The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 242

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Book2 – Chapter 7

** Poppy’s POV **

Alaric moves first, quicker now, cutting across the courtyard toward a stairwell. He takes the steps two at a time, leading us up and through an alleyway that spits us out onto a different street. Bastian stays close at my back, like a silent, brood

shadow

When we reach the comer, Alaric pauses and glandes behind us, his lips twitching into a smirk. They missed the tum.”

My heart hammers. “How do you know?”

He taps his temple. “Instinct.”

“Or ego,” Bastian grumbles under his breath.

Alaric ignores him and grabs my hand, properly this time, pulling me forward. Heat floods my palm, my breath stutters, and I almost stop walking. Alan doesn’t look back at me, but his grip tightens slightly, as if he felt it too.

We weave through people on the street before slipping into a small convenience shop and out the other side through a door marked STAFF ONLY, as if he’s done this before.

I stare. “Do you just… break rules for fun?”

Alaric flashes me a grin over his shoulder. “Only the boring ones.”

“We are absolutely getting banned from half this town after this,” Bastian huffs.

We emerge onto the street beside the bus station. The sight of it makes me relax for the first time all day. We’re almost there. Alaric slows his pace, finally letting go of my hand. The absence is

immediate, cold, and extremely annoying.

Bastian scans the people milling about, his eyes sharp. “They’re still coming.”

My pulse spikes again. “How much time?”

Alaric checks the departure board. “Five minutes.”

I swallow. Five minutes feels like five years. Alaric turns back to me, stepping close again, lowering

his voice so the whole world can’t hear.

“If you don’t want to be followed,” he says softly, “don’t hesitate when they appear. Get on the bus

Don’t look back.”

I force a smirk. “You’re actually pretty bossy, you know.”

His mouth twitches. “I prefer practical.”

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Bastian’s eyes flick between us, his expression unreadable. Then the bus pulls in, and my heart leaps. The doors open with a hiss, and just as I step forward, Alaric wraps his fingers around my wrist; he’s gentle, but firm enough to stop me.

“Wait,” he says.

I turn, my breath catching as he holds my gaze with a seriousness that wipes away the mischief

that was there just moments ago.

“Give me your number.”

My stomach flips.

“Why?” I ask, even though I already know.

Because he wants to find me, and because I’m a mystery he doesn’t want to let go of yet, a puzzle he needs to solve. Yeah, me too, buddy.

Bastian’s eyes narrow, but he says nothing.

Alaric’s voice drops into a whisper. “In case you need help.”

I should say no. I should run, but the earnestness in his eyes makes me pause. I glance back at my

bus; there are people boarding already.

I turn back to Alaric and nod, holding out my hand for his phone. His eyes widen in surprise for a

split second before he blinks and digs into his jeans pocket, pulling his phone out and handing it to

I take it, raising a brow at the screensaver. Of course it’s a wolf, a big white one. I want to ask who

it is, but there’s no time, and I don’t want him to think I’m interested in him or his life, because I’m

not. I’m just nosey.

I open the contacts and click to add a new one, my thumbs moving fast. I read the number aloud as I type digits that look right, but they aren’t. A tiny petty act of control.

“Thanks,” he says as I hand the phone back.

“I’m leaving in thirty seconds,” the bus driver calls impatiently.

I step back, slinging my bag higher on my shoulder. Thanks for the… tour of illegal exits.”

Alaric’s smile returns, bright and dangerous. “Any time.”

Bastian’s gaze holds mine for a beat longer, something thoughtful there, like he’s seeing more than

he wants to admit. Or maybe he’s just permanently constipated.

The man hasn’t smiled once since I met him. Not a twitch. Not even when I called his brother bossy. His brows are always slightly drawn, jaw tight, eyes narrowed as if the world personally

offended him.

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Book2 – Chapter

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Yeah. Definitely digestive distress. I almost tell him to drink more water; instead, I give him a single nod, which he doesn’t return. Then I turn and climb onto the bus.

The doors hiss shut behind me. I pay the fare and take a seat by the window, my chest heaving softly, adrenaline still buzzing through my veins. Outside, Alaric stands on the pavement watching me as if he’s memorising the shape of my face.

I don’t wave, I just hold his gaze for a second longer than I should. Then the bus lurches forward, and the town slides away.

I relax into my seat and let myself breathe, because I got away. I got on the bus without my protectors catching me, and Alaric has my number, even if it’s the wrong one.

The town thins out as the bus picks up speed, buildings being replaced by long stretches of road and pale fields. I rest my forehead against the cool glass and watch it all blur.

Freedom shouldn’t feel this tight in my chest. I made it. I slipped past my protectors. I outsmarted Paige’s carefully positioned shadows and the wolves who think they know what’s best for me. I chose this. So why does it feel like I’m counting down instead of escaping?

I glance at the reflection in the window. For a split second, just before we take a turn, I swear I see a familiar shape stepping from the pavement behind us. Not chasing, just watching.

My stomach drops. They didn’t miss the turn; they let me go. The realisation settles heavily. Paige wouldn’t risk a public scene. She wouldn’t have them drag me off a bus like some rebellious teenager. She’d have them give me the illusion of escape, but they’ll be close.

I sink back in my seat, folding my arms across my chest as if that might hold me together. “Fine,” I mutter under my breath. “Just let me have this small piece of freedom.”

The bus rattles over a pothole, jolting me, and I look out again. This might be the last stretch of

road that belongs to me alone.

Ahead of me is a new life, or maybe an old one, depending on how you look at it. Wolves,

expectations, and two mates I walked away from without looking back. Jake’s steady, grounding presence. Leo’s heat and barely restrained intensity The weight of their bond still sitting in my

chest like something unfinished. Like something waiting.

I swallow.

When I see them again, there won’t be any more pretending I’m just passing through. No more cool detachment. No more playing at independence while the world rearranges itself around me.

If I go back… I go back as theirs. As a werewolf’s mate. As part of something ancient and binding

and impossible to outrun.

The word mate curls around me, equal parts promise and prison. I close my eyes briefly and

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Book2 – Chapter 7

inhale. I’m not afraid of them. I’m afraid of what happens when I stop fighting it.

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