He steps closer, so close that I have to tilt my head back to keep his gaze. “You are,” he says. “And now I have to protect you like one.”
Something in his tone makes my pulse stutter. “Ryder…”
His hand lifts, brushing a strand of hair from my face, fingers tracing my jaw. “If what Ronnie said is true, there are people who’d kill for the power you carry. I can’t let that happen. Not to you. Not to Poppy. Not to Jaxon.”
I swallow hard, feeling my throat tighten. “You can’t protect everyone all the time.”
He leans in slightly, his breath warm against my skin. “Watch me.”
$29 Pouts
For a moment, neither of us moves. The air hums between us, charged with too many unspoken things. Then I take a slow breath and let my forehead rest against his chest. His arm moves around me, pulling me close until I can feel the steady rhythm of his heart against mine.
“I don’t want this to change anything,” I whisper. “I just want to be me.”
“You are,” he says softly, pressing his lips to the top of my head. “You always were. The blood. doesn’t define you, it just explains why you shine the way you do.”
I close my eyes, letting the words sink in. The tension that’s been coiled in my body all evening starts to loosen. For a little while, it’s just the two of us.
When I finally speak again, my voice is quiet. “Do you think… if I really am one of these Moon Children, that’s why we were drawn together all those years ago? Because somewhere deep down, you already recognised what I was?”
He exhales slowly, his chin resting on the top of my head. “No,” he murmurs. “Back then, we were both human. What I recognised wasn’t your power, it was you. We were soulmates even then, but it wasn’t our time. We both had to grow. I had to find the others who belonged to you and learn how to protect you before the bond could awaken your dormant gifts.”
He tilts my face up, his gaze soft. “Fate waited until I was ready, until I was strong enough to keep safe what you’d become.”
Something inside me likes that. Maybe he’s right. Maybe all the chaos and pain that brought me here weren’t accidents. Maybe it was leading me toward this, toward them.
** Ryder’s POV **
The more I think about it, the more I believe it. Everything we’ve been through, the chaos, the losses, the way fate pushed us together, then apart, and then back together again, isn’t random at all. I think it’s all playing out exactly the way it was meant to, even if some of it feels cruel.
Paige’s eyes linger on mine, full of questions and quiet strength, and I can feel it again, the pull that started years ago and never really let me go, it’s not anything supernatural, it’s just her. I brush my thumb over her cheek, loving the way she leans into my touch. That simple, instinctive movement hits deeper than I expect.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” I murmur.
Her lips part, a soft breath escaping, and that’s all it takes for my restraint to start fraying. The world outside, the hunters, the danger, the unknowns, it all fades to background noise. What’s left is her, standing in the moonlight, looking at me like I’m something worth believing in.
“Come on,” I say quietly, taking her hand. “You need rest.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but I give her fingers a gentle tug and start leading her upstairs. Her steps are slow behind me, her pulse racing. I can hear it, feel it, matching my own. By the time we reach the bedroom, the air between us feels charged.
When she turns to face me, the moonlight catches in her hair. I reach out, tucking a strand behind her ear. “I should apologise,” I tell her softly.
“For what?”
I give her a faint, teasing smile. “You’re not getting the full four-mate experience tonight.” Her brows lift, amusement flashing in her eyes. “Oh, I forgot about that promise.”
I step closer until she has to tilt her head back to keep my gaze. “I didn’t; I was thinking about it for hours,” I admit. “But patrol schedules got shifted. Callen and Remy are out with Ronnie, which means you’re stuck with just me for now.” My voice drops lower. “Think you can manage that?”
She laughs quietly. “I think I’ll survive.”
I lean in, my mouth brushing against her ear. “Soon,” I whisper. “Soon you’ll have all of us. I hope you’re ready for that, Paige, because when it happens…” I let the sentence trail off, letting the promise hang between us.
Her breath catches. “That sounds like a warning.”
“Maybe it is.”
Her hands slide up my chest. “Then I guess I should start preparing.”
I groan softly as she pulls me closer, her warmth pressing against mine. The kiss starts slow and cautious, then deepens, all the things we’ve been holding back spilling into it. I don’t know how long we stand there, lost in the rhythm of it, but when I finally lift my head, her lips are parted and her eyes are dark.
The sound of the front door closing downstairs breaks the moment. Footsteps, steady and familiar, move through the house.
A low voice drifts up the hall. “I heard we have to wear you out if we want you to get any rest tonight.”
Paige laughs against my chest, and I can’t help but grin. “You’re supposed to be on a run,” I call toward the doorway.
Parker appears shirtless, hair damp from the night air, and the look he gives Paige makes the air shift again, hotter this time, charged in a different way.
“Changed my mind,” he says, leaning casually against the doorframe. “Figured I’d help here.” Paige glances between us, her cheeks flushed, and eyes bright with something that looks a lot like anticipation. I reach for her hand again, lacing our fingers together.
“You really should rest,” I murmur, leaning down to press a kiss to her throat. “But I know your mind and how much you are going to overthink everything, so maybe we can help quiet it.”
Her pulse jumps beneath my lips. “Maybe,” she whispers, as her lust washes over me like a tidal wave, stealing my breath and my c**k instantly hardens. Filthy thoughts of everything I want to do to my beautiful mate run through my mind.
Parker moves in behind her, and her breath catches as his hands trail gently down her sides, stopping at the hem of her T-shirt before pulling it up over her head. I watch the goosebumps rise on her skin as my eyes take in her perfect body. I love every inch of this woman.
My gaze lands on her pink n*****s, barely visible behind the black lace bra. I can’t stop myself. I lean down, catching one of the sensitive buds gently between my teeth.
“Rye,” she gasps, and I almost groan at the way she says my name like that.
My hand comes up to cup her other breast, my thumb teasing her other n****e through the fabric as Parker slowly peels her leggings and underwear off in one. Her scent hits me harder then, a sweet musk that drives my wolf wild.
I step back, watching her while I calm down.
Parker releases the clasp on her bra and pushes it from her shoulders, and her breasts spill free. His eyes meet mine over her shoulder, silently seeking permission to touch her first. I don’t like that.
“When it comes to her, we are not Alpha and Beta; we are equal,” I tell him through the mind-link.
The words break his control, and he doesn’t hesitate. He spins her, so her back is now to me, giving me a wonderful view of her ass. He kisses her whilst slowly guiding her to the bed. I pull my shirt over my head, tossing it to the floor, and shove down my shorts before stepping out of them.
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