<b>Chapter </b>77


    ** Parker’s POV **


    By the time the cookies are cooling on the counter, Jaxon has chocte smudged across his cheek, flour in his hair, and one of the biggest grins I’ve seen since he came to live here. He’s


    still buzzing with his usual energy. Either he’s so resilient that he’s already over the whole


    Greg thing, or he’s just very good at hiding how he feels. There’s also the possibility that he’s


    just riding a sugar–high.


    We spend the rest of the afternoon making a fuss of him while Paige gets some work <i>done</i>.


    When eveninges, Ryder scoops him up for a piggyback ride to the stairs. Jax clings a


    little tighter than usual. Which makes me think he might have been putting a brave face on all


    day.


    “I’ll take him tonight,” I offer quickly, because usually Ryder or Paige ims bedtime duty


    before I can blink.


    Ryder arches a brow but doesn’t argue. He just hands Jaxon over and ruffles his hair. “Don’t let him trick you into staying upte.”


    Jaxon grins, his small arms wrapping around my neck. “I don’t trick people.”


    The lie is so obvious we allugh, and then it’s just me and the little man heading upstairs.


    We stop off at Ryder’s room so he can say goodnight to his mum, and then I take him into


    the room he’s imed as his own.


    He wiggles down onto his bed while I grab the nket from the end and tuck it around him. It


    feels natural to be doing this, and every part of me is convinced this is where I belong.


    “Can


    you read me one story?” Jax asks, already reaching for the book on his nightstand.


    “We sure can,” I say, settling on the bed beside him. “But no sneaky ‘one more, please‘ after.


    Deal?”


    “Deal.” He sticks out his pinky finger, and I hook mine with his. Then he snuggles up against my side, and I feel like my chest might burst.


    I read the book with animated voices for each character, something I learned from years of pack pups climbing onto myp for stories, but this is different. This isn’t just a pack pup. This is Paige’s pup. This is our pup. I might not have given him my blood, but every instinct in me screams that he’s mine just as much as Ryder’s.


    < Chapter 77


    Halfway through, Jax interrupts, whispering, “Parker?”


    “Yeah, bud?”


    “Do you think Greg misses me?”


    The question cuts me deep, and I have to take a breath before I answer.


    More Reward


    “I think,” I say, pausing to find the right words, “that Greg made choices that mean he can’t be around you anymore. That doesn’t mean you did anything wrong or that he doesn’t miss you. It doesn’t mean you can’t miss him either. It just means Greg isn’t the kind of person you can


    count on.”


    Jaxon studies me, his eyes looking far too wise for his age. “But I can count on you, right?”


    A lump forms in my throat, and I reach out to scruff his hair. “You can always count on me, Jax. No matter what. I promise I will always protect you and your mum.”


    I hold out my pinky to him, and he wraps his around mine before he snuggles down deeper. By the time I finish the story, his breathing has evened out and his body has gone heavy


    against me.


    I stay for a while, holding him close and listening to the soft sighs he makes in his sleep. My


    heart feels too big for my chest.


    This kid.


    He’s not just Ryder’s son. Not just Callen’s nephew. Not just a pack responsibility. He’s… mine too. In every way that matters. I love him. Fiercely and protectively, like I’d tear down the


    world if it ever threatened him again.


    I love his mum, too. Goddess, do I love her. Paige doesn’t even realise half the time how she’s undone me. It’s not just her smile or the way she looks at me like I’m her saviour. It’s the way she’s fought for Jax, the way she’s carried everything alone when she didn’t have to, the way she finally let us all in, especially Remy. The brother I was worried was too far gone to ever find peace. She broke down his walls and pulled out the man he was supposed to be before


    the world tried to crush him.


    I’m already in too deep. It’s more than just being in love. She’s it for me, and because she’s it,


    this boy asleep beside me is it, too.


    I lean down, pressing the gentlest kiss to Jaxon’s head. “Sleep tight, little man,” I whisper, my voice thick. “I’ve got you, always.”


    When I slip out of the room, I pause in the doorway. For a second, I let myself imagine every night like this. Paige at my side, Jax looking at me like I’m his dad too. A family that feels


    whole.


    I head downstairs, but I don’t go straight to the others. Their voices drift from the living room, but I go into the kitchen instead. It’s quieter in here. I lean against the counter, running a hand over my face. My chest is still tight, full to bursting with everything I felt up there. I love that


    kid. There’s no two ways about it.


    My wolf is unsettled, growing more insistent with every interaction with Paige and Jaxon. He


    wants me to lock this in. To make Paige ours, to give her my mark and seal us together the


    way the Moon Goddess intended. To make Jax our son.


    Ryder has had his night with her, his fate unfolding the way it should. Remy has too, not in


    the way anyone expected, but it’s done. He’s tied his soul to hers for eternity, but I haven’t yet.


    Not because she doesn’t want me, at least, I pray that’s not it, but because it’s all too much


    too soon for her. She’s been through hell, and she’s trying to navigate this new world with new


    rules and multiple mates.


    I hope she asks soon, though. I hope she looks at me one night, with those soft eyes of hers, and decides she’s ready for me. And when she does… I want to make it unforgettable.


    I can see it already. It won’t just be a tumble into bed, or rushed in the dark. She deserves so


    much more than that. She deserves a night that tells her exactly how much she means to me, that she isn’t just a bond I’m fated to, but the woman I choose, over and over, every single day.


    We are limited in what we can do right now, though. It’s not like I can sweep her off for a romantic night away somewhere. We need to stay here with the pack where it’s safe. Ryder had his pic and fancy tent, and while it was perfect for them, I want something that’s uniquely ours. Something that makes her feel wanted and adored. Because she is. More than she’ll ever know.


    I nce toward the stairs, where I hear her humming something familiar whilst she works. My heart kicks hard in my chest. She’ll be ready soon, and when she is, I’ll be waiting.


    I’m still standing there, lost in my thoughts, when footstepse from the living room. Remy walks in, his eyebrows raising when he sees me.


    “You look like a man about to rob a bank,” he says dryly.


    < Chapter 77


    I snort. “Not quite.”


    “Then what’s with the plotting face?” He tilts his head, curious.


    More Rewards


    I hesitate, but this is Remy. My twin, who is annoyingly perceptive when ites to me, and someone I trust the most. I rub the back of my neck. “I want to do something for Paige.


    Something special for when she’s ready.”


    “You mean when you mate with her?”


    “Yeah,” I nod. “She deserves more than just… a fated mate thing. I want her to know it’s a choice. My choice.”


    For a moment, Remy just studies me, and I wonder if I’ve insulted him over the way he mated with her. Then he exhales, slow. “Okay. What do you have in mind?”


    That’s the problem. I don’t, not really. “I was thinking… candles, music, maybe something outside under the stars, anything but just throwing her on a bed and hoping for the best.”


    He leans against the counter beside me, folding his arms. “So, what do you need from me?”


    “Ideas… help to make it happen,” I admit.


    “Fine. I’ll help, but if you think I’m carrying beds into the woods, stringing fairy lights or picking flowers again, you’ve lost your mind.”


    “Fair enough,” I grin. “I’ll handle the sappy stuff. You just… make sure the timing’s right and keep Paige distracted.”


    “Keep Paige out of the way?<i>” </i>Remy asks with a smirk. “That I can do.”


    “You sure you can manage it?” I tease.


    He gives me a look that could cut steel. “Please. I can manage anything.”


    I believe him.


    Soon, when Paige is ready, she’ll have a night that tells her everything I haven’t said out loud


    yet.


    <b>Comments </b>


    <b>Get </b>Bonus <b>(</b><b>Ad</b>) >


    Vote


    958


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!