LOGINOf course, the voice remains completely silent. Coward.“So what am I?” I ask.No one answers quickly enough. Jake steps closer, crouching in front of me so I have to look at him and not the horror show printed on the paper in my hands.“We don’t know yet,” he says. “But we will.”I want to believe
** Poppy’s POV **The room feels too small and too hot.I swallow. “Not the same how?”Jake exhales slowly, reaching for another sheet. “Paige’s blood showed abnormal energy markers, mostly consistent with what Ronnie later connected to Dawn energy, cleansing, regenerative and life-based.”“Sounds l
Rain… Headlights… Control it, Poppy. I push the thought down hard.Leo is already dressed by the time I sit up, pulling on his boots near the edge of the bed. His hair is damp from a shower, and his expression is locked into the serious mask he wears when he’s pretending not to be worried. It does n
** Poppy’s POV **Leo sets a glass down in front of me far more carefully than necessary. He’s slow, deliberate, as if he’s half expecting it to explode the second it leaves his hand. My eyes flick to Jake across the kitchen, only to catch him watching me too.The rest of the day passes in a strange
** Poppy’s POV **Shiver’s run through me. Starting from my chest and spreading out, but everything else calms. My heart stops pounding, my breaths come easier, and the cold that was creeping in is slowly replaced by a comforting warmth.It’s them, my mates. They’re anchoring me. Whatever this power
“Hey,” I say, dropping to my knees in front of her, not caring about the glass. “Look at me.”Her eyes snap to mine, and for a second, they’re not right. There’s something deeper in them. Something darker flickering beneath the surface like a storm trying to break through. The hairs on my arms lift.
** 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
** Paige’s POV **The moment my feet land on the gravel at the edge of the forest, I exhale for what feels like the first time in hours. The familiar scent of pine and smoke drifts through the air. This is home, my safe place. A place Greg never touched.Callen is at my side first, his eyes scanning
** Paige’s POV **The field goes silent, like the world itself is holding its breath.I stare at my hands. They’re glowing. It’s not the sharp, radiant gold I’m used to. This is softer, deeper somehow. It pulses slowly, steadily, like a heartbeat that isn’t mine alone.“Ronnie,” Ryder says carefully







