Page 5 of Taming of a Wolf

Tearing my gaze away from him, I step out into the chill of the evening. The thrall hands me a sack of apples and salted meat and a flask of water for my journey. On the horizon, Sol, goddess of the sun, guides her chariot beyond the ocean. Her fading light deepens the shadows and colors the skies in vibrant hues. Somehow, the coming darkness fills me with despair. It feels like I will never see her light again.

Forcing my head up high, I walk in the direction of the beach. Though I can sense Lyall following me, I keep my eyes fixed on the horizon. I shouldn’t have expected him to understand. There is no animosity between him and precious Alpha Wulfric.

As we leave the village behind, my brother Gunnar comes into view. I return his glare. “I’m so pleased you’ve dragged yourself from the woods long enough to say goodbye.”

Gunnar grabs my arm hard and tugs. “Shut up.”

There’s a wild gleam to his eyes, likely his berserker tugging at him. If I ever see him again, he’ll be on all fours as a savage beast. It’s what he gets for being foolish enough to open his heart to love, only to lose it.

Love always ends in tragedy, after all.

“How long are you going to wait to find and claim the mate the gods have chosen for you?”

“Not your concern,” he bites out, sounding more wolf than man. It… scares me, I admit. He’s going to lose himself unless he finds his mate, yet he won’t even bother looking.

“Would you listen to me? You’ve got to move on. Leif wasn’t even your fated—”

“Enough!” Gunnar snarls, eyes flashing as he draws back a fist.

“Stop this, both of you!” Lyall shoves me back, simultaneously seizing Gunnar’s fist. “Gods, can we have one day without throwing punches?”

“Not my fault our brother is a fool,” I huff.

They await us on the shore. My skin prickles, and anger burns me up from the inside as I meet Wulfric’s steely gray gaze. Expression unreadable, he turns away and walks toward the rowboat moored on the shore. He stole so much from me: first, my father’s love and adoration, and now, he steals me from my home and my pack. He will pay dearly for this. I don’t even bother looking at Kieran.

As the waves crash upon the shore, I approach the boat and try to ignore my aunt Helga’s tear-streaked face. To avoid seeing the pain I’ve caused those I love written all over their faces. Why can’t they see things as I do? I only wanted to keep them all safe. I have already lost my father to humans. I won’t let my brother’sfoolishness threaten our pack. No matter what, I must find a way to return and end the threat Kieran poses.

Lyall’s hand trembles at my back as he pushes me down into the boat. Through our bonds, he whispers,“Goodbye, brother.”

Wulfric keeps his eyes on the horizon as he says, “Farewell, brother. May the Father Wolf guide your path.” Then he pushes the boat out into the water, and the waves pull it the rest of the way into the sea.

Aunt Helga starts to chant, and her voice carries over the ocean. The icy wind freezes the tears I hadn’t realized were on my cheeks. Ahead of me, a portal bursts into being, and I look back over my shoulder at my twin.

“Lyall. I’m afraid. Please, I—”

My boat flies through the portal in a burst of water, propelling me high into the air. My cry of alarm echoes into the night sky. The bag of provisions goes flying out of the boat and disappears as some strange-looking bird flies up to me and squawks in fright. For a moment, I’m transfixed by the view laid out before me.

Wherever I am, this world looks nothing like my own.

The buildings are as tall as the highest mountains, if not taller. Though it is nightfall here, everything is so bright. Everywhere I look, lights sparkle in the darkness like stars. I could spend an age taking in the sights of this strange new world… but then the boat hurtles back toward the ground.

I curl into a ball and brace myself, but I’m not prepared for when the boat shatters all around me. The collision with thehard ground stuns me. For a few seconds, all I can do is fight the urge to pass out. I can’t. I must stay awake. Who knows what threats await me in this strange place?

A voice calls out to me, and a scent unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before pulls me from the dark depths, trying to drag me down into unconsciousness. This smell… I must find out where it is coming from. Who it belongs to. The ulfhednar within me stirs to life, filling me with the strength I need to find my feet and rise.

A man stands before me. He’s shorter, the top of his head reaching my chest, with a lithe, lean build. He must not be a warrior, then. It looks like he lives a soft, comfortable life. How pathetic, and yet I must admit he is stunning. I usually prefer the company of women over men, but I’d be blind to deny his beauty. I’ve never seen hair such a color in one so young; it’s as light and bright as polished silver, though his brows and beard are as black as my own. And his eyes… so light and blue they look like shards of ice.

“Who are you? What is that…” I ask, and then the winds blow that delicious scent to me again. “That scent. Whatisthat?”

As the man’s nose twitches, mirroring my own fascination, I come closer.

“It’s…” I whisper.

As his scent floods my senses, the wolf inside howls for him with a yearning so deep it takes my breath away.

“You,” he breathes, his voice full of the very same awe coursing through me.

He smells like the woods where I roamed with my father, like leaves and soil warmed by sunshine. Even more intriguing is the scent of his wolf, however faint. He is ulfhednar, like me. But where are his furs? I must know more about him.

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