Page 6

Anders

I don’t sleep well on Jamie’s sofa. It’s far too small, and my feet dangle over the edge.

How can Jamie sleep with people all around him?

The village back home was spread out, but here, I can hear every cough, sneeze, and bark of a dog from the floors above and below.

Worse yet is the couple down the hall on their second—third?

—round of sex for the night. The gods must hate me.

Normally, I can tune these sounds out, but I’m too restless.

My wolf stirs, making my claws prick the cushions and my fangs sharp.

He wants to be in the next room with Jamie.

Our mate. I still can’t believe it. The ladies of fate must have it out for me to not only lead me to my mate but to make him the key to being able to return home.

Mayhap Loki is controlling my fate and laughing at my expense.

When I open my eyes, the room has brightened. I managed to sleep, but not much. It’s a struggle to leave the sofa as my body cries out for more sleep.

“Jace, I’m ready!” Jamie barrels out of his room, arms flailing at the shirt caught over his head. “Hurry, we’ve gotta go to school!”

A snort answers him. The little lad sits at the counter, munching on something sweet-smelling in a bowl. “Been ready for, like, ten minutes.” He smirks proudly and puts his bowl in the sink.

“Who put sass in your cereal?” Jamie says with an amused smile. He jogs to the door. “Eat up, we’ve gotta go.”

He’s barely finished speaking by the time Jace is by the door. “Beat you to the car!”

Jamie sighs like he’s already exhausted.

I grin at him. “The lad’s keeping you on your toes, eh?”

“Tell me about it.” Jamie chuckles. “You can either wait here or come with us. We’ll go to the park after I drop Jace off.”

I rise, muscles cracking as I rotate my neck. “Grab your furs, pet. It’s time to show you who you’re meant to be.”

Jamie drives us in the metal horse—no, the car , that’s what Jamie called it. Not a horse at all but a machine, whatever that is. It’s faster than a horse, louder too, and we sit inside instead of riding on top. I tried to climb on the roof, but Jamie yanked me down and made me get inside.

In any case, Jamie drops the lad off for his lessons, then drives us to some place called Inwood Hill Park.

My wolf bristles beneath my skin as my mate’s sweet scent tugs at me, so potent in the enclosed space of the car.

All wolves feel the urge to mate on the full moon, and although the full moon above is outshone by the sun, the urge is still so potent.

I’ve never liked the idea of soulmates. Oh, I know they exist, but the idea of needing someone, some so-called better half, has always terrified me. I understand why they’re important, but when I was a boy, I learned that having someone only means having someone to lose.

Father was never himself again after Mother died giving birth to Wulfric, the precious Alpha.

Father changed, closed himself off even from us children.

The softness Mother brought out in him died when she did.

I’d do anything to avoid knowing that pain myself, even if it means leaving behind the man my wolf demands I mate with.

Mate or not, Jamie is a tool. Nothing more or less.

No. I’ll earn his necklace and return home to challenge my foolish little brother.

There is no room in my plans for anything… any one … else.

“Anders? Earth to Anders.” Jamie waves at me. “We’re here.”

I jolt out of my thoughts. “I heard you the first time,” I snap, shoving open the door.

“Get your furs.” Once Jamie has retrieved the furs from the trunk and thrown his bag across his shoulder, I follow him farther into the park.

We walk for a bit until we’re surrounded by trees and there’s no one else around.

The wolf pelt he carries is a darker shade of silver than his hair, mottled with brown, black, and white fur.

“You had better not be playing a prank on me,” Jamie says, his scent souring with unease.

“A prank?”

“You know, a joke. You’re not gonna make me wear these furs, close my eyes, then run off on me?”

“I once killed a traveling jester who tried to rob me. The only good jokester is a dead one.”

Jamie laughs nervously. “You’re… serious, aren’t you?”

“No. I’m Anders.” All these words he uses confuse me. I haven’t heard of most of them.

“So, where’re we going?” Jamie inquires, throwing me a playful smile.

That smile does something to me. Makes my heart skip and my stomach lurch, like I’m under attack. But by what? Feelings ? Not bloody likely. “Does your chattering ever cease? Keep walking. I’ll tell you when to stop.”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

The gods must be punishing me for failing to overthrow my brother.

Once the distant noise from the streets has faded, I’m confident we’re far enough.

The only human scents in the air are stale.

A lake reflects the sun, and the park is unnaturally quiet.

There should be more birdsong, but I suppose not many birds live in the city.

I keep expecting to hear the howling of wolves.

The absence of their song only reminds me how far away I truly am.

“Here should work.” I turn to Jamie and find him clutching the furs close, biting his full lower lip.

He could make himself bleed. Scowling, I march up to him and reach out, brushing my thumb over his lip to remove it from between his teeth.

A lovely flush springs to his cheeks. “Don your furs and get ready.”

“That’s all?” He frowns as he shrugs the furs on over his shoulders.

“Usually, there is an initiation ceremony. You would consume the heart of a wolf you hunted yourself.”

Jamie’s eyes widen. “Oh shit.”

“What?”

“My gran made me try a wolf’s heart once. You’re telling me that was part of this ceremony?”

“Aye.”

Jamie shakes his head wildly. “Why didn’t she just tell me? Why be so cagey about it?”

“She truly told you nothing?”

Jamie screws his eyes shut. “No. She did . I just never believed her. She’d tell me stories about how our Scandinavian ancestors had wolf’s blood in their veins and the ability to shapeshift.

I thought she was just spiritual or something, so I played along.

I accepted her furs, even though I only wore them a few times when I went to see her.

I ate a wolf’s heart once. It was gross.

But what was I going to do? Insult her beliefs?

It made her happy. But still, if I technically did the ceremony without realizing it, why did I never shift? ”

“Your wolf lies dormant. All it needs is something to wake it up. As your mate, my presence should be enough.”

Jamie shakes his head. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“You said you’ve heard stories about my kind, haven’t you? Did your grandmother never tell you of mates?”

“Like I said, I never really believed her stories.” The guilt is evident in his scent.

“The stories my people tell always have a lick of truth in them.”

Jamie groans and smacks his forehead. “I feel like such an ass. My grandma was trying to tell me so much about myself, and I just blew her off.”

“Do not hurt yourself.” I cup his cheek in one hand, brushing a thumb over his short, dark beard. “Once you have assumed your true form, you will understand.”

Jamie blinks rapidly. “This is crazy…”

“Just close your eyes and focus on the parts of yourself that have always been there, lurking within you.”

Looking more uncertain than ever, Jamie closes his eyes.

“Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m thinking… I really wish I’d had more coffee.”

“Focus!” I snap.

“Okay!” he gripes back, brows scrunching. “I… I’ve had a really great sense of smell since I was eighteen, when my grandma gave me her furs. In my dreams, I’d run as a wolf. I was looking for something. Looking for… for you. I think I was looking for you.”

Something glows warm in my chest. The thread of a pack bond, blossoming into life. I’d felt it there before, but it was subtle. Now, it’s burning brighter as Jamie’s features change before my eyes. His ears are pointed, and white fur streaks his cheeks.

“You were, pet. You’ve found me. I’m here. Find our bond. I know you can feel it.” I throw up the hood of my fur cloak and let the change flow through me.

“A bond? I don’t know what you’re… Oh. ” Understanding floods his voice with sudden emotion. “Wow. Oh wow. That’s… What is that? It’s warm. It feels amazing.”

The bond between us grows taut, drawing us toward each other. On four paws, I go to Jamie as he drops to all fours with a pained groan. I touch my nose to his forehead and growl, deep and low in my chest.

“Find us, mate. Find our bond.”

Gray fur covers Jamie’s face, which forms into a snout. The shift happens in only seconds, and then a beautiful wolf stands before me with eyes as bright and blue as the sky. Our bond blazes like the sun in my chest.

“A-Anders?” Jamie’s voice blooms in my mind, sweet and confused.

“I can hear you.”

Jamie turns his snout toward his paws, and his eyes grow wide. He lifts one paw, then the other. “Holy shit. I’m a freaking wolf!”

“No. Truly? I thought you were a puffin.”

Jamie bumps his head into my shoulder. “Shut up, you jerk. Whoa. This is so cool! I have a tail!” He proceeds to chase said tail, spinning around like a puppy until he grabs it, bites it, and yelps in pain.

“Aye. And what a fearsome wolf you are.” He’s so energetic, like a pup instead of the fierce servant of the wolf god Fenrir that he is.

“Dude. I’m gonna be the coolest wolf! I—Whoa. Wait. What’s that smell?” Dropping his snout to the earth, he sniffs frantically. Leaves get stuck on his nose, making him sneeze.

My tail thumps, betraying my amusement.

Jamie sniffs around until he runs right into me.

Nose twitching, he inhales a deep lungful of my scent.

“It’s… it’s you. Why do you smell so freaking incredible?

You smelled amazing before… but now…” A shiver racks Jamie’s wolf body.

My mate circles me, sniffing eagerly as he rubs his body along mine.

Shoving his head beneath my chin, he scents at my throat and rumbles low.

“You smell like… mine .”

The notes in his scent make me growl eagerly. He wants me just as much as I crave him.

Suddenly, Jamie drops to all fours, tail in the air. He yips playfully, then dashes off into the woods.

A primal hunger rises in me. He wants me to chase him. Catch him. Claim him.

And oh, I will delight in it.