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.

she watches me. She touches her hand to her mouth

felt it

is my mate. I know it…

mouth and she nods.

his 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

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Hundred Eighty–Three

dumbfuck says smoothly,

guys are crazy! You turned

is a shame you feel that way, Charlie, Matthew says, closing his hand over Charlie’s shoulder. “We’re still gonna need you to come

behind them and meet Chulle’s terrified eyes. “Get in the car, Charlie. I’ll take care

on i

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

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 before we drove

Matthew hard enough to steal

races for my car.

reaching for Charlie

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 like five

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

Matthew hollers and I hear a gun cock behind me,

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

from the back

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

et the call

loudspeaker as

to me,” Rainier

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

suddenly alert.

though I know the two humans in my car

just shot at, in some backwater town on the Washington Oregon border,” I say as calmly as possible. “I

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Fri, Nov