The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 112

<Chapter 112

Chapter 112

**Paige’s POV **

+25 Points

The morning sun warms the wood beneath my bare feet, and Jaxon’s laughter drifts through the air as he chases a butterfly across the grass. It’s one of those rare, peaceful moments. that feel as though time stops.

Ryder hands me a cup of coffee and settles beside me on the porch bench. His thigh brushes mine, solid and warm, and I lean into him. The night’s conversation with Ronnie still loops through my mind, over and over.

Descendants of the Moon Goddess. Pack mothers. Bloodlines that can shape the future of entire packs.

It still sounds impossible, and yet, everything about it feels… right.

“You didn’t sleep much,” Ryder says quietly, watching Jaxon dart through the sunlight.

“Neither did you,” I reply, giving him a knowing look.

He huffs softly, not denying it. “My mind’s been spinning since last night. Trying to piece together how all of this fits.”

I take a sip of my. coffee, staring out into the trees. “Do you really think it could be true? That Poppy and I are Moon Children?”

He’s silent for a moment before answering. “I think there’s too much we don’t understand to rule it out. Ronnie doesn’t deal in fairytales, Paige. He’s one of the most well–read people I know when it comes to old pack history. If he believes it’s possible, then I believe him.”

I nod slowly, tracing my thumb along the rim of the cup. “If it is true… then which one of our parents would’ve passed it down? Mum or Dad?”

Ryder leans back against the railing, looking thoughtful. “Ronnie said the trait only manifests in females, but males can pass it on, so it could’ve come from either side.”

My mind scrambles to think of a memory of my parents that could give any clue they were different, but there’s nothing. They were just normal people.

“They were so normal,” I say quietly. “Ordinary jobs, ordinary lives. Mum loved her garden, she burned toast every morning, she used the same lipstick for twenty years. Nothing about her ever felt… supernatural. Dad loved golfing and his car, he couldn’t get any simpler.”

“Maybe that’s exactly how they stayed hidden,” he murmurs. “If they knew they were one of

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the last, they’d have had to live quietly. Humans would have called it a myth, but wolves might have seen them as a target.”

I shake my head, refusing to believe it. “They’d have warned me, they wouldn’t have let me and Poppy go through life not knowing who we really were.”

“Maybe they didn’t know,” he shrugs. “Ronnie said the gifts had to be triggered.”

“You don’t think a car crash was enough to trigger them?” I ask, my tone bitter with

resentment.

“I don’t know, maybe it all happened too quickly. It’s one of those questions you’ll probably never get answers to, but one thing I do know is that if there was any chance either of them could have survived, they would have. There’s no way they’d have given up easily, they loved you and Poppy in a way that made me ache for the parents I never had,” he says, and I sense his unease.

I blow out a breath, guilt twisting in my gut as I stare out at Jaxon again, watching him pluck a handful of dandelions and proudly present them to Parker, who’s pretending to be very impressed. “I’m sorry, I get so angry they were taken from me that way when I should be grateful I had them as long as I did.”

Ryder’s hand finds mine, his thumb brushing slow circles over my skin. “Don’t apologise, you have every right to be angry at what happened.”

“So do you, your parents were stolen from you before you even got to know them.”

“I am,” he sighs. “But I save my anger for the hunters. They took a lot of parents from pack kids. I won’t let that happen again, not this time.”

We sit in silence for a while, just watching Jaxon.

“Paige, there’s something I need to tell you,” he says softly, breaking the silence.

The tone of his voice makes my stomach drop. “That sounds ominous.”

He exhales, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “After what happened during training the other day, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this. So, I had a trusted pack member go digging into what he could find.”

“About what?” I ask, brow furrowing.

“Your family.” His gaze lifts to mine, looking cautious. “Specifically, your parents‘ background and your births.”

A chill runs through me. “Okay… and?”

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Ryder hesitates, like he’s weighing how much to say, then finally meets my eyes. “I wasn’t going to tell you until I knew more, but both you and Poppy were conceived through assisted fertility. Your parents were patients at a private clinic, one that no longer exists under that name.”

The words take a second to process. I blink at him. “What are you talking about? They never mentioned anything about that.”

“I know,” he says gently. “We found records that confirm they were there around the time they would’ve conceived you, and then again leading up to Poppy’s conception. There were payments, sealed medical records, and something else… a sealed donor file was attached to their records.”

I stare down into my coffee, my heart pounding. “So you’re saying my dad isn’t my dad?” “I’m saying there’s a chance your biological father might not be the man who raised you,” Ryder admits. “But it’s also possible that your mum is not your biological mother. We don’t know if one or both of them had the fertility issue, and we don’t know the gender of the donor. I’m not sure if I’d have even told you if there weren’t a possible connection to the Moon Goddess bloodline. This might explain how you and Poppy carry the traits despite your parents never showing signs of it themselves.”

I put my cup down, shaking my head slowly, trying to process it.

My chest tightens until I can barely breathe. “You can’t just say something like that so calmly, Ryder.” My voice cracks halfway through. “That my mum or my dad might not even be my real parents.”

He winces, his hand tightening around mine. “I know, Paige. I didn’t want to hurt you with this. But I couldn’t keep it from you, not when it could explain everything.”

I pull my hand free and stand, pacing to the edge of the porch. “Everything I thought I knew about my family, every story, every photo, what if it’s all a lie? What if the people who loved me weren’t even supposed to be mine?”

“They were yours,” he says. “No matter what some files say, they chose you. They went through a lot to get you here, and they raised you. They were your parents in every way that matters. This knowledge doesn’t change that.”

“But it does,” I whisper, staring out at the garden. Jaxon is still laughing with Parker, blissfully unaware of the ground shifting beneath my feet. “I thought I knew who I was, then I found out I might not even be human, and now you’re telling me I might not even belong to the people I thought made me.”

Ryder stands and steps behind me, close enough that his warmth brushes my back. “Paige,

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listen to me. It doesn’t matter what you are because you know who you are, and so do I. Whether you were born of their blood or not doesn’t change that.”

I shake my head, wrapping my arms around myself. “You don’t get it. Every time I think I’ve found some solid ground, it disappears. First, I find out werewolves are real. Then that my son is one. That my husband is a hunter. Then that I have mates, plural. I’m probably not human, and now this? That my parents might not be my parents?” My voice breaks. “How much more am I supposed to take?”

Ryder’s hands rest on my shoulders, grounding me. “I do get it, Paige. Because I lived through pretty much the same thing.”

That makes me wince. He’s right. I’m here having a pity party when he’s lived through just as much as I have. At least I have people around me I trust. He was thrown into this blind with no idea who he could trust. “I’m sorry, Rye. I wish I could have been there for you.”

“You were there, Paige. It was me that left, so don’t put that guilt on yourself. Besides, this is not about me right now, I shouldn’t have brought that up.” He squeezes my shoulders. “I’m going to make sure you get all the answers you need. I promise.”

“But what if I don’t want it?” I turn to face him, tears stinging my eyes. “What if knowing ruins everything I still have left of them?”

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