The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 178

** Paige’s POV **

The walk back to Phoenix feels nothing like the one we made leaving it.

Leaving was panic, chaos, running, then darkness for me.

Going back feels heavier.

Every step feels like wading through a swamp of last night’s fear, the fear of every member of our pack who fled in the dark with children clutched to their chests and wolves snarling. I feel all of it humming in my chest.

The pack moves as a single unit, but the energy feels off.

A full spectrum of emotions. People whisper. Wolves pace ahead in their shifted forms, ears pinned back. Mothers hold their kids closer than necessary. I feel every flicker of anxiety; it’s too much to ignore.

I try to steady my breathing. The last thing I need is to worry them more by showing how scared I really am, or worse, by lighting up like a damn disco ball.

Ryder walks at my side, Jaxon on his back, his arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Callen moves just ahead, his attention fixed on the forest. Remy is on my other side, close enough that our arms brush occasionally like he’s grounding himself or me; I can’t tell which. Parker walks a fraction behind us, keeping pace despite the drained heaviness still dragging him down.Ronnie keeps everyone organised, gently urging slowe groups forward, checking for stragglers, guiding the more vulnerable closer so they’re protected by the inner circle.

Everyone is doing their job. Doing their best. But anxiety still clenches my chest.

A woman ahead, Marcy, one of the mated females around my age, stumbles slightly when her daughter, barely six, clings too tightly to her leg. The girl is crying silently, eyes-glassy and unfocused, the way Jaxon looked when Ryder walked through the door earlier. Before I can think, my feet are moving.

“Hey,” I say softly as I step quicker, catching up to them.” Marcy? You okay?”

She jumps, her shoulders stiff. “Luna… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine,” I assure her, placing a gentle hand on her arm.” You’re allowed to be scared. Last night was… a lot.”

Her eyes fill instantly, and glances down at her daughter before picking her up. “They came so close, too close. I thought… I thought my baby..” Her voice breaks on a sob.

Without thinking, I place my hand on her daughter’s back.

Warmth rises under my palm, soft and golden, instinctive.

It’s not a blast of light like last night. It’s not power rushing through me. It’s softer, like I’m wrapping her in a warm blanket with my energy.

The child’s shaking stops. Her little fingers unclench fromher mother’s clothes. She blinks up at me, teary and confused but calmer.

“There,

,” I whisper. “It’s okay. You’re safe. You’re both safe.”-

Marcy exhales shakily as the tension drains out of her shoulders. “How are you doing that?”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” I say with a weak smile.

I hate lying, especially now, but I know it’s for everyone’s safety. That doesn’t mean I won’t use my gifts if they can help. These are my people now too; they re my responsibility. I just have to hope no one makes a big deal out of anything they see me do.

Behind me, I feel Ryder watching. It’s a warm, steady pressure on my back, like his gaze alone is like a steady hand pressing against my back.

“You’re doing well, angel,” he murmurs through the bond. ”

Fantastic.”

I swallow hard and nod before moving back into place beside him. Jaxon reaches for my hand immediately, like the brief separation was too much. I reach up and curl my fingers around his and squeeze.

“We’re nearly home,” I whisper to him. “I promise.”

He leans his head against Ryder but keeps hold of me, as if needing both of us to keep him feeling safe.

Callen gives me a quick sideways glance. “You felt that?”he asks. “All those nerves hitting at the same time?”

“I still do,” I say quietly. “It’s like… noise. Not sound, but… energy. Everyone’s fear is loud.”

“You’re picking up on the pack link,” Remy frowns. “Can you block it?”

“Maybe, but I don’t want to. Not yet.” I shrug. “I need to know how the pack is feeling.”

“That’s what an Alpha does,” Ryder murmurs.

“That’s what a Luna does,” Parker corrects gently behind us. His tone is soft. “You’re reading them better than any of us could.”

I don’t know if that’s true, but his belief in me warms something inside me, anyway.

We walk on. As the trees thin and the first signs of Phoenix territory appear, the familiar winding path and the cluster offcabins ahead, the pack’s anxiety shifts. It spikes.

“Paige,” Remy says lowly. “Look.”

I do.

People slow to a halt when they see the clearing. The cabins, the place they fled in terror. It looks the same, untouched, but that seems to make it worse.

A boy about Jaxon’s age clutches his father’s hand andwhispers, “What if the bad men are hiding?”

The father swallows hard, eyes darting. “They’re not. The enforcers checked…”

“But what if..” His voice breaks, and his dad pulls him in tight.

Ryder stiffens beside me.

This fear is what he was talking about. The kind that rots everything from the inside. We need to stop it before it spreads. Before I can lose my nerve, I walk forward.

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