Page 22 of Taming of a Wolf

I cautiously lift the hot mug to my lips and sip. The bitter taste is so strong, I spit it all out. Jamie covers his mouth, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “Here. Try it with milk.”

Lifting the little pitcher, I pour in milk, and the black solution in my cup lightens to a brown shade. It looks like muddy water. When I taste it again, the bitter flavor has been diluted, but only somewhat.

“Better?”

I smack my lips and nod. “This tastes amazing!”

“Here. Try this.” He pours some of the sugar into my mug and stirs it with a spoon.

This time when I taste the drink, the bitterness is hardly noticeable. I hum my approval, then add another pack of sugar. Then another. It’s almost as sweet as honey now. Perfect.

Jamie’s eyes grow wide. “That’s an awful lot of sugar.”

I sip the coffee and moan at the sweet taste. “Much better.”

Jamie chuckles, like he finds me amusing. “Loving your enthusiasm, tough guy. It’s pretty cute.” He pours milk into his coffee and drinks it. Somehow, the bitter taste doesn’t bother him.

“Cute!” I’ve never been so bewildered! “There is nothing cute about me.” I should tell him to stop calling me a puppy, but the fact is it doesn’t bother me. Neither does being called cute. If anyone else did it, I’d lop their head from their neck. But when Jamie says it, it doesn’t get me on the offensive.

Swallowing his coffee, he says, “I beg to differ. You’re adorable. Especially in your furry form. Those big ears, that boopable snoot! So precious.”

I growl at him lightheartedly, and he just laughs. The things I’d do to hear that sound…

Plates of food arrive. The “pancake” things look like stacks of flat, fluffy bread. I’m familiar with such things. What I don’t expect is for them to be so sweet! They are so soft they melt in my mouth.

“Are you gonna eat them plain?” Jamie grins at my enthusiasm as I tuck in. I haven’t eaten in hours.

“Why not? They’re delicious!”

“Here. They’re even better with butter and syrup. Real syrup, not this fake diner stuff. I’ll have to make some for you at home sometime with the real deal.”

I spread the butter and drizzle thick amber syrup over the pancakes. When I take a bite, it’s like a taste of Valhalla in my mouth. “I imagine Odin himself must eat such fine things.”

Jamie’s grin widens. “Never heard somebody love pancakes so much.”

I clean my plate in seconds, saving the crispy bacon for last. Oh, how I love bacon… This world may be different, but the food is incredible. My stomach feels like it will burst by the time I’m done, and still I eye Jamie’s remaining pancakes with zeal.

“Want some? I’m stuffed.” Jamie spears a piece of pancake.

I eat it right off his fork, moaning my satisfaction.

Jamie’s smile is soft when I open my eyes, and it makes me scowl. I don’t like how easy it is to let my guard down around him. I feel like a different person when I’m with him, someone weak, soft, vulnerable.

“What kind of food do you eat where you’re from?” Jamie asks me.

“Nothing so complicated as all of this.” Even the bacon tastes different. “Everything has more flavor.”

“How did you even end up here anyway?”

A growl escapes me as bitter feelings sour the sweet aftertaste of pancakes. “My brothers exiled me.”

Jamie’s eyes get wide. “Why?”

“They betrayed me in every sense.”

Frowning, Jamie reaches across the table and takes my hand. All the anger drains out of me, leaving nothing but soothing calm. I don’t like it. Nobody has ever been able to affect me so easily. It feels like trickery. If Jamie wanted to, he could use the effect he has on me to his advantage and harm me.

And yet… I don’t think he’s capable of such cruelty. My wolf knows this, and his judgment has never been wrong. Although he and I are not always in alignment.

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