** Remy’s POV **
Callen hasn’t opened his eyes in over five hours.
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His skin is grey, his breathing too shallow, and waves of tremors gue 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 toote. 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 <i>to </i>know who<i>. </i>
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
< Chapter 36
to us. Or maybe they’ve been using her, threatening Jaxon, holding something over her head.
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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 mmy.
“Hey,” I whisper. “It’s okay. You’re safe. You’re with me.”
His brow furrows slightly, lips parting like he might speak, but nothinges. Just a faint exhale, and then
he goes still again.
I lower my head to the edge of the bed, my forehead resting against the back of his hand, and breathe him <ol><li>in. He still smells like cedar and smoke. Like Callen. </li></ol>
“I should’ve been there sooner,” I whisper. “I should’ve been faster.”
The guilt is like a poison. Different from the kind in his veins, but just as deadly. If he doesn’t wake up… I
can’t even finish the thought.
Instead, I sit there in silence, holding on to him like he might disappear if I let go, and all the while, that
question haunts me.
Did she bring this danger with her?
Or did it follow her all on its own?
Either way, someone’s going to pay.
The others might be too blinded by the mate bond to see what’s obvious to me. But this is too much of a
coincidence. She has to be involved somehow, even if she doesn’t know it.
Callen groans.
The sound is low<i>, </i>hoarse, and raw, but it’s the best noise right now. I sit bolt upright, eyes snapping to his face as his fingers twitch again, this time stronger.
“Callen?” My voice cracks on his name. “Hey, hey, I’m here.”
His eyes fight their way open, unfocused at first. His whole body shakes with the effort of consciousness, but he’s fighting. He’sing back to me.
I squeeze his hand. “You’re safe, Cal. You made it.”
He blinks slowly, his gaze trying to find mine, and for a second I think maybe the first thing out of his mouth will be my name. But it’s not.
“Paige,” he rasps. “Is Paige okay? Jaxon… are they safe?”
The words hit like a blow <i>to </i>the chest. I jerk back, hand falling from his like it burned me.
Not ‘Are you okay?‘
215
< Chapter 36
Not ‘Remy.‘
Not even ‘What happened?‘
Just her and the kid.
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I swallow the bitterness rising up my throat like bile. He’s been unconscious for hours, barely breathing, poisoned and broken, and the only thing on his mind is her.
“They’re fine,” I manage. “They’re home. Parker got them home. <i>No </i>one touched them.”
His eyes flutter closed again for a moment, like just hearing it is enough to make his body rx. Like she’s the lifeline he was holding onto through all of this. Not me.
The door swings open behind us, and Ryder strides in, wide–eyed and tense. His gazends <i>on </i>Callen instantly, brushing past me like I’m not even here.
“You’re awake,” he breathes, and I can see the relief crashing over him. “Sh*t, Cal, you scared the hell out
of us.”
Callen offers him a weak, lopsided smile. “Didn’t mean to,” he croaks.
“You always have to be dramatic,” Ryder mutters, but his hand is already on Callen’s shoulder. “Next time,
warn us before you get shot, yeah?”
Callen snorts softly, then winces, coughing once and hissing in pain.
I stand slowly, my hands curling into fists at my sides. There’s no room here for what I’m feeling. Not when Ryder’s here. Not when she is what he asked for.
Callen looks up at Ryder and tries to smile again, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He looks exhausted. He’s still so fragile.
Yet I can’t get my mind off the fact. The only thing he asked for… was Paige.
I step
back toward the <i>door</i>, needing space to breathe and sort out my thoughts.
“I’ll let you two catch up,” I say, my voiceing out quieter than I meant. “I’ll let the healer know he’s
awake, too.”
Ryder nces back at me with a nod, but Callen doesn’t even look. He’s focused on his brother, asking about his mate and her kid, his f*cking everything but me, and maybe that’s how it’s always going to be.
Was everything he said this morning just a heat–of–the–moment thing?
Or maybeing so close to death gave him rity, and I wasn’t part of what he held on for.
I walk outside, the cooling air hits my skin, but it doesn’t touch the ache in my chest.
This isn’t about me. I know that. Callen almost died. That should be all I’m thinking about, but his words keep echoing in my mind, and it hurts.
I wasn’t imagining it this morning, was I? The way he held me. The way it felt. It was real.
< Chapter 36
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The walk back home is a blur. I don’t remember leaving the healer’s cabin. Don’t remember what the healers said before I left. My ears are still ringing with Callen’s voice, the way he said her name.
She’s here. The human. The outsider. The woman who might have led danger straight to our door, even if
she didn’t mean to.
I need answers. I need to see her face when I ask if she knows what she’s brought down on us.
Two of our pack enforcers stand guard at the front. They give me nods as I pass, but I don’t stop to talk to
them. The door to the cabin is unlocked, Parker’s scent strong in the air. He’s calm as always. He’s the peacekeeper, always the one ying nice. The better, more sensible twin.
I step inside and the sound of quiet conversation cuts off instantly. Parker is sitting at the kitchen ind, his big frame hunched forward slightly, blocking my view of Paige. As soon as the door clicks shut behind
me, he turns to face me.
Paige stands, and the moment I see her, my world tilts on its axis. It hits me like a lightning bolt to the chest. A burn, a pull, a knowing so ancient and primal it takes my breath away. My knees give before I can
stop them.
I crash to the floor with a grunt, my hands mming down to keep from face nting as every nerve in my body screams and my wolf goes wild, fighting for control.
Parker is up in a sh. “Remy, sh*t, what’s happened? Is Callen…”
But I’m not looking at him. I can’t look at anything but her.
Paige.
Mine.
My mate.
The woman I <i>came </i>here to question with suspicion is staring at me with wide, horrified eyes, like she doesn’t understand what’s happening.
Doesn’t she feel it too?
I screw my eyes shut, trying <i>to </i>block her <i>out</i>. This morning, Parker convinced me I wanted this. But so much has changed since then. I can’t deal with this, not yet. Not now. Not until I know Callen is going to be okay, and I’ve had a chance to talk with him.
Her scent hits me then. Warm vani, with the faintest hint of citrus… Intoxicating. There’s no escaping it
now.
“No,” I whisper, still on my knees. “No, no, no. Not now.”
Parker takes a cautious step forward. “Remy, what’s…”
“She’s mine,” I choke out, looking up at Paige, my voice breaking around the words. “You were right. She’s my mate.”
< Chapter 36
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Her breath catches, one hand flying to her chest. Her lips part, but nothinges out. Just stunned
silence. I can see the confusion, fear, and guilt behind her eyes. She’s just as conflicted about this as I am.
I squeeze my eyes shut again, the mate bond ring so hot in my chest it’s hard to breathe.
I came here to confront her, but instead, she brought me to my knees with just a look that shot straight
into my soul.
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( Chapter 37