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
The absence shifts and my head snaps toward the treeline, the Twiceborn all following my gaze with their hackles raised. The hollow I felt earlier… it’s closer now. Still not visible, still wrong in a way that makes my skin crawl, but aware… watching.“Ronnie,” I say urgently. “That thing I felt. It
Remy sits beside me, close enough that his arm presses against mine. “If anything feels off, anything at all, you tell us. No hiding anything, no being brave.”I roll my eyes. “You guys are seriously overreacting.”They stare at me. Silent, united and completely unconvinced. God… I love them. My che
“Everyone stay where you are,” the woman calls. “We need statements from all of you.”Her gaze flicks briefly to the Twiceborn, and something in her expression tightens. I don’t think it’s suspicion or fear. Just a quiet, uneasy sense that she’s looking at something she can’t quite name.I’d been wo
I clear my throat. “I don’t want Poppy anywhere near Greg. Jaxon can stay with her today with the Twiceborn guarding them both.”Ryder considers this, then nods once. “Leo and Jake stay with them then.”Callen stretches his neck. “Great. So what are the rest of us doing? Because watching Greg eat av







