The Pack's Hacker (by Cooper) novel Chapter 252

Yorick

“You’ve been awfully quiet today,” I say to Cyra. She’s been in her own world of thoughts since our call this morning. In class, I had to nudge her several times to help her stay focused and now that classes are done for the day, she’s back to being in her own head. What I wouldn’t give to have my mark on her neck so I could follow along with whatever she’s thinking.

Okay, I just want my mark on her neck, but it would definitely help right now.

Cyra looks at me and smiles. “You know, Kaylee is the scariest pup I’ve ever met in my life.”

I burst out laughing. Quirin would be so proud to hear that.

“She and her twin, Kendra, are something else. Wade calls them the Double K, Triple Threat, because the have learned to fight together and even at a young age, they’re pretty powerful. I wasn’t there, but Quirin loves to tell the story of how his two-and -a-half year old girls dropped one of his warriors.”

“Dropped him? You mean took him down?” she asks, her eyes going wide.

“More or less. It wouldn’t have been a win on the sparring field, but they knocked him to his knees. He was being cocky and teasing them about being pup warriors. They reminded him that they are not only Alpha females, but Quirin’s daughters.”

“How?”

“As I understand it, the two tag-team very well, so while the warrior was focused on one twin, Kaylee I think, the other came behind him in a sneak attack. When he turned to take on Kendra, Kaylee punched him in the inner thigh hard enough that it distracted him while Kendra kicked out his knee and brought him to the ground. Then they leaped on him until Quirin got them off. Quirin’s one of the strongest fighters I know, which is saying something since my father is a powerful fighter as well. But it wasn’t until I started fighting with Quirin that I became the strong fighter I am now. Dad is an incredible technical fighter, but Quirin fights dirty. I’ve gotten the best of both teachings and the girls are getting that same instruction from a much younger age.”

“So, my instincts were right. She is scary,” Cyra says as we sit in her room before dinner.

“Yes and no. They also have a lot of Kennedy in them. They are fiercely loyal, you saw that this morning, and extremely protective of each other and our family.”

“I saw that too. She wants to make sure I’m worthy of being your mate,” Cyra says, chuckling.

I pull her into my lap. “What’s really on your mind, my mate.

“

She leans her head on my shoulder, and I rub her back, waiting for her to tell me what she’s thinking.

“I don’t know the first thing about being an Alpha, Yorick. I realized that today. Your father, Connor, Henry, and Quirin all seem to know exactly what they should be doing to make this work. They all seem to have a plan that they inherently agree with and I feel like I’m on the outside looking in with no clue what I should be doing. My father never included me on any of the pack dealings. I’ve learned more about being an Alpha in the short time we’ve been here at the Academy than I ever did at home, and they’re not teaching us to be Alphas here. They’re teaching us how to use the skills an Alpha has to be better. If we overthrow my father, whether I challenge him or the Council removes him from his position, am I really the person that should lead my pack? I don’t even know how to manage pack finances. You’ve seen me in finance class. I’m still struggling to understand the hundreds of lines of incoming and outgoing finances, much less tracking the financial trails to where they go.” “All of those things that you just mentioned can be learned, Cyra. What you have that your father doesn’t is compassion and a willingness to do right by your pack. The rest is just knowledge,” I say to her.

“Yeah, but who is going to teach me? Who is going to make sure that I don’t run my pack into the ground months after taking it over? You’re brilliant, Yorick, and you have obviously been more involved in pack decisions and conversations than I have in my life, but you weren’t raised to lead a pack either. And based on what I’ve seen in the last few days, that’s not what you want anyway.”

She lifted her head to look me in the eye while we’re talking. I can see the frustration and torment in her eyes as she struggles to figure out how she can be the Alpha that she wants to be for her pack.

I take her face in my hands. “My family will help you, Cyra. You’re right, the idea of pouring over financial ledgers makes my eye twitch,” I say, making her smile, but it fades quickly.

“They have their own packs to run, Yorick.”

“My father doesn’t,” I say, the idea turning on like a lightbulb in my head.

“I’m sure your father has better things to do than teach me how to be an Alpha,” she says.

“Actually, he doesn’t. He struggled a lot when Connor took over as Alpha. He spent a year helping Quirin clean silver powder out of his pack lands because he needed something that would make him feel useful. My mother still has the medical school, but he doesn’t really have anything that is permanent. Honestly, I bet he’d jump at the idea. We should call him before we talk to the others tonight,” I say excitedly. “My Dad’s a fantastic Alpha. He’s confident, knowledgeable, and he’s a patient teacher. Plus, he might be willing to oversee the pack while you finish out your year here at the Academy, Cyra. You could learn everything you need to know here while still learning how to run a pack. We could spend weekends at your pack while you work with Dad, and then when the year is up, we’ll figure out next steps.”

“Do you really think he’d be interested?” she asks.

“Let’s call him right now and find out.”

Warren POV

“ARGH!” I say, holding my side and falling to the ground in mock pain.

“Are you okay, Gwanpa?” Kendra asks, bending over to check on me like I knew she would.

“Of course I’m okay!” I growl, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her to the ground as she squeals. “What’s the first rule of battle?”

“Never lose focus,” she says, obviously aggravated that I tricked her.

I kiss her head. “That’s right but thank you for checking on me. You pack quite a punch, Ken,” I say and I mean it. Kendra and Kaylee are natural born fighters. They absorb the instruction that others give them and use it in their sparring training. Even at a young age, they’re already putting the full force of their body behind their punches making them much more effective than any other pup their age and even most pups three and four times their age.

I get back on my knees which eliminates my height advantage, ready to take her on again when I hear my phone ring.

“Hold that punch,” I say, standing and going to grab my phone. I’m surprised when I see Yorick’s name on the caller ID since we have a plan to talk later tonight.

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