The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 143

** Callen’s POV **

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The morning air is crisp when I step outside, the kind that fills your lungs and makes you feel alive again. Jaxon talks quietly, his voice a little raspy.

He’s sitting on the porch with Parker, wrapped in a blanket that’s far too big for him. Parker’s trying to convince him that porridge will make him feel better, and Jaxon’s unimpressed expression says exactly what he thinks of that. I can’t help but smile.

Paige was right; his fever broke sometime before dawn. Ryder stayed with him through most of the night, letting the kid sleep curled against his chest. Remy and I took turns after that. I ended up on the floor beside the bed, half–asleep, listening to Jaxon’s breathing.

Paige catches my eye through the kitchen window. She’s standing by the sink, her hair pulled back, cheeks still pink from sleep. The sight hits me like a quiet ache. She doesn’t have to do anything grand to make me fall for her again, just exist.

I lift my cup toward her in greeting, and she smiles faintly, nodding toward the trees.

She knows. She always knows.

I find Remy near the edge of the clearing, leaning against one of the older birch trees. His hair’s a mess, his hoodie rumpled, and his eyes tired. He’s been like that a lot lately, half here,

half somewhere I can’t reach.

“Walk with me?” I ask.

He glances up and hesitates. For a second, I think he’s going to say no. Then, his gaze shifts to something behind me. I hear Paige step out onto the porch, and I glance back at her over my shoulder, just in time to see her give Remy an encouraging nod.

That does it. He nods and pushes off the tree, falling into step beside me.

We walk in silence for a while, down one of the narrow trails that winds to our old meeting place. The forest is still damp from last night’s rain, the air thick with the scent of pine and earth. I wait until we’re far enough that the sounds of the village fade before I speak.

“I feel like I don’t know where we stand anymore,” I admit quietly.

Remy’s eyes flick toward me, wary. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been distant. I thought it was stress or exhaustion, but it feels like more than that.”

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He exhales, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s not you, Cal.”

“Then what is it?”

He stops walking, turns to face me. “It’s me.”

I frown. “You’re going to have to be a little more specific.”

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His mouth twitches like he’s trying to smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’ve been trying to make sense of everything. Paige, you, Parker… even Ryder. It’s a lot. And for the first time in my life, I’m actually happy, really happy, and that scares the hell out of me.”

There’s something raw in his voice that tugs at my chest. I want to reach for him, but I force myself to wait.

“I thought I’d lost you,” I say quietly. “That night in the woods, when the hunters shot at you, I thought…” My voice trails off, and I swallow hard. “I realised how much I need you. How much we make sense.”

Remy looks down, his thumb tracing the seam of his hoodie pocket. “It did make sense. It always did. But it’s different now.”

“Different how?”

He lifts his head, meeting my gaze. “I’m still attracted to you, Callen. I always will be. You were my first… everything. My best friend. My safe place. The one who made me feel again. But what I feel for Paige… it’s not the same. It’s like she’s rewired me somehow. I never thought I’d be the kind of guy to want forever with someone, to picture a family or a home or any of that s**t. But with her…” He laughs softly, almost disbelieving. “She makes me want to be better. For her. For all of us.”

I nod slowly, letting his words sink in. It doesn’t hurt, not in the way I thought it might. It’s more… bittersweet. Like finally hearing the truth you already knew deep down.

“She’s changed me too,” I admit. “When I’m with her, everything else quiets. The noise, the fear, the constant need to prove myself, it all just… stops. But that doesn’t mean what we had

wasn’t real, Rem.”

He steps closer, his expression softening. “I know it was real, and it still is, just in a different way now. I don’t want to lose what we have… I just need to redefine it, I guess.”

I take a slow breath, nodding. “So where does that leave us?”

His smile this time is real. “Exactly where we’re meant to be. You’re my friend, my pack, my family. And when we’re with her… I want that connection to exist between all of us. I’m okay with being yours, Callen. In the bedroom, even outside of it, but not instead of her. She’s the

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centre. She’s the reason we’re even whole again.”

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For a long moment, I can’t speak. I just look at him; the honesty is clear in his voice. There’s no rejection in it. No shame. Just truth.

Finally, I say, “I get it. She’s my centre too, but I don’t want to pretend what’s between us doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s not the same kind of love, but it’s still love.”

He nods, his eyes softening. “Yeah. It is.”

I laugh softly, shaking my head. “You always did make things complicated.”

He grins. “And you always loved me for it.”

“Still do,” I admit.

We start walking again, the silence between us lighter this time. The tension that’s been building in my chest for days finally eases, replaced by something warm. Acceptance and understanding. Remy and I were never meant to be a couple; we were two broken people who needed each other to hold all our broken pieces together until our mate came along to fix us. Nothing will take that from us, but he’s right; everything is different now, and I’m okay with

that.

The path curves back toward the cabin, and through the trees I can see the porch. Paige is still there, now sitting with Jaxon curled in her lap. He’s dozing, his little hand fisted in her shirt. He looks smaller like this. Ryder stands nearby, talking with Parker. The sight pulls a quiet ache through me.

“She’s our anchor,” I say, mostly to myself.

Remy follows my gaze, nodding. “Yeah, and we’d all be lost without her.”

We stand there for a while, watching them.

When we reach the porch again, Jaxon stirs at the sound of our footsteps. His eyelids flutter open, and a sleepy grin spreads across his face. “Uncle Cal! Uncle Rem!”

Remy chuckles at being called uncle and crouches down, brushing his fingers through Jax’s messy curls. “Hey, little man. Feeling better?”

“Yeah. Auntie Poppy said she is bringing me soup later, with noodles.”

“Big day,” I tease, and Jax giggles.

Paige’s gaze flicks up to me, and in that single look, I feel everything, the love, the trust, the unspoken thank you for mending whatever crack had started to form between me and Remy.

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I give her a small nod, hoping she understands: We’re okay.

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Ryder reaches for her hand, his thumb brushing over her knuckles, and something inside me settles at the sight.

This is what we’re building. It’s not perfect. It’s not easy, but it’s real.

After lunch, I find myself back outside. The sun’s higher now, warming the garden. I pick up one of the small wooden stakes a pack member dropped off earlier. We’d planned to have a crew come and install them, but I can’t bring myself to wait. I want to do it myself.

The idea is simple… set the stakes around the edge of the garden, each one connected by a thin wire that’ll be nearly invisible to human eyes after dark. It’s not our first line of defence, more of a last resort, but it’s something. A little extra peace of mind.

I just hope everyone remembers it’s here.

I’m halfway through hammering one in when Remy shows up, a hammer dangling from his hand and a lopsided grin on his face.

“Thought you might need backup,” he says.

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