The Pack: Rule Number 1 - No Mates

Chapter Two Hundred Thirty-Two ROSE I've been treading water for what feels like days. Swimming in a vast black ocean under a moonless sky. Every so often a light flashes from somewhere beyond the waves, revealing what looks to be a rocky shore just ahead. The problem is, every tI head in the direction of the jetty the shadowed sky swallows up everything but the sea and whim the light flashes again, I somehow keep finding myself headed i the wrong direction. It's like I've been swimming in circles. My limbs are so tired, my body is on the verge of giving out. My movements are sluggish and heavy leavingbarely able to do much more than drift in any one direction. The weirdest part is, the water isn't cold here. As dark as it is in this place, you'd think the water would be freezing, but... it's not. In fact, it's warm enough to be bathwater Soothing hwater... the kind that puts you to sleep. Maybe if I just close my eyes for a while and flost until the next light fich finally make it to shore. Yeah... that's it, that's what I need. A little shut eye should do the trick.

1 feel myself sinking as I close my eyes, but I can't bring myself to worry about it. My body is just too tired to hang on anymore. I'm going to drown in this warm black ocean and all I can think is, finally con stop swimming. The moment I go under he is there and I am suddenly lying on the rocks as naked as the day I was born. "Hello," I whisper, sitting up and covering my body as best I can with my hands.

He doesn't speak, only watcheswith those vibrant blue eyes of his Eyes like identical sapphires that sparkle and shimmer depending on where he's looking. His neatly trimmed beard makes it hard forto read his face and I can't tell if he's happy to see that I'm awake or not.

"Where are my clothes?" I ask him, gazing down at my naked form and feeling suddenly self conscious.

Still, he doesn't answerand I have to wonder if I angered him somehow. Maybe he's tired of watching overand eager to leave.

I remember asking him not to leave me, but that was ages ago. When we were somewhere else. But where were we? Not in the ocean. Certainly not on this beach.

Gazing around, I forget for a moment that I'm naked and stand up to survey the landscape.

Suddenly a forest surroundsand I'm alone again. I'm wearing my brother's uniform and I have a rifle in my arms. Branches snap somewhere in the woods and I'm instantly alert, listening for any sound of the stranger. The man with the sapphire eyes. Why did he disappear? I need to know where he is before I can get into position. I don't want to make a mistake and accidentally shoot the wrong creature. I only want the lion. The one that tried to kill me. The sneaky, treacherous beast that crept up onand tore into my throat.

For sreason, the woods are too dark here forto see much of anything. I can't distinguish much beyond the first line of trees. It like being in that vast black ocean again, but this tthe trees are the barrier keepingcaged in.

"You can't hunt here,” the stranger says from behind me, the deep timbre of his voice sending shockwaves of pleasure to my core.

I gaze down at my rifle and it's gone. So is my brother's uniform. Now, I'm wearing a thin white gown A hospital gown, maybe.

When I look up again, he's there. Right in front of me. So close that I'm forced to take a step back just to see into his eyes.

"What is-your-name?" I ask him, but he ignores me, which makessad. He must be angry with me.

For a moment I have the absurd thought that I'm not what he wanted. That he'd prefer it if I had been someone else. Anyone else.

"You don't have to keep me," ~ 1 tell him. “1 can find my way home." "You no longer have a home, Rose," he chuckles almost cruelly. "Everything will change for you now. Everything 1/4 Chapter Two Hundred Thirty-Two 1 sigh, because deep down I know that it's true. We did something last night. Something we can't cback from. But I can't remember what it is, only that I knew it was a mistake when we did it.

I take a moment to study the stranger more closely. The man in front ofis a perfect specimen, built from all things muscle and power. There doesn't look to be an ounce of fat on him at all. Nope. Every line of his body and every inch of his deeply tanned skin bulges with muscle. It's no wonder he was able to savefrom that attack. The man is huge.

The attack! That's right! We stole the RV's last night and went hunting Things must not have gone well.

Did they get caught? "Where am I?" I ask the stranger. "Am I dreaming?" "You are," he says. "Are you ready to wake up now? Do you think you can handle seeingin person?" ne?" I ask him.

"Are you going to leave me?" | He looks down atand smiles. "Only if you kill me." I shake my head. "That's ridiculous, I would never hurt you. You saved me. You're my hero. My real life knight in shining armor. Why would I want to kill you?" He watchessadly, losing his smile as his eyes rove aver my body in a slow appraisal. "Would you give yourself to me, Rose? Can I have you?" I can feel my cheeks heat as my hospital gown is suddenly stripped away and I can feel hands on my body. Once again I'm left naked and although I can't see the hands that are on me, I can certainly feel them. What are you doing to me?" I ask him, although he hasn't touched me. Not as far as I can tell anyway.

He grins, standing back and raising his arms to showhis hands. "It's tto wake up now, Rose. Tto face the music. Are you ready?" I don't know I nod and his smile widens, “Good. I've been waiting on you a long time.

The sky above the forest begins to lighten and I start to spin in a slow circle, studying the landscape. But the trees that once surroundedare gone, leaving nothing but an open sky in their wake. It's like I'm back in that ocean again, with nothing but a vast open void to look upon. Voices seem to be coming from somewhere above me. Echoing and pulsing and... familiar.

"Your friend is here," the stranger says.

My friend? But I don't have any friends.

"Delilah" Delilah? She is not my friend.

Dehlah hates me.

as the one Thats Roses Gruber," I hear Delilah saying. "She's almost as much of a fanatic as Roman is. I wish I would have known she was you had here, I would have certainly requested she sleep on the floor," "That bad?" the stranger asks.

"You have no idea, Delilah snarls.

2/4 Chapter Two Hundred Thirty-Two A chons of gasps sound around me, Crop Pul I say that not found? es awake, someone exclaims. "Take cover." The voice belongs to an unfamiliar min with an obvious attitude.

the stranger cous and I feel warm fingers trace the side of my His touch is comforting, yet at the stelectrifying. Lighting spark after spark of awareness in places much lower than my face.

I open my eyes slowly and everything is a blur of color. Blinking rapidly, h reach up and rub at my eyes. Someone dabs at my face with a cold washcloth and 1 take it from them gratefully. Finally I can see.

Sapphire eyes gaze down at me. "Hey there, Rose," "Hi, I whisper. “Am I still in the hospital?" The handsstranger shakes his head uneasily. "I'm afraid not." "Why not?" I ask softly.

The stranger takes a seat it next toon the bed and my body instantly heats. My goodness, he is just as handsas I imagined he was He sighs, then says: in a serious voice, There is a warrant out for your arrest Rose."

"Shit, I curse, true fear falling over me. That quickly I'm wishing I hadn't decided to wake up 1 take a quick glande around and my confusion only grows. I'm in a bedroom. Not in fall "Where are we?" "You're in my boyfriend's bedroom, Hose," Delilah snaps from the opposite end of the room.

"I don't understand," I say, looking away from Delilah's mean glare tol settle my attention on the one person in the room that doesn't seem to hate me.

"Do you remember me, Rose?" my stranger asks. "From the hospital?" I nod. "And from the campground," I say, and it's true. For whatever reason, I can remember his lips on mine and his panic as I lay there dying He gasps. "That's... a surprise. What exactly do you remember offrom the campground?" I shrug, my cheeks flaming. "Your voice. Your... lips. I remember that you saved my life. I remember seeing you in the hospital too." "Okay, that's good," he replies, throwingthe sexiest, most panty sizzling smile that I've ever seen.

"But I dont remember leaving the hospital with you. Or how I ended up here." He chuckles nervously. "Well, you see, Rose... that's because I kind of... fort of... kidnapped you" Pardon me? What?