The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 288

Book 2 ~ Chapter 53

** Poppy’s POV **

Things have changed. Not just around me, but inside too.

+25 Points

The voice has remained silent. Its presence is still there, watching, waiting, but somehow it’s more settled now. Content even. Which is surprising; I was sure it would be complaining about how close we were to completing the bond.

There’s no emptiness or awkwardness; everything is just… still. Like what just happened is settling into the space around us, sinking into my skin, my bones, my everything.

Leo had pulled me onto the couch with him when Jake had finally let me go, but I can still feel his hands on me, the way he held me, like I was something to be treasured. The way he stopped.

My fingers curl slightly against Leo’s chest as the thought circles back, clearer this time. He could have. The bond had been there. I’d felt it, pulling, demanding, needing. It hadn’t just been in my head. It had been in him too, stronger and louder.

And he still… I swallow, my throat tight in a way that has nothing to do with earlier. He still chose me, not the mate bond. Me.

A slow breath leaves me, my chest rising and falling as something relaxes inside me. Something steadier than the chaos that’s been chasing me for days.

I know how this would look from the outside. Some people would call it rejection, and that thought should sting, but it doesn’t. Because that’s not what it was. Not even close.

My gaze drifts to the doorway Jake disappeared through, something warm and unfamiliar settling low in my chest.

It wasn’t hesitation; it was control, care, and respect. He was putting me, and what I needed, above something that was clearly tearing him apart to hold back. And that means more to me than anything else he could have done.

Leo shifts slightly beneath me, his hand sliding up my back in a slow, grounding stroke. He’s been quiet this whole time. Just holding me while I bask in the lingering pleasure of what we just did.

“You’ve disappeared on me again,” he says quietly.

I huff out a breath that almost turns into a laugh. “Have I?”

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< Book 2 ~ Chapter 53

“Yeah.” There’s a playful note in his tone. “I can practically hear those cogs turning.”

+25 Points

My fingers trace patterns against his chest. “People are going to talk, aren’t they? When they see me and Jake are still unmated.”

“People are idiots,” Leo snorts.

That earns him a proper laugh this time.

“You know that wasn’t easy for him, right?” Leo asks. “You felt how much that bond was demanding it.”

I nod against him. “Yeah. Do you think he’s okay?”

“He will be. The pull you felt would be ten times stronger for him.” His hand stills on my back for a second before continuing its slow movement. “And somehow he still walked away. He probably just needs a minute.”

My chest tightens again. I want to go to Jake, to tell him how much I appreciate what he did, but Leo is right. He probably needs a little space from me.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Leo adds. “He just wanted it to be right.”

My eyes close briefly, letting that sink in. A small smile tugs at my lips as I settle a little more comfortably against Leo.

I don’t realise I’ve dozed off until something wakes me with a jolt. A sharp, wrong kind of stillness settles in my chest.

My heart skips a beat, but not from emotion this time. This is something else. Something deeper.

Leo’s hand is still moving slowly up my back, but my body doesn’t respond to it the same way it did before. The warmth is still there, the comfort, but underneath it, there’s a growing fullness I can’t quite place.

“Poppy?”

I don’t answer straight away. Because the feeling doesn’t fade, it gets worse.

My fingers press against Leo’s chest as I pull in a breath that doesn’t quite feel like enough.

“What…” I swallow, blinking as my vision flickers slightly. “Something’s…”

Wrong… The word doesn’t make it out. Instead, the light above us flickers twice then steadies.

2/4

< Book 2 ~ Chapter 53

2

Leo goes completely still beneath me.

+25 Points >

“Tell me what you’re feeling,” he says, his voice controlled, but there’s an edge to it now.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “It’s like…”

A sharp crack splits through the room and the glass on the side table fractures straight down

the middle. We both look at it. Then at each other.

“Okay,” Leo mutters, more to himself than me. “That’s not good.”

No. It’s definitely not.

Another pulse hits me, harder this time. It rolls through my chest and down my spine. It doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t feel good either. I feel too full… like something is filling up inside my body and my skin can’t contain it all.

My breath catches again.

“Oh…”

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