The Pack's Doctor by Cooper

Cyra

| was terrified that Yorick wouldn't speak toagain, that he would have finally decided to reject me.

After Piper left, | realized how right she is. | haven't been honest with my friends because I didn't truly believe

that they would stay and helpfight. I've been alone for so long that it's hard to trust it when you finally have

those friendships that you've wanted all your life.

When Yorick pulledinto his arms, | felt like I'd fall apart again. Being in his arms feels so good. Knowing that

he's at least givinga chance to tell him why | did what | did means there's hope for us. Hope is exactly what

I've been avoiding up until now. But now, I'm ready to fight along side my mate and our friends for the freedom

and the life that | deserve.

"Let's go into my room. Yours might still smell like the asshole and that's a good way to setoff again. Plus, |

need a shower."

He pullsinto his room and takes my face in his hands. "Did you eat?"

| shake my head no.

"Go get sfood, Cyra. Cback here. You start eating while | shower and then we're going to have a long

talk, Cyra."

"Okay. I'm not sure | can eat ..." | begin.

"You will. I'll hold you in my lap and let Thad purr at you if you can't."

"You know that's a good way to getto NOT eat at first, right."

He strokes his fingers over my cheek, brushing shair behind my ear. "Go get food. I'll meet you back here."

He leans forward and gently presses his lips to mine. | eagerly open my lips, leaning against him to deepen the

kiss. He only lets it go so far before he pulls back.

"Food. Shower," he says, pointing to me, then to himself. "Then we'll talk, and then we can kiss."

| smile at him and he pecks my lips again before grabbing his things and walking out. I quickly go to the dining

hall and get sfood before returning to his room. | decide on breakfast for dinner since | don't think | can

stomach anything heavier.

| beat him there and | find a spot at his desk where | can eat.

When he walks in, he's got a towel wrapped low around his hips and he's rubbing a second towel over his damp

hair.

Even though | spent the night with him, even though we've been together many, many times, the sight of my

gorgeous mate still makes my mouth go dry.

"Crya," he growls. My eyes flash to his and I'm rewarded with his sexy grin. "Eat. Talk. Then ogle."

"I can ogle and eat at the stime," | say, swallowing hard. How can one man be so incredibly gorgeous? It's

not fair.

"I don't see you eating," he says.

| grab a piece of bacon and begin chewing, not taking my eyes off of him.

He sighs. "As much as | appreciate you enjoying my body, we really do need to talk, Cyra."

“I know,” | say, pulling my eyes away from him. I struggle to swallow the bacon now that I'm not distracted by

Yorick's glorious body.

I've just grabbed my water to try and wash it down when Yorick liftsand setsin his lap. Thad immediately

starts purring and I'm able to finally

swallow the food.

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48

Chapter 229

Yorick presses a kiss to the side of my head. "I'm not going to lie to you. I'm really hurt. | don't like thinking that

you seethe sway that you in Stellan..."

"I don't!" | say, rushing to correct him.

He presses a finger to my lips. "You don't trustany more than you trust him. I've done nothing to betray your

trust, and | never will. So, | want to talk about why you don't trustor our friends."

I lean back against him, thinking through my answer. He taps the plate of food and | take a bite of eggs before

answering.

"I'm not like you, Yorick. I don't have a big, loving family and friends that go on for days. When | was growing up,

it was me, my Dad, and the pack. My father was very clear that he was annoyed that | wasn't a male, an heir. He

has never even considered passing the pack to me. At first, | didn't let it bother me. | figured when | found my

mate, when | found you, that it would be fine. The pack would still be mine and | didn't need to be their Alpha, |

could be their Luna. My father wasn't an easy man to love, even before all of this crap with the alliance bond. He

sawas a burden rather than a daughter and heir."

| feel Yorick press his lips to the side of my head while passing

me

piece of bacon. | nibble on it while | think.

"I've never not been alone, Yorick. All my life, the only person | had to rely on was myself. My father was barely

around, leaving nearly every night. It wasn't until | was older that | recognized the scent of stale smoke and

cheap perfon him and | knew he was out seeking companionship. Knowing would someday be the pack's

Luna, | was careful about creating friendships. The few that I did have were superficial because | couldn't exactly

vent about my father to his pack members, and | couldn't complain about feeling alone when | live in a pack. So,

| learned to take care of myself."

| turn and look up at him. "It's not that | don't trust you, Yorick. It's that I've never had anyone in my life like this

before. That's not a light switch that you turn off the moment you meet your mate and make a few friends. We're

all here for a reason. You're here to make a life for yourself. I'm here to escape from an alliance bond that | don't

want. | guess | just assumed that, at spoint, I'd be alone again."

The thought has my throat tightening and tears filling my eyes.

"You are never going to be alone again, Cyra. Never. | told you, I'm not letting you go. I really don't care about

starting a war. You're worth it to me. | hope... | hope I'm worth it to you."

| reach up and cup his face, the tears beginning to streak down my face. "All I've ever really had is my pack,

Yorick. | don't know who | am without them. You are so worth fighting for. But what if we lose? What if | lose the

only thing that has ever givena purpose in this life?" | whisper.

"First and foremost, Hills don't lose," he says, kissing my nose and makinghuff a laugh. He can't know that.

"Second, | can't guarantee that smembers of your pack won't die. That's war, Cyra. But we're in an

Academy that teaches us how to plan a battle strategy where we know we'll win. We need to start figuring out

the best way to plan the attack on Alpha's Stellan's pack. We know speople and have money. We can pay

them if we need to in order to get them to help us find out what we need to find out about Stellan's pack so we

can ensure that we win." "Christer. Alpha Christer is his brother and the current Alpha of his pack."

"We'll start with him. But third, and most importantly, Cyra, | don't care about being an Alpha of a pack. It's your

pack. If we do this, if we fight to get you out of that bond and you take over your pack, it will be YOU Cyra, who

claims yourself as their Alpha. I'll just be the man you're bringing along for the great sex," he says, grinning

broadly.

I laugh, his kind and loving words pushing the tears away.

I look up into his expressive green eyes, stroking my thumb over his stubble. "I don't know what | did to deserve

you, but I'm glad I did."

t want you

I" 1

It must have been really good," he

says, grinning as he leans in to kiss

n ' .

me. "I mean every word I'm saying,

Cyra. You need to kno tha fg any

other bo mine. | can

liVe in a pack and still do this work

while you manage the pack as their

f . 2

Alpha. We'll have to figure out who is

f f fi

doing the Luna duties, because let's

be honest, havingrun a kitchen is

a good way to make your pack

"h Ki

members starve," he says, making