LOGINWe step out into the corridor together, heading towards the room we’d seen him go into. “Hey,” I call as we spot Jake’s assistant leaving the room opposite. “Have you seen Jake?”She looks up, relief flickering across her face as if she’s glad it’s not another emergency.“Yeah,” she says. “He stepp
**Poppy’s POV **After the tree of death tried to kill me, we head back into the clinic for breakfast. Jake leaves to check on his patients, promising to catch up with us soon. I want to tell him no, that I need him with me, but that will only worry him and Leo. I feel fine; the chill I had last ni
His mouth twitches slightly, but he doesn’t quite smile.“Good,” he says.Good? I stare at him.“That’s not an answer.”“No,” he agrees. “It isn’t, but you also didn’t ask a question.”My hands clench at my sides, which is more Leo’s style than mine. I force them to relax.“Ronnie…”“When something
** Jake’s POV **That baby should have died. The thought swirls in my mind, no matter how many times I try to push it aside. I’ve seen enough births to know the difference between a close call and a miracle. That wasn’t a close call; it was impossible.I stand at the end of the bed, watching as the
“Poppy,” Jake’s voice calls, softer than before.I glance over at him. He’s watching me now.A flicker of unease slides through me.“Yeah?” I call back, forcing a small smile.His gaze narrows slightly, as if he’s trying to piece something together that doesn’t quite fit.“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Jake watches me closely.“I’m fine,” I insist, before he can say anything. I know he doesn’t fully believe me, but he doesn’t argue.We step out into the corridor together, and I hear a few voices drift in the distance. “Jake,” Leo says quietly beside me. “What’s going on?”Jake exhales slowly as
“Let it rise,” Ronnie says. “Don’t fight it. You’re not trying to silence the power; you’re trying to hear what it’s saying. When it swells, don’t push it down; visualise it. It’s not a wolf, but if it helps, imagine it as that or something you feel fits. Describe it, name it, embrace it.”I try clo
** Callen’s POV **The walk back from the creek is quieter than it should be.Even the forest feels quiet. Birds are still singing somewhere above, and the wind rustles through the trees, but it’s all background noise. The real silence is with us. Paige hasn’t said a word since Ronnie’s last comment
** Remy’s POV **The forest feels alive again tonight.We’ve been walking the border in our human forms for about an hour now, Parker and I, boots crunching softly against damp earth. Normally, patrols are quiet, routine. But after everything that’s happened, the hunters, the poison, the near-misses
That explanation sits uneasily in my chest. “Then why did I see a man kneeling by the creek? And hunters, I remember that clearly. But there’s no one here.”“Visions don’t always show things as they are,” Ronnie says. His tone softens. “They speak in symbols. The figures you saw might not have been







