MasukMate.The word rolls through me, low and possessive, but tonight it doesn’t feel overwhelming. It feels certain. Poppy swallows hard.“You calm it too,” she whispers suddenly.I frown slightly. “Calm what?”“That feeling.” Her eyes lift back to mine. “The pressure. The noise in my head. It gets quie
** Jake’s POV **The second Leo leaves the cabin feels wrong.It’s quieter and colder, even though the fire still crackles softly in the corner. Rain still taps steadily against the roof, and Poppy is still standing only a few feet away from me.But something shifted when he left. I felt it immediat
“I’ll be okay,” she whispers.I wish I believed that.Instead of answering, I lean forward until our foreheads touch, and for a second, everything else fades away. It’s just her breathing against me and the warmth of her hands on my face.“What if this thing isn’t new?” she asks quietly. “What if it
** Leo’s POV **“It’s not staying silent anymore.”The words have been stuck in my head for the last two fucking hours since Jake explained what happened at the clinic.I tighten my grip on the strap of the knife sheath sitting across my chest harder than necessary, checking it for the third time si
Of 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
** Paige’s POV ** I wake up to warmth. Surrounded by body heat. It’s everywhere. I blink, and it takes a second for my brain to catch up. Callen is behind me, one arm around my waist, his warm breath on the back of my neck. Ryder is in front of me, one leg thrown over mine. I’m
They both go quiet. The only sounds are the usual ones you’d expect to hear in the woods at night and the steady thrum of my pulse in my ears. Callen looks like he wants to touch me, but he doesn’t. “You’re right, Paige,” he says finally. “You didn’t ask for this. You didn’t choose us.” “But
** Callen’s POV ** I find Remy where I knew I would. Not far into the woods, just beyond the clearing where we used to meet up to be alone. He’s sitting on a fallen tree, elbows on his knees, head down. The hoodie he wore earlier is bunched around his arms, like he pulled it off in frustration.
His eyes flick away, jaw tightening. “That’s not what this is.” “Then what is it?” I demand. “Because if you’re going to tell me to go and leave my son behind again, it’s never going to happen. There is nothing that would ever make me leave him.” He doesn’t speak, and that silence makes me a







