Wilde About Her (Wilde Pack Series)(9)

"Now is that anyway to treat your future in-laws-oh wait-that's right,  you cancelled your engagement to my sister, which means we owe you  nothing."

"Maybe not, but this is our town. Were jurisdiction laws were established for a reason."

He started pacing. "The same goes for arranged marriage, but we see how well that worked."

Aidan stepped forward and instantly the rest of the pack straightened,  ready to pounce, lips retracted and snarled. Tension was dangerously  high.

Chayton held out his hand. "We don't want any trouble." There was a  warning in his voice. They were prepared to tear them apart if it came  to that.

"Just tell us what you want," Aidan urged.

Diesel stopped pacing and turned toward them. "We want what my father  and your father shook on. Marry my sister, unite the packs, making us  the strongest in the country!" Diesel snarled, shoulders tense with  rage.

"Not happening. Your sister is better suited for another Were, not me." Jax countered.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." There was a hard edge to his voice.

A vicious growl echoed in the forest. There was movement, and over a  bush landed a large red wolf onto the lush grass. His mouth curled back  in a snarl, teeth bared. Kane. Jax had noticed Diesel's twin had been  missing. One seldom traveled outside the pack without the other. The  moment Jax realized he was absent, he would have known they were up to  something.

Kane stalked forward, eyes locked on Jax as he moved to stand beside his  pack. Towering high, Jax tilted his head, sizing him up. Dark red fur.  Eyes green as spring grass, and canines-only inches away-were long and  sharp enough to kill.

"So is this what it's come to …  pack against pack?" Chayton asked, his  face twisted in anger, eyes every bit as flat and cold as Kane's. He was  good at keeping all emotion from his voice.

Diesel stepped forward, baring his fangs. "It's your brother's fault! He  should have held up his end of the deal!" he shouted as if Jax wasn't  standing there. His eyes were dangerously weird. Scary, as if he'd  attack at any moment.

"Shit happens. Get over it," Aidan snarled.

The two other members of the pack took a confrontational step forward.  Jax's bones ached as he fought the urge to shift even though he felt it  in his bones. Incisors emerged, strong and hard in his mouth. He took in  long, deep breaths and somehow managed to stay in control. It wasn't  easy, considering there was no telling what the Chadwick pack had in  mind. In human form he and his brothers were helpless against them. Not  with Kane in Were form. Jax just hoped he and Aidan were able to hold  them off long enough for Chayton to shift. But sadly Kane would have  attacked and ripped the skin from their bodies before he would have had  time to change.

Kane snarled and his hot breath fanned across Jax's face.

"Now is not the time or the place!" Chayton snarled, teeth flashing.  "There are hundreds of residents of this town standing a few feet away.  Last thing either of us needs is to draw attention to our packs."

Exactly. Especially since the Wildes had managed to live in this town  for decades undetected. If anyone was to uncover who they were it would  draw attention not only to them but to every pack in association. And  neither of them were willing to take that chance.         

     



 

Jax didn't miss the uneasiness of Diesel's gaze before he said, "Chayton  is right. Now's not the time." His eyes shifted and met Jax's and he  felt pinned beneath his stare. "This isn't over." His lip curled showing  a hint of his sharp, white teeth.

When Chayton stepped forward something dangerous moved in his eyes.  "Leave Justice now or we'll be forced to make you leave." His meaning  was clear, delivered in a harsh, rough voice. He stood his ground and  waited for Diesel to nod and signal for the others to follow.





* * *



After they were certain the other pack had departed, Jax and his  brothers went back to the party long enough to say their good-byes.  Denim's VW Bug, with an Oklahoma University sticker on the bumper, was  already gone.

"Don't say a word to Pop," Chayton ordered once they had piled into the SUV, and the other two agreed without hesitation.

Jax, who was seated in the passenger's seat dragged a frustrated hand  along his hair. "Look, I'm sorry. If I had any idea things were going  to – "

Chayton held up a hand. "Bro, no need to apologize. You didn't want to  marry the crazy chick. I totally understand. Hey, this ain't the Stone  Age."

"Would you have married her?"

He stopped the vehicle at a four-way stop, then met his stare and said,  "Yes, I would have honored the vow. Our packs have been waiting to unite  for years. Think of what it would do for business." Chayton shrugged.  "But you did what you felt you had to do. I respect that."

"Me too," Aidan chimed in from the rear. They were moving again when he  laughed and said, "I noticed the way you and Denim were looking all  googly-eyed at each other. What's the deal with that?"

Jax turned slightly. Chayton was stone-faced, and Aidan eyes were inquisitive. "Nothing, just catching up with an old friend."

"Friends? As delicious as she smells …  I'd be trying to tap that-"

"Watch it," Jax warned and an unfamiliar level of possessiveness  clutched at his gut. Aidan was right. She smelled far too fucking  amazing for the two of them to remain just friends. After spending a  short time with her, he knew without a doubt he wanted more.

What the hell happened that changed your mind? He asked himself that all the way back to the ranch.

Denim had gotten into his head and his loins.

Jax growled with rage.

Up until now he'd been adamant about staying clear of Denim and his  attraction to her, but in a matter of an evening, all of that had  changed.

As soon as they entered the house, he went up to his room and stepped  off onto the balcony, chain-smoking. It wasn't something he did all the  time, just when he had a lot on his mind, and tonight he was stressed  the fuck out.

Denim was back with a body so transformed that it had his teeth aching  to sharpen and grow just so he could bite along her neck and shoulder,  branding her. And then there was the smell Aidan had mentioned that was  so alluring Jax had felt the rage to claim her as his on the back side  of the house. Shit! She had no idea how close he had come to demanding  she get down on all fours while he mounted her and sunk deep inside her  heat. The crazy part was, Denim wanted him as well. That he was certain  of. He'd seen it in her eyes. He had smelled the rich scent of her  arousal and it was enough to drive a Were crazy.

Dammit!

It was almost maddening, insane even, but he understood the power of  pheromones and no matter how much he wanted to fight it, there was no  denying his craving to mate with one female.

A human female.

Jax took another long draw on the cigarette and stared off at the horse stables as he tried to make sense of the situation.

All the years he'd spent wondering when the day would come that he would  meet his mate. All the years he'd spent speculating what it would feel  like when it finally happened, and now that it had, it was far more  powerful than he'd ever imagined. What bothered Jax most was …  he'd known  all along. He'd felt it then, eight years ago, and he sure as hell felt  it now. Yet, he still wasn't ready to believe it.

Denim? A human? There was no denying she was beautiful, sexy, and  smelled delicious. She was all those things. He licked his lips, still  tasting her. But the problem still remained. She was a human. What would  the pack say? Hell, they had enough problems as it was, and unless the  two pack leaders could come to terms, the confrontation earlier was just  the beginning.

Shit! Jax mumbled under his breath and restlessly shifted to the other  side of the balcony. What was he going to do? If he had any sense left,  he'd stay the hell away from Denim and keep her safe from him and the  bullshit. But after seeing her at the party and sampling her mouth, he  knew there was no way he was going to be able to do anything about what  was stirring at his chest before settling right smack at his loins.         

     



 

The beast within him roared in defeat.

No matter how badly he didn't want his mate to be a human and preferred a Were female, it seemed fate had other plans.





8



Curiosity kept Denim from falling asleep.

She waited until Pappy was snoring in the bedroom down the hall before  she slipped out of her room. As she tiptoed downstairs, Denim drew a  deep breath. She knew she was behaving like a psycho, but she had to  know if what she'd seen a few nights ago was real, or if maybe the  telescope really was distorted.

Quickly, she stepped outside and the Texas heat hit her like a burst of  flame, evidence it was going to be one long miserably hot summer. Denim  headed toward the line of trees in front of her, then followed the path  through the forest. Tonight the moon bathed the trees with natural  light.