LOGINMate.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 **The moment the pack disperses, my legs stop working. I don’t collapse, but my knees go weak enough that Ryder’s hand shoots out, gripping my waist like he’s ready to catch me.“Easy,” he murmurs.Easy… if only.I can still feel it, the rush of the pack dropping to their knees. The
** Paige’s POV **The walk to the clinic feels longer than it actually is.Maybe it’s because every step makes that strange pull inside me grow stronger, like an invisible thread stretching from somewhere deep in my chest and pulling me toward the healer’s cabins. Or maybe it’s because Callen hasn’t
** Callen’s POV **The night air feels wrong. Ryder leads us through the treeline with perfect calm. Remy moves at his flank in wolf form, massive and silent as a shadow. I bring up the rear, scanning every dark corner like the bogeyman himself is waiting to jump out and ruin our already disastrous
“Then why…” I begin.“Because they’re not them,” Poppy interrupts softly.Jake nods. “Their bodies are fine. Their brains… their consciousness… their personalities… those are another story.”Poppy crosses her arms, face pale. “The best we can describe it is like… low-power mode. They’re there, but n







