LOGIN“Because we didn’t,” Jake grumbles.“Why, is something wrong?” I sit up, needing to be able to see them both. Neither of them answers right away, which tells me everything and nothing. “It’s nothing you need to worry about,” Leo says, sitting up and rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “We ju
** Poppy’s POV **For the most part of the day, I hold myself together, the way I always have. Showing weakness and crying helps no one. I have been through loss before, and I made it out the other side. This isn’t as bad as then. I’m older now, and my sister isn’t dead; I just can’t be around her
“I’ve got you,” I whisper softly.She makes another noise that sounds remarkably close to my name as she turns to face me. She doesn’t wake up, not fully, but she knows I’m here. Her breathing evens out again, and I feel nothing but peace through the bond from her.I’m not sure how long I lay there,
** Jake’s POV **Today was not the happy, carefree day I had hoped for. I thought mating with Poppy would stabilise her the way it had with Paige, but we are very quickly learning that the sisters may be similar, but they are not the same.Seeing the devastation on her face when she realised there w
Mate.The word rolls heavily through me from my wolf.Mine.Beside me, Leo adjusts slightly in his seat, closer to me. It’s small enough that he probably doesn’t realise he’s done it, but I notice. His body language remains tense, but he’s no longer actively rejecting our proximity.Callen and Ryder
** Bastian’s POV **The silence inside the car should feel uncomfortable, but it doesn’t. Which is odd. I sit in the back with my arm pressed against the door, one boot stretched beneath the seat in front of me whilst Leo sits in the space beside me like a trapped storm. He’s irritated enough that I
I stagger forward; the breath leaving my lungs in short, gasping bursts. “No,” I whisper again. “No, please…”A sound rises in my ears, faint at first, then growing, a voice that’s not my own or my mate’s, inside my head. “It’s time.”I blink, confusion cutting through the grief. “What…”“You know w
** Paige’s POV **For a while, neither of us moves. The air between us feels heavy with the ghosts of Mum’s laughter, Dad’s quiet warmth, all the pieces of a life that suddenly don’t fit the same way anymore. But underneath it all, there’s comfort too. Poppy’s hand in mine. The quiet promise that we
** Paige’s POV **Light spills through the kitchen window, the smell of fresh coffee in the air. Poppy’s still sitting at the counter, a second cup of coffee cradled in her hands. Jaxon’s curled against me, finally wide awake and humming to himself as he plays with the edge of his blanket.My gaze d
The tension in my chest loosens, just enough to breathe again. “Good,” I rasp. “Let’s keep it that way.”Parker’s gaze flicks between us. “We need to move. That blast stunned them, but I could hear the hunters regrouping on the way here. They might be retreating, or coming back.”Remy’s head snaps u







