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 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 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.
The second they touch, the shift in the room is instant.
I feel it like static in the air, a charge that raises the hair on my arms. Poppy gasps, her eyes flying wide as her body arches against his hold, like something invisible has just snapped inside her. Jake stiffens, his breath leaving him in a low, guttural sound.
“Mine,” he growls, the word vibrating from somewhere deep inside.
Poppy goes limp in his arms.
Leo’s face is a mask of horror, his body swaying as if he’s been shot again. His wolf flashes in his eyes, grief and fury tangled together.
“s**t,” Parker mutters under his breath, stepping forward, his jaw tight.
Paige’s hand flies to her mouth.
Jake holds Poppy against him, cradling her like she’s breakable. His eyes lift slowly, meeting mine, and what I see there sends another jolt through me. It’s possession and absolute certainty. Jake is no fighter, but his eyes are a warning, clear as day: try to take her, and I’ll fight you.
Poppy has two unrelated mates who aren’t even close friends. The worst kind of complication.
“I need to get her on the bed,” Jake says, his voice low but steady now, all trace of the growl gone. “She’s in shock.”
Leo is already moving, staggering forward despite the healer’s command. “No.” His voice cracks. “She’s mine. You don’t…”
“Leo,” I snap, shoving authority into my tone. “Stop. Now.”
He freezes, his chest heaving. His wolf pushes for control, but the command holds, at least for the moment.
I move closer, ready to step between them if I have to. My wolf is pacing, uneasy, caught between instincts. Protect the human, restrain the pack mate, don’t let this explode.
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