Wild: Hangman's Haunt Book 1 Read online

  Wild Copyright © 2018 Kay Elle Parker

  Published by Kay Elle Parker. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Published by Kay Elle Parker on February 24th 2018

  Editor: Kim Hinds

  Cover Design © Germancreative

  Formatting by Kim Hinds

  This book is intended for a mature audience only.

  Table of Contents

  Disclaimer

  Wild | Kay Elle Parker | 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

  Epilogue

  Note from the Author:

  How To Follow The Author:

  Beta Readers

  Wild

  Kay Elle Parker

  Chapter One

  “How would you choose to spend the last moments of your life? Say a bomb was set to go off in three minutes, what would you want to be doing when the big boom happened?”

  It was a loaded question. In a world where the possibility of nuclear weapons being deployed was an almost daily headline and World War III hovered on the horizon, it was also a valid one.

  The circle of friends lounged comfortably around a fire pit, sprawled across two corner sofas in the middle of the woods. It had taken some work to get the sofas through the maze of trees to the clearing they’d found, but on nights like these, the effort was more than worth it.

  There were four of them, young women aged between twenty-six and thirty, tied in the bond of friendship since kindergarten. As alike as chalk and cheese, not one of them by rights should have been friends with any of the others, but that’s how great friendships worked.

  “Is it the big boom to end all existence, or just a big boom enough to take out three city blocks?” This from Cassie, the youngest of the four. Her big brown eyes matched the color of her short bob of straight hair.

  “What does that matter? It’s a big boom.” Allix, asker of the original question, rolled her green eyes in exasperation. “Theoretical big boom. What difference does it make if it wipes out the world or just half of Seattle?”

  “Um, quite a bit? If it’s bye-bye world, there’s no point running, which affects my decision. If it’s only taking out half a city, I’m jacking the fastest vehicle I can find and getting the hell out of there.” Cassie sneered.

  “Bitch, the world is ending. No quick getaway for you.”

  “Fine. My last three minutes would be spent mooning you.” Cassie stuck her tongue out, then laughed as Allix launched a bag of open marshmallows at her head. A comet trail of soft candy scattered over the sofa. “There go the rest of the s’mores.”

  “Oh enough, you tease. Bren, what about you? Last three minutes on earth?” Allix flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder and looked at the tiny redhead on the opposite sofa.

  Languid amber eyes smiled back. “I’d sleep through it, of course.”

  “You can’t sleep through it, that’s just...boring!” Allix protested.

  “Simple self-preservation. If I’m not awake, by the time the big boom destroys humanity, I’d be vaporized anyway. Eternal sleep.” Brenna’s lips curved in imagined pleasure. “I could get behind that.”

  “For God’s sake, you sleep more than anyone I know.”

  Brenna’s smile widened into a wicked grin. “What can I say? I’m a night owl.”

  “Fucking night owl,” Allix muttered, and turned her attention to the last of their group. “Baylee, please, give me something good. This lot are completely unimaginative and making me doubt my choice in friends.”

  “Three minutes huh? I guess I’m going to go grab the nearest, most gorgeous guy I can find, get naked with him and pray he’s not too terrified to get the job done.” Baylee wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “When big boom goes boom, we won’t care because we’ll be in the middle of our own...boom.”

  “And the award for most booms in a sentence goes to...” Cassie performed a little imaginary drumroll. “Baylee Anderson! Come on down.”

  Out of the four, Baylee was the oldest at thirty. Her age didn’t bother her as such; she knew she had plenty of time to find a life partner, settle down and raise children. If she chose. So far, she’d found no man interesting enough to share her body with, never mind the rest of her life.

  She stretched her arms above her head as though lifting an award, and beamed with pride. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you...thank you for this prestigious award. Booms are not the easiest word in the English language to use repeatedly in sentences. It takes a great deal of hard work and concentration to achieve such success.” She pretended to wipe away a tear. “I know time’s running short so I’d like to thank my boom buddies: Bitch One, Bitch Two and of course, Little Bitch.”

  Applause broke out. Baylee sat up and gave a little bow. Her curtain of shoulder-length black hair swung to hide her face. “Now the festivities are over, I need chocolate.”

  “There’s none left,” Brenna murmured lazily. “Little blonde piggy over there scoffed the lot.” She blinked innocently at Allix. “Or did you save a flake?”

  “You’re such a rat,” Allix hissed.

  “I’m not the one who ate the stash.”

  “Girls, chill. It doesn’t matter. It’s a nice night to lay back and look at the stars.” Happy, Baylee did just that.

  Their clearing was the perfect spot. A twenty-foot circle in the middle of a woodland known as Hangman’s Copse. Legend kept most people on the right side of the boundary line; rumors of ghosts and witches, wolves that weren’t from nature’s bosom, all manner of weird and wonderful creatures.

  They’d been coming here for years, stumbling upon the clearing when Baylee had just turned thirteen. They’d spent all their free time here, exploring every pathway, every deer trail. They’d snuck out of bed at the most ungodly hours, on full moons and nights of Wiccan importance, tottering along with blankets and torches in shaking hands.

  They had never—to the disappointment of fertile young imaginations—seen anything other than Mother Nature at work. But Mother Nature worked in the best ways, and Baylee stared up at one now.

  Not one branch marred the perfect circle. It was like a huge ring of glass encircled the space, making everything grow around it. The effect on the sky was amazing, an open view of dark sky and stars scattered like silver raindro
ps, glowing wildly without light pollution to dim their shine.

  The fire hissed and spat as Cassie leaned over and tossed another chunk of wood into the pit. Sparks of red and yellow drifted free on the heat from the flames, soaring toward the unblemished heavens.

  “One day,” Brenna said quietly from across the fire, “we’ll all be like those sparks. Free of mortal bodies and left to float up there to join the open sky.”

  “Oh God,” Cassie yawned. “Brenna’s returned to communing with nature. She’ll be running around naked again before we know it. Skyclad or whatever the hell.”

  Brenna simply flicked her fingers at Cassie. “I can commune just fine with my clothes on, thank you. If I remember, someone brought some damn good tequila that night.”

  “Enough bickering. Behave or those marshmallows on the ground will end up stuffed in the next mouth that argues.” Sometimes being the eldest—when the youngest was twenty-six—had its advantages. “Besides, I have to head home soon.”

  Allix propped herself up on an elbow. “What the fuck for? You got a cute guy warming the bed you haven’t told us about? Bitch, that’s just wrong.”

  Baylee rolled her eyes. “No cute guy. No romantic liaisons. Still as virginal as the day I was born. Yada yada. I happen to work Sundays, even if you guys don’t. The bookshop won’t open itself or serve ignorant customers, no matter how hard I train it.”

  “Blow it off.” Ever the positive influence, Allix made a Pfft noise. “You work seven days a week, babe. Seven. Days. A. Week. Fifty-two weeks of the year. If you’re not careful, you’ll burn yourself out.”

  Like she wasn’t aware of that? She felt the burn, felt it keenly, but she couldn’t stop. “The shop’s only just gotten on its feet, you know that. I’ve got regular, repeat business coming in. I need to keep that flow going. If the routine’s disrupted, who knows what customers I’d lose.”

  Cassie sat up now, sitting cross-legged on her section of the couch. “Not as many as you’re imagining. You spend every waking hour in that place, Bay.”

  “My place. I bought it, I built it from the ground up. My life’s savings are tied up in it, not to mention my pride.”

  “So hire someone to cover for you a few hours a day. Another bookworm who can spend their life surrounded by the damn things and give you some time to yourself. No wonder you’re still a virgin, sis.”

  “Watch it,” Baylee snapped, shifting restlessly. “My shop is not the reason I haven’t had sex.” It was just one of the components. “I’m not interested in casual sex with guys who can’t get their heads around the first paragraph of a book.”

  “Not all men are academic geniuses,” Brenna commented lightly. She turned those amber eyes on Baylee and she saw worlds in that amused gaze. “Some are insanely ripped, others are rather lovely nerds. They can have brains, of course. For you...someone gentle, patient with just a bit of the rough and wild.”

  Rough and wild? “That’s a fabulous idea, Bren, why did I not think of that? I’ll just go around and ask every guy I meet if he meets those specifications.”

  “Don’t be cranky.” Brenna grinned. “Be ready. Someone’s waiting for you, Bay. It won’t be long before your paths cross.”

  Baylee rolled her midnight-blue eyes and wiggled into a sitting position to put her boots back on. Strong and sturdy with good soles for hiking through the woods. “That’s it, I’m going home. Miss Foresight over here has her crystal ball out and windchimes swinging in the wind.”

  Her friend laughed, low and smoky. “I’ve been right before, Bay.”

  She had, Baylee thought. There were times when Brenna could be spookily accurate with her predictions; a few times, Baylee wondered if the reason they’d never seen anything weird in this special place was because they had an actual witch in their midst.

  But that was ridiculous. Supernatural didn’t exist.

  Baylee gathered her torch, her jacket and stepped away from the warmth of the fire. She knew from experience once she stepped out of the clearing, the warmth would die, leaving it trapped within the invisible walls. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Be careful going home.”

  “I’ll come with you.” Allix unfolded herself from the sofa. “We’re not supposed to walk home alone. Group rules, babe.”

  Baylee shook her head. “Stay. I need some time to think, by myself. I’ve walked these woods for seventeen years, I think I’ll survive a midnight hike.”

  She was met with three baleful stares. She shook her head again and strolled out of the circle with her head full of things she was not inclined to think about. Her feet automatically found what had once been a deer path but had become their main route over the years.

  Gentle? Please. She wasn’t fragile, she didn’t need to be handled with kid gloves. Patient? She frowned at that. Patience was a good thing, wasn’t it? Sure it was. Rough and wild...now that was an interesting possibility.

  No. No, it was not. She wasn’t interested in rough and wild, or slow and gentle, or...Baylee swallowed hard. Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts. She squirmed a little, pressing her thighs together to suppress the ache. Goddamn her friends for doing this to her again; her virginity was a source of entertainment for them.

  They’d all been busy little sex bees during high school and college. Allix had been first, of course. If that girl came second in anything, she lost the plot. Second meant losing, and winning was the prime objective. Brenna, the sly bitch, had been next, seducing her science partner in the chem lab. Even Cassie had taken a ride on the love bus.

  Mortifying. Baylee shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket. The air got colder in the woods at night, especially now September had rolled in. It smelled of dense undergrowth, damp foliage, and that irreplaceable scent of autumn coming.

  She wasn’t a complete prude, she told herself and took a half-hearted kick at a mushroom beside the path. She’d seen things, read things, knew what it was all about. Her sex vocabulary even extended to such words as cock, pussy, masturbation and come. She just couldn’t say the words without blushing like an electrified rose.

  Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous for a grown adult female to be in this position. Baylee thought back to her answer to Allix’s question. Grabbing the nearest good-looking guy and having sex sounded like a stupid idea. There were things to consider, after all.

  Not sleeping with an axe murderer—check. Clear of sexually transmitted diseases or infections—check. Personal hygiene—check. Some experience with sex—check. Dirty, kinky sex artist—not required but wouldn’t be turned down unless there was a huge flaw.

  She hiked through the trees, head spinning with images, and stepped onto the stone track that led toward the small town of Hangman’s Haunt, a little settlement of about twelve hundred people. She followed the track for a few minutes before turning left onto the main road leading into town.

  The back of her neck prickled. Absently she rubbed her hand over it, but it stayed there, irritating her no end. Just ahead were the first streetlights. She headed toward them, switching off her torch when she reached the first one.

  Baylee paused, sniffed the air. Something pungent, bewildering, caught her attention. Earthy and rich, with an almost animalistic twang. She lifted her head, tried to catch it again but it was gone. So was the annoying itch.

  She shrugged, perplexed, and continued on her way. She wanted to get to bed, sleep for a few hours, then head to the little coffee shop next to her bookstore to grab one of their fancy French blend coffees and a sinful pastry. Another delivery had been dropped off just before closing, and she was eager to see what had arrived.

  She never stopped again, didn’t look around her, behind her. Her mind was focused completely on the last items of her mental checklist before bed. She didn’t hear the low, rumbling purr emanating from the woods she’d just left.

  HE HUNGERED. THE PANGS in his belly were on a par with the ones now throbbing in his cock. It had been a long time since he’d wanted a mortal; his kind were notorious
for breeding only with their own. Not that it was unheard of; he had several cousins who were born to mortal mothers, and they’d all inherited the genes necessary to continue the clan’s lineage from their father’s side.

  Paws the size of dinner plates padded softly through the undergrowth. He’d chosen a suitable form for following his newfound obsession; silent and deadly as any good hunter should be, with a decent nose for tracking his prey and the ability to camouflage himself into the undergrowth if needed.

  How funny, he thought, that he’d come to find his brother in this territory and instead stumbled across the one thing he wasn’t ready to search for. Fate. He’d learned long ago if fate offered her hand to you, you didn’t bite it off at the wrist. You took it, held onto it until she got you where you were going. To do anything else was destiny-suicide.

  Predatory green eyes watched the young woman walk away unhurriedly down the street. He licked his lips at the way her hips swayed rhythmically and wondered if they’d move that way when his hands held onto them as his cock pushed deep inside her.

  He growled, sighed, and reverted to his human form. He couldn’t track her into town; he’d have all the hunters in a hundred-mile radius on his back if he got spotted. He’d just have to wait till morning, follow the woman’s trail in human form, and see how the land laid.

  Daxon of the Gillies clan thought himself a patient man; his family would agree to disagree, but then they did a lot of that. He was the eldest son, destined to become clan leader once his father passed. But he had time; his father Shax was a healthy sixty-seven and had another thirty to forty years left in him unless the unspeakable happened.

  Dax had been sent on a mission: find Kaiyan and bring him home. His youngest brother was a nuisance, running away from home several times a year. But this time had been the longest, and Kaiyan had been harder to find than ever before.

  Leave the boy alone, Dax thought grimly. He was of age now, well beyond it at twenty-five, but Shax wanted his troublemaker close to home. How the hell Kaiyan had gone undetected in this massive area of forestry, Dax didn’t know—there were too many hunting signs posted for him to be comfortable.