The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 107

Chapter 107

** Bemy’s POV **

The second Ryder says the words, I can see the ripple of shock go through Poppy. She goes pale, and her fingers clench tight around her cup, and Paige reaches for her without hesitation. I don’t miss the way Poppy’s eyes dart toward the tree line like she might bolt if given the chance.

Ryder meets my gaze, his meaning clear. We need to handle this.

“Poppy, Leo won’t rest until he sees you are safe. Would you consider going there just to let him see you? You don’t even need to speak to him if you don’t want to,” Ryder asks.

Poppy nods, setting her cup down.

“Thank you, Parker, Remy, take Poppy to the healer’s cabin,” Ryder orders quietly, already turning back toward the house. “Keep her safe.”

“I’m coming,” Paige says, already standing.

No one protests, I think we all expected it. Parker steps up smoothly, offering a reassuring smile, and I fall in beside them as we head down the porch steps.

The air is cool this morning, the blood from last night now replaced with the scent of pine and damp earth. My wolf is alert beneath my skin, pacing, because everything about this is delicate. Another human mate is entering our pack, fragile and afraid. And Leo…

I push against the mind–link, narrowing my focus until I feel the answering tug.

“Leo,”

There’s a beat of silence, and then his voice cuts through, strained and rough. “Remy?”

“You need to stay put. I’m bringing her to you now.”

A sharp inhale echoes through the link. “She’s coming? My mate?”

“Yes,” I confirm. “But you need to go easy. She’s human and terrified. She doesn’t fully understand what this means yet.”

“I won’t hurt her,” Leo promises immediately, desperate. “I just… I have to see her. I can’t…” His voice breaks in the link, ragged with emotion. “I thought I was going to die last night, and all I could think was that I’d never know her name, never hold her, never…”

I cut him off before he spirals further. “Then listen to me. If you want any chance with her,

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Chapter 107.

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don’t come at her like a starving wolf. She needs space. She needs a choice. Do you

understand?”

There’s silence, and for a moment I’m not sure if he’s stubborn enough to ignore me. Then, finally, “I understand.”

“Good, and make sure you’ve got some damn clothes on. Humans are uncomfortable with nudity.”

The last thing I need is Poppy bolting into the woods or back to the city and getting herself killed by rogues.

“Everything alright?” Paige asks softly at my side, her eyes on me, sharp with that mix of concern and suspicion she always has when she knows I’m hiding something.

“Just talking to Leo,” I answer simply. “I told him to stay put.”

We walk at a steady pace, Parker walking close on Poppy’s other side. He talks to her in that calm, steady voice of his, the same one he uses with Jax when the kid’s on the edge of a meltdown. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. Just being there will be enough for him right now.”

Poppy swallows hard, her hands clinging to Paige’s arm. “What if I can’t do it? If it’s not enough? What if I can’t be what he needs?”

The words hit me like a blade to the chest, because I’ve thought the same damn thing more times than I can count about Paige. About whether she needs more than I can give, but this isn’t about me.

My fingers twitch with a need to take Paige’s hand in mine, but I can’t, not out here. When I touch her, I forget my job. My usually high alertness shifts its focus to her, which is fine when we are home, or all together, but not at times like this.

“You don’t have to be anything but yourself,” I say to Poppy. “The bond doesn’t make you someone else. It just ties you together, and if he’s really your mate, he’ll see you. That’s all.”

She blinks up at me, wide–eyed, like she doesn’t know whether to believe me. “Are you saying there’s a chance I’m not his mate?”

“It’s unlikely he’s wrong about this, but considering the circumstances, there’s a small chance he could have been hallucinating or confused,” I shrug.

Poppy nods, but doesn’t ask any more questions.

I glance at Paige, letting myself watch her for a second before I continue scanning our surroundings. She is still wearing clothes that hide her mate marks, which I hate. We haven’t

Chapter 107

explained to her that it’s frowned upon to hide mate marks, that it’s a sign of shame amongst our kind because we didn’t want her to feel guilty about hiding them around her sister.

This is different, though. To walk through our pack with them covered will only cause more whispers. We will need to tell her today before this causes any further issues.

We cut through the trees, avoiding the main path. When we break through the tree line, the healer’s cabin comes into view, Smoke curls from the chimney, and I can already hear the low murmur of voices inside. My wolf pushes forward again, restless. Protective in response to Paige’s rising anxiety.

Leo’s presence presses against mine through the link before I even reach the door. “She’s close, I feel her.” His voice is thick, rough with a hunger he’s barely controlling.

“Steady,” I warn again, forcing calm through the connection the way Ryder and Callen do, but I’m no alpha, so it’s not as effective. “If you push too hard, you’ll lose her before you even

start.”

He exhales shakily, and I can almost feel him regaining control.

Parker steps ahead, reaching for the door, but it opens before he can touch it. One of the healers, Nina, stands in the doorway, her expression pinched with frustration. “He’s pacing like a caged wolf in there. Good luck holding him back.”

“Let us in,” I say, keeping my tone clipped. I’ve got a bad vibe from this healer ever since Paige came into our lives.

Nina steps aside, and Paige guides Poppy forward, her hand firm on her sister’s back. I follow closely, my every nerve on edge.

The cabin is warm, the air heavy with herbs and the faint metallic tang of blood. Leo is on his feet immediately, his dark hair damp with sweat, and his eyes locked on one person.

Poppy.

The raw need in his gaze is enough to make my wolf snarl, not in jealousy but in warning. Control yourself. Don’t scare her.

Poppy freezes, her breath hitching as their eyes meet. I can see it hit her, the pull of the bond. The way her shoulders tense, the way her lips part in shock, the faint tremor that runs through her body. She feels it.

Leo takes one step forward, then another, and I snap across the mind–link before he gets too close. “Easy, Leo.”

He halts mid–step, his fists clenched at his sides. His voice is rough when he finally speaks

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out loud “You’re real.”

Poppy’s hips part, but no sound comes out. She looks at him as if she’s on the edge of something huge, terrifying and irresistible all at once. I know that feeling well.

Paige squeezes her hand, whispering something I don’t try to catch.

Leo sways slightly on his feet, his body still weak from blood loss. The healer hisses under her breath, “You shouldn’t even be standing…”

“I don’t care,” Leo growls, but his eyes never leave Poppy.

The silence stretches. I can feel the tension crackling like a storm about to break. Poppy is trembling now, torn between stepping forward and bolting for the door.

“Leo,” I warn out loud this time, my voice a sharp cut through the air. “She’s here. She sees you. Don’t ruin it by rushing her.”

His jaw works, but he doesn’t move closer. His eyes soften, just barely. “I would never hurt you,” he says, the words directed at Poppy, his voice breaking on the promise. “Not ever.” Poppy lets out a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh, her hand flying to her mouth. The air in the healer’s cabin feels too tight, like there isn’t enough space for the weight of what’s happening. Poppy’s trembling so hard I think she might pass out. Leo looks like he’s barely keeping his wolf on a leash, his dark eyes fixed on her as though she might disappear if he looks away.

Paige keeps whispering to her sister, reassuring her, but I can see it in Poppy’s posture. Her panic rising, the instinct to run. Humans don’t have the same instincts we do, but fear? We all have that.

“I would never hurt you,” Leo says again, his voice hoarse and desperate, but it’s too much. Too raw, too soon.

Poppy’s breath comes fast and shallow. Then, all at once, she moves. She turns and bolts. It’s instinct, pure fight–or–flight, and she’s all flight right now. Paige reaches for her, Parker curses, and I lunge forward to block the door, but someone’s already there.

Jake, another healer. He’s been standing near the threshold, watching silently, but the second Poppy makes a break for it, he catches her. She collides with his chest, and his arms close around her before I can react.

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