The Pack's Hacker (by Cooper) novel Chapter 416

Wendy

I was so worried when I realized that Stellan was headed back to Yorick and Cyra’s pack. Even though Yorrie answered my call and I knew my family was there ready to protect Cyra and Lila, I was still terrified that somehow Stellan would get past them and hurt someone I care about.

‘Like Jude?’ Dasha asked, smirking.

Okay, yes. I was terrified that Jude was unconscious in my mother’s hospital. He never answered his text message, not last night and not this morning.

“Why didn’t you respond to my text?” I ask more sharply than I intended.

He pulls back from our hug and looks at me, blinking.

“I have no idea where my phone is. I haven’t even thought about it. I crashed last night, then got scolded by your mother this morning, and then the Tasmanian Devil, aka Yana, was there, ready to help me hook up the alarms, which we still didn’t get done in time,” he growls softly. 2

“Why did my mother scold you?” I ask, not moving out of his arms.

“He tried to tell her how to do her job. You know how Mom is in the hospital,” Yana says.

“Yeah, I do know,” I say, looking back at Jude. “You tried to tell her how to do her job?” I ask, surprised. That doesn’t sound like him.

“No. I told her I thought I was ready to get back to work,” he clarifies and I start laughing.

“Yeah, that doesn’t work with my mom.”

“Now you tell me,” he says before kissing me.

“Hey, how was it working with grumpy Hijack?” Yana asks.

“Yana,” I hiss, turning to see Hijack looking our way. His eyes are narrow on Yana, and she gives him a grin and a finger wave. 4 “Hijack is excellent at his job,” I hiss.

“I didn’t say he wasn’t. I said he’s grumpy. Your description of him does not negate mine, Wendy.”

Since she’s still grinning at him, I know she’s saying this more to taunt him than anything else.

“You look tired, Wen. Didn’t you sleep?” Jude asks.

I drag my attention back to him.

“Those cots suck,” I growl.

“Yeah, they do. Sleeping bags by the fire are much better. Why didn’t you sleep outside?”

I shrug, not willing to tell him that sleeping with Alpha Squad held no excitement for me without him there.

“It was her sleeplessness that caught Stellan, so at least something good came out of it,” Hijack says, coming over. “And I’m not grumpy,” he says to Yana.

“Hijack, I have lived my entire life around Quirin. I know grumpy when I see it,” she says sassily.

“Did Phisher get the packhouse wired?” Hijack asks, looking at Jude.

The smile immediately falls off Yana’s face and she growls. “I hate that name.”

Hijack turns and looks at her. “Then stop trying to hack into my computer.”

“What?” I say, pulling away from Jude. “Yana! That’s a crime. Hijack works for the Council! That could impact your ability to get into the Academy,” I whisper-yell at her.

“Relax. I’m not going to say anything. Your sister’s not good enough for me to alert anyone anyway,” Hijack says, getting his own digs in on my sister.

“Give me time,” she says, narrowing her eyes and accepting the challenge. I’m not sure if he meant to challenge her, but since he’s an Alpha, I’m pretty sure he did. Maybe he wants her focused on him so he can keep tabs on her.

“Is that why you keep trying to hack into my computer, Phisher?” Jude asks her.

“What? You too?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “I just figured she was testing her skills. They’re not terrible, considering your only fifteen.”

“Sixteen! I had a birthday,” she says, jutting her chin out defensively.

“Oh, well if you’re already at the ripe old age of sixteen, you’d better start working on those hacking skills quickly,” Hijack says.

I frown at him. Is Hijack teasing my sister?

“What were you doing at sixteen?” she asks, hands on her hips, eyes narrowed, as she leans in toward him.

“I’d already hacked into multiple computers at your age. That’s why I’m a Hijacker, not a Hacker,” he says, grinning.

“How many is multiple?” she asks, frowning.

“More than one, less than a lot,” he says, aggravating her even more. “Are you ready to finish hooking up the security system?”

“I want a number,” she says stubbornly.

“At sixteen?” He looks thoughtful for a moment. “Nine.”

“Right when you turned sixteen or before your turned seventeen?” Yana asks.

“Before I turned seventeen.”

“You realize you’re poking the bear, right?” I ask Hijack. “You’re literally standing here and creating a monster of biblical proportions.”

“That’s okay,” he says, still grinning at Yana. “I’ve hijacked her computer. I track everything she’s doing to make sure she doesn’t get herself into too much trouble.”

Yana’s mouth drops open. “YOU! No wonder I can’t hack into your computer.”

“Oh, Little Phisher, that’s not the only reason. But it is one of them. Come on. Time for you to learn some new skills so you can try them out when you think I’m not looking.”

As they walk away, I look at Jude. “Should I be worried?”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify