Wilde About Her (Wilde Pack Series)

by Daniels, Angie

  Fury gathered in Aidan’s eyes as he slammed one of the males from the side, sending him crashing into a tree.

  Make one wrong move and Diesel won’t be the only one fighting for his life. Chayton advanced slowly, a growl rumbling in his throat.

  The others inched back, heads bowed.

  Let him go, Chayton ordered. We have enough problems with the pack as it is.

  He’s right. Jax, let him go! Aidan urged.

  Jax’s heart was pounding. Blood soaring through his vein. His body enraged and then he felt Denim’s screams. She was in danger. His mate needed him. Reluctantly, he released his hold on Diesel.

  If anything happens to Denim, I’m coming back to finish this.

  Diesel roared while still lying on his side. This isn’t over, not by a long shot!

  Aidan nodded. Handle your business. We got this.

  Jax raced across the forest to the treehouse. His joints hurt as he walked into the room. His back throbbed from the altercation, but he needed to get to his mate and ensure no harm had come to her. Troy was close. He could smell her as a woman, not as a beast. After shifting back into human form, Jax hurried into his clothes and bolted toward the house. From the porch, he noticed the front door was slightly ajar, so he stepped inside and shouted, “Denim, you in here?”

  “She’s in the kitchen. Why don’t you come and join us?”

  His heart sank. Troy was inside.

  Jax came around the corner and stepped into the room. First thing he noticed was the gun pointed at him. Troy stood by the sink, grinned, and a hint of an incisor appeared.

  “Please take a load off,” she said and motioned toward a chair at the table. “Have a seat.” Troy’s eyes looked weird. Wild and crazy as if she might kill Denim and him at any moment.

  Slowly, he moved toward the table where Denim was seated, twisting her fingers together in her lap.

  “Why are you doing this?” he asked, never taking his eyes from her.

  Troy gave a rude snort. “Why do you think? We took a pledge to unite the two packs, then you decided to go back on your word!” she said, pinning him with an accusatory glare.

  “Because I don’t love you Troy. It wouldn’t be fair to you or me. Why can’t you understand that?”

  “What the hell does love have to do with it?” she exploded with harsh laughter. “What about family loyalty and building wealth? Our marriage would have created a powerful dynasty!”

  “I mated for love, not money,” Jax hissed.

  “With a human?” she shrieked incredulously.

  His eyes shifted to Denim whose lips were quivering nervously. She was trying to be brave, but he saw the fear in her eyes. If he hadn’t known it before, he knew it now. He would give his life to keep her safe. “Troy, I didn’t set out to fall in love with a human female. In fact I did everything in my power to fight it, but some things just can’t be stopped.”

  Something evil darkened her eyes.

  “Awww so sweet! Too bad she has to die.” Troy swiveled around and pointed the gun at Denim, but before she could pull the trigger Jax leapt over and knocked her and the weapon onto the floor. The gun went sliding. “Get off me!” Troy screamed as she scrambled across the worn linoleum for the gun.

  “Denim, run!” Jax shouted while they wrestled for the gun. He made the mistake of taking his eyes from Troy and that was all the time she needed to scratch his face and get the gun into her hand. Oh shit! He sprang from the floor, and hurried out the kitchen just as several shots were fired. Denim screamed and the only thing on his mind was keeping his mate safe from a psycho she-wolf. Jax hustled her down the hall and quickly pushed her into a library and shut the door.

  “Babe, are you all right?” His eyes quickly scanned her face and body before he engulfed her tightly in the circle of his arms.

  Denim hugged him, then pushed him away. “I’m okay but you’re not. Look at your face and your shirt is all bloody!” she cried.

  He was certain there were scratches and deep claw marks over his face, back and arms from his fight with Diesel. “I’m okay, but right now I am worried about you. I’m going back out there, but I don’t want you to come out this room until I say so,” he warned.

  Shaken, she stared up at me. “Jax, w-what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. Just stay here!” he ordered. Jax pressed his lips to hers, then shut the door and cautiously headed back toward the hall. By the time he’d returned to the kitchen, Troy had shifted into a red wolf. Her dark eyes focused while she snarled at him. Fuck! Stupid move! As a human he had no chance against her.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Troy. Go home,” he said calmly, trying to stall for enough time to come up with a plan. The animal snarled, showing large teeth. There was no way he could race into the other room long enough to shift. Troy would have attacked long before he’d had a chance to completely transform. “There’s someone out there for you. It just isn’t me.”

  She advanced and Jax backed up, hoping to be able to run into the kitchen pantry if he could just manage to get the door open. Her wolf was quicker. She batted at him with her paw, tossing his body across the room and he hit the counter. Excruciating pain shot down his back.

  “Jax are you…” Denim’s voice trailed off as she walked in and spotted Troy in wolf form.

  “I told you to stay out!” he said sharply. How was he going to hold off Troy and protect Denim at the same time?

  “I’m sorry. I heard her thoughts,” she whimpered. “She’s going to—”

  Despite the pain, Jax jumped in front of his mate. Troy growled, leaped up onto the kitchen table and glared down at them. Jax’s wolf pushed toward the surface. His tailbone ached and he could feel his teeth starting to grow uncontrollably.

  “Open that door!” he panted and continued to block Troy from coming closer, but she sprang forward landing on all fours, knocking him onto his back. Her teeth were aiming for his shoulder. “Get in the closet. Now!”

  Denim screamed just as Troy’s razor-sharp teeth sank into his shoulder. Jax cried out while Denim dashed over to the pantry, flung open the door and jumped inside. Pain radiated through his body as he pushed Troy out his away and punched the wolf in the face with a frying pan that had fallen to the floor. Troy was the enemy, but she was still a female. The last thing Jax wanted to do was hurt her, but he would if Denim’s life depended on it.

  Just as Troy recovered and lunged again, Jax avoided the attack, then rolled to the right and scrambled into the pantry hitting the shelf, knocking several canned goods onto the floor. Before Troy could leap inside, Denim yanked the door shut.

  Troy snarled with outrage on the other side.

  “You okay?” he asked, drawing Denim into the circle of his arms again.

  She nodded and Jax could feel her heart pounding heavily beneath her breasts. “I’m okay.” He flinched and she drew back and stared at the puncture wound at his shoulder.

  “You’re hurt!”

  “I’m okay,” he assured her and gritted his teeth, and she applied pressure to the wound. “Nothing a few stitches can’t repair. Right now all I care about is your safety.”

  Troy started clawing madly at the door trying to get inside. It was only a matter of time. “What are we going to do?” Denim asked.

  “There’s only one way out,” Jax said, then released her. His wolf was close, and he wanted out. “Stand back. Once I’ve finished shifting, open the door and don’t you dare leave this closet. Do you understand?” Jax’s voice had gone so low he sounded like he was growling.

  Eyes wide with fear, Denim nodded.

  21

  Denim moved to the far corner of the pantry, allowing Jax plenty of room. He yanked off his clothes and went to the floor on all fours. She watched in astonishment as his limbs shifted and fur, the color of spools of gold, began to cover his body. And then his long teeth appeared, canines sharp enough to rip a man apart. Right before her eyes, claws grew from the ends of his fingertips.
By the time he was a big beautiful four-legged wolf, Denim decided there was absolutely nothing to fear. Not with Jax to protect her. Tilting her head, she stared up at him. Now that he had shifted, the closet was a tight squeeze.

  Open the door.

  She nodded and as instructed, she turned the knob and waited as Jax crouched low, then leapt, surging forward out into the kitchen. Immediately she shut the door. Within seconds, Denim heard loud wrestling and the crashing of furniture. Was he okay? And how in the world was she going to explain any of it to Pappy?

  Hey Pappy, there were two wolves wrestling around the house.

  She was sure that story wouldn’t come as much of a surprise since he always believed wolves roamed around Justice.

  She heard another loud crash followed by a high-pitched yelp and then there was silence. Despite Jax instructing her not to come out, Denim grabbed a knife from the sink, then raced toward the noises coming from the living room. Panic took her. She had to know if Jax was okay. As she rounded the corner, she spotted the red wolf lying flat on the area rug with Jax’s large front paw pressing down against her throat. The she-wolf was gasping for air.

  “Don’t kill her!” Denim screamed.

  With a loud snarl, Jax turned his head and glared his golden eyes at her.

  She could have killed you!

  “I don’t care! Please, Jax,” Denim begged. Troy’s eyes were closed and one of her hind legs was bloodied. “Baby, please.”

  He hesitated and then slowly removed his paw. The red wolf continued to just lay there panting heavily. She wasn’t moving, but at least she was alive.

  Outside, there was loud shouting and the door was practically knocked off the hinges as Jax’s brothers, along with his father and another older gentleman, came rushing into the house.

  “Jax, no!” Jackson Wilde shouted as his brothers raced over.

  “She’s okay!” Denim said, while waving both hands. The last thing she needed was a full-fledged attack.

  “Troy. Enough!” There was a lethal warning in the man’s voice.

  Denim looked over again at the man with the striking red hair and knew he had to be Troy’s father. He stormed over and stared sternly down at the large she-wolf, although the muscle ticking at his jaw gave away how difficult it was for him to see his daughter that way, rejected and defeated, lying on the floor.

  Jax padded softly over, rubbing his nose against Denim’s neck. She stroked his thick fur while they all watched Troy crawl into the other room where she shifted back into a human female. Denim grabbed the quilt off the couch, then rushed into the dining room and draped it over her body.

  “Thanks,” Troy whispered, clutching it close and the look in her sad green eyes said she was being sincere. “I’ll never forget you saved my life.”

  At a loss for words, Denim simply nodded. Troy then went to retrieve her clothes and Denim returned to Jax and waited with the others while she got dressed.

  “I’m sorry for all of this,” her father said, then he and Mr. Wilde shook hands.

  He nodded. “So am I. However, I’m glad we could come to an agreement.”

  Troy appeared and they watched as Mr. Chadwick draped an arm around Troy and escorted her out to an awaiting limousine.

  “It’s over son,” Mr. Wilde explained. “Chadwick and I have worked out a new agreement.”

  “And what’s that?” Aidan asked.

  His father’s eyes shifted downward, uncomfortably as he replied, “I have arranged for your sister to marry one of his sons.”

  Chayton swung around with a questioning glance. “Does Cheyenne know anything about this?”

  Their father’s face said it all. “No, but I’ll tell her this evening.”

  Aidan looked at him as if wondering whether or not he was kidding before barking, “Father…No!”

  While his brothers questioned their father about his decision, Jax moved to the pantry and came striding out a few minutes later fully dressed, heaving with frustration. “Father, how could you do that to Cheyenne?”

  “What else was I supposed to do? We promised an alliance between the two packs and I intend to honor that promise. The last thing I need is for us to make them our enemies!” His chest rose and fell rapidly as he spoke, then he paused and released a long breath. “She’ll have five brothers to choose from. I’m sure Cheyenne can fall in love with one of them.”

  Jax shook his head, grimly.

  “Or she might want a human like junior here,” Aidan joked which caused his older brother to pop him over the head.

  Denim stood back, suddenly feeling like she’d been put on the spot. “It’s my fault all of this has happened.”

  “Babe, it’s not your fault at all. If it’s anyone’s fault it’s mine for falling in love with you.” Jax took her hand and dragged her close. Denim melted against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was safe. In one piece, and she was thankful.

  “And I love you,” she whispered. Jax cupped her face with his large hands and crushed his lips to hers.

  Denim heard gagging and drew back slightly. Aidan had his finger stuck down his throat, while Chayton looked displeased. She dared to look over at his father, who, surprisingly had been watching and a warm smile turned his lips upwards.

  “I once told my sons we can’t control who we fall in love with, but when it happens you’ll know.”

  Jax grinned. “Yes, sir. You were so right.”

  Denim patched up Jax’s wounds the best that she could, then The Wilde clan stayed long enough to help her put the house back together. Luckily, the old wooden furniture was steady enough that nothing was broken. The bullet holes were another story all together, but she was almost certain Pappy might not even notice. After his family left, she and Jax went out onto the porch and took a seat in each of the rocking chairs.

  “Do you really think it’s over?” Denim asked as she rocked back and forth.

  Jax nodded, reached over and grabbed her hand. “Troy won’t cross her father, not after what happened today.” He sure sounded confident. If that was the case then why did something in his eyes tell her Jax wasn’t telling her everything?

  She swallowed a big gulp of air. I sure hope not. “And what about Diesel?”

  He sighed and for the first time Jax looked uncomfortable. “That problem has just begun.”

  “What?” she gasped.

  Jax squeezed her close. “He’s going to be a problem. Diesel knows your secret and after I embarrassed him in front of the pack, he’s going to want revenge.” He quickly told her about Diesel waiting for him in the forest with a crew ready to ambush him. “He’s going to wait until things die down, but then he’s going to come after us.”

  “I’m afraid.”

  “I’m going to keep you safe. Always.” He studied her.

  She dragged in a long shaky breath. “Maybe if your sister marries one of his brothers he’ll leave us alone. Do you think your sister will agree?”

  Jax hesitated and this time didn’t sound quite as sure of himself. “I think Cheyenne will do whatever to make Father proud.”

  “Even a marriage as a business arrangement? You didn’t.” She shook her head. It was hard to believe people still did that in this country.

  “I think she’ll do what she has to do. The good thing is Cheyenne has several alpha males to choose from.”

  “Are they as handsome as you?” she said, trying hard to get past everything that was happening.

  “Of course not,” Jax replied and tried to keep a straight face that sent Denim into a fit of laughter. Next thing she knew neither of them were laughing, instead they were staring at each other.

  “Babe, don’t worry.” Denim barely had the breath to respond. “I will kill Diesel before I let him get next to you. When I told you Weres are overprotective and possessive and don’t like anyone else touching their mates, I meant that.” Jax dragged her out of the chair and over onto his lap. “You’re in my soul. It may seem like only a few week
s for you, but for me it has been years. I’ve loved you a long time and didn’t even know it.”

  His words caused her heart to do a heavy thump. She stared at his bruised face with tears in her eyes and smoothed his hair back from his face. “I love you too.”

  Jax groaned slightly, then gave her a long, sensuous kiss. She was breathless by the time they finally came up for air. Denim rested her head upon his good shoulder, snuggling close to him.

  “What’s next for us?” he said, then drew back and stared intensely into her eyes. “I’m not letting you go.”

  “I’m not going far,” Denim said and smiled.

  He drew a breath and sounded gentle. Tender almost. “Babe, you understand now that you know the truth I can’t let you out of my sight, at least not until the entire pack knows they can trust you.”

  She drew a sigh. She had a feeling that once everything had been resolved between the two packs, Jax would continue to stay close to her.

  “Is that the only reason why you want me around?”

  “Absolutely not. I love being with you. The pack is my life, but so are you. If I have to choose between the two…”

  She brought a hand up and lovingly caressed his stubble cheek as a smile stretched her lips. “I would never make you choose. Pappy’s ready to retire. I think it’s time I run the diner.”

  “Are you serious?”

  Denim nodded. “I want to be wherever you are.”

  “And I you, babe.” Jax leaned forward, inhaled, and lightly bit at the side of her neck, reminding her she belonged to him. His open mouth moved against Denim’s throat, then to her cheek, leaving a heated trail as he whispered, “I’ll go back with you, meet your parents and help you pack. We can make this work.” She couldn’t move, she couldn’t breathe and her heart raced wildly. “I know we can,” he panted into her mouth.

  “Yes,” Denim breathed. Yes we can.

  With that, he wrapped his arms around her and slanted his lips over hers for another deep, intoxicating kiss, sealing their future.

  Her eyes fluttered opened and when she drew back she spotted a car moving up the long drive.