MasukOf course, the voice remains completely silent. Coward.“So what am I?” I ask.No one answers quickly enough. Jake steps closer, crouching in front of me so I have to look at him and not the horror show printed on the paper in my hands.“We don’t know yet,” he says. “But we will.”I want to believe
** Poppy’s POV **The room feels too small and too hot.I swallow. “Not the same how?”Jake exhales slowly, reaching for another sheet. “Paige’s blood showed abnormal energy markers, mostly consistent with what Ronnie later connected to Dawn energy, cleansing, regenerative and life-based.”“Sounds l
Rain… Headlights… Control it, Poppy. I push the thought down hard.Leo is already dressed by the time I sit up, pulling on his boots near the edge of the bed. His hair is damp from a shower, and his expression is locked into the serious mask he wears when he’s pretending not to be worried. It does n
** Poppy’s POV **Leo sets a glass down in front of me far more carefully than necessary. He’s slow, deliberate, as if he’s half expecting it to explode the second it leaves his hand. My eyes flick to Jake across the kitchen, only to catch him watching me too.The rest of the day passes in a strange
** Poppy’s POV **Shiver’s run through me. Starting from my chest and spreading out, but everything else calms. My heart stops pounding, my breaths come easier, and the cold that was creeping in is slowly replaced by a comforting warmth.It’s them, my mates. They’re anchoring me. Whatever this power
“Hey,” I say, dropping to my knees in front of her, not caring about the glass. “Look at me.”Her eyes snap to mine, and for a second, they’re not right. There’s something deeper in them. Something darker flickering beneath the surface like a storm trying to break through. The hairs on my arms lift.
She doesn’t answer, but she doesn’t pull away again.By the time the cabin comes into view, my legs ache with exhaustion from everything that’s happened tonight. Warm light spills from the windows, cutting through the dark. It looks like safety, even if I know better than to believe in something tha
** 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
I nod, but it doesn’t feel like just the bond. Something else hums under my skin, low and electric, like static buzzing in my blood.Callen bounces on his toes like he’s warming up for a boxing match, itching to take his turn. “My go. Let’s see if you can keep up with me.”“Be careful,” Parker warns
The mate bond thrums wildly between us, pulling tighter with every touch, every kiss. I know that if I had a wolf, it would be howling inside me, clawing to close the distance fully, to let him in, to seal what we’ve both been denying.When he pulls back to let me scoot further onto the bed, I stop







