The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 2

** Jake’s POV **

Poppy falls asleep while we talk. Leo and I both know the exact moment it happens. Her breathing changes. The tension slowly drains from her body, the way it does when someone finally lets themselves rest after holding too much for too long.

Neither of us move because we are not stupid enough to risk waking her. She’s curled against me on the couch, her head resting lightly against my shoulder. My arm is draped loosely around her, careful not to hold too tightly, careful not to trap her. The blanket Leo pulled over us earlier covers her legs and half of mine, and Leo sits on the other side of her, his arm stretched along the back of the couch like a quiet barrier. Guarding the way he always does.

My wolf hasn’t stopped pacing since she walked into the cabin. He’s restless beneath my skin, equal parts relieved and unsettled, like he doesn’t quite trust that she’s really here. Like he’s waiting for her to disappear again. I understand the feeling.

Poppy shifts slightly in her sleep, her fingers tightening where they’re still tangled with mine. My breath catches, and Leo glances at me immediately.

“Relax,” he murmurs quietly.

That’s easy for him to say.

“She’s still here,” he adds.

I nod, but I don’t loosen my grip, not yet.

The cabin is quiet now, the only sound the soft crackle of the fire and the slow rhythm of Poppy’s breathing between us. The porch light outside shines softly through the front window, painting everything in warm amber.

She looks peaceful. More peaceful than I’ve ever seen her. The sight makes my chest tighten. I feel like I need to pinch myself, because just yesterday I was worried I’d never see her again, and now she’s here, in our home, relaxed against me.

“Did you notice it?” I whisper after a while.

Leo doesn’t look away from her.

“What?”

“She didn’t hesitate.”

He’s quiet for a moment.

“No,” he agrees finally. “She didn’t.”

That should comfort me. Instead, it makes the fear twist sharper in my chest.

“What if she wakes up tomorrow and realises she made a mistake?”

The words slip out before I can stop them. Leo turns his head slightly to get a better look at Poppy. His gaze softens just a fraction as he watches her sleeping face.

“Then we give her the space to figure that out,” he says calmly. “But she didn’t come back here by accident, Jake.”

My throat tightens; I want to believe that. Goddess, I want to believe that, but eight months is a long time to imagine every possible way something like this can fall apart. j.o,b,n,i,b,c,om,My wolf shifts restlessly again; he doesn’t like the doubt. He likes that she’s here and that she’s touching us. He likes that she smells like home again.

I glance down at her. A loose strand of her hair has fallen across her face. Without thinking, I brush it gently behind her ear. She sighs softly in her sleep, and my wolf quiets slightly at the sound. Leo notices, of course he does. His wolf is just as alert as mine right now, lurking just beneath the surface of his calm exterior. Watching… waiting… protecting.

“You’re not the only one afraid she’ll disappear again,” Leo says after a while, his voice low in the dim room. “But I don’t plan on treating her like she will.”

I let out a quiet breath; trust Leo to put it that simply.

My eyes drift back to Poppy. She’s shifted closer without realising it, leaning more fully into my side now. The warmth of her body seeps through the thin fabric of my shirt, grounding me in a way nothing else has since she left.

Eight months… eight months of wondering if I’d imagined the bond was strong enough… Eight months of walking past empty spaces where she should have been… Eight months of pretending I was okay with the possibility that she might never come back. My chest aches at the memory.

“She asked Callen to bring her here,” I say quietly, more to myself, but Leo answers anyway.

“I know,” he nods once.

“That means something.”

“It does,” he agrees.

Silence settles again, but it’s different now.

I glance toward Leo. He’s still watching Poppy, his expression unreadable, but I notice something I hadn’t before. The way his hand rests lightly against the back of the couch behind her. Not touching, just close enough to shield.

His wolf is calmer than mine, but only slightly. It’s the first time it really hits me, the first time I truly understand that Leo loves her just as fiercely as I do. It’s not just the mate bond pulling at him; it’s love, even if he’s not ready to admit it out loud. He’s looking at her the way Remy looks at Paige. And instead of that thought tightening something in my chest the way it might have months ago, it settles something instead. Because if there’s anyone I trust to stand beside me in this… It’s him.

“We’re going to be okay,” Leo says quietly.

I blink. “You sound awfully sure.”

His mouth twitches slightly. “I’m not,” he says, surprising me. “But I know one thing,” he continues. “What?”

His gaze flicks briefly toward me before returning to Poppy.

“We’re stronger together than we were apart.”

My wolf hums low in agreement, and I let that settle for a moment. Then I nod slowly.

“Yeah.”

Poppy frowns a little, as if she’s listening to something we can’t hear.

“I can’t. People already think I’m crazy because of you,” she says, as clearly as if she were wide awake.

Her hand tightens briefly around mine again, then she settles again, her breathing evening out as sleep pulls her deeper under. I know she doesn’t have a fever because I’d feel it being this close, but I check anyway.

I gently place my hand on her forehead. It’s exactly the temperature I’d expect for a human, slightly cooler than a wolf. So that rules out fever-induced delirium.

Slowly, Leo lifts his gaze to meet mine. Neither of us says anything, but I know we are both thinking the same thing… That seemed too coherent for sleep talking, and Poppy shouldn’t know things like that.

“Did you ever hear her talk in her sleep before?” Leo asks, finally breaking the silence. “No, never. You?” He shakes his head.

My wolf shifts beneath my skin again, calmer now but still alert, still aware of her.

He’s aware of Leo, too. That’s something else that’s changed. Months ago, my wolf bristled around him. Not hostile, exactly, but defensive. Like we were both trying to figure out where we stood in something neither of us had planned for.

Now, though, there’s something steadier there. A new respect and understanding. We are no longer just pack mates. We are bond mates, even without completing the bond with our shared mate, which I’m not sure should happen.

Leo glances at me again, like he senses the shift.

“You good?” he asks quietly.

I nod.

“Yeah.”

Another beat of silence settles over the room.

Then Leo adds, “She came back to both of us, that’s what matters. We can work out the rest as we go, but we do it together.” That sinks in slowly, and my wolf settles even deeper at the thought. Leo isn’t my competition. He’s my partner in this, my ally, and if we’re going to keep her, we’re going to have to do it together.

I lean my head back against the couch, finally letting some of the tension drain out of my shoulders.

“It’s a good thing I like you,” I say with a grin.

“You tolerate me,” Leo smirks.

“Same difference,” I shrug.

He shifts slightly, adjusting the blanket again, and the room falls quiet once more. Poppy breathes softly between us. My wolf finally curls up, satisfied. There’s a peace now that wasn’t there before. The cabin doesn’t feel like it’s missing something anymore. Because she’s here, and this time… We’re ready for her.