**Paige’s POV **


    +25 Points


    I huddle on the floor between the bed and the wall with Jaxon pressed against my chest, and Poppy whispering prayers beside me. My hands tremble, and I can feel my heart hammering in my throat. Every sound outside twists my stomach. I want to curl into myself, to make it <b>all </b>stop, but my mind won’t let me. I’m trapped between fear and the desperate need to do something. Anything.


    How am I going to exin this to Poppy if we survive the night? If they survive. If Ryder or. Remy… if Callen… if anyone… My chest tightens at the thought. The reality of what’s happening outside makes me feel like a fraud, hiding here while my mates fight and risk everything. I feel useless.


    A sharp voice cuts through my panic. “Where can I find clean towels?” Parker asks, crouched beside me. His eyes are calm, but I can see the tension in his jaw.


    “Cupboard,” I manage to say, pointing toward the airing cupboard across the room.


    He nods, yanking every towel he can grab and stacking them in his arms. “Don’t move,” he says, and I watch him rush from the room. I swallow hard, gripping Jaxon tighter.


    I try to focus on something else, anything else. My hearing. I close my eyes, forcing my senses outward, straining to catch the smallest sounds. Panic scrambles my thoughts, but I push through it. I hear the thrum of my own heartbeat, Jaxon’s quiet breathing, Poppy muttering under her breath, and then, faint but unmistakable, a strained voice cutting through everything.


    “Hold on! Don’t… don’t give up!”


    It’s Callen. My stomach lurches, and my hands clench. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t wait here any longer. I can’t sit and hide while he’s downstairs, struggling to keep someone alive.


    I nce at Poppy. Her eyes are wide with fear. “Stay with him,” I whisper. “I’ll be back.”


    Poppy doesn’t protest. She nods slowly, taking Jaxon from me and clutching him to her chest, and I force myself to leave them.


    Every shaky step toward the stairs feels heavier, like something is trying to stop me from going down there. The house is eerily quiet, except for the sound of Callen’s soft voice downstairs.


    I reach the bottom of the stairs and freeze, struggling to process everything. The scent hits


    < Chapter 100


    15 Points <fn6c22> ?????? ???? find{n}ovel</fn6c22>


    me before I even see it: copper, iron, blood. My pulse spikes. My throat tightens. I force myself to inhale slowly, pushing through the panic that’s threatening to drag me under


    The kitchen is worse than I had imagined. Blood is all over the floor, the copper smell thick in the air. Towels press against the wound on the wolf’s side, but it’s still far too much. His shallow, erratic breathing makes my stomach drop. Callen is crouched over him, hands gripping the towels, whispering encouragements like a prayer.


    “Just stay with us, Leo,” he says.


    I swallow against the bile rising in my throat and move closer, forcing my fear down.


    “Callen,” I whisper, and he nces up, tension and relief shing in his eyes. “Let me help.”


    He hesitates, then nods. I kneel beside him and press another towel to Leo’s side, adjusting the pressure while my hands shake. The fear is still there, gnawing at me, but I push it back, focusing on keeping him alive.


    I nce at the stairs, thinking of Poppy and Jaxon, and force myself to block out the panic. I have to focus. I have to help. There’s no other choice right now.


    I press the towel harder against Leo’s wound, feeling sick at the way his blood seeps through it, hot and sticky against my hands. My chest hammers and my hands tremble, but I force myself to stay steady.


    Callen’s eyes meet mine, dark with worry. “It’s not slowing, is it?”


    I shake my head,pletely out of my league with this. Cuts and bruises I can manage, but this is too much. I listen to Leo’s shallow, ragged breaths, searching for any change in the rhythm.


    4


    “Callen… I think we need more help,” I admit. “I… I can’t do this by myself.”


    He nces at me and nods. “I know, as soon as it’s safe the healers wille, but there are hunters pushing from the south too. If we can…”


    “Get Poppy,” I interrupt, my voice firmer than I feel. “She’s training to be a vet, so she knows more about this than either of us. She has a better chance of saving him. I don’t think we can hide this from her after tonight anyway.”


    Callen nods. “Parker, go. Ask her toe help.”


    He hesitates only a moment before he nods and rushes up the stairs.


    I look back down at Leo; he seems smaller like this. I don’t know him well, we’ve barely said three words to each other, but I know he’s a formidable force. If anyone can survive this, it’s


    < Chapter 100


    125 Pag


    him. I press harder on the towels, willing him to hang on, willing him to live. Each second stretches into eternity.


    A few tense moments pass before Poppy makes her way down the stairs, her face pale, and I instantly feel guilty for the extra trauma I’m about to add on to her. She stops dead when she sees the scene in front of her, her hand covering her mouth.


    “Oh… my God,” she breathes, voice trembling. “Is that… a wolf?”


    “Yes, can you help? We can’t stop the bleeding.”


    “Paige, please move away. Wolves can be vicious, especially when scared and injured,” she says, fear clear in her eyes.


    I nce at Callen, heart hammering. “He’s safe,” he says firmly, his hands still gripping the towels on Leo’s wound. “I promise he won’t hurt anyone. Please, Poppy. He’s alive, but we need help to stabilise him.”


    Poppy blinks, taking a sharp breath to steady herself, then nods. “Right. Okay. We can do this. Tell me what happened.”


    “Gunshot wound,” Callen says quickly, and she sucks in a breath before moving closer.


    She drops to her knees beside us, her hands hovering over Leo’s body, scanning quickly.” Keep the pressure, that’s good. Okay, we need more towels, a clean cloth to absorb the blood, and something to keep him warm. Move fast but stay calm and don’t startle him.”


    Callen grabs the towels stacked nearby and hands them to her. I adjust my hold, letting Poppy take control. The moment her hands make contact with Leo’s fur, his eyes snap open, making her flinch back.


    “Shhh, it’s okay, Leo. Hang in there, we are going to do everything we can until the healers can get here. You’re going to be okay. Paige’s sister is a vet, and she is going to patch you up,” Callen halfughs, trying to sound calm, but I can hear the strain in his voice.


    “He won’t hurt you, Pops, I promise,” I urge, my eyes locking with hers. She searches my eyes for a moment before looking back at Leo and nodding shakily.


    “Okay<i>,</i><i>” </i>she breathes. “I need to assess the bullet wound. Is there an exit wound, or is the bullet still in there?” Poppy asks.


    <i>“</i>Still in there,” Callen says, and Leo lets out a weak whine.


    I press harder on the towel where it’s soaked through, my fingers shaking as I try to match her rhythm. “It’s okay, Leo,” I murmur, leaning closer. “We’ve got you. You’re going to be fine.”


    < Chapter 100


    125 PAME


    “Okay, boil some water, and then I need something to get it out, tweezers, a knife, a needle and thread.” She instructs, voice sharp but confident. She’s already moving, hands efficient, eyes focused.


    Poppy quickly moves to the kitchen counter, grabbing clean towels, disinfectant, and the small medical kit I keep in the cupboard. She nces back at us. “I need someone to hold the towels for me while I stop the bleeding. Paige, that’s you. Keep pressure here. Callen, back me up if he struggles.”


    I nod, gripping the towels and pressing them firmly to Leo’s wound. The blood is warm <i>and </i>sticky, but I force my hands steady, listening to every instruction.


    Callen flicks on the kettle and rushes to gather everything she asked for.


    Leo groans softly, eyes fluttering open again, and I can feel the tension in the room spike. Poppy strokes his shoulder gently. “You’re so beautiful. Just hang on for me, boy,” she says, her voice full of awe.


    Leo lets out a quiet purr, but it’s weak.


    “Okay, I think that’s everything,” Callen says.


    Poppy scans the kitchen quickly, noting theyout, the towels, everything she might need, and nods. “I need another nket to keep him warm. Someone get it and keep your voice low. He’s already stressed.”


    I nce at Callen, who’s still tense but letting me take the lead. “Got it,” I whisper, moving to grab the nket.


    Poppy gives instructions like a seasoned professional, her initial shock now gone, reced byser focus. “Steady hands, clear heads. We can do this. He’s going to make it, but we all have to be precise. As soon as he’s stable, you need to get him to your own vet, if you have one that deals with tamed wolves.”


    I realise then, watching her work, that even in the midst of this horror, even with a wolf in the kitchen and hunters likely circling outside, we have a real chance.


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