Masuk“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
Rain… Headlights… Control it, Poppy. I push the thought down hard.Leo is already dressed by the time I sit up, pulling on his boots near the edge of the bed. His hair is damp from a shower, and his expression is locked into the serious mask he wears when he’s pretending not to be worried. It does n
** Poppy’s POV **Leo sets a glass down in front of me far more carefully than necessary. He’s slow, deliberate, as if he’s half expecting it to explode the second it leaves his hand. My eyes flick to Jake across the kitchen, only to catch him watching me too.The rest of the day passes in a strange
** Paige’s POV **Morning comes softly. Not with alarms or panic or the edge of fear that’s lived under my skin for days, but with light filtering through the curtains and the quiet sound of breathing around me. The cabin smells like coffee and earth and clean air, like the forest itself has forgive
“Take your clothes off for me, beautiful,” I say softly, trying not to let her hear how close I am to completely losing control.I had planned to undress her slowly, to unwrap her like the gift that she is, but I’m too keyed up for this. There’s no way her clothes will come off in one piece if I do
The words hit me like cold water.“Poppy,” I breathe, not pleading, but careful. “You don’t have to run.”“I’m not running. Running would mean I’m afraid.”“And you’re not?”For the first time, something flickers across her face, an emotion she can’t quite hide.“I’m terrified,” she admits, and her
** Paige’s POV **The forest doesn’t explode into chaos. That’s the strangest part. The wind doesn’t rise. The hunters don’t burst through the trees, and the shots don’t come, but they will. It’s just a matter of time.Everything is silent, too silent as we wait for something, anything to happen.I







