“Remember, children, we need to stay quiet, so our enforcers can focus on the surrounding sounds. This is just practice, like we’ve done before, so don’t be scared,” Regina says, her tone so soft and calm that I almost believe her, too.
“What’s an enforcer?” Jax asks.
Ronnie crouches in front of him. “Hi, Jaxon. I’m Ronnie, and I’m so happy to meet you. Your dad has told me so much about you. Enforcers are like soldiers, and you’ve been chosen to help train them. So we need you to keep really quiet so they can practice. Once we get back to the house, you can ask your questions, but for now, we need you to be silent. Can you do that?”
“Yes, sir,” Jax nods, taking his role very seriously and saluting Ronnie.
Ronnie salutes back at him before ruffling his hair and standing with a smile.
We start moving as a group; me, Jaxon, Regina, six kids, and the tight formation of enforcers around us. Parker keeps pace beside me and Ronnie walks directly behind Jaxon as if shielding him.
The walk to Ryder’s cabin feels longer than it should. Every snapped twig and rustling bush makes pulse jump. The tense silence just makes me more nervous, and I have to fight the urge to speak just to break the tension. Just when it starts to become too much, Parker’s hand brushes against mine. The brief touch calming me more than words could.
When we finally see the cabin through the trees, I almost cry again because Ryder is standing on the porch, waiting.
He looks rough. He’s shirtless with dirt and blood streaked across his skin, but when his eyes land on me, something fierce and warm lights inside him. His shoulders drop just a little and his jaw unclenches.
He comes down the steps in three quick strides, pulling us both into his arms. One around me. One around Jaxon. His body trembles with tension as he exhales into my hair.
“Thank the moon,” he breathes. “You’re here.”
Jaxon wiggles between us. “Daddy?”
“I’m here, buddy.” Ryder presses a kiss to the top of his head, then one to my temple.
“How bad is he?” I whisper.
He doesn’t answer right away.
“He’s alive,” Ryder finally says. “That’s what matters.”
I nod, because I don’t know what else to do. If I let myself think about it, about Callen, I’ll fall apart.
Ronnie clears his throat behind us. “The perimeter’s set. I’ve got three guards rotating outside, two on the back windows, one in the trees. Anyone comes close, we’ll know”
“Thank you,” Ryder says. “Get the rest of the kids home. I’ll meet you back at the healers soon.”
Ronnie nods and jogs to catch up with the group while Parker flops down in a chair on the porch.
“Daddy, what have you been doing? You’re all dirty. I think you need a swim in the big bath,” Jaxon says, as he studies Ryder with a wrinkled nose.
Ryder lets out a laugh that’s half amused, half exhausted. “Yeah, I do”
Jaxon nods seriously. “And lots of soap.”
I smile, the tightness in my chest easing for the first time all afternoon. There are still questions, still danger, but we’re safe for now.
Ryder catches my eye, his fingers brushing mine. “Come inside.”
I follow him in, with Jaxon skipping between us, talking excitedly about his training mission with the soldiers and Parker at my back.
I hope with everything in me that Callen and Remy will be back with us soon.
** Remy’s POV **
Callen hasn’t opened his eyes in over five hours.
More Pewards >
His skin is grey, his breathing too shallow, and waves of tremors plague his whole body. The healers say it’s the wolfsbane working its way out of his system, that it’s reacting to the antidote and Ryder’s blood the way it’s supposed to, but I’m not convinced. He looks like he’s hanging on by the thinnest f*cking thread, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to snap.
I sit beside his bed, my hands clenched so tightly that my bones ache. There’s a smear of dried blood on my chest and arm. I don’t remember whose it is, maybe a hunter’s, maybe mine, but I can’t bring myself to wash it off. Not yet. Not while Callen looks like this.
Ryder is outside, getting some air before he gives Callen more blood. He’s trying to stay calm for Paige and Jaxon, but I can see how worked up he is. Parker’s probably pacing the damn perimeter or guarding the porch, making sure Paige is safe. But me? I’m here. Sitting and watching the man I love slowly fade away, and it’s killing me.
I should’ve been with him. He called for help, and by the time I got there, it was almost too late. There was blood everywhere. Callen’s blood. They’d bound him, beat him, and shot poison in his veins. The look in his eyes when we found him, it wasn’t fear. It was relief and resignation. He knew dying was a real possibility.
I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek until I taste blood, just to stop myself from screaming, from breaking something, from waking him up by sheer force of will. Someone had to have led those hunters to him, and I want to know who.
I keep circling the same question in my mind, over and over… How the hell did they find us?
We’ve been careful. Taken every precaution. The town’s off-grid and protected, and our people know better than to slip up, even the pups. Yet, the hunters knew exactly where Callen would be. Exactly when to strike.
There’s only one thing that has changed.
Paige.
I clench my jaw and close my eyes, instantly hating myself for returning to that thought, but it’s there, refusing to be ignored.
It’s not her fault. I know that. I don’t know her, but I do know Paige would never willingly put her son in danger, not after everything she’s been through. She’s brave, she’s protective, and she’d throw herself in front of a bullet before letting Jaxon get hurt.
But what if she didn’t have a choice?
What if the hunters have been following her this whole time? What if they knew what Jaxon was? And have been watching and waiting. Tracking her movements from a distance until she unknowingly led them right to us. Or maybe they’ve been using her, threatening Jaxon, holding something over her head.
I rake a hand through my hair, trying to keep myself calm. The worst part is, I don’t even know who I’m angry at. The hunters. Myself. The universe. Paige.
Callen stirs beside me, a low, pained sound slipping from his throat. My body jerks forward before I can even think, my hand reaching for his. His fingers twitch in mine, cold and clammy.
“Hey,” I whisper. “It’s okay. You’re safe. You’re with me.”
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