The Pack's Doctor novel Chapter 98

Chapter 98: Letting Go.

Anna.

When the pack came back after attacking Alpha Brady's pack, they brought Dr. Stephens with them.

Dr. Stephens, the man I have despised ever since I started working in the hospital. Al of us, the nurses, knew that he was hurting our pack, but there was very little we could do about it. At the time, we were in a constant state of war. We could barely keep the pack going in between battles, and Dr. Stephens had been part of that problem.

We'd all turned to Savannah. She was younger than Erika and Katie, but she had more medical experience. Without any conscious discussion about it, we had all deferred to her when we questioned Dr.

Stephens' methods. Goddess knows, you never questioned him to his face. He'd berate you in front of anyone and everyone in the room. He was a horrible man for so many reasons.

As I stare at the man, who is currently on his knees in front of Alpha Warren, I remember the day I lost the man that I'm pretty sure was my mate. I was almost eighteen. I had actually volunteered to work in the hospital because I felt the draw to him and, as a warrior, he spent more time in the pack hospital than he did in the packhouse, just like most of them did. Back then, the packhouse was a place where warriors slept for a couple of hours before going back out to battle.

Theodore, or Teddy as he'd asked me to call him, had been a young handsome warrior. I made sure that every time he came in, that I was there to treat him.

"The best part of com ing into this hospital is seeing your pretty face," he'd say when he'd come in. I'd always blush and he'd always stroke his fingers over my cheek and smile in a way that made me think that he felt the same things that I did.

"How old are you, Anna?" he'd asked once.

"Seventeen."

"How long before you turn eighteen?"

"A couple of months."

"Hmmm, maybe in a couple of months, we can spend some time together outside of this hospital. Would you like that?" he'd asked me.

Back then, I didn't recognize the possessive look in his eyes. Now, I'm old enough and I've seen it enough in our pack that I know what it was.

He wanted me. Whether he already felt the pull of the mate bond, or he'd just set his sights on me, I'll never know. But I knew that I wanted him, too.

He was one of the ones that got an infection that Dr. Stephens didn't treat. I'd had to stand by and watch as Teddy came into the hospital weaker and weaker each time. The brightness, the light in his eyes that I had fallen in love with, eventually dimmed. He'd still tell me that the best part of coming to the hospital was seeing my pretty face, but the smile no longer reached his eyes.

And then the day came when he hadn't returned to the hospital. I'd been busy, we were always busy in the hospital, but I kept looking for him. He never returned from that battle.

I'd stood outside while we once again lit pyres for our dead and this time, I grieved for the man that would never be mine. It was the day before my eighteenth birth day.

I stood by the pyres as they burned. The warriors, exhausted and overwhelmed with frustration and pain at losing more friends and family, didn't stay long. Alpha Warren and Beta Charlie stayed longer, and the desperation coming from both of them was palpable. We were being killed off too quickly and our doctor wasn't doing anything about it.

I'd stayed out there longer than almost anyone else, crying for the man that I had fallen in love with. One other man was out there with me.

When he turned to go inside, he was startled to see me.

"Anna? What are you doing out here? Did you lose someone too?" he asked. I know I've seen him in the pack hospital, but I don't immediately remember his name. He's only recently turned eighteen and started fighting, so he hasn't come in as often as the others.

"I did. I lost the man I think was my mate. I would have known for sure tomorrow. What about you? Who did you lose?"

"My brother. He was a good warrior. But there's only so much that can be done with all this fighting. None of us has time to heal properly."

"Who was your brother?" If he was a good warrior, I'm sure I knew him.

"Theodore."

I turned and looked at him. "Teddy is your brother?"