LOGIN** Poppy’s POV **Ronnie doesn’t waste time after that. Blood samples are taken quickly from us all. Jake handles most of it with steady hands and a focused expression, as if he’s clinging to something he understands. Something that makes sense to him… science. I can barely feel the needle. Or mayb
** Poppy’s POV **I mull over Ronnie’s words. Even though I’d already started piecing it together, hearing the words spoken aloud lands hard.Collides… like we’re something dangerous and unstable. As if we’re the problem.My stomach twists. “So what? We just… stay away from each other?”Ronnie’s gaz
** Poppy’s POV **The silence doesn’t last. Footsteps hit the hallway, fast and heavy, then the door swings open hard enough to rattle the frame. Callen steps in first, eyes scanning the room in a sweep before locking onto Paige.“What the hell is going on?” he demands, already moving toward her. “I
** Poppy’s POV **The cracked glass shouldn’t still be holding, but it is.I stare at it, my breath caught somewhere between my lungs and my throat as another thin fracture splinters outward, branching like it’s alive. The water inside trembles, rippling faintly.Leo’s arm is still locked around my
“What?” Leo asks, softer.I hesitate. Because I don’t know how to explain it without sounding insane.“It’s like…” I swallow. “Like everything is louder when I stop fighting it.”“There it is,” the voice murmurs.My eyes fly open.“Stop,” I whisper.Jake’s expression sharpens. “What happened?”“It s
** Poppy’s POV **The room feels too heavy after my outburst. Like my mates and even the walls themselves are waiting to see what I’ll do next. My stomach is still in knots, heat and shame twisting together so tightly I can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. Jake is staring at me like he’s
** Paige’s POV **The screen flickers once more. Then Poppy’s face fills it. For half a second she just stares, her eyes wide, and her hair pulled back messily as if she’s been pacing. Then her gaze drops straight to the tiny bundle against my chest.“Oh my goodness,” she breathes. “Paige.”My chest
** Alaric’s POV **The problem with being an Alpha in 2026 is that you can no longer pretend politics don’t exist. You can’t just patrol your borders, snap a few necks, and call it leadership. Now it’s all diplomacy and meetings, and not even the exciting ones where there’s the potential of a fight
Remy is suddenly there, helping me back up with one arm wrapped around my waist, the other on my shoulder. His voice stays low, and steady. “I’ve got you. Lean on me, don’t fight it.”Parker swears under his breath and checks his phone again. “Those contractions are too close together. Paige, love,
“Stop,” one of them says calmly.I step half a pace in front of Alaric without making it obvious. “Who are you?”“Phoenix Pack,” the other replies.Of course they are. The pack every Alpha is suddenly talking about. The pack tied to the goddess rumours, and whose territory hunters seem to avoid as i







