The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 141

Chapter 141

**Paige’s POV **

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By the time we reach the healer’s cabin, the night air has cooled to a soft chill. I wrap my arms around myself, wishing I’d brought an extra layer. Ryder pushes the door open, and I follow him in. He walks past the usual doors to the patients‘ rooms and down to the rooms reserved for the healers to rest and sleep if they need to.

He knocks softly on the door, and Poppy’s voice drifts from inside. “Come in, it’s open.”

Jaxon is curled up on the couch beneath a blanket, his cheeks flushed a faint pink. Poppy sits beside him, her book lying open beside her as she brushes his hair from his forehead. She looks up when we enter and smiles, though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

“He’s all right,” she says before any of us can ask. “Running a bit of a fever, but Jake checked him over already. Just a little virus that’s been going around the younger ones. Two of the pups were down with it earlier this week.”

I kneel beside the couch, pressing the back of my hand to Jaxon’s forehead. He stirs but doesn’t wake, letting out a little sigh that sounds heartbreakingly small. “He’s been tireder over the last couple of days,” I say softly.

“Exactly,” Poppy replies. “His body’s just fighting it off. Keep him hydrated and let him rest. He’ll be back to himself in a day or two.”

Ryder crouches beside me, his palm resting against Jaxon’s head. His expression shifts, the fierce, commanding Alpha replaced by something far gentler. He strokes his hand over Jaxon’s head. “He’s burning up,” he murmurs, more to himself than to anyone else.

Poppy smiles faintly. “Not dangerously so. He will be fine.”

Behind us, the door opens again. Callen, Parker, and Remy step in, each of them wearing the same worried expression. Callen’s brows draw together immediately. “What’s wrong?”

“Just a mild fever,” I say before Ryder can work himself up any further. “Jake says it’s nothing.

That doesn’t stop them from crowding in. Parker leans over the back of the couch, his hand brushing Jaxon’s hair back with surprising gentleness. “He’s flushed,” he mutters. “We should take him home. He’ll rest better there.”

“I agree,” Ryder says. “I’ll carry him.”

Before I can protest, Ryder scoops Jaxon up carefully. The sight of him holding our son never

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stops hitting me somewhere deep. That effortless strength mixed with such tenderness. Jaxon instinctively burrows into his chest, his small hand fisting in Ryder’s shirt.

Remy holds the door open for us, but not before pressing the back of his hand to Jax’s forehead himself. “He’s warm, but his breathing’s fine,” he murmurs. “Jake wouldn’t have let him sleep if he had thought it was anything serious.”

“Still,” Callen says quietly, “we’ll keep an eye on him tonight.”

Poppy shoots me a look as we watch the guys fuss over him. These big, strong wolves are turning into giant puppies over a mild fever. It’s kind of cute. I remember his first fever. I was exactly the same.

I hug Poppy, thanking her before following the guys out.

The walk back to the house is slow and silent. Ryder cradles Jaxon against him the whole way, whispering softly now and then, words I can’t quite make out but can feel through the bond. Remy walks on his other side, alert as ever, scanning the tree line like the darkness itself might try to steal them away.

When we reach our cabin, Callen rushes ahead to open the door. Inside, Ryder heads straight upstairs and lays Jaxon carefully on the bed and pulls the blanket up to his chin. Jax doesn’t wake up, just sighs and rolls onto his side, snuggling into the pillow.

For a few minutes, no one speaks. We all just watch and listen to Jaxon’s steady breathing.

Remy crouches beside him first, adjusting the blanket just so, tucking it in neatly. “I’ll check on him later tonight,” he says softly. “Make sure his fever’s not climbing.”

Parker’s still watching Jax with that quiet focus of his. “He looks peaceful,” he murmurs. That’s a good sign that he’s not in any pain.”

Callen lets out a low sigh. “He gave me a scare when I first saw him looking like that,” he admits, running a hand through his hair.

”

“He’ll be okay. He’s strong. Just like his mum,” Ryder nods, and I’m not sure if he’s trying to reassure himself or Callen.

“And his dad,” I add with a smile.

Ryder glances up at me, something raw flickering behind his eyes before he looks back at Jax. He sits on the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees, and just… watches him. Every protective instinct in him is awake.

I see it in the way his hand stays close, ready to touch and soothe if Jax wakes. In the way his eyes flick between Jaxon’s chest and face, making sure each breath comes easily. The

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Chapter 141

Alpha is gone; this is just a father, and he isn’t the only one.

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Parker disappears into the bathroom and comes back with a cool, damp cloth. “For his head,” he murmurs, setting it gently against Jaxon’s forehead.

Callen sits on the rocking chair we’d recently brought in here for story time, leaning forward, his elbows braced on his knees. “You know,” he says quietly, “if I didn’t know any better, I’d say the kid’s milking it. Getting all the attention for himself. That’s what I used to do as a kid.”

I laugh softly. “Maybe if he were awake enough to enjoy it.”

“Still,” Remy says from his position leaning against the wall, “he’s got the right idea. Surrounded by all of us, spoiled and safe.”

Ryder looks up at him, a flicker of amusement softening his face. “That’s exactly what he deserves, and he’s not the only one who deserves to be spoiled,” he says, reaching for my hand and giving it a squeeze.

That earns him a teasing scoff from Callen and a hum of agreement from Parker.

Love swells in my chest for these men. Watching them all, each so different and yet bound together by love and loyalty, warms something inside me.

I used to think of family as something fragile, something I could lose if I let myself believe in it too much. But right now, as I watch Ryder stroke Jaxon’s hair, Parker quietly refolds the blanket edge, Remy checks his pulse out of habit, and Callen makes another dry comment to fill the silence, I see what family really is.

It’s this. It’s them.

They’re not just my mates. They’re protectors, fathers, anchors, and every one of them, I realise with a weight that fills my chest, will make an incredible dad one day.

Ryder catches me watching, that familiar smirk curving at the edge of his mouth. “What?”

“Nothing,” I say softly, shaking my head. “Just… thinking how lucky Jax is.”

He tilts his head, curiosity flickering in his eyes. “You mean how lucky we are.”

That pulls a smile from me. “That too.”

I brush my fingertips lightly over Jaxon’s hair, feeling the warmth of his skin, the steady beat of his little heart. My boys, I think, glancing around the room, all of them. And I know then, with absolute certainty, that when this is over, when the hunters are gone and peace finally settles over us… I want more than survival.

<Chapter 141

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