LOGINAlaric presses his lips together, giving a small wave towards the phone, and Bastian bows his head slightly. “It looks like Ronnie found something, we thought you might want to hear it,” Callen says. “Hang on.” Muffled voices come through the speaker, and something thumps before Paige speaks agai
** Jake’s POV **The silence that settles after Ronnie’s words is uncomfortable. For a long moment, no one moves. The forest seems unnaturally still around us, as though even the birds have decided this isn’t a conversation they want any part of. Ronnie clears his throat. “So,” he says, his gaze d
** Jake’s POV **A minute later, the cabin door opens again. Callen steps out with far too much satisfaction written across his face. Poppy follows a second later. The moment she sees all four of us waiting, she hesitates, her steps faltering. Her gaze lands on me, then Leo. Then it drifts to Alaric
** Jake’s POV **My wolf practically whines in my head as my eyes track Poppy walking inside with Callen. Every second I spend with her makes every second away from her more difficult. “I know this is difficult,” Ryder says, pulling our attention back to him. “But for Poppy’s sake, you all need to
“Hey,” Paige says softly.“Hey,” I reply, my voice cracking. Her smile fades and her eyes narrow as she studies me. “What happened?”“Nothing, I’m okay.”Callen snorts a laugh, and I shoot him a look. “Callen, get out,” Paige orders.“Well, that’s rude.”“Out,” she demands, and he wisely retreats,
** Poppy’s POV **The door closes behind us with a soft click, and I finally take my first real breath in hours. I want to freak out. I want to shout that this isn’t supposed to be happening. But allowing myself to get worked up is not good for anyone or anything. Stuff will break, people will pani
** Callen’s POV **The moment Annie collapses into Paige’s arms, something inside my chest twists. It’s not jealousy exactly. It’s more of a pressure. Like the weight of everything we’ve survived is suddenly pushing down on all of us at once, and I want to be the one in her arms.Paige holds Annie l
** Remy’s POV **By the time Annie is settled in Poppy’s room at the healer’s cabin, the sun is already dropping behind the treeline. The girl looks like she could shatter any second, and Poppy refuses to let her out of arm’s reach, fussing over her blankets and muttering death threats about Greg un
** Paige’s POV **The moment the pack disperses, my legs stop working. I don’t collapse, but my knees go weak enough that Ryder’s hand shoots out, gripping my waist like he’s ready to catch me.“Easy,” he murmurs.Easy… if only.I can still feel it, the rush of the pack dropping to their knees. The
** Paige’s POV **The walk to the clinic feels longer than it actually is.Maybe it’s because every step makes that strange pull inside me grow stronger, like an invisible thread stretching from somewhere deep in my chest and pulling me toward the healer’s cabins. Or maybe it’s because Callen hasn’t







