The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 2

** Poppy’s POV **

“What voice?” Jake asks carefully.

I close my eyes, giving myself a moment before pushing my shoulders back and lifting my chin, the way my mum taught me when I had to face something uncomfortable.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “It’s just there. In my head. At first, I thought it was nothing. Stress, maybe. Or just my imagination. But then it didn’t stop.”

“What does it say?” Leo pushes gently.

“Things,” I say weakly.

“Poppy.” There’s a warning in his tone now. Not anger exactly, but close.

I blow out a breath. “It talks as if it knows what I’m doing. What I’m thinking. Like it’s watching me.”

Jake’s posture shifts, more alert now.

“Has it told you to do anything?”

“No,” I say quickly. “No, it’s not like that. It’s just… there. Commenting. Knowing things it shouldn’t.”

“Like what?” Jake presses.

I shake my head, weight pressing against my ribs.

“It knew I touched the babies,” I say quietly. “It said it like it were there with me.”

“And before?” Leo asks.

I close my eyes briefly.

“It’s said things about… memories. Things I don’t remember properly. Like it’s trying to drag them up.

Jake and Leo exchange a look. I don’t like it.

“How long has this been happening?” Jake asks.

I hesitate.

“Months,” I admit. “It started that day we were going to complete the mating.”

Leo lowers his head, pinching the bridge of his nose before speaking in a breathy tone.

“And you didn’t tell anyone?”

”

“I didn’t know what it was,” I snap, defensive again. “What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, I’ve got a voice in my head, no big deal’?”

“You were supposed to tell us,” he says.

The words are quiet, but they hit harder than if he’d shouted. I look away.

“It’s the reason I left,” I admit.

Jake’s eyes widen slightly. Leo goes completely still.

“You left because of this?” Jake asks.

I nod. “I thought… I thought if I got some distance, it might stop. Or at least quiet down.”

“Did it?” Leo asks.

There’s something in his voice now. Tension… Hope… Dread.

“No,” I shake my head. “It got worse. It was louder. More constant. I couldn’t get a break from it.”

Jake runs a hand over his jaw.

“And now?” he asks.

I hesitate again.

“It’s… different,” I admit. “Still there. But not as chaotic. It’s quieter, but clearer. Like it’s settling.”

“Since you came back?” Leo asks.

“Yeah,” I nod.

Silence stretches between us for a moment. Then Leo steps closer.

“Eight months,” he says, his voice tight. “Eight months you were dealing with this on your own.”

My arms come up to wrap around myself. I’ve never felt so exposed before.

“What if it meant there was something wrong with me?” I say. “What if it meant I wasn’t… right? I didn’t want you looking at me differently.”

Leo’s expression softens, just slightly. “That wouldn’t happen.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do,” he says again. “You could tell me anything, Poppy. Anything. And it wouldn’t change a damn thing.”

I let out a shaky breath. “You say that now.”

“I mean it.”

There’s no hesitation. No doubt.

“And if you didn’t feel ready to tell me,” he adds, quieter now, “you could have gone to Paige. Or Ronnie. You had options. You didn’t have to run.”

That hits deeper than everything else because he’s right. I look down, my chest tight.

“I know,” I admit.

The words feel small, but they’re the truth.

“I just… I didn’t want to face it. Saying it out loud makes it real. And if it was real, then I couldn’t pretend it was nothing.”

Jake nods slightly, understanding flickering across his face.

“That makes sense,” he says gently.

I glance at Leo.

“I know I should have told you,” I say. “You’re right, and I’m sorry.”

Leo exhales slowly, some of the tension leaving his shoulders.

“Next time,” he says, “you don’t deal with it alone.”

It’s not a suggestion.

“Okay.” I nod, and for the first time since this started, it doesn’t feel like a lie.