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.

watches me. She touches her hand to her mouth in wonder and I

felt it

my mate. I know it… and soon… she’ll

the backdoor,” I mouth and she nods.

I see that Delilah is correct. Young dumbfuck has a firearm in his waist band. I can see its outline and the way his hand hovers over the

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One Hundred Eighty–Three

dumbfuck says smoothly,

proud of the little jerk. “You guys are crazy!

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

stop two feet behind them and meet Chulle’s terrified eyes. “Get

whirls on

when sitting in the car never factored in for him until, just now. It’s almost as if he

my gaze steady on the little man in front of me. The one who thinks he can threaten to breed my mate 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

Elder Matthew hard enough to steal his son’s attention for

him as he races for

Dumbfuck shouts, reaching for Charlie and missing

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

“Calm down.” I snapped. “He’ll live. He’s still got his molars,” 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 girl. And, just so you’re aware… If I ever see you anywhere near her, ever again you’ll lose more

hear a gun cock behind me, but I keep

smile even as 1 can see she’s trembling with fear. As I reach for the door handle, three gunshots sound behind me, but I pay them no mind. 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 of a few more bullets follow me, ricocheting off my back bumper and the

screeches from the

can get up.” Then, I dial Rain and let rings once and he answers.

et the call

the loudspeaker as

me,” Rainier says.

grunt, unable to speak for a moment. The pain of my body as it attempts to push out the three bullets I was

alert. “What’s wrong?

breathing, even though I know the

Oregon border,” I say as calmly as possible. “I need you to run interference with law enforcement just in case the assholes

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Nov 15