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
** Paige’s POV **For a while, neither of us moves. The air between us feels heavy with the ghosts of Mum’s laughter, Dad’s quiet warmth, all the pieces of a life that suddenly don’t fit the same way anymore. But underneath it all, there’s comfort too. Poppy’s hand in mine. The quiet promise that we
** Paige’s POV **Light spills through the kitchen window, the smell of fresh coffee in the air. Poppy’s still sitting at the counter, a second cup of coffee cradled in her hands. Jaxon’s curled against me, finally wide awake and humming to himself as he plays with the edge of his blanket.My gaze d
The tension in my chest loosens, just enough to breathe again. “Good,” I rasp. “Let’s keep it that way.”Parker’s gaze flicks between us. “We need to move. That blast stunned them, but I could hear the hunters regrouping on the way here. They might be retreating, or coming back.”Remy’s head snaps u
The pages are old, discoloured, cracked parchment; the ink faded to near-invisible brown. The lighting in the scans is also not great. But it’s all I have.I zoom in on one section, squinting at the looping script. It’s written in a mix of Latin and something even older that is apparently a dialect







