The Pack's Doctor

Chapter 32: Laney. Warren.

"Give me something so I know that you're telling me the truth," I say to the she-wolf who has barely taken her eyes off my mate. She's studying her like she's trying to figure out what all the fuss is about. As a warrior, she's looking at my mate as a fighter. What she doesn't realize is that my mate's strengths come in different ways than the normal werewolf strength.

Finally, her gaze returns to me. "I'll be honest. I don't know much. I've heard a little from Alpha Thomas, but mostly what I've heard is rumors.

"What did you hear from Thomas," I press.

She looks at Yara again, that same questioning assessment in her eyes.

"That both Alpha Brady and Alpha Quinton want her. Both intend to capture her and take her as their mate."

I snarl as I feel Yara's fear spike. The warrior must smell her fear because she frowns. I get it. If she wasn't my mate and I didn't know Yara, didn't know what she's capable of as a doctor, I wouldn't see the draw either. But not only is she my mate, she's strong in ways that matter, in ways that are making my pack stronger than I can as their Alpha.

"They want to share me?" Yara asks. I can feel her nausea rolling around in her gut. I step up to her, wrapping my arms around her.

"They will never get to you. They would have to get through me and this pack," I tell her.

She nods and while I don't like this warrior that I don't trust seeing my mate fearful or me being protective,

Yara is more important. If this woman betrays me, she's dead anyway.

"Not to share, they each want you as their mate and Luna," she says.

Quinton already has a Luna and an heir, so he must realize how valuable Yara is.

"What's your name?" I ask the woman, still focusing on Yara, running my nose through her hair and

purring softly to calm her. She needs to eat, I know she's tired again, and now she's found out that not one, but three Alphas are after her.

"Delaney, but everyone calls me Laney," she says.

"And why does your sister need assistance to leave Alpha Thomas'

pack?" I ask her, feeling Yara starting to calm.

"Alpha Thomas wants to take her as his mate. He's a young Alpha and she's just turned eighteen. I'm not sure why he chose her, other than she's beautiful, but he did."

"And you think your sister is unwilling to be a Luna? Or are you jealous and trying to take that position away from her?" I ask. It isn't out of the question. This warrior isn't that old.

"My sister wouldn't mate with that useless piece of shit Alpha if he was the last man on the planet," she growls. I like her fire.

"What's your sister's name?" I ask.

"Noelle."

"And why would Noelle believe my warriors if I sent them to get her?

She could raise the alarm and have my men killed. Thomas' pack is weakened significantly right now, but

that doesn't mean that a few of my men couldn't easily be overpowered and captured or killed. This could be a very well-played trap on your part."

"How can I prove to you that I'm telling the truth?" she asks me.

"Accept me as your Alpha," I say and Yara's head snaps to mine. I smile and kiss her nose before turning back to Laney.

"But I'll lose my connection to my sister," she says, and now the fear in the room is coming from her. Her love for her sister isn't being faked.

"Only until I bring her here. If you accept me, then as your Alpha, I'll know if you're lying."

"Alpha Thomas will feel the tether to my connection break."

"Correct. He'll think you died like so many others did here today."

She looks at me a moment, then at Yara. "Do you trust that he'll go get my sister?" she asks her, surprising me.

"If he says he will, he will," Yara says confidently.

"Do you know why two different Alphas want you?" she asks Yara.

"We can talk more about that after you accept me as your Alpha," I say sharply. I have no intention of giving this unknown woman any information about my mate until I know I can trust her.

"Three different Alphas, I guess," she says, looking at me thoughtfully.

"Warren is my mate. The others can go to hell," Yara says, making me smile at her willingness to claim me so easily.

"So, what will it be, Laney?" I ask, releasing Yara and stepping up to the bed.

"T'll accept you," she says.

We go through the ceremony of her accepting me as her Alpha, she licks the blood from my sliced palm, and then I push into her mind. To her credit, she doesn't fight me. I go through everything, everything that she's heard, every intention she has towards Yara, which is mostly curiosity and disbelief, and her relationship with her sister. She's the older sister, no parents, so she feels the need to protect her younger sibling.

"I'll send warriors. Should I have them use your safe word?" I ask her.

I'd seen that too. Laney had come up with a way to ensure that Noelle never did anything without Laney's agreement so she could keep her safe. In order for Noelle to know that Laney agreed, they'd created a safe word. Donut.

"Yes. She'll know I'm still alive if you do," Laney says, her voice shaking a bit with emotion.

"Okay, I'll go make the arrangements. Yara, you need to eat before you do another surgery," I say.

"Just relax. I'll be back soon. Do you want to go under for your surgery?"

Yara asks her.

"No. I want to be awake when Noelle gets here," she says.

"When she gets here, let's talk. I got the information, but I want your impressions about it, and I don't have time to sift through your mind for all of that right now," I tell her.

"Yes, Alpha."

I let Yara exit the room before me. I turn back to Laney. "And, by the way, you shouldn't underestimate your future Luna. She's stronger than you realize."

"She must be for three Alphas to want her," Laney says.

"Four," I say, walking out of the room. Laney doesn't know about Simon.

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It means Simon is working on his own. But because she knows about Alpha Brady and Alpha Quinton, it means the three of them are working together.

Brady's pack will still be recovering, Thomas' pack will need a couple of days to recover after tonight, so that leaves Quinton's pack. In my estimation, Quinton is the smartest of the three. Brady is a good strategist when it comes to fighting. That's how he caught me in that bear trap. But when it comes to running a pack, he's not that bright.

Thomas is young and rash, never thinking through the ramifications of his decisions until it's too late. Quinton, however...he's a problem. Next to Simon, he's the biggest threat to Yara.

Without thinking too much about it, I pull Yara onto my lap at the table, pulling food over for her to eat. "Warren! What are you doing?" she asks me.

"I'm eating, Yara. What are you doing?" I ask her, giving her my best innocent face.

"I can't eat while sitting on your lap!" she says.

"Of course you can. My lap is a perfectly acceptable place to sit. Much more comfortable than a chair." I

tap the plate in front of her. "Do I need to scoot forward, Yara, or can you reach?" I tease.

"I can reach," she grumbles. "Bossy, possessive Alpha," she mumbles.

I lean in, nibbling on her ear. "Are you adding to my list of adjectives, little mate?" I ask her.

"Maybe," she grumbles before starting to eat.

While we eat, Charlie comes in. I called him over, wanting him to take lead on this rescue mission.

"Yara, is Charlie fit to lead the warriors to get Laney's sister?" I ask her when he walks in. "Gregor?" she asks.

"Yes, Luna. Did you want to tickle me again to prove that I'm healed enough to run this mission. A mission that our Alpha still hasn't told me about?" he answers.

"Your Alpha wants you to stop flirting with his Luna before I remind you why I'M the Alpha," Arric growls. "Lift your shirt, Charlie," she says. Instead, he pulls it off, strutting in front of Yara. I'm positive this is Gregor, whether he's truly flirting with Yara or intentionally antagonizing Arric, I'm not sure, but Arric growls warningly at him again.

"She wants to see me, Arric. You can't deny that, as a doctor, she needs to make sure I'm healed." Definitely Gregor.

I watch as Gregor stretches out his arms, flexing as he turns slowly so Yara can see his wounds are all healed.

"Gregor, what did I tell you before?" Yara asks him.

He turns and smiles at her. "I promise I won't enter your hospital without a pulse again, Luna."

"Good," I say, pulling Arric back. He tugs Yara closer to us, nuzzling her hair while I talk. "I need you to get

a small number of warriors, ones that are at full strength. Get Yara's approval on that before you go. Then, your group is going to go into Thomas' pack and get the sister of the female warrior that we captured. Her name is Noelle, and her safe word is donut," I tell him.

"How old is she? What does she look like? What does she smell like?" Charlie asks, the teasing from a moment ago gone.

"She's eighteen, if she looks like her sister, she's blond and green. The sister, Laney, is in room three. Stop in and get her scent before you go."

"When am I leaving?" he asks.

"As soon as you get your warriors together. Thomas' pack is probably reeling from their recent attack. Now is the time to get her out without too much hassle."

"Yes, Alpha," he says, before turning to go get his warriors and get Laney's scent.

"Now, where were we?" I purr into Yara's ear.

"You were about to let me go so I could go sit in my own seat and finish eating," she says.

I chuckle behind her. "Oh that is definitely NOT where we left off," I say, nipping at the back of her neck and feeling her body shiver in my arms.

"But once you're done with surgery, Yara, we need to talk about me marking you. You have too many Alphas after you now and I have no intention of losing you to any of them. And since you seem to have no problem claiming me as your mate, you shouldn't have any problem with wearing my mark, right?" I ask, waiting for her reaction.

"Warren..." she begins.

"You've already taken over my hospital. You're in my bed, you've claimed me more than once as your mate, Yara. This is important."

She turns and looks at me. "It's permanent, Warren."

"Yeah, I know. Once you're wearing my mark, if Gregor flirts with you, I'll put him down," I say, only half joking.

"Warren! You can't kill your Beta."

"Make no mistake, Yara. I will kill anyone, ANYONE who tries to take you from me. You are mine and the sooner you're wearing my mark, the better."

"You're probably right," she murmurs. I'm not sure if that was meant to be heard, or if it was one of her mumblings, but either way, I'm taking it as agreement. It's time to mark my mate.