The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 2

** Jake’s POV **

That baby should have died. The thought swirls in my mind, no matter how many times I try to push it aside. I’ve seen enough births to know the difference between a close call and a miracle. That wasn’t a close call; it was impossible.

I stand at the end of the bed, watching as the mother cradles both boys against her chest, her mates pressed close on either side of her. The room is quieter this morning.

This is the part I usually love. The moment when the fear is long gone, and something new takes its place. Life, hope, and love. I should feel it now, but I don’t.

“Everything looks good, right?” One of the fathers asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “They’re strong. Both of them.”

And they are; that’s the problem. My gaze drops to the second baby. His chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm. His colour is good, and he’s feeding well. His cry had been strong, loud, and immediate.

Too immediate, there should have been a delay. There should have been intervention, oxygen, chest compressions, something, anything, to suggest that what had happened in this room had been real. There isn’t.

I step closer, reaching out to gently press two fingers to his chest. The heartbeat is perfect. I swallow, forcing my expression to stay neutral as I pull my hand back.

“Jake?” my assistant says quietly beside me.

I don’t look at her.

“Vitals?” I ask instead.

“All within normal range throughout the night,” she replies. “No signs of distress. Oxygen levels are good. He’s… fine.”

I nod once, more to myself than to anyone else.

Because that’s the word that doesn’t fit. He wasn’t fine. I can still see it. The cord wrapped tightly around his neck. The drop in heart rate. The way it plummeted so fast, it barely gave us time to react.

There should have been damage. There should have been consequences.

“Doc?”

I blink, dragging my focus back to the room.

One of the fathers is watching me again, concern flickering across his face now.

“Are you sure everything’s okay?”

I nod.

“Yes,” I say, and this time the word feels like a lie.

“Get some more rest,” I add, stepping back. “You’re going to have your hands full for the next eighteen years.”

They laugh softly, and I turn away before they can ask anything else. I step into the corridor; the door clicking shut behind me. My hands drag down my face as I lean back against the wall, closing my eyes for a second.

I should just accept it and be thankful. I am thankful, greatly so. But I have to know why and how it happened. I have to work out what I’m missing.

I replay it. Every detail. Every second. The drop in heart rate, the cord, the pressure, the moment it should have… My breath catches. The bond. My eyes snap open as it hits me all at once.

The exact moment everything changed. The surge through Leo, from her. My stomach drops. I push away from the wall immediately, pacing once down the corridor before stopping again.

I exhale slowly, forcing my thoughts back into order. There are other explanations. There have to be. But even as I try to line them up, to make them fit, they fall apart before they can settle. Because none of them explain what I felt. Except…

“Callen, are you with Paige?” I ask, connecting my mind to his.

“I sure am. What’s up?” His response comes in fast. “If this is about the tree, she says she didn’t sense anything, which I know is odd, but she’s…”

“It’s not,” I cut him off. “I was just wondering if I could borrow one of the Twiceborn. I want to check them over.”

“Sure, I’ll ask. Is everything okay?”

“Yes. I just want to make sure they’re still fit and healthy.”

There’s a brief pause before he responds again.

“Got it. Paige will send some to you later today.”

I thank him and close the link, then I turn and walk outside again. I was supposed to take a break and have breakfast with Poppy and Leo, but I need answers before I can even think about eating. And there’s only one person who might be able to help me understand what happened.

I find Ronnie exactly where I expect him to be; he stands just beyond the edge of the clearing, half-shadowed beneath the trees. He’s writing in his notebook as he watches the pack trying to move what’s left of the tree from afar.

He doesn’t turn when I approach, doesn’t even acknowledge me at all. Which tells me everything I need to know. “There’s something strange going on here,” I say.

He continues his work, but his head nods slightly. “You are correct.”

“Then explain it,” I push.

My voice is harsher than I intend, but I don’t take it back. I don’t have the patience for riddles right now. Not when this potentially involves my mate, and not when I can still see that baby in my hands. Still feel the moment everything should have gone wrong and didn’t.

Ronnie finally turns, his gaze landing on me. He looks far too calm for what we’re talking about.

“Jake, you have one of the sharpest minds I know. I think you already see what is happening here,” he says.

“No. I know what I should have seen,” I correct. “And I know what actually happened doesn’t match that.”

His mouth twitches slightly, but he doesn’t quite smile.

“Good,” he says.

Good? I stare at him.

“That’s not an answer.”

“No,” he agrees. “It isn’t, but you also didn’t ask a question.”

My hands clench at my sides, which is more Leo’s style than mine. I force them to relax.

“Ronnie…”

“When something is given,” he interrupts quietly, “something is taken.”

I frown. “That doesn’t…”

“It does,” he says, cutting me off again.

I blow out a breath, dragging a hand through my hair.

“You’re talking in circles.”

“Because you’re trying to look at this like it’s something you can fix,” he replies.

I blink at him. “Because it is.”

“It isn’t,” he says firmly.

She’s laughing at something Leo said, but it’s off. As if she’s forcing it. Like she’s trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

“She saved that baby,” I say quietly.

It’s the first time I’ve said it out loud. The words feel heavy, but they’re real. Ronnie doesn’t react the way I expect, just gives a slow, thoughtful nod.

“I think,” he says slowly, “that balance doesn’t shift without consequence.”

A chill runs down my spine. My gaze drifts back to the tree, to her. I watch as Jaxon rushes over to Ryder. Callen, Paige, and Parker follow closely behind, Liora safe in Parker’s arms.

Paige and Poppy embrace before Paige shifts her focus to the tree.

“Life and death,” Ronnie murmurs.

The words sit heavy between us, causing a sour taste in my mouth. My pulse whooshes in my ears.

“No,” I shake my head. “She wouldn’t…”

“She didn’t choose it,” Ronnie says quietly.

I still. “Then what? It just… happens?”

His gaze flicks back to her. “It’s already happening.”

Silence stretches. The sounds of the pack creep back in, but nothing feels normal anymore.

“She could have died last night,” I say. “Whatever this is… it’s affecting her.”

“Of course it is,” he nods.

“That’s not reassuring.”

“It wasn’t meant to be.”

My hands curl into fists. “Ronnie, just tell me what’s going on.”

“When I figure it out. I will.”

My gaze snaps back to her instantly. Leo is at her side, and she’s surrounded by the strongest, most protective people I know.

“How do I help her?” I ask.

The question wasn’t for Ronnie this time, but he answers anyway.

“Complete the bond,” he shrugs.

I shake my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now, it could…”

“Stabilise her,” he interrupts. “Paige needed all of her mates to ground her. It was those bonds that gave her the strength to take control of her gifts.”

My jaw tightens. I want to mate with her, desperately, but I want her to be safe even more.

“You’d better be right about this.”

I look at her, and I know whatever it is she’s becoming… I can’t stop it. It’s already begun.