**Paige’s POV **
By late afternoon, the tension of the meeting and knowing we have a traitor fades into a slight niggling at the back of my mind. We take Jaxon down to the pond for a while. The water ripples softly with the slightest breeze. Jax crouches at the edge, poking at the mud with a stick while he tells me in great detail how he’s going to build a frog hotel.
“Look! There’s frogspawn!” he cries, pointing. “They look like little jelly bubbles! There are loads of them!”
I lean down beside him, smiling as the light catches the water. “You’re right. That means they’ll turn into tadpoles soon.”
He frowns, serious as ever. “But where are their mummy and daddy?”
“I’m sure they’re around, bud,” Ryder says, coming to crouch beside us.
Jaxon stands, placing his hands on his hips and scanning the pond. “Maybe they’re out on patrol, keeping the eggs safe from baddies.”
I laugh, ruffling his hair. “I bet you’re right.”
For half an hour, we sit there. Jaxon chats away about every discovery he makes as I help him make a line of small stones he’s collected for the frogs’ path. It’s nice being out here, doing something so… human, with him.
“Hey, frog-catchers,” he calls from the other side of the pond. “You ready to head back for dinner? Uncle Cal has made fajitas.”
Jaxon jumps up, hungry as usual. “Do I like those, Mummy?”
“Yes, we had them…” I stop myself, choosing my next words carefully because I don’t want to bring Greg up, especially not today. “At a party once.”
Ryder meets us halfway around the pond, his eyes softening when they land on Jax. “You’ve got mud everywhere,” he laughs, and Jaxon grins proudly before running off ahead on the path back.”
Ryder wraps an arm around my shoulders and kisses my temple as we follow after him. Callen wants to start the first round of Rumour Roulette after dinner,” he whispers. “We’re going to take Jax with us into the main pack. That way whoever I speak to won’t get suspicious when I speak to them through the mind-link, they’ll think I’m just trying to keep it a surprise from Jaxon, rather than making sure no one else overhears.”
I nod, my heart thudding. “You’re sure it’s safe?”
“Yes, we are surrounded by pack. No one is stupid enough to make a move in the centre like that.” His hand brushes down my arm. “Parker’s taking Poppy to the healer’s cabin. She wants to spend the night with Leo and Jake. Remy’s staying here to keep you company.”
That makes something flutter in my chest. “Okay. Just… be careful.”
Ryder presses a kiss to my forehead. “Always.”
Dinner is chaos, and then before I know it, Poppy and Parker are gone with Ryder, Callen and Jax following closely behind them. I watch until they vanish into the trees before I step back inside.
The house feels too quiet without them all here. I find Remy in the kitchen, leaning against the island with a can of Coke in one hand. The early evening sunlight through the window highlights his stubble, giving him a ruggedly handsome edge.
“Hey,” he says, offering me a small smile.
“Hey,” I smile back.
“Is it me, or has today been the longest day ever?” He sighs.
“Yep, and it’s still not over yet,” I grin sarcastically, “But we are all alive and healthy so we can’t complain.”
“We can be grateful for that, but that doesn’t mean we can’t complain too. How are you doing with it all?”
The question catches me off guard. He’s watching me closely, his eyes intense, like he’s looking for something deeper than the easy answer.
“I’m fine,” I say automatically.
He tilts his head. “You sure about that?”
My lips part, but nothing comes out. I glance away, my fingers tracing the marbled countertop. “I keep telling myself I am,” I admit finally. “But every time I think about Greg, or the hunters, or the fact that someone here might be helping them, my stomach turns. I just want it to be over. For Jax to be safe. For all of us to stop looking over our shoulders.”
Remy nods slowly. “That’s a normal way to feel. Just remember you don’t always need to put a brave face on. It’s okay not to be okay sometimes.”
I huff a small laugh. “Look who’s talking. You’re the king of masking how you really feel.”
“I don’t mean to.” He moves to the chair across from me. “I think that’s what draws everyone to you. You make the rest of us remember what it means to feel things, real things. Fear, hope, love. You don’t need to hide any of it around us.”
His eye catches mine, and my chest tightens. “You don’t need to either,” I say softly.
He gives a little shrug, eyes flicking to the window. “Old habits. You spend enough years being told to keep everything hidden away, eventually you forget how to let it out.”
“Remy…” I whisper. “You can, though. With us. With me.”
He looks at me then, and for a heartbeat, all the walls I’ve ever seen around him crack. His smile is small and sad, but real. “I know,” he says. “And I’m trying. That’s what scares me, if
I’m honest.”
“What does?”
He hesitates, then sighs, his fingers drumming lightly on the table. “I’ve spent my life protecting other people. My brother, the pack. Callen and Ryder. I’m the one who fixes things, who holds the line when everything else falls apart. But you…” His voice dips lower to almost a whisper. “You make me want things I didn’t think I could have. A home. A family. Peace.”
I blink, the warmth rising in my chest catching me off guard. “Remy…”
He shakes his head, not to stop me, just to finish. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t need reassurance. I already know my place is here, but I need you to know yours is too. I just need you to know that I see you, Paige. Not just a mate. Not the Luna. Not a mother fighting for her child. Just you, and I think you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.”
His words break something open inside of me, and I can’t speak. I stand and move around the island, stopping in front of him. He doesn’t move, just looks up at me, waiting.
I place my hands on either side of his face, my thumbs brushing his jaw. “Thank you, that’s exactly what I needed to hear today,” I whisper.
“I said the right thing?” He huffs out a soft laugh. “That’s a first.”
“It’s not just the right words,” I say, “it’s the way you mean them.”
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