Masuk** Ryder’s POV **
Warmth. That’s the first thing I feel. It rolls through my chest like a slow tide, heavy and consuming. For a second, I don’t even remember what pain feels like.
Then air rushes into my lungs in a violent gasp. The sound tears through the silence, followed by a cough, and the sharp taste of blood that shouldn’t be there. My heart hammers in my chest.
I’m alive. But I shouldn’t be.
The last thing I remember is Remy’s body going limp beneath my hands, then her… my mate, standing a few feet away, haloed in moonlight and fury. The air around her shimmered, alive with threads of gold and silver light that spread across her skin like
** Remy’s POV **I lean against the counter, positioned so I can see Paige and Jaxon in the living room. They’re colouring together, laughing and talking as if our world hasn’t been flipped.That’s one of the things I love most about her. The ability to compartmentalise so well for Jaxon. Watching them together warms something inside me I didn’t even know existed.Parker comes to stand beside me, crossing his arms over his chest and letting out a soft sigh as he watches them too. “She’s amazing, isn’t she?”I nod. “Our very own goddess. I’m not sure what we did to deserve this. To be chosen as her mates.”“I keep thinking this is all some kind of fever dream and I’m going to wake up soon,” he says, rubbing over the symbol beneath his shirt.“Can I see it?”“See what?” He frowns.I gesture to his chest, where his han
** Paige’s POV **Nina draws a slow breath, as if bracing herself. “There’s something else,” she says softly.The forest seems to freeze around us, and I feel everyone around me tense, waiting for the blow.Jake stands just behind Nina with a steadying hand on her shoulder. “What else?” he whispers.Nina swallows. “Someone else was feeding them information. Someone human.”Every hair on my arms rises… human. The only human I know here is Cora. Surely it wasn’t her. She has a mate whom she adores. Would she really betray his pack like that?Callen steps forward, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. “Who?”Nina looks at him, then back at me.“I didn’t know her name,” she says. “The hunters called her ‘the univers
** Paige’s POV **The air around us is so still it feels held in place, like the world itself has paused.The blond male kneels on the grass in front of me, human now, still glowing faintly with that soft gold-silver shimmer that clings to all the Twiceborn. His hair falls over his forehead as he bows his head.I should feel awkward. A naked stranger on his knees in front of me? But instead… I feel calm, like this moment was always waiting for me.“You called, Goddess,” he whispers.My breath stutters. “I… I’m not…”He lifts his head, his eyes meeting mine. They’re wolf-gold threaded with silver, shining softly in the sunlight. There’s no confusion in them anymore, just devotion, recognition and something like relief. He looks so young, I’d say still a teen, but he has his wolf, so he
** Ryder’s POV **The room grows tense the moment the back door closes behind Paige and Poppy.Jaxon is the first to break the quiet.He tugs on my sleeve, his eyes wide and hopeful. “Daddy… can I play Xbox?”The innocence in his voice softens something inside of me. After everything that’s happened… the hunters, the Twiceborn, Paige nearly burning herself out, hearing something so normal feels like finally being able to breathe again.“Yeah, buddy,” I smile, brushing his hair back. “Go ahead.”His whole face lights up. He sprints to the console as if he’s training for the Olympics, grabbing his controller from where he left it the other day.“Remember the rules,” I call. “Volume low. No shouting at the imaginary people.”Jaxon
** Paige’s POV **The cabin is humming with too much energy. Too many worried eyes, too many protective wolves outside. There are too many unanswered questions. Just too much… everything.My skin still feels warm beneath the surface, like the glow hasn’t decided whether it wants to settle or burst out of me again. My mates hover like mother hens disguised as deadly predators, and I can practically hear the internal debate forming between them…Does Paige need water? Should Paige lie down? Should we wrap Paige in seventeen blankets and build a fort so she never leaves the cabin again?They’re as subtle as a marching band.Which is why, the second Poppy clears her throat in the doorway and lifts two cups of coffee, raising her brows at me, I nearly cry with relief.“Paige,” she says gently, “come sit ou
** Paige’s POV **They’re all looking at me.My mates, Jake and Poppy, Ronnie still clutching his book like it’s going to answer every question we haven’t even thought of yet, and Jaxon. My sweet Jax, he looks at me like I’ve just told him I’ve bought the entire Lego shop.Outside, nine wolves stand in a perfect circle, eyes glowing faintly gold and silver, their bodies unmoving, their attention fixed outward. Protecting me as if I’m something sacred. I need to find a way to send them away, not because I don’t want them, but because there has to be more to their second chance than me. They have people who love them waiting for them.I swallow, but it does nothing to loosen the tight knot forming in my chest. It’s not fear I feel, not anymore. I still feel like the girl who used to cry doing her tax returns, who once burned instant no







