The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 138

Chapter 138

**Remy’s POV **

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I don’t remember falling asleep on the couch, but when I wake, sunlight is filtering through the window. For a second, it feels like any other day. Then the memories hit. The flash of light. The laughter echoing through the woods. The stench of poison in the creek, and Paige’s arms around me.

I lie there for a moment, trying to slow the pounding in my chest. She’s still asleep beside me, curled close, her breath warm against my throat. Her hand rests over my heart, and I can feel how unsteady it still is beneath her palm. She doesn’t stir when I shift slightly, but the comfort of her touch settles me in a way nothing else ever has.

Earlier, when I stumbled into her arms, shaking and half feral, I expected her to freeze or pull away. Instead, she held me tight. No questions or judgment. Just solid, steady warmth until the tremors in my body eased enough for me to breathe again. I hadn’t realised how close I’d come to dying until that moment, how much it rattled me to think that I might’ve left her. Left

them.

It’s been years since I’ve felt fear like that. Real fear.

I slide carefully off the couch and tuck a blanket around her. Her brow furrows in sleep, but she doesn’t wake. The faint hum of power beneath her skin draws my gaze for a moment. It’s subtle, like static before a storm. Whatever’s happening inside her, it’s growing. She feels different, stronger somehow.

I stretch and head into the kitchen where I can hear Callen and Jax talking as they prepare dinner. Callen looks up as I walk in, and I give him a small nod. I don’t need to tell him what I need; he knows and doesn’t push me for conversation.

I step out onto the porch for a moment and just breathe. I close my eyes and listen to the forest, but all I hear are the ordinary sounds, birds and the wind shifting through leaves.

For a heartbeat, I wonder if I imagined it all, the click of the safety, the taunting laugh, the blinding light that stole my sight for those agonising seconds. But the memory of it is too vivid. The heat of panic, the metallic scent of the bullet in the dirt. Someone was there. Someone who knew exactly what they were doing.

The sound of footsteps makes me glance up. Paige appears in the doorway, her hair a wild mess that somehow makes her even more beautiful. Her eyes are still heavy with sleep, but the moment they land on me, something inside my chest loosens.

“You didn’t sleep long,” she murmurs, her voice edged with concern.

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Chapter 138

“Neither did you.”

She smiles and sits down beside me. “I had a good half an hour at least.”

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“More like an hour, you were snoring so loud I thought there was a storm,” I tease, desperate to keep that smile on her face.

She bats at my arm. “I don’t snore!”

Her laughter softens and warms me, but it fades quickly, replaced by that wary silence that’s become too common between us all lately.

Paige studies me, her smile dimming. “What’s wrong? Did something else happen?”

I want to tell her it’s nothing, that I’m just tired, but lying to her feels like a betrayal.

I exhale slowly, rubbing the back of my neck. “When I went out with Jake and the team earlier, we found something that really bothered me.”

Her eyes narrow a little. “What was it?”

I glance toward the tree line, where the forest stretches out further than the eye can see. From here, it looks peaceful. Safe even, but I know better.

“There’s something you need to see,” I say finally. “I want to take you out there and show you, but it’s too risky.”

Paige frowns but doesn’t argue. I can hear Callen’s voice, low and easy as he keeps Jaxon distracted inside. Good. I don’t want the kid to hear any of this.

I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, pulling up the picture I’d taken out in the woods this morning as we’d followed the creek, looking for the source of the contamination.

I hand her my phone, and her eyes narrow on the image before her breath catches.

The picture is of a tree trunk, just past our border. Carved deep into the bark is a small mark. It’s a crude, grinning face. A taunt.

She hands me the phone back, and I look at the photo again before locking my phone with a growl. That damn smile has haunted me all day. It’s more than vandalism; it’s a message, a

promise.

Paige wraps her arms around herself. “Why would they do that?” she whispers.

“Because they want us to know they’re watching,” I say. My voice sounds rough, even to my own ears. “They could have easily shot me last night, but they didn’t. They wanted to rattle us first.”

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Her wide eyes flick to mine. “You think it’s a warning?”

I shake my head. “No. Warnings are meant to keep you away. This is bait.”

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For a moment, neither of us speaks. The forest goes quiet for a moment. It’s the kind of silence that makes your skin crawl. My wolf shifts restlessly beneath the surface, uneasy. He wants to go out there and patrol, to make sure nothing comes near his mate.

Paige finally exhales, her voice shaking just a little. “You shouldn’t have gone out there alone last night.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” I admit. “My wolf needed to let off some steam, it should have been safe.”

She studies me, her eyes searching mine, and I know she can see the truth. She knows I wasn’t trying to be a hero. It was a pleasure run, but I’d barely made it back to her. That’s the worst part of it. I wasn’t looking for a threat, so nothing should have happened. When we go on patrol, we are always ready to defend our territory, but this wasn’t that.

“You were lucky you weren’t poisoned or shot,” she says quietly.

“I know. They had the chance and didn’t take it. I never thought there would be a day that I would be almost grateful to the hunters,” I half laugh.

“Don’t do that,” she says softly. “Don’t pretend you’re fine. You’re still shaking.”

I glance down, and she’s right. My hands aren’t steady. I clench them into fists and look away.

Paige sighs, her hand brushing against my arm. “Remy, talk to me. Please.”

I don’t mean to tell her everything, but once the words start, I can’t stop them. “When I went down, I could hear them laughing. I couldn’t see anything, just light and heat and that sound. I thought it was over.”

Her breath catches. “Remy…”

“I’ve fought hunters before,” I cut in, my voice low. “But this? It was different. The way they can sneak up on us is scary. We are wolves, so how come we are not seeing or hearing them? How are they getting so close without being detected?”

Paige’s expression hardens, something fierce sparking in her eyes. “I don’t know, but we are going to find out.”

Her determination should make me feel better, but right now it just makes my stomach twist. Because I’ve already tried to picture that moment, finding them, and in every version, it ends the same way: blood and death.

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“I don’t want you anywhere near this,” I say.

“Too bad,” she replies, arms crossing. “You don’t get to make that decision for me.”

Goddess, she’s impossible. Brave and reckless and so damn stubborn.

I drag a hand through my hair and mutter, “You sound like Ryder.”

She smirks. “That’s high praise.”

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Despite everything, the corner of my mouth twitches into a smile. “Don’t tell him I said that.”

“I’ll put it in writing,” she teases softly, but the moment fades fast when she looks back at the trees. “We need to tell the others.”

“Already did. Ryder’s deciding how much we should tell the pack. We like to keep them warned and informed, but they have a limit of how much threat they can take before they start to leave.”

Paige nods, and her shoulders square. She’s terrified, I can smell it, but she’s still standing. Pride swells in my chest. A weaker female would have run already, but not our mate. I can feel that same quiet power coming from her that I felt earlier.

“What’s happening to you, Paige?” I ask.

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