Paige’s POV **


    The words swirl around my mind over and over.


    A heat cycle.


    I don’t even know how to process it. I’m human, and yet my body is doing something that shouldn’t be possible. I wrap my hands around the coffee cup, letting the heat seep into my skin, but it’s not enough to stop my mind spinning out. Not when Ryder is looking at me like I’m his next meal, and when Remy’s wolf is so close to the surface that I can almost feel him pacing. Parker and Callen don’t seem to be as affected. I’m not sure if that’s because I haven’tpleted the bond with them or because they weren’t part of the moment we


    shared upstairs.


    They’re all watching me though, waiting for me to react. But before I can even open my


    mouth, Jaxon’s voice cuts through the tension.


    “Mum!”


    He barrels into the kitchen with Lego clutched in his tiny hands. His grin is so wide that I forget all thoughts of heat cycles and mate bonds.


    “Look! I added a booster to my spaceship. It’s going to make it super fast.”


    His excitement is so bright that it eases the heaviness pressing down on me. I set my cup


    aside and scoop him into myp, ignoring the lingering ache in my body as I kiss his temple.


    “That’s amazing, baby. You’re going to break records with this ship.”


    He smiles proudly, holding the spaceship up to point out every little detail. I listen to him talk, admiring his imagination as I run my fingers through his messy hair just to feel his warmth


    against me. Because this right here, him, is the only thing that makes sense right now.


    Jaxon is safe. He’s happy, and he doesn’t have a clue that his mother’s body feels like it’s


    rewriting itself from the inside out.


    I force my smile brighter. “Maybeter, you can show me how the boosters work.”


    “Really?” His eyes light up, bright blue in thete morning sun. Ryder’s eyes staring back at


    me from a smaller, softer face.


    :


    < Chapter 80 “Definitely.”


    More Rewards?


    He squints at me, his little nose wrinkling in suspicion as he presses his palm to my forehead the way I do to him to check his temperature. “Are you okay, Mummy? You feel warm.”


    He’s so observant sometimes.


    “I’m fine, sweetheart.” I smile, trying to reassure him.


    Callen steps in then, crouching down with that easy grin he has. “Hey, astronaut, how about you and I finish this spaceship? I’ll even help you design anding pad.”


    “Yeah!” he cheers, scrambling off myp.


    Callen winks at me before following Jax back up the stairs as he rattles off ideas aboutser guns. Then, just like that, three sets of eyes are on me again, and the tension in the kitchen


    builds.


    “So… let me get this straight. You’re telling me my body’s basically copying yours?”


    “More like adapting,” Parker says gently. His voice is calm, but I see the tension in his shoulders. “It’s the bond. It’s reshaping you.”


    “Into what?”


    No one answers right away.


    Remy is the one who finally leans forward, his eyes burning with a gold tint that I’ve learned to recognise as his wolf pushing close. “Into ours,” he breathes. “You’re already ours, Paige. This just makes us morepatible.”


    The way he says it makes my skin prickle with warmth and cold.


    “But you said mates are already made for each other, so why do I need to change to be more


    “Maybepatible was the wrong word. I think this is just the bond doing what it’s supposed to, think of it more like another ability,<i>” </i>Parker offers.


    I nod, and then frown. “What benefit is this to anyone though? I mean, increased s*x drive is great and all, but for what…” I trail off as realisation dawns on me.


    s*x is not just for fun and to solidify rtionships, especially not in wolves. For animals, s*x is for procreation. Crap.


    The guys stay silent, looking a little sheepish as they watch me figure it out.


    “Is there a way to stop it?” I ask, my voiceing out smaller than I meant it to.


    More Rewants >


    Ryder covers my free hand with his. “For a she–wolf, no, but you’re human, that changes so much. We’ll figure it out. You’re not alone in this.”


    His words shouldfort me, but instead they twist something in my chest. Because if my


    body is acting like a female of their kind, then what’s next?


    “I’m human,” I whisper, more to myself than to them. “I’ve always been human.”


    “You still are,<i>” </i>Parker says quickly, his steady handing to rest on my shoulder.


    But am I? Humans don’t go into heat. Humans don’t fall apart if their mates step away for


    too long. Humans don’t crave the touch of four men so desperately it feels like drowning


    without them. Humans don’t lead wolf packs.


    My heart hammers in my chest. I don’t want to lose any more of myself than I already have.


    I swallow hard, forcing a weak smile. “Well… if I start sprouting fur, you’ll warn me, right?”


    It works. Ryder actuallyughs, a deep rumble that eases some of the tightness in my chest.


    Parker shakes his head with a small grin, and even Remy looks like he’s fighting a smile.


    The atmosphere feels lighter, but inside, I’m unravelling.


    I sip my coffee to hide it, but the taste has gone bitter. I wrinkle my nose and push the cup away. My hands are trembling again, so I pull them down to myp, out of view. I can’t let


    them see how scared I am, not when they’re already on edge, not when Jaxon coulde


    running back in at any second. Because for him, I have to be steady. There’s been too much


    change for him already.


    So for him, I’ll marvel at his Lego rockets and kiss scraped knees and pretend that nothing about me is changing. Butter, when the house is quiet, and he is asleep and I don’t have to


    smile anymore… I know the truth wille pouring out.


    My body isn’t mine anymore. It belongs to the bond, and no matter how much I love them, no matter how much I try to trust this, doubts gnaw at the back of my mind.


    “We need answers,” Ryder says, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Spection isn’t helping her.”


    “There’s someone,” Parker adds, his voice gentler. “A human who mated a wolf years ago.


    More Rewards


    She and her mate very recently joined our pack. If anyone can exin what’s happening to


    you, it’s her.”


    I bite down on my tongue, holding in the protest rising in my throat. I don’t want to be paraded around like a problem that needs solving. But the truth is, I am a problem right now. The heat I felt earlier hasn’tpletely faded, it still lingers under my skin like a pulse, and


    every time one of them brushes against me, it res to life. Maybe they’re right, this woman


    might be the key to understanding what my body is doing.


    Remy leans back in his chair, his expression hard. “She lives on the main pack grounds. If we


    take Paige there, everyone’s going to know.”


    His warning makes me go cold. Everyone will know that I’m changing. That I’m something


    in–between.


    I nce up to where I hear Jaxon ying with Callen. He’s oblivious, lost in his own little


    world, and that’s how I want it to stay.


    “Fine,” I say finally, pushing the words out past the lump in my throat. “Let’s go.”


    The walk is quiet, with the only real soundsing from Jaxon as he runs excitedly ahead,


    stopping whenever he finds something interesting, like a stick that looks like a gun, a rock


    that catches his eye when it shimmers in the sunlight.


    My mates don’t say it out loud, but I can feel the tension radiating from them. They don’t like


    bringing me into the centre of the pack. I’m not sure if it’s because of how the pack reacted


    to mest time, or because of my current state.


    I’ve seen the pack centre before, but its beauty still takes my breath away. Wood cabins


    clustered together in neat rows. Wolves lounging on porches. Children darting through the


    grass and between homes. It looks so friendly and weing, except for the subtle way


    every head turns as we pass.


    Ryder picks Jax up, lifting him onto his shoulders. He squeals happily, pulling on Ryder’s ears like reins, blissfully unaware of the stares. We walk as a group. With my mates forming a


    shield around me, Remy and Ryder at my sides, Parker slightly ahead, and Callen behind us.


    Some faces light up with recognition. A few smile and wave at the guys. Others watch silently, their gazes watching me with suspicion.


    I pull my jacket tighter around me. I don’t know if it’s my scent they’re reacting to, or the simple fact that I’m human, but the judgment is unmistakable. For a heartbeat, I want to turn


    < Chapter 80


    and run. To scoop Jaxon into my arms and hide us both from this attention.


    More Rewards <b>> </b>


    But then Jaxughs, tugging Ryder’s hair until he yelps, and I force myself to keep walking. If my son can be fearless, then I can too.


    “Stay close,” Remy whispers, his hand moving to the small of my back.


    “Is that her?” someone whispers as we pass, sniffing the air.


    “But she’s human,” another voice mutters.


    “She’s beautiful,” a young woman says softly, smiling at me like I’m not an outsider.


    I smile back at her, and if things weren’t so tense, I’d stop to tell her just how much a friendly


    face means to me right now.