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
Poppy wipes her face harshly with the back of her hand, inhaling hard as she steadies herself again. “I need to pack,” she says, her voice shaky but full of determination. “Paige, can you…”“I’ll drive,” Remy says, stepping through the back door to join us in his human form.“Thank you,” she breathe
** Remy’s POV **There are battles you train for. Fights you can prepare your body and mind to survive. You can sharpen your instincts, steel your nerves, accept the possibility of blood and loss as the cost of standing between danger and the people you love, but this?… This is worse.Paige’s pain h
The air outside is cold enough to bite. Good, cold helps to keep me from getting lost in my own thoughts.I post my apartment keys through the letterbox of the takeaway downstairs and send a text message to the owner, thanking him for letting me rent the apartment and explaining there has been an ur
** Poppy’s POV **I force a laugh that I know doesn’t quite reach my eyes whilst I scan each window for any sign of someone watching me.“Protectors?” I repeat lightly. “You make it sound dramatic. I don’t have a superhero squad.”The twins don’t laugh. They exchange a brief look; it’s quick, silent







