17. Poppy #2
An hour later, the tears had finally dried into salt tracks on her cheeks, leaving behind a hollowed-out ache that felt worse than the initial storm of emotion.
Poppy stared at the ceiling of her living room, sprawled across the sofa where she'd collapsed after Keiro left, her body feeling like it weighed a thousand pounds.
The grandfather clock in the corner ticked away the minutes with merciless precision—each second a reminder that she was wasting time wallowing when she should be doing what she always did.
Figure it out. Fix it. Handle it.
But for once, the problem felt too big, too tangled, too personal for her usual methods.
How did you solve the mess you'd made of your own heart?
Through the mate bond, she could feel his emotions like phantom limbs—his hurt, his confusion, his desperate love that hadn't dimmed despite her harsh words. The connection pulsed between them like a wounded thing, and every beat reminded her of what she'd thrown away in a moment of panic.
She needed Neve.
She needed her best friend to ground her and tell her things would work out just like she'd told Poppy countless times before.
But what worried her, was that maybe this time, even Neve would realize things were too impossible to work out, that Neve would confirm that Poppy was on the verge of losing the best thing to ever happen in her life.
Twenty minutes later, Poppy stood on the front porch of Neve's modest cottage, her appearance probably resembling something that had crawled out of a disaster zone. The door opened before she could knock, and Neve's expression shifted from mild curiosity to alarm in the space of a heartbeat.
"Wow, Poppy. You look like hell."
"Thanks. That's exactly what every woman wants to hear." Poppy attempted a weak smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "Can I come in?"
Neve stepped aside without hesitation, ushering her into the warmth of the living room. The space was quintessentially Neve—clean lines, neutral colors, everything in its proper place. It should have been calming, but Poppy felt too raw, too chaotic for the organized serenity.
"Sit." Neve pointed to the cream-colored sofa. "I'll make tea."
"I don't need—"
"You're getting tea whether you want it or not." Neve's voice carried that Beta authority that brooked no argument. "And then you're going to tell me why you look like you've been crying for hours."
Poppy sank into the cushions, her body finally admitting how exhausted she was.
Through the open doorway, she could hear Neve moving around the kitchen with efficient precision—the whistle of the kettle, the clink of china, the measured steps of someone who approached everything like a military operation.
When Neve returned with two steaming mugs, Poppy accepted hers gratefully, wrapping her fingers around the warmth.
"This seems like déjà vu," Neve said, settling into the opposite chair with her own tea. "Let me guess—your mate overstepped again because he was being overprotective?"
Poppy's laugh came out bitter and hollow. "How did you know?"
"He may have mentioned he had concerns about Sander and needed to talk to you about it. I naturally connected the dots." Neve's dark eyes studied Poppy with uncomfortable accuracy. "So, what did he do this time?"
"Keiro decided to look into Sander and my father's murder without asking for my permission." The words tasted bitter in her mouth. "He didn't say as much, but he must think they're connected somehow. That Sander is involved."
For a moment, Neve went completely still, her tea mug frozen halfway to her lips. Then something shifted in her expression—shock giving way to a kind of terrible understanding, like puzzle pieces clicking into place.
"Poppy." Neve's voice was carefully controlled. "You don't think Sander would've killed your father, do you?"
The question hung in the air between them, heavy with implications that Poppy had been too afraid to examine.
She'd spent eleven years focusing on moving forward, on proving herself worthy of the position she'd inherited.
She'd never allowed herself to dig too deep into the why of her father's death, because revenge felt like a luxury she couldn't afford.
"I don't know." The admission felt like pulling glass from her throat. "Sure, Sander wanted to be Alpha after my father died, but I didn't think he would kill to become Alpha. I mean, that's..." She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
"That's really bad," Neve said quietly.
"Well, what's also really bad is that I just pushed the man I love away because he was trying to protect me, and I took it as him trying to erase me." Poppy set down her mug with shaking hands. "I'm such an idiot, Neve."
Neve leaned forward, her expression shifting into that combination of exasperation and affection that Poppy had come to recognize.
"Poppy, do you hear yourself right now? I may have just met Keiro, but that man is completely in love with you.
He seems like he would literally move mountains for you, and you're taking that as him wanting to control you and remove your autonomy? "
The words hit like a slap of cold water, forcing Poppy to confront the irrationality of her own reaction. When Neve said it like that, it sounded completely insane.
"Yeah, I guess that's what I felt like." Poppy ran her hands through her hair, tugging at the tangled strands.
"Like Keiro came into my life and started making everything better but by going about it in all the wrong ways.
I mean, he has adjusted and changed along the way, and I thought he was learning to ask before he did things.
I thought we were functioning as a team, and then he does this. "
"Maybe he just loves you so much that he can't help himself," Neve said gently. "Maybe he can't stop himself from fixing things so you guys can build something great together."
The realization hit Poppy like lightning striking twice in the same spot.
This man might love imperfectly, but he loved her completely.
He would do whatever it took to make their future possible—he'd literally said those exact words before she'd kicked him out.
And she'd been so hurt and upset by him going behind her back to investigate her father's murder that she'd pushed away the one man who loved her enough to fight for them both.
The one man who would stand beside her instead of watching her carry everything alone.
"God, I'm an idiot. I screwed this whole thing up," Poppy whispered.
"You didn't screw up." Neve's voice was firm. "You're just not used to someone standing beside you as a true partner. You guys are just going through some growing pains, that's all."
But Poppy was already standing, her body moving before her mind had fully caught up.
The mate bond was pulling at her like a physical force, tugging her toward Keiro with increasing urgency.
She could feel his emotions bleeding through their connection—hurt, yes, but underneath it all was love so fierce and unwavering that it made her chest ache.
"I need to go to him now," Poppy said, her voice gaining strength with each word. "I need to tell him I was letting fear get the best of me."
Neve smiled. "Then go. Go fight for your man and your future."
Poppy was already moving toward the door, her heart hammering as purpose flooded through her veins.
She'd spent eleven years running from anything that threatened her carefully constructed independence.
But Keiro wasn't a threat to who she was—he was the missing piece that could help her become who she was meant to be.