The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

The Pack: Rule Number 1 – No Mates

Chapter Two Hundred Ninety–Three

PAUL

Coasting down the street in my jeep, I’m acutely aware of the fact that Anastacia still does not have any shoes. The stores on the main drag don’t open for an hour, so I decide to take her to breakfast instead

Watching her face as she gazes out the window, her eyes lighting up with glee as we pass through the older neighborhoods, I can’t help but smile. She may be used to swamps and marshlands, but she likes this place, I can tell.

Good. Maybe she won’t hate me so much when I tell her she can’t go back to Louisiana,

What about her sister Paul?

She mentioned a sister didn’t she?

My phone chirps on the dash and I read a short message from Koda saying they’ve scouted the woods. It appears the hounds have taken off into the mountains heading toward Blackjack. Knowing Cane and Gryffin will be on the lookout for them is only mildly comforting because lion’s can’t scent other shifters the way wolves can, save for Cane. And being as how Cane is a new somewhat made shifter, who knows how long that will last.

“What are we doing?” Anastacia asks as we pull into a space at the ‘Land Ho Diner’.

The diner is a landmark out here. Set along the coastline, right next to the docks, it has an incredible view of the sea and the harbor. It’s also the one place in town you might come across every local inhabitant of the city. This is where law enforcement have coffee and the dockworkers have lunch, the rangers often stop in for dinner and the old biddies in town spread gossip like wildfire. It’s the heartbeat of this place that we love. Cozy and cute, homey and warm.

“We are going to have breakfast,” I tell her, snapping up my phone. “The shops don’t open for an hour at least.”

“Oh.” Her mouth falls open in a perfect oval, her full lips puckering up all plump and juicy as if waiting for my kiss.

“Would you like me to carry you inside?” I tease her, my gaze falling over the front of her sweater where I can see that her nipples are still as hard as little stone pebbles.

God, I can’t wait for the stores to open. I know exactly what color I want to see her in.

She smiles, her long black curls draping forward over her chest. “Are they going to let me in without my shoes?”

“They will.”

“Then I’ll walk in my socks,” she says smartly.

“The ground is wet,” I point out.

She shoves backward, falling against the seat in resignation. “Shit. Then you’ll carry me.”

4

“You say it like it’s a bad thing,” I whisper, my eyes falling toward her lap, traces of honeycomb floating my way.

I fucking love how aroused she gets whenever she’s in my arms.

With a chuckle, I step out of the vehicle and walk around to her side. Once I’m holding her again, I notice I breathe a little easier and a little deeper. The warmth and the weight of her, the feel of her heart beating next to mine… it’s all so soothing.

Stepping inside of the diner, every head in the place turns our way. Most of them smile brightly, waving or greeting me by name, but then

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Chapter Two Hundred Ninety–Three

there’s Charlotte Bodega, a waitress I once bent over the trunk of a Honda Civic, and she doesn’t look happy at all.

I smile at her anyway.

With a toss of her long brown hair and a flash of her dark brown eyes, she eyes Anastacia and then disappears into the kitchen.

“Well hello,” Kendall says, walking up from the back of the restaurant. Her hazel eyes glitter with mischief when she spies Anastacia in my arms and for a moment I almost turn around.

Pulling Anastacia’s soft body in a little tighter, I send Kendall a warning glare. Don’t fuck with me, K. Not today. “What are you doing here, Kendall? You’re working at the bar now. I happen to know just the tips you get there make your paycheck here look like chump change.” Anastacia swats my chest and I simply grin down at her.

then surveys the floor as if looking for the worst table she can find. “Hmm… how about I put you

you.”

lose my smile. “Don’t you

Anastacia asks, her eyes slanting suspiciously. “Who is Charlotte?”

squeeze her as she tries to scramble out of my arms.

wet inside,” she snipes, pushing against my chest until I grudgingly set her

girls some air,” Kendall giggles, smirking of the docks

and toward

at least she didn’t seat us in Charlotte’s

in

hers.

slides in and I take a seat next to her as opposed to across, smiling when she gazes at me warily. There’s a reason I want her right next to me, and it has nothing to do with the hounds that are out

menus,” Kendall says smoothly,

flip her off and throw back my menu. “I already know

with both. “Oh, my bad.

her breath as she opens hers and surreptitiously Much like she did in the back of

from me, closer to the window.

allow it, scooting in deeper, and pressing my outer

own.

to her ear, I whisper,

When she turns her head to bat her lashes in my direction, the sweet scent of honeycomb nearly drowns out my senses and her

have the steak and eggs benedict, How about

on the draw of her smile, but smile she does. “That sounds good. I

tiny thing like you, Kendall remarks,

answers with a blush.

staring at her. For some reason, I can’t stop. The cocoa of her skin just below her jawline beckons me and if

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Hundred

place I’d taste it.

up,” Kendall confirms, then disappears, much

looking away. “Did you have a thing with that girl

neck snapping back. Absolutely fucking not. One of my brother’s used to date her.

Anastacia replies, shocked. “Thank the Goddess, Could have sworn all that barking you were doing at her was some twisted form of flirting that you decided

mean you want me all for yourself,

leans in her scent almost has me panting. So entranced am I that I don’t even notice when her hand creeps up

licking her lips. “You already know the

stroke the tension in my cock, but I’m way bigger than most guys in this place and I know if anyone decides to look over, they’ll see me if I cream the table.

know. But facts, nonetheless.

won’t see me if I do it

control? Can I stop myself

not, but that’s not going

mugs clack down on the table so sharply I know who is there even before I hear

Paul, how are you? Long time no

snap shut and I swallow

fucking

It is. I

Chapter Comments

Rule Number 1 –

Two Hundred Ninety–Four

ANASTACIA

is pulled from Paul’s suddenly pale, discomfited features toward the place over his shoulder where a tall, voluptuous female sneers down at me. The look she gives me is haughty, and as she takes in my sweatsuit that is twenty times too big for me, I get the feeling she finds me

Big Bird, you don’t have to

and all that she has to offer, I realize her face somewhat resembles that of a horse. The wide open maw, the big teeth, long legs, knobby knees. The whole of her reeks Kentucky Derby and I don’t find her nearly as pretty as she apparently finds herself. Her lips are painted a bright, glossy red that is thick with the taint of whore when applied this early in the morning, and I’m willing to bet she puts it to better use come sundown. Yeah, I know I’m being judgmental,

be released. The energy is fiercely possessive and the vibe I am getting from this… person… is pissing off my magic. The air is crackling with animosity and when I meet her glare with one of my own she abruptly

lucky she got the please and I might just tell

her attention to the back of Paul’s head. “We had so much fun that night. I really was hoping

it with my own. Being as how this harpy seems to only care for him and refuses to fill my mug, I suppose she can refill his then. Taking a deep sip of the startlingly hot