**Paige’s POV **

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    Remy takes my hand again, his eyes searching mine. “Maybe we should keep this between

    us for now, just until we know if it’s a possibility. Ryder was…”

    “I’m not hiding this,” I cut in. “Not from them. If I brought a threat, they deserve to know.”

    Remy’s jaw works, but after a moment he nods,cing his fingers with mine.

    We walk back towards the house in silence, our hands linked, and my mind buzzing with the

    weight of what Remy has just made me realise. Everything feels sharper now, more fragile, like one wrong move could break the bnce we’re trying to find.

    The rest of the day slips by in a less tense mood. Jaxon insists we spend hours outside,

    having Parker shift into his wolf to chase him around the garden while Jaxon’sughter

    bounces off the surrounding trees. I sit on the porch steps and watch them, smiling despite

    the churning in my stomach.

    For a while, it feels normal… sunlight,ughter, muddy shoes on the porch. Remy heads back

    out with the patrol, and Ryder and Callen leave to do their Alpha duties, checking on their

    injured and coordinating with the pack.

    Parker is so patient with Jaxon. Answering his endless questions… Why does your fur look

    different from Uncle Callen’s?… Can you sleep as a wolf?… Can I ride on your back?

    Parker takes it all with an easy grin, answering what he can, deflecting what he can’t, never

    once letting Jaxon feel like he’s asking too much.

    I’ve noticed that as wolves, my mates barely look at me, and I wonder why that is. I file that

    away as a question forter, when Jaxon isn’t around.

    By the time Remy returns from patrol, and Ryder and Callen make it home, Jaxon is yawning through dinner and asleep almost before his head hits the pillow. I tuck him in, smoothing

    the hair from his forehead, my chest tightening with love and a hollow ache of fear. If Greg is

    what Remy thinks… if my ex really is involved with hunters… then Jaxon was never safe.

    Neither of us was.

    When I get back downstairs, the men are already waiting. The living room feels smaller than usual. Remy’s expression is stern, Ryder’s jaw clenched so tight I can almost hear his teeth grind. Callen sits back, quiet, assessing, while Parker watches me with sharp eyes that miss

    Chapter Sa

    nothing.

    I sink into the empty space beside Remy on the couch.

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    “We need to talk about Paige’s life before she came here,” he says, his voice low but firm. “We

    have to at least discuss the possibility that the hunters already had their sights on Jaxon and

    followed him and Paige here.”

    There are a few tense moments of silence. Ryder stares at Remy with unmasked fury.

    “Any idea who it might be?” Parker asks calmly.

    I nod and take a breath. “There’s only one person I can think of… Greg.”

    The name drops like a stone. Ryder’s head snaps toward me, and for a moment, there’s only

    the sound of my pounding heart.

    “What about him?” Ryder’s voice is heavy with suspicion.

    I swallow, my palms suddenly going mmy. “After the first year, he changed. He became distant, not really interested in our marriage, I guess. He wasn’t great with Jax; he would

    makements like he was going to turn out bad, just like his father. I never thought much

    of it. I thought he was just jealous because I’d not been able to give him the child he wanted.

    Now I’m not so sure, especially since he sent a message a few days ago informing me he

    was going to pursue contact with Jaxon in the divorce.”

    “He’s got no f*cking right to my son,” Ryder growls.

    “The courts may not see it that way. On paper, he’s been a father figure to Jaxon for most of

    his life.”

    Ryder ms a hand down on the arm of the couch. “F*ck the courts! He won’t get near him.”

    i“/iAgreed,” I nod.

    “I’m sorry if this is hard to talk about, but we have to know exactly the kind of man we are

    dealing with… did he ever hurt you?” Parker asks, and I feel all eyesnd on me again.

    “He wasn’t… violent, but he controlled things. He made me believe I couldn’t manage without

    him. That I was too fragile, too… broken to stand on my own. At the time, I thought that was

    just how rtionships worked. But now, looking back, it’s clearer now. He chipped away at

    me until I second–guessed everything,” I admit.

    Ryder’s knuckles go white against his knees. “And I wasn’t there. I left you open for someone

    C Chapter 54

    like that to get his ws into you.”

    “Ryder,” I whisper, but he’s already shaking his head.

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    “No. I should’ve checked on you, I should have protected you both. Instead, I gave him the

    perfect chance to worm his way into your life.” His eyes are zing with fury, not at me, but

    at himself and Greg.

    Remy reaches over and squeezes my hand before speaking. “So, at the least, we know Greg

    was maniptive. Now we need to work out whether he is working with the hunters. What

    does he do for work?”

    “He works for a sporting goods shop,” I shrug.

    “What kind of sporting goods?” Callen asks.

    “I’m not sure exactly. It’s not your regr sports equipment, it’s specialised stuff, I think. Air

    rifles, fencing equipment, that kind of stuff.”

    “s**t…” Callen curses.

    “So he has ess to weapons that can be loaded with wolfsbane darts. I’d say that’s enough

    of a connection on its own,” Ryder says, running a hand through his hair.

    “Everything points to him being a hunter to me,” Remy says tly. “Think about it. He attached

    himself to Paige right after Ryder was gone, kept her isted, kept Jaxon under watch. It

    lines up too well. Hunters monitor bloodlines. They know the signs in kids and teens. If Greg

    was nted, or even acting alone, then he wasn’t just controlling Paige. He was watching Jaxi, /imaybe even grooming him to recruit as one of them.”

    Parker swears under his breath. Callen leans forward, looking pale. I feel sick at the thought

    of Greg grooming Jaxon to use as a weapon against his own kind.

    Ryder looks like he’s about to tear the room apart. “You’re telling me I left my mate and son

    with a hunter?” His voice breaks on thest word, raw with guilt.

    “You didn’t iknow/ii,/ii” /iI say quickly, reaching for him. “None of us did. I didn’t even realise I was

    being controlled until now. That’s the point, he made me blind to it. If I hadn’t caught him.

    cheating, I’d still be there now, none the wiser.”

    “That doesn’t matter,” Ryder growls, standing so fast it makes me dizzy. “I should have

    known. I should havee back. If he’d hurt either of you…”

    “Ryder,” Callen cuts in, calm but firm. “Anger won’t change the past, and getting caught up in ‘

    what ifs‘ won’t help. What matters is what we do now.”

    The room goes still.

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    Parker clears his throat. “If Greg is a hunter, then he’s just lost his biggest asset. He will be desperate to get Jaxon back.”

    I feel cold and hollow as the truth weighs heavy on my shoulders. I left Greg thinking I’d finally reimed my freedom, only to realise he might never have loved me at all. That I was just… useful. A means to an end.

    “We’ll figure it out. They won’t get near Jaxon, not if we keep him deep in the pack until the threat is neutralised,” Remy says, his tone turning lethal.

    “When you say neutralised, you mean… killed?” I dare to ask.

    Remy looks at me, his eyes hard. “When ites to hunters, it’s kill or be killed.”

    A shudder runs through me. I’m not sure that I can be so at ease with killing people, especially someone I once thought I’d spend the rest of my life with, but then if that’s what

    has to be done to keep my son safe, then I won’t protest.

    Ryder paces like a caged animal. I’m sure his wolf is close to the surface. Callen watches

    him carefully, ready if his brother snaps. Parker’s gaze shifts back to me, steady and calming.

    I force myself to breathe, to meet each of their eyes in turn. “Then tell me what I can do to

    help. Whateveres next, I’m in.”

    Silence stretches after my words. The weight of everything makes me want to scream, and I know sleep won’te easily tonight.

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