“Still sleeping,” Callen answers, getting up to follow him in.
I get up too, moving to the kitchen island as Rye takes another mug from the cupboard.” Good. That gives me time to prepare before he demands cereal and a full reenactment of yesterday’s cartoon episode.”
“You love it,” I tease, watching the way his mouth stretches into a smile.
“Of course I do,” he mutters, pouring his coffee.
And just like that, all the heaviness from last night starts to ease. My confusion and fears are still there, but they’re softened now by the warm, real presence of these men around me.
**Paige’s POV **
The day had been a strange blur of laughter and tension. Jaxon’s delighted squeals as Ryder chased him through the long grass, Callen’s amused smile when he caught him. The four of us spending time together like that was nice. It felt almost like a family; I just missed two others. I feel them more with every hour that passes. I feel the ache of their absence, which is strange. Especially with Remy, who I have no physical relationship with. By the time the sun dipped low, I was exhausted and cranky. When Parker returned from patrol, I felt a little better, until Ryder had to leave for his patrol.
Will it always feel this way if they’re not near me? Like a piece of my soul is missing?
As if Callen and Parker can sense how unsettled I am, they pull me into Parker’s room and wrap themselves around me in the bed. Their steady presence easing the ache in my chest enough for me to sleep.
The sound that wakes me isn’t the one I expect.
It’s not the soft creak of a floorboard when one of my mates moves around the house, or Jaxon’s sleepy little footsteps padding toward me in the night.
It’s a shrill, jarring alarm.
For a second, I can’t place it. My brain is sluggish from sleep, but then I hear the sharp whoop again and the unmistakable rush of footsteps thudding against the back porch.
Before I can fully sit up, Parker is out of bed and rushing to the bedroom door.
“Stay here,” he says, voice clipped. His hair ruffled from sleep, but his eyes are sharp and alert. “Hunters have crossed the border.”
The word hits me like ice water. Hunters.
I scramble to my knees on the mattress. “What do you mean? How close is the border?”
“Too close for comfort. There’s no reason for them to be here than to come after us.” Callen says, putting a hand on my arm. “We’ve got a perimeter breach on the north side. Ryder’s mobilising the pack. I’ll stay here with you.”
My heart’s trying to claw its way up my throat. “What about Jaxon? Should we hide him. somewhere?”
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“They won’t get near the house. He’s safe in bed. We don’t need to worry him.” Parker’s tone softens a fraction, just enough for me to see the flicker of worry. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Be careful,” I say, struggling to hold back the tears at the thought of them out there.
Parker leans over and kisses me before turning away. Then he’s gone, moving too quickly for me to get another word in, and I hear the heavy slam of the front door a second later.
Silence settles for half a breath. Then… chaos.
Shouts from outside. Barked orders. The pounding rhythm of multiple sets of footsteps hitting the ground at once. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howls, a deep, bone-shaking sound that makes every hair on my arms stand on end.
“They’ll be okay,” Callen says softly, pulling me into his arms.
I tuck my face into his neck and breathe him in. “I can’t stand the thought of anyone getting hurt. After seeing what they did to you…” My words cut off with a choking sob.
“Hey, don’t think like that. I was out there alone with no warning. This is totally different. We are ready for them. Do you hear all that movement out there? That’s our enforcers mobilising. They’re highly trained fighters. Those hunters made a mistake tonight.”
Tense minutes tick by before Callen suddenly tenses and curses.
“What? What is it?”
“Hunters are pressing toward the east. Ryder’s hurt but moving. He’s outnumbered; he needs me.”
The breath whooshes out of me. “Hurt? How bad?”
“Not bad enough to keep him down.” But there’s a flicker in his eyes that tells me it’s worse. than he’s letting on.
“I’m coming,” I start, moving off the bed.
“No.” His voice is all alpha command now. “You stay in the house with Jaxon.”
The way he says it makes my stomach twist. He’s worried about my son too.
“Go.” I nod. “Just be safe and bring him home.”
“I’ll bring him back, I promise.”
Callen kisses me like it might be the last, and then he wipes away the tears streaming down my face and kisses under each eye.
“Don’t worry. We’ll be back before you know it.”
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I watch him walk away. Feeling a pit of dread open in my stomach. Ryder is hurt, and I don’t know if he will be the only one injured. Why can’t the hunters just leave them alone? Why can’t they take a moment to understand that the people they hunt are not a threat? That they’re capable of love and greatness. They don’t deserve to be hunted like vicious wild animals.
I move to the bedroom window and watch as. A large wolf leaps from the porch and rushes towards the treeline. He’s beautiful, his wolf form huge and black, swallowing the dim light before he disappears into the trees.
My pulse hammers. I can’t breathe. I hate this, hate the feeling of standing useless in a house while the people I love throw themselves into danger.
I pace, pausing every few seconds to glance at the window. It feels like hours pass, though the clock says it’s barely ten minutes. I tell myself that no news is good news, that if something had gone wrong, really wrong, someone would have come for me. I’d hear the howls of warning. There’d be some kind of sign.
But my mind keeps slipping. It keeps going to dark places.
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