So for him, I’ll marvel at his Lego rockets and kiss scraped knees and pretend that nothing about me is changing. But later, when the house is quiet, and he is asleep and I don’t have to smile anymore… I know the truth will come pouring out.
My body isn’t mine anymore. It belongs to the bond, and no matter how much I love them, no matter how much I try to trust this, doubts gnaw at the back of my mind.
“We need answers,” Ryder says, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Speculation isn’t helping her.”
“There’s someone,” Parker adds, his voice gentler. “A human who mated a wolf years ago.
She and her mate very recently joined our pack. If anyone can explain what’s happening to you, it’s her.”
I bite down on my tongue, holding in the protest rising in my throat. I don’t want to be paraded around like a problem that needs solving. But the truth is, I am a problem right now. The heat I felt earlier hasn’t completely faded, it still lingers under my skin like a pulse, and every time one of them brushes against me, it flares to life. Maybe they’re right, this woman might be the key to understanding what my body is doing.
Remy leans back in his chair, his expression hard. “She lives on the main pack grounds. If we take Paige there, everyone’s going to know.”
His warning makes me go cold. Everyone will know that I’m changing. That I’m something in-between.
I glance up to where I hear Jaxon playing with Callen. He’s oblivious, lost in his own little world, and that’s how I want it to stay.
“Fine,” I say finally, pushing the words out past the lump in my throat. “Let’s go.”
The walk is quiet, with the only real sounds coming from Jaxon as he runs excitedly ahead, stopping whenever he finds something interesting, like a stick that looks like a gun, a rock that catches his eye when it shimmers in the sunlight.
My mates don’t say it out loud, but I can feel the tension radiating from them. They don’t like bringing me into the centre of the pack. I’m not sure if it’s because of how the pack reacted to me last time, or because of my current state.
I’ve seen the pack centre before, but its beauty still takes my breath away. Wood cabins clustered together in neat rows. Wolves lounging on porches. Children darting through the grass and between homes. It looks so friendly and welcoming, except for the subtle way every head turns as we pass.
Ryder picks Jax up, lifting him onto his shoulders. He squeals happily, pulling on Ryder’s ears like reins, blissfully unaware of the stares. We walk as a group. With my mates forming a shield around me, Remy and Ryder at my sides, Parker slightly ahead, and Callen behind us.
Some faces light up with recognition. A few smile and wave at the guys. Others watch silently, their gazes watching me with suspicion.
I pull my jacket tighter around me. I don’t know if it’s my scent they’re reacting to, or the simple fact that I’m human, but the judgment is unmistakable. For a heartbeat, I want to turn and run. To scoop Jaxon into my arms and hide us both from this attention.
But then Jax laughs, tugging Ryder’s hair until he yelps, and I force myself to keep walking. If my son can be fearless, then I can too.
“Stay close,” Remy whispers, his hand moving to the small of my back.
“Is that her?” someone whispers as we pass, sniffing the air.
“But she’s human,” another voice mutters.
“She’s beautiful,” a young woman says softly, smiling at me like I’m not an outsider.
I smile back at her, and if things weren’t so tense, I’d stop to tell her just how much a friendly face means to me right now.
**Paige’s POV **
The woman’s cabin is near the centre of the makeshift village. It’s bigger than I expected, surrounded by flowers that climb the wall in bursts of colour. She’s already on the porch. when we arrive, as though she was expecting us. I assume one of the guys contacted her mate to warn her we were coming. Her warm brown eyes meet mine, and they instantly brighten.
“Paige, right?” She says as she stands from her chair.
I just about manage a nod as my stomach twists, and I don’t know why. She is like me, so I should feel the most comfortable around her, but for some reason I don’t. She’s maybe a little older than me, early thirties, with light brown skin and Jong dark hair braided over her shoulder. She wears jeans and a button-up blouse that shows her figure well.
Behind me, Remy’s hand presses firmer against my back, guiding me forward.
The closer I get, the louder my pulse becomes, until I’m sure everyone can hear it. My body still hums faintly with that lingering heat, my skin prickling under the weight of too many stares. I don’t know if I’m more afraid of her answers or of hearing that there aren’t any.
She steps down from the porch, her smile softening. “It’s okay,” she says softly. Her voice is the kind of calm that makes you want to believe her. “Come on in.”
We follow her inside, the cabin smells like freshly cut wood and roasting meat. She stops in a cosy sitting room, two couches face each other across a low wooden table, an open fireplace sits in the centre of the far wall and I can imagine how homely it would feel on a dark winters night with the fire roaring in here.
“Please take a seat,” she gestures to the couch as we crowd in.
Ryder crouches to Jaxon’s level. “How about you go outside, pup? There are kids your age playing out there.”
Jaxon’s eyes light up. “Can I really?!”
“Come on,” Callen chuckles, ruffling his hair before leading him back toward the door. Remy lingers a moment, his eyes flicking between me and Ryder, before finally nodding and following the others out.
The door closes, and the sudden quiet makes my pulse deafening as it pounds in my ears.
“I’m Cora,” she says warmly, patting the couch opposite hers. “Come, we have a lot to talk about.”
I lower myself onto the cushions, twisting my fingers in my lap. Ryder and Parker don’t sit, they position themselves against the wall by the door like silent guards.
Cora studies me for a long moment, her smile soft but her eyes hold something sad. “You look exactly how I felt the first time I felt something was different. I thought I was going crazy.”
I swallow hard. “Did you…” I pause, unsure if I can even form the words. “Did you go through this?”
Her eyes scan over me, and she nods slowly. “The heat cycle? Yes. Not at first. It took almost a year after I bonded to him, but when it hit, there was no mistaking it. The need. The desperation. It’s like your body is no longer your own.”
A shiver runs down my spine. “How did you deal with it?”
She leans back, her eyes briefly flicking to Ryder and Parker. “Honestly? I fought it at first. I tried to tell myself that I had control. But the bond doesn’t care about what you want to believe. For me, it was terrifying.” She smiles faintly. “Yet, it was also the most intimate thing
I’ve ever experienced, because he never left my side. Not once. He gave me everything I needed without making me feel weak for needing it.”
Her words twist something sharp inside me. My mates have already done the same. I never doubted they would. Ryder and Remy this morning, Parker and Callen clinging on the edge of restraint around me.
I whisper, even though I know my mates can still hear me. “Weren’t you scared he’d see you differently? Like you’re no longer the person you were? That you’re just a broodmare to him now?”
Low growls sound from behind me, but we both ignore them, and her eyes soften. “Every day. I still am, sometimes, but you’ll learn that wolves… they don’t love halfway. Once you’re theirs, you’re theirs. As for feeling like a broodmare, it can feel like that, but you are still human, and that means our bodies don’t reject contraception the way female wolves do.”
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