LOGIN** Leo’s POV **Last night proved a few things. The first is that midnight DIY sucks. The second is that there is definitely more to Poppy’s parents’ accident than they’d always believed, and the third is that Poppy absolutely needs the Mountain Ridge twins. None of us had missed how quickly her ou
** Bastian's POV **Poppy's lips part. Behind her, Alaric turns his head away, but not quickly enough to hide his smile. I ignore him.“What did you remember?”The change in Poppy is immediate. Her fingers tighten around mine.“The accident.”I have no idea what accident she is referring to, so I wa
** Bastian’s POV **She throws herself at me before I can think. One second she’s staring at me with tears swimming in her eyes, the next she’s there, hands gripping my shirt, her face buried against my chest as though I’m the only thing keeping her upright.My body locks. Every instinct screams at
“Stop! Don’t do this!” They can’t hear me, can’t feel my desperate attempts to stop this. I’m trapped inside the worst moment of my life with no way to change it. The world fractures around me, and for the briefest second, my mother’s fingertips brush mine. “Live, Poppy.” Then darkness explodes
** Poppy’s POV ** I blink against the darkness surrounding me. The cabin is gone. The smell of dinner. The warmth of the fire. The laughter in the kitchen. All of it has vanished. Instead, cold asphalt presses against my bare feet. I know this place. Not because I’ve seen it before, but because I’
“It seems our timing,” Leo says, looking between us, “is perfect.”“No, it’s terrible,” Alaric corrects flatly.“That depends on who you ask,” Jake shrugs.Alaric ignores him, turning back to the stove to flip the chicken with far too much focus.“So, what were you saying about defence lessons?” Leo
** Remy’s POV **There are battles you train for. Fights you can prepare your body and mind to survive. You can sharpen your instincts, steel your nerves, accept the possibility of blood and loss as the cost of standing between danger and the people you love, but this?… This is worse.Paige’s pain h
I don’t wave, I just hold his gaze for a second longer than I should. Then the bus lurches forward, and the town slides away.I relax into my seat and let myself breathe, because I got away. I got on the bus without my protectors catching me, and Alaric has my number, even if it’s the wrong one.The
The air outside is cold enough to bite. Good, cold helps to keep me from getting lost in my own thoughts.I post my apartment keys through the letterbox of the takeaway downstairs and send a text message to the owner, thanking him for letting me rent the apartment and explaining there has been an ur
** Poppy’s POV **I force a laugh that I know doesn’t quite reach my eyes whilst I scan each window for any sign of someone watching me.“Protectors?” I repeat lightly. “You make it sound dramatic. I don’t have a superhero squad.”The twins don’t laugh. They exchange a brief look; it’s quick, silent







