The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 186

** Ryder’s POV **

The moment it hits me, I almost drop to my knees. It’s not a pulse or a flare. Not the usual warm tug of the bond when Paige is overwhelmed or scared. This… this is a detonation.

A tidal wave of heat slams into my chest so violently my vision goes white. For a breathless second I can’t see, can’t move, can’t think. I can only feel her. I feel her power bursting open, her heart racing, something rising inside her.

“Ryder?” Leo’s voice snaps through the mind-link. “What’s going on?”

The next second, Jaxon screams.

“Daddy!” He grabs my shirt, his little hands shaking.” What’s wrong with Mummy? Why’s she shouting in my head?”

Fuck.

I snatch him into my arms before he can fall, his whole body trembling.

“It’s okay,” I lie through clenched teeth. “You’re okay.”

I look wildly around the garden where we had been playing. Remy stands half-shifted already, eyes glowing, hackles raised, sensing the same storm I do.”What the hell was that?” he snarls.

I don’t answer. I can’t. My lungs feel crushed.

Paige… she’s terrified, but calm. Overwhelmed, but controlled. In pain, but not hurting.

Her power is everywhere at once, burning and purifying.

Ronnie jogs around the side of the house; his eyes wild and his arms full of the food he’s just collected.

I swing Jaxon toward him. “Take him inside. Don’t let him out of your sight. Lock the doors.”

Jaxon’s fingers clutch tighter around my shirt. “Daddy, no

My heart cracks. “Baby, I have to go to Mummy. I have to.”

His lower lip trembles, but he nods bravely, his eyes huge and shining.

Ronnie drops the food and steps forward, hands out. “I’ve got him.”

I lean down and kiss Jaxon’s forehead. “I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”

“You promise?” he whispers.

“I swear it.”

I hand him over, and it feels like ripping off a limb. Before Ronnie even turns away, my wolf lunges forward andtakes control. I shift mid-run. My bones crack, fur bursts free, and the world sharpens into perfect clarity.

Remy shifts beside me with a snarl, and the two of us tear into the forest. The power thrumming through the bond keeps hitting, wave after wave, and it’s getting stronger, too strong.

“Callen, Parker!” I scream at them in the mind-link.

Nothing.

“Callen, Parker, answer me, damn it!”

There’s only static and the faint echo of their shock, their fear, their disbelief.

Remy barrels into my shoulder, breathing harshly as he mind-links. “I can feel them. Something’s happening, something big. Ryder, slow down! We need a plan before we go barreling in there.”

“I can’t.”

Paige’s presence is like a beacon in the dark, pulling me like a magnet. With every step I take, her power flares again, wild, radiant and overwhelming.

“Callen! Parker!”

Still nothing.

My wolf roars, surging ahead harder, faster.Behind us, the pack stirs, wolves exploding out of cabins and tree lines, responding to the call. Dozens of paws pound the forest floor, their fear mixing with awe. They feel her too, every single one of them.

I break through the last line of trees and skid across the ground outside the clinic.

The clinic lights flicker wildly, erratic flashes that streak across the windows like lightning. The walls tremble with the echo of a howl I’ve never heard before.

It’s the sound of wolves, but different somehow. Like they’re more than just pack members, they’re something else entirely.

Remy’s wolf growls behind me. What is she doing?

I don’t answer. I shift back and rip the door open with my human hands. It slams against the wall, and I storm inside.

The moment I cross the threshold, I freeze.

Everything in me stops. The rage and fear dissolve into nothing. All of it just drops out of existence like l’ve stepped into a dream I don’t recognise.

Paige stands in the centre of the cramped room, glowing.

A soft gold-silver aura wraps around her like a second skin. Her hair floats as if she’s underwater. Her eyes…

Goddess, her eyes aren’t her usual colour anymore. They burn bright gold, like a wolf.

And that’s not all. Nine wolves stand in a circle aroundher. They’re nothing like the dazed wolves that we were told about. They’re alert, like they’ve been awakened.

Their fur glows with the same shimmer I felt in the bond moments ago, silver-gold threads, their chests move in perfect unison with hers.

“She calls them the Twiceborn,” Callen whispers.

My heart lurches violently.

Parker is beside her, holding her hand like he’s trying not to shake. Callen stands behind her like a shield. Jake and Poppy are plastered to the wall, eyes wide with terror and ave.

Paige turns toward me, and the world narrows to her.

“Ryder,” she breathes, her glow softening.

Hearing her voice speak my name breaks something inside me. I rush to her, practically falling at her feet, hands grabbing her shoulders, her waist, her face, checking, touching, needing to feel that she’s real and breathing and here.

The glow around her brushes my skin, warm and soothing, but when I look out at the crowd of wolves, the effect is the exact opposite. They’re seconds from completely freaking out.

“Hey,” I bark, my voice sharp enough to snap every pair of eyes to me. “Everyone calm the hell down.”

They fall into immediate silence.

“She’s okay,” I say, sweeping my arm back toward Paige. “I know you felt that power. I know it scared the shit out of all of you. It scared me too.”

A few murmur and nod.

“But she’s not hurt. She’s not losing control, she’s not in danger, and she’s not a threat.” I pause, letting that sink in. “If you’re scared right now, I get it. But you’re scared because you don’t understand what happened, not because Paige did anything wrong.”

Paige squeezes my hand.

I clear my throat. “Go home, get inside, and stay together.

Get the kids somewhere warm. We will hold a pack meettonight and explain everything we can.”

“Alpha,” one of the Midnight wolves says, stepping forward. “Are we safe?”

I meet his eyes. “With her?” I glance at Paige. “You’ve never been safer.”

A ripple of relief rolls through the crowd. Some bow their heads. Others give grateful nods before turning away.

“We need to get back to Ronnie. He might have the answers,” Remy says quietly.

He’s right.

Callen throws on some clothes from the spares we always have on hand here. Parker adjusts Paige’s coat like he can’t stop touching her. Jake and Poppy gather their scattered papers.

I look to the Twiceborn.

All nine wolves are staring at Paige, bodies angled toward her protectively, glowing faintly like reflections of her own power.

“Okay,” I nod, “we’re leaving.”

Paige takes a step towards the door, and The Twiceborn mirror her.

She moves left; they move left, making a crescent formation around her.As we make it through the door, wolves from the pack reach out to their once fallen pack members, gentle touches, soft greetings, murmured welcomes, but the Twiceborn don’t even flick an ear at them. They act as though the rest of the world doesn’t exist.

Their entire focus is on Paige. Guarding, watching, following. When she pauses to fix her shoelace, all nine step closer. Callen swears under his breath. Parker lets out a low whistle. Poppy mutters, “This is… insane.” Jake scribbles something on his pocket notepad.

Paige’s fingers tighten in mine, her voice trembling as she whispers, “Ryder… they’re not just following. They’re waiting for instructions.”

A chill sweeps over me.

“We need to get home fast.”

With Remy leading, Callen flanking, Parker gripping Paige’s other hand, and the Twiceborn forming their silent formation behind, we head home to face whatever truth Ronnie is about to reveal.