The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 234

**Paige’s POV **

I don’t remember when the pain stops, not really. I remember heat, pressure, noise. Then suddenly it all goes quiet.

It’s not silence, exactly. Just a shift. Like the world exhales and rearranges itself around something new.

Her, my daughter, with the brightest, purest of souls.

She’s warm against my chest, impossibly small and yet somehow everything. Her weight grounds me in a way nothing ever has before. My hands shake as I cradle her, my fingers instinctively tracing the shape of her back, the curve of her head, the tiny bundle of movement that tells me she’s real. She’s really here.

A rush of love crashes over me, fierce and aching and full.

My throat tightens, and fresh tears roll down my cheeks, but I don’t wipe them away. I don’t want to miss a single second of this moment.

It’s scary how much she looks like Remy and Parker. It’s almost as if I didn’t have any input in her looks at all. Jax was the same; he looked just like Ryder when he was born, and that broke me a little because he wasn’t there.

He’s here now though; they’re all here, and I know without a doubt they’re never leaving us.

She lets out a soft, disgruntled little noise, and I laugh,breathless with awe and exhaustion. “I know,” I whisper to her. “That was rough, wasn’t it?”

Hands brush my hair back gently, and Ryder’s head rests against mine for a moment, his breath shaky. “You did it,” he laughs, like he still can’t quite believe it.

Parker presses a kiss to my temple. “She’s perfect.”

Callen just stares, mouth slightly open, like he’s witnessing something wonderful and terrifying all at once. “She’s… she’s so small,” he breathes. “How is she real?”

I want to tell him she is. I want to tell all of them that this is real, that this is ours, but the words tangle with emotion in my chest and come out as a sob instead.

Jake moves gently, explaining things I only half hear as he checks her over, as he checks me. I let him take her for a moment, and lache instantly with the loss, yearning to take her back and never let her go.

It doesn’t last long, because when Remy takes her, something inside me stills. I can’t do anything but watch them together. He holds her like she’s made of glass. So careful with her, like the world has narrowed down to the small bundle in his arms. His broad shoulders curve inward protectively, his thumb brushing over her tiny fingers with disbelief.

I see it then. The way this changes him. The warrior, the protector, the man who carries so much weight andhistory. All of it softens when he looks at her.

My heart swells so hard it almost hurts. She quiets in his arms, her cries tapering off into soft little breaths, and when she curls her fingers around his, something in my chest breaks open completely.

“Oh,” I whisper, the sound barely there.

He looks up at me then, his eyes watery and raw, overflowing with something so pure it steals my breath.

It’s as if she knows him already.

The bond hums low and warm, wrapping around us all, thick with love and something new and tender. It feels different now, expanded somehow.

Remy hands her back to me, and my mates wrap around us. Instinct takes over, and hands help push my top aside so I can feed my daughter. She latches on as if she’s done it a million times, and another rush of love hits me as she suckles. I’m so consumed by everything that I barely notice the contractions as Jake helps me pass the placenta.

Time seems to move differently now. I have no idea how long has passed since she was born. It could have been minutes or hours. None of it seems to matter anymore.

Parker holds her next, tears spilling freely as he admires her. “She’s… everything,” he breathes. “I can’t believe that in the space of a year l’ve been blessed with a son, and now a daughter too.”The rest of my mates help me up, and onto a clean bed that one of the trainee healers had wheeled in.

Jake clears his throat softly. “Now you’re cleaned up, lil let Leo know it’s safe to bring big brother back in.”

That word, brother, makes my chest tighten all over again.

A moment later, the door opens. Jaxon peeks inside first, cautious and wide-eyed, like he’s not sure what he’s allowed to touch. His gaze flicks to me, then to Parker, and finally to the tiny bundle in his arms.

His breath catches.

“Is that… is that the baby?” he asks in a small, awe-filled voice.

“Yes,” I whisper, holding my arms out. “Come here, baby.”

He crosses the room slowly, like he’s afraid she might disappear if he moves too fast. He climbs up onto the edge of the bed, careful of the wires monitoring me and blankets, but his eyes never leave her face.

“You have a baby sister,” I smile at him through tear-filled eyes.

“She’s so tiny,” he says.

Parker crouches slightly so Jaxon can see her better, angling her gently. “She’s perfect,” he says quietly. “Just like you.”Jaxon straightens at that, pride shining in his eyes.

“She’s my sister,” he says, like he’s testing the words.” That’s my baby sister.”

I reach for his hand and place it gently against her back. ”

Do you want to say hello?”

Ryder nods. “She’ll be strong.”

“Just like her mum,” Callen agrees.

Jaxon leans closer, studying his sister with intense focus.

Hi, Liora Selene,” he whispers. “TIl protect you.”

Liora squirms against me, letting out a tiny sigh, her fingers curl into a fist, like she already knows the sound of her name. Remy steps closer then, resting his hand gently against her back.

I watch him look at her, and I understand. She isnt just named for light or moon or memory. She’s named for love that survived loss, and this time, it gets to stay.

The room slowly begins to settle into something softer and calmer. Jake dims the lights. Leo congratulates us all quietly, like he’s scared his big voice might scare the baby.

1 shift against the pillows and glance around. “Can someone get my phone?”

Parker frowns slightly. “Now?”

I nod, giving him a small smile. “Now.”

I adjust Liora slightly against my chest and switch the call to video. Across the room, Jake and Leo both still.

Leo takes a small step closer, his head tilting as he catches the name on the screen. Jake’s hand tightens on the back of a chair, his expression changing into something dangerously close to hope.

“You’re calling her,” Jake whispers, as if he doesn’t quite dare believe it.

Yeah,” I nod. “I am.”

The phone rings once. Twice. I look down at Liora.

“Maybe this will be enough,” I breathe as I wait for her to pick up.