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 **“What… what are you?”The question hangs in the air, and everyone goes still.Ryder’s protective instinct spikes like a cold gust of wind through the bond, but I lift a hand to keep him from stepping forward.I can’t blame her. I’m probably glowing again.My voice comes out steadie
Loaded question, too loaded. I sit anyway. The cushions dip under my weight, and her body leans subtly closer to mine. I shouldn’t be affected by something as small as that… but I am. Every inhale is her. Every exhale feels too hot in my lungs. My hand twitches with the urge to touch her, to anchor
For a long moment, no one speaks.“I have to mark you,” I blurt out, the words falling out before I even realise I’m thinking them.Everyone in the room goes still.Ryder blinks. “Paige…”“I’m not saying right this second,” I say quickly. “But soon. Something inside me, something instinctive, tells
** Ryder’s POV **Halfway up the stairs, she tightens her grip on me, her lips brushing the side of my throat. Not kissing, just… there. Like the contact is something she needs to stay steady.“Ryder…” she whispers.I stop.Every muscle tenses because of how she says my name. Like she’s stripping th







