The Pack's Hacker (by Cooper) novel Chapter 14

Jude

I’m so angry at myself. I was so worried about Wendy that I put myself in a vulnerable position and Stellan took advantage of it.

Saggio got a chunk of flesh ripped out of his neck and while I know we’re losing a lot of blood, it’s not the kind of injury that will kill me.

However, Wendy doesn’t know that and since we don’t share a mind link, I can’t tell her. I realize by her shaking voice and hands that she’s terrified that something might happen to me. If I didn’t hate that she was so worried, I’d love that she’s this concerned about me and Saggio.

When she calls her sister, I’m impressed with Kennedy’s ability to remain calm and to push that calm through to Wendy. She tells Wendy to turn on the video and when she does, she assesses Saggio’s wound. I know we’re losing blood. I can feel Saggio’s weakness, but he’s already healing himself, so we just need some time to finish healing and recuperate before we’re back to normal.

“What is Hacker’s wolf’s name, Wen?” Kennedy asks.

“Saggio.”

“Saggio, can you hear me?” Kennedy asks.

He starts to lift his head to look at the video, but she tells him to lie still. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Okay, Wendy, since he’s in wolf form and we don’t have anyone who has a mind link to him, we’ll figure this out on our own. His injury isn’t life-threatening, which is good, but he’s still losing a lot of blood. Can you tell if the injury is healing at all?” she asks.

“Uh, I think so,” she says. Saggio chuffs to let her know he agrees.

“Good, Saggio. I’m glad you’re aware enough to answer too,” Kennedy says. “Wendy, can you pinch the skin of his neck closed?” she asks.

“Where?” Wendy asks.

“Anywhere you can. Start at the edges of his injury, that might be the easiest place to pull the flesh together.”

I feel Wendy begin pinching the skin together. It stings, but I also realize that Saggio is able to heal more quickly where Wendy is holding his skin.

“He’s definitely healing fast. That’s a good sign, Wendy. Keep pulling his flesh together and let Saggio do the rest,” she says. “You’re doing a great job, Saggio. You’re such a strong wolf. Thank you for protecting me,” Wendy says as the two of them continue working together to heal the wound in my neck.

Suddenly, Wendy’s head snaps up. “DAD! MOM! They’re here, Ken!”

“Good, but don’t lose focus, Wendy. Saggio needs you to help him heal.”

“Right,” Wendy says, but I can feel the difference in her. Knowing her parents are here makes her feel safe. It gives her confidence that she didn’t have before. That’s something I’ll need to explore more with her after I’m healed. She needs to feel this level of confidence on her own, not just when her parents are around to support her.

I hear footsteps pounding up the stairs and suddenly Wendy is surrounded by a bunch of Alphas.

It’s Raptor I see first. He crouches down and looks at the wound. “This is healing well,” he says to Wendy. “My sister, she’s helping me,” she says.

Raptor looks at me. “When you’re back to normal, you and I are going to have it out. I told you not to engage,” he growls.

“He didn’t engage!” Wendy says, coming to my defense. “We came in to check the alarms and that’s when Hacker realized Stellan was here. We went to see what he was doing, but he came out of the bedroom, Landon and Lila’s bedroom and he was so…” she stops.

“Feral,” Raptor says gently.

“I’ve never seen a feral wolf before,” she says.

“Well, you have now. He’s definitely feral.”

Wendy looks at me. “Jude was protecting me. He pushed me away from them and he fought Stellan when he attacked. He got injured because … because Stellan looked like he was going to come after me and I froze,” she says, her voice catching.

Saggio whines, not happy that Wendy feels responsible for our injury. We should have known better. Yeah, I was distracted by making sure I kept her safe, but it made me sloppy.

“This isn’t your fault, Wendy,” Raptor says to her.

“It is. If I …” she begins, but he holds up a finger to stop her.

“Hacker is a third year Academy student. He knows how to fight better than this. He also knows that he’s not in charge of these missions. The team leader is and that’s me. So yeah, you’ve earned yourself some extra fighting time, Hacker, but this isn’t your fault, Sphinx. Hacker’s a better fighter than this, even against a feral wolf. If he wasn’t, I wouldn’t allow him to go on missions with me.”

‘I’m ready to shift if you are,’ Saggio says to me.

‘Let’s do it and thanks, Buddy. You’re the best.’

‘I protect what’s mine,’ he says.

The impression I get from my wolf is that Wendy is included in that, not just me.

I begin to shift and both Raptor and Wendy sit back, giving me some space.

“Give me some room,” I hear Luna Yara say. Everyone moves out of the way and Wendy tells her that she called Kennedy. She hands the phone to Luna Yara and Kennedy gives her the medical jargon about my injury.

“Well, he’s just shifted back, so I’m not sure how much I’ll be needed, but I’ll take it from here, Kennedy. Give my grandchildren my love,” she says, before handing the phone back to Wendy.

I notice that Alpha Quirin puts his face in the phone to see his mate before Wendy disconnects the call.

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