LOGIN** Paige’s POV **The problem with Callen is that I can never tell when he’s joking. His smirk is pure trouble, but his eyes are bright with the kind of excitement that tells me he’s about to drag me into something I’ll regret.“Alright, sweetheart,” he says brightly, “time to put you through your paces. Let’s see if the mate bond makes you dangerous or if you’re just still soft and squishy human.”I cross my arms and glare at him. “Soft and squishy? Really?”Parker moves to stand closer. “Don’t rise to it,” he sighs, even though I feel his amusement through the bond. “He’s just trying to rile you up so you’ll try to prove him wrong.”“Well, it’s working,” I mutter, though my lips twitch into a half smile.Callen grins wider.Ryder steps forward, the air shifts. I can sense his presence more now, like I’m finally feeling what the pack does. He’s Alpha through and through. He rolls his shoulders, and his eyes light up.“We’ll keep it simple,” Ryder says, his voice steady. “Nobody’s thr
** Paige’s POV **Parker’s arms around me feel like home. Not just the pull of a bond, but something deeper, something real. With my mates, I don’t have to hide the pieces of myself I’d spent years tucking away. I can be fully me, and it’s met with warmth, not disapproval. With Greg, I became a show of myself, turning into someone unrecognisable just to keep the peace, just to keep him happy. But here?… Here, I am seen. I am accepted. I am claimed instead of coerced. I’m not controlled, but held in a way that lets me breathe, lets me be exactly who I’m supposed to be without apology. Finally, I understand the difference between love that cages you and love that frees you, and this is only the start.My fingers trace the line of Parker’s jaw, memorising the feel of him.“Thank you,” I whisper. “For being you, for being mine.”He smiles, brushing a loose strand of hair from my face. “Always,” he murmurs, resting his forehead against mine. The bond thrums faintly between us, warm and ins
** Paige’s POV **Parker helps me undress slowly, like each button popped, and zipper undone is an act that should be treasured. When I step into the bath, I’m still trembling from the almost overwhelming anticipation thrumming through me. The hot water laps against my skin, and I sink into it with a sigh, petals clinging to my shoulders, my chest.Parker sinks in behind me. He doesn’t rush. He dips a cloth into the water, wrings it out, then runs it across my skin with a tenderness that makes my heart ache. Over my shoulders, down my arms, across my collarbone. His fingers shake slightly as he works, betraying the control he’s fighting to hold on to.“Parker…” My voice cracks, but I reach for his hand, tangling our fingers together. “You don’t have to be so careful.”“I want to be. I’ve wanted this for so long, and I don’t ever want you to doubt how much you mean to me.”The sincerity in his tone steals my breath. I turn slightly and reach up, cupping his cheek with wet fingers. “I d
** Paige’s POV **The card looks so small compared to Ryder’s big hand, but the way he holds it like it’s as fragile and priceless as glass makes my chest ache. His whole world is right here, wrapped in the arms of a six-year-old who has no idea how much power he holds over us both.Ryder tucks the card into his pocket where I’d put the birth certificate earlier before Jaxon’s squeals of laughter echo through the cabin as Ryder swings him up into his arms. I watch the way Ryder presses his cheek into our son’s hair, the way his whole body softens when Jax tightens his grip. My throat tightens, because I’ve waited so long to see this, Jax being loved the way he always deserved, and Ryder not as the boy who left me, or even the Alpha I’ve had to learn to trust again, but as a father, and he’s perfect at it.I force myself to blink away the tears stinging my eyes before Jax can notice them and start worrying. He’s too young to understand how precious this moment is, too young to know ho
** Ryder’s POV **The certificate rests in my lap, the edges crinkled where my fingers have been gripping it too tightly. I can’t stop staring at the damn thing, as if I blink it’ll vanish, and I’ll wake up back in those years when I longed for Paige and had no idea our son existed.Jaxon Madden. My son. With my name.I trace my name under his, hardly able to breathe. It doesn’t matter that my DNA proved it; it doesn’t matter that I’ve known in my bones since the first time I saw him, that we have the same smile and eyes, that my wolf recognised him instantly. Seeing it written here makes it real in a way nothing else could.Beside me, Paige leans against the seat, watching me with that small, gentle smile that always manages to break through my walls.“You’re going to crease it,” she teases softly.“I don’t care if it creases. I’m never letting it out of my sight.”Her hand finds mine, prying my grip loose, and she folds the paper carefully before tucking it into the inside pocket of
** Paige’s POV **I wake up tucked between Ryder and Parker, both of their bodies warm against me. Ryder has his arm draped over my waist, but I can tell by his breathing that he’s already awake. He doesn’t open his eyes when I shift, just pulls me closer, his lips pressing against my temple.No one will say it out loud, but we all know this morning is different.By the time we make it into the kitchen, Callen already has coffee ready. He passes me a cup with a soft smile, but his eyes flick towards Ryder immediately. Both of them have a look that tells me they’re having a silent conversation. Remy joins us last, his hair still damp from his shower.Jaxon, of course, is the only one blissfully unaware of the gravity of today. He’s perched on a chair at the kitchen island, swinging his legs as he shovels scrambled eggs into his mouth like he hasn’t eaten in days. “Mummy, guess what? Miss Regina said I read faster than everyone in class. Faster than her, even,” he beams.I smooth his ha







