** Ryder’s POV **

The moment it hits me, I almost drop to my knees. It’s not a pulse or a flare. Not the usual warm tug of the bond when Paige is overwhelmed or scared. This… this is a detonation.

A tidal wave of heat slams into my chest so violently my vision goes white. For a breathless second I can’t see, can’t move, can’t think. I can only feel her. I feel her power bursting open, her heart racing, something rising inside her.

“Ryder?” Leo’s voice snaps through the ...