LOGIN“If he's going, I'm staying here.”Callen clutches his chest. “Pops.”“Don't Pops me.”“It’s my house! And I was going to barbecue.”She hesitates.Callen sees it. “So that's a yes.”“I hate you.”“No, you don't.”Poppy sighs and reaches for her shoes. For a few seconds, the cabin almost feels norma
** Leo’s POV **The cabin is silent, as if time itself has stopped whilst we all process what Poppy has said.If she’s right, if they’d been watching her, following her, then I’ve failed. I’d let my mate leave; I’d given her the freedom to make her own choices, and that had left her vulnerable. I sh
I stare at her. Something shifts. A sound, but not from the room, from memory. My mother’s voice. I stagger back. Paige catches my arms. “What?”I shake my head. “Wait.”Rain pounds against metal. Fire crackles nearby, but my whole body is freezing. Mum’s hand is against my cheek. My eyes flutter o
** Poppy’s POV **Paige stares at me like I’ve just told her I think the Pope’s an alien. For a second, she doesn’t move. I’m not even sure she’s breathing. Then she blinks slowly before shaking her head. “No, you didn’t,” she says firmly.“I did, Paige. I wouldn’t make something like this up.”“N
“I haven’t felt it here.”Bastian’s head tilts.“Not once?”I search backward through the weeks. Even when everything inside me felt wrong, even when the voice was louder, even when I thought the shadows were moving, there was nothing like that.“No.”Alaric folds his arms.“That matters.”I look at
** Poppy’s POV **Bastian stares at his brother for a moment.“What?” He asks when Alaric doesn’t say anything.“Could you maybe not announce things like that while she’s half-naked?”Bastian looks down at me.“Sorry.”I don’t even care about my state of undress anymore, because my brain is still st
Paige inhales sharply.I feel it through the bond, the spike of heat, the pull, the very human want she hasn’t let herself acknowledge yet.Good.“Touch him,” I say quietly.She hesitates just long enough for me to know she’s asking permission, not defying me.“Yes,” I answer before she can speak it
** Paige’s POV **The sentence lands heavily, but I can’t say I’m totally shocked.“What?” I ask softly.She finally looks at me then, eyes bright and too guarded all at once. “I’m not staying, Paige. Not here. Not now.”My chest tightens, but I don’t interrupt.“I need space,” she continues, her vo
** Paige’s POV **Leo’s chest rises as he sucks in a breath. His fists are clenched at his sides. He looks like he’s on the verge of shifting, and I can almost see the war in him, duty versus love, control versus fear.“You’re not safe alone,” he says, his voice low now, dangerous.Poppy shakes her
Paige’s gaze flicks toward her, worry threading through the bond like a soft ache.Poppy stands abruptly. “I’m going to check on Jax.”Paige nods. “Okay.”Poppy doesn’t meet her eyes. She slips out quickly, like she’s escaping a conversation that hasn’t even started. I could tell her that Jax is sti







