Wilde About Her (Wilde Pack Series)

by Daniels, Angie

  Denim stood there feeling like a complete idiot. She had made an absolute fool of herself. Staring out the large storefront window, she watched him hop onto a motorcycle and roar out into the street. A thrill of pleasure ran through her. There was no way in hell someone that gorgeous lived in Justice, Texas.

  For once, Denim hoped she was wrong.

  2

  Denim was back.

  Hell, Jax had known she was back in Justice long before he’d walked into the diner. He’d smelled her in the parking lot and the scent had only gotten stronger and more intense as he had drawn closer. And as soon as he’d stepped inside Pappy’s Diner, there she was. Long, dark wavy hair, skin like caramels melting in a saucepan, mesmerizing brown eyes, and then there were all those curves. Holy shit! Denim had more curves than he’d find driving his bike along Deadman’s Lane. And when she had reached over for his food, the sight of her round ass shot right down his body and lodged into a hard, tight knot at his groin area. Even now, he throbbed with burning need.

  Jax growled inwardly. How was it even possible that after all these years, he was still attracted to her? He’d thought, hoped even, that over time those feelings would have died and yet even after eight years the emotions were stronger than ever. He had needs and wants, and despite every reason why Denim was all wrong for him, his body was aroused, yearning for her. But the most powerful of all, was her scent. God, her smell wrapped around him like a fist, driving him insane.

  All the more reason why I need to stay away from Denim.

  He pushed his foot down on the gas, driving his Harley over the speed limit. At twenty-one, he’d a reputation for being reckless and somewhat of a bad-ass. Hopefully, Denim would hear the rumors and stay clear of him. He sure hoped so because there was nothing good that could ever come of them. She was a human female, and as a Were, Jax had no intentions of mating with her. Doing so would be dangerous for both of them. Not that she would be the first. He’d been involved with humans before, but none of those females had ever looked or smelled quite like Denim. And then there were her intense eyes… he’d never felt that drawn to a Were female and that was the problem. His father, the alpha, and the Wilde pack leader, expected his three sons to marry a Were and join alliances with one of the other great werewolf families. Uniting with another pack would make them powerful and stronger in so many ways. Jax knew that. Hell, his father had been drilling it in his head since he was old enough to understand, and yet he refused to settle for less than he believed he deserved. He didn’t have a problem with an alliance, but it had to be with the right Were female. There needed to be more than mere physical attraction, and as much as he wanted to please the pack, in the end he was too stubborn to honor the tradition.

  Jax concentrated on hugging the pavement and detoured onto a side road, climbing up the hill into one of the most secluded areas of Justice. As he rode his bike, he tried not to think about the drama he had caused the pack by calling off his engagement to the heir of the wealthy Chadwick pack. But with all the tension between the two families, how could he possibly think about anything else?

  Chadwick Distribution was the largest exporter in the region and financially would have made a perfect match for their pack. The Wildes had been breeding prize horses for generations and the Chadwicks were responsible for transporting those beauties in America and overseas.

  On Jax’s thirteenth birthday, it was decided he would marry the alpha leader’s only daughter Troy. After going through puberty and finding his manhood, he’d bedded dozens of women, both human and Were, and yet none of them had ever made him feel the way he had felt with Denim. None of them ever made him forget his childhood crush. He dreamed about her. Had been obsessed with her. Therefore, a month before his wedding, he called off the engagement. Troy had reacted like a raging lunatic, scratching, clawing, biting, all the more reason why she wasn’t the one for him. Troy’s father was so insulted, Chadwick threatened to cease exporting the horses. Now it was time to negotiate a new contract, but because the tension between the two packs was thick, Jackson Wilde, Sr. thought it was best to take a little time to allow things to calm down before negotiations resumed.

  To Jax’s relief, he and his father had a long talk and despite the alpha’s disappointment of a failed merger, he’d given a smidgen of a smile and said, “Son, you’ll know when you’ve met your mate. She’ll smell like no other has ever smelled and your body will react in ways it has never reacted before.”

  His father had been right, and yet nothing had prepared him for what he’d felt walking into Pappy’s Diner. It was like he’d been slammed over the head with a two-by-four.

  Jax’s fingers tightened around the handles until his knuckles turned white as he attempted to push the encounter aside. Denim wasn’t his kind and the sooner he remembered that the better. He was destined to marry a Were. Just not Troy.

  As soon as Jax reached a fork in the road, he turned right and climbed up the long winding, dirt road. A few hundred feet further ahead, he spotted a high wrought-iron gate to Wilde Ranch.

  Seven years ago, his father had expanded and purchased land on both sides, surrounding the property, allowing more privacy. It was a great place for shape-shifting and allowed plenty of room for their horses and Weres to roam.

  The gate swung inward and Jax drove up the driveway toward the house. The road was paved and on either side the land was lush with trees and brush. He slowed as he neared the house, pulled around to the side and then down through one of the underground tunnels that led inside the main house, and parked his bike. After climbing off, Jax grabbed the sack with his food inside. He walked over and pushed past a rubber flap—which was nothing more than a giant doggy door—and stepped up into a great room. He wasn’t surprised to find his brothers sitting at the table.

  “Hey bro,” Chayton greeted, his powerful forearms crossed over his chest. “Where you been?”

  Jax shrugged, then lowered onto one of the chairs at the round wooden table. “I went for a drive, then decided to stop by the diner.”

  Aidan held up a five-by-seven card and quirked up a small smile. “Kyle sent us a postcard from Paris.”

  His cousin Kyle Wilde had horrified the families when he married a human female. Unlike him, Jax wasn’t interested in mixing breeds, which was why he had to stay the hell away from Denim.

  “He and Dania are hoping to start a family,” Aidan added as he flipped his long blond hair out of his eyes.

  “Are they planning to come back and live with the pack?” Jax asked as he pulled the burger out of the bag.

  Chayton shrugged, reached over and grabbed a fry before he could stop him. “I don’t think they have much of a choice. Until the pack feels comfortable they can trust her, I think her freedom is limited. Graham and Morgan are in Paris right now keeping an eye on the two.”

  Jax shook his head. That was way too much drama.

  “I wonder how they are getting their freak on with those two standing guard on the other side of the door?” Aidan teased and then starting making loud panting noises.

  “TMI,” Jax mumbled, as he took a bite of his burger. Medium rare ground steak. No one made them like Pappy. Jax caught Chayton staring at his food. “What?”

  He was leaned back on the chair, golden eyes fixated on his burger. “How come you didn’t pick up two more?”

  Jax immediately slid the burger out of reach. “Because I wasn’t planning on dropping by the diner. I just did.” He had gone into town to pick up batteries at the convenience store when he’d smelled Denim all over that parking lot, taunting him to go inside the diner. So, he’d whipped out his cell phone and ordered takeout, because he had to see her. And the second he did, he was swamped with desire. As soon as he’d watched her pouty lips move, images had filled his mind of her mouth stroking him, urging his body to a shuddering crescendo. While he chewed his burger, Jax tried to tamp down the fantasy the best he could, but the animal within wanted to make those thoughts a reality. But Weres
mated for life. And a human mate was not an option.

  Growing increasingly frustrated, Jax wasn’t sure what the hell he intended to do about the physical attraction. Maybe there was nothing he could do but ride out the storm raging through his loins. He couldn’t get her off his mind. His body was aroused, his cock throbbed.

  Enough dammit!

  As he took another bite, Jax released a long slow breath, attempting to calm his wolf. It was already becoming crystal clear, staying away from Denim wasn’t going to be easy.

  3

  Denim was used to loud music playing and people laughing, not crickets chirping. She hadn’t heard the sounds of country living in years and hoped to have kept it that way. Unable to sleep, she slipped into shorts and a tee, then slid her feet into a pair of sneakers she intended to wear while working at the diner, and headed for the staircase. The large farmhouse was so quiet Denim was afraid to breath as she tiptoed down, skipping over a warped board on the third step, not to disturb Pappy.

  Quietly she walked across the wooden floor into a large country-style kitchen. Everything was just the way her grandmother had left it. Red and white curtains hung from the window and everything was decorated with apples, from the clock hanging over the stove to the canisters lining the long butcher-block countertop. Denim grabbed the flashlight from under the farmhouse-style sink, then slipped out the back door out onto a screened-in porch and strolled across the lawn. A crescent moon was overhead, and there was just enough of a breeze to cool her damp skin.

  As she traveled up the hill looking over toward the forest, she remembered the last time she’d been to Justice. Grandma Bea was still alive. She had been under the weather most of the summer, but nothing had stopped her from baking cakes and pies with Denim to sell at the diner. While the baked goods were in the oven, she’d always made a pitcher of fresh-squeezed lemonade, then they’d hang out on the wraparound porch, sitting in rocking chairs while they sang songs or Grandma Bea would tell stories about growing up in Justice just up the road, a few miles from Pappy’s house. When Denim wasn’t spending time with Grandma Bea, she had worked at the diner, cleaning tables and filling water glasses. Sometimes she would even help in the kitchen.

  Those were the days.

  It was after spending an afternoon at the diner, Denim had returned to the house to find Grandma Bea lying unconscious on the kitchen floor. Immediately, she’d called an ambulance and her grandmother had been admitted into the hospital, only to never return home again. Denim’s parents came down and after the funeral, she went back to Tulsa. After that, she couldn’t bear the thought of returning to Justice to that big house and Grandma Bea not being there. Denim knew her actions had hurt Pappy’s feelings, but she just didn’t think she could do it and in the process she had convinced herself there was nothing left for her in Justice. But in a matter of a day she relived the slow-paced charmed of the town and its warm friendly residents and realized that maybe she had it all wrong. Justice had once been her home away from home. Pappy needed her, and selfishly, until she figured out which direction her life was headed, she needed Justice and Pappy as well.

  Denim pushed through the forest. She knew the area like she knew her way around Macy’s department store. As crazy is it sounded, she used to camp out during the summer with Quinn.

  Back in Tulsa she never would have dreamed of heading out into the forest, but in Justice, as she moved deeper within the trees, Denim felt a sense of peace she hadn’t felt in forever. Maybe it was just being hundreds of miles away from campus and her pathetic personal life.

  As she reached a tall oak, she suddenly remembered the treehouse built to look out over the rolling hills below. Grandpa once said he had built it for her father and Uncle Luke when they were younger. Denim smiled as she remembered how she used to dash out there and hide for hours whenever she was unhappy with the world and somehow being up in the tree always made things feel better. Oddly, she wondered if the treehouse still had that magic. Maybe it would have the power to make her forget her cheating boyfriend and skank ex-best friend.

  Denim climbed the steep hill, feeling the pull at her calf muscles with each step. Goodness, when was the last time she had worked out?

  Looking up, she searched through the trees and bush that had grown considerably tall and thick since she had last visited, and Denim spotted the tin roof up ahead. Sure enough as she stepped around a bush there it was, her treehouse, on top of a large oak tree with a trunk so thick she couldn’t put both arms around the base even if she’d tried. She walked over to the tree and tested the reins of the ladder that had been screwed into the bark, before she felt confident enough to climb. It took a little effort, but she finally managed to reach the top and pushed herself into the cramped space. It was funny how at one time the house had felt so spacious to her and Quinn and now there was barely just enough room for her, and her alone. Denim crawled over to the window and with her fist propped beneath her chin, she stared down the grassy hillside. Acres and acres of land for as far as her eyes could see.

  Shifting onto her knees, Denim swiveled the telescope and pointed it out the window. After all those years, she suspected the instrument was no longer functional and was amazed that it still worked. She turned the dial until her focus was clear and stared ahead. She had no idea how long she sat there staring out at nothing before her mind shifted to a time when she and Quinn thought they’d seen the boogey man. As she chuckled softly, Denim caught movement out the corner of her eyes.

  Wow!

  All of a sudden there were horses. Dozens and dozens of beautiful horses, galloping wild across the land.

  “Oh my!” she gasped and was happy to see someone had finally claimed the land. While she watched the horses, she imagined riding on the back of one. It had been years since she’d gone horseback riding. Maybe I’d get another chance. She would certainly ask Pappy questions about the new owner.

  Denim watched the horses until her knees began to hurt on the wooden planks and had just turned her head when she caught movement again. Resting her eye against the telescope, she aimed over toward the trees and saw something step out that caused her to gasp. It was a dog. No… it was bigger than a dog. A wolf maybe, except that it was the size of a horse. Denim blinked and blinked again, making sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. Nope. They weren’t. Sure enough the supersized dog was standing there at the edge of the forest. And then there was another. And another. Three total. All humungous in size. Denim couldn’t scream. She couldn’t move. She was mesmerized. Instead, she just stared. They had to be wolves. Only they were like nothing she had ever seen at the zoo. Not that size. And definitely not that color. They were golden blonde and breathtakingly beautiful. She should have been afraid and if she could have found her voice she would have possibly screamed, not that anyone would have heard her. Instead, her lips were parted, only nothing came out. She was frozen in awe as she watched.

  They hurried down the hill and raced around the horses. Denim expected the animals to be spooked and gallop away. Instead, they were calm as if they were used to roaming with wolves. There was no way in hell this was happening! Seriously…, wolves just don’t get that big. Or do they? And then Denim remembered Pappy had once said there were werewolves lurking around in these parts. Grandma Bea used to tell her it was a bunch of nonsense and Denim would cover her mouth and softly giggle, but … had Pappy been right?

  As she watched, one of the wolves tilted his head back, howled, then the other two stopped and did the same. The sound was loud, almost raspy. Not at all the howling heard in the movies. It was almost as if the sky had rumbled warning of a potential thunderstorm. To the horses, the howl was a command, because they all turned and headed back in the direction they’d come.

  Denim watched as the wolves waited until all of the horses had disappeared before they headed after them. But just before the last wolf stepped into the thick of the forest, he stopped, turned his head and she gasped. He was staring in her direction. N
o freaking way! She held her breath as she waited to see what he did next.

  I know you’re there, rang in her ears as if he was standing right beside her. Telepathy. Uh-uh! She was really starting to lose it. There was no way she could hear what a wolf was thinking so she shook the ridiculous idea aside.

  Of course he couldn’t see her acres away, up high in a treehouse, but to be on the safe side, Denim reared back from the window. She waited, heart pounding heavily as the wolf tilted his head toward the sky, sniffed the air, and then he was gone.

  Denim jerked away from the telescope and leaned against the wall of the treehouse, breathing heavily. “There’s no way,” she told herself. All those years of Pappy talking about werewolves…, had he been telling the truth?

  She tried to wrap her brain around it. White wolves were practically extinct and hadn’t been seen in this area of Texas in centuries, and yet, even if they were still around, there’s no way they could have been golden blonde and that freaking big. What she had seen had been like wolves on steroids. There was just no way. In fact, something like that wasn’t even normal, and suddenly she was afraid.

  Denim hurried down from the treehouse and raced through the forest and onto the lawn, looking over her shoulder every few steps making sure none of the wolves had followed. Once she entered the house, she bolted the door and sagged against it.

  Blonde wolves in Justice.

  She had to tell someone, and yet… other than Pappy, who would believe her? The town would just laugh and think she and her grandfather were a joke. They would just think the fruit didn’t fall far from the tree if she started talking about what Pappy had been telling folks for years. Denim finally concluded she was tired and after a long day, her eyes had been playing tricks on her. And maybe the wolves weren’t as big as the telescope had made them appear. After all, the instrument was old and outdated. Yep, that’s what it was. The lenses were warped. She breathed a sigh of relief at her conclusion and decided to keep what she thought she had seen to herself. Besides, if she told Pappy, what good would it do? It would just get him all agitated and ready to go hunting and she couldn’t have that. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to him.