Chapter 304 Book 2 ~ chapter 69
Chapter 304 Book 2 ~ chapter 69
Poppy’s POV
For the most part of the day, I hold myself together, the way I always have. Showing weakness and crying helps no one. I have been through loss before, and I made it out the other side.
This isn’t as bad as then. I’m older now, and my sister isn’t dead; I just can’t be around her for now. That’s not even the reason my eyes keep welling up, and a lump keeps forming in my throat. It’s anger at myself. Because I wasted all those months avoiding everyone when I could have been spending time with her and Jax.
Have I messed everything up?
“It was always going to be this way.” The voice floats softly through my mind, sounding concerned for a change.
“And you didn’t think to warn me?” I snap. “You know, just a little heads-up to hug my sister one last time before I complete the mating.”
I stomp over to the dresser, yanking open the top drawer to look for one of Jake's or Leo’s T-shirts.
“Would you have completed the mating if I had?” it asks.
My hand stops rummaging as I think about that. About the way I get goosebumps whenever my mates touch me, how they can make my heart race with just a look. How everything they do is with me in mind. They’ve very quickly become my obsession. But would I choose them over my sister if I had all the facts beforehand?... I don’t know.
“Why can’t I have both? Haven’t I already lost enough?” I ask, knowing I sound like a whiny child, but I don’t care.
“Power like yours does not come without a cost.”
“But I never asked for it!” I yank the first shirt I find over my head, letting my damp towel drop to the floor with a soft thud. “I just want to be me, a regular human. I don’t need powers. I just need my family and my mates.”
“Are you sure you didn’t?”
There it is again, that hint that I wanted this, but I wouldn’t ask for this, and if I did, I’d remember. I flop down onto the bed, choosing not to get into a back and forth with this annoying voice right now. Until it wants to give me some real answers, I’m not interested in anything it has to say.
All I want to do right now is curl up in bed and dwell in self-pity and loathing until I come up with a plan or think myself into a mentally exhausted coma. Apparently, it was the latter because suddenly I’m sandwiched between two very warm bodies that are wrapped around me like I’m something precious they need to protect.
Leo is back, Jake is here, the birds are singing, and the world feels a little less cruel today. But one look at the frown etched on Leo’s face, even whilst he sleeps, dulls the easy feeling. God, I’ve been selfish. I’ve been so absorbed in my own feelings that I haven’t taken a minute to consider the toll it’s having on them.
I make a silent promise to do better and to be better. For them, and for my family. I have sulked and whined for long enough; it’s time to fight for them all. Because I’m Poppy fucking Wilson, and I don’t break, I rise.
“There she is.” The voice hums, souring my mood further.
“Just how many personalities do you actually have?” I ask with a sneer.
The voice doesn’t respond to that, and I get a small sense of victory. It’s a serious question, though. The voice can be kind and encouraging one moment, and conniving and cryptic the next, and the worst part is, I never know which version I’m going to get or if it will just ignore me completely.
A shiver runs through me as the memory of it feeling like a cold, hungry void comes back to me, as if reminding me it can be even worse. Luckily, I haven’t felt it like that since I came home.
“Are you winning?” Leo’s sleepy voice startles me.
My eyes move to his immediately, finding them open and watching me. I can’t keep the smile from my face.
“Winning what?”
“The argument you were clearly having.”
I turn to face him fully, bringing a hand to his rough, stubbly cheek.
“Of course.”
He covers my hand with his own and turns his face into my touch, placing a kiss on my palm. “Never doubted it.”
“You’re home.” I breathe, realising how stupid I sound, but the way he looks at me doesn’t make me feel stupid.
“I am, and I never want to be away from you that long again.”
“You’re a stronger man than I, Leo,” Jake says groggily behind me.
“Why do you two sound like you’ve barely slept?” I ask, glancing at Jake over my shoulder.
“Because we didn’t,” Jake grumbles.
“Why, is something wrong?”
I sit up, needing to be able to see them both. Neither of them answers right away, which tells me everything and nothing.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about,” Leo says, sitting up and rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “We just need to be careful for the next week or so.”
“Careful how? Why?”
Leo lets out a short breath. “We have guests from other packs here to learn how we patrol.”
“And?”
“And we think it’s best they don’t learn too much about you and Paige,” Jake explains.
I nod because it makes sense, but I don’t like it.
“So, you’re saying I’m a prisoner in this cabin until they leave?”
“No, not at all.” Leo shakes his head. “It just means we need to be smart about this. Ryder and Callen have made it very clear that they must stay within their cabins or the training areas unless escorted by one of our enforcers.”
I look towards the window with a frown. “But we’re right across from the training grounds.”
“Which is where the smart part comes in. You can’t leave without one of us checking in with the enforcers first. They’ll tell us when it’s safe.”
Jake takes my hand and offers me a small, sympathetic smile. “It also means you can’t come to the clinic for a while. It’s too close to the training grounds, and if there’s an emergency…”
“Yeah, I get it,” I interrupt. “Well, it looks like I’m stuck here then. It’s not like I have anywhere else I can go.”
“Of course you can. In fact, get ready, and after breakfast, we can go for a walk. My wolf is dying to meet you officially,” Jake says, jumping up from the bed and holding out a hand to me.
The grin on his face and the nervous excitement flowing through the bond are contagious.
“Really? You’re finally going to show me your wolf? I was beginning to think you couldn’t shift,” I tease as he pulls me up.
“My wolf is not like the ones you usually see,” he says meekly, his cheeks flushing pink as he looks at his feet.
“Hey,” I place a hand on his chest, waiting for him to look at me.
His eyes meet mine, wide and searching.
“He’s an omega; our strength is in healing rather than physical strength.”
“I don’t care if he has six tails and one eye, he’s exactly how he’s meant to be, and I’m so excited to meet him.”
“A healer is no less valuable than a fighter. You know this,” Leo adds, the bed creaking as he gets up.
Jake’s gaze lifts to Leo over my shoulder, and he nods once. “I know.”
“Then stop blushing and get the coffee on whilst I start breakfast.” Leo claps him on the back as he walks out completely naked.
My eyes track him automatically as he heads into the room across the hall. Damn, having an ass like that should be illegal. The way his muscles move with each step is hypnotising.
“You know, as a medical professional, I should probably warn you that staring that hard can cause a neck strain,” Jake laughs.
“I have no idea what you mean,” I say innocently, but he’s not buying it.
He shakes his head and turns to leave, too. He is wearing boxer shorts, but the view is just as good. It’s clear they both won the physique lottery, or maybe it’s me that’s the true winner.
I dress quickly and crack the window to let some air in. Just as I’m about to turn to go downstairs, something outside catches my eye.
It’s the same view as always: the clinic slightly to the left, and the training fields a little further back on the right. A few are already out sparring, some as wolves and some in human form, but what gets my attention are the four wolves fighting near the back.
Two wolves are bigger than the others. Maybe even bigger than Callen and Ryder. Their glossy fur is such a pale shade of grey that it almost looks like real silver strands in the sun. They’re fast, much faster than the smaller wolves they’re sparring with, who can’t seem to land a single hit. They must be two of the guests Leo mentioned.
I’m about to turn away when both wolves freeze, their noses lifting in the air as if scenting something. Shit, can they scent what I am from there? I dart away from the window before they can fully turn. I’ll need to be more careful if I’m going to last a week without being detected.