Chapter 289 Book 2 ~ Chapter 54
Chapter 289 Book 2 ~ Chapter 54
Jake’s POV
The thought that I shouldn’t have left hits me hard and sudden, but I don’t know why.
I’m halfway down the corridor in the clinic, the faint hum of the lights buzzing overhead, when something in my chest pulls tight. Not the mate bond exactly, but close enough that every instinct I have sharpens in response. Something is wrong.
I stop, my hand resting against the lab door. I’d told myself I needed a minute. Just a little space to get my head straight before I went back in there and faced her again without losing control, because I had almost lost it.
The memory flashes hot. Her beneath my hands, the bond screaming, my wolf clawing at the inside of my ribs, demanding I finish what we started.
Mine.
I force the thought down hard and drag a hand through my hair, exhaling slowly as I push open the door. I need to get it together.
The familiar warm scent of the machines at work and metal usually grounds me, but right now it does nothing. The feeling of wrongness doesn’t fade. It only builds. A pressure low in my chest, tightening with every second until it’s almost painful.
What the hell…
“Jake?”
I blink, realising I’ve stopped dead in the middle of the room. My lab tech is looking at me like I’ve just forgotten how to function.
“Sorry,” I mutter automatically. “Just… came to check on the blood results from earlier.”
He nods, gesturing toward my office. “They came in a few minutes ago. I put them on your desk.”
That pressure spikes again before I can respond.
“Jake.” Leo’s voice slams into my head through the mind link, urgent enough that my entire body locks. “Get back here. Now.”
Every muscle in my body goes stiff.
“What’s wrong?” I fire back instantly, already moving.
“It’s Poppy...”
That’s all it takes. I don’t wait for more. I’m running before the connection even fully settles. The distance between the clinic and the house has never felt this long.
My heartbeat pounds in my ears, each step hitting harder than the last as my wolf surges forward, fully awake now, fully alert and lending me his speed.
I knew something was wrong, and I’d ignored it, brushing it off as nerves or the aftermath, but this is different.
“She’s losing control,” Leo adds, his voice tighter now, laced with a concern I don’t hear from him often.
A low growl rumbles from my chest.
“What do you mean losing control?” I push harder, cutting across the grass instead of sticking to the path.
“Her power. It’s… building. I don’t know what triggered it, but it’s not stopping.”
A flicker of something cold slides down my spine.
“Is she hurt?”
“No. But the room...”
A smash comes from the cabin as I race towards it. More glass broken, but it’s nothing big like a window, a vase maybe, or another lightbulb.
My jaw clenches.
“Keep her grounded,” I snap. “Don’t let her drift.”
“I know, I’m trying.”
Another pulse hits through the bond, but this time it’s not from Leo, it’s from her. It slams into my chest hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs mid-stride, and I stagger a step.
It’s pure power. Raw, unstable and expanding too fast.
“Shit…”
When I hit the front door, I don’t slow down. I shove it open, the sound of it slamming against the wall barely registering as I run straight into the living room, and then my eyes land on her. Poppy is curled slightly into Leo, her hands pressed to his chest, her breathing is uneven, too fast, and too shallow.
The air around her feels wrong. Charged, like the moment before the first crack of lightening and the room smells like hot electrical wires. The lamp beside them is shattered, glass glistening across the floor.
The second I step closer, another pulse hits. Stronger this time, making the lights flicker violently overhead.
“Jake…” Leo starts, but I’m already moving.
“Hey,” I say, dropping to my knees in front of her, not caring about the glass. “Look at me.”
Her eyes snap to mine, and for a second, they’re not right. There’s something deeper in them. Something darker flickering beneath the surface like a storm trying to break through. The hairs on my arms lift.
“Jake…” Her voice is strained, like she’s fighting for control. “I don’t…”
“I’ve got you,” I cut in, forcing my voice steady even as my pulse races. “You’re okay. Just stay with me.”
Another crack splits through the room, and something shatters in the kitchen. I don’t react. Instead, I shift closer, ignoring the way the energy around her prickles against my skin.
“Breathe,” I tell her, softer now. “Slow it down.”
“I can’t…” Her fingers curl into fists. “It’s too much. It feels like… like I’m going to…”
“I know.” I reach for her without thinking, one hand settling against her cheek, the other bracing lightly against her shoulder. “I know, but you’re not. You’re not losing this.”
The second I touch her, everything changes. The energy spikes, then drops. Settling a little, but still there, like a storm hitting resistance.
Poppy’s breath catches, her eyes widening as she stares at me.
“Jake…”
“I’m here.” I don’t move or try to pull away. “I’m right here.”
Another pulse rolls through her, but this time it doesn’t explode outward. It pulls inward instead, and for a split second, something dark crawls beneath Poppy’s skin.
I freeze as thin shadow-like lines spread from her chest, sliding up the side of her neck like veins made of smoke, barely visible.
My breath catches. What the fuck…
I blink hard, and then they’re gone. Poppy’s skin is clear again, flushed slightly from the lingering surge of power, but otherwise completely normal. Or maybe not normal, because nothing about this is normal anymore.
I glance at Leo automatically, expecting some kind of reaction, but he’s focused entirely on Poppy, his expression tight with concern, as if he hasn’t seen anything at all.
Right… So either I imagined it… Or I’m the only one who saw it.
The lights flicker once more, then steady. The pressure in the room eases just enough that I can breathe properly again, and behind her, Leo exhales slowly.
“Okay,” he mutters. “That was intense.”
Yeah. No kidding.
I keep my focus on Poppy, pushing all thoughts of shadowy veins from my mind.
“Talk to me,” I say quietly. “What were you feeling?”
Her lips part, her skin paling.
“The voice…” she whispers. “It changed.”
My stomach twists. Of course it did. Because why wouldn’t it get worse right when things start to stabilise?
“What did it say?” I ask.
She hesitates, and that hesitation tells me I’m not going to like the answer.
“It said…” Her fingers tighten slightly. “That it should have been finished.”
Leo swears under his breath, but I stay silent because my mind is already moving, already connecting dots I don’t like.
The uncompleted bond… Her power… The timing of the surge… And the fact that everything only started to settle when I touched her.
My jaw tightens slightly as I glance at Leo.
“We’re not dealing with just her power anymore,” I say quietly.
“No,” Leo agrees. “We’re really not.”
I look back at Poppy, brushing my thumb lightly along her cheek. Her breathing is starting to even out now, which is good, but this isn’t over. Not even close.
Because whatever that voice is, it just threw a tantrum to get what it wanted. And we can’t just ride this out and hope it burns itself out eventually. Not when Poppy’s power feels unstable enough to bring the entire damn house down around us if it pushes any harder.
This isn’t mood swings or bad impulse control. This is something ancient and powerful lashing out through her because it didn’t get the outcome it wanted… and that is dangerous as hell.