I blush, unsure what to say. “I just couldn’t lose him.”
Ronnie steps forward then, eyes softer than I’ve ever seen them. “And that, little Luna, is exactly why it worked.” glance back at Ryder, alive, breathing, smiling faintly even though he looks exhausted.
When the room finally settles, Jake checks the monitors one more time and nods in quiet approval. “He needs rest,” he says softly.
Poppy squeezes my shoulder before stepping away to speak with Ronnie and Leo. Their voices are hushed, but there’s no urgency now, just relief. Parker stays close to Callen, both of them watching over Ryder with that protectiveness I’ve come to love.
When I finally sit in the chair, my legs feel shaky, like the ground might give way beneath me. The adrenaline fades, leaving behind exhaustion so deep it makes my bones ache. Still, I can’t stop touching him, my fingers tracing circles against Ryder’s wrist, feeling the strong, steady pulse beneath his skin.
Callen crouches beside me, his voice low. “You should get some air. He’s stable now.”
“I don’t want to leave him.”
“I’ll stay,” he promises. “I’ll yell if he even twitches.”
There’s warmth in his eyes that reassures me more than any words could. I press a kiss against Ryder’s knuckles, then nod. “Okay. Just for a minute.”
**Paige’s POV **
The small corridor outside the treatment room is quiet and dimly lit. I make it halfway to the door that leads outside before my legs give out, and I slide down the wall, burying my face in my hands.
It’s only when I’m alone that the tears really come. Not deep, painful sobs this time, but quiet, shaking relief. I cry for everything I almost lost, for every moment I thought I’d never get back. For Ryder’s heartbeat that stuttered under my hands, for Callen’s fear, for the helplessness that almost broke me.
“Hey.”
Poppy’s voice comes softly from behind me. I look up to see her leaning against the opposite wall, a small smile tugging at her lips. She slides down until she’s sitting beside me, handing over a tissue.
“You did well in there,” she says gently.
I laugh weakly, wiping my face. “I didn’t even know I could do that.”
“Me either,” she says, resting her head back against the wall. “Though if I’m honest, I think we both could’ve done with a little warning before you decided to announce to the universe that you’re a literal descendant of the Moon Goddess.”
I blink, startled. “What?”
She turns her head to look at me, eyes glinting with amusement despite the exhaustion written across her face. “A Moon Child, Paige. That’s what Ronnie called it, right? You could’ve at least mentioned that part before pulling off divine-level healing.”
Heat creeps up my neck. “I… I wasn’t sure yet,” I admit softly. “And you already had so much to deal with when we first started figuring it out. I didn’t want to add another earth-shattering revelation until I had something more concrete than a maybe. It didn’t feel fair to throw another impossible thing at you when you were already trying to hold everything together.”
Ronnie’s footsteps echo down the hall before I can say more. He stops beside us, raising a brow. “Well, it’s definitely not a maybe anymore,” he says with a grin, crouching down to our level. “Pretty sure what you just pulled off qualifies as divine intervention.”
Poppy laughs under her breath, glancing up at him. “He’s got you there, Paige.”
I groan quietly, scrubbing at my face with my sleeve. “Okay, fine. Maybe I should’ve said something. But it didn’t feel real. It still doesn’t.”
Poppy reaches over, curling her hand around mine. Her touch is warm against my clammy skin. “Hey,” she says gently. “I get it. Honestly, I think I would’ve done the same. You’ve got good instincts, and I trust you. You’ve looked after me all these years, and you’ve never done me wrong yet. You knew what I could handle, and that I wasn’t ready to hear anything else so soon. You don’t need to apologise for that.”
I lean into her, resting my head on her shoulder, so glad that she’s not upset I kept this from her.
“Besides,” she continues, “it wasn’t a massive shock. I already figured something was different about us. I know how rare it is for a human to be fated to a wolf, never mind multiple of them. It’s too much of a coincidence for all of this to be chance.”
Ronnie hums in agreement. “Yeah, I’ve been around a while, and I’ve never seen anything quite like it. We get the occasional human mate here and there but not anything like this.”
Poppy nods. “Exactly, and Leo and Jake have been telling me about old legends lately. About divine bonds and gifts from the Goddess. When they mentioned the Moon Goddess and her chosen children, something about it just… clicked. The term Moon Child felt right. Like I already knew it somehow. So, when you glowed like a freaking sunrise in there, I can’t say I was completely shocked.”
Ronnie chuckles, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “You were both glowing. It scared the hell out of me for a second.”
I let out a weak laugh, wiping at my eyes again. “You’re making it sound like some kind of myth. It’s not like you’ve not seen it before, Jake glows too.”
Ronnie tilts his head, eyes widening. “No, he doesn’t.”
I frown and look at Poppy, who shakes her head slowly.
“I’ve seen it,” I insist. “When he is trying to heal, his hands get this faint glow. I’m not imagining it.”
“I believe you,” Ronnie says with a reassuring smile. “If anyone had the ability to see a gift that comes directly from the Goddess, it would be one of her Moon Children. When things calm down here, I’d love to work with you both to see just how gifted you are, because after what I saw you two do today. I think we’ve only just scratched the surface of what you are capable of.”
“I’m in,” Poppy grins. “But for now, let’s just be grateful for the miracle my sister just pulled off, because honestly, I was about 70% sure Ryder wasn’t coming back from that.”
The lump in my throat grows thicker, and I squeeze her hand. “We saved him,” I whisper. “All of us. I couldn’t have done it alone.”
Ronnie’s expression softens. “You might be right about that,” he says, glancing down the hall toward the closed door of Ryder’s room. “An alpha is only as strong as his pack, and tonight his strength grew in that room.”
We all sit quietly for a moment, letting the gravity of everything that happened settle.
Poppy stands and offers me a hand up, brushing dust from her jeans. “Get some air, then go back in to him. You’ve earned a breather, Moon Child.”
I snort softly at the new nickname, but she’s smiling as she says it, and somehow it doesn’t feel like a label; it feels like belonging. Ronnie follows after her, leaving me alone.
I sit there a little longer, listening to the rain. I close my eyes and let the memories of that first time I saw
Ryder wash through me again, his dark hoodie, the music spilling from his headphones, the way he looked at me like I was something good in a world that had only shown him bad.
Sixteen-year-old me never could’ve imagined how this would all turn out. She didn’t believe in magic and wolves and bonds and miracles, but she would’ve understood this part: love. The way it can break you, heal you, bring you back from the edge.
When I finally push myself up, I take one last steadying breath and head back toward Ryder’s room. I may have saved him tonight, but he’s been saving me since the day we met; it’s just taken me a while to realise
Back in the treatment room, I find Ryder still sleeping. His heartbeat is still steady, and his colour is still good. Across the room, Callen is finally in a bed. He’s propped up, pale but awake. The second he spots me looking at him, that familiar crooked grin spreads across his face.
“Look who finally decided to check in,” he says, patting the bed beside him. “Come here, miracle girl.”
I roll my eyes but go to him anyway, sinking down on the edge of the mattress. “You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I am,” he says innocently, and then, before I can stop him, he tugs me into his lap. “Though if you’re handing out healing sessions, I might put my name on the list.”
I laugh, leaning against his chest. “You’re impossible.”
“I’m charming,” he corrects, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “And grateful. Tonight scared the hell out of me, Paige. My brother might be a grumpy ass sometimes, but I can’t lose him, not when I’ve only just got him back.”
Before I can answer, Parker steps into the room, arms folded and expression somewhere between amusement and warning. “Put her down, Callen. As acting Alpha, I order you to get some sleep.”
Callen groans but releases me reluctantly. “Fine, ruin my fun, but tomorrow when I take back my title, I’m going to spend the day bossing you around.”
Parker rolls his eyes and comes closer, his hand resting gently on my shoulder. “You look exhausted,” he murmurs. “Let me take you home. You need sleep.”
“I can’t,” I say quickly, glancing toward Ryder. “I’m not ready to leave him yet. Or Callen. Not after…”
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