Page 10 of Taming of a Wolf

Jamie laughs softly. It’s a sweet and musical sound. His smile is more radiant than any sunrise I’ve ever seen. “You’re supposed to shake it. Oh, wait. Wolf shifters usually smell each other, right?”

The boy tilts his head. “Like, sniff each other’s butts? Gross.”

It’s true we like to scent each other, though not our asses, but if I’m going to be here long, I should get used to these human customs. “Shake it? Oh.” I grasp his hand and shake. Hard. Jostling his arm up and down, I say, “I am Anders, son of Erik and Matilda.”

“Whoa, you’ve got a good grip!” Jamie says, voice breaking as I vigorously pump his arm. He frees his hand and shakes it out, laughing as he pulls a ring of keys from his pocket. “A man who can shift into a wolf and time travel. What a strange night.”

“Why is that so strange?” I ask him. “You’re ulfhednar yourself.”

Jamie drops his keys. “Wait. I’m what?”

I thought it was strange that he’d go out and about without his furs, but his utter confusion is even more unsettling. How can he not know what he is?

“Jamie,” I say slowly, “you’re ulfhednar too. I can tell by your scent.”

Jamie snorts, scooping up his keys. “No, I’m not.”

“Did your grandmother give you any furs, by chance?”

“No, why would my—” Jamie’s mouth goes slack, his eyes bulging. “How… how would you possibly know about—”

He’s quiet for so long I start to think he’s frozen from the cold.

Finally, Jamie blinks a few times, then plasters a smile on his face. “I could really use a hot drink. Do you want to come upstairs?” His voice is decidedly casual. It worries me.

“Aye, sounds good. Have you got any mead?”

“What? Uh. Yeah. Sure.”

I don’t think he has any mead.

Chapter 3

Jamie

Holy shit.

Wolf shifters, I mean,ulfhednar,are real! Time travel is real! I decide to gloss over what Anders said earlier, something about me being ulfhednar too. Because that’s just not possible—I’d know for sure if I was able to turn into a wolf.

Except if he’s wrong, then how did he know my grandma? How could he possibly know she gave me her treasured furs?

I really don’t want to go there. A time-traveling Viking just flew out of the Hudson River, hit on me, and tried to rob me, only to end up saving my life. Tonight has been crazy enough. Anders prowls around my living room, nose to the air, sniffing frantically. It would be funny if it weren’t so strange.

Even with his odd antics, he is the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. Sure, he’s grumpy and hotheaded, but he’s not so bad. There I was, lamenting over my lackluster love life, and he burst out of the river and landed right at my feet.

When Anders plops down on the sofa, my little brother bombards him with questions, his voice high and squeaky with excitement. “Jamie’s a wolf shifter, right? Does that mean I’m one too? When will I shift?”

He’s taking this way better than I am.

For such a gruff-looking guy, Anders is quite patient with my brother, smiling good-naturedly as he says, “Aye, lad, you will. But not until your twelfth winter when you don your furs for the first time.”

“I’m almost eleven!” Grinning, Jace leans over the back of the couch and shouts, “You hear that, Jamie? I’m gonna be a wolf shifter!”

My head is freaking spinning as I lean on the kitchen counter. What shifter romance did I wake up in? “I heard you, bud. Would you like hot chocolate?”

“Yup, with lots of marshmallows,” Jace chirps.

Anders jerks his head toward me. “Chocolate? What is that?”

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