The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 192

** Paige’s POV **

Nina draws a slow breath, as if bracing herself. “There’s something else,” she says softly.

The forest seems to freeze around us, and I feel everyone-around me tense, waiting for the blow.

Jake stands just behind Nina with a steadying hand on her shoulder. “What else?” he whispers.

Nina swallows. “Someone else was feeding them information. Someone human.”

Every hair on my arms rises… human. The only human I know here is Cora. Surely it wasn’t her. She has a mate whom she adores. Would she really betray his pack like that?

Callen steps forward, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. “Who?”

Nina looks at him, then back at me.

“I didn’t know her name,” she says. “The hunters called her

‘the university girl. Young, human, someone who thought she was helping a friend of a friend. Someone who had access to one of you.”

Silence slams through the clearing like a physical force.

Poppy, who had been standing slightly behind me, goes rigid.”Oh,” she whispers.

Jake instantly turns toward her. “Poppy?”

She doesn’t blink. Her face drains of colour, eyes widening and her breath stutters. She looks like someone just punched her in the chest.

“I think I know who it is,” she croaks.

“Who?” Ryder asks sharply.

Poppy’s voice cracks. “Annie.”

Cold dread washes over me.

“Annie?” Jake repeats. “But… I thought you said she’s your best friend.”

Poppy’s eyes shimmer with disbelief and horror. “She is… or was. I haven’t told her anything! Nothing about any of you! didn’t even tell her I was staying here. I told her Paige needed me home, and that I took the term off uni to help her with Jax. That’s it. That’s all she knows.”

Nina nods, guilt shadowing her face. “She might not know what she’s doing. The hunters manipulate. They hide behind layers, pretending to be harmless contacts or student researchers. She may think she’s helping someone minor. But she’s passing information.”

Poppy wraps her arms around herself, shaking her head over and over. “No. Goodness, no. I must be wrong, Annie wouldn’t… she wouldn’t…”Jake reaches for her hand.

“Poppy..”

She yanks it away, eyes glassy with betrayal. “I need to think.”

“Pops, what makes you think it’s Annie?” I ask, confused about how she’s come to this conclusion.

Her eyes meet mine, and I hate the pain I see there.

“I’m not sure. It was just a feeling. I can’t explain it, but something deep inside me says it’s her. Plus, she asked some strange questions the night she brought me over to yours. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now l realise she knew something.”

“What kind of questions?” Parker asks.

“Nothing that raised major red flags at the time,” Poppy says with a frown. “I guess she was fishing to see how much I knew about you guys. I didn’t know anything back then, so there was nothing to tell her. She just asked stuff about where you all lived and what you did for work, if I felt safe around, that kind of stuff. I thought…I thought she was just worried about me.”

Her breathing grows shallower, chest rising too fast.

Ryder steps forward, voice gentle. “Let’s take this inside.

All of us.”

He glances at Blaine and the rest of the Twiceborn. “You stay out here. Guard the perimeter.”Their heads bow in unison, and they return to their positions.

Poppy swallows hard and turns toward the cabin. Jake follows immediately, whispering her name, trying to calm her. She doesn’t respond. I watch her go, my heart twisting painfully.

Nina pulls the blanket tighter around herself, waiting silently for instruction.

“Come on in,” I gesture to the door.

We file into the kitchen, and the door clicks shut behind us, muffling the forest sounds outside.

– Inside, everything feels smaller. Poppy hovers by the sink, her arms wrapped around herself, shaking with what I suspect is fury and loss. Jake stands near her, torn between reaching out and giving her space.

Nina lowers herself into a chair, still wrapped in the blanket.

The others spread out through the room, Ryder beside me, Remy and Callen by the window, Parker leaning against the wall opposite Nina. Ronnie steps in from the living room, where I can hear Jaxon cheering at the TV.

I take a slow step forward, resting against the kitchen island opposite her.

“Nina,” I say softly, “this human… this girl, do you think she’s close to Poppy?”Nina lifts her gaze, her eyes clearer than I’ve ever seen them. “I think so. The hunters were watching Poppy because of her connection to you. They used someone she communicated with, someone who messaged her.”

Poppy lets out a broken breath. “Annie… there’s no one else.”

Ryder crosses his arms. “Poppy, when was the last time you spoke to her?”

Poppy wipes at her face angrily. “A few days ago. She texted asking if I’d left university permanently. I told her no, that it was temporary. She asked where I was staying… just said with Paige.”

‘ “Did she push?” Remy asks.

Poppy nods miserably. “Yeah. When we came back home yesterday, I had messages from her. I haven’t replied yet, but she was asking if I was okay, which makes it so damn obvious now.”

A sick feeling churns in my stomach as a thought comes to me.

“Poppy,” I whisper, “what’s Annie’s full name?”

She looks up with a frown. “What? Why does…”

“Please,” I say, voice trembling. “Just tell me.”

Something in my tone must convince her, because she swallows and hesitates. “Leanne. Leanne Moore.”My heart clenches.

Leanne… Leanne Moore.

Parker moves toward me, feeling my anger through the bond. “Paige?”

I shake my nead. “Greg…”

Ryder stiffens beside me. “Greg what?”

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