Their Wild One Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Their Wild One

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Epilogue

  Thank You!

  About the Author

  Their Wild One

  By Lacey Thorn

  Their Wild One

  by

  Lacey Thorn

  Running with wolves…

  Jess Mueller has spent her entire life with one obsession. Wolves. She’s chased legends surrounding them all over the world and stumbled across the biggest discovery of all in the wilds of Oregon.

  Playing with alphas…

  Drawing out an enemy brings the four wolf alphas together. When a lone woman is injured during an attack meant to hurt them, there’s nothing to do but take her with them.

  Driving them wild…

  Four alphas. One woman. They’re fighting for more than their lives. They’re fighting for their packs, their way of life, and the one woman none of them want to let go.

  Copyright

  © 2020, Lacey Thorn

  Their Wild One

  Cover Art by Supernova Indie Publishing Services, LLC

  Formatting by Supernova Indie Publishing Services, LLC

  Edited by Michele Paulin

  Electronic Format ISBN: 978-1-949795-39-4

  Published by: Lacey Thorn Publishing

  Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

  Dedication

  To everyone who’s ever dreamed of being something more.

  To those who have heard they can’t, they aren’t, they’ll never be. To those who dream. The ones who refuse to quit.

  Stay wild and free, my friends. Wild and free…

  Prologue

  Jess Mueller sat quietly in the meadow, soaking up the world around her. She came to the same spot every day. She’d lie back in the grass and watch the clouds roll by, seeing how many wolves she could find roaming across the sky.

  Her mother stayed in the garden, pruning and singing to her flowers. She had one rule for Jess. She had to stay in the yard. And Jess had meant to. She really had. But the tiny whimper that carried on the wind to her was enough to entice the eight-year-old into the woods surrounding her home.

  She decided to dart in and make sure everything was okay. Then she’d leave. Her mom would never even know she’d been gone. That had been the plan until she found a litter of wolf pups hidden right under her nose. The tiny scraps of fur were excited to see her, almost as excited as she was to find them.

  Her laughter carried on the wind as tongues bathed her face and arms. Tails wagged as Jess and the pups rolled around together, and when they howled, she threw her head back and howled with them, completely forgetting she wasn’t supposed to be there.

  Then the puppies were rushing from her, tripping over each other as they barked and ran toward the largest wolf Jess had ever seen. With the wonder of a child, she followed the pups, falling to her knees by the great white wolf and reaching a shaking hand out to gently brush the fur. It was soft, so incredibly soft, and soon she was rubbing her nose in it.

  She trailed them back to the den, content to stay until she heard her mother calling her name.

  “Jess! Jess, where are you?”

  She lifted her head and moved toward the entrance. The white wolf blocked her.

  “Jess!”

  “I have to go,” Jess told the wolf, absently patting the pups that crawled around her. “That’s my mom. I left the yard. I’m going to be in big trouble now.”

  “Jessara Michelle Mueller! You have one minute to show yourself young lady, or you’ll be very sorry when I find you. No dessert for an entire month, Jess! Do you hear me?”

  “I gotta go. She’s real mad. She used my whole name and threatened no dessert.”

  Jess scooted toward the exit again, and this time when the wolf moved to block her, she wrapped her arms around the beast and hugged it close.

  “I have to go,” she whispered. “But I’ll be back. As soon as I can sneak away again. Promise.”

  When she shifted to move away, the wolf let her, but a mournful wail followed her as she made her way quickly toward her mother. A shiver went through her as the wail turned into the howl of a lone wolf. She glanced back and saw the splash of white against the green of the woods and felt a tug at her heart. For a moment, she was torn between the two beings calling to her.

  “Jess, there you are!”

  Her mother snatched her arm and pulled her close, kneeling in the dirt and debris to hug Jess close to her chest.

  “I was so worried. I looked up, and you were gone. Where were you? Did you get lost?”

  Jess shook her head. “I wasn’t lost. I was with the wolves.”

  “I… You what?”

  “I found the wolves, Mama! Ah-whooo!” She tossed her head back and howled into the sky.

  Her mom laughed, lacing her fingers with Jess’ and tugging her back toward the yard. “Wolves, huh?”

  “There were these wolf pups, and then the mama wolf came and—”

  “Marie! Jess! Where are you?”

  “Daddy!” Jess yelled for her father and took off. He was her favorite person in the whole world. Her dad was a teacher. No, a professor. He took her on grand adventures with his stories and taught her so much about the world around her.

  “Jess! There’s my girl!” He went to his knees and scooped her up, lifting her high in the air before settling her so she sat on his forearm. He put his other arm around her mother and turned them back toward the house. “What have my lovely ladies been up to today?”

  “I went on an adventure,” Jess chirped.

  “Your daughter’s adventure was to wander off into the woods and give me an anxiety attack when I couldn’t find her,” Marie countered then softened it by laughing. “Go on. Tell your father what you found.”

  “I found wolves, Daddy. Real wolves, and I played with them. They weren’t going to let me leave, but I promised I’d come back to see them.”

  “Hmm,” her mother murmured. “Maybe, we can go back and find these wolves tomorrow. Did I ever tell you I had a wolf pup when I was a little girl?”

  Jess’ eyes flared wide with wonder as her father laughed.

  “Wolves, huh? I should have known she’d inherit your obsession with wolves, Marie.” He turned back to Jess. “Your mother would have a whole sanctuary of wolves if we could.”

  Jess nodded, nearly unseating herself with her enthusiasm. “And guess what! I’ve decided what I want to be when I grow up.”

  “You have,” her dad called. “Let me guess. A
zoologist?”

  She shook her head.

  “A veterinarian?”

  She shook her head again. “I’m going to be a wolf, Daddy. Just like the big white one I saw today. Ah-whooo!” She howled into the air and wasn’t surprised when her dad joined her.

  He put her down as they reached the back of the yard, and she raced around, howling as loudly as she could. Her father grabbed her mama around the waist and spun her back to him, tugging her into his arms as he howled. He dropped his head to her neck, and her mama’s laughter tickled the air as she fidgeted in his hold. Jess ran to join them, reaching out to tickle her mother, too.

  Soon, they were all running around the yard howling as they chased one another.

  “Do you want to be wolves, too?” Jess asked.

  Her mama shook her head. “People can’t be wolves, Jessara. No matter how much we might want to.”

  “I can if a werewolf bites me,” Jess argued, remembering the movie she’d watched with her dad.

  “Werewolves.” Her mother looked straight at her dad with an expression Jess was all too familiar with. Her dad was probably losing dessert for a month, too.

  “If our Jess wants to be a wolf, then she’ll be a wolf,” her father exclaimed, lifting her and spinning her around again. “You’re the most intelligent girl I know. There’s nothing in this world you can’t do or be. Remember that, Jess. When the whole world is telling you no, I want you to picture me and remember my words. There’s nothing you can’t do.”

  Jess snuck back into the woods several times that summer to play with the pups and see the white wolf. She always knew her mother was close by, watching and protecting Jess. The same way she’d noted the white wolf in the woods at the edge of their yard, watching and protecting her. It was the best time of her life. Exploring with her mom and learning everything her mother could share with her about wolves. It was everything. It was perfect…

  Until it wasn’t. Until the car crash tore her world apart.

  On the day they buried her mother, Jess slipped away again and howled her grief into white fur. The mama wolf licked Jess’ tears, and Jess clung to her. She stayed as long as she dared before sneaking back into the yard before her father began looking for her. They’d both lost a huge part of their lives with the death of Marie Mueller.

  Jess continued to sneak away over the next few days, daring to stay longer and longer as her dad made plans for them to move. She didn’t want to leave her wolves but understood her dad’s need to get away from a house that held too many memories.

  On their last night, she was late getting back and found her father sitting on the back steps waiting for her.

  “How are your wolves?” he asked, and she realized she’d been keeping nothing from him.

  She sat next to him on the step and sighed.

  “I know you don’t want to say goodbye, Jess. I’d take your wolves with us if I could.”

  “Maybe just one,” she suggested, but her dad shook his head. “What about a sanctuary? Like Mama wanted.”

  He shook his head again.

  “Wolves are born wild and free, and that’s the way they should remain. Your mom knew that. If you want to be a wolf when you grow up, you should remember that, my wild girl.”

  Jess nodded. “Wild and free.”

  They sat in silence for a long time, neither saying anything as night fell and a mournful howl filled the air.

  “I think they’ll miss you, too,” her dad whispered.

  The wolf’s howl filled the air again, and this time Jess howled too. Her father wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap, and she realized at some point she’d started crying. She found comfort in the fact her father wasn’t ashamed to join her.

  The next morning dawned cold and rainy as she followed her dad to the car, hugging close the stuffed wolf her father had given her as they drove away. At the edge of the woods, she saw her wolves gathered and turned in her seat, coming to her knees to peer out the back window until they faded out of sight.

  “Wild and free,” she whispered, holding her fingers to the glass. That was just what she planned to be.

  Chapter One

  “I’ll never understand what you see in that nasty white wolf.”

  Derrick Miles barely restrained the growl that filled his chest. He was tired and frustrated and so fucking angry he was ready to kill. Starting with the woman in front of him. What the fuck was she doing in Three Sisters Wilderness in Oregon? He’d actually been surprised when she’d asked to meet him at one of the rustic cabins populating the area. It appeared she was becoming a threat instead of the constant nuisance he’d labeled her. Especially, if she had anything to do with the attack on one of his fellow alphas.

  “Ah, you’re breaking my heart, Alisha,” his best friend, Cody Sanger, countered her comment. “I might have to remember that the next time you need a doctor.”

  “I’d rather die from mange than have you lay a hand on me,” she snapped.

  “That makes two of us,” Cody vowed.

  “Enough!” Derrick thundered. “I want answers, Alisha. Now. Who was waiting on Michael? And Why?”

  Alisha smiled, and god help him, he’d never wanted to hit a female before now in his life. The fact this woman had once been a childhood friend played no part in who they were today. She’d chosen a path Derrick could never forgive. Still, it was a path that might garner him some answers if he could keep his hands off her throat long enough to get them.

  “No one cares about your stupid red wolf. He’s nobody,” she sneered.

  “He’s an alpha,” Derrick thundered. “Respect that.”

  “He’s not my alpha,” she snarled.

  A rumble rose from his chest to fill his throat. He stared her down until she dropped her gaze to his feet. Michael might not be her alpha, but Derrick was.

  “Who attacked him?” Derrick demanded, his gaze flicking briefly to Cody.

  They needed answers. Almost a week ago, Michael Carlyle, alpha of the red wolves, had been hit with a drugged dart. Had their friend and fellow alpha, Adrian Bronzen, not been with him, the attackers would have managed to drag Michael off. Most likely, they would have killed him. It was set up to look like a hunter attack, but Derrick knew it wasn’t what it had seemed.

  “Hunters,” Alisha offered with a shrug.

  “Oh, I’m sure we’re supposed to believe that,” Cody agreed. “Fortunately, we’re not that stupid.”

  “Are you calling me stupid?” she screeched.

  “If the shoe fits,” Cody growled, and it was all Derrick could do to hold his own temper in check.

  “It wasn’t hunters,” he countered. “Who was it?”

  “You don’t need to hang around with this trash, Derrick.”

  “You should come home.” She trailed her fingers delicately up his chest. He was almost amused at how her tone and expression changed so quickly. From shrew to seductress in two point zero seconds. “The gray wolves need you, Derrick. You’re our alpha. Don’t we matter to you?” She blinked eyes she’d managed to make luminous with unshed tears. “Don’t I matter?”

  Why she’d ask that was beyond him. She’d ceased to mean anything to him when he’d discovered she was responsible for the deaths of four wolves. Four red wolves. She was callous, as if their lives had no meaning simply because of the color of their fur. Plus, his pack knew everything he did was to protect them. He spoke with his second in command daily. Multiple times when needed. Monty could always reach him. If Alisha had been anywhere near the grays, she’d have known that.

  “I’m going to ask one more time. Then I’ll let Cody open that bag he wears around his waist and see what he has in there that might persuade you to talk.”

  Her gaze darted from Derrick’s face to the fanny pack Cody wore then back to Derrick.

  “I don’t know.” She licked her lips nervously. Derrick practically felt her mind spinning in search of a plausible lie.

  “Cody.”


  “With pleasure,” Cody swore as he unzipped the pack.

  “Wait!” she cried. “I don’t know. I swear.”

  “I can smell your lies,” Derrick growled, baring his teeth at her. “They sicken me.”

  Her gaze bounced between them, her nerves easy to see. There was something else, though. A smugness he almost scented in the air.

  “The attack wasn’t meant for Michael,” she finally said when Cody pulled a syringe out of his bag.

  “Who was it meant for?” Derrick asked, but he knew. If it hadn’t been meant for Michael, then it had to be for the only other wolf with him. Adrian.

  “The wolf with him. The other alpha.”

  “Why?” Cody demanded, uncapping the needle and flicking the barrel of the syringe with his finger as if prepping it.

  “Everyone knows the black wolves are the most loyal. Take their alpha out, and it creates chaos. They’ll splinter and fall.”

  Leaving them ripe for the picking. But who thought they could step in and take Adrian’s place? Derrick couldn’t think of a single wolf who’d try, but obviously, he’d been wrong.

  “Who, Alisha?” Derrick let his alpha rumble free.

  “You weren’t supposed to be here,” she whispered. “It was only supposed to be the other two. I wouldn’t have come if I’d known you were here. I wouldn’t try to hurt you.”

  “Too late for that promise,” he reminded her.

  “Leave, Derrick. Get out of here before things get worse. They won’t stop. They won’t stop as long as you’re all together.”

  “Who?” Derrick demanded again. “Who won’t stop?”

  He had his suspicions, but he needed her to confirm it for him. He needed her to tell him the truth.

  “The wolves,” she yelled. “They don’t want you together. We don’t mix. We keep to our own. There are rules. You’re breaking the rules.”

  He shook his head. “This is survival, Alisha. The hunters are picking us off one by one, and we’re making it easy for them. The only way to protect our species is by coming together. All wolves, no matter the color of our fur. We need to unite. One alpha. A large group that stands together instead of small groups that turn on one another at the drop of a dime. We need each other. It’s the only way.”