The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 248

Book 2~ Chapter 13

** Poppy’s POV **

+25 Points

For a long moment, none of us move. We just absorb each other, reconnecting in a way that feels almost spiritual rather than just physical. Leo’s arms are still wrapped around me, strong and steady, his chest warm beneath my cheek. Jake’s hand remains in mine as he presses his chest to my back. His mouth resting against my shoulder, almost in a kiss.

I can feel both of their heartbeats. Leo’s is strong and fast beneath my ear. Jake’s softer but just as frantic.

They’re still bracing for me to freak out and change my mind, but I can’t blame them. I literally left them high and dry.

The realisation settles quietly inside me. They don’t trust this moment yet. Not because they doubt me, but because they’ve already lost me once.

My chest tightens.

“I can’t promise forever, not yet, but I’m not going anywhere tonight,” I say softly.

Leo’s arms tighten around me slightly before he catches himself and loosens them again.

Jake exhales slowly behind me. “Good,” he murmurs. “That’s enough.”

The words are quiet, but the relief behind them is impossible to miss.

Leo finally pulls back enough to look down at me. His hands slide to my shoulders, not pushing me away, just giving us space to breathe.

“Are you hungry?” he asks.

The question catches me off guard.

“What?” I blink.

“Jake’s become quite domesticated since you left,” Leo says, glancing at Jake over my shoulder with a teasing glint in his eye, “he made dinner.”

Jake groans quietly behind me. “Don’t say it like that,” he huffs.

I turn slightly to look at him.

“You cooked?”

A faint flush creeps up his neck.

“Maybe,”

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Book 2 – Chapter 13

Leo snorts.

“He’s been cooking all day.”

“I was testing recipes,” Jake protests.

“For twelve hours?”

Jake glares at him.

“I didn’t know what she’d want!”

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The tension in the room breaks just slightly, like a knot loosening. A laugh escapes me before I can stop it, and Jake freezes. Then his shoulders drop it relief.

“I missed that,” he says quietly.

The honesty in his voice makes my throat tighten. step away from Leo slowly, not because I want distance but because I need to move before my emotions overwhelm me.

I don’t miss the shift in dynamics between Jake and Leo. Before I left, when they’d just been thrust into a mate group they’d never prepared for, things had been tense and awkward. The pair couldn’t have been more different.

Jake is soft where Leo is hard; he’s thoughtful, where Leo is instinctive. Jake thinks things through three times before acting, whilst Leo trusts his gut and moves first, asking questions later. Even the way they carry themselves is different. Jake’s movements are careful, as if he’s always considering the impact he might have on the people around him. Leo moves like the world will

shift around him instead.

At first, that difference had created friction between them. Not hostility exactly, but a constant underlying tension. They were both strong in their own ways, both used to standing on their own. feet, and suddenly they were being asked to share something as complicated as a mate.

I remember the way their conversations used to stall, the moments where neither of them quite knew what to say to the other. Jake trying to keep the peace, Leo trying to pretend the situation didn’t bother him as much as it clearly did. They’d been polite, respectful even, but it had always felt like they were circling each other, unsure how to find solid ground.

Now, though, something has changed. It’s subtle, but impossible to miss. Jake doesn’t hesitate to speak anymore, and Leo doesn’t bristle at it. Leo moves through the cabin like he belongs here, as if this life they’ve built together is something solid. And Jake doesn’t seem nervous around him anymore. There’s an ease between them that hadn’t been there before. They’ve found their rhythm.

Leo makes the space feel steady and safe, whilst Jake fills the gaps with quiet warmth. Where one pulls back, the other steps forward. Where one hestates, the other anchors.

It isn’t perfect, but it’s real. They’ve become a team and the realisation hits me harder than I

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Book 2 – Chapter 13

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expect. They didn’t wait for me to come back before figuring this out. They built this anyway, even when they didn’t know if I’d ever walk through that door again.

A slow, uncomfortable warmth spreads through my chest, equal parts gratitude and guilt. While I was trying to figure out what it meant to belong to something like this, they didn’t pull apart. They pulled closer. They chose each other… and somehow still left a place for me here.

They built more than just a home; they built a life.

I move toward the couch, trailing my fingers along the back.

“You really did all this for me?” I ask.

Jake rubs the back of his neck. “Well… for us.”

Leo leans against the kitchen counter, his arms crossed, watching me carefully.

“We wanted you to come back to something solid,” he says.

My eyes drift to the bookshelf by the chaise lounge To the blankets folded neatly over the couch. Taking in all the little details I hadn’t noticed before

Jake follows my gaze. “I didn’t know what you liked to read the most,” he says quickly. “So I just… I got a bit of everything.”

My chest squeezes painfully. “You built a library.”

“It’s small,” he shrugs, “you deserve somewhere that feels like yours.”

“You deserve somewhere you don’t feel like you have to run from,” Leo adds.

I sink onto the couch slowly, not sure what to say. The cushions are soft and it’s comfortable.

“Home,” the voice says.

It’s been quiet since we stepped inside, but now, even with just that one word, it sounds clearer than ever.

Jake hesitates for a moment before sitting on the other end of the couch, leaving a safe space between us. Leo remains standing. Watching and guarding.

The silence that settles now isn’t tense anymore; its cautious. Like we’re all waiting to see if the ground beneath us stays steady.

Jake glances at me, then away, then back again.

“Did you… meet anyone whilst you were away?” he asks quietly.

There’s no accusation in the question, just insecurity.

I know what he’s asking, and my mind instantly conjures up an image of Alaric and Bastian. I shove

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< Book 2 – Chapter 13

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the thought away as fast as it appeared. I met them, yes, but not in the way he’s asking. They were a few fleeting moments right before I left, nothing more.

I shake my head slowly. “I wasn’t looking to meet anyone.”

“So you spent the last eight months alone?” Leo asks, raising a brow as if he doesn’t quite believe

“Depends on what you mean by alone. If you’re asking if I dated anyone, the answer is no. If you mean friends, then yes. Just nothing permanent.”

Jake gives me a small smile. “So what did

you do?”

I think for a moment, trying to find better words than ‘nothing much, even though that is the truth.

“I spent a couple of weeks on the beach with Annie. We talked a lot, and I decided our friendship had run its course after everything that happened with Paige.” I explain, a bitter feeling settling in my gut at the memory of the conversations with my once best friend. “Then I travelled a little. Spending a month or two in each place before moving on. I needed to be alone to figure myself

out.”

“And did you?” Leo asks.

I don’t answer right away because I’m not sure how to. I don’t know how much to tell them. Will they think I’m crazy if I tell them about the voice I hear?… everyone else did.

“I figured out I was miserable without you,” I say finally.

Jake looks down quickly. Leo’s expression doesn’t change, but something warm flickers behind his

eyes.

“That’s a start,” he says with a small smile, making a quiet warmth spread through my chest.

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