The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 270

Book 2 – Chapter 35

Book 2~ Chapter 35

+25 Points

I don’t slow down until we’re halfway down the corridor. Only then do I realise I’m gripping Leo’s hand hard enough to probably hurt him. I loosen my hold slightly and slow my pace.

“Sorry,” I breathe.

He doesn’t pull away. If anything, his grip tightens, steady and deliberate.

“Don’t apologise,” he says quietly. “Just tell me what’s going on.”

I let out a breath that does nothing to calm my nerves.

“Nothing,” I say automatically.

Leo doesn’t respond straight away; he just watches me.

“I’m fine,” I add, because apparently I’m determined to use the most unconvincing word in existence today.

His brow lifts slightly.

“Funny,” he says. “That’s exactly what you and Paige keep saying when it’s clear you’re not.”

I huff out a breath. “Well, clearly it’s contagious.”

He doesn’t smile. His gaze stays on me, sharp and assessing. I look away, dragging a hand through my hair as we reach the end of the corridor. The clinic feels different now. Too quiet in some places. Too loud in others. Every sound feels wrong somehow. Heightened, like my senses are on steroids, and I can’t decide what to focus on until they all hit at once.

Sound slams into me first. Voices from down the hall, footsteps, the soft hum of equipment. A baby crying somewhere in the distance, too loud, as if it’s right beside my ear instead of rooms. away. My breath catches.

Then comes the scent. Antiseptic, blood, coffee, something sweet, something sour. Layers of it all hitting me at once, thick and overwhelming, like I can’t separate any of it.

“Poppy.” Leo’s voice cuts through it, lower now, firmer.

I flinch. My heart starts racing, too fast, too hard, like it’s trying to keep up with everything crashing in at once.

“… The word sticks in my throat.

My vision sharpens suddenly, painfully. Every details too clear. The cracks in the wall. The

movement of someone at the end of the corridor. The flicker of light overhead. All of it at once. It’s too much.

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< Book 2 – Chapter 35

“I can’t…” I gasp, covering my face with my hands. “Leo, I can’t…”

His hands are on me instantly, firm and unyielding, anchoring me in place.

“Hey. Look at me.”

+25 Points

I shake my head, my breath coming too fast. “There’s too much… I can hear everything… I can smell

“I know,” he says, his voice dropping further. “It’s the bond. Your senses are adjusting.”

That doesn’t make it better. If anything, it makes it worse. Because this isn’t adjusting, this is drowning. And if this is from the bond, it’s irreversible.

“Poppy.”

His hand closes around my jaw, not rough, but leaving no room to avoid him.

“Look. At. Me.”

Something in his tone cuts through the chaos. Sharp and commanding.

Somehow, I do, and it’s enough. Everything else blurs slightly at the edges until it’s just him.

“Good,” he murmurs, softer now. “Stay with me.”

His thumb brushes slowly over my cheek.

“Breathe.”

I try. It comes out shaky at first. Then again. And again.

“That’s it,” he says quietly. “Just me. Nothing else.”

His scent cuts through everything else. Warm, familiar, and safe. The noise dulls slightly, the smells fading just enough that I can think again. My grip tightens on his shirt without me realising.

“I don’t like this,” I whisper.

“I know,” he says. “But you’re not dealing with it alone.”

I cling to that because I need something to hold onto right now. Slowly, painfully, everything starts to quiet to a manageable level. My breathing evens out. My pulse is still too fast, but it no longer feels like it’s spiralling out of control.

“I’m sorry” I breathe.

Leo’s expression hardens Immediately.

“Stop apologising,” he says, sharper this time. “Not for this.”

I nod, even though I still feel off. Like something inside me hasn’t quite settled back into place.

O

2/5

< Book 2~ Chapter 35

+25 Points

“I just…” I start, then stop. Because I don’t even know how to explain it. “That room,” I try again. “It just felt…”

Wrong. Important. Dangerous. I shake my head slightly; none of those feel right.

“Off,” I finish instead. “And then everything got too loud, too bright, too much.”

Leo steps closer, his hand sliding to my waist, firm and possessive, keeping me anchored to him.

“In what way?”

I hesitate. Because the answer isn’t something I’m sure I want to say out loud.

“They were looking at me,” I say finally.

His grip tightens instantly. His eyes flash with his wolf, something darker washing over his

expression.

“Who?” he growls, low and dangerous.

“The babies.”

The words sound ridiculous, even to me. Leo exhales slowly, forcing the tension from his shoulders, but his hand doesn’t leave me.

“They’re newborns, Poppy.”

“I know that,” I snap, more sharply than I mean to. I force myself to exhale. “I know. I just…”

My voice falters. Because I felt it. That moment. That connection.

“They weren’t just…,” I say quietly. “It felt like…”

Like they knew me. Like they recognised me, and something in me recognised them back.

I swallow hard.

“It doesn’t matter,” I say quickly, shaking it off. “It was just a weird moment.”

“You touched them.” The voice hums softly, making my insides turn to ice.

“Why do you always do that?” I snap.

Leo’s head tilts slightly. “Do what?”

“Nothing,” I say quickly. “I was just… talking to myself.”

His eyes narrow, suspicion flickering, but he lets it go.

We start walking again, slower this time. Leo stays close but quiet, as if he’s thinking.

“They settled when you touched them,” he says after a moment.

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< Book 2 – Chapter 35

I glance at him. “What?”

“I felt it,” he says. “It was like the room shifted.”

My stomach drops.

“Now you’re imagining things too,” I tease, attempting to lighten the mood.

“I’m not.”

There’s no room for argument in his tone. I look away again.

“They’re just babies,” I repeat, as if saying it enough times might make it true.

“Not just that.” The voice stirs again.

I ignore it. I ignore everything. Because if I start listening, I’m not sure I’ll like what I hear.

+25 Points

We almost make it back to the main entrance when I stop. Not because I mean to, but because something pulls at me, tightening my chest.

Leo notices instantly. “What is it?”

1 shake my head, even as my gaze drifts toward the maternity room again.

“I don’t know,” I whisper.

But I do. I just don’t want to admit it. The pull doesn’t feel like danger. It feels like something unfinished. Something waiting.

“Poppy.” His voice sharpens slightly.

I drag my gaze back to him.

“It’s nothing, I’m fine,” I lie.

His jaw tightens.

“You keep saying that.”

“I know.”

“And it keeps not being true.”

I huff out a breath, somewhere between a laugh and frustration.

“I just need a minute, okay?”

He studies me, then nods once.

“I’m right here,” he says. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know.”

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Book 2 – Chapter 35

+25 Points

That’s the only thing I’m sure of right now. I lean back against the wall, closing my eyes for a

second. Just to breathe and reset.

Then I feel something shift. A flicker of a memory that isn’t quite mine. A dark road. Headlights.

Impact.

My eyes snap open. No. Not now. I push it down immediately, my hand pressing to my chest like I can physically hold it there.

“You were there.” The voice is clearer now, closer.

“No.” I shake my head.

Leo’s hand is on my arm instantly, grip tightening.

“Talk to me.”

“I’m fine,” I say again.

His expression darkens, frustration flashing over his face, but he doesn’t push. Not yet.

I straighten, pushing away from the wall before whatever that was can surface again.

“Come on,” I say, forcing steadiness into my voice. Let’s find Jake.”

Because I need something normal. Something that makes sense. And right now, both my mates

are the closest thing I have to that.

“You’re starting to remember,” the voice whispers.

I ignore it again, but as we turn the corner, I can’t shake the feeling that something has already started. And whatever it is, it’s not going to stop just because I pretend it isn’t there.

N.O Darling

Sorry for missing yesterday’s update. I had a migraine I’m away from my computer today, so I’ve had to write this on my phone and the italics for ‘the voice’ won’t work. I will fix it tomorrow.

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