The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 135

Chapter 135

** Parker’s POV **

The rain has passed by the time afternoon rolls around. The air smells of wet pine and smoke from the cabins‘ chimneys. There’s a strange calmness to the pack. It’s the kind of stillness that always makes my skin crawl. It’s what comes right before something breaks.

I push open the main hall’s door and step inside. The familiar hum of pack activity hits instantly, voices, footsteps, the clatter of supplies being sorted and boxed. Poppy and Paige have taken over the long table in the centre of the room. There are papers, boxes and medical paraphernalia spread across every inch of the surface.

Remy’s at the far end of the room, his sleeves rolled up, and a frown on his face as he focuses on his tablet. He looks like he hasn’t slept for days, and knowing him, he probably hasn’t. The circles under his eyes are darker now, but I’m not worried; this is just how he is when he has a puzzle to solve or a problem to fix.

“Any luck with the River Pack’s response?” I ask, dropping a box of blood collection kits

beside him.

“They’re sending samples of anything remotely similar to the compound Jake described with the enforcers due to arrive tomorrow.” Remy glances up briefly. “No match yet, but their healer thinks the mercury base is too refined to have been mixed by hand. His guess is this is lab–grade.”

“Meaning someone’s funding the hunters,” I sigh.

“Or they have someone in that field on their team.” His tone is grim. “We have people digging

into it.”

I nod, my jaw tightening. The idea of hunters having access to refined toxins doesn’t sit right. They were reckless before, dangerous because of desperation and belief. This is calculated and controlled. Someone’s backing them, teaching them precision we’ve never seen. I know no one dares to say it out loud, but I’m sure we are all thinking it. This could be the work of higher–ups.

Paige looks up from the table, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “We’ve got over twenty confirmed donors so far,” she says. “Some are coming in soon, but most of them are volunteering for the early morning rounds.”

“Good.” I nod. “Sign me up for daily donations, as much as I can give without it weakening me. The more Alpha and Beta blood we can stock, the better chance we have of saving people. We need to prioritise Callen and Ryder for their own donations though, to make sure

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there’s always some in reserve for them. How long can we store it for?”

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“Assuming it has the same shelf life as animal and human blood, it’s just over a month,” Poppy says without looking up from the paperwork she is reading.

“Okay, so let’s get a good stock this week and then set up a monthly donation schedule going forward.”

Paige nods, making a note on the pad in front of her. “I’ll speak with the volunteers when they come in and try to set up a monthly rotation.”

“Thank you.”

She looks up at me and smiles, but I can see the tiredness behind it. Her eyes still carry shadows from last night. I can’t blame her. Watching Ryder nearly die has left a mark on all of us, but on her, I think it’s carved something deeper.

Remy’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “Parker, can you run a final patrol around the perimeter with two of the Midnight enforcers before we let them go out alone?”

“On it.”

“Take Leo if he’s up to it,” Remy adds. “He’s been pacing since Jake cleared him to return to patrol.”

“Perfect.” I grin. “He could use something to burn off that energy.”

Remy gives a small nod, already turning back to his screen.

I step over to Paige before leaving. She’s organising medical supplies into smaller boxes now, labelling each one as she goes. “Don’t spend all day doing this, you need a break,” I tell her softly.

“I’m fine,” she insists. “Keeping busy helps.”

I reach out, taking her hand before she can pick up another label. “He’s going to be okay. You know that, right?”

Her eyes meet mine. For a moment, her mask slips. “I almost lost him, Parker.”

“I know,” I whisper. “But you

didn’t.”

She exhales slowly before nodding. “Be careful out there, Parker. I love you.”

“Always.” I squeeze her hand once more before stepping away. “And I love you too.”

Leo meets me near the southern trail, two of Midnight’s enforcers waiting with him, both

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dark–furred, lean, and sharp–eyed, the kind of wolves who move like they’re shadows. A great trait for an enforcer,

“You sure you’re up for this?” I ask Leo through the mind–link.

“Better than sitting around pretending I’m resting,” he responds. “Besides, if I don’t get out there soon, I’ll start climbing the walls.”

“Fair enough. Let’s move.”

We fan out in formation, me up front, Leo to the left, the Midnight wolves flanking behind. The rain–soaked ground muffles our footsteps as we move. We stay within the border markers. Checking the ground for any signs of hunters, they have got smarter about masking their tracks lately, which makes me sure that what we found yesterday was left there purposely.

About halfway down the southern line, Leo connects his mind to mine again. “Check this out.

I move toward him. At first, I don’t see it, then the metallic glint catches my eye. Lodged in the mud near the base of a tree is a small, flatt bullet, the edges scorched black.

“Looks the same as the one Ryder sent back last night,” Leo says.

I shift back to my human form and crouch, using a stick to move it. The metal is pitted and dull, but a faint shimmer of residue is stuck in one of the grooves. Even in the dim light, I can see the silvery sheen.

“Don’t touch it,” I warn. “Jake said even trace contact can seep through the skin.”

Leo shifts too and retrieves a bigger stick, shoving it into the ground as a marker. “They have to be using silencers, patrol would have heard the shot for miles.”

“I’ll get someone out here to collect it,” I say quietly.

One of the Midnight wolves comes up beside us, sniffing the air. “This isn’t old. Maybe a day, two at most. Whoever fired it wasn’t hunting deer.”

I nod, scanning the trees beyond the border as far as I can see for any signs of movement. Let’s move, stay alert.”

“1

By the time we complete the loop and return to the pack centre, the sky has turned to a deep purple. Light glows warmly through the cabin windows, and smoke rises from the chimneys. It should feel safe, but my gut won’t settle.

I got word earlier that Ryder and Callen have returned home with Paige and Jaxon. I want to

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be there too, but with both Alphas on rest, there’s still a lot to do.

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Inside the healer’s cabin, Jake’s at the counter running another sample test. Remy is pacing

behind him.

“Find anything else?” Remy asks when I walk in.

“Nothing,” I shake my head. “Did you test the bullet?”

“Yeah, we are waiting on the results, but it’s looking like it was coated in the same

compound.” Remy’s jaw tightens. “The location you found this was no accident. I think it was a warning.”

“Probably,” I say. “But I don’t understand why they’re not pushing in yet. What are they waiting

for?”

Remy glances toward the window. “They’re learning. Trying to find the gap in our patrols that gives them the biggest advantage.”

“Then let’s mix things up. Let’s be completely unpredictable. Different shift patterns every day, different routes, different patrol sizes,”

jest.

“That could work,” Remy nods. “At the very least, it will confuse them and buy us some more time to get our blood bank stocked.”

We both fall silent for a moment. The sound of Jake’s lab equipment hums softly in the background while he talks quietly to one of the other healers as they look over some paperwork.

When Remy finally speaks, his voice is low. “We’ll mix up the patrol rotations. We need to brief the enforcers. Tomorrow we will have support from the River Pack. The extra wolves might throw them off too because I’m sure they’ll have been trying to get a headcount on our fighters.”

“Want me to brief them?”

“No, I’ll do it. I need you to find me something that detects cameras, if such a thing even exists. I have a feeling we are not the only ones with trail cameras out there.”

“Got it. You’re not going out on patrol tonight, are you?” I ask.

Remy shrugs, glancing out the window again. “I’m not on the rota, but it can’t hurt to have an extra body if we are mixing things up.”

“Rem, you need to sleep. I know you didn’t get a wink last night. I know you might think you’re fine, but we can’t afford to have anyone out there who is not running at 100% right now.” I say,

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and I can already see he’s about to protest, but I already have a plan to make him give in. ” Besides, I think Paige will sleep better knowing we are all there and safe, just for one night. She deserves that after the fright she had last night.”

His expression softens, and he lets out a defeated sigh. “Fine, I’ll come home tonight, but not because I’m not fit for patrol.”

I nod, suppressing the victorious smile I can feel trying to tug at my lips.

“Good,” I clap him on the shoulder. “I’m going to head home and see if I can find this camera detector you want online. Don’t be home late.”

I check in on Poppy on my way out of the cabin and find her sleeping in the bed Callen was in last night. Exhaustion has finally caught up with her after, no doubt, a sleepless night for her too. Leo sits at the foot of her bed like a silent sentry. I give him a nod before quietly closing the door and setting off home.