Wendy Hill is an up-and-coming technological wizard. Her research to gain information for her brother Yorick and his mate, Cyra, led to the arrest of Cyra’s father, earning her early admission to the elite Warrior Academy. She was assigned to the tech team to learn and train until her admission to the Academy. Wendy’s code name is Sphinx.

Jude Matthews, code name Hacker, has been a student at the Warrior Academy for three years. Most students remain in the Academy for one year and then are recruited by other companies for their specific skills. Only the elite of the elite remain at the Academy to continue their training and work directly for The Council.

Hacker, and the other members of his team, Tracker and Hijack, have taken Sphinx under their wing to teach her everything she needs to know to become an IT elite. However, now things are becoming personal for Wendy. Stellan has escaped from prison and is after Cyra and her Gamma female, Lila. Patrick, Peter, and Justine are missing, and they want revenge on Henry and Piper.

Through it all, Wendy has felt a budding relationship with Jude. She’s hoping he’s her mate, but she won’t know until her eighteenth birthday.

Can Wendy and Jude work together to find Stellan before he hurts Cyra and Lila? Can they find the missing trio who want to destroy everything that Henry and Piper have worked so hard to achieve? Can she face the ugly reality of the job when it means giving someone painful or difficult information? And on her eighteenth birthday, will she finally confirm that Jude is her mate, the one that she desperately wants in her life forever?

Find out in Book Five of The Pack Series, The Pack’s Hacker.

: First Assignment

Wendy

Everything was great. The graduation ceremony was awesome. My brother’s friend Zach met his mate, who just happens to be my sister-in-law Cyra’s cousin Sadique. That was fun to watch.

Then, I got to watch my brother Yorick, Cyra, and their friends graduate. And if that wasn’t enough, Yorick earned his place on the C-Squad, an elite fighting squad, while his friends earned their place on the Alpha and Beta squads. Just as exciting was seeing the creation of the newest squad, the squad suggested by Henry’s mate, Piper. It’s a rotating squad for those who can’t be full-time elite fighters, now called the Delta Squad.

Everything was perfect. We cheered, we congratulated our family, and we were making plans to go have lunch when Alpha Michael called the elite squads back to the stage.

“Jude, what’s going on?” I ask.

Jude and I have been dating for months. I definitely feel a pull to him that I haven’t felt, well, ever. I used to hope that I’d be mated to Henry, but I’m glad he found Piper. They are perfect together and I hope that when I turn eighteen, I’ll find out that Jude and I will also be perfect for each other.

“I don’t know. Let’s wait and see if they call us up,” he says, watching the stage.

“Hacker, Sphinx, come on. The Council is requesting our presence,” Hijack says, waving us over.

While there are three members of the tech team, not including me, Hijack has always come across as the non-official leader of the group. Maybe it’s because his skills are above that of Tracker's and Hacker’s, or maybe it’s because he’s so intense, but whatever the reason, all of us follow his lead.

While I spend the majority of my time with Hacker, I also spend time with Tracker and Hijack. Their skills are different than Jude’s and I’m learning a lot by watching all three of them. But, if I’m honest, I prefer working with Jude. Not only is his work more interesting to me, but he’s my boyfriend and up until a week ago, I was still in high school and could only see him on the weekends at Yorick and Cyra’s pack. Now that school is over and I’m about to graduate, I’m hoping to spend more time with him. Everyone knows I’m going to the Academy next year, Jude and I have also planned a trip to his pack so he can introduce me to his family. I’m equally nervous and excited about that trip which is coming up next week.

Jude puts his hand on the small of my back, gently leading me to the stage. When we get there, Alpha Michael and Alpha Nevaeh are there to address us.

Alpha Michael says that there is a problem that directly affects Cyra and her Gamma Lila.

“I just received a call from Councilman Edward. Stellan McDonald has escaped from prison. He’s on the loose and we haven’t been able to find him. Alpha Squad leaves immediately to begin the hunt. Beta Squad, you’re on alert in case there’s a sighting of him anywhere. Delta Squad, you’re on alert in case anyone gets injured and we need a stand in. C-Squad, you will assign rotating squad members as guards for Alpha Cyra and Gamma Lila, effective immediately.”

I gasp and I feel Jude go rigid beside me.

“Why do we need guards in our pack, especially if I’m there?” Yorick asks.

“Since Stellan has been in jail, he has consistently threatened two things if he ever got out. To kill Alpha Cyra and to force Gamma Lila into a mate bond with him.”

I look at Jude, then at Hijack. I can tell they already knew about this.

“How did he get out?” Yorick snarls.

“We’re still looking into that,” Alpha Michael says, looking over at our team. “Tech team, we need you to look at the cameras inside the prison to find out how he escaped and if anyone helped him.”

“On it,” Hijack says.

“We’ll also need someone working with Alpha Squad in case they find Stellan. I don’t want to lose any of our elite squad members because we weren’t careful,” he says.

“My mate is out. She’s pregnant and I’m not putting her or my pup in danger,” Raptor says.

I smile at Tracker. She’d told our team that she was pregnant because it impacts all of us.

“Hacker?” Alpha Michael says.

“I have vacation planned next week, Alpha. I’m happy to go with the Alpha Squad until then. I’d also like to request that Sphinx join me. This would be a good learning opportunity for her,” he says.

Alpha Michael looks at me. “Sphinx is still underage. She’ll need parental permission to go with you,” he says, looking at Raptor. “You’ll also need to approve it, Raptor, as her lack of training could put your operation at risk.”

Raptor looks at me, assessing. Thankfully, I’m an Alpha female who has three protective brothers, four if you include Henry, a very protective father, and an extremely protective brother-in-law. Because of that, I don’t flinch and I don’t look away. Instead, I lift my chin to show him that I won’t cower down, not now and not during his operation.

I see his lips twitch before he looks at Jude. “She’ll be under my operation, but you’ll have to take full responsibility for her and her actions.”

“Done,” Jude says without hesitation. I fight my smile and the cheer that wants to burst out of me.

“Then you just need parental permission,” Raptor says.

“My family is here. I can get that now,” I say.

“Good. Once you have that, Sphinx, you’re in. Hijack, you’ll be here, working to get us information while Hacker and Sphinx are boots on the ground. Tracker, do what you do. And congratulations,” Alpha Michael says.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Let’s get to it,” Alpha Michael says, dismissing us.

“Go talk to your family. I need to talk to Hijack,” Jude says.

I nod and turn to where my family is watching, waiting to hear what’s going on.

Rather than going to my father, I head straight to my mother.

“Mom …” before I can get any words out, my father, Quirin, and Connor are there.

“What’s going on?”

“Stellan escaped. He’s threatened to kill Cyra and force Lila into a mate bond,” I say. All three men, and my youngest brother Wade, growl loudly.

“We were about to move out now that Yorick and Cyra have graduated, but we may need to postpone that, Yara,” my father says.

“Of course, Warren. We’ll do whatever is necessary. Yorick and Cyra’s pack is close enough that I can make day trips here while the new medical center is being built,” she says.

“Good,” he says, already focused on Yorick and Cyra who are talking to their Gammas Landon and Lila. Even from here, it looks like Lila is shaking. I’m not surprised. Stellan lied to her and planned to keep her as his dirty little secret on the side, even after trying to force Cyra into a mate bond.

“I’ll be right back,” Dad says, absentmindedly kissing mom on the side of her head before heading over to talk to Yorick. Connor and Quirin are right behind him.

“Mom, I’ve been offered the opportunity to work with Alpha Squad on this. I really want to do it, but I need parental permission.”

She was watching the others approach Yorick and Cyra, but now she turns her attention to me.

“That sounds very dangerous, Wendy.”

“Mom, this is what I want to do.” I shrug. “If it turns out that I can’t do this job, isn’t it better for me to find out now, rather than five years from now. I know I’m not an adult yet, but I’m only a few months away from turning eighteen. Please, Mom. This is important. I helped them before when Stellan and Arden were trying to force Cyra into an alliance bond. I want to help them now.”

She looks at me and smiles, cupping my face in her hands. “You may look like me, but you have so much of your father in you.”

“Is that a yes?” I whisper.

She nods. “I’ll talk to your father. He won’t be happy about it, but I’ll help him understand that this is necessary for you. But what about your trip to Jude’s pack next week?”

“We’re still going, although I imagine we’ll be working while we’re there now. This is too important. I mean, unless we’re very lucky and catch him before we leave, but I’m not counting on that. Alpha Michael made it seem like Stellan has become obsessed with both Cyra and Lila.”

She nods. “Then it will be good for your father to stay on in their pack. He’s always been an amazing, powerful fighter.”

I know my mother well enough to know that she didn’t realize she was saying that last part out loud. It doesn’t matter, because I know she’s right. My father may be getting older, but no one comes after his family.

“Excuse me, Wendy, what’s going on?” I turn to see Cyra’s cousin.

“Oh, Alpha Arman. You probably want to talk to your cousin. Do you remember Stellan, the Alpha who tried to force her into an alliance bond?”

He growls. “Yes.”

“He escaped from prison. He’s threatened to kill Cyra.”

“Not going to happen,” he snarls.

“No, it won’t,” I say.

He walks off to join the others taking to Yorick, Cyra, Landon, and Lila.

“Mom, will you come let Alpha Michael and Raptor know that you’ve given your permission for me to join the Alpha Squad?”

“Of course,” she says, linking her arm with mine and walking up to the front with me.

As we pass Hacker and Hijack, Jude turns to look at me. I nod, letting him know my mother is going to give her approval. He smiles and winks at me.

I know this will be my first real assignment and I know it will probably be very scary, but I can’t help but be excited that I’ll get to spend even more time with Jude.

The more time we spend with him, the more my wolf, Dasha, and I are sure that he’s our mate.

: Caution

Jude

As soon as Wendy went to talk to her parents, I walked up to Hijack. I already know that he likes Wendy, even though he knows that we’ve been dating. He’s still hoping that she might be his mate, but I seriously doubt it. My wolf, Saggio, has never been possessive of a she-wolf in our life. But with Wendy, he’s ready to fight to the death to protect her and Dasha.

“Do you really think it’s a good idea to bring Sphinx along on this job?” he asks when I walk up.

“Better for her to have me there with her, than for her to get thrown into her first job alone like the three of us did,” I say, including Tracker in the conversation.

“He’s right, Hijack. And let’s be honest, Wendy connected the dots for Alpha Stellan, Alpha Christer, and Alpha Arden before we did.”

“Her brother asked her …” Hijack begins.

“Yes, he did. And this is still personal to them and to her. This is her family, so she’ll be even more invested in finding Stellan. We all agreed that we’d bring her into this team because she’s got good instincts, Hijack. This is just another way to hone her skills while she’s still learning. Besides, we all know that she’s soft. She needs real world experience if we’re ever going to trust that she can do this job properly,” I say.

My words sound harsh, but they’re true. Wendy has lived a charmed life. She has some of the most powerful Alphas in the country protecting her. No one would dare hurt her and no one would dare touch her. That’s great, except that this job can send us into the dregs of society, exposing us to the worst of humanity and werewolf kind. There’s a good chance that Wendy won’t be able to deal with the reality of this work. I hope she can, but I’m also not willing to wait until she has to face it alone to see if she can. In this environment, I can protect her, guide her, and help her if she needs it. It’s why I’m pushing for her to join me on this job. She needs to know if she can do this, and so do we, as her team members.

I watch as Hijack’s jaw muscle twitches. “For the record, I don’t like it. I think she’s too inexperienced for this kind of job.”

“How was I any different, Hijack?” Tracker asks.

The reality is, she wasn’t. The difference is, Hijack didn’t have feelings for Tracker and he does for Wendy. Being that we’re two Alpha males, it could become a nasty battle. But we’ve worked together for three years and Wendy is underage. Neither of us is willing to throw away our career for what might be. I’m not sure how Hijack justifies it for himself, but for me, Wendy is my girlfriend. She’s with me by her own choice. So, I can wait until her eighteenth birthday when I’ll know for sure if I’m her mate or not. For now, I’m happy to keep things just as they are.

“Fine,” he finally concedes.

I hear Wendy walking behind me and I turn, seeing her walking with her mother up to the stage where Alpha Michael and Alpha Nevaeh are talking to the elite squads. She nods at me and I wink at her. Now I get her all to myself for two full weeks. This first week will be work. It will be tough, but I’d rather work with Wendy than not see her at all. The second week will be mostly vacation, meeting my family, and letting her see that my family is a lot like hers. I know she’s nervous about it, but I also know that once she meets them, they’ll love her as much as she’ll love them.

My family is over the moon that I’m bringing someone home. It’s the first time I’ve ever done that. But then again, I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Wendy is special. Even when she’s disappointed in herself, like her previous inability to spar effectively, or she feels inadequate when it takes her a long time to find something that would take me a few minutes, she’s still a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

Plus, her face is so incredibly expressive. She’s beautiful in a natural way and she doesn’t try to pretend to be someone she’s not. Of course, being an Alpha female, she’s got a lot of confidence and sass, and I fucking love it.

“Do we have any idea how the fuck Stellan escaped from prison?” I ask, changing the subject.

“I’m going to find out,” Hijack says. “Like Alpha Michael said Tracker, you find him, I’ll figure out how it happened so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again, and Hacker and Sphinx will work with Alpha Squad to track him down and make sure he hasn’t set any traps.”

Hijack looks past me. “While Vivienne is here, I want to talk to her. Those she-wolves she's been working with are starting to go missing really fast. I need to know if she’s seen or heard anything that can help us pinpoint who it might be that is taking them.”

“Yeah, and I still haven’t gotten a hit on Alpha Patrick, Alpha Peter, and Justine, which is frustrating the shit out of me. Where the hell can they take a pregnant she-wolf without putting her and her pup at risk?” Tracker growls.

“Maybe they don’t care about her,” I say. “I mean, Patrick was willing to let her go mate with Alpha Henry and then let his pup be raised as Henry’s heir. Who the fuck does that?” I ask.

“And don’t forget we still have Alpha Glenn and Alpha Grady’s trials for murder and Gamma Nathan’s trial for trying to buy Vivienne from Alpha Glenn,” Hijack says.

“Why does it feel like our workload tripled when the Hills entered into our lives?” Tracker asks.

“Well, there’s a lot of them, so maybe that’s it. Or maybe it’s just because they fight against injustice, so when they see it, they don’t stay quiet about it like others do,” I say, not willing to say anything against the Hills. Wendy’s family are all good people.

“And remember, Alpha Warren is set to take Councilman Edward’s place on the council, so you might want to reframe that way of thinking, Tracker,” Hijack says.

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I just meant …”

“We know what you meant, Tracker, just be careful. He’s new and may not understand like we do,” Hijack says.

Personally, I disagree. I think Alpha Warren would understand and probably feels the same stress about his family that we do, but I’m not going to say that. Time will tell what kind of councilman Alpha Warren is, especially since his daughter and son will be part of the elite teams that serve the council.

Wendy comes skipping up to me.

“I’m all set,” she says, giving me that smile that is full of sunshine.

“Perfect, let’s go see when we need to be ready to leave.”

“Tomorrow morning at eight o’clock. Raptor and his team are going to the prison today to talk to the warden and see what information they can get. I think they’re planning to take you and Hijack with them, but I don’t have any clothes or a computer with me. Thankfully, both are at Yorick’s.

“Do you need a ride, or is your family taking you?” I ask her.

She turns and we look at her family who are obviously organizing to protect the pack and specifically Alpha Cyra and Gamma Lila.

“Wendy,” Alpha Warren calls, waving her over.

“I guess you’re going with them. If you need a ride back in the morning, let me know, I’ll come get you,” I tell her.

“Okay,” she says softly. I can tell she doesn’t want to leave me any more than I want to leave her.

“Text me later?” I ask her.

“Since I’ll be packing my computer and can't IM you, I definitely will,” she says.

I lean in and, because we’re in a very public place, I kiss her gently, not deepening the kiss the way that I’ve started to with her.

I hear her whimper that our kiss was too short and too sweet, which only makes me smile. We’ll have plenty of time for kisses in the next couple of weeks.

“We’ll talk soon,” I say, holding her hand until she pulls it out of mine as she walks away.

“You’ve got it bad, Hacker,” Tracker says.

“Yeah, I do. But I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

: Pack Safety

Wendy

I am so excited that I can hardly stand it. Not only do I get to go on a week’s vacation with Jude next week, but this week, I get to go on a mission and work directly with him and the Alpha Squad.

As I leave with my family, talk is all about how to keep Cyra and Lila safe on their pack lands. I know Yorick and Cyra were going to have a party this weekend, and all our family and their friends were invited, but now, that party will most likely be postponed.

“At least everyone was already planning to be here. I can have the kids help protect the pack boundaries while Yorick, Cyra, Connor, Quirin, and I come up with a plan to make sure the pack is secure and Cyra and Lila stay safe,” my father says as we drive.

I’m not completely sure if he’s talking to my mother, or to himself. The older I get, the more he mumbles to himself like my mother does, especially when he’s under a lot of stress like he is right now.

“Dad, Stellan doesn’t have any resources to get into the pack. As long as the patrols are doing their job and monitoring the borders, he won’t be able to get to Cyra or Lila,” I say.

“If there’s a will, there’s a way, Wendy. I thought the same thing when Simon came for your mother. He not only breached my borders once, he did it twice and killed countless pack members trying to get to her,” he says.

“You also didn’t have the security system that Hacker and Hijack installed in Yorick and Cyra’s pack, Dad. That is a secondary system that has alarms that will let them know if it senses anyone coming across the borders. It was meant to fill the gaps of the patrols. Stellan doesn’t even know about that. As long as that system stays online and the patrols are diligent, Cyra and Lila will be safe.”

A part of me wonders how Alpha Cyra feels about all of this. She’s an Alpha who fought for her position and more than Yorick, she’s leading this pack. It makes me wonder if my father and brothers will be taking her words into consideration, or if their worry for her and her safety will cause them to try and override her. Cyra may be getting her toughest challenge as an Alpha pretty soon – facing off against the Hills, Bishops, and the Harris’s when they're in protective mode. And that doesn’t include her own cousin, Alpha Arman. He’s another man who is all Alpha and obviously very protective.

I look out the window of the car. In some ways, I’m glad I won’t be around to deal with the stress and strain of what the pack will be feeling. My family can be very intense when someone they love is at risk. Having two people they love and care about at risk is making the aura in the car heavy, and that’s with me being an Alpha and my mother’s calming presence.

“Wendy, I’m going to need you to run patrols while we get things settled. I know your graduation is next weekend, but between now and then, I need you to help out,” my father says.

“Ummm,” I say, looking at my mom.

“Wendy was recruited to go with the Alpha Squad to help track Stellan and I approved her going,” my mother says calmly.

“Excuse me?” my father says, his eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror. He knows I bypassed him for this very reason. “You’re underage,” he growls.

“Which is why I needed parental approval. This is important, Dad.”

His lips press together tightly. “Nothing is more important to me than my family.”

My mother reaches out and lays a hand on his arm. “Warren, in a couple of months, she’ll be assigned these missions, and we won’t even know about it. This way, we know that Jude will be watching out for her while she’s on assignment.”

“I will know about it when I’m sitting in my council seat, Yara.”

“And I would hope that your concern for our daughter would not cause you to restrict her ability to grow into the strong female technological wizard that she could become,” my mother says. It’s said kindly, but her words are serious. My father’s position on the council could keep me from going on missions which means I would never truly be a part of the tech team.

When my father’s gaze returns to the road, I feel Yvonne elbow me. I glance at her and she gives me a thumbs up.

When we get to Yorick and Cyra’s new packhouse, I go to the room I use when I’m here in this pack. Our family now has rooms in three different packhouses, Connor’s, Quirin’s, and Yorick and Cyra’s. Soon, my siblings will also have rooms at the Academy in the new Medical Center they are building for my mother so she can begin teaching medicine to elite students who show an interest in being doctors.

I won’t need one of those rooms because I’ll have my own, having been given early admission to the Academy. I’ll be one of only twenty students who will be admitted this year, and I’ll be on the freshman floor, even though the rest of my team will be on the floors for those who have remained at the Academy to extend their education and work for the council.

I’m excited to have Sadique, Cyra’s cousin and Zach’s new mate, as part of the freshman class as well. It will be easier for them now that Zach was accepted into the Alpha Squad. Usually, the squads move off campus, but I’m sure they will make an exception for Sadique and Zach. They did for Tracker and Raptor until they found an apartment that was in between the Academy and the squads’ main quarters in the council building.

I pack the clothes I need for the week. Raptor gave me a general idea of what I’d need, comfortable clothes in dark colors. I already set aside clothes for the week that Jude and I will go to his family’s pack. It’s a good thing because, between this mission and my graduation, I’ll barely have time to shop or pack for our trip.

Once I finish that, I join my family and offer to patrol overnight. My father only allows me to patrol for a few hours, knowing I have an early morning and potentially a long week ahead of me.

When I finally get to my room, it’s late, but I told Jude I would text him.

Me: How’s it going?

His response is instant.

Jude: Slow. They had a riot, but we’re not sure if it was staged or just a lucky break for Stellan. That’s how he got out.

Me: Are you still at the prison?

Jude: Yes. I’m thankful you aren’t here. This place is awful.

Me: It doesn’t help that you and the team put several of those individuals in there.

Jude: Nope and they all know who we are. It’s been lots of fun listening to all the horrific things these inmates want to do to me and Hijack if they ever get out.

I shudder. That sounds scary.

Me: I’m sorry you’re having to deal with that. Are you safe?

Jude: Yeah, we’re safe. It’s just … gross. There’s not really a better word for it. How are Yorick and Landon?

Me: I feel like I’ve entered Fort Knox.

Jude: Good. That means you’re safe and I like it when you’re safe.

That makes me smile.

Me: Where am I meeting you tomorrow?

Jude: Back at the Academy. I’ll see you there at eight.

Me: I can’t wait.

Jude. Me either. Sleep well and have sweet dreams.

It’s hard not to have sweet dreams when they’re all about Jude.