Chapter 297 Book 2 ~ Chapter 62
Chapter 297 Book 2 ~ Chapter 62
Poppy’s POV
I wake slowly, snuggled under the blanket. For one disorienting second, I don’t understand why my body feels so heavy and relaxed, why the constant pressure in the back of my mind isn’t there waiting for me the second I open my eyes. Then I feel him, Jake. Not just beside me, but inside me.
The bond hums softly beneath my skin, calm and steady like a second heartbeat threaded through my chest. Sleepy contentment brushes against my consciousness a second before strong arms wrap around my waist.
“Good morning, mate,” Jake murmurs against the back of my neck, his voice rough with sleep.
A smile tugs at my lips before I can stop it, and that alone feels strange. I can’t remember the last time smiling felt this effortless. I turn slowly in his arms, and the second he looks at me, undeniable gravity pulls through the bond so strong it steals my breath for a moment.
Affection… relief… love.
Heat rushes into my cheeks so fast, and he huffs out a quiet laugh.
“Well,” he says softly, still half asleep. “This is going to make hiding feelings difficult.”
I bury my face against his chest and Jake laughs properly this time, one hand sliding up my spine.
“No, beautiful, come back. I want to see that adorably embarrassed face again.”
“Absolutely not.”
His chest vibrates beneath my cheek as he laughs again, softer now, and something inside me settles even further.
The voice remains quiet, but not in an ominous way like it has before. For the first time in weeks, my own thoughts actually feel like mine again, and underneath it all, I can feel Leo too.
The bond between us hums softly in the background, reassuring and constant despite the distance between us. Before last night, sensing him hadn’t felt this real. Now it feels clear and stronger. Like Jake somehow anchored all of it into place.
The second I focus on Leo properly, a sharp ache of missing him pulls through my chest hard enough to catch me off guard. God, I wish he were here.
Something tender brushes through the bond a heartbeat later. Protective and affectionate.
“Mine,” I hear faintly in a voice that is unmistakably Leo’s.
A soft laugh escapes me before I can stop it.
Jake raises an eyebrow at me. “What?”
Heat creeps into my face again. “I think Leo just felt me missing him.”
“Good,” Jake looks too pleased by that. “You feel calmer today,” he adds quietly.
He’s right, I do.
I tilt my head up enough to look at him. “I think it worked.”
Emotion flickers across his face so fast I almost miss it. I expect smugness or satisfaction, but if there is any, it’s completely drowned out by his relief. As if some part of him has been terrified this wouldn’t help, and he’s only just now allowing himself to breathe again.
His thumb brushes gently beneath the fresh mark on my neck, sending pleasant tingles through my entire body.
“You had me scared for a moment,” he admits softly.
The honesty in his voice tightens something in my chest.
“I scared myself.”
“Yeah,” he murmurs with a soft smile. “I know.”
Sunlight spills through the curtains behind him, catching against his dark hair and softening the sharp edges of him until he looks almost unreal.
Something about today feels different, brighter and lighter. The air no longer feels too tight in my lungs. Even the constant tension sitting between my shoulders has eased, and for the first time in days, I feel hungry instead of nauseous.
I feel more like the old version of me than I have since the first day I discovered this hidden world. More human than haunted. The sudden urge to do something normal, like see my sister, niece, and nephew, hits hard.
“I want to see my family,” I blurt.
Jake studies me carefully for a second, probably checking through the bond for panic or instability. He finds neither.
“Okay,” he says simply.
There’s no argument, no overprotective lecture, just trust.
God, I love him. The thought slips through me so naturally that I freeze, and Jake’s eyebrows lift immediately. His entire face softens in a way that nearly kills me on the spot.
“Oh, don’t do that,” I groan, dragging the blanket over my face.
“Do what?”
“That stupid, happy face.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he laughs.
Liar. I can literally feel the smug affection radiating through the bond; and it makes me smile too.
The smile doesn’t fade, even as we dress, eat breakfast and walk hand in hand through the woods.
By the time we reach the main house, sunlight is spilling across the garden in soft golden patches, slowly drying the rain from the grass.
Paige is already outside with a coffee in her hands, curled into one of the cushioned garden chairs on the back porch. She looks up the second we step outside. Then immediately goes still.
Her eyes lock onto me, focusing on my neck.
“Oh my God,” she breathes.
My cheeks flush with embarrassment, and Jake gives my hand a squeeze, looking extremely pleased with himself.
Paige breaks into the biggest grin I’ve seen from her in days as she jumps to her feet. “You finally mated!”
“Please lower your voice,” I mutter. “The whole pack doesn’t need to know.”
“They’ll definitely know the second they see the grin on Jake’s face,” she chuckles, pulling me into a hug before I can agree, and the second her arms wrap around me, a brightness rushes through my chest.
Jake goes still beside me, but I barely notice, because for a second, standing in Paige’s arms feels like stepping into sunlight after years underground.
Warmth pours through me so suddenly my eyes sting. She is love, home, and safety wrapped up in a pretty package. It hits hard enough that I actually sway slightly.
Paige pulls back, her hands tightening on my arms. “Poppy?”
The warmth spikes again, but this time it’s too much. The world tilts for half a second. I gasp softly as a strange pressure crackles through the air around us.
“Poppy,” Jake says cautiously, gently pulling me to him and away from Paige.
My breathing quickens as something cool and prickly flashes beneath my skin, and pressure builds behind my ribs.
No. Not now. Not again. I completed the mate bond; it should have fixed this. I should be stable.
Paige’s eyes go wide. “Jake…”
I look down just in time to see tiny white flowers burst through the gaps between the wooden slats beneath our feet. They grow impossibly fast, their petals turning toward Paige, while shadows curl beneath them, turning the edges of the delicate petals a deep shade of violet. They’re changing, and whilst it’s an enchanting sight, there’s a sense of wrongness about them.
The sunlight brightens unnaturally around Paige at the exact same moment the shadows thicken around me, but instead of fighting each other, the two energies twist together. It’s subtle, so faint that I blink a few times to make sure I’m actually seeing it, and it’s not just some dust in my eyes. Gold and darkness wind through each other in slow, impossible patterns. Balanced, beautiful, and real, but terrifying.
The pressure in my head spikes violently, and my hands shoot out instinctively, as if I might be able to control it.
“Careful,” the voice warns, and my entire body locks.
Jake grips my chin gently, forcing my face up. “Look at me,” he says firmly.
I try. God, I try, but my eyes keep darting back to whatever the hell is happening around us.
“We should go inside,” Paige says with a slight tremble in her voice.
The second she touches my wrist again, another surge slams through me. Warmth, light, and so much power. It pours through me too fast to process, crashing into the darker energy already living beneath my skin until my entire body shakes with the force of it and my vision blurs at the edges.
Jake catches me before I hit the ground, and Paige stumbles backward into her seat, as if she’s just been hit.
The flowers stop growing instantly, and silence crashes over the garden. My heart hammers as I stare at Paige. She looks just as shaken as I feel.
“What the hell was that?” she whispers.
I don’t answer. Because deep down, I already know one thing with terrifying certainty. The mating may have stabilised me, but whatever happens when Paige and I are together?… That’s becoming something else entirely.