Chapter 224

** Callen’s POV ** The first thing I feel isn’t fear. It’s clarity. The moment they cross our boundary, something inside me locks into place. The constant motion that used to define me goes quiet, like the world finally stopped rattling long enough for me to hear what matters. Paige. She stiffens beside me, breath catching just once, and I’m already moving closer, my hand brushing her wrist, grounding without caging. The bond hums low and steady, not demanding, not urgent… ready. “They’re at the edge,” she says quietly. Leo’s voice cuts clean through the pack link before the first trip alarm sounds. “All units. Phase one. Hold the line.” There’s no raised voice, no hesitation, just calm instruction. I realise then it’s us doing this. Paige doesn’t just steady us, and we don’t just steady her; together, we steady the whole pack. It hits me that this isn’t command, and it isn’t dominance. It’s gravity. Everything orbits her now… the pack, the land, even us… pulled inward not by force, bu