The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 235

** Paige’s POV **

The screen flickers once more. Then Poppy’s face fills it.

For half a second she just stares, her eyes wide, and her hair pulled back messily as if she’s been pacing. Then her gaze drops straight to the tiny bundle against my chest.

“Oh my goodness,” she breathes. “Paige.”

My chest tightens. “Hi, Pops.”

Her hand flies to her mouth, and her eyes fill instantly. “Is that… is that a baby?”

Jaxon scoots closer, pressing himself against my side, making sure she can see him too.

“Hi Auntie Pops. That’s my sister,” he announces proudly.”

Her name’s Liora Selene.”

Poppy lets out a sound that’s half laugh, half sob. “You had a baby… a little girl,” she says, disbelief thick in her voice. “You had a whole baby and didn’t tell me.”

“I know,” I whisper. “I’m sorry.”

Her eyes flick back to mine, searching my face. “Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?”

She doesn’t sound angry; she sounds wounded.

“I didn’t know how,” I admit. “And I didn’t want it to stopyou from doing what you needed to do. Then, once you were gone, I didn’t want to be another thing you felt guilty about missing.”

“You knew before Heft?”

I nod, hoping she will forgive me. “Just a few days before, we were still processing, and with everything going on back then, it didn’t seem the right time to announce it.”

Silence stretches between us.

Then Poppy exhales slowly, rubbing a hand over her face.” That was stupid of me,” she mutters. “Running, avoiding you, avoiding everything.”

Her eyes dart off-screen for a second, seeming shifty and nervous, before she looks back. “I was going to come back anyway,” she says quickly. “I swear, I’ve even started packing. I just… needed a reason that didn’t feel like failure.”

She looks at Liora again, her expression softening.

“This,” she whispers. “This feels like a pretty good reason.”

Hope blooms in my chest.

“You’re really coming home?” I ask.

She nods. “Soon, I promise. I want to meet my niece, and…

I miss you. I miss Jax. I miss everyone.”

Jaxon beams. “You can sleep in my room,” he offersexcitedly. “But not on my side of the bed.”

Poppy laughs through her tears. “Thanks, buddy.”

“Is everything okay, Pops?” | ask, getting an uneasy feeling.

Her eyes dart to the side again, and she sighs. “Yes, it’s just … never mind. I’ll explain when I get there.”

When the call ends, the room stays quiet for a moment.

Then Jake lets out a shaky breath. “She’s coming back.”

Leo grins, already moving. “‘ll prep the cabin. We’ll need clean sheets and food. Probably flowers too, and chocolates.”

Jake’s already halfway to the door, joy written all over his face. “Everything is good here, so I’ll go with him. Scarlet is here if you need anything, or just link me, and I’ll be right back.”

They’re gone in a rush of motion and hope, as if they’re afraid it might vanish if they don’t move fast enough. I can’t keep the smile from my face. Ryder had arranged for them to have their own cabin for when Poppy returns, and seeing them rushing off to make sure it’s perfect for her arrival makes her coming home feel more real. If she isn’t ready to move in with them, she can stay with us, or here in the healers’ quarters.

I sink back against the pillows, exhaustion finally catching up with me. Jaxon curls into my side, one arm drapedprotectively over his sister. My mates surround us without a word.

I look at them all. At Ryder’s steady presence. Parker’s tenderness. Callen’s quiet devotion. Remy’s fierce, aching Love. At our son, happy and secure, and our daughter, perfect and new.

I have the promise of my sister coming home, and something deep inside me finally settles. Everything feels … right.

I press a kiss to Liora’s head, then rest my cheek against Jaxon’s hair, closing my eyes as the bond hums softly around us all.

This is the life we fought for, and at last, we have everything.

The bond hums softly around us, warm and steady, but there’s a thread beneath it that won’t quite let.me rest. A tug at the edge of my awareness, familiar and intentional.

The Twiceborn. I don’t open my eyes. I don’t need to.

“You can come closer now,” | think gently, letting the thought flow through the strange thread that connects us.

There’s no sound at first. Just a subtle shift in the air, like pressure easing. Then I feel them. Not physically, not yet, but the sense of their presence is unmistakable. I feel their joy and fierce protectiveness as they sense Liora.

Two minds brush against mine, careful and reverent. The two who are shadowing my sister.”How is she? She seems worried,” I ask them.

“She is well,” one of them sends, the words not spoken so much as felt

“Let’s go home,” I smile.

Remy gently takes Liora from me, and she lets out a small squeak before settling against his chest. Parker helps me sit up carefully, while Callen gathers blankets and Ryder grabs the bags.

Jaxon slides off the bed and straightens proudly. “Do I get to walk with her?”

I smile at him. “Of course you do.”

The path outside the clinic is lined with bodies. Wolves, dozens of them. They form a perfect path from the doorway to the forest beyond, massive forms sitting or standing shoulder to shoulder, with their heads lowered.

Their eyes glow softly in the dim light.

As we step out, the first wolf bows. Then, the next, and the next. One by one, they dip their heads as we pass; the motion rippling along the line like a wave.

Jaxon’s breath catches, and he presses closer to my side.

“They’re bowing,” he whispers.

“Yes,” Ryder murmurs. “They are.”

Liora stirs against Remy’s chest, letting out a soft sound.

“She likes it,” Parker whispers.

“She knows she belongs,” Remy corrects quietly.

It’s a beginning that finally feels safe.

Back in our cabin, I settle into bed with Liora nestled against me, Jaxon already half asleep at my side. My mates move around us quietly, familiar and comforting.

“She’s going to change everything,” Callen breathes, running the back of his finger over her cheek.

“She already has,” I reply.

Outside, the forest hums with life. Inside, the bond glows steady and whole. For the first time in longer than I care to remember, there’s nothing left to fight.

I close my eyes, holding onto that truth as sleep finally claims me.

I once promised myself I would survive, no matter what it took. Being here now, whole, healing, and surrounded by the family we fought for, I know I would do it all again, in a heartbeat.