Claimed by Her Viking Wolf

by Doris O'Connor

  “Neinn, Kimberly, minn kona.”

  Her breathing hitched as the most delightful blush stole across her pale features, and Asger lowered the dagger he still held in his left fist, and gestured to the bandages in her lap.

  “Lika.”

  Chapter Two

  For the umpteenth time since she’d managed to convince Asger away from the campsite and down to the car park, she glanced across to look at his tense profile. Kim supposed he was holding it together pretty well, all things considered, if you ignored the drawn sword held across his lap in a white knuckled grip. At least he’d stopped muttering to himself, as though he was being led to his certain doom.

  If she’d had any doubts about his authenticity they had been dispersed, following that somewhat hysterical conversation back at the campsite. Thank goodness for her dictionary of Old Norse. She’d studied it extensively for her latest series set in Viking times. While she couldn’t hold a conversation, she could at least get by. Asger seemed a fast learner, so all being well, he would pick up English if he studied that. Providing he could read, of course.

  Kim bit her lip when she took a corner too fast in her agitation. The tires briefly lost traction on the rain slicked road. She got the car under control quickly enough, but the blood rushed in her ears anyway. The man next to her turned to stone when her mobile lit up with an incoming call, and Lisa’s face appeared on the screen.

  Cursing under her breath, Kim pulled to the side of the road to snatch the phone off its holder.

  “Finally, I’ve been trying to call you for ages. The reception here is such pants.”

  Kim rolled her eyes, while she glanced across at the stoically quiet man next to her. His presence filled her little car to such a degree that she stopped breathing for the tense moment it took, for him to look from her to the mobile phone in her hand. His jaw tightened. The veins in his thick neck stood out, but he didn’t show any other outward response to what must look like some sort of witchcraft to him.

  “Are you even listening to me, Kim?” Her sister’s shrill voice in her ear forced Kim’s attention back to the phone call. She made a non-committal sound in the back of her throat.

  “Well, it’s nice to hear you’re so heartbroken at my departure.”

  That got Kim’s attention.

  “You’re leaving already?”

  A huff came down the line, and she could hear Sam’s laughter in the background. Asger grunted something under his breath next to her. He shifted his big body to seemingly be able to better glare at her. Jeez, what was wrong with him now? He looked utterly furious at this moment. The deep grumbles that rose up from his huge chest made long neglected parts of her sit up and take notice. It really was the sexiest sound ever, especially, as he didn’t seem aware of making those noises. Had he been one of her heroes, she’d have thought he was a shifter and… Kim almost dropped the phone at the nugget of insight that suddenly bombarded her brain. She forced herself to pay attention to Lisa’s prattling. Something about there not being anything to do. The television reception was up the duff or something, so she was heading back to town. Well, good. Kim hadn’t looked forward to having to explain Asger to her sister. If his reaction to hearing Sam talk in the background was anything to go by, he would have probably run that poor boy through with his sword the minute he saw him.

  “Yes, fine, well it is the country … leave the key under the mat … yes, it’s fine. I’m on my way back. Yeah … ditto, bye.”

  Kim ended the call. She attempted to put the phone back, but her fingers shook too much, as thoughts battered her brain. After all, if time travel was possible, then why not shifters? She seemed to have ended up in the real life Twilight Zone after all.

  Asger swore. Reaching across, he took the phone off her. Kim held her breath, as he lifted it up, sniffed it, then ran his fingers over it and promptly dropped it when his thumb hit the button to wake it up. The screen lit up. Kim wanted the ground to swallow her up whole when her newest book cover lit up the display.

  While she wasn’t ashamed of what she wrote—far from it—having a real life Viking look at the half naked couple depicted in a sensual embrace, seeing his lips curl up in seeming amusement, as he ran his long index finger over the sword her fictional Viking held in his fist—yeah, that was surreal.

  He flicked his dark gaze over to her, and then started laughing. His shoulders shook, and the car rocked with his merriment. Straightening her spine she snatched the phone out of his hand, managed to get it back on its stand this time, and putting the car back into gear drove off again.

  Once he finally stopped laughing at her, she glared at him.

  “It’s not that funny. That’s a telephone. Not that you have any idea what I am saying to you, but we use it for communication. You’ll be pleased to hear that my sister and her boyfriend are leaving, so I don’t have to explain you to them, because I have no idea what I would say. ‘Hey, look, I found this time traveling hunk in my travels’ will not work somehow. Damn it, I won’t be able to take you to a hospital either. How would I ever explain that? That cut needs stitching. Come to think of it, if you are a damn shifter, then why aren’t you healing? Oh and fuck it, I might as well talk to myself. Jeez, what am I going to do?”

  The strong hand on her thigh stopped her little tirade. Kim took a deep breath in when he squeezed her thigh.

  “Orindi, kona.”

  The murmured “breathe, woman”, made her smile. When she glanced at him, saw the amusement still dancing in his dark eyes, she, too, laughed, and shook her head.

  “This whole thing is ridiculous. I have no idea what to do with you.”

  Asger angled his head to the side, as he studied her. A shiver went up her spine, when he sniffed the air. His eyes briefly bled to a glowing yellow, before he blinked and the moment passed. Kim turned her attention back to the road, keeping up a meaningless monologue of idle chatter to break the silence, and to keep her nerves at bay.

  She couldn’t help but feel that she was inviting all kinds of trouble on her head by taking him home, but she couldn’t very well leave an injured man behind. She ignored the little voice in her head, telling her to call the police. Besides, if she called the authorities, who would believe her story? They would cart them both off to the funny farm at best. Considering his injuries, and the deadly weapons on Asger he would probably be arrested. If he really was some form of time traveling, shifter Viking, he wouldn’t do very well confined to a holding cell. That was if they’d even managed to get him into one. He would no doubt go on the offensive, killing goodness only knew how many people, before they could subdue him. She sure as hell didn’t need that on her conscience.

  Kim might be a complete fool, but she didn’t sense any malice from him directed at her, quite the opposite. More than once she’d found him adjusting what looked like a huge cock, after she’d touched him. The low rumbles that always seemed to erupt from him at her touch did strange things to her insides. She wasn’t going to think too much about this instant sexual chemistry that seemed to have sprung up between them. Then again, if he really was a shifter, and a Viking to boot, then what sort of an author would she be, if she didn’t grab this opportunity for some hands-on research with both hands, as it were?

  Her cheeks heated, while she squirmed on her seat at the decidedly naughty path her thoughts were meandering down. The hold on her thigh grew painful as Asger inhaled sharply, murmuring something to himself before he withdrew his hand. The action made the blanket she’d given him to cover up his strange clothing, or rather lack of clothing, slip. The coppery scent of blood filled the insides of her car.

  “Damn it, you’re bleeding again. Hang in there, Asger. Five more minutes, and we’ll be at my place. Lucky for you, I’m quite good with a needle and thread, because that wound will need stitching, I reckon. Hope you’re okay with pain…”

  His head came up, and he followed her gaze down to the rapidly spreading red stain coming through the bandages. He pressed hi
s hand against the wound with a grunt of pain.

  “Yeah, you hold onto that. Try to stop the bleeding.”

  He gave a sharp nod as though he understood her, and Kim put her foot down.

  ****

  Asger held onto the sides of this strange and noisy ride his kona had taken him to, as though his life depended on it. Give him a horse and cart any day. This time he found himself in was full of strange and wondrous inventions. Things that flew in the sky—what had she called them? Airplanes?—now this car.

  Fast, for sure. A cart pulled by several horses at full gallop wouldn’t be able to go as fast as this shiny little box on wheels. Mind you, it wouldn’t do much good on the dirt tracks he was used to. It didn’t do that well on this smooth path they were following either. More than once the wheels seemed to want to go the opposite way to the way Kim was trying to go. His wolf whined and licked his side in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, and Asger pressed harder against his wound. The scent of his own blood mingled with the tart odor of her worry, and the faint sweet musk of her arousal. The one thing he didn’t sense from her was fear. Not like the other lily faced cowards they had encountered on their way back to what Kim had called a car park.

  Even weakened by his injuries as he was, he could have taken them all out, had it not been for his little rescuer clinging onto him like a vine. While he hadn’t been able to understand her urgent whisperings, he got the implication loud and clear.

  Don’t draw any more attention to yourself. A wise plan as it were, at least until he figured out these strange lands. He gathered Odin had chosen to deposit him in England. At least that’s what he thought the sign at the bottom of this car park had said, so he had relaxed slightly. Somewhat familiar territory. His pack had been gifted with several English women over the course of time. He just never thought it would happen to him. The last one had been almost sixty years ago.

  Pain shot through him as Kim turned off the shiny path, making this car lurch over gravel. Fresh blood coated his fingers, and he gritted his teeth. They stopped in front of a stone house, and he blinked in the glare of several torches, as Kim wrenched open the door and ran up to the entrance. The door swung open, and more light spilled out into the rapidly spreading gloom. The rain was coming down in a thick sheet now. Judging by the fast fading light outside evening was drawing in. How long had he lain unconscious?

  And what must Guta think? His sister was prone to worrying over him as it was. It wouldn’t do her any good this close to delivering her barn. Did she think him dead? Did time move the same way back home as it did in the future? He should have asked the ancient one these questions, instead of dismissing his prophecies. His gut churned, and he swallowed the rising lump of bile. Perhaps more importantly, how did he get back?

  He should have paid more attention to the tales of the old ones. So many questions, so few answers.

  Kim wrenched open the door on his side of the car. Had it not been for the belt she had insisted on drawing over his chest, he would have tumbled out of the door he had been resting against. His wolf growled his annoyance at his helplessness, while Kim rolled her eyes and leaning across him did something to take that belt off him. The action pressed her breasts into his chest. Kim lost her footing when he reached out and touched her. She fell heavily across his lap, and his cock hardened instantly. His kona tensed and then scrambled off him with such haste that he had to hide his grin. Soaked through as she now was her clothes clung to her. There was something to be said for this century and its choice of women’s clothing, as the tight trousers she wore clung to her curvaceous ass. With the rain having rendered her top transparent he could clearly see what looked like some form of undergarment. It kept her brjóst in place and just served to draw his attention to the tight little nipples, seemingly begging for his attention. It made his beast salivate for a taste. If he wasn’t too aware of his continuing blood loss, he would have damn well acted on that desire.

  With a feminine groan that simply served to make more of his blood shoot south, she straightened, crossed one arm over her heaving brjóst, and flung her sodden mass of flame colored hair off her face with the other.

  “It’s wet out here, if you haven’t noticed, rekkr, and you’re not well enough for any of that.” The only word he caught out of that was warrior. It made his grin deepen, as he wrenched his gaze upward to her face. She looked delightfully rattled, and he was fast getting addicted to seeing that blush spread across her cheekbones. It was a delightful contrast to the tough and more than capable façade she showed the world. There was no doubt in his mind that she was very capable indeed, from what he had witnessed so far. She would make him a good, strong mate. His wolf yipped his agreement at those thought processes, while Asger shook his head in wry amusement. He sure as fuck hadn’t envisaged going through time to find his mate, yet the more time he spent in her company, drank in her scent, the more convinced he became that that’s indeed who she was to him. Besides, it was the only explanation that made sense.

  Ignoring the hand she held out to him, he got out of the car. Kimberly muttered something that sounded far from complimentary, as he had to put a hand out to steady himself. Before he could stop her, she’d wrapped her arm around his waist, wedged her shoulder under his, and helped him across the slippery stones under their feet, and inside her house.

  They entered through a long, narrow corridor, from which several doors led off, walked past stairs that must lead to another level and toward the back of the house. Warmth greeted him, as she pushed the door open with her hip. With a curious click, the room filled with light.

  He reared back in surprise at the sudden brightness surrounding them, but didn’t resist when she urged him downward onto a bench. At least this looked familiar. They clearly were in some form of cooking area, but where was the fire? A curious white square with several metal attachments seemed to be the source of the warmth in the room. Sure enough, Kim stepped up to it, and held her hand over it as though to warm them up. Snatching a piece of cloth off the side she proceeded to dry her hair, then hit another white obtrusion on the wall.

  “There, I’ve put the heating on. We’ll soon be toasty. Wait here, while I throw some fresh clothes on. Then we need to sort out that wound.” She stepped up to him while speaking, and tugged the rain sodden blanket off him. It fell to the stone floor with a squelch. Asger frowned when she used the piece of material in her hand to dry his face and hair as best she could. The action brought her close enough to touch, to lean in and inhale deeply. It instantly calmed his agitated wolf, but seemed to have the opposite effect on her. Her heartbeat went through the roof, when he reached up and snared her hand in his.

  They stared at each other for what seemed like ages, and it was only when she started shivering that he let her go. Kim ran away from him as though the hounds of hell were after her.

  Asger smiled to himself, as he listened to her movements around the house. She seemed to be opening and shutting doors, while muttering to herself. When she reappeared several minutes later, she’d changed into some other form of trousers. These clung to her curves even more, even though she tried to hide them under an oversized woolen tunic of some sort that fell to mid-thigh. Thick socks hid her feet from view, and she’d tied her still damp hair back and off her face. Covered as she was from head to toe, his body nonetheless reacted to her presence. Asger didn’t even bother to hide the way he was tenting his leggings. She glanced at it briefly, before she sank to her knees and probed at his injury. A hiss escaped him, and shutting his eyes he shook his head when she hesitated, giving her silent permission to do what she needed to.

  Hesitant fingers feathering across his bearded jaw made him open his eyes again. Asger swallowed hard when she held up a needle and thread. She looked utterly terrified. While he couldn’t understand what she was saying to him, he nodded anyway.

  “This hurt will it.” The muttered, jumbled words in her attempt at using his mother tongue made him grin, before the firs
t tug of the needle into his flesh cooled not only his ardor but also his merriment.

  Where was a fucking horn of ale when you needed it?

  Chapter Three

  Kim swallowed the rising bile in her throat and concentrated on the task at hand. If she thought of this as darning a sock she would be fine. Of course no sock was made of living flesh, which contracted under her fingers, and belonged to a six foot something hunk of a male, who did his best to hold still for her. If it wasn’t for his sharp intake of breath every time she tugged the needle through his skin, she would have thought he didn’t feel the pain.

  Her stomach churned by the time she’d tied off the last stitch. When she looked up at him, she found him watching her through hooded eyes.

  “There, it’s not pretty, but it should hold,” she said. Her Viking looked down and nodded. Kim spread a generous amount of antibiotic cream over her crude stitching, before she bandaged him back up. Her fingers lingered on the tattoo down his side. Asger grasped her hands and smiled, when she looked up at him.

  “What does it mean?” she asked.

  He cocked his head to the side in that distinctly canine way he had.

  “Mark Liufr.”

  His deep voice trembled trough her. When he raised his hand to show her the ring on his finger, she could see the same design repeated on there.

  Sign of Liufr he said. Earlier on he’d mentioned that he was the son of Liufr, so that must be his village, clan, or she guessed pack. She would have to consult her books on Norse mythology and old family trees to be sure, but that name rang a faint bell. It might just be an oft used one, but something about it made the fine hair on her neck stand up. A shiver went through her. Instantly, his warm hands landed on her shoulders, so shivers of an entirely different kind rolled over her. The calloused pads of his fingers stroked along the rapidly beating pulse point in her neck, and her throat went dry when he leaned down, inhaled, and smiled.