The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Two HARTLETT low in the brash just behind the The long branch that divet i 4 golden for in the trees above the camper Quinn is tanding on. cout from the massive trunk of a redwood, it at least ten feet up from the roof of the RV But the damn thing is nearly as mantive as a tree itself. Its weighted, I can tell. Whir meant Goose is probably prowling over the top of the damn thing, eager to make a meat out of one of those hunters Creeping in closer, I hear Domonic's growt, signaling the rest of us towhen he does Melting against a fallen tree trunk that is nearly the exact shade of my russet colored cost, I count the offenders. My muscles tense when I realize one of them is female.

Fucking Christ. What the fuck is a woman doing with these guys? The Lions will kill her without second thought. I know it. Their hate for hunters runs much too deep. They wouldn't give a shit if one a ten year old. Well, okay, maybe they would. But as far as they're concerned, female hunter, male hunter - it makes no difference to them. In natural lion prides, the females are the hunters. Shifters and naturals aren't so different from each other. Even though as shifters, we're basically more advanced, we still maintain our basic animal instincts. Especially when in that form.

And me? I'm not gonna hurt a woman. Not even if she had a Glock full of silver bullets to my head. That would be my ending I suppose. Because my instincts are to protect the opposite sex of every species.

As far as my brothers are concerned... there might be a few that feel the sway that I do, but there are more than a few that don't Rainier for instance. And Domonic. If the shoots at them? She's going to get hurt. They might not kill her, but they aren't going to leave her a trigger finger that's for sure.

Damn it. Now I have a choice to make. I can either join in the fight with my brothers and our allies and simply ignore the female, or I can shes go straight for her, grab her attention, and hope to lead her away from the fight. The problem with that logic is from what I can see, probably the easiest kill. Meaning someone might decide to take her out early just to get her out of th way. I refuse to let that happen. So...... there's only one thing left to do.

Im going to have to get their attention before the attack. Which means, once again, Domonic is going to be pissed.

Before I can change my mind, I slide deeper into the dark of the woods and caround on the opposite side of the line of hunters. I'm facing Quinn and the girl has her back to me. Her hair is tied back in a long lustrous braid. It's thick, like a rope, and the color of maple syrup. The elaborate winding tail of it falls well below her plump round ass. She's thicker than a hunter should be, thats for sure, but that doesn't mean she's weak. She just may not be as agile as her companions are.

Quinns sudden crouch on the roof tellsthings a head turning my way.

sare about to happen and before it does, I let loose with a howl that has every hunter's Good. Here t they come.

QUINN When a long howl sounds from the dark of the woods straight ahead of me, I tense, shaking the camper a bit andalmost giving myself away.

Martlett, t, what the fuck are you doing? The male hunters scatter forward and head straight into the trees and my eyes cut to Domonic who suddenly isn't there anymore. I snarl and growl as loud as I can, then watch as Ted's back stiffens and he turns to facefrom fifty feet away. The instant he spieson the top of his daddy's RV, he prepares to shoot.

That's right Gherkin, don't be afraid to huntright here in the parking lat.

1/3 Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Two 847011 * sudden thenight hasscanding the western side of the campground. There are people in the older RVs that I'm sure have no connection to Ted and his cronies, Shit, I shouldert be up here. I leap though the air and toward the woods just as a feral, thundering roar seatters the leaves from the trees. Shot rings out somewhere behindas my paws nimbly touch ground. BOOM POP! BOOM! POPT Chat, these hunters are idiots! Arent they even the tiniest hit concerned for what might happen should one of the other campers cout? Drom 1 they realize here many different laws they are breaking right now just by shooting within the campgrounds? Reckless endangerment, attempted murder, assault, you nit and Rainier will pin it on.

Cronching love, I slither through the grass, my sights set on Tod as he calmly reloads his rifle. His eyes are twitching back and forth and I Incre he's wondering where I've disappeared to, but he'll know soort eriugh. Ten feet from his back, I ready myself to pounce. My plan is to keep silent until right before and on him. I want him to know four, but not until it's too late. Just as he locks in his ammo, I shoot Into the air. When in motion, natural wolves are too fast for most humans to hit. Wolf shifters are ten times faster and make it nearly impote Freemer, within all species exceptional creation can occur. So when I'm hit across the ribs, not once, but twice mid-leap, I know it it was the fucking woman. Fuck! The first hit had my body tumbling to the right and the second sentinto an aerial tailspin. I crashed into the trees so roughly that i heard a few vertebrae crack before I thudded to the ground below.

Fuccccckkkk. That burts and the healing is not going to be a cakewalk either How did I forget the never ran into the woods? It must have been planned for her to stay posted here, though God knows why.

fying dead appears to be my only option for the moment. I can hear Ted laughing and trying to congratulate the female, but the only sand coming from her is the reload of her weapon. Jesus Christ! She's a regular Rambo.

An extremely feline snarl greets my ears and I gaze up to find Gayle staring down atwith arrogant green eyes. I growl out a fuck you and she buffs then melts back into the grass. A terrified scream reverberates through the trees from twenty yards away, followed by the unmistakable sound of Domonic's attack growl. He's got one, wherever he is.

Fully prepared to lay here for the next thirty minutes that it normally takes to heal, I close my eyes. How funny would it be for them to putin their trailer dead, only to haveresurrect and rip them apart as they celebrate? Im seriously considering that outcwhen I suddenly feel the excruciating pain of the bullets popping out of my ribs. What the hell? That was quick. Then, my vertebrae are knitting back together as my ritis crackle and snap back into place. Holy shit! It can't have been more than two minutes since I was hit. Two minutes? I've never healed that fast, ever. What the fuck? A low growl of approval leaves my chest when I hear Ted booted footsteps heading this way. Oh yeah. Karma's a bitch little Gherkin. Cand getTed's arrogant voice floats down from above, "Fucking A, Rose! This bastard is nearly as big as a bear. wolves eat out here?" "Little blond hunters, I hear the girl say with a laugh.

Or a horse. What the hell do the Interestingly enough, I find her comment rather funny, especially since that is precisely what I'm about to do. Ted kicksand I hold myself stiff as a board so that he'll think that I'm dead, but that's when he notices something on my coat that I never even thought to shake off "What the..." he begins, reaching down to pick something up off my chest.

The bullets. The fucking bullets were just sitting on top of my ribs.

He reaches down cautiously this time, and begins patting my body where my fur is stained with blood. Shit, he's searching for my wounds And when he doesn't find any...- 2/3 Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Two "Hey Roset" he shouts, right up next to my ear. "Chere and look at this!" Okay. So he is as stupid as I thought. He hasn't even confirmed that Fra dead yet and he's screaming in my ear.

He yells again, "Rose! Cbut that's as far as he gets before a savage our tears through the trees and a lioness has him pinned to the ground, Tvrdoru 1 leap unto my feet and watch Ted's eyes bulge when he notices that I'm standing. Taedora has her claws sunk deep into his shoulders, her maw inching closer and closer to his neck as he struggles against her weight.

"Hooooosssseeeee! ho screams, as tears pour from his eyes.

Two feet away, I spot Ted's rifle and take the cool metal between my teeth, snapping it apart at the joints. It drops like a scattering of coins just as I hear the sound of a rifle sliding back.

Shit! Rose!

The sound cfrom beneath Ted's trailer and even as my head whips in that direction, I know I won't be fast enough to stop her from shooting. So I choose the next best option and jump, sending my weight barreling into Taedora just as the shot goes off. BOOM! POP!

Taedora snarls as a bullet tears through sfur and a bit of Desh, but it's just a scratch. She'll be okay. We tumble to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs, but are back on our feet just in tfor another bullet to whiz past my snout. BOOM! POP! Jesus! We might need to kill her after all.

I don't know what kind of rifles they've got, but they dust not be the best, because the female is reloading again.

This time, I don't wait, but neither does someone else,

Cold and deadly green eyes reflect off of the campsite's light posts tellingGayle is right behind Rose and closing in quickly. She's down low, creeping forward like the apex predator she is and poor Rambo' is too busy watchingwhile reloading her firearm to notice. Gayle is only a foot away from her now and as I race forth and once again, leap onto the roof of the camper.

"Goddamnit!" I hear the little sniper shout as she attempts to drog herself forward.

ze over the other side of the vehicle, I see half of Gayle's body is already under the trailer. So when I hear Rambo start screaming, I know she's as good as dead. 2 I really really hope that the hunter girl isn't Bartlett's mate, he really deserves something good, worthy of his kindness. and obviously in shape to run