bChapter /bb251 /b

Cyra

Yorick and I got up early to get breakfast so we could meet with the Tech Team before sparring ss. Hijack apparently has information ito /ishare with all of us.

Rather than meeting in the library, we’re meeting in Hijack’s room. When we arrive, I realize that third year students have muchrger rooms than we do as first years. However, even with the added space, Hijack’s room is filled with so muchputer equipment, it’s still difficult to find a ce to sit. His bed is shoved against the wall like it’s an afterthought to someone who forgets to go to sleep and needs a ce to fall into when they’re so exhausted they can’t stay awake any longer.

While the room is cluttered with equipment, it’s spotless and there’s an almost perfectionistic structure to it. I have no doubt that Hijack knows where every bit of equipment is and could ess it within seconds if needed. From the look of it, he’s already set up the video equipment and turned a monitor to face the room. I’m guessing that’s where we’ll be interacting with Yorick’s family.

Tracker and Hacker are there when we arrive. They’ve set up their own stations with their ownputers on either side of Hijack’s desk. Once Yorick and I are seated, Hijack connects to the video call. On the monitor in front of us, the faces of Hacker, Tracker, and Hijack instantly show up. We can’t see Hijack over the mountain ofputer equipment that he’s sitting behind, but it’s weird to see Tracker and Hacker on screen and in my peripheral vision.

“Testing one, two,” Hacker says. I hear his voice through the monitor and in the room.

“I could hear you,” Wendy’s voice says a moment before her face shows up on the screen. “Good morning, everyone.”

“Wendy, does Dad know you’re on this call?” Yorick asks.

“She’s part of the team. We’ve been instructed to keep watch over her and we’re training her so she’s ready to start working with us next year. This is a learning opportunity for her and doesn’t interfere with her school schedule,” Hijack says as if this exins it all and Wendy’s Dad isn’t part of that equation. I nce at my mate, knowing how protective he is of his sister. Hijack lifts his head over the equipment to look at Yorick, making sure there’s no further argument.

“She’s learning what we do. She’s not participating in any part of this that crosses legal lines. We won’t have her start that until she’s officially on campus next year,” Hacker says.

“I get to do illegal stuff?” Wendy asks excitedly.

.I watch both men’s lips twitch while my mate growls softly. “Wendy, you’re not helping,” he growls just as three other videos connect to the

call; Alpha Connor, Alpha Quirin, and Alpha Henry. Alpha Warren is sitting beside his son.

“Wendy? Where are you?” Alpha Connor asks as he joins.

“In my room. I was invited to joinb,/bi” /ishe says defensively. Oh boy.

“Are we ready to begin?” Tracker asks, cutting through the argument that was not doubt about to begin.

Connor looks at their father, but neither says anything more.

Tracker turns to Hijack and nods.

“Okay, I have been in contact with the loan shark, who goes by the ridiculously boring name of Sharky. He doesn’t care why we want to buy out the loan as long as he gets his money.”

“Has Alpha Christer paid off any of the principal?” Alpha Quirin asks.

b40760 /b

15

“Not quite fifty thousand dors,” Tracker says.

“That’s it?” Yorick asks.

“That’s a lot considering how much interest he’s paying.” Quirin says.

“So, what’s the n?” I ask. “You buy out this debt and then what?”

“A lot of that will depend on you, Cyra,” Alpha Warren says.

“The first thing I think we should do is call the note on Alpha Christer,” Quirin says.

“What does that mean?” I ask.

“It means, I tell him that he has to pay me what he owes on the debt effectively immediately. I’m assuming since this was created through a loan shark that the note can be called at any time?” he asks.

“That’s correct,” Hijack says.

“Do we have the terms of the buy–out agreement?” Henry asks.

“I’ll send it to you now,” Hacker says. “But Hijack and I havebed through it making sure that there wasn’t anything that could be held against you or us in this buy out. Just as long as it’s a one–time,plete payment, it’s clear. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Not a problem,” Quirin says distractedly. It looks like he’s pulling up the agreement and looking it over.

“What are you doing, Daddy?” I hear a little girl’s voice ask. Without ncing away from the screen, Quirin picks up a gorgeous little girl around three years old and puts her on hisp.

“Daddy’s taking down a bad man, Kaylee. Want to help?”

“YES!” she says excitedly.

“Say hi to everyone,” he says, his tone still distracted as he reads through the agreement.

“Hi Wen–Wen! Hi, Gwanpa! Hi Connor. Hi Henwy. YORRIE! Uncle Yorrie’s on the TV, Daddy!” she says excitedly.

“Hey beautiful. Are you sparring hard? I want to see your new moves the next time Ie to visit,” Yorick says to her.

“Yes. Who’s that?” she asks, pointing to the screen. Quirin’s eyes flit to where she’s pointing.

“That’s Alpha Cyra, Uncle Yorrie’s mate,” he says, before going back to reading.

I swear I feel sweat pooling around my temples as the little girl assesses me through the video monitor. I wave at her, but she doesn’t wave back.

“Do we like her?” she asks her father in a whisper that everyone can still hear without taking her eyes off of me.

Now it’s Connor, Warren, and Henry’s turn to hide their smiles. Quirin doesn’t bother to hide his.

“Yes, we like her. Well, I love her,” Yorick says, pulling me into a hug and kissing the side of my head. “You’re going to love her too, Kaylee.”

“When do I get to meet her?” she asks seriously, like she needs to see me in person before she makes a final assessment about me.

“Damn,” I hear Tracker murmur.

b“/bNext time I visit, I’ll bring her with meb,/bb” /bYorick tells her.

“Who are they?b” /bKaylee asks, probably asking about Hijack, Hacker, and tracker. Quirin does a quick round of introductions and when he bgets /bto Hacker, he grins at her.

“You should think about a career in the Council, young Alpha. They like people who can interrogate others like you can,” he says to her.

“I’m a warrior, like my Daddy,” she says seriously.

“Yeah, you are,” Quirin says proudly, kissing the side of her head.

“You know when the Council gets wind of her, they’ll be putting her on the ‘to be watched‘ list as well,” Hacker tells Quirin.

“I’m sure she and her twin, Kendra, will both be on their list. But my daughters will always be allowed to choose their own path in life. I’m good with this agreement. Henry?” Quirin says.

“It looks good to me too,” he says.

“Connor? Warren? Any concerns?” he asks.

“None for me,” they both say.

“Okay, pull the trigger, Hijack. I’ll set up the wire transfer right after this call.”

“Who’s the bad guy, Daddy?” Kaylee asks, watching her father as he types out something on hisputer. I can hear Hijack typing as well and I’m assuming their setting up the buy out.

“A man who is trying to keep Alpha Cyra away from Uncle Yorrie,” he says, still distracted by what he’s doing. I’m impressed with his ability to multi–task work and talking to his daughter who, at such a young age, seems like she’s following along pretty well.

I hear her soft, pup’s growl. I know it’s meant to be fierce, but it’s one of the cutest sounds I’ve ever heard in my life. “Then it’s ba /bgood thing she has us,” she says, confidently.

Quirin smiles at his daughter again and kisses the side of her head. “Yes, it is. We protect our own, don’t we, baby girl?b” /b

“Yes we do,i” /ishe saysb, /bcrossing her arms over her chest in a way that looks so simr to how I’ve seen Alpha Quirin stand that I know she’s picked it up from him.

. “Cyra, I know you have ss this morning. Hijack and I will get this done. Do you have any problem with me calling the note on Alpha

Christer?” Quirin asks.

“What happens if he can’t pay it? Twenty million dors is a lot of money,” I say.

“Then we bankrupt his pack, or he uses it to pay off the loan. How far away is his pack from yours?” he asks.

bI /bshrug. “It’s the next pack over from ours. There’s and gap in between, butb…/b”

b“/bThatnd is sitting idle. We could look into who owns it and you could buy it out, giving yourself arger packnd,” Hijack says.

“Larger packnd?” bI /bask.

Yorick turns to me. “If Quirin bankrupts Alpha Christer and buys out the pack, it belongs to him. We could buy it back from him and if we buy thend in between the two packs, that entire area would be your packnd after you take over as Alpha.”

“I don’t have twenty million dors,” say, frowning at him.

“Once you and Yorick are mated, you’ll be family, Cyra. We’ll figure that part out. But Yorick is right, you could expand your packnds, increasing the wealth of your pack after we remove your father from his position.”

“bIt’s /ba lot to consider,” Yorick says, watching me as my mind spins with the possibilities. He turns back to the video monitor.

“Can you hold off on calling the note, Quirin, give Cyra time to think through all of this?” he asks.

“Of course,” Quirin says. “Let’s n to talkter tonight.”

“In the meantime, we’ll begin erasing the documents that Christer and Sten have on your father from his records so that when you do call the note, he has nothing to hold against you or your father to force the alliance bond. If anything, he’ll be desperate to enter into an agreement with you where he can maintain his packnds and his Alpha title,” Hijack says.

“He doesn’t deserve that title,” I growl.

“No, he doesn’t,” Connor agrees.

“You’re right, Daddy,” Kaylee says, as we’re about to end the call.

“About what, baby girl?” he asks, pulling her in for another kiss.

“I think I like Alpha Cyra.”

For some reason, earning Kaylee’s eptance makes me feel like I’ve just passed a major hurdle.