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
And then there’s Jaxon. He runs straight at me the second he sees me.“Mummy!”I kneel just in time to catch him, lifting him into my arms. He squeezes my neck so tight I nearly lose my breath.“You look shiny again!” he announces proudly.I blush. “Do I?”“Uh-huh! Like a Christmas fairy.”Ryder lau
** Parker’s POV **The house is quiet when I get back from patrol. Too quiet.I pull on some shorts from the basket we keep stocked by the door and pause. The air smells different. Warm and charged.Ryder catches my eye from the kitchen table, where he’s nursing his coffee like it committed a crime.
I do not understand it, but I guess I don’t have to. I just know that whatever instinct is guiding her… it is stronger than all of us combined.Ronnie nods slightly, completely ignoring the standoff between Ryder and me. “Paige isn’t losing her strength. She’s gaining clarity. Gods don’t see the wor
** Paige’s POV **I move toward the kitchen, not waiting for anyone to guide me or usher me. I want to get this over with, to feel like we are actively taking steps to put an end to this rather than waiting for the hunters to make their next move.As we enter, Ronnie steps through the back door. Beh







