The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 157

Chapter 157

** Ryder’s POV **

I’m worried.

No matter how many times she says she’s fine, that she’s got it under control, all I can see is power that shouldn’t exist running wild beneath her skin. Power that could burn her from the inside out if we don’t understand it soon.

She’s standing at the stove now, Parker’s arms still around her, Jax eating like nothing’s wrong, and for a second, I can almost pretend it’s just another morning.

Almost. Because I can smell it… that electric tang that doesn’t belong to wolves or humans. The air vibrates around her, heavy with something alive. She’s radiating light, buzzing with the heat of the sun and the cool calm of the moon. My instincts can’t make sense of it, can’t decide if I should be in awe or on guard.

She shouldn’t carry both. No one should. Yet she does, and it’s the most beautiful, terrifying

thing I’ve ever seen.

I watch her, catching a familiar gesture I’ve seen a hundred times before, one that never fails to undo me.

She tilts her face toward the sunlight streaming through the window, her eyes closed, a faint smile softening her lips as the light spills over her skin. She looks peaceful like this, untouched by the chaos around her. But then I see it.

The shimmer. It moves across her skin like a quiet pulse that seems to answer to the sunlight instead of simply reflecting it. It’s not just warmth she’s taking in; it’s as if she’s absorbing the light itself, threads of gold sinking into her skin like it belongs there.

For a heartbeat, I swear the room brightens with her. The air hums, and something powerful stirs in my chest, awe, wonder, and a flicker of unease.

She isn’t just standing in the sun. She’s absorbing it, becoming it, and, Goddess, she’s beautiful.

Not in the way mortals are beautiful, not in the way light dances off her skin, but in the way fire is beautiful, even as it consumes. It’s frightening and divine all at once, and I can’t look

away.

A part of me wants to reach for her, to touch her, to ground her in humanity before she drifts too far from it. But another part knows I shouldn’t. That whatever’s moving through her now

1/4

(Chapter 157

isn’t meant to be touched.

I’ve spent so long trying to protect her… from myself, from my world, from hunters, from the weight of everything she carries, but this… this isn’t something I can shield her from. This isn’t a threat I can fight off with teeth or claws. This is her.

And the realisation settles heavy and quiet in my chest. The woman I love is changing, evolving into something beyond any pack, any legend, maybe even beyond me.

Still, when her eyes open and find mine, the glow softens. The hum in the air fades. For jus moment, she’s my Paige again, my stubborn, fierce, beautiful mate who laughs too easily and worries too much.

The power might be growing, but the heart beneath it is still hers, and I’ll be damned before I ever let the world take that from her.

I step back slightly, not wanting to disturb the calm she’s found, and open the mind–link. The connection hums alive in the back of my skull, that familiar static just before Ronnie’s presence pushes through.

“Are you busy?” I ask.

“Define busy,” he mutters back. “I’m staring at the water samples after your mate’s handiwork and trying to convince myself I’m not losing my mind.”

“Then you’ll want to add this to the list,” I say, watching Paige as she moves through the kitchen, sunlight still tracing her shoulders like it belongs to her. “I’m pretty sure I just watched her absorb the sunlight.”

There’s a pause. Then, sharply, “She what?”

“You heard me. She wasn’t just standing in it, Ronnie, it was like the light was fueling her. I could see it. Feel it. The shimmer from the creek? Same thing, but she was pulling it in rather than pushing it out this time.”

For a moment, there’s nothing but silence on the link, then a long exhale. “Well, that’s new, but actually, it might fit with what I’m seeing here. Not that I have any clue what that is.”

“You think?”

“No wonder my readings are all over the place,” he mutters. “A solar connection would explain the results from the creek. The water is clear, as in, it’s the cleanest water gets. You’d think this sample was from highly filtered and treated water. I had a theory, but I didn’t want to sound insane until I had proof.”

“Consider this your proof.”

21

< Chapter 157

+25 Points

He’s quiet again, then his voice returns, low and grim. “All right. That helps. A lot, actually. I have no idea what we’re dealing with yet, but at least now I know where to start looking.”

“And where exactly is that?”

“The oldest records I can find. I’ve already called in a favour with one of Josh’s researchers. She specialises in pre–lunar mythologies. If this ties into the solar readings we’re seeing, we might be looking at something ancient. Something that predates the Moon Goddess entirely.”

My gut tightens. “Older than the Moon Goddess? That’s not possible.”

“Neither is your mate glowing like a sunrise,” Ronnie deadpans. “Yet here we are.”

I drag a hand through my hair, exhaling. “Whatever this is, we need to find out fast. She’s strong, but this power’s changing her, I can feel it. If there’s a risk…”

“I know, Ryder.” His tone softens. “I’ll work as fast as I can, and, Ryder… you should probably prepare her. Whatever this turns out to be, it won’t just be rare. It’ll be unprecedented. We won’t be able to keep it hidden for long. I’m already raising questions with my sudden interest in this. I doubt they’ll buy my excuse of writing an updated manuscript much longer. Especially when people start to see what she can do.”

The link fades, but his words stick.

I look back at Paige, still standing by the window, sunlight making her hair shine in red and copper tones. Jaxon giggles as he comes to her side, and she leans down to wipe chocolate off his chin. To anyone else, she’d look like nothing more than a mother sharing breakfast with her son. But I know better.

She’s not just part of this world anymore. She’s becoming something bigger, something half sunlight, half moonlight, both impossible and divine. And for the first time in a long while, I realise just how small even an Alpha can feel.

Callen breaks me from my thoughts. “Well,” he says, tossing a piece of pancake into his mouth, “if the world ends in chocolate syrup and butter, at least we’ll die happy.”

Remy snorts. “You’d still find a way to complain about the toppings.”

Parker rolls his eyes at them, but the sound of their bickering eases something tight in my chest. I watch Paige laugh softly, pressing a kiss to the top of Jaxon’s head. Her smile looks easy, but I know the truth; she’s just holding it together for him. For all of us.

When she catches me staring, she gives me that small, tired smile… the one that says, ‘don’t worry, I’m okay.‘

I nod. There’s so much I want to say, so much to tell her. Later. I’ll tell her what Ronnie said

314

K Chapter 157

later, when Jax is in bed. Hopefully, by then Ronnie will have more answers.

+25 Points

I step outside, letting the door shut quietly behind me. The air is cooler out here, crisp and damp from the morning dew. I can still hear their voices faintly through the open window, laughter, the clatter of plates, and I hold on to that sound for a second while I catch my breath.

The Moon Goddess matched us with Paige for a reason, and now I’m not so sure why. We are a perfect match. I don’t doubt that, and I’ll protect her with everything I have. Hell, I’d die for her in a heartbeat. But what if it’s not her that needs protection? What if she is here to protect us?