Mountain Wolf Playboy (Daddy Wolves 0f The Wild Series Book 3)

by Serena Meadows

  “Why do we have to get up so early around here?” he asked.

  “It’s a long way back to Serendipity,” Jordan said.

  “You want to go back today?” Drew asked, surprised since their plans had been to stay for another day.

  Jordan didn’t look at him. “Everyone else is going home today,” she said. “Maggie and I still have a lot of work to do before the party next week; it might be good to head home with them. I thought I might ride with Maggie and Nick so we can go over some details.”

  Drew understood that Jordan was going with or without him, and anger flared to life. He wanted to tell her that he’d been wrong last night, that the reason he’d taken her to the old mill was because she was important to him, but Alex was sitting right there. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her across the camp away from Alex, who was watching them curiously.

  “What’s wrong with you?” he asked, suddenly angry and hurt that she was blowing off the night before.

  “Nothing, I’m just ready to go home,” she said, pulling away from him.

  “Fine then, we’ll go home,” he said and stomped off to find breakfast somewhere else.

  They were almost to the bottom of the trail and Drew had never been so relieved to see the end of a trail ride. Jordan had been polite but short with him the entire trip, avoided being alone with him every time they stopped, and his frustration level had reached its max. Alex had been silent the entire trip home, and he knew that he felt the tension between them, but couldn’t think any good way to explain it.

  So, when the barn came into view, he breathed a sigh of relief, but that relief was short-lived when he saw a group of men on horseback waiting for them. They’d been at the end of the line on the way down the mountain thanks to him, so everyone else was waiting for them too. It looked like a standoff in an old western movie, and he turned to point it out to Alex, then saw the look on Jordan’s face.

  “Oh, he can’t be here,” she said, pulling Justice to a halt as all the color drained from her face.

  “Jordan, what’s wrong?” Alex asked before he could.

  She looked like she was going to turn and head back up the trail, but she squared her shoulders and nudged Justice into a walk. “That’s my father,” she said, her voice full of fear. “He’s come to take me home.”

  Drew rode up next to her. “What do you mean take you home?” he asked, but Jordan just shook her head.

  “Don’t get involved, Drew. It’s fine. I knew he’d find me eventually,” she said, then looked over at him. “Promise me you won’t get involved.”

  Drew shook his head. “Not when you look so scared,” he said. “Jordan, tell me what’s going on.”

  “I’ll tell you what’s going on,” a voice said. “I’m here to take my daughter home so she can be married.”

  Drew turned and found the source of the voice: a middle-aged man seated on a very expensive horse right in the middle of the group. “And what if she doesn’t want to go with you?” he challenged, ignoring the gasp from Jordan.

  “She really doesn’t have any choice. She’s going to be married in two weeks,” the man said, dismissing Drew with a wave of his hand, then turned his attention to Jordan. “Get down off that horse and come over here right now. What have you done to yourself? You look like...well, I don’t know, a savage or something. Go clean yourself up at once and then we’re leaving.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  ***Jordan***

  Jordan was frozen in place, her heart hammering in her chest, her stomach full of knots. She’d known that her father would come looking for her eventually, but she hadn’t expected him to show up quite this soon or this way. He looked like he was ready to do battle, and that was the last thing she wanted, so she took a deep breath and started to get down from Justice.

  But then she realized that this was her last chance at freedom, that she’d never be able to live with herself if she didn’t fight just a little bit. She didn’t know where the strength came from, but it came from somewhere, filling her with power and giving her the burst of anger, she needed to stand up to her father.

  Staying where she was on Justice, she said, “I’m not going to get married in two weeks. I’ve told you before that I’m not going to marry that man, not now, not ever.”

  A dark look crossed her father’s face, and she cringed but stayed where she was. “You will do as you’re told,” her father said. “I’ve made a good match for you and the business. Don’t make me take you by force, because I will.”

  Jordan was so focused on her father that she almost forgot that Drew was sitting right next to her. “That’s not going to happen,” he said, nudging Gideon a few steps forward.

  She looked over at him and said, “Drew, stay out of this,” wishing she’d never opened her mouth.

  He looked at her and then back over at her father, who started laughing. “And who’s going to stop me? You and your ragged band of cowboys, ranch hands, and mountain men don’t stand a chance against my men.”

  Nick, who had been silently watching, turned to Ben and said, “Take the kids to the barn and help them unsaddle their horses and then keep them there until I come for them.”

  When Ben had led them all away and it was only the adults, Nick addressed her father. “We’re not looking for any trouble, but if Jordan doesn’t want to go with you, then we have no choice but to help her,” he said, his voice calm.

  Her father’s voice was equally calm when he said, “Jordan is my daughter, my property, and I intend to take her home and see her married to the man I’ve chosen. A formal engagement has been written, and tradition holds that she’s bound to that agreement. If you chose to get in the way, I won’t show you any mercy, you and your little camp will be destroyed.”

  “Did Jordan agree to this engagement?” Jake asked. “Has she signed the agreement?”

  Her father waved his hand in the air. “That makes no difference; she’ll do as I say, or you’ll all be sorry,” he said, staring at Jordan.

  Jordan knew she’d pushed things as far as she could and was just throwing her leg over the saddle when Drew said, “Well, I’m afraid Jordan has already agreed to marry me.”

  She let her leg drop back down and stared at Drew, who was staring at her father, his eyes full of challenge. They stared at each other for several long minutes, then her father asked, “Jordan, is this true?”

  Too shocked by Drew’s words to come up with a reply, she sat stunned, unable to answer. Her first instinct was to say yes, but she knew how angry her father would be, and didn’t want to bring his wrath down on Serendipity. “I...Drew...” was all she could manage.

  Then Maggie spoke up from behind Nick, “We’ve been planning the wedding for weeks. Drew and Jordan are going to get married tomorrow.”

  Now she was forced to turn and look at Maggie, who had a determined look on her face. Things had gotten out of control, and fast, but she couldn’t think of a way to stop them now that they’d started. If she told her father that it wasn’t true, he might take his anger out of all her new friends, and she couldn’t stand to see that happen.

  But from the look on her father’s face, she could see that it wouldn’t matter; he was angry and would take it out on anyone he could. “Jordan is coming with me, and none of you are going to stop me,” he said.

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” Marley said, moving her horse forward and staring directly at her father. “I’m not sure how you found us or how you got in here, but Serendipity has little patience for people like you. If Drew and Jordan want to be married, you will not interfere.”

  Her father looked at the group again, then smiled evilly. “I’d like to see you stop me,” he said, then snapped his fingers at his men.

  They started to dismount, and Jordan’s heart froze; she’d seen the terrible creatures her father kept at his beck and call. Nothing like the wolves she’d seen last night. She cringed knowing that she was going to be responsible for more than one death. But befor
e they could clear the saddles, Marley raised her hand in the air, mumbled a few words, and the horses reared, throwing the men to the ground.

  ***Drew***

  Drew watched both shocked and amused as the men were thrown into the dirt and lay there stunned. When they tried to rise, none could get past their knees before they were thrown to the ground again. Jordan’s father was just as shocked as his men, but was still on his horse, and he could see that the man realized it was only because Marley had allowed it.

  He backed the horse up a couple of steps, then spat out, “You’re a witch.”

  “And a very powerful one,” Marley said. “Now do we have an understanding, or do you need a little more convincing?”

  The man had the nerve to take his time deciding, but Drew knew that it was only a smokescreen. He was beaten, and he knew it. Finally, he asked, “How do I know that you’re telling me the truth? They don’t look like they’re in love.”

  “The wedding is tomorrow if you’d like to come,” Maggie said, and it hit him what he’d just done.

  He looked over at Jordan, who looked like she was in shock, and tried to get her attention, but she was staring straight ahead. “Jordan and I would be happy to have you,” he added, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “But for now, I think it’s time for you to leave.”

  Jordan’s father narrowed his eyes at them. “I’m not going anywhere until I see that you’re really married,” he said.

  “Then you’ll have to make yourselves comfortable in the barn; there’s no place else for you to sleep,” Nick said, a little smirk on his face.

  “The barn?” her father asked, anger blooming on his face. “I will not sleep in the barn.”

  “I’d like to remind you that you’re an intruder here who’s made threats against all of us,” Drew said.

  “I think we can make some arrangements that can suit us all,” Marley said. “Alex will come stay with us tonight, Drew will stay with Jordan, and you can have his cabin.”

  There were some murmurs of disagreement from the crowd, but no one spoke. “Jake and I will escort you to the cabin, where I hope you’ll remain for the rest of the day,” Marley said.

  “What about my men?” he asked, looking at the ground where they still lay.

  “We’ll let them rest for a little while longer,” Marley said.

  As soon as her father had ridden off with his escort, Drew jumped down from his horse and pulled Jordan down from Justice. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Jordan just stood there looking off into space for a few minutes, then she began to shake, and her bottom lip began to tremble. He pulled her into his arms, and held her tightly, wishing he could kill the man who’d hurt her so much. But then he realized that he didn’t really know what was going on, didn’t know anything about Jordan and her life.

  Looking down at her, he said, “I think we need to talk.”

  Jordan nodded. “But not here,” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  He pulled her back into his arms and held her as she cried. When her tears had dried, he saw the crowd had dispersed except for a few men who were guarding the shifters still pinned to the ground. Jordan pulled away from him, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and looked up at him, her face full of confusion.

  “Why did you do that, Drew? Now you have to marry me, and I know that’s not what you want,” she said, her eyes puffy from crying, but still the most beautiful he’d ever seen.

  Maggie came up to them then. “Let’s get you two into the lodge. Marley is going to want to talk to you,” she said, gently guiding them over to the lodge.

  As soon as they stepped into the lodge, he felt the soothing power of the murals, which sparkled in the late afternoon sunlight, seeming to dance in front of his eyes. Jordan must have felt it too, because she took a deep shuddering breath, then looked up at him and smiled.

  He led her over to a couch by the fireplace facing the oldest mural, his favorite and the most soothing to him, and gently pushed her down. “Let’s just sit here and wait for Marley, that way you don’t have to tell your story twice,” he said, sitting next to her and pulling her into his arms.

  It wasn’t long before Marley came through the doors, followed by Jake, Nick, and Maggie. They all paused for a second, looking at the murals, then came and sat down around the fireplace. Jordan’s heart started pounding in her chest when all eyes turned to her, and she remembered all the trouble she’d caused.

  Marley was the first to speak. “Can you tell us what’s going on?” she asked, in a gentle voice.

  Jordan took a deep breath, guilt almost paralyzing her. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t know this would happen. I thought he’d find me, and I’d just go with him quietly,” she said, looking up at Drew.

  “But you said you didn’t want to marry the man your father chose,” Drew pointed out.

  Jordan nodded. “But I would have,” she said.

  “Why?” Drew asked. “Why would you marry a man you didn’t want to?”

  “My father is a very dangerous man,” she said. “He’s ruthless when he wants something, and ever since my mother died, there’s been no one to protect me from him. The man he wants me to marry is twice my age and just as evil as my father, but he and my father are partners. I’ve never liked him; even as a little girl, he gave me the creeps.”

  He felt her shiver and wanted to punch something. “I’m here to protect you now,” he said, pulling her closer.

  Jordan shook her head, “I can’t let you do that, Drew. You don’t understand how dangerous my father is,” she said. “I appreciate the offer, but I think I should just go home with him and get married.”

  Drew wasn’t about to let that happen, even if it meant he had to marry Jordan, and he opened his mouth to say so, but Marley’s words stopped him. “It won’t matter if you marry him or not; your father will be back. He’s going to discover the power of Serendipity and try to claim it for himself,” she said in a strange voice.

  Chapter Seventeen

  ***Jordan***

  Jordan could only stare at Marley as her words sank in, and the guilt consumed her again. “But that can’t be true,” she said. “Oh no, what have I done?”

  Marley seemed to come back to herself. “I’m sorry, but it’s true,” she said, much calmer than Jordan felt.

  “Aren’t you scared?” Jordan asked her. “Those shifters of my father aren’t normal shifters; they’re...oh, I don’t know. He gives them something, he offered it to me once, but I refused, ever since then, he’s, well, it’s like he thinks I’m worth nothing to him.”

  Marley nodded. “I sensed it right away; it’s magic. I think your father found a witch willing to use a power spell.”

  Jordan looked at her, confused. “I don’t understand,” she said.

  “It’s a spell that ramps up a shifter’s power,” Marley said. “It’s black magic, which is forbidden and very dangerous.”

  Things just looked worse and worse. “And I brought it here,” she said. “Are you sure I can’t just go with him?”

  Marley shook her head, “That would be a useless sacrifice,” she said, then stood up and held out her hand. “Come with me; I want to show you something.”

  Jordan took her hand, feeling comfort wash over her, then looked back at Drew, who got up and followed them. “There’s magic in these murals; they tell the story of Serendipity, both it’s past, and it’s future,” she said, leading them over to the oldest mural.

  “Each painting tells the story of the people who lived here; just as each stroke of the brush captured their history, it also captured some of their power. Those of us who know of this power have always used it only for good, only to combat the evil in the world,” Marley continued, then began to walk down the wall toward the newest murals.

  “Each of us has found their place here in Serendipity, and you are on the path to finding yours. The mural has chosen you; it sees in you a pure heart and caring soul,” Marley said, pointing to a
painting that wasn’t finished. “You are part of the new beginning at Serendipity.”

  Jordan stared at the wall in shock, closed her eyes, and looked again. “It’s us,” Drew whispered behind her.

  She turned around and looked up at him, her heart falling when the color began to drain from his face. Looking back over at the painting, she hoped that she’d see something different, but there on the wall were three figures holding hands. In the center, there was no mistaking the face that looked back at her, because it was hers.

  Drew and Alex were on either side of her, but behind them, a dark shadow was closing in, and a wave of panic washed over her. She shivered as it threatened to consume her, but then Drew stepped up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

  She turned around and looked up at him. “You don’t have to do this, Drew. It was nice of you to offer, but I can’t put you and Alex in danger,” she said, feeling a stab of pain at leaving Drew.

  Drew reached up and framed her face with his hands. “I’m not letting you go with him. You heard Marley; it would be a useless sacrifice. We’re going to get married tomorrow then get rid of your father,” he said.

  She searched his eyes. “But what happens after that? He’ll be back.”

  “And we’ll be ready for him,” Drew said. “He’ll be sorry if he comes back to Serendipity.”

  Jordan looked over at the wall again and saw that the dark cloud had already begun to shrink, then back up at Drew. Marley cleared her throat and said, “I’ll leave you two alone.”

  Before she knew what was happening, Drew had scooped her into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. He kissed her until she was breathless, and her body began to throb, then she pushed him away. “Drew, that wasn’t part of the deal,” she finally said when she found her voice.