Nya's Wolf: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance

by Roxy Wilson

  Nya’s Wolf

  By

  Roxy Wilson

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places, businesses and incidents are from the author’s imagination or they are used fictitiously and are definitely fictionalized. Any trademarks or pictures 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 or pictures used are specifically in a descriptive capacity. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead, is coincidental.

  Editing: Leanore Elliott

  Cover Art: John Kennedy of Coverotic

  © November, 2015. Roxy Wilson

  Books by Roxy Wilson

  Newest Releases:

  This Time, Baby (A Bundle of Joy, Book 5)

  Fur-ever Yours: A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (The Protectors Volume 1)

  Fur-Ever Yours: A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (The Protectors Book 2)

  My Guardian Vampire, Volume 1

  Just Gettin’ Started: BWWM Interracial Cowboy/Western Romance (Westbury Ranch, Book 1)

  Stay With Me: BWWM Interracial Cowboy/Western Romance (Westbury Ranch Book 2)

  I Only Have Eyes For You: BWWM Cowboy/Western Romance (Westbury Ranch Book 3)

  Ms. Perfectly Imperfect

  Boxed Sets:

  Baby Love Volume 1

  Baby Love Volume 2

  Yuletide Love Volume 1

  Yuletide Love Volume 2

  Other Books:

  Baby Wanted (A Bundle of Joy, Book 1)

  The Baby Proposal (A Bundle of Joy, Book 2)

  Baby, You’re Mine (A Bundle of Joy, Book 3)

  Secret Baby Seduction (A Bundle of Joy, Book 4)

  A Christmas Kiss (Holiday Happiness, Book 1)

  Second Chance Christmas (Holiday Happiness, Book 2)

  The Christmas Cupid (Holiday Happiness, Book 3)

  Mistletoe Miracles

  Loving St. Nick

  Work It Out

  NYA’S WOLF

  BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance STANDALONE NOVEL

  Nya Haywood, a curvy forest ranger, is not afraid of hard work. When she stumbles over a body seconds after an eerie encounter with an Alpha wolf and a bear, she finds herself in the middle of a battle, caught between a wolf clan and those who believe the gorgeous man she’s just met is the murderer.

  Reese Madison is hard to resist. With rugged good looks, sex appeal oozes from his veins, but could he be dangerous? All clues lead to him being the murderer. Nya is warned to steer clear of him, but that would mean she’d have to ignore her attraction to him and believe he’s capable of such a heinous crime.

  Is Reese worth the risk? Has Nya unknowingly gotten herself caught up in something darker than she’s ready to face?

  Chapter One

  Nya Haywood never considered her job dangerous. Being a forest ranger was exciting and full of adventure. She loved to be in the forest. Her job was to protect it, and she was damned good at it. As she stared into the dark, furious eyes of the huge, black bear that stared at her from across the clearing, she learned rather quickly what it meant to have her heart in the mouth.

  This was the moment she would die.

  While she knew how to handle the animals, this beast was on a rampage. She could see from his aggressive stance and the way he growled at her that she’d unwittingly done something to piss him off. Perhaps it was a female who was protecting her cubs, or maybe this one just got into a fight with another animal and lost.

  Whatever the reason was, she was right smack in the middle of its path and it looked as if the bear was ready to mow her down. Maybe it thought that a five feet three inches tall woman would prove to be an easy target. But petite she wasn’t. Nya was no pushover.

  Her training came in handy. Gently, she lowered her hand to the side to take out the stun gun that might serve her. If she could shoot down the bear, there may be a chance for her to escape. Of course, by the time the animal was shaky enough to fall, it might already be too late for her. Whipping out her gun, she let loose the dart at the exact moment when the bear launched itself towards her. Running wasn’t an option. It would catch her before she could take three steps.

  The bear’s mouth opened and it let out a loud snarl. It was so close that she could nearly count the teeth and smell its fetid breath.

  Just then, a wolf bounded between them.

  She didn’t know who or what was more startled: she or the bear. The bear skidded along the ground while she stumbled back. Nya barely had time to notice that the gray-silver wolf was much bigger than any she ever saw in this forest before she fell backward and rolled down the ravine. A scream escaped her lips as she bounced off rotten tree logs and bushes and landed on a heap of old, dry leaves. Nya jumped up. If there was a snake here, she would be bitten before she could move up the steep climb. Luckily, she couldn’t see any slithery movements. She marched over to the sharp hill but when she raised her head to see if she could find a path up, her gaze met that of the wolf’s.

  A strange sensation careened through her spine. It wasn’t fear, but rather some kind of an understanding. She sensed that the wolf wasn’t there to harm her. It saved her life from the bear. The bigger animal must have slunk away when it realized it wouldn’t be able to take a chunk out of her body. Nya couldn’t keep her gaze off the sleek animal that studied her for a few moments and then disappeared from sight.

  Nya pressed her palms to her eyes. “Phew. That was—weird,” she muttered. She grabbed a thick, green vine and tried to swing up. Damn it, if she was going to call for help just because she was trapped in some kind of ravine. With an effort, she pulled herself up but as she struggled on, the vine snapped and with a loud scream, she fell back down on the leaves.

  Oh, shit!

  Nya stood up again.

  “Nya! Where the hell are you?” her partner shouted.

  Good. Help was on its way. Perhaps she did need it after all. “I’m fine. Just stuck,” she called out. As she tried to grab another vine, her gaze was drawn to the object that was half hidden within the soil and dry leaves. Nya halted. No, it couldn’t be. Of course, it wasn’t. Still, she couldn’t just leave without investigating.

  Should she wait for her partner, Quinn to arrive? Curiosity didn’t allow her to wait. Nya trudged over. Picking up a stick, she poked at the object. It was soft and mushy. With the stick, she brushed off some the leaves. Her gaze was focused on the sight that met her eyes.

  Her partner stepped to the edge of the ravine. “What are you doing down here?”

  She peered up at him. “We’ve got a problem.”

  “What’s going on?”

  There was no time to tell him about her encounter with the bear and the wolf. He probably wouldn’t believe her. It reminded her that she needed to collect the dart. It missed the bear and was probably lodged in some tree or bush. But right now, her attention was focused on the object she found. “I’ve found a body.”

  Quinn wrinkled his brow. “What?”

  “It’s a dead man, Quinn. We need to call the police.”

  It took him a few seconds to figure out she wasn’t joking. “A body? But…is it a hiker? Maybe he fell down here and broke his leg or something and then couldn’t get out.”

  Nya knelt down to inspect the large, deep wound on the front of the man’s head. Judging by the level of decomposition, the corpse was at least a day old. The skin was already dry and stretched tight over the face. Blood had crusted on the wound. Rigor mortis was set in the limbs. “He was killed,” she stated in a flat voic
e.

  Quinn scratched his head. He took out his cell phone and placed a 911 call.

  She heard him speak but her attention was fixed on the man who’d been decaying on the forest floor for at least a day. Was he killed here? Or was his corpse hidden here to escape notice?

  This was her forest.

  She protected it.

  How dare someone sully the very essence of this special place with something as vicious as murder! While this was a police case, Nya already knew she wouldn’t be able to rest until she got to the bottom of this mystery.

  Quinn slipped down and stood beside her. “The troops are coming. I informed Chief Sullivan and he’ll bring the police in himself. I’ve given our location. He surveyed the corpse. “Poor bastard! What a way to say goodbye to the world!”

  “His life was stolen from him, Quinn. That isn’t fair.”

  “Yeah. True.” He sighed. “We’ve got to hand over the case to the police and then go about our business.”

  She didn’t quite agree with him. Yes, it was police’s business, but she was making it her own because this was their jurisdiction. But there was no point talking about this with Quinn. He wouldn’t agree.

  “Someone hid it here thinking that it wouldn’t be discovered. If it wasn’t for the rains the last two nights and also the fact that you came down here…” He glanced at her. “…You saw it from the top?”

  This was the time to tell him about the bear and the wolf, but something told her that her story would sound more like fantasy than reality. After all, whoever heard of a wolf jumping in to protect a human from a bear? And yes, that is exactly what that animal had done. “I stumbled back when I saw a bear. Thought he was going to attack me, so I had to fire a dart at him. When I fell through here, it probably ran away.”

  Quinn gave her a curious glance. Perhaps he understood she wasn’t telling all. She wasn’t a faint hearted novice who panicked at the sight of an aggressive animal. “Good thing you found it. If you didn’t fall in, this guy would have been here for a long time. I don’t think anyone would have found him.”

  “I think that was the intention of the person who killed him.”

  Quinn stood and sighed. He walked over to sit on a rock. “He isn’t going to get away with this. The police will find him or her sooner or later.”

  Did he know how many murders remained unsolved each year? She had some idea. Before she became a forest ranger, Nya considered a career with the police. The only thing that stopped her was the knowledge she wouldn’t ever be able to shoot at a human, no matter how much the need or provocation. “Yeah,” she said simply. Nya sat and waited until the police arrived. She gave them the background information. Later, she stuck around as they photographed the body.

  “You can leave,” the Chief said.

  “Sure, sir. I was just…watching the process.”

  “I’m glad you found the man. It isn’t fitting for a person to remain here. He should be handed over to his family and buried in the proper manner.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “But we’ve done our job, and now it’s up to the police to do theirs,” he said in a commanding voice. She’d worked with him for two years and knew he liked his subordinates to work within official boundaries. As far as he was concerned, their job was done regarding this matter. It was now up to the police to find the murderer.

  Nya disagreed.

  Someone dared to use their forest as a backdrop for murder.

  Surely they owed something to the dead.

  But this wasn’t the time or place to argue. She nodded instead. “Yes, sir. With your permission, I would like to leave. We were supposed to go down to inspect the southern tip of the forest…but I don’t feel quite up to it.”

  “Of course. Finding a dead body takes its toll. You can take the rest of the day off.”

  “Thank you, sir.” She didn’t know what she would do, but perhaps it might be a good idea to go and take a long, hot soak in the tub. She needed to wipe off the stench of death that clung to every inch of her body. “Bye.” Nya walked away.

  She exchanged some notes with Quinn who was also going home. After bidding him goodbye, she strode back to the main road where her vehicle was parked. As she unlocked it, her gaze was drawn to the sleek, black Mercedes that shot past her. There was no doubt in her mind as to who it belonged to—Reece Madison. He was the only man in their sleepy town who could afford to drive such a vehicle. While his presence near this location shouldn’t have bothered her, for some reason it did. She’d never seen him in the town at this time.

  He came in a year ago with his idea of opening a big factory and did so. He provided employment and infused a new life in the town, but Reece Madison wasn’t the sort to mingle with the locals. He went to his office in the morning and went home at night. What he did beyond that was anyone’s guess.

  She’d seen him a few times but only from far away. He was an enigma, a curiosity—and now even more so. It was strange he should be in this part of town when they recently discovered a body. Nya took out her cell phone and texted the information about his whereabouts to her Chief. He would pass it on the police.

  There. Her job was done.

  Or at least on paper it was.

  As she sat in the car, Nya was all the more conscious of the fact that there was no way she could let this murder go. Whatever happened next, she wanted to be in the loop. Perhaps she could be part of the investigation in some ways. For that, she would have to contact the police. They might just agree to allow her to help them.

  Or they might tell her to butt out.

  At least, she needed to try.

  Chapter Two

  Reece Madison was in a foul mood. It was bad enough one of his employees was brutally murdered but that woman had to compound the matter by giving his name to the police. Last he heard, it wasn’t a crime to drive a car on a public road, and that’s what he insisted he was doing when the police questioned him.

  “Did you have any idea your employee was murdered when you went for the drive?” asked Officer Peterson who was in charge of the murder investigation.

  Reece kept his temper in check. They were doing their job, and he planned to cooperate fully with them “He was missing for a day and didn’t turn up at the office. We figured he was sick or something. But murder? No. Of course, none of us here had a clue.”

  “When did you last talk to Mr. Miles?”

  He hesitated but then answered, “It was the day before he was killed. I saw him in his office…for some work and we talked. That was the last I saw him.”

  Officer Peterson taped his fingers on the table. “The forest where his body was found is on the opposite side of the town. It’s nowhere near your factory.”

  They wanted to know again, as to what he was doing here. Shit. He gritted his teeth but he forced a smile on his face. “As I said before, I have no idea where his body was found. Your office was the one who informed us. Regarding my presence there, I was driving around in town that day. That may have been one road I took, but I don’t recall any police activity.”

  He could see the police weren’t satisfied. Not with the frowns that creased their faces. He cursed himself for that. Ever since he came here, he maintained a strict routine of coming to office and leaving for home. He was never seen in town. Naturally, his car was recognized on that road. If only that forest ranger wasn’t there. She landed him in a lot of trouble.

  But there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

  Much to his relief, Officer Peterson stood. While Reece could see he wasn’t happy with the answers he got, he apparently realized he wasn’t going to get anything else out of Reece. It was a good thing too. Reece was near the end of his patience.

  “Goodbye, sir. If we have any more questions, we’ll come back.”

  “Sure, no problem.” He watched them leave. Now there wasn’t much he could do.

  Yes, there is.

  He remembered the bright, cinnamon colored eyes of the
forest ranger. Seeing her, he’d halted in his tracks. He was struck by her beauty. There was something about her that held him in check. But she obviously thought he was capable of murder. While he knew he should stay far away from her, Reece felt an irresistible need to go and confront her.

  No, he shouldn’t.

  Yes, I want to.

  Reece was a man who made all decisions with care. He never plunged into a situation without figuring out if it was good for him. He was a man of vision and strength. He’d taken over his father’s hardware store and made it into a huge business that boasted factories all over the country. He had countless employees and there wasn’t much he could not do. Yet, he chose to live in this sleepy town because…

  Well, he had his reasons.

  Now, because of Nya Haywood, he was about to lose his good reputation. The police came calling today. They might come again with more questions. It all happened because that woman uttered his name when she saw him. Reece stood. Suddenly, he felt the need to have a heart to heart conversation. And too bad, if she didn’t want it.

  When he got out of his office, he started his black Mercedes and sped it out of the gate. Soon, he was at the office of the forest rangers. After parking the car, he got out.

  Once more, his mind told him that confronting her would achieve nothing and yet, something compelled him to move forward. It was almost as if his mind shut down and his heart took over. He needed to do this; it was important.

  When he strolled through the main door, there was a lone clerk sitting at a rickety desk. “I’m here to see Ms. Nya Haywood.”

  The clerk didn’t even look up. “Straight down, at the end of the corridor. Her office is on the right.”

  He never had any need to come here. It was easy to see that the office wasn’t well staffed. Budget cuts resulted in less staff in all such places. He strode down and knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” she said in a lilting voice.