Taken By The Wolf: Collection

by Jessica Ryan

  “So you’re the famous Eva,” Rain said, her smile not going away.

  “In the flesh,” Eva replied.

  Normally a bombshell like Rain would intimidate Eva heavily, but she felt nothing but peace with her. There was something about this wolf, something calming. Eva couldn’t help but smile at her.

  “I’m excited to show you around!” Rain said, stepping forward and pulling Eva into a tight embrace. She was strong, unnaturally strong, and Eva had trouble breathing in her grip.

  “Ouch,” Eva said, feeling her back pop up and down like she was at the chiropractor.

  “Oh, sorry,” Rain said, releasing her quickly. “I forget how delicate humans are.”

  I’m not that delicate, Eva thought. I can change my own oil and a flat tire.

  She just laughed, not sure what to say to the beautiful wolf.

  “We have to get you some new clothes if you’re going to be staying here for a while,” Rain said. “Rowan’s old guest clothes just will not do.”

  “That sounds good,” Eva said, before sheepishly looking at Rain. “But I have no money.”

  “Honey, don’t you worry,” Rain said, holding up a VISA card. “I have Rowan’s credit card.”

  A devilish smile crossed Eva’s lips; this was going to be fun.

  Chapter 8

  Rowan stomped back to his office, unable to see straight due to anger. He was protecting Eva’s life, wasn’t that enough? Instead he had to give up some of his hard-earned money to make her happy.

  He’d run into Rain as he was leaving and given had her the directive handed down by Aster. He told Rain to take Eva shopping, but of course Rain was broke so he had to give up his credit card. Eden would’ve been the safer choice to show Eva around, she was much older and more mature than the young wolf, but he was strapped for time and Rain was right there getting her mail.

  “You doing okay boss?” a voice asked from the doorway. Rowan had been leaning back in his chair, his eyes closed, so he hadn’t heard the young deputy entering his office.

  “I’m fine, Jeremiah,” he said, looking up at his second in command. They were two of the four wolves that made up the police force in Bucklin. Of course they were just the public face of the force: each pack had several enforcers who could be called on to defend the town if need be. The head alpha was above all else, then there was the alpha council, then the head enforcer, which was Rowan, and then the enforcers.

  “You look beat,” Jeremiah said, taking a seat in front of Rowan’s desk.

  He studied the young man. He’d never liking how hard Jeremiah tried to look human. Most wolves let their hair grow long and wild, and had almost a feral look to them. Jeremiah preferred to keep himself clean-cut, with hair parted on the side. He was as close to looking human as any wolf could, which helped him when dealing with any humans who caused problems in Bucklin. Usually Rowan and his other deputies’ intimidated lawbreakers, but Jeremiah was very good at defusing the situation and sending them away happier than when the problems had started.

  “I am beat,” Rowan said.

  “Why?”

  Rowan gave him a sharp look. The deputy was a curious one. He was always prying into Rowan’s personal life, even though Rowan liked to keep that as private as possible.

  “Just council business,” Rowan said.

  “Is it because of the human?” Jeremiah asked.

  “How would you know about that?” Rowan asked. Jeremiah was a member of the Skyvale pack, but there was no way Hawk would let anything that had go on today slip.

  “There are rumors flying all over town,” Jeremiah said eagerly. “Some say they saw her at your house and others say they saw her in your truck going to meet the council.”

  “Son of a bitch, why does everyone have to yap so much?” Rowan said, covering his face. This was not going to be easy. He wanted to keep Eva as anonymous as possible until the Satan’s Angels problem blew over. Not a lot happened in Bucklin these days, so must have been exciting to see the head enforcer taking on a new mate, especially a human one.

  “Is it true?” Jeremiah asked. “Have you taken a human as your mate?”

  “Not exactly,” Rowan said. “Listen, Jeremiah there’s a lot at play I can’t tell you about right now. Things are going to get hairy, so just be ready.”

  “I’m always ready, sir,” Jeremiah said.

  He was too young to have played a part in the last incident with Satan’s Angels, so he had no idea what was coming.

  Rowan narrowed his eyes and smirked at the young wolf. “So you say.”

  * * *

  “I love your car,” Eva said, admiring Rain’s bright blue 2013 Camaro. “It’s such a beautiful color.”

  “Just like your eyes,” Rain said.

  Eva’s face flushed: she wasn’t used to this many compliments. Rain was the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen in person, and she’d done nothing but compliment Eva the entire drive.

  “These old things?” she asked, trying to be funny.

  Rain didn’t get her humor. “They’re amazing. I’m sure Rowan just loves them.”

  “Sure he does,” Eva said, looking at the floorboard. She could see the way the older wolf looked at her, the way his eyes admired her body and locked onto her own eyes. But that didn’t mean anything; plenty of men had wanted to sleep with her and nothing more. She had long legs, a round ass and big breasts, and men definitely wanted to sleep with her, but they never wanted more. Even Jason had only initially thought of her as a one night stand before he started to grow attached. Rowan was protecting her because he felt like he had to; he didn’t actually believe the stuff about claiming her or her being his mate. The mate terminology creeped her out anyway... but the “claimed” part was kind of a turn-on.

  “You don’t agree?” Rain asked.

  “I don’t know,” Eva said. “I don’t really know him.”

  “Who does?” Rain said.

  “What do you mean?” Eva asked.

  “Rowan’s a hard guy to figure out. I’ve known him my whole life and I barely know him. He’s pretty much second in command to my pack and I think I know Aster better than him, and I only see Aster once in a blue moon.”

  “I feel like nobody’s ever told him no.”

  Rain laughed. “Nobody does, not even Aster.”

  “Isn’t Aster his boss?” Eva asked.

  “I wouldn’t really call him his boss,” Rain said, pulling the car up in front of a boutique close to where Eva was sure City Hall had been earlier.

  “I’m so confused by your town,” Eva said, feeling lost again.

  “Well, here’s an easy way to think about it,” Rain said. “Aster is mayor and the others are the town council. They also play the role of treasurer and such. Rowan is sheriff and he has several deputies.”

  “That helps,” Eva said. “But that means Aster is still over Rowan.”

  “Yes,” Rain said. “But they’re the same age and have been at this for a long time. When Aster took control of the pack, Rowan was right there with him. To be honest, either one of them could have been alpha. I just don’t think it appealed to Rowan.”

  “Interesting,” Eva said, rubbing her chin. The mystery that was Rowan Phoenix was starting to come into focus, but just a little bit: overall the picture was still blurry.

  “Let’s get you something that will show off those legs,” Rain said, jumping out of the car. “It’s almost summertime.”

  Eva didn’t wear skirts or dresses too often, since her legs were thick, like a softball catcher’s. Some men liked it, but Eva didn’t. Maybe Rowan would think differently, but did it matter? He obviously didn’t have much experience with humans and he didn’t know how to deal with them—he treated her like she was one of his pack members, expected to fall in line with a snap of his fingers.

  Her thoughts were putting her into a sour mood as Rain yanked items off the rack, tossing them into Eva’s arms.

  “And try this one on!” she said. “Oh
, this is cute, you would look gorgeous in it! How about this one? No, that’s not your color, but we can try!”

  In the end, it took Eva over an hour to try on everything Rain had thrown at her. Like part of a movie, she would try on the outfit and then exit the fitting room, where Rain sat waiting to give her approval or disapproval.

  Finally they checked out, three hundred and forty seven dollars later, with four skirts, two pairs of pants, a pair of flats, a pair of heels and seven new tops.

  “Is he going to freak out when he sees this bill?” Eva asked as they loaded bags into the car.

  “He’s got so much money he doesn’t know what to do with it,” Rain said casually.

  “He does?” Eva asked. She hadn’t thought being a small town sheriff would pay much.

  “It’s all pack money,” Rain said. “All of the packs are filthy rich. They own the entire town, plus they have a vampire that makes great investments on behalf of the pack.”

  “Vampire?” Eva asked, for the second time today.

  “Vampires are great with money,” Rain said, giving Eva a look as if she should have known that. “Most major investment bankers and stock brokers are vampires.”

  “I don’t know how much you know living here in Bucklin, but the rest of the world doesn’t exactly know you guys exist,” Eva said.

  “I know,” Rain said, frowning. “I guess I forget that sometimes. I’ve gotten in trouble for trying to pick up some of the human men who come to town.”

  “You get in trouble for that?”

  “Of course we do. We’re supposed to keep our existence secret.”

  “Then why did Rowan bring me here?” Eva asked. She was beginning to feel the buildings close in again, trapping her. Was Rowan going to let her go home after they dealt with the bikers. or was she trapped here, since she knew their secret?

  “You’d have to ask him that,” Rain said, frowning even harder this time. “It doesn’t seem like a wise move on his part. I guess he likes you.”

  “Well, if he’d just talk to me,” Eva said.

  “The quickest way to a werewolf’s heart is through his pants and stomach,” Rain said. “Haven’t you ever heard the old saying: at our heart we’re just animals who do what nature intends—eat, sleep and reproduce.”

  “No, I must have missed that one when I was reading my big book of quotes,” Eva said, giggling.

  “I have a plan,” Rain said, winking at Eva.

  Chapter 9

  Rowan pulled into his driveway close to dusk. It had been a hell of a day. He’d barely had time to think after his conversation with Jeremiah before he was speeding out to the outskirts of town to keep an Oakdale rancher from killing a couple of Red Moon pups who had been having sex in his crops.

  Most of the Oakdale pack lived on the outskirts of town, preferring to be close to nature, and they were intensely private. Signs were posted over most of their farms and ranches promising that trespassers would be shot. It had been one of the kids who texted his mom as he hid under a tractor from the angry rancher.

  Unfortunately, these things had become more and more common. The Red Moons didn’t respect anyone and the Oakdales wanted to be as close to their roots as possible. It wasn’t a good combination.

  Rowan didn’t have much tolerance for this BS. He told the kids to get lost and told the rancher the first time he shot someone unlawfully, he would never see the light of day again. Both were pissed at him, but Rowan didn’t give a damn. He was the law.

  As he wearily stepped out of his truck, ready for some food and maybe his recliner he heard a door slam. As he looked up he saw Rain running across the street, jetting back to her own house.

  “What the hell are they up to?” he growled. He knew he should have called Eden to do this—she wouldn’t have turned this into a girlfriends trip, she would’ve taught Eva like she was supposed to. He’d already seen the credit card charge when he got back to his office in the afternoon and checked his bank statement, and he knew that decision would come back to bite him.

  Rowan tried not to let his grumpy mood sour his interaction with Eva as he walked through the back door. She was angry and scared enough; she didn’t need him raging around the house like an ogre. As he started to open the back door he stopped and took a deep breath, trying to calm his fried emotions. It had been a rough two days and things were only going to get more trying.

  As he entered the house he instantly became suspicious. All the lights in the house were out, except for the soft glow of candlelight coming from the kitchen. He smiled and made his way to the kitchen, his mind turning over the possibilities.

  His lunchbox hitting the ground startled Eva, who spun around from her spot in the kitchen, a sheepish smile flitting across her face. He couldn’t help his reaction: all the frustration of the day instantly melted as he took in the scene before him. There were several candles on the kitchen table, illuminating a huge spread of mashed potatoes, green beans, dinner rolls and a large ham. The smell of meat drifted to his nose, making his mouth involuntarily water. Dinner wasn’t what had him the most stunned: that honor belonged to Eva. She wore a tight black pencil skirt that hugged her wide hips and perfectly round ass like a second skin. Her long, thick, smooth legs shot out from under the skirt, continuing all the way down to her bright red high heels. His eyes travelled back up, finding her wearing a button up white blouse. It was unbuttoned down to just below her breasts, exposing the full roundness of her chest. She wore bright red lipstick and dark eye shadow that made her sapphire eyes explode in the low light of the kitchen.

  He could instantly feel blood rushing to his staff, bringing him almost to full attention as he studied the beauty in front of him. She looked perfect, absolutely perfect. He had told the council he had claimed her to protect her and himself, to explain the reason he had brought her back to Bucklin instead of just killing her. He didn’t want them to know he thought it was wrong to kill an innocent woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but now, now it wasn’t a lie. As his eyes travelled up and down her body, and his cock ached with desire as he felt his wolf laying claim to her. He knew at that moment he had wanted her all along, and that was why he’d gone to such great lengths to protect her. It wasn’t a ruse: he had laid claim to this stunning beauty.

  “I wanted to surprise you,” she said with a nervous smile.

  “This is all for me?” he asked, walking over to the table and looking down at the food.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Why?” he asked. She had seemed to be mad at him earlier, and now she was cooking him dinner.

  “Because you’ve put yourself at risk to protect me,” she said, taking a seat at the table. Rowan quickly followed suit. “All I’ve done is complain about this. I’ve never taken the time to understand why you’re doing this for me.”

  “Why am I doing this for you?” he asked.

  “Because you’re a great guy,” she said, reaching over and touching his hand. He could feel a chill go down his spine as her warm hand contacted his. No woman had ever done that to him before. “You don’t want to see me harmed.”

  “I would never let harm befall you at this point,” he said, squeezing her hand and locking onto her eyes. “Never.”

  * * *

  Eva knew her wolf was serious when he promised to protect her. One look into his eyes revealed the conviction with which he spoke his words; this wasn’t a man who made that declaration lightly. If Rowan said it was going to happen, then it happened. Eva loved that.

  It was obvious she wasn’t going home anytime soon, but throughout the day she had come around to the idea of being Rowan’s captive. She had begun to think of it less as captivity and more as being under his protection, which was how he had described it.

  She should be so lucky to have such a strong and sexy man be so engrossed in her that he would risk his own life to protect her. Rain had explained it to her as they cooked dinner. When a male wolf felt a strong bond with a female, his
inner wolf claimed her. When he claimed her there is no going back: his wolf saw her as his mate and would stop at nothing to protect and please her.

  If only human men had such strong convictions when they got into a relationship, she might’ve been married a long time ago.

  “Do you like it?” she asked as he took his first bite of ham.

  “It’s delicious,” he said. “Did Rain help you with this?”

  “Not really,” she said. “I cooked it myself.”

  “I knew that girl couldn’t cook,” he said, shoveling food into his mouth. “Where did you learn to cook?”

  “From my cook,” she said, smiling at him.

  “Your cook?” he asked.

  “Growing up we had a cook,” she said, looking down and playing with her food. This wasn’t really something she wanted to get into, but Rowan knew nothing about her.

  “Were you rich?” he asked.

  She’d known that question was coming; it always did.

  Eva looked up and sighed, giving Rowan a look of displeasure so harsh he had to break eye contact.

  “I’m sorry if it’s a sore subject,” he said. “We can talk about something else.”

  “It’s not you,” she said, taking a deep breath and preparing herself. “I just don’t like to talk about my parents. They’re just rich assholes that I don’t think ever cared about me.”

  “Why is that?” he asked, leaning forward as he ate. He seemed genuinely interested in her life, a refreshing change.

  “My dad’s a bigwig at a natural gas company,” she said.

  “Yes,” he muttered. “Big business in this state.”

  “Exactly,” she said, pointing at him with her fork. “You’ve got it. So I grew up in a gated community in north Edmond with people to wait on me hand and foot. As long as I can remember, I’ve hated the idea of having butlers and maids and cooks. I hated the fact that a bodyguard drove me to school rather than my own parents. I rarely saw my father, and my mother was usually too busy trying to get in at every country club she could. I gravitated towards the help and I learned to take care of myself.”