로그인** 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
Parker joins us on the porch for a while, handing me a cup of steaming tea I don’t remember asking for. I hold it; using it to warm my hands, but I don’t sip it. It feels wrong to be standing here sipping tea whilst the enemy is literally on our doorstep, waiting to attack at any moment. He doesn’t
“Someone the pack already trusts,” Parker adds.Paige looks between us, thoughtful. “You’re talking about giving up your positions?”I don’t miss the way her shoulders tense just slightly.“No, just bringing in a third in command to keep things running and keep the pack directed whilst we focus on o
** Ryder’s POV **I feel it before I understand it.It’s not a surge or the blow I was expecting. Not the sharp crack of power I’ve learned to brace for whenever Paige’s gifts shift. It’s a settling. It’s like the final jigsaw piece fitting in to complete the picture.I stop mid-step in the hallway
This is what I fought for. This.Breakfast turns into happy chaos. Jaxon talks a mile a minute about Midnight Pack, about the pups he stayed with, about the games they played and the stories they told him to keep him brave. He doesn’t talk about fear, and I don’t push. He doesn’t need to unpack ever







