Page 3 of Taming of a Wolf

I miss our parents. I wish they were here to tell me what to do. To help me raise my brother and protect him. I can’t do this alone. “But it’s going to be okay.” Kneeling down, I squeeze his shoulders. “I’m here. We’ve got each other.”

Jace nods, sniffling.

I pull him in for a tight hug, and he tenses in my arms. “What’s that?”

I look back into the murky depths of the river. There’s something shimmering within the water. It almost looks like…some kind of light? The longer I stare, the brighter the light becomes until it’s almost painful to look at. What the hell’s going on?

Bubbles form on the river’s surface. My lizard brain screams to run, but I’m frozen in place. Something’s happening. Something big. There’s a tugging in my chest, like a hook’s fastened in my skin, urging me closer, forcing me to watch and wait.

An explosion of water showers up into the air and sprays me right in the face. Shrieking, I wipe water out of my eyes just in time to see a shape soar in front of the full moon. It looks like a… a rowboat. And it’s flying straight at me!

“Holy shit!” I hurl myself and Jace out of the way just as the boat crashes down on the pavement where I was standing. Chunks of wood fly everywhere, bouncing off my body. Shaking, I lower my hands away from my face.

“Are you okay?” I ask Jace.

He looks shaken but unharmed. “Whatwasthat?”

The scattered remains of the boat are everywhere.

And lying atop the remains is a man.

He’s huge, even lying down, or maybe the bizarre armor he wears makes him look bigger. His long black hair is plastered to his face, and water glistens in his thick bushy beard. Little beads are woven into his hair and beard, parts of which have been braided.

“H-hello?” I squeak, then clear my throat.

“Is he dead?” Jace asks, peering closer.

“No! I’m sure he’s fine.” To myself, I mutter, “Please be fine…” I inch close enough to tap him with my foot. He groans, and I exhale in relief. Okay, he’s not dead. What the hell do I do? I should probably call an ambulance, right? Oh god…

I drop my phone with a panicked curse as the massive man slowly sits up. He tosses back his head, his hair flying out of hisface. The greenest eyes I’ve ever seen pin me in place and steal the breath from my lungs.

I position Jace behind me just in case.

Parting his lips, he speaks in a low rumble like thunder. “Where am I?”

I open my mouth, but no words come out.

His nostrils flare, his eyes shining in the dark as he takes me in.

“Who are you? What is that…” He draws in a deep breath through his nose, and his eyes fucking glow like an animal’s under a flashlight. “That scent. Whatisthat?”

My legs quiver as he rises and comes toward me, his armor rattling with every slow step.

The winds change, and there’s a smell unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before. It’s like… I don’t know how to describe it. Like all of my favorite smells rolled into one. Coffee and cinnamon. The whiff of parchment when you open a well-loved book, the spine cracked and the pages slightly yellowed from age.

“It’s…” He comes toward me, sniffing frantically.

“You,” I say, breathless as he stops mere inches from me.

Bushy brows furrow as those green eyes hold my gaze.

The hook in my chest tugs and burns, urging me toward him.

And somehow, I know nothing will ever be the same again.

Chapter 2

Anders

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