Page 21

Anders

Something about Jamie Sullivan must have me enthralled.

Why else would I agree to learn how to read instead of obtaining his necklace?

I must be truly mad, and yet I can’t bring myself to care.

Instead, I only want to spend more and more time with him, in and out of bed.

I’ve never yearned to know anyone inside and out.

If teaching me to read makes my mate happy, then I will devote myself to my studies.

When I’m with Jamie, I don’t feel like the man who wasn’t good enough to be Alpha.

I’m not an Alpha, but I’m Jamie’s Alpha.

Somehow, that feels like enough. Although I’m realizing I don’t quite know who I am or what my place is in Jamie’s world, I want to find out.

I want to see the person I can become and if I can be worthy of Jamie’s affections and boundless patience.

Before the shop opens for the day, Jamie drives me to the bookshop after dropping Jace off for school. He flicks on the lights. The tables are empty, and the only sounds to penetrate the silence are the occasional rumble of a car that passes by.

Jamie sighs beside me. “I love coming here before everyone else.”

“I can see the appeal,” I say, following him inside.

“It’s like my own little corner of the world. Just me and my books, no responsibilities or obligations.” Jamie roams the shelves, caressing the spines of the books with a fondness that makes me chuckle.

“Was owning a bookshop something you always wanted?” I hunger to know everything about him until I know him even better than I know myself.

Jamie stops by a section that’s more colorful than the rest of the store.

There are pictures of animals, toys on the rug, chairs small enough for young children to sit in.

“Not always, but after my parents passed, we lived with my grandma for a few years. Life was… hard, for a while.” His smile falls from his face, and for a moment, I glimpse the man behind the smiles and sunny disposition.

Jamie is still hurting, still missing his family. He won’t say it aloud, but I feel it all the same. How he can still smile and carry on with his life when his hurt goes so deep, I am unsure. After I lost my parents, I lost myself as well. Grief turned to rage that shaped who I am today.

“It still hurts you.”

Jamie clears his throat. “I mean, yeah. Of course it does. Reading helped me forget or helped me put words to everything I was feeling through characters going through the same shit as I was. Books are amazing like that; they’re portals to other people and other worlds, other experiences. They remind us we’re not alone.”

When Jamie sits on the rug, I join him. “You are stronger than you think you are, Jamie, son of Sullivan.”

Jamie laughs softly, ducking his head. “Not really. Most days, I’m barely holding myself together.”

Sliding a finger beneath his chin, I lift his face toward mine.

“After I lost my father, it… changed me.” There’s an ache in my throat that hasn’t been there in years.

I clear it harshly, then make myself break eye contact, uncomfortable by how weak I feel.

“This darkness, this anger, woke up inside me and consumed me.”

“That’s normal.” Jamie leans his cheek on my shoulder, his hair tickling my neck.

“I let it warp me, the way flame warps a blade. My anger turned me into a weapon against my brother, my own family.” It’s the first time I’ve truly realized this.

Jamie couldn’t be more different than me. Soft where I’m hard. Kind where I’m cruel. Trusting where I’m closed off. He’s a far better person than me, but I want to be worthy of him.

“It’s not too late, you know. You could still make amends with them.”

Is it possible? Could my brothers forgive me if I proved myself worthy of their forgiveness? A flicker of hope blooms within me, hope I didn’t even know was there. A hope for a second chance with the only family I have. Could I—

No. Never. Not after how badly I hurt Wulfric’s mate. Not after how I continuously challenged Wulfric over the years.

The hope curdles and dies before I give it the chance to bloom.

“What is this book?” The book in his lap is thin and has a colorful, eye-catching picture on the cover. I’d say it’s a happy, hopeful story just based on the artwork. “Is that a duck?”

“It’s a book about our alphabet. There are twenty-six letters that make up our alphabet. They form all sorts of words. Once you memorize them, reading will be a lot easier.” He grabs some blocks from a toy bin and lays them out. “If you prefer a more hands-on approach, you can use these blocks.”

“That’s a lot of letters.” It sounds like a daunting task. “How can I possibly memorize all of them?”

“Well, how did you learn to fight with a sword?”

“I practiced from the moment I was old enough for several hours a day.”

“See? That’s how. You just need to apply that dedication to reading. You can do this. I’ll help you.”

I did promise to give this a chance, so I move to sit behind Jamie, giving him room to recline against my chest. “Then let’s begin.”

Jamie leans back against me, opens the book, and begins our lesson.

Throughout the week, Jamie proves himself to be a dedicated teacher.

Every morning, we have breakfast with Jace, Jamie drops him off at school, and we head to the bookshop before it opens, where he teaches me the alphabet.

It’s frustrating. There are so many damned letters that I’m confident only Odin himself could memorize them with ease, and only because he’s our god of wisdom.

I can never remember which order the damn letters go in either. I can’t believe they have children learning these skills at such a young age. Still, I am determined. This will be the one thing I get right in this new world. I have always been a swift and dedicated learner.

And if learning to read makes Jamie happy, that can only bring us closer together. I’ll be able to understand his obsession with those romance novels he loves to read so much.

But aside from my cunning and dedication, there’s another thing I’m known for: my lack of patience.

“Snakes feast on your entrails!” I roar, chucking the blocks across the bookshop.

Jamie comes out of the kitchen with our muffins. “That was a creative insult.”

“This is simply impossible! I give up!”

“Whoa, whoa, hold up a second.” Jamie sets the pastries on our table and sits across from me. “You were doing great. What got you so pissed?”

With a scowl, I lean back against the window.

The glass is cold and streaked with rain on the outside.

“I can never remember what comes after E !” I don’t struggle with any other letter as much as I do with that gods damned…

whatever letter is after E . “It’s just one letter.

How in Odin’s beard am I supposed to learn to read if I can’t remember one stupid letter? ”

“The letter is—”

“No, don’t tell me!”

“Okay.” Jamie takes a big bite of his muffin.

I think. And think. And think. Until my damn brain starts to hurt.

Jamie snorts, and I open my eyes to glare at him, but he’s the picture of innocence.

“Can I give you a hint?”

I exhale, chest deflating. “Aye. I suppose.” I spit the words, disgraced.

“It’s an animal.”

“That’s helpful. Only millions of those.”

He rolls his eyes. “Someone is so saucy today. It’s an animal that lives in the water. It has scales.”

“ F !” I blurt out, slamming my fist on the table. “Fish! F is for fish!”

“Heck yeah!”

I groan and fall back into my seat. “Why is this so difficult?”

Jamie hums thoughtfully, ever patient. “Hmm. It would help you to have a visual connection with the letter. Like how you know E is for elephant.”

I nod. “Those big creatures with the trunk and the tusks, right?”

“Yeah, exactly. So you need a visual representation of the letter F .”

“Visuals aren’t working. I need something else.”

Jamie tilts his head, a sly little smile blooming over his face. “There’s a lot of words that start with F . I can think of a few that might stand out to you.”

Leaning on the table, I focus all my attention on him. “Hit me.”

He grins, and I wonder what he’s planning. Jamie pushes his chair back and walks around the table. Before I can blink, he’s in my lap, knees on either side of my thighs. “Fondling.”

The scent of his lust makes my prick twitch in my jeans. “Oh? What does that mean?” Just because I can understand his language doesn’t mean every word is familiar to me.

“It means this.” He slides my hand down his back and settles it over his ass. I squeeze before I can stop myself, loving the way he feels in my hand.

I swallow hard. “Keep this up, pet, and we’ll give anyone who walks past this window a show.”

Jamie’s phone rings, making us both jump and Jamie curse.

“Shit. It’s Jace’s principal!” He scrambles off my lap.

“Hi, Mrs. Leroy, how are you? What?” Jamie’s mouth goes slack.

Grimacing, he shakes his head in disbelief.

“I am so sorry. I will be there as soon as I can!” Tapping frantically, he ends the call, then checks the time. “Damn it!”

I sit up and go to his side. “What is it?”

“Jace started a fight at school!”

My heart sinks. Fury swells within me like a rising tide. “Is the lad hurt?” Nobody hurts my pup. Granted, the lad isn’t really mine, but—

“No, he’s fine, but I don’t understand!” Jamie stomps to the door. “Why would he do this?”

Before he can storm out, I grab the knob. “Send one of those messages with your phone to Jess and Bailey. Mayhap they can handle the store. Let us worry about Jace.”

Jamie’s eyes widen. “No, no. This isn’t your problem. You don’t have to worry about this.”

I flinch, surprising even myself with how much his dismissal hurts.

“Hey, no, wait, that’s not what I meant…” Jamie grips my arms and squeezes. “I just… I don’t want to burden you. Jace is my brother, my responsibility.”

Feeling a bit better, I reach out and lift his chin to meet my eyes. “And you’re mine.”

Jamie’s throat bobs, color brightening his cheeks. “Y-yes, but—”

My wolf growls low, pleased he accepted my claim. When I brush my thumb over his bottom lip, Jamie’s breath catches. “Then so is the pup. You are my mate, Jamie, and what’s yours is mine now.”

Until we part ways, everything Jamie has, all he is, belongs to me.