The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 144

** Remy’s POV **

The forest feels alive again tonight.

475 Points

We’ve been walking the border in our human forms for about an hour now, Parker and I, boots crunching softly against damp earth. Normally, patrols are quiet, routine. But after everything that’s happened, the hunters, the poison, the near–misses, there’s a heaviness that sits under the calm. We’re alert, but not tense. Watchful, not afraid.

Callen’s words from earlier keep looping through my head. The honesty in his voice. The relief in mine.

Parker clears his throat beside me, breaking through my thoughts. “You’re quieter than usual, ” he says. “I know you don’t speak much, but you’re not even doing your usual grunts tonight.”

I snort. “Just thinking.”

He glances at me with that familiar half–smile, the one that always feels like a challenge. ” That’s dangerous.”

“Shut up.”

He laughs, but there’s affection in it. We move easily together; we always have. We are twins, yes, but different in all the ways that make us work. Like two sides of the same coin. Where I’m quick to act, Parker’s the one who thinks first. Where he hesitates, I leap. We’ve saved each other’s asses more times than either of us could count.

We reach the north ridge, the farthest point of the patrol route, and pause. From here you can see the whole stretch of the valley below, the creek glinting in the moonlight, the soft glow of cabins beyond the trees, and further still, the faint shimmer of the human town.

“It’s hard to believe how much this place has changed,” Parker says.

I nod. “It feels like it’s ours again. Not just territory, it’s home.”

He looks sideways at me. “You mean since Paige came?”

A small smile tugs at my lips. “Yeah. Since her.”

He grins knowingly. “You’re different now, you know that?”

“Everyone keeps saying that.”

“Because it’s true.” He shrugs. “You smile more. You actually sleep. You don’t bite people’s

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Chapter 144

heads off when they ask if you’re okay.”

“I still do that,” I mutter.

“Not to her.”

I glance at him, smirking. “She’s special.”

He chuckles. “Understatement of the year.”

+25 Points

We start walking again, tracing the perimeter. Parker’s tone softens. “I’m glad you and Callen spoke, it was getting hard to ignore the tension between you.”

“Yeah.” I kick at a stone, watching it bounce down the hill. “So am I.”

“He looked lighter afterward. You both did.”

I nod, my chest tightening a little. “I didn’t want to hurt him. I still don’t. What we had… it was real. It still is, it’s just different now. We are going to see where it goes.”

Parker hums. “Different how?”

I take a moment before answering. “He’ll always be a part of me. But it’s not the same kind of love anymore. It’s… quieter, familiar. Like something that’s settled instead of burning. Paige changed everything. She pulled something out of me I didn’t even know existed.”

He smiles faintly. “The soft side?”

“Don’t push it.”

He laughs, but it fades quickly. “You deserve that, Rem. All of it. For years, you were the one holding everyone together, making sure no one saw the cracks. It’s good to see you finally letting someone take care of you for once.”

The honesty in his voice hits me harder than I expect. I glance away, swallowing. “I didn’t know how to let anyone in before her. Not really. I thought if I did, I’d fall apart.”

“And now?”

“Now I know falling apart isn’t always the worst thing.”

He nods slowly. “She’s got that effect.”

“She does,” I say quietly. “On all of us.”

We keep walking until the trail narrows; the forest growing denser around us, and a rabbit darts across our path, exciting my wolf. The air smells of wet moss and wildlife, with no sign

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of hunters.

It’s peaceful, but the peace doesn’t erase the threat.

+25 Points

When we reach the old boundary marker, a half–rotted post carved with a ‘P‘ I stop to check the ground. I get the uneasy feeling of being watched, and my wolf ripples with alertness. I scan our surroundings but it’s clear. The scent markers are still strong. No trace of intruders, no sign of wolfsbane or mercury toxins. Just the usual mix of dirt, pine, and the tang of wolf. I brush it off as paranoia, exactly what the hunters wanted.

“Clear,” I say, straightening.

Parker nods, scanning the horizon. “Good. The last thing we need is more trouble.”

“Don’t jinx it.”

He grins. “Come on, where’s your faith?”

“In the pack? Unshakable. In your luck? Questionable.”

He bumps my shoulder with his. “Asshole.”

I grin. “Takes one to know one.”

The teasing fades as we loop back toward home, the trees thinning until we can see the cabins again. Smoke curls up from a few chimneys, and an owl hoots nearby.

“You know, I used to think our lives would always be like this. Patrolling, looking after the pack, the same boring thing every day. But lately…”

“What?”

He shrugs. “I can actually picture a future. A real one. Not just existing, but living.”

I smile. “Paige has that effect too.”

“Yeah,” he says softly. “She makes everything feel possible again.”

We reach the clearing behind the training field, where a few of the newer enforcers are practicing sparring in the dark, an important skill. I recognise two of the Midnight wolves, Orin and Ryan, paired off against two of our trainees, Lila and Lee. It’s good to see them integrated, laughing, and not looking over their shoulders.

The alliance with their pack has been working better than I expected. For the first time in years, there’s a sense of unity between the packs. I can’t help thinking Paige had something to do with that too. People listen to her in a way they never did with us alone. She makes people believe. I’m not sure if that’s a part of the power we are still learning about, or if it’s

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+25 Points

just her, because she doesn’t even need the power to bring people together; she’s enough

without it.

We pause to watch for a moment. Orin gets knocked flat on his back, groans, then bursts out laughing. Lila offers him a hand, and I see the spark in their eyes before either of them realises it’s there.

“Mates,” Parker murmurs. “You can see it already.”

“Yeah,” I say, smiling faintly. “Guess it’s in the air.”

He chuckles. “Careful. You’re starting to sound romantic.”

“I blame Paige.”

“Obviously.”

We stay for a while, helping run through a few drills, correcting form, checking balance. It feels good, normal even. We fought for this kind of life without realising it.

By the time we head back toward our cabin, it’s almost ten, and I still feel wide awake. When we step onto the porch, the scent of beef stew hits me. Paige’s doing, no doubt. My stomach growls in response, and Parker shoots me a grin.

Inside, Paige is by the stove, ladling stew into bowls, her hair messy and falling over one shoulder. Ryder’s sitting at the table, talking to Callen, his voice low as they look at something on the laptop.

She glances up when we step in, that easy smile lighting her face. “Perfect timing,” she says. “Supper’s ready.”

Parker doesn’t wait for an invitation. “You truly are a goddess, you know that?”

Paige rolls her eyes. “Flattery doesn’t get you extra portions.”

“It doesn’t hurt to try.”

I take in the sight for another moment before crossing over to her. “You didn’t have to cook tonight,” I say softly. “It’s late, and you’ve been running on fumes.”

She shakes her head. “It helps me relax. Besides, everyone’s been stretched thin lately. I figured a proper meal wouldn’t hurt, even if it’s late.”

“You were right, I admit. “It smells incredible.”

Her smile softens. “Thanks.”

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425 Points

I reach out, brushing my fingers lightly against her back as I pass her to grab the bowls she’s set aside. She leans into it without thinking, and the world feels right again.

Ryder looks up from his seat, nodding toward us. “Patrol clear?”

“Yeah,” I reply, setting the bowls down. “No signs of hunters or toxins. Border’s quiet.”

“Good,” he says simply, though I see his shoulders ease a fraction. The worry never really leaves him, but it’s dulled now.

Callen pushes out a chair for Paige, his grin crooked. “Sit. You’ve earned it.”

She laughs, handing him a bowl before taking the seat beside him. I slide in across from her while Parker settles next to Ryder, and for a while, there’s nothing but the sound of spoons against bowls and soft conversation.

It’s simple, this moment, but it fills something in me I didn’t realise was empty. The way Callen teases me about my terrible table manners. The way Ryder quietly refills Paige’s glass before she even realises its empty. The way she looks at all of us, like she’s memorising the moment, storing it away to get her through the next storm.

After a while, Paige leans back in her chair, smiling faintly. “You know, this is the first time it’s felt quiet in here. Not just the sound, everything.”

“Feels like the calm after the storm,” Callen says.

Ryder hums in agreement. “Let’s hope it’s not before it.”

I meet Paige’s gaze across the table. There’s something in it that tells me she’s thinking the same thing I am, that nothing this fragile ever lasts forever, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hold on to it while it’s here.

Parker breaks the quiet first, leaning back with a satisfied groan. “I swear, if I die tomorrow, I’ll die happy.”

“Don’t tempt fate,” I warn.

He grins. “I’ll risk it.”

Callen throws a crumpled napkin at him, and the sound of laughter fills the space again.

When dinner’s done, Ryder insists on doing the dishes with Parker, muttering something about “not letting Paige lift a finger.” She protests, but the look Ryder gives her leaves no room for argument. Callen disappears upstairs to check on Jax.

That leaves me and Paige in the quiet again. She’s sitting on the couch now, tucked under a

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125 Points

blanket, looking for something to watch on TV. For a moment, I just stand there, taking her in, the soft line of her jaw, the calm in her eyes, the steady rhythm of her heartbeat through the bond.

“Come sit,” she says, patting the cushion beside her.

I cross the room and drop down next to her. The heat of her easing the last of the tension from patrol.

“Everything all right out there?” she asks.

“Yeah. Peaceful for once.”

“Good,” she says softly, leaning against my shoulder. “You all deserve some peace.”

I rest my arm around her, pulling her closer. “So do you.”

For a while, neither of us speaks. We just sit there, staring at the movie list. Her breathing evens out against my chest, slow and steady.

A

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