- 11 hours ago
Joining The Hidden Wolf Pack Engsub
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00:00:14My name is Paige. Six years ago, I lost my parents. Six years later, my whole world had
00:00:21become my son, Jackson. And today, that world was being crushed all over again.
00:00:29I'm sorry, Paige. Jackson hurt another child. The school can't keep him any longer.
00:00:35He's only six. It was an accident.
00:00:38No parent wanted their child around him anymore.
00:00:40Nobody cared about the truth. They wanted a normal child. And my son had never fit inside
00:00:46their idea of normal.
00:00:49Mommy, did I mess up again?
00:00:52He asked it so carefully, like he was already used to the whole world blaming him.
00:00:56No, baby. This wasn't your fault. But the second I got home, reality hit me again.
00:01:03He got kicked out of school? What a shock.
00:01:10Greg, can you not-
00:01:12I told you. He's turning out just like his real father.
00:01:15Greg, my husband. He had gone cold on me a long time ago, and he'd never had any real
00:01:21patience for Jackson. He slammed the door and walked out, like none of the ugliness in
00:01:27this house belonged to him. But I found out very quickly, that this still wasn't the worst
00:01:32part of my day. Because that night, I found the phone he'd left behind in the bathroom.
00:01:38The screen lit up. A woman had texted him.
00:01:41I love you.
00:01:42I thought maybe I could still hold myself together. Life was already bad enough. I didn't have
00:01:47time to fall apart over a man, too. But the second I read those messages, I stopped wanting
00:01:52to endure anything. I miss you. Have you told her yet? Thanks for today.
00:01:57While I was drowning trying to protect my son, my husband was out there loving someone else.
00:02:10The next morning, I know what you've been doing, Greg.
00:02:15Oh? And what exactly do you know?
00:02:18You cheated on me.
00:02:21She meant nothing. You've just never really been a wife to me.
00:02:25He didn't even bother making an excuse. Like he wasn't the one betraying me. Like somehow
00:02:29I'd failed him.
00:02:30What do you mean?
00:02:33You've always been hung up on Ryder. You never got over him.
00:02:40Ryder. The man I loved the hardest and lost the hardest.
00:02:47You're right. I was never going to become what you wanted. And neither was my son.
00:02:55I want a divorce.
00:02:58The second the words left my mouth, something in me actually loosened. I went upstairs and
00:03:04started packing. He didn't stop me. He didn't even say sorry.
00:03:11Mommy, where are we going?
00:03:14Somewhere nobody knows us.
00:03:16Is Greg not coming?
00:03:18No. From now on, it was just us.
00:03:23When I said that, I was terrified. But what scared me more was what staying would do to
00:03:28Jackson. Then I called the only one who truly cared about me.
00:03:32Paige, stop hesitating. Start over.
00:03:34Poppy, my younger sister. The only person in the world who still caught me when I fell.
00:03:39But before I left for good, there was one last thing I needed to do.
00:03:42I needed to visit someone who had disappeared from my life years ago.
00:03:48Before I left town, I went to two places.
00:03:53The first was my parents' grave.
00:03:58The second was Ryder's house.
00:04:06Mommy, who used to live here?
00:04:08Your dad. Ryder. The boy I fell in love with at 18. The same boy who vanished after one night
00:04:15with me.
00:04:16I should have hated him completely by then. But standing there, I realized some wounds didn't
00:04:21disappear just because I named them hate.
00:04:25Do you think he's still in there?
00:04:31No, baby. I bought a black rose. Because it meant an ending.
00:04:36What does a black flower mean?
00:04:39Strength. Hope. And goodbye.
00:04:42I placed the flower on the doorstep. Like I was finally putting a full stop to that dead love story.
00:04:49Come on, Jax.
00:04:51A few hours later, we finally reached our new home. A small town called Cinderwood.
00:04:57The house wasn't big, but it felt warm. Behind it stretched a whole line of woods.
00:05:02Mommy, I like it here.
00:05:05Me too. I really thought this might be a new beginning. The past, the old house, Ryder,
00:05:11I told myself I had left all of it behind me. Until that night, when I stood by the window
00:05:16and
00:05:17saw something move in the trees. It was big, fast, definitely not human. Then a wolf's howl tore
00:05:25through the night. I didn't know yet that what lurked in the woods wasn't just an animal.
00:05:31Our first full day in Cinderwood should have been about unpacking and settling in.
00:05:35Mommy, are people here really not going to hate me? He asked it quietly. But I knew it wasn't a
00:05:40casual question. It was a child who had been rejected too many times trying to find out whether
00:05:44he was still allowed to be loved. No one's going to hate you. This place is going to be different.
00:05:50That was what I told him. It was also what I was desperate to believe.
00:06:04Do you like the house? I do. It's just the woods behind it. They feel strange.
00:06:12Those woods run deep. Don't go near them at night. We won't.
00:06:19After the call, I went out back to bring in the drying rack. In the damp soil, I saw several
00:06:26deep
00:06:26marks. They didn't look human. Mommy, what are you looking at?
00:06:32Nothing. Inside. I didn't want to scare him. But in that moment, I knew last night's howl hadn't
00:06:39been my imagination. Because that night, whatever was in the woods came back.
00:06:48Cinderwood was even quieter at night than it was during the day.
00:06:52So quiet. It felt like every sound was waiting for something.
00:07:02Mommy, can I leave the nightlight on?
00:07:07Of course. After I got Jackson to sleep, I went back to the window.
00:07:15The shape was there again, closer than it had been the night before.
00:07:20What are you? It stopped at the edge of the trees and went completely still.
00:07:27Like it was making sure we were still there.
00:07:32In that moment, I wasn't just scared. I felt marked by something.
00:07:41Mommy?
00:07:43It's okay, baby. Just the wind.
00:07:48That was what I said. But I knew whatever was out there was not the wind.
00:07:53The next day, I finally saw another face of whatever had been watching us.
00:08:04The next day, I took Jackson to the park.
00:08:09Hoping he'd forget the howl. He hung from the monkey bars, straining for the third bar.
00:08:15I'm gonna make it to the third bar this time.
00:08:18Slow down, baby. Don't rush.
00:08:19But he still fell. The second time, the third time, and then he lost it.
00:08:26I hate this! I hate it here!
00:08:33I was about to pull him into my arms when a deep voice came from behind me.
00:08:38Calm it, pup!
00:08:40Jason actually went still. Not frightened into silence. More like settled by something that somehow
00:08:46felt familiar to him. I turned and saw a face that froze my blood.
00:08:55Ryder?
00:08:59But the man looked at me like he had never seen me before.
00:09:04He had Ryder's exact face. But he said he wasn't Ryder.
00:09:10Sorry. You've got the wrong guy. I'm Callan. Callan Harris.
00:09:15Callan. A stranger. But Jackson reacted like he'd found someone he already knew.
00:09:22Will you come play again?
00:09:27Sure. As long as you stop declaring war on the monkey bus.
00:09:31Jackson laughed and threw his arms around Callan.
00:09:36Jax! We do not hug strangers!
00:09:39It's okay. I don't mind.
00:09:42I minded. Especially with that face. Stranger still, the way Callan looked at Jackson wasn't
00:09:49the way adults usually looked at children. It looked like surprise. Like recognition.
00:09:55Like a kind of familiarity I didn't understand.
00:09:59You two new in town?
00:10:02Yesterday.
00:10:05Then you're going to need friends.
00:10:08I didn't know why. But that didn't feel like a casual line.
00:10:19I went home and couldn't get Callan's face out of my head.
00:10:23Meanwhile, Callan had already gone back to the pack.
00:10:33A human woman moved into town. Her son isn't normal. He is one of us.
00:10:47Callan, Ryder's long-lost twin brother.
00:10:56And clearly, he understood something about Jackson a lot faster than I did.
00:11:04Who's the father?
00:11:08Don't know. The kid said his father was missing.
00:11:19Ryder's expression changed instantly.
00:11:24I'll kill the bastard who abandoned a shifter pup.
00:11:27He said it through clenched teeth.
00:11:35He had no idea he was talking about himself.
00:11:40And on my side, I was still wondering whether I should let Callan near my son again.
00:11:46The next day, Callan actually showed up at my door with a ball.
00:11:53Sorry to visit without informing you. I thought Jax might want to play more.
00:11:58You actually came.
00:12:01I said I would.
00:12:02The second Jackson saw him, his whole face lit up.
00:12:05He ran too fast, nearly fell, and Callan caught him.
00:12:12Easy there, buddy.
00:12:16I stood in the doorway and watched them kick the ball around in the yard.
00:12:19The whole thing felt so wrong it made my chest ache.
00:12:22If Ryder had never disappeared, my son should have been smiling like this all along.
00:12:27And somehow the man standing there wasn't Ryder, but someone wearing his face.
00:12:33I suddenly decided that night I was going to ask Callan about his family.
00:12:37That night, I still let Callan stay for dinner.
00:12:40Callan likes lasagna too.
00:12:46Because this stuff is already perfect.
00:12:48He was too natural.
00:12:49So natural it felt like he was supposed to be sitting at my table.
00:12:52That feeling unnerved me.
00:12:54It had been too long since I'd seen a man step so easily into Mai and Jashin's lives.
00:12:58Does your family live around here too?
00:13:01Not really.
00:13:03I grew up in foster care.
00:13:06Then do you have family now?
00:13:08Yeah.
00:13:09I recently found out I had a twin brother.
00:13:16The plate in my hand nearly slipped.
00:13:20A twin?
00:13:22Yeah.
00:13:22He lives just outside this town.
00:13:25In that moment, I could almost hear my heart split open.
00:13:27Because I finally knew Ryder wasn't just alive.
00:13:30He was here.
00:13:32That night, I didn't sleep at all.
00:13:34Anger, hurt, and bitterness kept crashing over me.
00:13:38Ryder wasn't dead.
00:13:39He was alive.
00:13:41And I had raised our son alone.
00:13:43I had thought the worst thing was that we were separated by life and death.
00:13:47But now I realized something even cooler.
00:13:50He'd been alive in this world all along, while my son and I had lived six years without him.
00:13:57Mommy, why are you still awake?
00:14:00I'm thinking.
00:14:02Is it because of Callan?
00:14:08Maybe.
00:14:10Jackson rolled over and fell back asleep.
00:14:13But I stared at the ceiling with one name in my head.
00:14:19Ryder.
00:14:20The next morning, I finally called the number Callan had given me.
00:14:25Well, didn't expect you would call me so soon.
00:14:27I want to see you.
00:14:29Now.
00:14:30Because this time, I was going to ask where Ryder had been all these years.
00:14:38I was on my way to meet Callan.
00:14:40But on the other side, Callan had already started suspecting who Jackson really was.
00:14:45Six years old.
00:14:46Blue eyes.
00:14:50Missing father.
00:14:51Don't tell me that sounds familiar.
00:14:54The man standing in front of him was Ryder.
00:14:59What exactly are you saying?
00:15:01I'm saying the kid might be yours.
00:15:04Ryder looked like he'd been struck by lightning.
00:15:11No.
00:15:12The woman's name is Paige.
00:15:15The second he heard Paige's name, everything in Ryder's face changed.
00:15:19He started remembering that night six years earlier.
00:15:22Clearly, that night hadn't been something he could forget, either.
00:15:27And I had no idea the man on the other end was already falling apart.
00:15:40Six years earlier, Ryder disappeared the morning after we slept together.
00:15:44Only then did I learn that night had been a disaster for him, too.
00:15:48On the night of Ryder's 18th birthday, he shifted for the first time.
00:15:55I thought I was dying.
00:15:58I thought I was dying.
00:15:58The guns, skin, and teeth have all started rebuilding themselves.
00:16:12I can't go go back to her.
00:16:15What if I hurt her?
00:16:17So he ran.
00:16:19Not because he didn't want to stay, but because he was afraid.
00:16:25Later, Ron brought him into the pack.
00:16:28The abandonment I had hated for years turned out on his side to have been another kind of survival.
00:16:33Paige was pregnant then?
00:16:36In that moment, the pain on his face felt more real than anything I had imagined.
00:16:45And at that exact moment, I had already spotted a familiar back in town.
00:16:50The second I saw that back across the street, I knew it was him.
00:16:54Ryder!
00:16:55The moment he turned around, my heart almost stopped.
00:16:59Ryder still had the same face.
00:17:02Just leaner, darker, more haunted.
00:17:05And then, the next second, he dropped to his knees.
00:17:09Breathe, Ry. Just breathe.
00:17:14Paige.
00:17:17You're... alive.
00:17:21I'm sorry. You have no idea.
00:17:24I had hated him for six years.
00:17:26And still, seeing him like that made me go weak.
00:17:30That was the cruel thing about love.
00:17:33But then I heard one strange word slip from his lips.
00:17:40Mate.
00:17:44I didn't understand that word, but I understood the look of someone losing control.
00:17:51Do you need an ambulance?
00:17:52No, he's just not feeling well.
00:17:54I didn't believe that for a second.
00:17:55And Ryder didn't look unwell in any normal sense of the word.
00:18:01We need to get him out of here.
00:18:04What the hell is happening to him?
00:18:06Paige, come with us first. I'll explain.
00:18:13What is this? Is he high?
00:18:17Not the way you mean.
00:18:19That answer finally set me off.
00:18:21Really?
00:18:23Seven years ago, he slept with me and left me alone in that tent.
00:18:30After that, my life fell apart.
00:18:33I raised my son alone.
00:18:37So stay away from me and my son.
00:18:39I said it and walked away.
00:18:41But Ryder looked at me like I had sentenced him myself.
00:18:45I thought saying the cruelest thing possible would end it.
00:18:48I was very quickly proven wrong.
00:18:49The next day, I took Jackson into town. And Ryder was there again, standing right in front of me.
00:19:05Paige, I didn't leave you on purpose.
00:19:07Enough. I don't want excuses.
00:19:10Then Jackson peeked out from behind me.
00:19:13Mommy, who is that?
00:19:15Ryder went completely still. It was the first time he had seen his son from that close.
00:19:20It was also the first time he truly had to face what he had lost.
00:19:27Why do you keep looking at me?
00:19:32Because
00:19:35you look like someone I know.
00:19:37And then the thing I feared most finally happened.
00:19:40Do you know my dad?
00:19:41Dad?
00:19:42In that second, the air seemed to freeze.
00:19:45I...
00:19:46He couldn't get a full sentence out.
00:19:48Jax, come here.
00:19:52But mommy...
00:19:56Now.
00:19:57I pulled Jackson behind me.
00:20:01Don't you go near him.
00:20:04Paige, I'd never hurt him.
00:20:07You already did.
00:20:10You hurt both of us.
00:20:11I took Jackson and walked away.
00:20:14But when I glanced back, Ryder was still standing there.
00:20:17He watched us walk away like a father who had lost everything.
00:20:20But I couldn't afford to soften.
00:20:22Because if I did, the one who could get hurt again wouldn't just be me.
00:20:26But Callan didn't give up.
00:20:28He decided to try another way in.
00:20:30One reach out of there, hide.
00:20:36Callan was smarter than Ryder.
00:20:38He knew pushing too hard would only make me take Jackson and run.
00:20:43Don't push her.
00:20:45Then what am I supposed to do?
00:20:48Make her trust us.
00:20:52Protect Jax first.
00:20:55Meanwhile, Jackson started having the same dream over and over.
00:21:07Jackson.
00:21:08Mommy, I dreamed about the woods again.
00:21:12What kind of woods?
00:21:14Wolves.
00:21:15Lots of wolves.
00:21:17But I'm not scared.
00:21:21I told him to go back to sleep.
00:21:24But my heart kept sinking lower.
00:21:28Because I was starting to feel that whatever was wrong with Jackson was not the kind of problem the school
00:21:33thought it was.
00:21:36Because I was starting to feel there was some strange connection between Jackson and this town.
00:21:51The next day, I took Jackson to the school.
00:21:55Regina, the head teacher there, welcomed us instead of interrogating us.
00:22:00Please, call me Regina.
00:22:04You're not worried about my son's history?
00:22:10I care more about the kind of person he can become.
00:22:14Jackson made friends with a few children almost immediately.
00:22:19That's fast.
00:22:22He'll like it here.
00:22:23I watched those children and something felt off.
00:22:26They were too quiet.
00:22:28Too alert.
00:22:30Too much like they were scenting one another.
00:22:33But for the first time, Jackson wasn't being pushed out.
00:22:42And that made me feel relieved.
00:22:45And even more uneasy.
00:22:47And that same night, I saw that giant shape in the woods again.
00:22:57I was starting to get scared.
00:23:00Not of wolves.
00:23:02Of the possibility that my son was one of them.
00:23:06On the other side, Callan, Ryder, Remy, and Parker were having a meeting.
00:23:11Remy, the sharpest one.
00:23:13Parker, the calmest.
00:23:16Jax is getting close to his first real loss of control.
00:23:22If Paige stays in the dark, this gets worse.
00:23:27Then we tell her.
00:23:28You think a human's going to believe any of this?
00:23:31So it wasn't just me who was afraid.
00:23:34They knew something was happening to Jackson, too.
00:23:37And they clearly understood its meaning better than I did.
00:23:43And as I stood at my window, I saw that giant shape move through the woods again.
00:23:50What the hell is that?
00:23:56Because next, I finally decided to ask Ryder one question.
00:24:01What exactly were they?
00:24:04In the end, I still went to Ryder.
00:24:09Not because I believed him.
00:24:10But because what was happening to Jackson had already pushed me past the point where pretending was possible.
00:24:19What exactly are you?
00:24:24I can't explain all of it at once.
00:24:32Ryder looked at me like he was weighing everything, whether to keep lying to me or drag me fully into
00:24:39another world.
00:24:42Calen, Remy, Parker, and I weren't normal.
00:24:48That's not the answer I expected.
00:24:52Neither was Jax.
00:24:57In that moment, everything inside me went cold.
00:25:01I could accept being dragged into something strange.
00:25:05But I couldn't accept anyone defining my son like that.
00:25:09Are you seriously humiliating my son like that?
00:25:14I'm not.
00:25:15I didn't believe him.
00:25:18Stay away from us.
00:25:23But that night...
00:25:25Jackson cracked the wooden cabinet with one punch.
00:25:33I kept telling myself Ryder was lying.
00:25:37Until Jackson lost control right in front of me.
00:25:43I didn't mean to!
00:25:45He just got frustrated because a toy jammed.
00:25:48But the next second, the cabinet door split clean down the middle.
00:25:55Jax, don't move! Stand right there!
00:26:01Mommy, is something wrong with me?
00:26:05That question nearly tore my heart open.
00:26:08Jackson was never most afraid of pain.
00:26:12What he feared most was being different from everyone else.
00:26:19This wasn't your fault.
00:26:23But even as I said it, my hands were shaking.
00:26:29Mommy?
00:26:31Are you scared of me?
00:26:35I'm scared of anyone hurting you.
00:26:38And for the first time, I thought back to what Ryder had said.
00:26:42Neither was Jax.
00:26:50The next day, I didn't go to Ryder.
00:27:00I went to the one man who looked least likely to lie to me.
00:27:04Parker.
00:27:08If there was one man in that pack who could make me stay calm, it was Parker.
00:27:14Tell me the truth.
00:27:16Do you want all of it?
00:27:18Or the part you need most right now?
00:27:23What's happening to my son?
00:27:25Without a pack to guide him, he'll become more dangerous.
00:27:30What exactly do you mean by pack?
00:27:33We're werewolves.
00:27:34It was the most absurd answer possible.
00:27:36But Parker said it as calmly as if he were talking about the weather.
00:27:40You're insane!
00:27:41I wish we were.
00:27:43But everything happening to Jax is already telling you the truth.
00:27:46I opened my mouth and realized I didn't have a real argument left.
00:27:50Because the scariest thing was never not understanding.
00:27:53It was the fact that I had already started connecting all the strange pieces myself.
00:27:57Because I remembered the first thing Callan had said to Jaxon.
00:28:01Calm it, pup.
00:28:04I thought werewolves belonged in fairy tales and horror movies.
00:28:07But now every strange thing was locking into place on its own.
00:28:11Jaxon's strength.
00:28:13Jaxon's dreams.
00:28:15And the way he bonded with Callan and Regina instantly.
00:28:19So that day, you weren't just calming him down by chance.
00:28:24No.
00:28:26You knew what he was the first time you met him?
00:28:29We could scent it.
00:28:31That sentence sent a chill across my skin.
00:28:35Ryder knew too?
00:28:39More painfully than anyone.
00:28:41Later, Ryder came to find me.
00:28:46It wasn't that I didn't want to come back.
00:28:49I was afraid I'd bring danger to you.
00:28:51I looked at him, and for the first time I didn't argue.
00:28:55Because this time, I wasn't just angry anymore.
00:28:58I was starting to fear that the danger he talked about was real.
00:29:01But then I asked the cruelest question of all.
00:29:12Then why did you never come looking for us?
00:29:16If the werewolf part was the truth, this question was the wound.
00:29:21If you were alive, why didn't you ever come back for me?
00:29:32Because I didn't know.
00:29:34Didn't know what?
00:29:39I didn't know you were pregnant.
00:29:45His voice was wrecked when he said it.
00:29:49If I'd known, I would have come back.
00:29:54No question.
00:29:56But you still left.
00:29:59I know.
00:30:01There was no defense.
00:30:02No excuse.
00:30:03Just pain that had arrived six years too late.
00:30:06I should have kept hating him.
00:30:07But somehow, those three words I didn't know hurt more than any excuse would have.
00:30:16I don't know if I can believe you.
00:30:19Then don't.
00:30:25Just let me prove it.
00:30:33And the first person to weaken me wasn't Ryder.
00:30:40It was Jackson.
00:30:42Ever since meeting Ryder, Jackson had started bringing him up all the time.
00:30:46Mommy, is Ryder coming today?
00:30:56Why do you keep asking about him?
00:30:59I don't know.
00:31:01But whenever I see him, my chest feels warm.
00:31:06That line nearly broke me.
00:31:08Jackson didn't understand bloodlines.
00:31:11But sometimes, children instinctively gravitated toward their family members.
00:31:22Maybe because you like him.
00:31:25Then I like Callan too.
00:31:28Yeah, I noticed that.
00:31:30I tried to smile.
00:31:32But something heavy settled deeper inside me.
00:31:35Because children didn't lie about feelings like that.
00:31:43That night, Ryder finally asked.
00:31:47He wanted one chance to be alone with Jackson.
00:31:57I hesitated for a long time.
00:31:59But in the end, I said yes.
00:32:02One hour.
00:32:04That's enough.
00:32:05Ryder spent the hour building blocks, kicking a ball, and telling stories with Jackson.
00:32:11You kick better than Callan.
00:32:14Don't tell him that.
00:32:19Okay, man's secret.
00:32:21I stood in the doorway watching them, my chest tightening over and over.
00:32:26Jackson hadn't been this happy in a long time.
00:32:30One hour passed far too quickly.
00:32:36I should go.
00:32:41Will you come see me again?
00:32:44Ryder's eyes visibly shone.
00:32:48Anytime you want me to.
00:32:51I realized Jackson started to depend on Ryder.
00:32:54And for the first time, I realized I was starting to soften.
00:33:05After Ryder left, Jackson stayed quiet for a long time.
00:33:16What are you thinking about?
00:33:22I miss him already.
00:33:28That sentence hit me right in the chest.
00:33:33I had been scared this whole time, scared that putting the idea of a father back into my son's life
00:33:39would become another disaster.
00:33:42But right then, what I saw first was Jackson's disappointment.
00:33:53You've been carrying everything alone for too long.
00:33:57At some point, Callan had appeared behind me.
00:34:00Do you ever make noise when you walk?
00:34:03Depends on my mood.
00:34:08I should have been annoyed.
00:34:11But somehow that line almost, almost made me smile.
00:34:16You don't have to forgive anyone yet.
00:34:20But you also don't have to carry all of it by yourself.
00:34:29The dangerous thing about Callan wasn't that he looked like Ryder.
00:34:33It was that he always showed up at the exact moment I was trying hardest not to break.
00:34:39I looked at him and realized for the first time that Ryder wasn't the only one affecting me.
00:34:44I started really looking at the four men around me.
00:34:49Ryder, guilty and intense.
00:34:52Callan, warm and fearless.
00:34:55Parker, steady.
00:34:57Remy, sharp as a blade.
00:35:00Are the four of you always this… weird?
00:35:04Depends on your definition of weird.
00:35:08If you mean not letting go of each other, then yes.
00:35:12They talk too much.
00:35:14I don't.
00:35:19Yeah, I noticed that already.
00:35:25I had thought only Ryder could drag me back into the past.
00:35:31But now all four of them were pulling me towards some future I had never expected.
00:35:38That scared me.
00:35:40Because I knew that once I stepped into it, there would be no going back to the life I used
00:35:45to have.
00:35:56And now, I finally had to do the hardest thing yet.
00:36:00Tell Jasson the truth.
00:36:07I sat on the edge of Jasson's bed and felt like I was delivering a sentence.
00:36:11Jass, there's something I need to tell you.
00:36:15Is it about Ryder?
00:36:18Yes.
00:36:19He sat up immediately.
00:36:21He might be the person you've been waiting for.
00:36:25You mean…
00:36:29I still can't say everything for certain.
00:36:33But I think you deserve to know that he matters to you.
00:36:39Jasson looked at me and his eyes slowly turned red.
00:36:45Then…
00:36:48Is he going to leave me again?
00:36:50In that moment, I could barely speak because that one word again cut too deep.
00:36:55Even Jasson had already learned not to trust the idea of a father too easily.
00:36:59This time, if he tries, I'll kill him.
00:37:06Jasson finally let out a tiny laugh.
00:37:08But next, Ryder had to face more than the word father.
00:37:12He had to learn how to truly get close to his son.
00:37:18Once I'd cracked the truth open, the most nervous person wasn't me.
00:37:22It was Ryder.
00:37:26You look like you're heading into battle.
00:37:31Feels like it.
00:37:32For the first time, he was approaching Jasson in a more honest role.
00:37:39Are you playing with me again today?
00:37:45If you want me to.
00:37:47This time, Ryder didn't rush to explain or claim anything.
00:37:51He just stayed, like he was learning a lesson he had missed for six whole years.
00:38:10It wasn't Dad.
00:38:11But for Ryder, those two syllables were enough to make his eyes burn.
00:38:15I suddenly understood that some bonds weren't built by a single claim.
00:38:18They were built moment by moment, by showing up.
00:38:23And I started noticing something else.
00:38:29There was something off between Callan and Remy.
00:38:37I used to think Callan and Remy were just close-pack brothers.
00:38:41I didn't think that anymore.
00:38:45Remy always looked like he wanted to bite the world in half.
00:38:49But every time Callan spoke, Remy looked at him first.
00:38:54Are the two of you always this weird?
00:38:59You really like that word lately.
00:39:02Mind your own business.
00:39:05Right.
00:39:06So that's a yes.
00:39:07Remy acted like I annoyed him.
00:39:10But whenever something happened, Remy was always the first one stepping in front of me.
00:39:16I was no longer sure whether he hated me or cared too much.
00:39:21The relationships in this pack were clearly far more complicated than I had first thought.
00:39:26And somehow, the more complicated it got, the harder it became for me to step away.
00:39:39And Jackson was starting to look more and more like he belonged there.
00:39:44Jackson adjusted to school shockingly fast.
00:39:47He was no longer the problem child nobody liked.
00:39:51There, he looked like he'd finally found his own kind.
00:39:59Steady your feet, Jax.
00:40:04Like this?
00:40:05Yeah.
00:40:07Just like that.
00:40:09Callan handled sports for the kids.
00:40:12Every time he watched Jackson, the surprise in his eyes got harder to hide.
00:40:21If he really is Ryder's son, then he's the future of this pack.
00:40:27I didn't fully understand the future they were talking about.
00:40:33But I could hear how heavy it was.
00:40:36This was no longer just my son being a little unusual.
00:40:40The way they looked at him made it clear they saw something in him that could change a great deal.
00:40:48And just when I could finally speak calmly to Ryder, we almost kissed.
00:40:58Some old loves didn't die just because time passes.
00:41:02They just went quiet.
00:41:04Then they woke up again at the worst possible time.
00:41:09You don't look quite as ready to kill me lately.
00:41:12Don't get ahead of yourself.
00:41:16He smiled.
00:41:17Still the same smile that undid me.
00:41:22Paige, I know I don't deserve this.
00:41:25But every day I think about what our life would look like if I hadn't left that night.
00:41:31That line landed too hard.
00:41:34He stepped closer.
00:41:35And I didn't step back.
00:41:37We almost kissed.
00:41:39Then a sharp whistle cut through the moment outside.
00:41:42I knew I should have been grateful for the interruption.
00:41:50But when I stepped away from him, what rose in me wasn't relief.
00:41:54It was disappointment.
00:41:57Something worse had arrived.
00:42:05I couldn't sleep that night, so I got up and went to the window.
00:42:11And I saw something I wasn't supposed to see.
00:42:13Two figures were tangled together in the trees.
00:42:28I just realized the relationships in that path were far more complicated than I thought.
00:42:33I hadn't just walked back into an old love story.
00:42:36I was being pulled, step by step, into a world that played by completely different rules.
00:42:40The next day, Callan showed up at my door like nothing had happened.
00:42:47You look like you didn't sleep.
00:42:49Same to you.
00:42:50Because next, I was going to ask him whether the man I had seen the night before was Remy.
00:42:55I wasn't the kind of woman who kept questions to herself.
00:42:59That was you and Remy in the woods last night, wasn't it?
00:43:03Callan went quiet for two seconds.
00:43:09Yeah.
00:43:11Just like that?
00:43:13I wasn't going to lie to you.
00:43:15He stood there in the doorway, unusually serious.
00:43:19I love him.
00:43:20That line alone was enough to knock the breath out of me.
00:43:23And I love you too.
00:43:28Are you insane?
00:43:31Probably.
00:43:31The calm way he said it left me with nothing to say.
00:43:34Callan never hid.
00:43:36Whoever he loved, whatever he wanted, he put it all right in front of me.
00:43:40And the next thing Parker told me was somehow even more outrageous.
00:43:44I used to think love only worked one way, one person at a time.
00:43:49Parker looked at me like he could see exactly how tangled I was.
00:43:53In our world, relationships don't always look one way.
00:43:58Are you saying I don't necessarily have to choose one?
00:44:03I'm saying you don't need to corner yourself yet.
00:44:06He was always like that.
00:44:07He always hit the deepest nerve.
00:44:11Are all werewolves this annoyingly wise?
00:44:15No.
00:44:16Just me.
00:44:17And somehow, I actually laughed.
00:44:19Parker wasn't fire.
00:44:21He wasn't a blade.
00:44:22He was something slower and steadier than that.
00:44:24Something that never chased you, but still made you lower your guard.
00:44:29But just as I started getting pulled into their world,
00:44:32something outside the pack came for us first.
00:44:35Trouble came faster than any of us had expected.
00:44:39That night, Callan was heading back alone.
00:44:42And he got ambushed on the way.
00:44:47Gotcha.
00:44:49Before he even saw them clearly, he smelled Wolfsbane first.
00:44:57Shit.
00:44:59The second the drug hit, he dropped to his knees.
00:45:08Tell your alpha we know about the boy.
00:45:10The boy.
00:45:11The boy.
00:45:12They weren't after Callan.
00:45:13They were after Jackson.
00:45:15And the next second, howls tore through the whole forest.
00:45:23I used to think wolf howls were just background noise in horror movies.
00:45:27Until that night, when they sounded like war horns.
00:45:36They moved first.
00:45:40Get the enforcers.
00:45:42Move.
00:45:45Ryder, Remy, and Parker were gone in a flash.
00:45:48I sat on the bed holding Jackson.
00:45:50For the first time, I truly understood this wasn't some secret fantasy romance.
00:45:55This was their real war.
00:45:58Mommy, is Callan going to die?
00:46:03No.
00:46:04But the truth was, I wasn't sure at all.
00:46:09Near dawn, they finally brought Callan back.
00:46:13He was alive, but the hunters had left behind one word.
00:46:18Air.
00:46:22And every pair of eyes in the room landed on Jackson.
00:46:27From that day on, Jackson and I were no longer safe.
00:46:35So I moved with him into the pack cabin.
00:46:41Are we living here now?
00:46:45For now, yes.
00:46:48Awesome!
00:46:49To Jackson, it felt like he had suddenly gained a new home.
00:46:55But for me, it meant there was no going back to ordinary life.
00:47:03Welcome to the wolf, Ned.
00:47:10Don't scare her.
00:47:13Now you're worried about scaring me?
00:47:15I complained, but my heartbeat kept getting harder to ignore.
00:47:18Because once I moved in, I realized I was losing control of how I felt about them.
00:47:22Worse than that, part of me felt relieved.
00:47:24Like I didn't have to carry every secret and every danger by myself anymore.
00:47:29And the first one who completely undid me
00:47:37was a man learning how to become a father.
00:47:42After moving into the pack, I finally got to see how Ryder learned to be a father.
00:47:48Ryder, my button's stuck.
00:47:55Hold still. I've got it.
00:48:01Can you tell me a story tonight?
00:48:08Sure. As long as you don't mind if I'm terrible at it.
00:48:12He had missed six whole years.
00:48:18Now he acted like he wanted to make all of it up at once.
00:48:28Ryder, will you still be here tomorrow?
00:48:39I will.
00:48:45It was a quiet promise.
00:48:48But it still made my chest burn.
00:48:56Because I knew that for Jackson, will you still be here tomorrow?
00:49:00Was never a casual question.
00:49:04It was a child who had already been left behind once,
00:49:07trying to make sure it wouldn't happen again.
00:49:21But the one who surprised me next was Remy.
00:49:24Remy still looked permanently ready to bite someone.
00:49:28Don't let the kid step over the trip line.
00:49:32Can you say one thing without sounding like a threat?
00:49:35No.
00:49:37But half an hour later, when Jackson slipped off a stump, Remy was the first one there.
00:49:44Watch your footing.
00:49:47You caught me.
00:49:50Because your cry annoys me.
00:49:51Jackson grinned at him.
00:49:53And Remy was the one who looked away first.
00:49:56Do you like my mommy too?
00:50:01Jax!
00:50:02Because you always stand in front of her first.
00:50:05Remy was practically blushing, but his mouth stayed sharp.
00:50:08Shut it, kid.
00:50:09Remy always sounded like he was pushing people away.
00:50:12But when danger showed up for real, his body always answered first.
00:50:18But the first one to lay his cards on the table wasn't Remy.
00:50:21It was Callan.
00:50:30Callan had never been the kind of man who went in circles.
00:50:35You've been avoiding me.
00:50:40I've been avoiding all of you.
00:50:42Then I'd better make my case first.
00:50:45When he said it, the grin was gone.
00:50:47I love Jax.
00:50:51But I want more than kicking a ball around with him.
00:50:54Callan!
00:50:58And I don't just want to be your friend.
00:51:02This wasn't a joke anymore.
00:51:08Do you even hear yourself right now?
00:51:12Yeah.
00:51:14I'm saying I want you.
00:51:25I didn't push him away.
00:51:28And that was more dangerous than any answer.
00:51:32Because Callan wasn't the kind of man who tested my boundaries slowly.
00:51:37He laid his heart out in the open and forced me to see exactly what inside me was starting to
00:51:44move.
00:51:45But the most dangerous one was never the most direct.
00:51:50It was the one who never pushed me at all.
00:51:55Parker always made me think of shore.
00:51:59Not the hottest fire.
00:52:04The place I could lean on.
00:52:08Are you never in a hurry?
00:52:11Not true.
00:52:14You don't look like it.
00:52:16Because I want you to come to me on your own.
00:52:20That line landed like a soft hit straight to my chest.
00:52:25You four are impossible.
00:52:29I'll take that as a compliment.
00:52:31I looked at him for a few seconds.
00:52:34Then I kissed him first.
00:52:40What, cat got your tongue?
00:52:42No.
00:52:47I'm just afraid that if I speak I'll scare you off.
00:52:50The dangerous thing about Parker was that he never grabbed.
00:52:53And somehow, that patience made it hardest for me to pretend I felt nothing.
00:52:58But before I could figure out what these men were turning me into, trouble from outside got there first.
00:53:05That night, the alarm went off without warning.
00:53:11Movement behind the house.
00:53:14Where's Jax?
00:53:16Upstairs!
00:53:19Everyone moved at once.
00:53:24Callan went for the window.
00:53:26Parker took the stairs.
00:53:28And Remy planted himself in front of me.
00:53:34Mommy!
00:53:35I'm here!
00:53:37The chaos came fast and ended fast.
00:53:40Just a feign attack.
00:53:43But it made one thing painfully clear.
00:53:45When danger came for real, those four men stood on the same side.
00:53:49All of them stood in front of me and Jax.
00:53:52So, can I have four dads?
00:53:54Everyone went silent for a full second.
00:53:58You dream big.
00:54:00That should have been funny.
00:54:01But what I really heard was that Jax had already started imagining a home bigger than the one he'd lost.
00:54:06But the next day, the real problem wasn't the hunters.
00:54:09It was Greg.
00:54:15I was almost starting to forget Greg's place.
00:54:21And of course he chose that moment to come back.
00:54:25You really thought moving here would make you disappear?
00:54:30What do you want?
00:54:33To see my wife and my son.
00:54:37The words my son almost made me laugh.
00:54:41Since when do you ever treat Jax like your son?
00:54:48Legally, he still is.
00:54:51The man was still rotten all the way through.
00:54:55I can take you to court. Go after custody.
00:55:01Or at least make your life difficult.
00:55:06Touch him once and I'll make you regret being born.
00:55:12The sickest thing about Greg wasn't just that he was cruel.
00:55:16It was that he always knew exactly where to strike.
00:55:20At the thing I was most afraid of losing.
00:55:35When Ryder heard about it, he was one breath away from tearing Greg apart.
00:55:39If murder had been legal, Greg would have been dead already.
00:55:47I'm going to deal with him right now.
00:55:50Don't you dare.
00:55:53He threatened you.
00:55:57Which is exactly why you can't be the one to touch him.
00:56:01Ryder was wound so tight he looked ready to snap.
00:56:05So you want me to do nothing?
00:56:07No.
00:56:10I need you to do something more important.
00:56:15What?
00:56:19Take a DNA test.
00:56:22The room went so still it felt frozen.
00:56:25Okay.
00:56:26In the end, Greg hadn't come back just to start a fight.
00:56:30He had forced us to face the most practical truth of all.
00:56:35It was no longer enough for us to know in our hearts that Ryder was Jax's father.
00:56:46And somehow, the person most afraid of the result was Ryder himself.
00:56:54I thought Ryder would grab onto the test immediately, but on the day they drew blood, he was terrifyingly quiet.
00:57:04What are you thinking about?
00:57:06I'm not scared he won't be my son.
00:57:09Then what are you scared of?
00:57:13I'm scared fate will find one more way to punish me.
00:57:16That left me speechless for a second.
00:57:19Mommy, why is everyone acting weird today?
00:57:23Because adults are stupid sometimes.
00:57:26Then I don't want to grow up.
00:57:29Even at a moment like this, Jax still managed to make me laugh.
00:57:33And I finally understood that Ryder wasn't afraid of not being the father.
00:57:39He was afraid that fate would bring him back to us only to rip it all away again.
00:57:52But before the results came back, the pack somehow got a few stolen moments that felt like home.
00:58:07Who's making breakfast today?
00:58:11I vote Parker.
00:58:12I'll do it.
00:58:15Jax, don't dump all the sugar in.
00:58:21But it tastes better that way.
00:58:27Loud, messy, warm.
00:58:30The whole thing felt absurdly dreamlike.
00:58:34I stood in the kitchen doorway and suddenly got scared that all of it was temporary.
00:58:39I was already getting used to not carrying everything alone.
00:58:43I was getting used to Jax having people around him who laughed with him, caught him, protected him.
00:58:52Then Ryder's phone vibrated.
00:58:55The results were in.
00:58:57And all of us were waiting for him to open that email.
00:59:01Ryder's hand was actually shaking.
00:59:03Open it.
00:59:07You sure?
00:59:11Open it.
00:59:12He opened the file and stared at the screen without speaking.
00:59:17Ryder?
00:59:19I am.
00:59:22My breathing stopped for a second.
00:59:25Jax is my son.
00:59:26It was the answer we had already known in our bones.
00:59:30But this was the moment it finally became something undeniable.
00:59:35Mommy, why are you crying?
00:59:38Because you're finally getting the father you deserve on paper.
00:59:41But before the room could actually relax, Remy spoke.
00:59:46If we make paternity official right now, we'll walk straight into the hunter's line of sight.
00:59:50That was reality.
00:59:51We had only just managed to make the word father real, and already it had become something that could put
00:59:57a target on all of us.
00:59:58Suddenly, claiming paternity became a battle too.
01:00:02I never thought adding a father's name to a legal record could feel like a military operation.
01:00:11We rotate roots three times.
01:00:14Sweep the area first.
01:00:15Keep eyes on the perimeter.
01:00:18You realize this is insane, right?
01:00:22You can stay behind.
01:00:23I didn't say I was staying behind.
01:00:26Watching them build an actual operation around paternity paperwork was so absurd, I almost laughed.
01:00:34Are you all always this dramatic?
01:00:37Only when it's about you and Jax.
01:00:42That line hit so directly that even my comments stalled.
01:00:45But I also knew they weren't being dramatic for no reason.
01:00:49They were telling me, in the only way they knew how, that this time I wasn't carrying it alone.
01:00:57But while we were preparing to make River his legal father, the changes in Jax kept getting harder to ignore.
01:01:14Something about Jax had been changing.
01:01:17Not worse, stronger.
01:01:25Mommy, I hear someone walking behind the ridge.
01:01:28You can hear that from this far away?
01:01:33Very clearly.
01:01:37It wasn't just his strength anymore.
01:01:40His hearing, instincts, even the force of his presence were sharpening.
01:01:51This child isn't an ordinary cub.
01:01:56What does that mean?
01:01:58He may be more than an alpha's son.
01:02:03He may be the heir.
01:02:07The second that word was spoken, the whole room changed.
01:02:12In that moment, I finally understood why the hunters were after Jax.
01:02:19They weren't after just any child.
01:02:22They were after a future that hadn't fully taken shape yet.
01:02:28And somewhere else, Greg finally did the thing he did best.
01:02:34Betrayal.
01:02:35I had always known Greg was rotten, but I still underestimated how low he could go.
01:02:41I know where the woman and the boy are.
01:02:43Pay me, and I'll give you the address.
01:02:47When I heard the recording, I nearly crushed the phone in my hand.
01:02:52He sold me and Jax out?
01:02:55Yeah.
01:02:59I'll kill him.
01:03:02No.
01:03:03I didn't cry this time.
01:03:07For the first time, I just understood completely that this man was beneath trash.
01:03:15I want him alive long enough to see exactly what a failure he is.
01:03:19Greg used to be just a pathetic husband I wanted to leave behind.
01:03:23But from that moment on, he became the man who would sell my son to the enemy.
01:03:27But the hunters didn't give us time to keep planning.
01:03:31They came fast.
01:03:53The hunters came in hard and fast.
01:03:55I barely had time to hold on to Jaxon.
01:04:01Paige, run.
01:04:03Jax is still-
01:04:04You're the target!
01:04:10An arrow cut past my shoulder.
01:04:16The next second, Remy shoved me behind a tree.
01:04:21What are you?
01:04:24He lowered his head and bit straight into my neck.
01:04:30Don't move.
01:04:55Don't move.
01:04:58I didn't have time to understand what he'd just done.
01:05:01I only knew that Remy had shoved me out of death's trath in the most brutal way possible.
01:05:05I finally understood why Remy had bitten me.
01:05:11Remy's bite wasn't a claim.
01:05:13It was survival.
01:05:16Suddenly, I was moving fast as wind.
01:05:34I was moving fast as wind.
01:05:44I was moving fast.
01:05:45Remy always felt like a blade.
01:05:52And yet when it mattered most, he threw himself into danger first.
01:05:57So I could stay alive.
01:06:00But when he came back, he had to face more than me.
01:06:04He had to face the other three men too.
01:06:11When Remy came back, he was covered in blood.
01:06:15Are you insane?
01:06:17I came back alive, didn't I?
01:06:19But this time, nobody laughed.
01:06:22You bonded with her first.
01:06:26She might die.
01:06:28We know.
01:06:33The issue isn't that you saved her.
01:06:36The issue is that from now on, everything changes.
01:06:43I thought they were about to fight, but they didn't.
01:06:49For the first time, they all looked seriously at the same question.
01:06:54What was this family supposed to become?
01:06:57Remy's bite hadn't just broken skin.
01:07:00It had ripped open the last thing any of us could still pretend not to see.
01:07:05And this time, it was my turn to answer.
01:07:09I couldn't pretend not to see it anymore.
01:07:12I loved Ryder.
01:07:14And Callan, Remy, Parker had all been pulling me in too.
01:07:18Each in a different way.
01:07:19I don't want to avoid this anymore.
01:07:22Then don't.
01:07:24I love Ryder.
01:07:25Ryder's eyes reddened instantly.
01:07:29But I can't pretend I don't need the three of you too.
01:07:36Do you realize how dangerous that sentence is?
01:07:40Yes.
01:07:42Are you afraid?
01:07:45Yes.
01:07:48But I'm more afraid of missing this again.
01:07:51All four men went silent.
01:07:54This wasn't the life I had once imagined for myself.
01:07:57But the moment I said it all out loud for the first time, I didn't want to run.
01:08:03Then they made the same choice.
01:08:07I thought they would fight over it.
01:08:09But they didn't.
01:08:17I'm not letting you carry this alone again.
01:08:20I'll handle making you laugh.
01:08:24I'll handle killing anything that comes for you.
01:08:28I'll make sure this home stands.
01:08:30It sounded absurd and messy and nothing like a normal life.
01:08:34And somehow, it was the first time I truly felt like I belonged.
01:08:40So I really do get four dads now?
01:08:46You ask for a lot.
01:08:49But they're all awesome.
01:08:52That line almost made me laugh.
01:08:55But after the laugh, what stayed in me was something painfully tender.
01:09:01Because I suddenly realized that Jax had already started forming his own version of family.
01:09:07And just when we finally started to feel like a family,
01:09:13Paternity Day arrived.
01:09:14Paternity Day felt far more like going into battle than I had imagined.
01:09:19Jack stays with the pack.
01:09:22Parker and I stay here.
01:09:25I'm going with you.
01:09:27Nobody moves alone.
01:09:30Jackson was unusually quiet that day.
01:09:39Ryder.
01:09:40Yeah?
01:09:42After today?
01:09:44Can I still call you that?
01:09:47Ryder looked like he didn't understand at first.
01:09:49Then Jackson threw his arms around him.
01:09:53Dad.
01:09:55Ryder couldn't get a single word out.
01:09:58That one word landed harder than I had imagined.
01:10:01Because it wasn't just a title.
01:10:03It was Jax placing his heart, for real, into Ryder's hands.
01:10:07And with that one word, dad, today became something we absolutely couldn't lose.
01:10:13When the car crossed the pack boundary, a strange feeling hit me.
01:10:17Like we weren't just going to register a name.
01:10:20Like we were declaring to the world that Jackson had a father, a mother, and a home.
01:10:26Stop drifting.
01:10:28Watch the road.
01:10:31I'm reflecting.
01:10:33Reflecting on what?
01:10:34That I'm apparently heading to file paternity paperwork with two werewolves and a trunk full of weapons.
01:10:41You've adapted well.
01:10:43Ryder reached over and took my hand.
01:10:45When we get back, all of this becomes official.
01:10:49For me, it's already been official for a long time.
01:10:53The car kept moving.
01:10:54Then somewhere in the tree line, a cold glint flashed.
01:10:58A sniper scope.
01:10:59In that moment, I didn't scream.
01:11:02I didn't freeze.
01:11:03I simply understood.
01:11:05Completely.
01:11:06At last.
01:11:07We had only just managed to build this family.
01:11:09And the people who wanted to destroy it were only just beginning.
01:11:12The real war was only just beginning.
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