LOGIN** 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
“I was trying to figure you out,” he shrugs.“You were lurking.”Callen gasps. “Shadow boy was lurking?”Bastian’s eyes narrow. “Shadow boy?”“Oh, don’t worry,” I say. “It suits you.”For one strange moment, his expression softens. Not much, but enough that I see it. Enough that my heart skips a bea
** Poppy’s POV **The branch is still lying where it fell. I try not to look at it as we walk away, but my eyes keep finding it anyway. Split wood, torn bark, and leaves scattered across the ground as if it had exploded from the inside out. Because of me.One stupid argument. One moment when everyth
** Ryder’s POV **The moment it hits me, I almost drop to my knees. It’s not a pulse or a flare. Not the usual warm tug of the bond when Paige is overwhelmed or scared. This… this is a detonation.A tidal wave of heat slams into my chest so violently my vision goes white. For a breathless second I c
I swallow. “What about? Is Jax okay?”“He’s fine,” Remy answers. “It’s Nina.”A cold ripple of tension ghosts down my spine.Nina, the suspected traitor.My stomach knots. “What about her?”“We need to speak with her,” Callen says.Blaine stiffens in front of me, instantly alert. He rises slowly unt
** Callen’s POV **The first thing I feel is the bond.It’s not the usual background hum, or the distracting warmth Paige always radiates when she’s close. This is something else… something sharp, bright, electrifying, like she’s a live wire pressed directly against the inside of my ribs.And then a
Paige looks down at her hands, and I can see the tremor in her fingers.“They’re… tethered,” she whispers. “Like someone pulled them back from death with a thread that’s too thin. Like it’s fraying. Like it’s going to snap.”A growl rumbles in my chest before I can stop it. “Snap how?”“Snap, meanin







