Chapter 176

** Paige’s POV ** The world narrows to a single point of pressure in my chest. I don’t mean in a painful way. It’s more like… a pull. A thread tethered to something outside of this room, outside of me. A distant storm I can feel but not see. Every time I try to blink, my eyes don’t want to close all the way. My vision stays fixed on the invisible horizon beyond the wall. It’s like my body has decided it knows better than my mind. Like instinct has climbed into the driver’s seat, and I’m just coming along for the ride. ‘Mine.’ ‘Protect.’ ‘Strengthen.’ ‘Heal.’ ‘Comfort.’ The words float in my mind, but somehow they don’t feel like my own, not really. Parker’s warmth is the only thing anchoring me. With the solid weight of his body pressed to my back, his arms around me, Jaxon curled on the other sofa still half-asleep… it’s the only thing keeping me from drifting somewhere too far to come back from. I feel Parker’s heartbeat. And underneath his pulse… I feel the others. Ryder. Remy. Call