The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

Chapter Seventy

DOMONIC

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1 stood there a long tafter Paul left. My mind dancing in circles. The new facing pain punching into my chest.

1 can hear Margo snoring in my room all the way from the front yard and | decide guest bedroom as soon as possible. | don't give a firck what deal | made

with her. 1 Put only for show, | need whomever’s watching to think that shes my mate. But

My dick stands for only one woman. And she post left with Paul.

The very sPaul I will be dealing with later.

wildement, |

Stomping behind the condo | take off my clothes and shift. Leaping over the back win and packhouse. To the place where my mother died. The ruins or

still there. Crumbling pim of rubble and stone. We own the never build there again, What used to be a community of Red Wolf Shifters and their families, is

now a picted gIt is the only place | ever got to speak to my mother. The only place | ever allow myself to grieve. And with Dravem pre, pid

Why couldn't have waited fast a day or two? | just want to hold her one last time. Just one

But reath, | know better. If | had done that, I never would've been able to let her g

Dravens cold words tumble through my head as I run and | push harder. Make your mother proud

God, that cut like a knife. A slash straight through my heart. What would my mother have said about what I'm doing! But I know.

© be happy. She might even be looking down on the right now and yelling from the Hemens.

1 know it was one of the lionesses who must have said something and I'm somewhat relieved. Even if Draven really does know that knows 1 have good

reason to be. At least | hope she does.

Then again, she did say she would never forgive me.

1 cup on the ruins and do a quick sweep of the area. Sniffing for any foreign scents, but the grounds are untouched. Despite the years and countless

rainstorms since that night, I can still smell the rancid aroma of charred Bish. Or maybe, it is just a memory that pla

anymore.

send a painful howl into the sky as | gto halt where the front porch used to be

hat it has ben

The longer | stand here, the harder it becomes to breathe and I lower the walls around my heart just barely,

hoping to feel ssense of Draven through the bond What | do feel nearly cripples me. Her sensations are that

strong

Betrayal. Hate. Vergrance. Those are her strongest emotions at the moment. For sreason, that knowledge

takes a little of the edge off. | ans I'd rather her be angry than be hurt. But | know, behind all that, there's pain. |

felt it when she slammed the door on us. When she was standing in front ofin my living crying. God. Those

tears of hers nearly killed me.

And now, standing here, her damning words are all that | can hear in my

head.

You're a War and a coward

Fuck. She's right. | am. But what's done is done. All | can do now is prepare for the killer with the trap I’m setting

and hope to gain Driven forgiveness when this ia

all over.

| hated lying to her and | hate that she has to leave. Especially without hearing what wished that | could say to

her

Because | love you?”

My wolf whines, the pain becoming nearly impossible to block and again | howl. The evergreen trees around me

loom like a shadow of

I'm so sorry, baby. | love you too.

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Chapter Seventy

DRAVEN

With one last look at Boat the hand from the window of the train | allow one fear one to roll bot and steady from

my yrs. Thank God the sky in rear today The dog seems to have vanished withi atram. But still, the beauty of this

place still peright heavily on my heart with every mile north we take. | gleter down

cof the city Hart wrote doen forand wonder Type of village it will be. Why is he no nues that 110 loom it

there? | guess we'll see. At least on the

Cazing at Imily who sits on the seat eat to me, | notice the is rubbing her chest and taking deep breathe as if

shes in skind of pain. “What's the matter, Am?

Her dark eyes shoot tonwand mine and | notice for the first tthat they're slightly with tears. Nothing” the

right. “I hat with | had a chance to say goodbye to

I rind. “Yeah. I'm sorry about that, but | pat conddoet a chance of him tailing the instation w

when we're supposed to be Inning on a plane.”

“I know. Her lig purse and the gas out the window. He didn’t wantanyway. He said that | disgusted him

anyway. It’s not like he’ll miss me. | need to past get

| shake my head. What the hell is wrong with these wolves? | know Koda in disgusted with her. | know itt And I'm

willing to be the entire pason Koda beat up Quinn that day was because Quinn had developed a little bit of a

crush on Emily. I'd bet money on it,

“You don’t disgust him, Em.” | whisper. He's just a big fat pay.”

She chuckles, smiling for the first tsince we left. “Well, this is kind of exciting. And it's nice to have a partner

for once.”

I grin. “It’sure as fuck in”

Pitting the pouch of my backpack, | think of the ten thousand dollars Bart sent us off with. At first, | refused it,

not wanting to accept any of what Domonic was trying to provide forto leave. But then Bart showedthat

it was actually coming out of his personal safe and | accepted it. Promising to call him onera month. Am | really

going to? | don’t know if | will. Because even within the space of few hours, my mind has been whirling with

questions about Domenic and the aching of my chest has only gotten worse. Even the bitemark along my neck

seems to be throbbing. | know if | call Bart at all, | be too tempted to ask about the bastard

Still, I can’t help but wonder what Domonic did right after | left. Despite that | promised myself that | was no

longer allowed to care. After a month or so my curiosity might get the better of me. Which is why I slid my cell

phone out of my pocket and left it under the bar. This way, none of them can contact me. The phone numbers |

need, | have plugged into my brain. | will get myself a new phone if | need one once Emily and | have found a

place to settle into.

“What's the nof the town again?” Emily asks.

1 sigh. “Something French,” | gaze down at the scrap of paper again and say, “Village du Loup Rouge.”

“Hmm, Emily murmurs. “I wonder what it

Not sure. Rouge means red and that's about all | know?

“Guess we can ask around when we get there. Hope they speak English.”

too,” | say, just as my neck starts to throb again. | rub my fingers over the bite mark, trying to soothe the pain. Something tell me, it's going to get

worse before it gets better.

“How long before we get there?”

“Three hours,” | say, remembering what Bart then to the villige.”

Ooh! Crown Mountain Sounds pretty.”

rt told me. According to Bart, we'll have to hire a cab from the Vancouver Station that will take us to Crown Mountain and

“Sounds remete!” | laugh.

Just then, the passenger in front ofturns around. He smiles, the blue of his eyes rankling. “Did you say

y you were headed to Crown Mountain?

I study him. He's older, but still exceptionally handsome. His dark brown hair is clean cut and his beard is artfully trimmed. He looks to be maybe ten

years older

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Willage of W

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