LOGIN** Jake’s POV **A minute later, the cabin door opens again. Callen steps out with far too much satisfaction written across his face. Poppy follows a second later. The moment she sees all four of us waiting, she hesitates, her steps faltering. Her gaze lands on me, then Leo. Then it drifts to Alaric
** Jake’s POV **My wolf practically whines in my head as my eyes track Poppy walking inside with Callen. Every second I spend with her makes every second away from her more difficult. “I know this is difficult,” Ryder says, pulling our attention back to him. “But for Poppy’s sake, you all need to
“Hey,” Paige says softly.“Hey,” I reply, my voice cracking. Her smile fades and her eyes narrow as she studies me. “What happened?”“Nothing, I’m okay.”Callen snorts a laugh, and I shoot him a look. “Callen, get out,” Paige orders.“Well, that’s rude.”“Out,” she demands, and he wisely retreats,
** Poppy’s POV **The door closes behind us with a soft click, and I finally take my first real breath in hours. I want to freak out. I want to shout that this isn’t supposed to be happening. But allowing myself to get worked up is not good for anyone or anything. Stuff will break, people will pani
“I was trying to figure you out,” he shrugs.“You were lurking.”Callen gasps. “Shadow boy was lurking?”Bastian’s eyes narrow. “Shadow boy?”“Oh, don’t worry,” I say. “It suits you.”For one strange moment, his expression softens. Not much, but enough that I see it. Enough that my heart skips a bea
** Poppy’s POV **The branch is still lying where it fell. I try not to look at it as we walk away, but my eyes keep finding it anyway. Split wood, torn bark, and leaves scattered across the ground as if it had exploded from the inside out. Because of me.One stupid argument. One moment when everyth
** Ryder’s POV **Warmth. That’s the first thing I feel. It rolls through my chest like a slow tide, heavy and consuming. For a second, I don’t even remember what pain feels like.Then air rushes into my lungs in a violent gasp. The sound tears through the silence, followed by a cough, and the sharp
Two men. Both completely unaware that I’m one flustered heartbeat away from self-combusting. This mate bond pull is no joke.Jake and his quiet, careful hands. Leo, and his watchful eyes and easy smile.If this is what working at the clinic is going to be like, I might need to start keeping smelling
“Let it rise,” Ronnie says. “Don’t fight it. You’re not trying to silence the power; you’re trying to hear what it’s saying. When it swells, don’t push it down; visualise it. It’s not a wolf, but if it helps, imagine it as that or something you feel fits. Describe it, name it, embrace it.”I try clo
** Remy’s POV **The forest feels alive again tonight.We’ve been walking the border in our human forms for about an hour now, Parker and I, boots crunching softly against damp earth. Normally, patrols are quiet, routine. But after everything that’s happened, the hunters, the poison, the near-misses







