The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 118

<Chapter 118

Chapter 118

**Paige’s POV **

+25 Points>

When we finally dress and head back downstairs, we find Parker sitting at the kitchen island nursing a bottle of beer. His gaze lifts to look at us as we walk into the kitchen, a small, knowing smile on his lips.

“How long have you been back?” I ask him.

“Long enough,” both he and Remy answer in unison.

I shake my head at their weird twin telepathy, or whatever it is that makes them. Sync in a way that is sometimes freaky to see. Sometimes I get jealous that my mates have twins. I love my sister deeply, and I wish I had that twin connection with her.

“Everything okay with Poppy?” I ask Parker as I take a seat beside him.

“Yeah,” he nods. “She’s already feeling the pull of the mate bond. The moment she saw Leo and Jake, she was practically glowing. She’s going to accept them, Paige, I can already see it.

“That’s good, right? Or will it cause more problems for the pack?”

“Why would it cause problems?” Remy asks, taking the seat next to me so I’m sandwiched between the brothers.

“Because she’s human, or… not werewolf, some of the pack are already angry about me stealing their men. I assume they’ll be even more pissed when they find out my sister has bagged another two of their males,” I shrug.

Remy covers my hand on the tabletop, squeezing it as he speaks. “You didn’t steal anyone, and neither did she, because you can’t steal what fate decided was yours before you were even conceived. If you hadn’t found us, we would never have been mated, so you took nothing from anyone.”

I frown. “I thought you could choose a mate if you didn’t find your fated one?”

“We can,” Parker answers this time. “But most don’t choose that option unless it’s to produce an alpha heir. When our kind take a chosen mate, fate quite often likes to interfere, and our fated mate seems to pop up, sometimes in people we least expect. Then it gets complicated, and very messy. So, unless we fall madly in love with someone, or a mating is needed to continue the pack, we tend to avoid it.”

“Makes sense,” I nod, but I can’t help the bitter thought of Callen and Ryder choosing a mate

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to create an heir if I hadn’t found them when I did.

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Sensing where my thoughts are headed, Remy changes the subject, asking me what Ryder was like in college. Soon we are all laughing as I tell them stories from our college days.

When the front door creaks open an hour later, Remy squeezes my hand once before letting go. Ryder and Callen step in. Jaxon’s small arms are wrapped around Ryder’s neck as he clings to his back, and he lifts his head to look at me with a tired smile.

“Hi Mummy,” he says, following it with a big yawn.

“Hey, sleepyhead. Did you have fun?” I ask, standing to go help him down.

“Yes, we went to see some of the pack, and Uncle Cal told me stories about the Moon

Goddess.”

“And I promised another story before sleep, so I guess I’m on bedtime duty tonight,” Callen

grins.

“Can I come? I love hearing stories about the goddess,” I ask.

“Sure, but this little mud monster probably needs a bath before bed,” Callen laughs, ruffling

Jaxon’s hair.

“I’ll get the bath running,” Remy says, standing and heading to the bathroom.

“How about some warm milk before bed too?” Parker asks, and Jaxon nods, his eyes brightening a little as he follows Parker to the fridge.

“I’ll go fetch his pyjamas,” Callen calls over his shoulder, already halfway up the stairs, leaving me and Ryder standing alone.

“You know, looking after kids is so much easier than I expected,” he teases as he watches everyone rally around our son.

“Yeah, with a whole team helping out, I feel kind of useless,” I laugh.

“You’re not useless. You did all this alone for years. I just hope you’re okay with us all being

so involved.”

I think about it for a second before nodding. “I like it, and Jaxon clearly loves this much attention. This feels like a real family.”

“It is a real family, this is how it should have been from the start,” he says, pulling me into a hug.

I let him hold me for a moment, just breathing him in and letting him feel how much I love

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him, and how much I love what we are building here. Our family.

“Any trouble out there?” I ask, pulling back enough to look up at him.

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Ryder shakes his head. “Not yet. The first round went smoothly. Now we wait to see which rumour grows legs.”

Callen walks back downstairs with Jaxon’s Pyjamas in his hand and a smirk on his face, clearly pleased with himself. “Told you it’d work. The bait’s been set. Now we watch and wait.

Ryder rolls his eyes, but there’s faint amusement there too.

Half an hour later, I crawl into Jaxon’s bed beside Callen. Jaxon rests his head on Callen’s

chest, and I follow suit. Callen wraps an arm around both of us, and his voice drops low as he starts his story.

Callen’s voice is like a lullaby, low and soothing. Jaxon’s breathing evens out first, the little rise and fall of his chest pressed against Callen’s side; he still has the faint scent of shampoo and soap on him.

I don’t even remember when my eyes close. One second, Callen’s voice is painting pictures of the Moon Goddess, her pearly white hair glowing brighter than the stars, and the next, that glow fills the darkness behind my eyelids.

It feels like I’m still listening to him, but his voice fades, replaced by something softer, and strangely familiar.

I open my eyes and find myself standing barefoot in a clearing bathed in soft, silvery moonlight. The trees surrounding me sway in a wind that doesn’t touch my skin. Every leaf glimmers faintly, and above me there’s a moon so big and luminous it steals my breath.

“You’ve finally come,” a melodic voice says behind me.

I turn, and she’s there. The Moon Goddess.

Her beauty isn’t the kind that makes you stare. It’s the kind that makes you want to fall to your knees. Her hair looks as though it’s made of moonlight, her eyes shimmer in a crystal blue, and her skin glows faintly.

“I…” My voice catches. “I was just listening to a story about you.”

Her lips curve in a smile that fills me with warmth. “You always were a good listener, Paige.”

Hearing my name from her lips sends a shiver through me. “You… know me?”

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“Of course I do.” She steps closer, her feet barely touching the grass. “You are one of mine. One of my Moon Children. My gift to the world, even if you do not yet understand what that means.”

“I’m human,” I whisper, because that’s what I’ve told myself over and over, even as everything around me keeps proving otherwise.

The Goddess’s eyes soften. “You are more. Human by birth, perhaps. But your soul, your light, belongs to me. You carry something within you that will change the fate of many.”

I swallow hard, my heart pounding in my chest. “Change how?”

She smiles again, but there’s something bittersweet in it. “You are the start of something new, Paige. The bridge between worlds long divided. My children have wandered for too long, lost to fear and hatred. You will be the spark that shows them another way.”

A pulse of light spreads outward from her hand, touching my chest. It’s warm, almost alive, like it’s sinking into me.

“I don’t understand,” I whisper.

“You don’t have to, not yet.” She reaches out, brushing her fingertips along my cheek. The touch feels cool but warm at the same time. “When the time comes, you will know what to do. Trust your heart, and trust those bound to it. You are not alone, my child.”

Her voice softens, fading with every word. “Remember, even in darkness, my light will find

you.”

The clearing dissolves around me, mist filling it until it fades completely. Then there’s

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