. Jake promises to stay with them, and Leo sits himself right beside the door like a silent guard dog. Good. They can handle her from here. I have a family waiting for me.I step out onto the porch, dragging a hand through my hair as the weight of the day settles over my shoulders. It has been hours, but I can still feel Paige’s light on my skin, like the residual warmth from a fire I stood too close to.She forgave Annie, and when she did, I think something cracked open in all of us.I make the slow walk back toward our cabin, leaves and sticks crunching under my boots and a cool breeze brushing the back of my neck. The world feels quieter after everything that happened, almo
** Callen’s POV **The moment Annie collapses into Paige’s arms, something inside my chest twists. It’s not jealousy exactly. It’s more of a pressure. Like the weight of everything we’ve survived is suddenly pushing down on all of us at once, and I want to be the one in her arms.Paige holds Annie like she’s comforting a child. Poppy joins in too, wrapping both of them in a fierce hug. Jake hovers close, one hand on Poppy’s back, Leo beside him like a silent shadow. The emotion in the room is thick enough to choke on.Ryder steps back, Parker moves with him, and Remy subtly shifts to my left like we’re forming an instinctive barrier around Paige. We don’t need to touch her to protect her. We just stand there, ready, but I’m not sure what for.That’s when the mind-link snaps open. A private thread just between the wolves in the room.“We need to talk. Now. Before we move her anywhere,” Ryder says.“Agreed.” Remy nods subtly.“Shouldn’t we be discussing this with them?” Jake asks, tilti







