The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 137

**Paige’s POV **

I wake to the sound of footsteps. Heavy, quick, and urgent.

+25 Points

For a moment I think I’m dreaming it, but then I hear the whisper of voices from downstairs. They’re low and serious, definitely not the usual morning chatter. My stomach tightens. Something’s wrong.

Sliding out of bed, I grab Ryder’s hoodie from the chair and pull it over my head, padding barefoot to the landing. The air feels charged, the way it does before a storm. Down below, I

catch parts of their conversation.

“…in the water,” someone says. “Jake’s already been called.”

The words send a chill through me.

By the time I make it to the kitchen, Ryder’s standing by the counter, shirtless, his shoulders rigid. Callen’s pacing. Remy leans against the doorframe leading to the porch, his hair damp, a towel around his neck, and Parker’s brewing coffee.

All four turn to face me.

Ryder’s expression softens instantly, but there’s no hiding the strain in his eyes. “You should’ve stayed upstairs, angel. It’s still early.”

“What happened?” My voice sounds small, even to me.

Remy glances away before Ryder answers, and that alone terrifies me. Remy is not one to avoid my gaze.

“The hunters,” Ryder says finally. “They’ve poisoned the North Creek.”

My breath catches. “Poisoned? Like the same thing that…”

“The same toxin,” Callen cuts in, running a hand through his hair. “Remy caught it before it spread too far, but we don’t know how deep it runs yet.”

My mind flashes to Jaxon, the way he plays near that creek, the bucket he fills with water to look for tadpoles to relocate to the pond. He could so easily have been poisoned right here on our territory. The thought makes my skin crawl.

“Jake’s running tests on the tap water and will head out to the creek at first light,” Ryder says. “We’ll know more in a few hours. Until then, bottled water only and keep Jax inside.”

<Chapter 137

+25 Points

I nod, wrapping my arms around myself. The silence that follows feels suffocating. Remy finally breaks the silence when he lets out a slow, unsteady breath.

I look at him properly then, the dark circles beneath his eyes, the dirt streaked up his forearms, the faint tremor in his hands. His usual energy is gone, replaced by something

heavier.

“Remy?”

He doesn’t answer right away. His eyes are unfocused, staring right through me as if there’s something behind me. When I step closer, he flinches slightly before forcing a smirk that doesn’t reach his eyes. I’ve never seen him shaken like this before.

“I didn’t mean to wake everyone,” he mutters, voice rough. “I couldn’t sleep, and my wolf wanted a run. I wasn’t going to go far.”

“Don’t do that,” I say softly. “Don’t pretend you’re fine, I can tell you’re not.”

He laughs under his breath, but it sounds too fake. “Fine is overrated.”

I take another step forward. “What happened out there?”

His jaw tightens. “They were close. Closer than they’ve ever been. I could smell them, hear them laughing, and then…” He stops, dragging a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t matter. I’m

here now.”

But it does matter. I can see it in the way his shoulders shake. He’s always been the tough one, the fearless one who runs towards danger. Seeing him like this sends a shiver down my spine.

Without thinking, I reach for him, gently wrapping my fingers around his arm. He doesn’t move. When I step closer, he exhales and pulls me into him.

It’s not the heat–filled embrace he’s given me before. It’s desperate. His body trembles against mine, breath uneven against my neck.

I hold him tighter. One hand finds the back of his head, the other his back, feeling each unsteady breath shake through him.

“I almost didn’t make it back,” he whispers, so quietly I almost miss it. “If I’d moved a second slower…” His voice breaks. “I’ve never cared before. Not really. But now…”

“Now you do,” I finish softly.

He nods against me, a ragged sound escaping his throat. I don’t know if it’s a laugh or a sob. Maybe both. So I just keep holding him until his trembling starts to ease, until the rapid beat

2/4

< Chapter 137

of his heart slows to a steady rhythm.

+25 Points

When he finally pulls back, he doesn’t fully let go. His hand stays at my waist, like he’s afraid that if he lets go, he’ll fall apart again. Ryder, Callen and Parker have gone quiet behind us. I can feel their eyes on us, but for once, no one says anything..

After a while, Remy straightens, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Sorry,” he mutters. “I didn’t

mean to…”

“You don’t have to be sorry,” I say. “You’re allowed to feel things, Rem.”

That earns me a faint, disbelieving smile. “That’s a dangerous thing to say to a guy like me.”

I lift my chin. “Then maybe you should start listening, because it’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

The morning drags on in waves of worry. Everyone around me is restless and alert. I keep Jaxon close, refusing to let him play outside no matter how much he pouts. At least one of my mates is always in the house with us, and enforcers are posted outside.

I should be out there helping. I should be welcoming the new enforcers from River Pack, but Jax is my priority. So I try to fill our morning with fun. We play with his Lego, read books, and he even teaches me to play his favourite racing game on the Xbox.

Despite trying to keep busy and push all thoughts of hunters and poison from my mind, every creak of the floorboards makes me twitch. Every distant howl sets my heart pounding.

Still, something in me feels different. Stronger, sharper. I’m not the same woman who stumbled into this world terrified and confused. I’ve seen too much to go back to that.

When Ryder and Parker leave for a briefing with new enforcers and Callen gets into an intense game with Jaxon, I head to the kitchen for a drink. I spot Remy out on the porch, sitting there quietly. I make coffee using the bottled water the pack has stockpiled for if the pipes freeze in the winter, and take it out to where Remy sits on the porch steps. He looks exhausted, but calmer than I’ve seen him all day.

“We’ll find out how they are doing all this,” I say. “We have to.”

He hums in agreement but doesn’t answer. His gaze is fixed on the shadowy tree line, and even the sunlight seems dimmer today.

“I used to think the worst thing that could happen to me was losing control,” he says after a long pause. “But it turns out the worst thing is realising I’ve finally got something to lose.”

My chest tightens. “You mean someone.”

214

< Chapter 197

He doesn’t deny it.

+25 Points

For a long moment, neither of us speaks. Then, softly, he says, “I thought I was ready to die last night. I was willing to risk it to take some of them out. Then I saw that flash and heard them laughing… and all I could think about was you. About the stupid things I’d never said.”

My heart twists, but I keep my voice steady. “Then say them. None of us knows how long we have on this earth, and recently I’ve been thinking about it more. When I thought Ryder was not coming back from that poison, my mind was spinning with all the things I hadn’t said to him yet, of all the things we never got to do.”

He glances at me, his eyes tired but honest. “You scare me, Paige.”

I laugh in surprise; that was the last thing I was expecting him to say. “Me?”

“Yeah,” he says with a faint smile tugging at his lips. “You make me want to stay alive.”

His words take me aback. I’m not even sure how to respond to that. I could brush them off with a joke, but I don’t. Instead, I reach over and take his hand. His fingers are cold, but they tighten around mine with certainty.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper. “And neither are you. This is not how we end.”

He looks away, swallowing hard. “You sound pretty sure of that.”

“I have to be,” I say. “Because if I start believing we can’t win this, we won’t.”

For a long time, we sit there in silence, just holding hands and watching the clouds drift by. I can still feel the fear coiled inside me, but it’s different now. It’s not a weakness anymore, but a reminder. I’ve lived through loss, heartbreak, and terror. I’m still here, and I’m done being the girl who waits for someone else to save her.

When I finally go back inside, the house feels warmer and calmer. The world outside may be poisoned, but in here, with this imperfect family, there’s still something worth fighting for.

As I close the door, Remy’s voice follows softly behind me.

“Get some rest if you can. Tonight’s pack meeting is going to be hell.”

I glance back and meet his gaze. “Then we’ll face it together. Come rest with me, Rem.”

< Chapter 138

Chapter 138