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
“I don’t want to do this out here,” I say quietly.Jake’s fingers tighten around mine for half a second before he forces himself to loosen them. Leo’s eyes widen a fraction.“Inside?” he asks, his voice lower now, rougher.I nod.It’s not because I’m ashamed, because I’m not. I just don’t want any o
** Poppy’s POV **I wake up slowly. For a moment, I don’t know where I am. Warmth surrounds me, the steady weight of a blanket pulled up to my shoulders, and the faint scent of smoke.Then I realise two things at once. First… I’m not alone. Second… I didn’t run. My heart stutters as memory rushes ba
** Poppy’s POV **I can feel them on either side of me. Jake’s hand in mine, warm, steady, and ever so careful. Leo’s palm at my waist, restrained, barely there, as if he’s afraid that even that is too much, and my heart is beating like it’s trying to escape my chest.This is what I wanted, what I n
“I didn’t know if I should come tonight,” I admit. “I thought maybe… tomorrow.” My voice sounds smaller than I intended.Leo shifts slightly, not stepping forward, just redistributing his weight. The sound of his boot against the wood makes my stomach flip.“You don’t have to be here if it’s not wha







