Page 38 of Taming of a Wolf

I don’t need friends. I earned the respect of others through my skills at arms and as a hunter. And of course, my prowess in the bedroom earned me many lovers, though none as appealing as Jamie.

“Boo!”

I jump out of my bloody skin.

Bailey claps a hand over their mouth. “Got you!”

Grumbling, I fold my arms. “I was only humoring you.”

With a bark of laughter, Bailey tugs on my arms. “Come on! Sit down and have a drink before we die of old age waiting for you!”

“Do humans age that quickly?” I ask as Bailey pulls me over to the bar.

They must not have heard me over all the noise. “What do you want to drink?” Bailey asks, plopping down beside Jess, who has yet to acknowledge me.

I can’t even read whatever is on the menu. “Uh… I’ll have whatever you ordered.”

While the bartender makes our drinks, I observe the room. People dance or cluster in groups, laughing loudly and yelling to hear one another over the music. It’s so loud in here it’s like a physical assault on my eardrums. Tension swells within me, making me curl my hands into fists.

“Bailey,” Jess shouts past me, making me jump, “have you seen theRed, White & Royal Bluemovie yet?”

Bailey groans. “I’ve been too scared to! Did it follow the book at all?”

“Alex and Henry’s relationship was just like the book. So cute. The book is always better, though.” Jess takes a swig of her beer.

Sipping their cocktail, Bailey says, “I wanted to do a reread before watching the movie, but my TBR is way too long.”

“I feel that,” Jess says. “I have, like, twenty books I haven’t read, and I just keep adding to my hoard.”

I have no idea what they’re talking about, but I want to be able to return home and see Jamie smile when I tell him I bonded with his friends.

“What is… Red and Blue?” I ask.

Jess takes a sudden interest in her beer, but Bailey smiles. “It’s a rom-com about the Prince of Wales and the US president’s son falling in love. You should totally read it!”

My neck warms when I picture telling them I haven’t a clue how to read. They’d laugh at me, no doubt. In the silence between us, the bartender hands me my drink. The glass is cold when I grip it, and there are chunks of something floating in the drink. I pick one out and gasp. It’s cold as ice in my palm. I crunch on it. Itisice. Humans use ice to keep their drinks cool. That’s… rather brilliant. Someone snickers. Both Jess and Bailey are watching me with amusement.

I spit the ice back into my cup, then take a sip. It’s nothing like mead. There’s a sweet, almost bubbly quality to the alcohol. It hits my stomach in a cold ball.

“So. What stories do you know?” I ask them.

Bailey shrugs. “I’ll read pretty much anything as long as the author isn’t a turd. I’m trying to write my own book.”

“You’re a skald?”

A confused look crosses Bailey’s face.

Great. Have I used a word that doesn’t exist in this time? “A, uh…” What’s that word Jamie uses? “An author?”

Bailey grins. “I’mtryingto be. Writing is hard as hell.”

“What is your story about?”

After a gulp of their drink, Bailey explains. “It’s… sort of a romance? I mean, there’s a romantic subplot, but it’s not the main focus. I really wanted to do a queer story about a nonbinary character whose experiences matched my own. I’m thinking I’ll self-publish it when it’s finished.”

I only sort of understand what they’re talking about. They use words I’m unfamiliar with, but I understand enough. “Storytelling is important. It’s how we preserve our culture, our history, for the next generation.”

“It is!” Bailey says. “I want to tell the kind of story I wish I had growing up in the South.”

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