I wanted to tell Anna's story before the book ended and this seemed like the right chapter to do it.
WarrenIt’s been several months since we killed Brady and Dr. Stephens. It took a while, but the pack has settled into what I guess is a more normal routine. We spar, we run patrols, Charlie and I run the pack, Yara and Noelle run the hospital, Haynes and Laney train and manage the warriors.Now that life has settled down, our pack is having a baby boom. I’m pretty sure every one of my mated she-wolves is pregnant and some who aren’t mated are pregnant as well. Yara and I talked about that and we’ve agreed that if both parents are fine with remaining unmated, they can. The ones who don’t agree, have to speak to both of us so we can come to a resolution. Thankfully, now that we’re having pack gatherings with Alpha Harold and his pack, there are fewer unmated adult men and women in our pack.Today, Yara is in the pack hospital making last minute preparations before our twins come. I’m watching Charlie and Haynes working with Carson. It’s been a long, grueling road for him. He’s struggled
Five Years LaterYaraIf you had asked me six years ago what my life would look like now, I’m not sure I would have ever imagined this. My life is filled with love, happiness, work, school, the pack, and most importantly, family.My mate is as perfect a father as I knew he would be. He LOVES being a father and I love watching him with our pups. I never thought I could love that man more than I did, but seeing him being the incredible father that he is with our pups, I’ve just kept falling more deeply in love with him and wanting to give him more pups. After the twins, we decided to wait a bit. Our original plan was to wait a few years while we adjusted to being parents to two babies. Warren wanted to focus on getting the pack financially stable and increasing the pack’s income and I wanted to focus on going back to school and turning our hospital into a teaching hospital.It took about six months of negotiation with the closest werewolf university and a lot of conversations with their
YaraIt’s been too long since I’ve let Annika out to run. With the number of classes that I’m taking and the heavy schedule I’m keeping at the university, there isn’t a lot of time to eat, much less let Annika run. But I have to let her out. She’s becoming more and more restless.‘School is boring. Humans are boring. I want to do something fun,’ she grumbles in my head.‘We’re going for a run, Annika. Calm down.’‘Next time, don’t wait so long.’It’s been a couple of months since I took her out. She’s right, it’s been too long. But I know how the packs fight, and I haven’t wanted to risk getting in the middle of a battle, or worse, getting caught by Simon.‘I’m too smart for him to catch us. Besides, he has no idea that we’re still so close to the pack.’By ‘so close’ she means two hours, but it is too close. A wolf can run nearly as fast as a car, and when that wolf is on the hunt? Goddess forbid anyone gets in their way.In the past, when I’ve taken Annika out to run, I’ve taken her
WarrenI can’t believe that Arric and I got caught in this bear trap. Fucking Brady! I know he’s the one who set this trap. He knew that he and his pack would retreat this way. I raced around, attempting to cut off their escape route, but I’d ended up caught in the trap.I know my pack will come back for me, but they’re in a battle and I’ve been waiting for them to find me for hours. When I wasn’t able to cut Brady off, they continued following his pack, hunting them down like the fucking dogs they are.I knew immediately that I couldn’t shift. While I could use my hands to spring the trap, it was too risky. I wasn’t willing to lose my leg and therefore my rank as Alpha. While the pain is significant, Arric and I are strong Alphas, and I know it's only a matter of time before the pack finds me and gets me out of here.We’d been struggling with a way to get the damn trap off when we’d smelled her. I’ve been looking for my mate for over ten years and now, here, in the middle of the fore
WarrenCharlie orders two wolves to flank my mate, keeping her safe, but also making sure she follows my order.‘Alpha?’ Charlie asks in the mind link.‘She’s my mate.’‘Oh shit.’‘Yeah.’‘Does she know? She doesn’t act like she recognizes you as her mate.’‘I’m not sure. She’s a lone wolf, but she’s going to school for human and veterinary medicine.’He turns and looks at her. “Wow. A smart one.’‘Apparently.’‘What did she say about your leg?’‘That I need surgery.’‘Well, no offense but I could have told you that.’‘Let’s see what she says when we get to the pack. And find her a shirt. I don’t like her walking around our warriors with no clothes on.’He takes off, rushing toward our pack lands. When he returns, his wolf carries a shirt to her in his mouth. I watch while she looks up at me.“We’re about to enter my pack. You’re an unmarked, unknown, young female. I thought you might like a shirt to put on to cover yourself,” I say.If she says no, I’ll insist, but I’m hoping she’ll
YaraI’m not sure if Alpha Warren brought me here because he recognized me as his mate and he didn’t have the strength to reject me in the woods, or if he knew that his pack doctor was well past his retirement years. Either way, I’m here and since I am, I’ll help this Alpha. This is the reason I chose medicine. He doesn't have to lose his leg. It will take a lot of effort on my part, but I'm excited to finally get to work on a werewolf, an Alpha no less.“I’m assuming you want to do this now, Alpha?” I ask him.“Yes, the sooner the better.”“Okay.” I give him the list of items that I’ll need to get his bones put back together properly. “Oh, and we’ll need to sedate you,” I say, looking around the room to see how they have their hospital rooms set up. “Is this where…”“No,” Alpha Warren says. I turn to look at him.“No?”“No sedation.”“Okay then, a nerve block, I’ll just need…”“No,” he says again.“Alpha, please, I’m going to have to wash the area, scrub it clean, I’m going to cut yo
WarrenAs much pain as I’m in, I’m enjoying watching and talking to my mate. She’s unlike any woman or she-wolf I’ve ever met. Besides the crazy notion that I would reject her, she’s funny. I love how she’s constantly murmuring to herself, talking to herself as if no one else can hear her. I can hear every word and without being marked, it’s a good second option to knowing what’s going on inside that interesting mind of hers.Her face is nearly as expressive as her murmurs. She hasn’t learned or doesn’t care about hiding her facial expressions. Once again, I find it refreshing. She isn’t trying to be coy or impress me because I’m an Alpha. On the contrary, it’s almost as if she’s trying to get away from me BECAUSE I’m an Alpha. It's not going to happen. I’ve searched for this little doctor too long to let her go now.“To answer your question, Charlie, Dr. Yara here is piecing me back together, slowly and painstakingly, which is preferable to Dr. Stevens plan which was to remove my leg
YaraReplacement? I can’t be a replacement. I’m not staying. As soon as Alpha…as soon as Warren’s leg is done, I’m out of here. I glance up at the broody Alpha and wonder if that’s true. Is he going to let me go?The news about Simon has me worried. If there is a paper trail of his father helping me though medical school…he’ll find me.“Arric?” I say distractedly, holding the bones together while he heals them.I have to get my car, my clothes. I have to get back to school, I’m a resident, I can’t just up and leave.“Tell me where your car is and I’ll have someone go get it. Same with your clothes. As far as your schooling goes, we’ll have to talk about you taking classes online and working your ‘residency’ did you call it, here,” Warren says.I frown at him. “How did you…?”“You were talking to yourself. It wasn’t hard to hear you.”“I can’t leave school, Warren,” I say, looking at him like he’s crazy.“I didn’t say you’d be leaving school. I said you’d be doing your residency here.
Five Years LaterYaraIf you had asked me six years ago what my life would look like now, I’m not sure I would have ever imagined this. My life is filled with love, happiness, work, school, the pack, and most importantly, family.My mate is as perfect a father as I knew he would be. He LOVES being a father and I love watching him with our pups. I never thought I could love that man more than I did, but seeing him being the incredible father that he is with our pups, I’ve just kept falling more deeply in love with him and wanting to give him more pups. After the twins, we decided to wait a bit. Our original plan was to wait a few years while we adjusted to being parents to two babies. Warren wanted to focus on getting the pack financially stable and increasing the pack’s income and I wanted to focus on going back to school and turning our hospital into a teaching hospital.It took about six months of negotiation with the closest werewolf university and a lot of conversations with their
WarrenIt’s been several months since we killed Brady and Dr. Stephens. It took a while, but the pack has settled into what I guess is a more normal routine. We spar, we run patrols, Charlie and I run the pack, Yara and Noelle run the hospital, Haynes and Laney train and manage the warriors.Now that life has settled down, our pack is having a baby boom. I’m pretty sure every one of my mated she-wolves is pregnant and some who aren’t mated are pregnant as well. Yara and I talked about that and we’ve agreed that if both parents are fine with remaining unmated, they can. The ones who don’t agree, have to speak to both of us so we can come to a resolution. Thankfully, now that we’re having pack gatherings with Alpha Harold and his pack, there are fewer unmated adult men and women in our pack.Today, Yara is in the pack hospital making last minute preparations before our twins come. I’m watching Charlie and Haynes working with Carson. It’s been a long, grueling road for him. He’s struggled
AnnaWhen the pack came back after attacking Alpha Brady’s pack, they brought Dr. Stephens with them.Dr. Stephens, the man I have despised ever since I started working in the hospital. All of us, the nurses, knew that he was hurting our pack, but there was very little we could do about it. At the time, we were in a constant state of war. We could barely keep the pack going in between battles, and Dr. Stephens had been part of that problem.We’d all turned to Savannah. She was younger than Erika and Katie, but she had more medical experience. Without any conscious discussion about it, we had all deferred to her when we questioned Dr. Stephens' methods. Goddess knows, you never questioned him to his face. He’d berate you in front of anyone and everyone in the room. He was a horrible man for so many reasons.As I stare at the man, who is currently on his knees in front of Alpha Warren, I remember the day I lost the man that I’m pretty sure was my mate. I was almost eighteen. I had actual
WarrenAfter making love to my mate for hours and sleeping off the exhaustion of the battle, I wake up feeling fantastic. While I slept, Arric healed what was left of my wounds, my mate is safe, happy, and pregnant with my pups, and all that’s left is Dr. Stephens who is currently residing in my cells.There’s one more thing that I need to take care of before I deal with Dr. Stephens, and that’s Carson. Yara told me that he wanted to die when he came in. I understand his fear. Not having a place in a pack is a terrible feeling for pack members. While we get ready this morning, Yara and I talk about the options and how we can possibly keep him running patrols. She explains to me about prosthetics and that it will take modifications on our part and his, but once he and his wolf gets used to wearing one, they can continue to remain at warrior status and help defend the pack.But before that, we need to say goodbye to our allies and send them off.When we get downstairs, the feeling in the
YaraThe flow of warriors coming into the hospital finally starts to slow down. When we get one warrior with a spike through his foot, he tells us that they’ve breached the packhouse and the battle is winding down. I’ve periodically felt Warren’s emotions, his pain, but nothing that my mate and his wolf can’t handle.Now that it’s settling down, the fatigue of the day and night is starting to set in. But I know I won’t be able to sleep until my mate is home and I’ve checked him over.I’m still working with the warrior who got the spike through his foot, holding his bones in place while his wolf starts the healing process when I hear a commotion out in the front.“They’re back, Luna,” Savannah says, coming into the room.“Go, Noelle. Go check on Charlie. I’ll be out as soon as I’m done here,” I tell her. She and Savannah rush out of the room.“You should go too, Luna,” the warrior says.“I will, once the bones in your foot are back in place,” I tell him, putting another one together and
WarrenAs expected, we ended up having to send a large group of warriors back as soon as we blew the bombs. I’d heard Carson screaming in my head and told some of my warriors with minimal injuries to get him to Yara as quickly as possible. I have to hope that my mate can work the miracles she always seems to and because I know she’ll do everything she can, I remain focused on the battle.It’s been long enough since they last attacked my pack, that Brady’s warriors are healed. But Franklin and Harold’s men severely decimated their numbers. Even with the number of wolves that we’re having to send back to the pack, we’re still outnumbering them. Add to that, we have two Alphas and two Betas leading this attack on four fronts and it doesn’t take Arric long to get to the packhouse. I send half of the warriors i my group to help the others as I prepare to enter the packhouse. With Brady, you never know what types of traps he’s set.‘Alpha, Franklin and I have Alpha Brady. Do you want us to k
YaraWe only had a couple of hours before the injured started coming in. The first thing I realize is that every single one of them has splinters all over them. Because they blew the bombs with wood, they’ve all been hit with various sizes and amounts of debris.“Make sure you get every piece of wood out of them. If you don’t, they’ll become infected. Warriors, you need to let my team know if you feel pain somewhere so we can get all these wood pieces out of you. If we don’t and you get an infection, I’ll pull you from duty until you’re healed.”“Yes, Luna,” they say with varying degrees of strength in their voice.Savannah and I begin doing triage and I take the worst ones while she takes the ones that she can handle.The first group that comes in have large pieces of tree that punctured through them. I’m guessing others did as well, but this group couldn’t pull these pieces out without causing more damage to their bodies. I take the one with a large piece of wood in the thigh, and Sa
WarrenAfter dinner, I take her upstairs so we can celebrate properly. I don’t spend the hours that I want to with my mate, but when I return, I’ll make it up to her.I’m up before dawn the next morning, Arric and I ready for battle. I shower quickly, letting my mate sleep in. I know that soon enough, she’ll be overwhelmed in the hospital.When I get out of the shower, she’s sitting up in bed. The sheet is laying across her lap, but her breasts are bare for my view. Any other morning, I’d be crawling back into bed. But today, my mind stays focused on the battle ahead.“Why don’t you go back to sleep, baby? We’ll be sending warriors back to you soon enough,” I tell her.She shakes her head. “I’m coming down to see everyone off. I want our warriors to know that I love them and I’m here if and when they are brought back.”I go to her, kissing her deeply, drawing strength for what I have to do today. I know it’s a possibility that we’ll lose warriors. I hate it, hate it even more than I us
WarrenTwo? Did she say two pups?I hear the sounds of the pack cheering around us, but I’m focused on my mate’s beautiful face and her smug smile.“We’re having twins?”“Mhmm,” she answers, her fingers running through my hair and sending shivers all over my body.“Boys? Girls? One of each?” I ask.“One of each. But don’t think that gets you out of pup duty for the rest of your life. You promised to give me as many as I wanted,” she says, grinning up at me."I always keep my promises," I growl. It's a happy, possessive growl as I lean in and take her mouth in a dominant kiss, pouring all of my love for this incredible woman into it.‘How many pack members do we have to threaten to keep their sons away from our little girl,’ Arric growls, already feeling possessive of his pups.‘She’ll have her brother to keep them away,’ I say as an image of Henry watching Harold enters my mind. Only this time, it’s MY son and he’s watching ME, learning to be a good Alpha from me.I deepen the kiss eve