The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 140

Chapter 140

**Paige’s POV **

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As the pack hall finally begins to empty, the low hum of voices fades as wolves drift out in twos and threes. Some head home to their families; others linger, having quiet conversations. The heavy tension that filled the room has eased, replaced by a fragile calm.

I should feel relief. I should feel safe knowing they’ve heard Ryder and that his words steadied them, but as I stand here watching him, tall and composed, his voice even as he gives a few last instructions to the enforcers near the doors, I can’t shake the way my pulse

keeps racing.

He’s breathtaking like this. Powerful, controlled, every inch the Alpha he was born to be.

It’s easy to forget that only days ago, I was leaning over him, pressing my hands against his cold, barely breathing chest, begging him not to leave me. That memory flashes through my mind, sharp enough to steal my breath. He feels it. Somehow, he always does.

His gaze finds mine across the room, locking on with that quiet intensity that’s always undone me. The rest of the world falls away. The voices, the creak of floorboards, the faint scent of stale coffee… it all fades until there’s just us.

The bond thrums between us, hot and alive.

Ryder finishes his last instruction, then crosses the room toward me. The crowd thins around him like the sea parting, and when his hand brushes my arm as he passes, the faintest touch sends heat rushing through me.

“Come with me,” his smooth voice floats into my mind.

It isn’t a command. It’s something softer, something raw and pleading.

My breath catches, but I nod and turn to follow him. He threads his fingers through mine and leads me toward the far corner of the hall. The warmth of his skin against mine feels electric, and by the time we reach the narrow door to the old storage room, my heartbeat is pounding in my ears.

He pushes the door open, glancing inside to make sure we’re alone. The small space smells faintly of wood and dust. Boxes have been cleared out recently when we brought out the bottled water, leaving the room mostly bare.

He steps in first, then closes the door behind us, leaning back against it for a moment like he’s holding the world at bay. The air feels charged, heavy with everything unsaid. For a

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heartbeat, neither of us speaks.

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Then Ryder exhales slowly, his eyes finding mine. The composure he wore outside is cracking now, the weight of leadership slipping just enough to reveal the exhaustion underneath. But beneath it all, there’s something else, something fierce and hungry that matches the ache inside me.

“I needed to see you,” he says, his voice rough. “Away from everyone else. Away from… all of it.”

The way he looks at me steals my breath. His restraint is unravelling.

“I felt it,” I whisper. “When you spoke to them. You held the whole room together. You…”

He closes the distance in two strides, his hands coming up to cup my face. “Don’t do that,” he murmurs. “Don’t act like I’m the only one holding this pack together. I felt your power, Paige. Even when you try to hide it. It’s there, humming under your skin, steadying everyone in the room… steadying me.”

His words hit something deep inside me. “I just wanted them to see hope,” I say softly.

He shakes his head, his thumb tracing along my jaw. “They did, because of you.”

The air between us tightens. His breath fans over my lips, and I can feel the pull of him, the ache in my chest that’s been growing since he first met my eyes across the hall.

“You see me,” he says, his voice low. “Even when I’m pretending, I don’t need anyone. You always see right through it, you always have.”

“And you see me,” I whisper back. “Even now, when I don’t understand what I’m becoming.”

His eyes darken, and something primal flickers there, a flash of his wolf just beneath the surface. He presses closer, his forehead resting against mine. “You make it hard to stay in

control.”

My breath catches. “Maybe you don’t have to.”

That’s all it takes. Ryder tilts his head and kisses me.

It’s not soft. It’s deep, claiming, desperate in a way that makes my knees go weak. His mouth moves against mine with a hunger that borders on worship, like he’s been holding himself back for too long. I melt into him, hands sliding up his solid chest, feeling the heat of his skin beneath the fabric.

He presses me back against the wall, his body crowding mine. The air leaves my lungs in a sharp exhale as his palm finds the back of my neck. His other hand braces on the wall beside

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my head, caging me in without trapping me.

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My fingers grip his shirt, needing him closer, needing the reassurance that he’s real and alive

and here.

He breaks the kiss just long enough to whisper against my lips, “You held it together out there. Even with all those eyes on you.”

“I had to,” I breathe. “If they saw…”

“They didn’t.” His voice is a growl now, low and possessive. “But I did. I always do.”

He kisses me again, slower this time, deeper. My body arches instinctively, meeting the solid strength of him, every nerve ending alive. The tension between us hums like a current.

When his lips trail down my neck, I can barely form words. “Ryder…”

He groans softly, his breath hot against my skin. “I almost lost you once,” he murmurs. “I’m not making that mistake again.”

My heart clenches. “You didn’t lose me.”

He lifts his head, his gaze locking onto mine. “You don’t understand,” he says, his voice raw. When I was lying there… when everything went dark, the only thing I could feel was you. That bond, your voice, that’s what pulled me back.”

”

Tears prick my eyes, but he shakes his head, brushing them away before they fall. “Don’t. Not now. I need you here. I need to feel you.”

I nod, unable to speak.

He presses forward again, his body flush against mine. His hands roam up my sides, strong but careful, tracing the line of my waist like he’s reminding himself I’m real. I can feel the tremor in him, the restraint it takes not to lose control completely.

My fingers find the back of his neck, tangling in his hair. “You’re allowed to need, Ryder. You don’t always have to be the strong one.”

His eyes soften, a flicker of vulnerability breaking through the Alpha mask. “With you, I feel like I don’t have to be.”

Then his mouth finds mine again, hungry, searching, like the kiss itself is a lifeline.

It’s more than desire; it’s connection. A grounding in the chaos. His wolf hums beneath his skin, responding to me. The bond between us pulses hot and steady, tying us together in ways neither of us could break even if we wanted to.

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He pins my wrists gently against the wall, not in dominance but in trust, his breath ragged as he presses his forehead to mine. “You drive me crazy,” he murmurs. “Every time I try to pull away, you pull me back in.”

“Maybe that’s how it’s meant to be,” I whisper. “We’re stronger together, and this is how we keep that connection alive.”

His lips curl into a faint, dangerous smile. “Together,” he repeats, his voice rough, the word a promise and a prayer all at once.

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