Free Society Rules by Katherine Whitley Page A

polite, and the perfect gentleman, he had left scores of bemused and frustrated women in his wake, for as long as he could remember.
    He tried his best never to lead anyone on, but women always appeared to be up for the challenge of the seemingly “unobtainable”. They became ensnared in his eyes, and bound by his voice. It was comical at times, actually.
    Batting away these unwanted images, he jogged lightly toward the parking lot, hoping the girl did not try to follow. People were always drawn to him, and he normally didn’t mind playing the game . . . acting the part of the good-natured loner. Today, it was just too much of a project. His mind was elsewhere, daydreaming about the beautiful face that he could truly see, not just his mind’s image, but her actual face, seen for the first time at close range.
    His fists clenched as a shameful burst of a powerful emotion shook through him.
    She is my Equal  . . . my rightful mate. She must be made to see! She must . . . . Jackson unclenched his fists in remorse.
    “She must . . .” he whispered out loud,” . . . be free to choose her path.”
    The Society trained part of Jackson . . . the contained and controlled part, knew that her choice was his law. If, after he made contact with her, she chose to stay in her current life, he would have to honor her wishes.
    But in his blood ran a genetic predisposition toward winning. A predisposition further fueled by six years of training with the SAS while in the UK. He was simply taking what belonged to him.
    And although he didn’t think of her as a material possession, he did think of her as his, and therefore it was all quite righteous.
    The idea that she was returning to her house tonight, behind closed doors with her false mate brought about a cold feeling of sickness and, much to his chagrin, fury.
    “If he touches her . . .” Jackson’s fists were back, his body tense. But then, he had touched her, hadn’t he? They had children, so the answer was pretty self-evident.
    If there had been no children, he could have enjoyed a nice hot cup of self-delusion, and pretended to believe that they had played house for ten years, but only as platonic friends.
    But no.
    They had laid together, made love together . . . made children together. Jackson felt the blood drain from his face, leaving him deflated and cold.
    Well, get over it, old boy, he told himself despondently. She didn’t even know you existed. Why should she have remained celibate?
    He considered the idea that this was his own fault. His warrior mode kicked up a little, as he chastised himself.
    If you had been more competent and found her earlier, you wouldn’t have this problem, would you? His brain pointed out helpfully.
    With a fierce exhale, Jackson delivered a burst of speed, sprinting just to burn off a little frustration.
    Regardless, he had found her now, and he was going to proceed from here. Nothing he could do to change the past. She was still perfection in his eyes, and one hundred percent pure as well. He loved her, and by extension, her children who were part of her.
    Flesh of her flesh.
    All of them were now entered into the Jackson Allen protection program. Unfortunately, nobody knew about the program’s benefits yet.
    Jackson finally reached his car and dove into it, slamming the door behind him quickly. He sat low in the seat, prepared to wait.
    I hope she doesn’t try to have me thrown in jail for stalking, or worse, sic that husband of hers on me, he thought, with a nervous laugh. He would hate to have to hurt him, wouldn’t he?
    He knew he was going to follow her . . . show up wherever she happened to be, for as long as it took to convince her to talk to him. She simply had to let him.
    He stretched his legs out in front of the seat, and shook his head at the irony. Here he practically had to beat away every other female, run from them even, to avoid their unwanted advances. But the one he wanted . . . the