Wolf Charming (Iron Hills Pack, #1) Read online

  Wolf Charming

  Jessica Coulter Smith

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places, businesses, and incidents are from the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual places, people, or events is purely coincidental. Any trademarks mentioned herein are not authorized by the trademark owners and do not in any way mean the work is sponsored by or associated with the trademark owners. Any trademarks used are specifically in a descriptive capacity. Font used in this novel is Garamond.

  Cover Artist: Jessica Coulter Smith

  Stock photos from CanStock Photo

  Edited by Ilse Shaffer

  FIRST EDITION

  ©2016, Jessica Coulter Smith

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also By...

  Chapter One

  Weston Drake watched the young woman, from across the diner, with a hungry gaze. He’d seen her around town off and on over the years, had watched her grow up. The driving need to mark her made him feel like a lecherous old man. She couldn’t be more than twenty-one, and he had just celebrated his thirty-fifth birthday. The age difference didn’t stop him from wanting her, though. He’d caught her scent once when she’d walked past him on the sidewalk, and he’d been obsessed with her ever since.

  Over the years, he’d tried to lose himself in other women, but it was always meaningless sex that never amounted to much. It had been ages since he’d been on a serious date, and even longer since he’d had a girlfriend. It wasn’t that he was against a committed relationship, but the only woman he wanted was the one he couldn’t have. His wolf howled mournfully in his head as he jerked his gaze from the perfection of Abril Forrest.

  He’d studied her from afar, learning her schedule. Every morning, she had breakfast and coffee at the diner and then worked on her laptop for about an hour before going home. The only other times he saw her out and about were her weekly trips to the library and the grocery store. She seemed to be something of a homebody, except for when her friend, Rachel Matthews, could convince her to venture out of her apartment.

  His brother, Zach, nudged him. “You’re drooling again. If you aren’t going to man up and talk to your mate, you could at least appear a little less like a stalker.”

  Weston scowled at him.

  “Look, you know the two of you are meant to be together. What would it hurt to introduce yourself and ask her out for dinner? If you don’t claim her, your wolf is eventually going to go insane.”

  Zach wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. His wolf was already going a little crazy without their mate. Weston had thought about approaching Abril several times over the last few weeks, as his wolf had gotten more insistent, but he always drew back and kept his distance. She was so young and had so many possibilities in front of her. It would be wrong of him to claim her. The last thing she needed was a serious relationship when she should be partying with her friends and having a good time.

  “Weston, please talk to her. Don’t make me put you down. You know if you lose control of your wolf, I won’t have a choice in the matter. The town may know about our dual nature, and they tolerate it, but a loco wolf isn’t going to go over well.” Zach placed a hand on his shoulder. “She’s yours, and you know it. Go to her.”

  “No.” Weston tore his gaze from his tempting mate and faced forward again. Keeping away from her was the hardest damn thing he’d ever done. He’d placated his wolf with a steady stream of faceless women willing to have a one-night stand, but the beast wasn’t happy with the situation any longer.

  “Dammit, Wes. I’m not going to sit here and watch you throw your life away because you’re too chicken shit to make a move. You’ve screwed anything in a skirt for as long as I’ve known you, but the one time you need to put the moves on someone, you sit here like a lovesick calf. Call me when you’ve come to your senses.” Zach tossed his napkin on the counter and stood.

  “What about the book? We haven’t discussed the changes to chapter seven yet.”

  “Fuck the book. Better yet, fuck your mate. Maybe then you’ll have your head screwed on straight.”

  Weston glared at his brother as he stormed out of the diner before turning his attention back to his mate. Zach wasn’t completely wrong, but Weston refused to ruin her life. His wolf didn’t have Zach’s happy-go-lucky demeanor. His beast was fierce and thrived on being in control in the bedroom. How could he subject sweet little Abril to something like that?

  He watched as she slid her laptop into her bag, laid some money on the table, and got up. She walked past him without a glance in his direction. Weston threw some money on the counter to cover the cost of Zach’s and his meal before following her out. It wasn’t stalking. He just wanted to make sure she got home safely, just like he did every day. How she missed a six-foot-four man following her was a mystery, but she never once looked over her shoulder to see him trailing behind her. He worried about her and her lack of attention to everything going on around her. It would be easy for someone to rob her, or worse. As his mate, it was his job to take care of her, even if it was from a distance.

  Abril looked down at the cell phone in her hand as she stepped off the curb. Weston reached her in an instant, wrapping his arm around her waist and hauling her back onto the curb, just as a car honked and swerved to miss her. His heart pounded in his chest as he thought about how close he’d come to losing her. The car’s tires squealed as it raced around the corner and disappeared. Abril’s hands clutched at his shirt, and he looked down to find cerulean eyes gazing up at him in shock.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  A tremor raked her body and she nodded.

  Weston was loathe to release her just yet and kept an arm around her waist until he was certain she was steady on her feet. She didn’t seem to be in any hurry to pull away. Her honeysuckle scent teased his nose, and his wolf prodded him to hold her closer. Weston fought against his urges, not wanting to scare her any further. Holding her, and not being able to claim her, was hell.

  Her lips parted, and she leaned into him a little more. The hands that had been clutching his shirt were now exploring the hard contours of his chest. His wolf gave a yip of pleasure as heat surged through him. His cock swelled as she explored his body. When she lifted her hands around the back of his neck, toying with the ends of his hair, he knew his control was close to snapping. She was playing with fire and didn’t even know it.

  “What are you waiting for?” she asked.

  “What is it, exactly, you expect me to do?”

  “I thought my knight in shining armor might kiss me. You want to kiss me, don’t you?” She licked her lips. “Because I’d really like for you to.”

  With a will Weston didn’t know he still possessed, he set Abril away from him. She looked disappointed, but she’d have to play her games with someone else. It was never wise to tease a wolf, especially when that wolf was your mate. The beast inside wanted to come out and play, chase her down, and mark her as theirs.
She gave him a little wave and crossed the street, this time stopping to look both ways. He watched as she walked toward her apartment building while his wolf howled in his head.

  Weston watched her until she disappeared into the complex and then he walked back to his SUV. If he went home now, he could get some work done before he went to the bar later to hang out with some of the pack. The Blue Coyote wasn’t anything fancy, but the service was excellent, and the bartender would make sure the drinks were flowing until closing time. After his run-in with Abril, he definitely needed a stiff drink.

  At his house, he went inside and shut off the alarm before heading straight for his office. It was the smallest room in the house, but he really didn’t need more than a desk, two chairs, and a bookshelf. His laptop was open and ready for him to log in to begin his day’s work. He hadn’t lied to Zach. They really did need to discuss the changes to chapter seven in their latest thriller novel, but he could work on other chapters for the time being. The book was written, but the revisions were kicking his ass. The book had ended up being twenty thousand words too long; so now they were having to trim and do a bit of rewriting, so all of the pertinent information remained without blowing past their targeted word count, at least not by much. Their publisher wouldn’t pitch a fit over five thousand words, but twenty? His editor had promptly told him to revise until it was right.

  Zach and he had created the pen name, James K. Wulfson, five years ago, and now they graced the New York Times bestseller lists with every new release and stayed there for weeks at a time. He’d like to say it took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but truthfully, they’d just been lucky. They’d hit the market at the right time, with just the right amount of marketing, and their first novel had taken off. Movie rights were being discussed for book one, with a possible follow-up movie for book two. It still made his head spin sometimes that he was raking in so much cash just for letting his imagination run wild.

  Not that writing wasn’t hard work, especially since he co-wrote the books with his brother, but it beat the hell out of having a regular 8-5 job where he had to clock in every day. He’d had one of those until the book had taken off, and then he’d quit to write full time. Zach stayed pretty busy as pack alpha and did some handyman work on the side, but the odd jobs were more to have something to do with his hands than a necessity. Ever since Zach had lost his mate in high school, he’d been a changed man, more focused and dedicated to the pack than ever. He only ever had casual relationships, and even those were few and far between. The light had died inside of Zach when he’d lost Delfinia, but writing always brought a spark to his soul, at least for a little while.

  Weston picked up his phone and shot off a text to his brother, making sure they would have time to work on chapter seven at some point during the week, as their book was due soon. Then he got to work. He deleted, added, reworded...and by the time he’d reworked two chapters, the sun was starting to set, and his stomach was rumbling. Eating alone sucked, but after having his mate in his arms earlier, there was no way in hell he was picking up a date for the night. It just seemed wrong on so many levels. Every time he was with a woman, he felt sick afterward, like he was betraying Abril, even though they weren’t together. His beast knew she belonged to them and that was enough.

  He took a shower and changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a polo before heading to the local steak place. Buster’s had the best prime rib in the entire county, and his beast was ready for some red meat. The waitress flirted shamelessly with him. He remained polite, but let her know she didn’t stand a chance. If the glare she cast him was any indication, he might want to check his food before he ate it. It was nights like this that he hated his reputation with the ladies.

  By the time he had finished eating, he was more than ready to kick back with a few drinks at Blue Coyote.

  Chapter Two

  Abril swiped her bangs out of her face as she reached for the pitcher of beer on the bar. She hated her job. Well, this particular job. She had two. Writer by day and waitress by night. The only good thing about working at the Blue Coyote was that she’d received some pretty good tips so far. She had a feeling it had more to do with her short shorts than her winning smile. Most guys hadn’t even managed to look past her boobs. It was only her second night on the job, but so far she’d made about half her rent, which was great since she hadn’t known how she was going to come up with the money.

  Writing was her passion, but once she’d blown through her advance, she’d been left waiting. It had only taken a few months to go through the five-thousand-dollar advance, and she was still waiting on her book to earn it out and start paying royalties. According to her first royalty report, it was going to be a while. Despite the publisher’s marketing campaign, her book just hadn’t sold well. The marketing team was placing the blame on her since she didn’t have social media accounts or an author website. It wasn’t that she didn’t want those things, but she was technologically challenged.

  Abril pasted a smile on her face as she set the pitcher on the table of her rowdiest customers. The college baseball team was out celebrating. From what she’d heard, they would tip lousy, and so far, they’d made at least five attempts to grab her ass. She skirted around their wandering fingers and made her way to the next table. Her feet were aching, and her back felt like it might snap in two. She’d only been at it for about two hours and still had a long way to go, but hell if she wasn’t still feeling the effects of last night’s shift.

  Several of the local wolves had made themselves at home at her second table, and she smiled at them, this time meaning it. They were a welcome sight because she knew they wouldn’t grab her ass or make lewd comments about her boobs and what they’d like to do to her. Mason, a wolf not much older than her, handed her the tip the previous customers had left on the table.

  “Thanks, Mase. What can I get for y’all tonight?” she asked.

  “Two pitchers of whatever is on special for the night, along with five mugs.”

  Her brow furrowed. “But there’s four of you.”

  “We’ve got one more coming. He should be here in a minute.” Mason smiled. “We’d like two orders of loaded nachos too.”

  “Coming right up.”

  Abril hurried to the bar and placed their order. She’d just set their pitchers and mugs on the table when she felt a presence behind her. If it was one of those college guys ready to grab her ass again, she wouldn’t be held responsible for her actions. She turned and found herself eye level with a rather impressive chest. As her gaze lifted, her breath caught in her throat. Of course, their fifth would be Weston. She was mortified that she’d asked him to kiss her earlier, but she’d been pining for Weston since she was sixteen. He’d been way too old for her then, but she was twenty-one now. She might be legal, but she wasn’t sure if she was woman enough to handle a man like him. It was no secret that he went through women like she plowed through ice cream.

  She skirted around him and hurried to her next table, trying to ignore her racing heart. The man made her crazy, but she needed to get herself under control. If her failed attempt at flirting earlier had taught her anything, it was that Weston Drake wasn’t interested in someone like her. Not that she could blame him. It wasn’t like the town had forgotten where she came from, nor would they let her forget that she lived in one of the cheapest apartments in town, just one step up from her trailer park beginnings. A guy like Weston could do way better than the daughter of a crack whore. And she didn’t even want to think about her dad. The man she’d overheard talking about selling her into prostitution in order to settle a debt. She’d packed a bag that night and gotten the hell out of there. She’d only been sixteen, but living on the streets had been preferable to what her parents would do to her.

  This wasn’t her first waitressing job, and if book sales didn’t pick up, she doubted it would be her last. She’d spent three years of high school waiting tables at the local diner in exchange for a few meals and a cot in the bac
k room. They’d let her keep her tips, and she’d saved as much as she could. The day she’d rented her apartment, she’d been filled with pride, even if her furnishings did come from the thrift store. The place had been hers, something she’d earned, and she’d been living there for the past three years.

  She checked on the wolves several times during her shift and tried to avoid looking at Weston, for fear she’d end up staring, or worse, making another pass at him. A few women had joined them, and as she approached the table with a round of refills, she couldn’t help but feel jealous of the skinny bitch pawing at Weston. He didn’t push her away, but he didn’t seem to be encouraging her either. If anything, he seemed indifferent.

  Abril set the pitchers down on the table and picked up the empty nacho plates. Her hands trembled a little as exhaustion set in, but she pushed through it. Her shift was ending in a few minutes, and then she’d be able to go home and soak in a hot bath before crashing for the night. Or rather, morning, since it was almost 1:00am. She usually woke at seven to start working on her next book, but something told her she needed to sleep longer than that.

  “Need anything before I head out?” she asked the wolves. “Nikki will be taking over.”

  Three of the wolves pulled out their wallets and handed her a wad of cash. Her hand closed around the fives and ones. It surprised her that they would think to tip her and not just tip Nikki when they were done for the night. But then, the wolves around town were pretty honorable. Despite the fact there were beasts lurking inside of them, the ones she’d interacted with had been perfect gentlemen, even in high school. More than one had stopped her from being groped in her adolescent years.

  “Thanks, guys. Y’all have a good night.”

  Abril took the dirty plates back to the bar, clocked out, and grabbed her purse. It was a long ass walk to her apartment, but a car was a luxury she couldn’t afford. If she kept this job long enough, maybe she could save for something cheap. The used car lot on the edge of town sometimes had older models for a few thousand. If it got her from point A to point B, she didn’t much care what it looked like. She didn’t even care if it had air conditioning and heat.