LOGIN** 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
** Poppy’s POV **I thought Alaric would have been pissed at learning his brother had my number all along and had been messaging me, but he’s amused, and maybe even a little proud. He shakes his head again and laughs; it’s so contagious that I can’t even be mad.“Come on,” he says, standing from the
** Ryder’s POV **Dinner feels almost normal. The sound of laughter, the warmth of the kitchen, the way Paige’s smile makes everything else bearable. For a while, we pretend everything’s fine, but even as I laugh at Jaxon’s terrible joke, a part of me stays on alert. The scent of worry clings to Rem
“Leo didn’t react this badly though, his biggest issue was the wound itself.” Callen shakes his head.“I think that’s the key.” Poppy’s eyes flick between the two men. “Leo was actively bleeding, which means most of the toxin would’ve drained out with the blood. Ryder has no open wounds, it’s trappi
He gives me a weak smile. “I scared myself too.”Callen nudges me gently. “You should’ve seen her, Rye. She was glowing like something out of a movie. It was wild.”“I remember,” Ryder nods, still watching me. “There was this warm light. I thought it was the moon, but it was you. You are my light, P
“You don’t have to be sorry,” I say. “You’re allowed to feel things, Rem.”That earns me a faint, disbelieving smile. “That’s a dangerous thing to say to a guy like me.”I lift my chin. “Then maybe you should start listening, because it’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”The morning drags on in w







