LOGINThe next chapter will be up in a few minutes. I just have a few final edits to do.
** Poppy’s POV ** I don’t remember deciding to move. One second I’m breathing both of them in, and the next I’m acting on it.Heat coils low and tight inside me, sharper than before, impossible to ignore now that I’ve stopped pretending I can. This isn’t hesitation anymore. This is choice. Jake do
** Poppy’s POV **I don’t know who moves first, maybe it’s me, maybe it’s them. Or maybe it’s the bond finally coiling tight enough that none of us can pretend it isn’t there anymore. All I know is one second there’s space between us, and the next there isn’t.Leo’s hand closes around my wrist, not
** Poppy’s POV **After we all take a shower and I get some time alone with my thoughts, I can finally breathe again. The world doesn’t feel quite so overwhelming.Whatever this power is… I feel a little more certain I can control it. I’ve started to recognise the signs. It’s not much, but it’s some
** 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
“They’re calling to me,” I whisper. “Like… like something inside of me knows I’m supposed to go.”Ryder swallows audibly.“Paige…”“Ryder, Ronnie told me to listen to my instincts,” I remind him gently. “And this is instinct. Whatever happened to them, whatever is happening now, I can feel it. Somet
“No,” I say firmly. “Paige doesn’t need more stress, and, like it or not, Greg is using the human authorities as a layer of protection. If anything were to happen to him whilst he has an open court case, Paige would be the first person they’d look into. We need to deal with the hearing the regular h
** Paige’s POV **Breakfast almost settles me, almost, but not quite.The guys keep trying to act normal, but the bond is a mess of tangled emotions. Curiosity, awe, worry, and something sharper threading through all of them… fear.Not fear of me but fear for me, and it’s Ryder who keeps glancing at
Another silence settles, comfortable and familiar. It feels like being teens again, sitting outside after dinner, talking about crushes.“Hey,” I say softly, nudging her. “How are things with Leo and Jake?”She chokes on her coffee.I blink. “Um. Is that… a bad sign?”“No!” she squeaks, voice too hi







