The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 55

**Paige’s POV **

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Ryder finally stops pacing, his gaze locked on me. I can see so much pain and fury in his

eyes.

He blows out a shaky breath. “Paige, can you take a walk with me outside?”

I nod and take the hand he offers me, letting him pull me up. The night air is cool and fresh and feels good on my flushed face. The moment the door closes behind us, Ryder pulls me

into his arms, hugging me desperately.

“I failed you.” His voice is low and rough. It cuts straight through me. “Both of you. I knew

better than to leave you unprotected. I knew what kind of world this was, and still… I wasn’t

there.”

“Ryder…”

“No!” He pulls back, and my breath catches. His eyes glow faintly, his wolf riding him hard.

Grief and rage war behind his eyes.

“Don’t tell me it isn’t my fault. You were vulnerable because of me. Jaxon was vulnerable

because of me. And he…” Ryder’s chest heaves. “He could have taken everything. He was

right there in your home, in your life, while I was hiding here.”

The anguish in his voice tears at me. This isn’t just guilt… it’s torment, and it’s cracking him.

wide open.

I reach up to cup his cheek, my heart pounding. “Ryder, look at me.”

His gaze locks on mine, fierce and broken all at once.

“You didn’t know,” I whisper. “You didn’t choose this for us.”

“I should have known!” His voice breaks. “I made you a promise seven years ago. I should have found a way back to you, no matter the cost. Instead, I left you to fight a battle you didn’t even know you were in. Alone.”

His words hit me harder than I expected, because I can hear the boy he used to be in them… the young man who swore he’d never leave my side. The teen who said he’d never let anyone hurt me.

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My chest aches. Slowly, I bring up my other hand to rest against his face. His skin is hot, and his eyes are filled with unshed tears. “You’re here now, when we need you the most. That’s

what matters.”

Ryder shakes his head, eyes closing tight as if he can’t bear to look at me. A tear escapes, wetting my hand.

“I can’t forgive myself for what he did to you,” he whispers. “For what he could have done to

our son.”

“You don’t have to forgive yourself tonight,” I say softly. “But you don’t get to carry this alone.

Not when we’re all here. Not when I’m here.”

Something in him shatters then. His arms wrap around me again, holding me fiercely, like he’s afraid I’ll vanish if he lets go. His body shakes against mine, silent tremors at first, then

harsher as the sobs he’s been burying for years finally claw their way out.

My own eyes sting until I can’t hold back the tears any longer; my throat tightens as I hold

him tighter. Behind me, I hear the door creak open. Callen quietly moves closer, resting a

steadying hand on his brother’s shoulder. Parker comes next, his presence anchoring me as

he comes to our side, calm and sure. Remy doesn’t move in close; instead, he stands on the

edge of the porch, his gaze steady and protective, as he watches over us all.

We stay like that, Ryder unravelling in my arms, surrounded by the only people who can piece us back together. There is no judgement from the others, despite their Alpha breaking down

in front of them. They don’t see it as a weakness. I realise then that this is what it means to

be a pack. It’s more than just a community; it’s love, support and an unspoken promise that

none of us will ever carry our burdens alone. No matter how fractured we’ve been, no matter

the mistakes or scars, we hold each other together. Pack is family, and now I’m a part of it

too.

Ryder’s sobs fade slowly. His grip loosens, but he doesn’t let me go entirely; he rests his

forehead against mine like he needs the contact to ground himself. His breathing becoming

steady now.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers hoarsely, though I know he isn’t just apologising for tonight. He’s

apologising for the years, for his absence, for the scars I didn’t even realise Greg left until

Remy pointed them out.

I brush my fingers along his jaw, coaxing him to look at me. “Don’t apologise for breaking down, Rye. You needed this.”

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He closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them again, there’s still torment there, but also something else. Determination. A spark of the man I remember, the one who refused to let the world win, no matter how much it tried to beat him down.

Callen squeezes his shoulder before letting go, moving back to sit down. Ryder straightens slowly, swiping a hand across his face. He doesn’t hide the evidence of tears, though. He meets the others‘ gazes, squaring his shoulders like he’s bracing for the next blow.

Remy is the first to speak. “Now that we know what Greg could be, we can’t leave this hanging. Hunters don’t act without purpose. If he’s still out there, he won’t stop watching.

And if he’s not… then we need to know who he reported to.”

Parker nods, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “Agreed. Step one is

information. We need to dig into his background… we need to know where he came from,

who he is connected to. Hunters leave trails if you know what to look for.”

My stomach twists. “And if he is one of them? If he was only with me to monitor Jaxon…”

The words catch in my throat.

“Then we deal with it,” Ryder says, his voice steadier now, though rough. He looks at me as if

he’s making a vow. “No matter what it takes.”

“Paige, do you have a photo of him? I’d like to check if any of the pack recognise him,” Parker

asks.

I nod. “On my phone, yes, but why would anyone recognise him?”

“Because he could have been in one of the groups that attacked us.”

“You mean he could be dead?” I ask bluntly.

“Yes,” Parker sighs.

The thought that he could be dead leaves me with a strange feeling. Greg is still my husband.

I spent years loving him, and although I might not like him anymore, all those feelings and

memories don’t just go away because I left him. I’ve barely had time to process our

separation with everything else that has been going on, and now that I know he could be the enemy, or dead, I just feel a numbness.

But beneath the numbness is a tangle I don’t know how to unravel. Greg wasn’t always cruel.

There were nights he made me laugh so hard my ribs ached, mornings when he kissed my forehead before work, times I thought he truly loved me. Those memories clash violently with the truth of what I know now; that maybe all of it was a mask, a role he played to keep me

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blind. Ye, how do you erase years of believing you mattered to someone? How do you separate the man who held Jaxon as a baby from the man who might have been watching us

for the hunters all along?

Part of me grieves what I thought we had, while another part burns with anger that I was too

naïve to see the truth. And somewhere in the middle, there’s a hollow ache, because I don’t

know which version of Greg was real, or if either of them ever were.

“We will keep patrols tight near the borders. If Greg or any hunters are watching, they’ll be

looking for an opening. And if they know about Paige and Jaxon, we can’t risk them getting

close.”

Remy nods in agreement. “I’ll continue to take extra patrols. We need to act like they’re

already out there.”

“Which means,” Parker adds, glancing toward me, “Paige and Jax should never be alone, even

in the house. At least one of us needs to be with them at all times. Not until we have

eliminated the threat.”

I bristle at their words. “I don’t want Jaxon to feel like he’s locked in a cage.”

“You won’t be,” Ryder says quickly, softer this time. “But if Greg was what we think, then both

of you were targets long before we realised it. We can’t risk you out in the open without

backup.”

It feels suffocating. But the way Ryder’s hand finds mine, the way his eyes hold mine with a plea in them, makes it harder to argue.

Not because I don’t want my freedom, but because I don’t want to risk Jaxon’s safety.

“What about Jaxon?” I ask quietly. “What do we tell him?”

The question makes them all pause.

“Nothing yet,” Callen finally says, measured. “He’s a kid. He doesn’t need to carry this weight until we have proof. Let him keep his innocence a little longer.”

Relief washes over me. “Good,” I murmur. “He deserves that much.”

Ryder exhales slowly, his shoulders relaxing at last. He looks around at all of us, his gaze lingering on his brother, then Parker, then

Remy. “So we agree. Patrols remain tightened. We dig into Greg’s past, and we don’t let Paige or Jaxon out of our sight until we know the truth.”

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<Chapter 55

No one argues.

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The decision isn’t perfect. It isn’t even a solution, not yet, but it’s something. A plan, a way

forward.

I lean back against Ryder, his hand still warm around mine. For the first time since Greg’s

name was spoken aloud, I let myself breathe a little easier. No matter what the outcome, I know these men are in this with me, and they’ll protect my son at all costs.

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