The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 263

Book 2~ Chapter 28

**Jake’s POV **

I don’t want to move. Every instinct in me is screaming to stay right here, with her. But I don’t get that choice. Because I’m a healer, and right now, something else needs me.

“Leo,” I say tightly, not taking my eyes off her. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”

“Not a chance,” he replies immediately.

Good. I squeeze her hand once.

“Stay with him,” I tell her, softer now.

Her eyes are still slightly unfocused.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she mumbles.

I force myself to step back. To turn and leave. I tell myself she’s okay. Leo won’t let anything happen to her. She’s alive; she’s breathing, but every step away from her feels wrong. Like I’m walking in the opposite direction of where I’m supposed to be.

“Speak to Ronnie; see if he can come over.” I say only to Leo, “I think whatever we are dealing with here might be more his field than mine.”

“On it.”

The cold lingers. Clinging to me. I mentally shove it aside and move faster, pushing back into the delivery room. The shift in atmosphere is immediate. Panic, tension, too many voices.

“Heart rate is dropping,” my assistant says, her hands already moving. “It was steady and then…”

“Okay,” I cut in, stepping back into position. “Talk to me.”

She rattles off numbers. They’re not good. Not catastrophic yet, but there’s a very real possibility we’re heading there fast.

“Come on,” I mutter under my breath, refocusing.

This is what I do. This is what I know. I move through it automatically. Checking, adjusting, guiding.

“Breathe,” I tell the mother again. “Stay with me.”

But something feels off; it’s different to before. The room is warmer now, or maybe… I frown slightly… No. It’s not warm, it’s heavy. As if the air has thickened somehow. Like something unseen has stepped into the room. I ignore it. I have to.

“Push,” I say firmly. “We need to get this baby out as fast as possible,”

The mother cries out again. The second baby is close. So close. The head is right there.

1/5

< Book 2 – Chapter 28

“Come on,” I breathe. “You’ve got this.”

Then the heart rate drops dangerously low.

+25 Points

“Cord compression,” I say through the mind link to my assistant. “I need forceps. Move quickly, but don’t

look panicked.”

My assistant moves without a word as I adjust the bed, tilting it back slightly in hopes of removing

pressure from the cord.

“Listen to me,” I say firmly but calmly. “The baby is becoming distressed, and we need to get him out quickly. When you feel the next contraction, I need you to pull your knees up towards your chest and push

with everything you have.”

The mother’s eyes meet mine. I see the fear there, but I also see that fierce determination that mothers

get when their baby is in danger. She nods before looking at her mates.

They both whisper words of encouragement, and the one not holding the first baby helps her pull her

knees up into position. They’re calm and quiet. Good. Panic and shouting helps no one.

I know the contraction is starting before the mother shows any signs, because the baby’s heart plummets.

“Push. Now. Give it everything.”

Then it happens. The bond pulses, sharp and violent. Not from Leo, but through him, from her. My head jerks slightly as the lights flicker again. What the…

The cold surges again, but this time it feels more like it’s moving. As if something is being redirected. The baby’s head crowns and my breath catches. There’s too much happening all at once.

“Prep for re-sus,” I link with my assistant.

“That’s it, Mum, the head is out,” I praise.

As I suspected, the cord is wrapped tightly around the baby’s neck. I try to release it, but it’s so tight. There’s no time to wait. If this baby has a chance, it needs to be born now.

“Push, push now.”

For a split second, I feel Poppy through the bond. Not cold now, but focused and intent. Like she’s reaching for something through me, through the room, through the tiny, failing heartbeat in my hands. I unhook the cord from his neck and just stare at him. For the first time in years, I freeze up, only for a

second, but a second too long for a baby without a heartbeat. Then the heart catches again. Strong,

steady, and impossible.

The baby cries a second later, strong, clear, alive. Relief floods the room. I hand the baby to my assistant, who quickly runs through checks before passing him to Mum.

My chest tightens at the sight, but it’s tainted by an uneasy feeling, because I just witnessed a miracle, and in my experience, they tend to come at a cost.

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< Book 2 – Chapter 28

“Two healthy boys,” my assistant says brightly. “Congratulations.”

+25 Points

The parents are crying now, laughing, relieved, and I should feel the same. I usually do, but instead, my gaze drifts toward the door. Toward her. Because something just happened. Something I didn’t do.

“How is she?” I ask Leo.

“Better,” he responds immediately. “She’s warming up.”

Relief hits first. Then dread, because things like this do not balance themselves for free, and now we’ve had two in one night.

I finish up with the delivery and checks as fast as I can without compromising my patients. Once everything is clean and Mum and babies are settled, I switch on the lamp and turn off the harsh overhead light so the new family can relax and adjust.

One of the fathers grips my hand before I can leave.

“Thank you. We owe you, Doc.”

“No,” I shake my head. “It’s not only my job; it’s an honour.”

“I know, but you need anything, anything at all, you tell us. Okay?”

“I will, thank you.” I agree, because I just want to get to my mate. “I’ll give you all some time to bond and

come back to check on everyone soon.”

“Thanks, Doc. Would it be okay to crack a window? It’s getting a little stuffy.”

I nod, moving to the window and opening it just enough to let some air in, careful not to chill the babies. A

strange, brittle smell drifts in through the gap. Dry and faintly rotten, but gone before I can place it. I pause for half a second, my brow furrowing. Then my mind drifts back to Poppy. I leave the room, forcing myself

to walk instead of run.

I don’t make it far before I’m already reaching for him.

“Leo.” The link snaps into place instantly.

“She’s still here,” he answers before I can ask,

The fact that he says it like that does nothing to settle the tightness in my chest.

“Has anything changed?” I push.

There’s a pause.

“Not worse,” he says carefully.

That’s not what I asked. I pick up my pace,

By the time I reach the room, I don’t bother knocking. I push the door open. Leo is exactly where I left him. Still focused. Poppy is lying back, the blanket pulled up around her, but something about the way she’s positioned makes my chest ache. She looks smaller, not physically, but like something has dimmed.

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< Book 2~ Chapter 28

Her eyes flick to me the second I step inside.

“There you are,” she says softly.

Like I’ve just stepped out for five minutes, as if nothing just happened. I cross the room quickly.

“How do you feel?” I ask, already reaching for her again.

She’s warmer. Not completely back to normal, but enough that I feel the difference instantly.

“Better,” she says.

But she hesitates just enough that I catch it.

“What aren’t you telling me?” I ask.

Her gaze drops.

“I just feel… weird.”

Not helpful, but at least she’s being honest.

Leo shifts slightly beside her.

“She went quiet for a minute,” he says. “Didn’t pass out, but didn’t respond either.”

My jaw tightens.

“For how long?”

“A few seconds.”

“I was going to call you, but then she snapped out of it,” he adds.

+25 Points

I press my hand lightly over her heart again. The rhythm is steady, but now I can feel something else. It’s faint, barely there. Like an echo sitting just beneath it. My brow furrows.

“What?” Leo asks immediately.

I shake my head slowly.

“I don’t know.”

Poppy watches me carefully now too,

“You’re doing that thing again,” she huffs.

“What thing?”

“The ‘something’s wrong, but you’re not telling me how bad’ thing.”

Despite everything, my mouth almost twitches.

“Occupational habit.”

She doesn’t smile.

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< Book 2 – Chapter 28:

+25 Points)

“She’s fine now, though, right?” Leo asks.

I nod. Because physically she is, but tonight something just rewrote the rules, and I have a feeling we’re

about to find out what it cost.

14

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