Page 58 of Taming of a Wolf

“Well, well. Seems like Loki is having a laugh at my expense today. What happened? Did my brother get tired of his new pet and send you packing? Need a consolatory belly rub? Oh, how about a little scratchy behind your ears?” Anders sneers.

What gives? I’ve never seen Anders be so nasty before. It’s not a side of him that I like.

I rush out from behind the counter as Kieran and Amanda say something to him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I flash an easygoing smile and get between them. I elbow Anders in the ribs. “I sincerely apologize for my new employee. He’ssupposedto be stocking the dark romance section. Aren’t you, puppy dog?”

Anders’s whole face goes red. “I can’t kill them?”

What?I hide my shock behind a smile. “No!” I hiss, whipping around toward him.

Anders growls. “Can I maim them? Just a little bit.”

What the fuck?I bat my eyelashes. “No.”

Anders deflates. “Fine.” My big, bad Viking ulfhednar warrior is practically pouting as he stomps back to the dark romance section.

What thehell,Anders? I’m going to give him so much shit for bothering customers. After apologizing to Amanda and Kieran, I seek out my asshole mate and find him grumbling as he stocks the shelves. I pick up a book and smack him gently on the head with it.

“Ow,” he snaps.

“What in the fuck, Anders?”

He recoils from my harsh tone.

“You can’t antagonize customers like that. I don’t care what beef you have with them. Which, by the way, what is your problem with Kieran? He’s a nice guy.”

Anders’s face flushes red with rage. What did I say? “He’s not!” he snarls, lurching to his feet. “He’s the human who seduced my brother, the human who threatens the future of our pack!”

Oh. Well, that explains his attitude toward Kieran, even if it’s still unacceptable. I just saw a whole other side to him, a side I’m not sure I like. “Anders, you’re better than that.”Isn’t he?I wonder, as I remember the fear that flashed across Kieran’s face. Anders wouldn’t have…

“What did you do to him?”

Anders’s anger falters, his shoulders dropping from where they’d hunched around his ears. “I…” His voice becomes softer, smaller, and he breaks eye contact with me. “Leave it, pet. Don’t ask me again.”

“Why? What happened that’s so bad you won’t even tell me?” I grip his arm.

“Because if you knew, you’d bloody hate me!” Anders’s expression shutters, but not before I see the fear in his eyes. “Never ask me again.” And he turns and shoves past a few shoppers as he ducks into the bathroom.

I can’t believe he shut me out like that. What did he do to Kieran that’s so bad he thinks I’d hate him? Anxiety makes my stomach churn.

In preparation for our movie night, I dress myself up as a hobbit. Okay, so maybe my hobbit is more on the twink side, but I hear Tolkien had a lot of queer friends, so I’m sure he’d be down with it.

“Jamie, hurry up!” Jace calls from the living room.

I twirl in front of the mirror so my cloak can spin dramatically around my ankles. Looks good. Now I just hope it won’t get caught in the subway doors. It’ll be easier to beat the traffic if we take the train to Bailey’s place in Queens.

In the living room, Jace has dressed up as an elf and is playing pretend with his plastic bow. I’m disappointed to find that Anders refused to dress up in the costume I loaned him, but that’s okay. He can be boring. I’ll love him anyway.

“What are you wearing?” Anders gives me a double take.

“I’m Bilbo! Or I guess his gay cousin Dildo.” I spin my cloak around. “Cool, huh? Now, let’s go on an adventure!” I say in a terrible British accent and take Anders’s hand, but I can’t help feeling a twinge of disappointment when he doesn’t hold on tight like he usually does.

Something has been eating at him ever since his encounter with Kieran. Maybe seeing him just brought up some bad memories. I wish I could do something to help.

“Jace, excited to watch the movies?” I ask once we’re on the train.

He grins, swaying side to side with the train’s movements. “The first trilogy is the best. The other one is just goofy.”

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