**Paige’s POV **
I’m still shaking when Parker pulls me in closer, his arms wrapping around me and Jaxon. The nket is warm, but it’s not doing much to stop the way I’m trembling. Jaxon’s little hands clutch my shirt, and he presses his damp cheek against my chest. I keep imagining him out there alone, so vulnerable, and it makes my stomach twist all over again.
The door creaks open behind us. I nce over Parker’s shoulder, expecting Ryder, but my breath catches instead.
It’s Remy.
He’s barefoot, shirtless, streaked with dirt and blood that isn’t all his. His chest rises and falls hard, like he’s been running for hours, and his eyes… they lock on me like I’m the only one in the room. There’s something strange there…. heat, intensity, a maic pull I don’t fully understand.
It’s a hum under my skin, like <b>a </b>second heartbeat. It’s not subtle; it ms into me, ripping thest fragile barrier between us. I can feel him. His exhaustion, his relief, his stubborn possessiveness.
The mate bond is even more intense now that he’s here, and the immediate danger has gone.
“Thank you,” I breathe.
I know what it took for him to make the choice he did. What he gave up for my safety.
Before he can answer, Ryder bursts through the front door. His forearm is wrapped in something bloody that’s not quite a bandage. Callen’s right behind him, his jaw tight, scanning the room like he’s ready to take on the whole world.
Ryder’s eyes find me instantly, and he crosses the room in three strides, pulling me and Jax into his arms. “Are you both okay?”
“We’re fine,” I manage, voice shaky. “You’re bleeding…”
“Doesn’t matter, it will heal,” he says, but I’m already pushing him to let me go.
“Oh no, Daddy. Did you fall? You should let my mum help. She is good at patching me up when I fall,” Jax says, finally seeming to snap out of the shock I think he was in.
Chapter <i>50 </i>
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“This isn’t good,” I say, peeling back the makeshift bandage. My fingers shake, partly from adrenaline, partly from trying not to imagine what could’ve happened if he hadn’t made it
back. “Kitchen. Now.”
“Paige…”
“I mean it, Ryder.” I’m already reaching for the first–aid kit on the shelf. “You can yell at me for leavingter.”
That’s when I hear Jaxon’s small, wobbly voice. “I wasn’t going to go far.”
Every head turns toward him. He shrinks into the nket but keeps talking, his big blue eyes
darting between all of us. “I heard crying outside and thought it was a puppy that was hurt or
lost its mummy and daddy. I wanted to help.”
My chest tightens, “<b>Jax</b><b>…</b><b>” </b>
“I was careful,” he says quickly. “I stayed on the path.” His lip trembles. “But then it stopped
crying, and I couldn’t find it.”
Parker shifts to sit beside him, resting a steadying hand on his shoulder. “You can’t go
outside alone, buddy. Not ever. If you hear something, youe get one of us. There are…
things out there that can hurt you.”
“Like hunters?” Jaxon whispers, and I wonder if he’s encountered them or overheard a
conversation.
“Yes,” Parker says gently.
Jaxon hesitates, then looks up at him. “But you’re not scared. Is that because you can be a
wolf?”
The air in the room tightens. Parker nces at me, then at Ryder, then back at Jax. “Yeah, I
can. But that doesn’t mean I can’t get hurt. Or that you can’t.”
Jaxon studies the four men in the room, one by one. His young brain clearly working
overtime. <b>“</b>Can you turn into a wolf too, Daddy?”
Ryder’s eyes meet mine. There’s a silent question there… How much do we tell him?
I nod. We can’t keep hiding this from him forever.
“Yes,” Ryder nods. “Uncle Cal, and Remy can too. You don’t need to be scared though. We would never hurt you or your mum.”
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“But…” Jaxon frowns. “If you can all be wolves, then why can’t I? And was it a <b>bad</b>–guy wolf
that bit my mum?”
I suck in a breath as Callen, Ryder and Parker’s eyes all lock on me, or more specifically, the ce on my neck I’d covered with my hair.
Remy steps forward,ing to stand beside me like he needs to protect me. All eyes shift to
him, and I sense the silent conversation they have before Ryder blows out a breath and
focuses back on Jaxon.
“You will,” Ryder continues, his voice calm. “When you’re older. It’s something that happens
when your wolf is ready. But until then, you have to be extra careful, because right now, you’re
still human most of the time.”
Jaxon’s eyes widen. “Really? When will my wolf be ready?”
Ryder gives a small smile. “You’ll understand when it happens. But for now, it’s our job to protect you. And that means you don’t run off, even if you think someone needs help. Youe to us first, okay?”
Jaxon nods. “Okay.”
I exhale, smoothing his hair back before turning back to Ryder’s arm. The bleeding has slowed, but the wound is deep. I clean it, my hands steadier now that things are calming down.
Jaxon talks excitedly to Parker and Callen about what colour wolf he wants and what superpowers he will have, and I can see the pride in Ryder’s eyes as he listens to his son <b>ept </b>his new identity with so much enthusiasm.
It’s only when I’ve finished tying off the fresh bandage that I realise the others are too quiet.
I nce up. Ryder stares at Remy, who leans against the wall, arms crossed, and jaw set.
Parker puts an arm around Jaxon. “Hey, buddy, why don’t we get you upstairs and into bed?”
Jaxon yawns, his eyes flick to Ryder’s arm, then to me.
“Are you mad at me?” His voice sounds small and worried.
“No, baby, I was never mad. I was scared, but we will talk about it more tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay. I love you, Mummy.”
“I love you to the moon.
“And back,” he finishes with a sleepy smile.
More Rewards <b>> </b>
Parker picks him up, and he snuggles into him, clearly ready to give in to the exhaustion. Parker whispers to him as they head toward the stairs. Jaxon nces back once, his gaze lingering on Remy before he disappears out of sight.
The moment they’re gone, the space between us all gets heavier again.
“What happened out there?” Ryder asks, his tone low but lethal.
“She was being hunted,” Remy says tly. “I made sure they didn’t get her.”
“That’s not all you did,” Callen cuts in. “Did you even give her a choice?”
The tension in the room spikes, and my stomach twists. I know what they’re talking about before anyone says it out loud.
“There wasn’t time for one,” Remy says, unflinching. “They were too close. She was too panicked. She wouldn’t have made it back without the bond.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make,” Ryder snaps, standing so fast the chair scrapes the floor.
Domy’s eyes sh.”
you’d been there first, you’d have done the same damn thing.”
“The hell I would’ve,” Ryder growls.
“Yes, you would!”
“Stop!” My voice snaps across the room before I even know I’m going to shout. Every head. turns towards me, but I keep my focus on the floor, my breathsing too fast. “I can’t… I just…” I shake my head. “I don’t want to do this right now. I just need to breathe and know everyone is safe. The rest can wait.”
Silence stretches heavy between us, thick with everything unsaid.
Finally, Ryder backs off, though the muscle in his jaw still ticks. Callen doesn’t look any happier, but he doesn’t speak.
Remy pushes off the wall, his eyes finding mine. There’s no apology there, just that same quiet certainty. “You’re safe now,” he says.
“That’s all that matters.”
I don’t answer, unsure how to feel. The bond pulses with certainty, making it even harder to
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know what I really feel.
The room feels smaller than it should, all the heat from the argument still clinging to the air. I can still feel Remy in the back of my mind. Not just a presence, but shes of sensation: the thud of his heartbeat, the low, simmering possessiveness that’s making my pulse skip.
Ryder moves first, pulling out a chair for me at the table. “Sit. You’re pale.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not,” Remy says, his tone leaving no room for argument. I sit, but only because my
legs feel shaky again.
Ryder stands in front of me, studying me carefully, his hand warm against my knee. “Did they touch you?”
“No,” I whisper. “Remy found me before they could.”
The muscle in his jaw ticks. “And then he marked you.”
I nod.
Ryder blows out a breath and runs a hand through his hair. “I should’ve…”
“You were already fighting,” I cut in quickly. “And you came back injured. If you’d been with me instead, maybe…” I trail off. It’s too easy to go down that path.
He nces at his arm, still wrapped in the fresh bandage I’d tied. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” I say, leaning forward to check it again. “You need to let it heal properly. I mean it, Ryder, don’t pretend you’re invincible.”
A corner of his mouth lifts despite the tension in his eyes. “Says the woman who ran through
the forest barefoot.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“Because I was trying to save Jaxon.”
His smile fades, reced with something softer. “You’d run through fire for him.”
“Of course I would<b>.</b>”
“Then we were out there for the same reason. Protecting the people we love.” He covers my
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hand where it rests on his. “And I’m sorry you <b>were </b>marked without permission. That is not something we condone in this pack.”
I swallow, unsure how to answer. I understand why he’s angry. I also know that the heat. curling low in my stomach isn’t just mine; it’s bleeding through the bond, pulsing faintly with Remy’s emotions.
It’s unsettling, intimate in a way I’m not ready for. I can’t block him out, and I don’t even know if I want to yet.
Callen clears his throat, breaking the quiet. “The hunters won’t push again tonight; they suffered heavy losses. We’ve got patrols doubled just in case. I’ll be on the perimeter.” He gives Ryder a pointed look before heading for the door, clearly giving us space.
Remy hasn’t moved, his eyes are still on me, steady, unreadable. The hum of the bond shifts
as he finally turns for the door, his presence dimming but not gone. I don’t know if he’s leaving to give me breathing room or because he’s smart enough to know staying will keep the tension boiling.
N.O Darling