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
“You have a baby sister,” I smile at him through tear-filled eyes.“She’s so tiny,” he says.Parker crouches slightly so Jaxon can see her better, angling her gently. “She’s perfect,” he says quietly. “Just like you.”Jaxon straightens at that, pride shining in his eyes.“She’s my sister,” he says,
“Push,” Jake urges. “That’s it. That’s it… keep going…”Paige’s body bows, every muscle straining. I feel it all through the bond, the effort, the fire, the sheer will it takes not to break under it.“I’m here,” I keep saying, over and over. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”“That’s the head. Well done,
** Paige’s POV **If someone had told me eight months ago that the thing most likely to end my mates would be a jar of pickled onions and a tub of vanilla ice cream, I would have laughed in their face, yet here we are.Ryder stands in the kitchen doorway like a man staring down an active crime scene
** Paige’s POV **Callen is already moving, like the baby might come out in the next few seconds. “Okay, everyone stay calm. Parker, get the bags. Ryder, you take Jax to Regina’s. Remy… Remy do something useful!”“I am useful,” Remy growls.Ryder’s voice is too steady. “Paige, tell me what you’re fe







