Filed to story: The Packs Doctor Novel Free PDF Online (Yara & Warren)
“Your Luna…” she scoffs again.
“Yes, my Luna. Maybe you’ve heard of her. Her name is Yara. She came from this pack. She’s the reason that your Alpha and all of your warriors are dead. He came after our Alpha’s mate. He didn’t care how many of his warriors got killed and, in the end, he died because he tried to take her,” I snarl, over her attitude. “So, you have a couple of choices, Lina. Get your shit together and decide which pack you want to be a part of or try and make it on your own. You have until we get these omegas packed into the vans to decide. You come after me or any of my warriors again, I’ll kill you. Are we clear?”
I watch something in her shift. This woman may be a warrior, but she’s no leader. She, like the others in this pack, needs a leader to feel safe. I realize that she’s not only suffering from the loss of her mate, but also from not having anyone to lead her and this pack. She took it over, but it’s not her strength.
She lifts her neck in submission of my authority and Bradley releases her. “We’re clear,” she says, much more calmly.
It’s at this moment that I realize the importance of my role in the pack.
Our pack accepted me because they knew me and knew my strengths. But there will be times, like now, when my position is important for other reasons and being able to show others that they are safe, protected, and cared for goes a long way to making the pack cohesive and calm. I’ve always respected Alpha Warren and Beta Charlie, but that respect just increased knowing that this is what they have had to do, even in our pack, since they took over.
When I walk inside, I see the omegas are starting to stand. Their eyes go wide when they see me. Maybe me accepting my position, the role in the pack has changed my aura, or maybe they just recognize a ranked member from another pack. Either way, my presence is making them nervous.
“Trena, have you explained to them what we are offering?” I ask, looking around.
“Yes, Gamma. Everyone would like to return to our pack. They don’t know Alpha Harold, but I told them if they aren’t happy in our pack, we would find a way to help them see Alpha Harold’s pack.”
“Good thinking. Everyone needs to collect their things and get in the vans. Only take what you can carry or can’t live without,” I say and they all begin moving to their rooms to get their things.
I look at Bradley. “Let’s see what food we can take. They don’t look like they’ve been eating much.”
He takes Trena and together they go to collect whatever food is salvageable.
Laney takes my hand and pulls me into an empty hallway. “That was so fucking hot, the way you went all Gamma on that woman,” she growls, pressing herself against me. “When we get home, you’re mine, Gamma.”
I slide my fingers into her hair, gripping it and tugging her head back so she’s looking at me. “I’m always yours, Gamma,” I say before taking her mouth in a hot, dirty kiss.
We get everyone loaded into the vans, making sure they have food and water. As we drive back to the pack, I look at Laney and I know she feels it too. We may have had the pack ceremony to make us the pack’s Gammas, but this assignment, getting these people back to our pack, has made me feel more like a Gamma than the ceremony did.
I understand my role now, understand my position in the pack much better, and I reach out my hand to take my mate’s, I know that she feels the change in us as well. We are our pack’s Gammas. We are leaders in the strongest pack in our territory.
Harold.
“What are you expecting to find when we get there?” Farrah asks me as we drive to Quinton’s old pack. She and I are taking it very slow, mostly for her but also partly because of Henry. I want him to accept Farrah, not as a replacement for his mother, but as a mother figure in his life.
It’s something he hasn’t had but has desperately needed. I’ve done my best, but there’s a reason that an Alpha needs a Luna.
I’d noticed that Henry had accepted Farrah’s touch when we’d watched Warren execute Simon. I’d seen his shock at the state that Simon was in when they brought him out. I was glad that Warren had spoken to him ahead of time, letting him know that this isn’t the norm for his pack.
Farrah’s instinct, the instinct of a Luna and a mother, had been to help support him while he watched. My heart had soared with my pride in both of them, at her offer of support and his acceptance of it. Now that Farrah has accepted me as her Alpha, she’d felt the emotions in me. I don’t close my mind to her, wanting her to feel everything that I’m feeling so she understands me and learns to trust me. Her eyes had come to mine and I’d seen the hint of a smile.
Slow means that I get to hold her hand while I drive. It makes both of us feel calmer. And while we were in Warren’s pack, she agreed to sleep in the same room with me, which had ended up being the same bed. Nothing happened, but being able to sleep wrapped around my mate felt amazing. And based on how well she slept and with no nightmares, I think it did wonders for her too.
“I know the pack is gone. Beta Charlie attacked them while Quinton was attacking Warren’s pack. Since we also know that Simon was there, and Warren’s warriors indicated that there were dead bodies littering the ground, I’m going to assume that they haven’t had a chance to burn their dead yet. We should all be prepared for the stench of rotting bodies when we arrive. That’s going to be first. Then, I’d expect that Quirin will fight leaving. I’m not sure about Luna Yasmin, but I’m guessing after Simon’s assault, she must realize how exposed she and her son are out here by themselves. I’m counting on both of you to help me get through to them. Farrah, you can speak to Yasmin, woman to woman, and Henry, you can speak to Quirin, Alpha heir to Alpha heir.”
“Is he still considered an Alpha heir, Dad?” my son asks.
“He is the son of an Alpha. His pack may no longer exist, but knowing Quinton, he owned those pack lands which means that when Quirin comes of age, he could start his own pack again.”
I look in the rearview mirror and watch my son as he thinks through what I’ve said. “What if he ends up trying to steal some of our pack members?”
“Well, what I would say to you is this. Al Alphas are different.
Sometimes, people choose one pack over another because they prefer the way a certain Alpha leads versus another. And that’s okay.
However, I would also say that if it’s more than that, if it’s more than a simple preference, you, as an Alpha should consider what you aren’t doing or giving to your pack members that has them wanting to leave your pack. As a leader, your pack comes first, or at least a close second to your family and your mate,” I say smiling at Farrah. I love that blushes when I say things like that.
“If your pack members start to leave, you need to think about what you, as their leader, aren’t giving them. Why are they leaving? What do they need that you aren’t providing for them? You can only be a leader and an Alpha if you have a pack to lead. It’s not always just about being strong and protecting the pack. Just like you need more than a father who is strong, your pack will too. If I were the type of father that made sure you were safe, fed, and educated, but I never gave you any of my time, you wouldn’t like it, would you?”
He thinks about that. “No, I wouldn’t. I enjoy our time together.”
“Exactly. The pack is exactly the same. Even if you protect them, it wouldn’t be enough because you aren’t fulfilling their emotional needs, and maybe not even all of their physical needs. Does that make sense, Henry?”
“Yes, it makes sense,” he says, turning back to the window. I know my son enough to know that he’ll think through what I’ve said and if he has questions, he’ll come back and ask me about them later.
When I refocus on the road, I feel Farrah looking at me.
“What?” I ask her.
She smiles, shaking her head. “You’re a good Alpha.”
“I try. I don’t know that I always succeed, but I do try.”
She smiles and looks out the window. While I keep my mind open to her, she doesn’t always do the same for me. It’s times like these that I’m practically desperate to know what she’s thinking. But I don’t push. I want her to come to me on her own terms.
I’m not sure if she feels what I’m thinking or not, but she turns to look at me, opening her mind to me. What I feel has my heart soaring. She’s wondering how she can resist a man who is such a good Alpha, who she knows is a good mate, because she knew me when my mate was alive and she knows that I was always true and kind to her.
She glances back at Henry, who is still deep in thought. ‘I don’t know that I’m ready to be physical yet, Harold, but I think I’m willing to accept you as my mate, she says in the mind link.
I pull her hand to my mouth, kissing it. It’ll take as long as you need. I know you’ve been through a lot. I will never rush you.’
I see my son turn his head, seeing our silent interaction. He smiles and turns back to looking outside. He’s already noticing little things that go on around him, just like a good Alpha should.
‘Maybe. maybe when we get back, I could move into your room,’ she says, still speaking in the mind link. ‘I would love that.’
My heart is full of love as we pull onto Quinton’s pack lands. Even from here, the smell of rotting flesh is strong.
“UGH!” Henry says, covering his mouth. “How can they live here? It’s awful.”
“They may not feel like they have another choice, which is why we’re here,” I tell him.
As we drive, we begin to pass bodies in various stages of decomposition.