The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 195

** Paige’s POV **

The moment the pack disperses, my legs stop working. I don’t collapse, but my knees go weak enough that Ryder’s hand shoots out, gripping my waist like he’s ready to catch me.

“Easy,” he murmurs.

Easy… if only.

I can still feel it, the rush of the pack dropping to their knees. The surge of power that wasn’t mine and yet was.

The echo of Ronnie’s voice calling me Eos, the Dawn, the renewal, all those impossible titles that feel too heavy for a girl who still panics at the dentist.

I feel like the forest is watching me the same way the pack did. Like it knows something I don’t. My skin tingles; the glow under it hasn’t settled down yet. I exhale shakily.

Remy steps in close. “Breathe, Paige.”

Parker takes my hand. “We’ve got you.”

Callen doesn’t touch me, but he’s at my back, like a solid wall between me and the world.

I nod weakly. “Okay. Yeah. I’m okay.”

I’m not, but pretending is easier than the truth.We walk back to the cabin together, and every wolf we pass bows their head a little. Not fully, not kneeling again.

Just a respectful dip of acknowledgment. It makes my stomach twist

Ryder notices.

“You don’t have to respond,” he whispers. “You’re allowed to just… walk. Let them make sense of today in their own. time.”

“It feels wrong.”

“What does?” Parker asks softly.

“That people think I’m something I’m not.”

Callen snorts lightly. “Paige, with all due respect… you’re literally glowing.”

“Not right now,” I huff.

He gestures at me. “There is a visible shimmer under your skin, like moonlit glitter. You look like you’re about to sprout wings and fly off.”

“Callen…”

“What? It’s true.”

Remy nudges him. “Maybe say it in a way that isn’t going to make her hyperventilate.”

Callen rolls his eyes. “Fine. Paige, you’re incredible andpowerful and everything they said you are.”

“Better,” Remy mutters.

“My mummy is a superhero,” Jax chips in, making me smile.

Parker scoops him up, swinging him up onto his shoulders, and he squeals in delight as he runs with him.

Poppy, Leo and Jake catch up with us halfway back. Poppy looks like she’s been crying. Leo’s arm is wrapped around her protectively, and Jake holds her hand on her other side.

“Are you okay?” I ask her softly.

“No,” she admits. “But seeing that… seeing them kneel…

Goodness, Paige, it was beautiful. You’re meant for this.” She wipes under her eyes. “Even if it terrifies you.”

“It does.” My whisper comes out raw. “It really does.”

“You don’t have to be brave alone.”

I nod and swallow around the emotion clogging my throat.

By the time we reach the cabin, my nerves feel like frayed wires sparking in every direction. The moment the door shuts behind us, I tug off my boots and sink onto the sofa.

Poppy asks if she can put Jax to bed tonight, and I nod, not just because I need some time to process, but because l know this is what she needs right now.Jax takes a moment to hug each of us, saying goodnight, and I hold him a little longer than I should, needing his connection, even if it’s just for a moment. When he’s gone, I notice his blanket is still draped over the back cushions. I pull it into my lap, grounding myself in the scent of him.

Ryder kneels in front of me, and his eyes search mine. I feel an immense rush of love through the bond. Right now, seeing and feeling him like this, I just know hed do anything for me. I know he would kill for me without even blinking.

His forehead creases. “Talk to me.”

“I don’t want..” My voice cracks. “I don’t want them kneeling. I don’t want to be worshipped. I’m not a goddess. I’m just… me. I make mistakes. I panic. I hyperventilate. I burn things by accident. I ruined two frying pans the other day trying to work out how this power works.”

“You didn’t ruin the pans,” Parker interrupts gently. “You purified them.”

Callen lifts a brow. “They pretty much dissolved.”

“They were very impure,” Parker insists. 1

Despite the way I’m feeling, a weak laugh slips out.

Ryder places his hands on my knees. “Paige, listen to me.”

I try.

“You didn’t ask for any of this. No one’s saying you did.

And no one expects perfection. But what you did today?

What you did for the Twiceborn? No one else could have done that. Not any of us, not any healer, not even the Moon Goddess.”

My throat burns at his words. know he speaks the truth, but imposter syndrome is real.

“You saved them,” he says softly. “And now they see you for what you are.”

“Which is?”

He meets my gaze. “Hope.”

Something in me cracks.

Remy joins Ryder on the floor, leaning his shoulder against the sofa. Callen sits on the coffee table, elbows on his knees. Parker lowers himself beside me, thigh touching mine.

I am surrounded by my mates, anchored by their love and their determination to protect me, not just from external threats, but from my own mind.,

I straighten on the sofa a little and let the blanket fall to my lap. My mates all watch me. I know they’re waiting for the spiral, the emotional breakdown they’ve witnessed many times before. But it doesn’t come, not this time.”Okay,” I say again, but this time my voice is firmer. “Then we don’t just wait around praying for luck. We get ahead of it.”

Callen lifts a brow. “Are you… making a plan?”

“Yes.” The confidence in my tone startles even me.

Ryder exchanges a look with Parker.

I take a breath and push myself to my feet. “Annie isn’t the real threat. She’s a tool. A pawn. Someone’s using her.”

Remy nods slowly. “Agreed.”

“Greg isn’t the real threat either,” I continue. “He’s a coward, but he’s not smart enough to orchestrate any of this alone. Someone’s feeding him, too.”

Jake steps in from the hallway, having clearly been listening. “If Annie’s connected to Greg, and Greg’s connected to the hunters… then the hunters have had access to both you and Poppy.”

“Exactly,” I snap. “This isn’t a coincidence. They’ve been worming their way into our lives for years.”

The guys fall silent.

I pace across the living room, thoughts clicking together.” Greg never cared about Jaxon until recently. He had never tried to claim as his own before, never asked to adopt him or claim any legal rights to him. The timing is too convenient. He didn’t come up with that on his own.Someone told him exactly how to hit me where it hurt.

Ryder’s fists clench. “He’s going to regret..”

“He will,” I say, stopping him before he spirals. “But not with rage. With strategy. We need to map out everything Nina knows. Every detail, every coded message, every meeting location, every name she overheard. Then we compare it to what we know about Greg and Annie.”

Poppy appears in the doorway, arms crossed but expression fierce. “I want to be part of that conversation.”

“You will be,” I promise. “But we do this smart. No running off half-cocked.”

She nods, her jaw tight.

Ryder exhales slowly. “What brought all this on?”

I lift my chin. “The pack just declared me their Dawn,” I say softly. “So I’m going to act like it.”

There’s a brief moment of stunned silence. Then Ryder smiles, slow and proud.

“There she is,” he nods once.

Callen lets out a low whistle. “I’m both terrified and extremely turned on.”

“Callen,” Parker groans, shoving him.

lignore them and look at Ryder. “See if Ronnie can gethere sooner. Let’s start this meeting early.”

“But Jax…”

“Is sound asleep,” Poppy says.

I nod. “Good. Then no more waiting.”

Remy’s eyes blaze with something tike awe, something that sends a warm shiver through the bond. The warmth intensifies as I feel each of my mates pulsing through the bond. It’s not worship like I’d felt from the pack tonight; it’s respect. Real, earned respect.