LOGIN“If he's going, I'm staying here.”Callen clutches his chest. “Pops.”“Don't Pops me.”“It’s my house! And I was going to barbecue.”She hesitates.Callen sees it. “So that's a yes.”“I hate you.”“No, you don't.”Poppy sighs and reaches for her shoes. For a few seconds, the cabin almost feels norma
** Leo’s POV **The cabin is silent, as if time itself has stopped whilst we all process what Poppy has said.If she’s right, if they’d been watching her, following her, then I’ve failed. I’d let my mate leave; I’d given her the freedom to make her own choices, and that had left her vulnerable. I sh
I stare at her. Something shifts. A sound, but not from the room, from memory. My mother’s voice. I stagger back. Paige catches my arms. “What?”I shake my head. “Wait.”Rain pounds against metal. Fire crackles nearby, but my whole body is freezing. Mum’s hand is against my cheek. My eyes flutter o
** Poppy’s POV **Paige stares at me like I’ve just told her I think the Pope’s an alien. For a second, she doesn’t move. I’m not even sure she’s breathing. Then she blinks slowly before shaking her head. “No, you didn’t,” she says firmly.“I did, Paige. I wouldn’t make something like this up.”“N
“I haven’t felt it here.”Bastian’s head tilts.“Not once?”I search backward through the weeks. Even when everything inside me felt wrong, even when the voice was louder, even when I thought the shadows were moving, there was nothing like that.“No.”Alaric folds his arms.“That matters.”I look at
** Poppy’s POV **Bastian stares at his brother for a moment.“What?” He asks when Alaric doesn’t say anything.“Could you maybe not announce things like that while she’s half-naked?”Bastian looks down at me.“Sorry.”I don’t even care about my state of undress anymore, because my brain is still st
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
“Push,” Jake urges. “That’s it. That’s it… keep going…”Paige’s body bows, every muscle straining. I feel it all through the bond, the effort, the fire, the sheer will it takes not to break under it.“I’m here,” I keep saying, over and over. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”“That’s the head. Well done,







