Falling for the Werewolf: A Wolf Shifter Romance Read online

  Falling for the Werewolf

  Abbie Zanders

  Published by Abbie Zanders, 2017.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  FALLING FOR THE WEREWOLF

  First edition. May 5, 2017.

  Copyright © 2017 Abbie Zanders.

  Written by Abbie Zanders.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Falling for the Werewolf

  Before You Begin

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1 – The Interview

  Chapter 2 – Small World

  Chapter 3 – Baby, You Can Drive My Car

  Chapter 4 – Walking a Thin Line

  Chapter 5 – Treading on Soft Paws

  Chapter 6 – Going Public

  Chapter 7 – The Calm Before the Storm

  Chapter 8 – The Storm

  Chapter 9 – What a Tangled Web

  Chapter 10 – Just When You Thought Things Couldn’t Get Any Worse

  Chapter 11 – A Ray of Hope

  Chapter 12 – You Want A Happy Ending?

  Epilogue – A Quick Update

  Thanks for reading Jace and Dani’s story

  Howls Romance

  About the Author

  Also by Abbie Zanders

  Falling for the Werewolf

  A Howls Romance

  by

  Abbie Zanders

  Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

  Before You Begin

  Hi, and thanks for selecting Falling for the Werewolf! I’m thrilled for the opportunity to be a part of the Howls Romance collection, and hope you enjoy reading sometimes-hairy alpha heroes as much as I like writing them.

  If you like ‘classic romance with a furry twist’, please check out the other books available in this awesome collection (there’s a list at the end of the book).

  More back-of-book goodness: you can check out some of my other titles, too. If you like what you see, feel free to click the link to sign up for my newsletter, receive a free ebook, and get a chance each month to win a $25 gift card, just for being your awesome shifter-loving self.

  Acknowledgements

  Cover by moi, Abbie Zanders. (Don’t be too impressed; Celia provided an idiot-proof template).

  Stock photos from www.depositphotos.com.

  Professional editing by C&D Editing (cdediting.weebly.com). A special thanks and shout out to Kris, who went above and beyond to get the edits done on this in time.

  Thanks also to amazing author Jessie Lane, who not only told me about this wonderful multi-author project, but who provided support, encouragement, and a swift kick in the backside when needed.

  Chapter 1 – The Interview

  Jace Stevens refrained from running his finger along the collar of his white dress shirt. The pale blue silk felt more like a noose than a necktie. Instead, he smiled politely, nodding occasionally and pretending to listen as the older man droned on and on about how wonderful it was to work at the prestigious investment firm of Pompano, Calhoun, and Bentley.

  As if on cue, a very pretty—and very young—assistant entered with a tray of refreshments, wearing a snug-fitting black skirt that reached to around mid-thigh, and a white, tailored shirt that was opened one or two buttons more than a female boss would have considered appropriate. Her gaze lingered on Jace a bit longer than necessary. Even if his acute shifter senses hadn’t picked up her flare of lust, her eyes and body language suggested she wouldn’t mind offering him more than just a cold drink.

  Jace politely declined and turned his attention back to the man behind the desk, effectively declining anything else the young assistant might be offering, as well.

  She left shortly after, shooting one more, slightly pouty glance toward Jace. The older man didn’t seem to notice, his eyes glued to her backside as she made her exit.

  Returning to his well-practiced spiel, Mr. Pompano touched on the standard list of benefits: medical, dental, stock options, retirement. Important things, to be sure, but more so to full-humans, like the comb-over droning on and on.

  Shifters, by nature, were a healthy lot, and on those rare occasions when they weren’t, they sought out their own pack healers. And, as for financial security, well, Jace had a knack for turning small investments into big returns, which was exactly why firms like this one wanted to hire him. They, and their clients, stood to make a lot of money.

  Feeling slightly claustrophobic in the dark paneled office, Jace found it difficult to focus. Just like his last four interviews, he had decided two minutes in that there was no way in hell he could work here.

  At least this was the last one for a while. His uncle had more than enough work to keep him busy over the next few months, and he was in no hurry to trade in days of fresh air and hot sun for a stuffy, climate-controlled office.

  Working with his hands beneath the open sky, building things with his uncle Amos, that was where his heart really lay. Which begged the question: why was he even here? Sure, he had the fancy degree and the financial acumen to play with the big city dogs and make lots of money in the process, but what good was that if he was miserable?

  “... very discreet, of course,” Mr. Pompano was saying, dropping the names of a few major players as if that might entice Jace to sign on the dotted line.

  It didn’t.

  Jace pasted the smile back on his face and sat through the remaining twenty minutes, trying to quell the urge to tell him what he really thought about the position and the company as a whole.

  The tie came off the second he walked out of the building. Maybe it was time to admit the truth. He just wasn’t cut out for the white-collar life.

  When he looked down at his watch, his frown increased. He was supposed to meet Amos to finish up the Chandler’s deck an hour ago. If he hurried, he might be able to make it back in time to—

  “Umph!” Jace felt something smack into his chest, at the same time he heard the decidedly feminine grunt.

  He stopped his forward progress and looked down as a young woman bounced back and downward. Too late, Jace reached out to catch her and missed, causing flailing arms to release a flurry of papers as she landed soundly on her backside.

  Without looking up, the woman immediately got to her knees with a groan and began gathering her papers as the light afternoon breeze tried to carry them away.

  “Are you all right?” Jace asked as he bent down to help.

  “I’m fine,” she answered breathlessly.

  It had been a solid hit. Jace was mildly surprised she could get the words out at all.

  She took the papers from him and tucked everything safely back into her legal-sized, soft-sided bag.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, offering a sheepish smile from down on the sidewalk.

  Jace barely heard her. He was too busy thinking about what pretty eyes she had. Not quite blue and not quite green, they held mesmerizing swirls of both that made him think of the glass marbles he’d had when he was a kid.

  “Totally my fault,” she said, accepting his hand as he helped her up.

  Two things registered in his mind in those few moments. The first was that this woman with the pretty eyes was smiling at him. Not yelling at him for not looking where he was going, or complaining that her papers were now most certainly messed up, but smiling apologetically as if she had actually caused him some difficulty. The second thing he noticed was that her hand was pleasantly warm and soft, and fit perfectly in his. His wolf roused in interest.

  Even in the strappy-heeled sandals she wore, the young woman bar
ely reached his shoulders.

  Her eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise when she took her first good look at him, starting somewhere around his chest and moving upward to his face. It was such an honest, innocent reaction that Jace couldn’t help smiling.

  Her blonde hair, gathered in a large comb-like clip in the back, had streaks of bronze and dark red. A few wayward tendrils escaped the confines of the comb here and there, framing her delicate face. His large hands twitched with the sudden urge to remove the clip and bury themselves in all that multi-colored silk.

  Jace inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the subtle scents of oranges and coconuts as images of tropical beaches flashed across his mind. It cleared the last residual traces of the stuffy, Polo-scented office he had just left, and for that alone, he was grateful. She smelled like freedom and desire, and it was making him hard.

  “Well,” she said with a soft laugh that tickled him somewhere deep in his gut, “I guess it’s safe to say I didn’t do you any damage.”

  Jace’s grin widened. “No, I’d say you definitely got the worst of it. You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah,” she said, smoothing down her dress in the back. “I have plenty of padding, though I don’t think I’ll be sitting comfortably anytime soon. Thanks for helping me grab my papers.”

  “No problem.” A few seconds of seeing her on her hands and knees, followed by the full-frontal view he was getting now, was enough for Jace to form the opinion that she had just the perfect amount of “padding.” However, the gentlemanly part of him didn’t think it would be appropriate to point that out. At least, not until he had a chance to get a closer look and confirm it. He was nothing if not thorough.

  The woman glanced quickly at her watch. “Oh man, I have to hurry.” There was that apologetic smile again, as if she would have enjoyed staying right where she was if she could. “Thanks again.”

  She half-walked, half-ran away as Jace watched the skirt of her simple white sundress swirl around a curvy behind and extremely well-toned legs. His brain started functioning again about the same moment she rounded the next corner and disappeared from sight.

  The sun disappeared behind the clouds, and the sidewalk where he stood suddenly seemed darker and colder than it had been only a few minutes earlier.

  On a sudden impulse to chase, Jace jogged after her, but by the time he reached the corner, the bus was just pulling away. He caught the flash of blonde and the surprised look on her face when she spotted him as the bus drove past.

  Chapter 2 – Small World

  A week later, the image of the female appeared again in Jace’s mind as he pounded nail after nail into the wood. It was hot under the mid-day June sun, but he didn’t even notice. Lost in the rhythm, his powerful arms and hands moved without conscious thought, fluid and precise.

  He was fairly certain she was fully human, but his wolf didn’t care. Humans and shifters had been coexisting peacefully in the idyllic mountain valley known as Kenner’s Mills for hundreds of years, and shifter-human pairings weren’t uncommon.

  In full agreement, his wolf continued to paw at him, chastising him for letting her get away and wanting to see her again. Who was she? Why hadn’t he asked her name? Asked her for her number? Said something charming to make her laugh again? She had a wonderful laugh, soft and musical.

  To appease his wolf, as well as his human side, he had been back to the same block every day since then, hoping to catch another glimpse of her or to pick up her scent ... without success. If he had, he would have found some way to catch her attention, even if it meant placing himself in her direct path again.

  The memory of the sensation of her slamming into his chest was a fond one. Next time, he would catch her and hold her to him before she fell. They would laugh over the déjà vu of it all, and then he would ask her out for lunch or coffee or something. She would flash those pretty eyes and accept shyly.

  Oh yeah, he had it all worked out.

  Except, there had been no sign of her. He had walked two or three blocks in either direction each day, but there were too many people, too many scents to single out just one, even one as unique as hers. He had even gone as far as to check out the bus schedule. Amazingly enough, the bus she had hopped on was destined for right here in Kenner’s Mills, which meant she might be a lot closer than he had thought.

  But, if that were true, then where could she possibly be hiding? Kenner’s Mills wasn’t that big—you were bound to run into everyone at one point or another—but so far, nothing.

  Frustrated, he swung the hammer a little harder than necessary. “Shit,” he muttered as he eyed the substantial dent he had made in the surrounding wood. He would need to spread some filler on that. He loved working carpentry with his uncle, and hated when he did something stupid to ruin an otherwise flawless project.

  “Something on your mind, Jace?” Amos asked.

  Jace let his arm drop and gave his uncle a tormented look.

  “Ah. Now the only thing I know of that can make a man look like that is a woman,” Amos said knowingly. “Someone I know?”

  Jace shook his head, laying down his hammer and picking up a gallon-sized jug of water. “Not even someone I know.”

  “But someone you’d like to?”

  “Yeah, something like that.” Jace smiled. It was exactly like that. No woman had ever captured the instant and total attention of both his man and his beast as she had, which meant he had to find the woman. Tingles of anticipation shot through him at the mere thought of it.

  “So, what are you going to do about it?”

  That was an excellent question. What was he going to do about it? He had no idea who she was or where she lived. All he knew was that, with each passing day, the need to find her grew. He couldn’t get the mystery girl out of his mind, and his wolf was driving him crazy.

  When he closed his eyes, he could see her pretty eyes, hear her lighthearted little laugh. Even now, here in Mrs. Evan’s backyard, he swore he could detect a slight hint of coconuts and oranges on the gentle summer breeze. Yeah, he had it bad.

  “Jace, did you hear me, son?”

  Jace snapped back from his thoughts to see Amos standing there with his hands on his hips. He didn’t look angry, though. Amos rarely got angry. Then again, Jace had never given him reason to, either.

  He had been living with Amos since his undergrad days, when he was taking classes at night from the local university and working during the day with Amos. Amos was more like a father to him than an uncle; had been ever since Jace’s own father passed away ten years earlier. It was Amos who had helped him through the difficult transition from boyhood to manhood, and continued to be a guiding influence on his life today.

  Jace opened his mouth to say something, but Amos held up his hand. “Go ‘round and ask Bess if she’s decided on the lattice work yet. We can’t do much more until that’s done. I’m going to the lumberyard this afternoon and can pick up what we need.”

  Jace set the jug down and used the dark blue bandana stuffed in his pocket to wipe some of the sweat from his face and neck.

  Amos must really think he needed a break if he was sending Jace to ask Bess something. Amos usually liked to talk to Bess himself. He knew his uncle had a thing for her, and with good reason.

  Bess Evans was in her early fifties, but could have easily passed for a woman in her late thirties. More importantly, Bess Evans was known to have the biggest and kindest heart in town, a heart that was especially partial to one Amos Stevens.

  There was no one outside when Jace rounded the sprawling Victorian, with its turrets and angles that made it look like a life-sized doll house.

  Bess had turned her five-acre property into a maze of gardens, with landscaping so breathtaking that many locals often requested to have their wedding and prom pictures taken there. A couple of flats of vibrantly colored flowers sat in the shade of the porch, freshly watered and awaiting their new home around the gazebo he and Amos were currently building.


  The wraparound front porch was empty, but Jace heard music coming from above. He went to the far side and ascended the exterior stairs, following the sound to the roof-top balcony, where he froze in his tracks at the top.

  There, lying face down on a lounge chair, was a young woman who was exquisitely built, slathered in tanning oil, and completely naked. Not a strip of fabric, not a single line to mar the deep, even bronze of her skin.

  Jace swallowed hard. That was not Bess Evans. That was a goddess.

  Lush, not overly lean. Golden, not white. Perfectly proportioned.

  When the figure shifted, Jace ducked behind the corner pillar of the four-foot-high half-wall that surrounded the balcony. The wall that offered privacy from prying eyes. Like his.

  Feeling like a peeping Tom, yet unable to stop himself, Jace peeked around the corner. The goddess was now on her back, arms lifted up over her head. He watched her chest rise and fall as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. His eyes were drawn to the dangling diamond navel ring upon her smooth, flawless skin before they managed to find their way back up toward her face.

  Jace sucked a breath in through his teeth. He knew that face. He had been seeing it in his mind’s eye for the past week. It was her.

  Jace forced himself to turn away and retreat quietly down the stairs, gripping the bannister firmly. As before, his brain seemed to shut down temporarily. He was almost to the bottom before some cognizant thoughts began reforming. And by the time he reached the gazebo, he was close to being able to speak coherently again.

  “What’d she say?” Amos asked, startling him.

  “Um, I, uh ... didn’t find her.”

  Amos took one look at Jace’s stricken face and broke out into a huge grin.

  “You went up to the roof, didn’t you?”

  Jace swallowed hard and nodded.

  Amos laughed. “Yeah, I should have warned you about that.” Oddly enough, Amos didn’t look that sorry.