The Pack's Doctor

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Kennedy

I don't like feeling weak, I hate that Echo is silent, but I'm loving every minute of being inside Quirin's mind. His mind is just like he is, rough and rugged on the outside, but soft and gentle underneath, or at least it is towards me. And I like that a lot too. Now that I'm in his head, I can feel the difference in how he feels about me and how he feels about others, even our pack members. He loves them, in his Quirin way, but his love for me is all-encompassing.

'I like having you in my mind. I didn't think I would, but it's like walking through a meadow on a sunny day. It feels like the birds are singing, the bees are buzzing and butterflies are fluttering around, he says in the mind link.

I smile up at my mate. My mate who apparently makes Alpha quake in their shoes, but tells me my mind feels like something out of a Disney movie.

'If you tell anyone, I'll deny it,' he grumbles.

'Your secret is safe with me, my love,' I say, watching his sexy Quirin smile spread across his face. He'd been focusing on carrying me out to the waiting room, but

his gaze turns to me.

'You think I'm sexy?'

'Is that really a question?'

'Yeah, I guess it is.'

'You're the sexiest man I've ever met in my life. All that dark, broodiness that becomes raging passion when we're together is so hot I can barely wait to have you inside me again,' I tell him honestly.

He stops walking, leaning forward to take my mouth in a passionate kiss.

'I can't wait to be inside your body and your mind at the same time. As great as it always feels to be inside you, I bet it will feel even better, and I'm not even sure how that will be possible.'

I moan softly as he continues to kiss me. 'I can't wait either.'

When he finally pulls back, he smiles at me. "Let's get you healthy first. We both know I lose control when I'm with you and I won't risk hurting you or our pup," he says out loud but quietly.

"Does the pack know?"

"Not yet. I wanted you to be with me when we tell them. I'm going to make sure they know that I will be even more protective of you now," he says.

"Does that mean that you're not going to let me out of your sight?" I ask, pressing my face against his throat.

"When you're not in my sight, you'll be with Lane or another guard. I realized that one isn't enough. You need at least two, preferably three. So you need to think about who you want on guard duty. And you should know that Lane feels as guilty as I do that Jasper got to you."

"It wasn't his fault," I say as we walk into the waiting room. Everything else that I was going to say stops as those in the waiting room all stand.

"Hi, Luna."

"We're so glad you're okay, Luna.”

"We love you, Luna."

I d

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Everyone who is here says something to me, carefully approaching me. I'm not sure if that has more to do with Quirin's protective aura, their concern that I won't accept them, or just concern for my healing. Whatever it is, they slowly approach until I reach out one hand. They take it, one by one, and I squeeze their hands, telling them that I appreciate them being here:

When we finally begin making our way to the packhouse, we have an entourage following us. I look over Quirin's shoulder, talking to our pack members and catching up on what I've missed while I've been in the hospital.

"What happened with Lillian and her pup?" I ask Quirin.noveldrama

"Your mother released them. She's checked on them once or twice, but mother and baby are doing very well. I believe Lillian's wolf has already healed her, but your mother wants her to take it easy for a couple more days. They should be at the packhouse," he says.

As we approach, Beta Kier comes out to greet us. "Luna, it's so good to have you back."

"It's good to be back, Beta."

I feel the funny thought flicker through Quirin's mind and I smile, looking at Kier. "So, my mom likes you. Well done, Beta."

He smiles. "She's mumbled it a couple of times."

"If it came out of her mouth, whether she meant to say it to not, it's true," I tell him.

When we step inside the packhouse, everyone gets quiet, pushing forward until Quirin growls softly, warning them not to crowd me. He walks me through the crowd and I say hello to everyone, once again extending my hand to squeeze each of theirs, letting them know that I'm okay and that I accept them. Lillian and Terrance are there and I get to officially meet their son.

When we get to the omegas, I look at Quirin.

'I want to hug them,' I tell him in the mind link.

'Fine, but I'm not putting you down,' he says.

Susie comes to me first. When she takes my hand, I pull her closer, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

"Oh, Luna! We were so worried about you," she says, beginning to cry.

It's like that with all of them. They all cry as I hug them, and I know it's as

important for them to hug me as it is for me to hug them.

"We love you so much, Luna. We're so happy to have you back," Arianna says, as she hugs me.

After my pack, my family is waiting and they also give me a hug.

"It's good to see you awake, sis," Connor says, then looks at Quirin. "Did you tell her?"

"Not yet."

I frown and I'm about to ask, when the image of Connor and Quirin signing an alliance comes into Quirin's head.

Now it's my turn to cry. "You entered an alliance with Connor?" I whisper.

"I did. It's time for things to change and as my very intelligent Luna once told me, that change starts with leadership."

He turns to address the pack. "We have so much to be thankful for. Our Luna is getting stronger and is home with us. We, as a pack, have a long way to go to make our Luna proud of us, but I've already started making some of those changes. As your Luna said, I have entered into an alliance with her brother, Alpha Connor. That will strengthen the alliance that we already

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have with Alpha Henry as they are in an alliance as well. I know many of you have strong feelings about Alpha Warren. Any animosity between our pack and his ends today. If you have concerns or need to talk about it, let me know. I have had my own conversation with Alpha Warren to get the answers that I needed about what happened so many years ago. I'm sure that Alpha Warren would be willing to discuss your concerns as well, if you are willing to listen." Quirin says, turning to look at my father. He nods, his eyes taking in our pack members around the room. Through Quirin, I can feel that there are some that aren't thrilled with our alliance. Quirin makes a mental note of those individuals and I can feel that he plans to talk

them later.

"We will make our Luna proud of us. We will do whatever it takes to make her proud to be the Luna of this pack. My earlier comments about putting her first haven't changed," he says.

I've been watching him intently while he talked to the pack. He's such a natural leader and he's a good one in many ways. but this is the longest speech I've ever heard him make and through the bond, I can feel that it's the most important one to him that he's ever made to the pack. He truly intends to make this pack a pack that I'm proud to lead. I feel like my heart might burst with love for this man.

He doesn't look away from the pack, but he leans over to kiss the side of my head, acknowledging my thoughts.

"I will never again second guess my mate's intuition about what's going on in this pack. So you'd better make sure that you never give her a reason to doubt you. Now, your Luna needs to rest. I can feel her fading on me," he says, smiling at me. “Any questions before I take her upstairs?"

"Umm, it's not a question, but can I make an announcement?" Arianna asks, looking around and blushing brightly.

"Of course, Arianna," Quirin says.

. She clasps her hands together, her knuckles turning white as she takes a deep breath, then looks up at Kier. I smile, already

knowing what she's about to do.

"I've known that I was Beta Kier's mate since the day I arrived here. We, all of us, have come from bad situations and I was terrified to find my mate, so terrified that I almost left the pack. But Beta Kier asked me to give him a chance. He said he was willing to take whatever time I needed to get to know him and he's done just that. So, in front of the entire pack, I wanted to let everyone know that I accept you as my mate, Kier. And if you still want me ..."

She doesn't finish before she's in his arms and his mouth is on hers. The entire pack begins howling and clapping happily.

'You knew?' Quirin asks in the mind link as I sniffle through happy tears.

I look at him. 'You didn't?'

He shakes his head slowly. "You never cease to amaze me, Little Mate. Come on,

let's get you upstairs. I have a feeling our Beta couple is going to be busy

tonight."

He walks me up to the happy couple. "Congratulations!" I say, seeing that Kier's eyes are bright with unshed tears.

"Thank you, Luna. Thank you so much," he says, holding Arianna against his

side.

As we walk away, I hear the sounds of the pack congratulating Kier and Arianna. I

lean my head against Quirin's chest. The pack in alandy starting to fool different,

in a very good wo

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