The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 222

**Ryder’s POV **

Preparation for what’s coming doesn’t feel dramatic, not anymore. Now it’s a quiet acceptance.

I call the pack into the clearing just after first light. Not because we need the daylight, but because I want them to see my face. I want them to see certainty, not panic, not doubt, not the kind of grim acceptance that spreads like fire when people are left to fill in the blanks themselves.

Leo is already there when I arrive, standing near the centre with his arms crossed over his chest. He looks calm. Unbothered. Like he’s waiting for a normal morning meeting. That is exactly why he’s the right choice.

Parker and Remy flank me as I step forward, while Callen lingers half a pace behind, eyes scanning the perimeter.

Paige is not here, and the pack feels that absence like a missing note in a song. I feel it too. That’s the point.

I clear my throat once. The clearing hushes.

“Listen up,” I say, my voice carrying clearly through the cold air. “You all know what happened. You all know what Paige is becoming, and you all know the hunters will come back for what they couldn’t finish. We now have it on good authority that the next attack is imminent.”

A ripple of tension moves through the group, but no one speaks. I keep it short, simple, and real.”To be as prepared as we can, we’re changing our structure,” I continue. “Effective immediately, Leo assumes Gamma command.”

The word lands heavy. Gamma. A position we never needed. A role that used to be split naturally among the four of us.

There’s a beat of silence where the pack absorbs it, then the murmurs start. There’s no outrage or doubt, just relief.

A sense that they have faith in us to make the right decisions for everyone.

Leo doesn’t look pleased; he looks resigned. That matters too. He steps forward, chin lifting a fraction, but it’s not with dominance. He’s taking responsibility. Without fuss and without drama, because it has to be done.

“I’m not here to replace your Alphas or your Betas,” he says, voice even. “I’m here so they don’t have to be everywhere at once. I’m just an extra layer of structure.”

He glances at me briefly, then back to the pack.

“First priority is relocation,” he says. “We move the vulnerable today, quietly. No panic, no spectacle. If you can’t fight, you do not stay.”

That does more to settle the pack than anything I could have said. Within minutes, Leo has teams forming. Not all fighters or muscle. He pulls organisers, steady heads, people who can keep others calm. He assigns escorts, supplies and routes like he’s been doing this for years.He assigns Jake to the relocation detail. I catch the smatt flicker in Jake’s face when Leo says it, like he expected to be en the front line. Like he wanted to prove something.

Leo doesn’t give him that option, and I know it’s for Poppy’s benefit. Jake is a trained and talented healer. He’s not meant for the frontline, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t capable; he’s just better elsewhere.

Jake nods, but I see the tightness in his shoulders as he turns away. Poppy is standing a little behind him, arms folded, expression unreadable. She doesn’t protest either.

She just watches Leo like she’s trying to decide what he is.

By early afternoon, the vulnerable begin moving in small, controlled groups. Children are led away like it’s a game, like it’s an adventure. Elders are escorted with dignity.

Healers carry satchels of supplies. Those who can’t shift, those who won’t survive a fight, those who should never have to, vanish into the trees toward Midnight Pack.

There’s no screaming this time. No crying, no chaos, no panic. It’s the cleanest evacuation I’ve ever seen, and l hate that I’m impressed by that.

I should not be grateful that we’ve had enough experience that we can move our families like chess pieces, but l am.

As the main territory empties, Leo turns to the fighters and points. Patrol assignments shift. Rotations tighten.

People who have always worked together are split deliberately, balanced with calmer wolves and steadier heads. He’s building units that won’t collapse if one person panics.

Remy watches him for a long moment, then mutters under his breath, “He’s good.”

“He has to be,” Parker replies.

Callen’s gaze keeps drifting toward our cabin, toward Paige. My wolf strains against my ribs, wanting to do the same. I force myself to stay focussed. Paige needs this time with Jax. She needs time to be herself and his mum before we have to let him go with Poppy in the last group to leave.

I catch Leo as he’s walking away.

“Leo,” I call.

He stops, turning back.

“You understand what this means,” I say through the mind link.

His eyes sharpen. “It means that if things go wrong, I make the call to move the pack, lock down the territory, and pull resources away from you, if it keeps them alive.”

I don’t like hearing it. That’s how I know it’s right.

“Exactly,” I say.

Leo nods once. “Good.”

Then he hesitates, just for a second.”Ryder,” he adds quietly, “if she gets too close to this, if she’s left unguarded, I will move her, with or without her agreement.”

My wolf bristles, but the bond steadies me.

“Do it,” I say. “If we fall, you get her out.”

His brows lift.

I hold his gaze. “If she’s compromised, we lose everything.

If she’s alive, we keep fighting.”

Leo gives a sharp nod and turns away.

The first day passes like that. Then the second. Then the third.

Time blurs into routines that aren’t normal but are becoming familiar, patrols, drills, camera checks, silent dinners that end early because everyone’s listening for the forest to change, waiting for Paige to give us a sign.

Paige stays at home. Not locked away, but kept deliberately out of sight. Parker spends the most time with her, not as a guard but as a steady presence. Callen drifts in and out, restless energy finally channelled into something focused. Remy stalks the borders as if he’s trying to intimidate the trees into obeying.

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