The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 233

** Remy’s POV **

There are battles you train for. Fights you can prepare your body and mind to survive. You can sharpen your instincts, steel your nerves, accept the possibility of blood and loss as the cost of standing between danger and the people you love, but this?… This is worse.

Paige’s pain hits me through the bond like it’s my own.

I’ve felt pain before. I’ve watched it steal people I loved while I stood there powerless. This feels dangerously close to that kind of memory. It’s deep, rolling and relentless. And I know I’m only feeling a small fraction of it. I’d tear the world apart to take it from her if I could, but I can’t. I’ve stopped wars. Broken men twice my size, and none of that means a damn thing right now. All I can do now is stay.

Her fingers grip Parker’s hand, her knuckles turning white.

Ryder is behind her head, stroking her hair back from her face. Callen is by the window, looking seconds away from passing out. I can feel his turmoil. He wants to be here, holding her hand, but he’s struggling not to pass out. I guess we finally found his weakness.

I’m right here at her side, one arm braced behind her shoulders as her body arches under another contraction.

Her breath stutters, and so does mine.

“You’re doing it,” I whisper softly against her temple, my voice steady, even as something inside my chest feels likeit’s splitting open. “You’re doing so well.”

She lets out a broken sound that’s somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “You… you say that like I have a choice.”

“Fair point,” I huff.

Jake’s voice cuts in, calm and controlled, like this is just another day for him. “Okay, Paige, that contraction’S building. When it peaks, I want a strong push. Remy, keep her shoulders steady.”

nod even though he’s not looking at me. The bond tightens as the next wave builds. Paige cries out, her body curling forward instinctively, and I brace her, holding her weight for her so she can focus on pushing. Her nails dig into my arm, not enough to hurt, but enough to remind me she’s real, she’s here, and she’s trusting us with everything she has.

“You’ve got this,” I whisper. “We’re all right here. We are not going anywhere.”

Her eyes meet mine for a split second, dazed with pain and fierce determination.

“I know,” she pants. “That’s the problem. You’re all watching.”

Callen makes a strangled noise. “I am trying not to.”

Ryder snorts half a laugh, pressing a kiss to Paige’s head.” Focus, angel.”Jake raises his voice just enough to regain her attention..”

Okay, Paige. Push now.”

She bears down with a raw, guttural sound that goes straight through me. The bond flares, heat and light and something that feels ancient wrapping around me like a command. Protect… hold… witness.

murmur encouragement, nonsense words, anything that she can focus on and take comfort in. Parker speaks to her too, steady and soothing. Ryder’s voice breaks once before he regains control. I think all of our wolves are trying to push through too, to lend strength to our mate.

Paige slumps back against me when it passes, trembling, with sweat slicking over her skin.

“I can’t do that again,” she gasps.

Terror claws at me, not because I doubt her, but because l know what it costs to say words like that out loud, and I know there’s nothing I can do to take over this fight for. her.

“Yes, you can,” Callen blurts immediately, panic in his tone. “You absolutely can. You’re incredible. You’re…”

“Callen,” Jake snaps gently. “Breathe.”

Callen clamps his mouth shut, nodding quickly.

Another contraction builds faster this time, and Paige whimpers, her body tensing before she can stop it.”Hey,” I whisper, pressing my forehead to hers. “Look at me. Just me. That’s it, breathe with me.”

Somehow, she does. The room narrows to the rhythm of her breath, the rise and fall of her chest, the fierce, beautiful strength in her body as it does exactly what it was made to do. Women are incredible; she is incredible.

Jake shifts positions. “Okay, good, I can see the head.

Paige, this next push is going to feel intense. That’s normal. It means we’re close.”

Ryder’s breath shudders, Parker’s grip tightens, and Callen looks like he might actually pass out.

“Close is good,” Paige pants. “I like close.”

The next contraction hits like a freight train. She screams this time. There’s no holding it back, no trying to stay calm. It’s raw and real, and it tears something open inside me that I don’t think will ever quite close again. If I ever needed proof that love is violence and miracle all at once, this is it.

“Push,” Jake urges. “That’s it. That’s it.. keep going…”

Paige’s body bows, every muscle straining. I feel it all through the bond, the effort, the fire, the sheer will it takes not to break under it.

“I’m here,” I keep saying, over and over. “T’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

“That’s the head. Well done, Paige. You are doing amazing.Take a breather; we are almost done,” Jake encourages.

I’ve been many things in my life; a leader, warrior, protector, even a monster if you ask the wrong people.

But none of that matters now. This… this is who I was made to be.

The bond flares again, softer this time. Deeper.

“Oh,” I breathe.

She blinks up at me, her dark blue eyes unfocused, her tiny mouth opens before she lets out another halfhearted cry.

“I know,” I soothe. “I know, little one. The world’s a lot, but I’ve got you.”

Love hits me so hard I have to swallow around it, and my vision blurs. This is it. This is what every fight was for.

Every scar, every loss, every hard choice. They all led to this moment.

I turn slightly, careful not to jostle her, so Paige can see.

Her eyes find us instantly, and the look on her face… exhausted, radiant, and overwhelmed, undoes me completely.

“She likes you,” she whispers with a tired smile.

I step closer, lowering our daughter gently back into her arms. Paige cradles her like she’s always known how, tears spilling freely now as she presses her lips to that tiny, perfect forehead.

Ryder curls around them both. Parker leans in with tearsstill damp on his cheeks, and Callen finally breathes.

The bond settles, warm and whole and humming with a future I never dared to imagine. I stay close, one hand resting over Paige’s, the other brushing a finger over my daughter’s impossibly small fist.

“I swear it,” I say quietly, not caring if anyone hears. “I will spend my life earning the right to hold you both. Not because I have to, but because loving you will always be the easiest choice I ever make.”

And for the first time in a long time, I know, without a single doubt, that this is exactly where I’m meant to be.

My future doesn’t feel like something I have to survive anymore. It feels like something I get to live.