“His blood’s still fighting the toxin,” Poppy says after checking the monitors. “But it’s slower now, which is good. The transfusion’s buying us time.”
“How much time?” Parker asks.
Poppy meets his eyes. “Enough to pray it’s enough.”
Parker looks between me, Ryder and Callen before holding out his arm. “Give him some of mine,” he demands.
“It could do more harm than good,” Jake says quietly. “He needs Alpha blood, Beta blood might only weaken him further.”
“Isn’t any blood better than none?” He asks.
“Yes, but right now he has enough Alpha blood to help him fight.” Jake explains. “If he needs more before Callen recovers, then we will consider it.”
Parker nods, but I can see his frustration at not being able to help, and I understand it because I feel just as useless. I hold out a hand to him, and he takes it, stepping closer, the three of us huddled together beside Rye, watching and waiting.
The silence that follows is unbearable. The cabin feels too small, too full of fear and tension and the faint beep of monitors. I reach for Ryder’s hand again, brushing my thumb over his knuckles.
He’s still so pale. But when I focus, I swear I can feel him somewhere deep inside the bond, a faint pulse of warmth, of stubbornness. Like he’s fighting.
“I think he’s holding on,” I whisper. “I can feel it.”
Poppy looks at me, her expression softening. “Then keep talking to him. He’ll need every reason to fight.”
So I do. I talk about Jaxon, about the pack, about how he still owes me a proper date that doesn’t involve blood or danger or yelling. I tell him about how I thought Callen was him the first time I saw him, and how I was trying to find a way to ask him if he had a twin brother without being direct in case he didn’t know, which seems so silly now. Anything to keep him hearing the sound of my voice.
I sit at Ryder’s side, tracing faint circles over the back of his hand. His skin feels slightly warmer now, but his breathing is still uneven, and too slow for my liking. Poppy keeps glancing at the readings, and every few minutes she adjusts something, muttering under her breath.
Callen hasn’t left the chair. He’s still pale and sweating from the blood loss, but he refuses to lie down no matter how many times we try to make him. There’s a strong streak of stubbornness in both brothers, and it’s one of the many things that terrifies me about loving them.
The door bursts open so hard it bangs against the wall, and I jump.
“Where is he?”
Ronnie’s voice booms through the room, thick with panic. His eyes sweep over us until they land on the bed, and all the colour drains from his face. “Oh, Goddess.”
He’s across the room in seconds, pushing past Parker and Jake to stand beside Ryder’s bed. For a moment, he just stares at him with glassy eyes. “What the hell happened?”
“He found some of the hunter’s paraphernalia,” Callen answers hoarsely. “Some new kind of poison that’s messing with his healing.”
Ronnie’s hands tremble as he brushes Ryder’s hair back from his forehead. The movement is gentle and fatherly. “He looks half-gone.”
“He was,” Poppy says quietly. “Still might be if we can’t flush the rest of it.”
Ronnie turns to look at her, at Callen, and then finally at me. His eyes are wild, desperate. You’re just sitting here waiting for him to die?”
Parker steps forward, his tone low and warning. “Careful.”
Ronnie shakes his head, ignoring him. “No, you don’t get it. Paige, you…” He stops, swallowing hard, and I can see the war inside him. “Have you even tried to heal him?”
Every head turns toward me.
“Excuse me?” I manage after a moment, blinking at him. “What are you talking about?”
Ronnie stares like I’ve just said something insane. “You’re a Moon Child, Paige. You’re her descendant.”
I blink again, completely lost. “And that means… what exactly?”
He looks around the room, incredulous. “Do none of you listen to me?”
“s**t,” Callen curses at the same time I realise what he’s talking about, not that it helps, because we still don’t know what I am or what I can do.
“Someone explain,” Poppy demands.
“Moon Children can heal,” Ronnie says, his voice rising. “Not like regular healers. It’s rare, but their energy, especially when tied to their mates, can spark regeneration. You said the poison’s messing with Ryder’s healing, right? Then, you need to override it. Paige could do that.”
I stare at him, stunned. “Ronnie, I don’t even know what that means. I’m not magic.”
Callen snorts softly under his breath. “Sweetheart, you’re mated to four wolves, and you put. My on my ass last week, how can you think you’re not magic?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. The room feels smaller now, full of everyone’s eyes on me, hope and disbelief mixing with exhaustion and fear.
Jake clears his throat. “Ronnie’s right about one thing. Moon Child bloodlines sometimes manifest healing gifts, though it’s rare. Usually triggered by emotional bonds or desperation.” His tone is calm, but there’s curiosity there too. “As his mate, there’s a chance her energy could bridge the gap.”
“So, what, you want me to just… will him better?” I ask. “That’s ridiculous.”
Ronnie steps closer, his gaze steady but pleading. “It’s worth trying. If you’re connected to him, you can reach him. Your energy might be the one thing that breaks the toxin’s hold.”
I look down at Ryder. His chest rises and falls shallowly, his lips faintly parted, the faintest tinge of colour starting to creep back into his cheeks. He looks peaceful, like he’s sleeping, but I can feel the struggle under the surface. The weak pulse of the bond between us trembles in my chest.
What if they’re wrong? What if I make it worse?
As if sensing my hesitation, Callen reaches out and takes my free hand. “If there’s even a chance it helps, Paige, you should try.”
Poppy nods from the other side. “I’ve seen so many unimaginable things happen here in the last few days that I believe it’s possible. If anyone can perform a miracle, it’s my sister.”
Her words warm me, and I glance around the room, at everyone’s faces. Callen’s quiet encouragement, Parker’s hope mixed with fear, Jake’s calm, Ronnie’s desperate certainty. They all believe I can do something I’ve never even considered possible, and the thought of losing Ryder when there might be something, anything I can do, is unbearable.
“Okay,” I whisper. “Tell me what to do.”
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