The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 2

** Poppy’s POV **

I can feel them on either side of me. Jake’s hand in mine, warm, steady, and ever so careful. Leo’s palm at my waist, restrained, barely there, as if he’s afraid that even that is too much, and my heart is beating like it’s trying to escape my chest.

This is what I wanted, what I needed. Slow and steady, no pushing, no dominance. So why does it feel like it’s too much and not enough at the same time?

My head is loud with thoughts. You don’t know what you’re doing… You could lose yourself in this… You left once. You can leave again.

My body is quieter. It remembers their touch; it remembers what we almost had, and it craves them.

Jake is trying so hard not to grip me like I’ll disappear. His fingers are careful, too careful, like I’m fragile glass. He thinks I’ll break, or I’ll pull away, and that realisation twists something inside me. He’s afraid of losing me again.

My gaze lifts slowly to his face, and I really look at him this time. His eyes flicker over my expression as if he’s searching for cracks. For any hint of hesitation or regret. He’s bracing for the worst, and that snaps something in me into place.

My head is still arguing. Don’t rush… Don’t get trapped… Don’t make this about instinct. But my heart is tired of running from this, from them. It’s time to let go of the space between us.

I turn fully toward Jake. Leo’s hand stays at my waist, but he doesn’t stop me. Jake freezes, and I see a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, like he doesn’t quite believe I’m choosing this direction.

“Jake,” I whisper.

His throat works as he swallows. “Yeah?”

The vulnerability in that single word nearly undoes me. I step closer. Close enough that our chests almost touch. He doesn’t move, and I know he won’t unless I do.

My head is still screaming. If you do this, you know what comes next… If you do this, it changes everything.

Maybe that’s the point. I can run, I can hide, but I’ll never be whole. I’ll always feel the parts of me that are missing, and not just the parts that are waiting to awaken, but them, my mates. These men who have already proved they’re loyal, patient, and everything I’d want in someone I plan to spend the rest of my life with.

I lift my free hand slowly, letting my fingers brush along Jake’s jaw. He inhales sharply, stunned.

“I missed you,” he says suddenly, as if he can’t hold it in anymore. “But I’d wait a lifetime for you if that’s what you need.” That’s what breaks me. It’s not about the bond, or fate, or destiny. It’s about him. The insecurity beneath his strength. The way he’d rather let me go than hold me too tightly. My chest aches when I think of what I’ve put him through.

“I know,” I whisper, and before my head can interfere again, I rise onto my toes.

My lips press against his, and for half a second, he’s completely still, like he doesn’t trust himself. Then he exhales and kisses me back, slow and careful.

The kiss isn’t hungry or desperate. It’s soft and tentative, just like him. He doesn’t grab me or try to deepen it; he lets me set the pace, following my lead.

Heat spreads low in my stomach, unexpected and sharp. My body leans into him before my mind has time to protest. My head is still whispering warnings, but my heart is louder now.

Jake’s hand tightens around mine, just slightly, anchoring me. Behind me, I feel Leo move a little closer. He keeps his hand on my waist, but he’s still restraining himself.

I place a hand over Leo’s and I deepen the kiss, which is no longer innocent. My fingers slide over Jake’s shirt, gripping the fabric at his chest. He makes a low, almost pained sound, and that does something dangerous to my pulse.

I break the kiss first, not because I want to, but because I need to breathe.

Jake’s forehead drops to mine.

“Are you sure about this?” he asks softly.

He’s still asking, still giving me a way out, and that makes my chest swell painfully.

I turn my head slightly and find Leo watching us. He doesn’t look angry or jealous, just hopeful. His wolf is closer to the surface now. I can see it in the flash in his eyes, and I realise something important.

My body isn’t confused, and my heart isn’t divided. Only my head is, and maybe it’s time my head caught up.

I look back at Jake to answer his question.

“I’m not running,” I repeat, but this time it isn’t just words; it’s action.

I move my hand from Jake’s chest and turn toward Leo.

“I’m not running,” I repeat to him.

Leo doesn’t move. He’s so still he looks as if he could be carved from stone, except for his eyes. There’s too much in them now. Control stretched thin, want buried under restraint.

I can feel the difference between them even more clearly now. Jake steadies me whilst Leo challenges me, and my head is still trying to catch up to what my body has already decided.

I suddenly feel too exposed out here. The porch light is too bright, and the clearing too open for such an intimate moment. My pulse is still racing from kissing Jake. My lips are still tingling, and my thoughts are a mess of warning and want.

“I don’t want to do this out here,” I say quietly.

Jake’s fingers tighten around mine for half a second before he forces himself to loosen them. Leo’s eyes widen a fraction. “Inside?” he asks, his voice lower now, rougher.

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