LOGIN** Alaric's POV ** Poppy’s smile fades as her gaze suddenly loses focus. For a heartbeat, she doesn’t seem to be looking at either of us at all. “Are you okay?” I ask. She blinks and rubs lightly at her temple. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to that.” “The mind-link?” I ask. She nods
** Alaric’s POV ** Poppy’s head snaps towards me, and I freeze. Her eyes narrow. “Did you just sniff me?” “No.” Bastian’s gaze lifts from his mug, and he smirks. Traitorous bastard. Poppy stares at me. “You did.” “I was breathing.” “Towards me.” “I have very little control over the direction
“Because you’d rather they didn’t?”“No,” I look her dead in the eye. “Because they got there first.”Poppy wraps her arms around herself, and Bastian goes very still beside the coffee machine.I should stop here. It’s the intelligent choice. Unfortunately, intelligence has never been a strong trait
** Alaric’s POV **The second Jake disappears through the door, the entire house changes. It doesn’t make sense. Nothing has physically shifted, but the moment he leaves, taking his anxious healer scent and barely contained panic with him, the clock ticks louder and the fridge hums more insistently.
“I still think peanut butter and ham should be illegal.”“It builds character,” Leo replies. “It builds stomach ulcers,” Ronnie mutters.Alaric and Bastian come closer, leaning in to take a sandwich, but they don’t take Leo or Ronnie’s seats. “Shit,” Leo curses. Every head in the room turns to hi
** Jake’s POV **Every muscle in my body tightens as Poppy steps out of the woods. I grip the chair to stop myself from running to her. “She’s coming back,” Callen says into the phone.“Good,” Paige lets out a breath. “Remember, she needs a little normalcy. Don’t crowd her and don’t question her. M
“You have a baby sister,” I smile at him through tear-filled eyes.“She’s so tiny,” he says.Parker crouches slightly so Jaxon can see her better, angling her gently. “She’s perfect,” he says quietly. “Just like you.”Jaxon straightens at that, pride shining in his eyes.“She’s my sister,” he says,
“Push,” Jake urges. “That’s it. That’s it… keep going…”Paige’s body bows, every muscle straining. I feel it all through the bond, the effort, the fire, the sheer will it takes not to break under it.“I’m here,” I keep saying, over and over. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”“That’s the head. Well done,
** Paige’s POV **If someone had told me eight months ago that the thing most likely to end my mates would be a jar of pickled onions and a tub of vanilla ice cream, I would have laughed in their face, yet here we are.Ryder stands in the kitchen doorway like a man staring down an active crime scene
** Paige’s POV **Callen is already moving, like the baby might come out in the next few seconds. “Okay, everyone stay calm. Parker, get the bags. Ryder, you take Jax to Regina’s. Remy… Remy do something useful!”“I am useful,” Remy growls.Ryder’s voice is too steady. “Paige, tell me what you’re fe







