The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Five GAYLE "I can't believe I'm sitting on the back of the very screature that tried to eatonly a couple of days ago," Delilah says from aboveI almost yowl a laugh at that, but I don't want to scare her into falling off so I keep quite. Delilah has a death grip on my fur and 1 probably should have spent a little more texplaining the how to's and the don't dos of riding a lion before I allowed her to hop on but I just wanted to be back at the cottage already.

Heading in the direction my brother went, I silently cursed my brother and his practical thinking. He must have kept to the creek, which means that I dont have a trail to follow. If the creek forks at any point down into the valley, there's always a chance that I might head in the wrong direction. I had no idea Quinn was planning to crash Cane's suicide mission, so I didn't really pay much attention to any landmarks on our way out Not to mention I was a little preoccupied with my shattered knee caps stitching themselves back together and all.

Fortunately, I see something up ahe I that is not only familiar, but givesa better idea of the Land Layout. The rickety bridge sits about a mile out. We must already be on the north side of it.

My paws begin to pound the earth with a bit more confidence, my step only faltering when Delilah starts to sing. Actually, I'm not sure sky is the word I should be using, but I'm not certain there is a word for the tuneless ear splitting treble coming out of her mouth. My nick jerks, my head twitching tically each tshe fucks up a note. I mean - holy shut shes pretty bad. If she gets any louder were going to be dodging dead birds as they fall from the sky.

"I can tell (where you ennind, it s wayyy ermuuuh I start. Know there is ann urthhha hurt errr uhhh-king in my hay-art. Ohhh, ohhh, uh I'm in the rubble my body needs a duh uh uhhip if you CAYYY HAYYY INNN "RAAAIVIVEKER?" I our and the screams then I shake her before she can belt out any more sonic abuse. For fuck's sake, she may have already weaponized my molecular stru are. The vibrato alone has my fangs pulsing. Had she been allowed to finish that verse of tinny medieval torture, something in my brain would have certainly snapped. In fact, I think my atoms are buzzing.

"What's wrong with you? Delilah snups. "You don't like music? I'm almost tempted to toss her ass into the creek and shift back into human form just to let her know how close I was to having a seizure, but instead, I hiss If she tries to sing in the car on the way home? Fil eat her.

Shaking the memory of her solo from my mind, I notice we're approaching the river and the rickety bridge. We're mere minutes from the cottage now and I want to jump for joy. In fact, I'm about to, but... something happens. A churning begins in my gut, sending waves of unease through my entire body. Tension ripples across my back and my fur spikes with urgency. I don't know what it is or why but I suddenly know I need to hurry.

Without giving Delilah even a second's warning, I leap out of the creek and onto the hard packed earth. My steps quicken and I lengthen my stride significantly. Instead of using my strength to ensure a smooth ride for Delilah, I'm using my power for speed.

When Delilah leans into me, huddling close to my neck like a jockey on the last stretch, I know she must feel it too.

Something is wrong.

I charge down the hill, leaping over fallen logs while dodging trees and trying to keep to level ground. My mind is racing nearly as fast as my legs as I tumble full speed ahead toward the valley below.

Out of all the lions of Blackjack Creek, I have always been the fastest. Ben the older lionesses, the ones that left to attend my father in 1/2 Chapter Two Hundred Twenty-Five Africa, are no match for me, Gryffin actually comes in close second, just ad of Tardora, which is pretty surprising considering he is a male. He would more than likely be the swiftest of us if he werent, bat he it, so her bigger than I am and thick with so much muscl that it weighs him down after only a few hundred feet of a sprint. Male lion shifters arent bom with the straits that females are. are built to hunt, stalk prey, and protect our young. They are built to defend a pride from within that pride. Should Gryffin ever be challenged by another male shifter for leadership, it would be his duty to fight for us. And if he lost... m of us would be honor bound to follow new leadership. Even if that new leadership took us away from the weaker of the two and the our homeland. But that isnt likely to happen because we are the only pride of lion shifters in all of Washington. That we know of. There are a few prides in California that we know of and a couple in Oregon. There are more than a few in Utah. However the east here aren't any lion shifters out there, it just means that we don't know them. We considered uncharted territory. That dorin probably should- "Gayle!' Delilah shouts from above me, breakingout of my useless mind chatter She's falling over the side ofand after a tiny frustrated mewl, I slow down so she readjust her death grip on my fur I knew you still wanteddead! I knew! Trying to make it look like an accident, are you?" Delilah tipes in my ear. "Well that's just not going to happen! Do you hear me?" I wish I could laugh for her, but the best I can manage is a snort. I pause in my steps to look beyond the creek toward the trees. I can s the root of the cottage now and I allow myself to get excited enough to growl.

"Lek!" Delilah yelps. "Don't fucking do that! I've watched a lot of AnimalPlepisodes in my life missy and I'm telling you right now, wont take much to makepee down your back when you scare me." Again I want to laugh, but decide to save my giggles for after this, when we have our mates and my brother riding halongside us and once again, I leap down the incline.

I've sailed maybe two feet when it hits me, a sharp slice of pain that cuts so deep it feels like my torso has just been severed. I yow! pain and my body convulses mid flight, sendinginto a tailspin that has the sun flashing across my vision and the precious carga whipping off my back How close were we to the bottom of the hull?

y vision doubles. My pupils quake left to right as if caught in the midst of a terrifying dream and I can't even remember, nor can I see as my melt into the eyesight of another. I don't E even feel it when I hit the ground on my back and go bouncing and rolling down the hill at breakneck speed. I'm plummeting for an entirely different reason. One that doesn't have a damn thing to do with the drop on this side the bank. No... I'm falling because Cane is.