The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

Chapter One Hundred Eighty–Three

QUINN

Flick

Damn it Charlie…

I feel Delilah tense behind me the moment the bell over the restaurant door sings with Charlie’s arrival.

“Charlie! We’ve been looking everywhere for you, ma boy, the old man says, his voice dripping with phony cheer.

Charlie’s face is a mask of fear. I can see him trying to control his reaction to the two men now carefully converging on him, but despite his valiant efforts to appear unfazed, he looks frightened as hell.

The dumbfuck, Elder Matthew’s son, smiles wide and fake, his teeth damn near twinkling in the sunlight, “The council has had a change of heart, Charlie.”

Fidgeting with his freshly bandaged forearms and holding a roll of gauze in his hands, he starts to back away until he stumbles, barely catching himself along the wall of the restaurant.

“Quinn,” Delilah whispers behind me.

Do they know how well you know Charlie?” I ask her as quietly as I can, my eyes trained on the father and son duo as they approach trembling Charlie.

“T–I don’t know,” she says. “Maybe not.”

“Stay in the car and unlock the backdoor for Charlie. Il take care of this,” I whisper.

“W–what do you m–mean?” Charlie stammers, the sweat on his brow easily visible with my enhanced eyesight.

“No!” Delilah growls. “They’re probably armed! Those weirdos always have some kind of weapon on them.”

I spin around to face her, still keeping my cars tuned into Charlie, as amile slightly at the worry in her gaze. “Try and trust me, Lilac,” I say, grabbing the back of her head and pulling her face in for a quick kiss, before I save her little admirer’s life.

Oh shut. That’s delicious.

Her breath hitches when our lips meet, and although it’s the quickest kiss shell ever get from me, that doesn’t make it any less powerful. The warm energy that sparks against my lips when they touch hers sends a pulsing awareness through me and I groan. Backing away from her, I gasp in amazement. So that’s what it feels Me… That’s how you know… Is it even possible to love someone you’ve just met? I’w think!–

yes, yes it is.

even a little confused as she watches me. She touches her hand to her mouth in wonder and I

felt it

is my mate. I know it… and soon… she’ll

backdoor,” I mouth

waist band. I can see its outline and the way his hand hovers over the area doesn’t bode well for Charlie. I approach them as silently as I can from behind, praying that Charlie doesn’t give

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Hundred Eighty–Three

to extend an invitation of membership to you after all,” young dumbfuck

guys are crazy! You turned my best friend against ime! I don’t want to be part of that, Yorie all nuts!”

Charlie’s shoulder. “We’re still gonna need you to come with us though. We have

Chulle’s terrified eyes. “Get in the car, Charlie. I’ll take

on

sitting in the car never factored in for him until, just now. It’s almost as if he does a double take before he

and keep all his teeth. The moment he said those words to me, I knew I was going to shake a few rocks from his mouth. Delilah distracted me from it for a moment, but I still intended to touch him up

Matthew hard enough

he races for my car.

reaching for Charlie and

catch my fish, snagging him by the back of his shirt and spinning him around like a ballerina before I send the full throttle of my fist into his grill. Now… the fact that I didn’t let go of the idiot’s shirt when I sent my knuckles into his mouth, probably made it quite a bit more painful, both for him and me, but I didn’t mind. The satisfying crack that I heard as two of his front teeth broke free of his gums was worth some ragged skin over my knuckles. Dumbfuck dropped

I say, as 1 kneel clown in front of the prick. The little bastard was dazed, but he was still conscious… pity, So I lean in close and say, “That’s for thinking you will ever touch my

son–of–a–bitch!” Matthew hollers and I hear a gun cock behind me, but I keep

Keeping a straight face, I leap inside my vehicle and yell, “Get down!” Which, thankfully, both Lilac and Charlie do. As I peel out of the parking lot a cacophony

God!” Charlie screeches from the back floorboard. “Those people are crazy!”

“I’ll tell you when you can get up.” Then, I dial Rain

et the call

over the loudspeaker

me,” Rainier

for a moment. The pain of my body as it attempts to push

says, suddenly alert.

I

was just shot at, in some backwater town on the Washington Oregon border,” I say as calmly as possible. “I need you to run interference with law enforcement just

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