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
** Ryder’s POV **The cabin door shuts behind the others, and the silence they leave behind feels charged.Paige stands in the middle of the room, breathing slowly, the weight of everything we just planned pressing down on her shoulders. The glow under her skin hasn’t fully faded. It pulses soft gol
** Paige’s POV **“What… what are you?”The question hangs in the air, and everyone goes still.Ryder’s protective instinct spikes like a cold gust of wind through the bond, but I lift a hand to keep him from stepping forward.I can’t blame her. I’m probably glowing again.My voice comes out steadie
Loaded question, too loaded. I sit anyway. The cushions dip under my weight, and her body leans subtly closer to mine. I shouldn’t be affected by something as small as that… but I am. Every inhale is her. Every exhale feels too hot in my lungs. My hand twitches with the urge to touch her, to anchor
For a long moment, no one speaks.“I have to mark you,” I blurt out, the words falling out before I even realise I’m thinking them.Everyone in the room goes still.Ryder blinks. “Paige…”“I’m not saying right this second,” I say quickly. “But soon. Something inside me, something instinctive, tells







