Page 36 of Firefighter Midlife Wolf

Darcy’s screams vibrated against Jessica’s fangs as she pushed and shoved at Jessica. The attacks she’d tried before had all failed, and they would never work against another being who was nothing but pure flame. In one last cry of frustration, she launched a stream of fire at the car.

No! Jessica’s heart ripped in half as she twisted her head and made the final killing move. She thought she’d done it. She thought she’d kept them safe, that fate had once again intervened in her life. Jack. Not Jack.

Flames still flickered all over Darcy’s body as Jessica leaped back and turned to the car. Rolling flames, fueled by gasoline, rose into the sky. The whole vehicle had been consumed in an instant with Darcy’s last attempt at revenge. No amount of fire could cleanse the pain from Jessica’s heart as she watched Hayden duck around the flames, trying to get into the car to save his son.

Something moved inside the vehicle. Jessica almost couldn’t look, but neither could she look away. Suddenly, something burst out of the flaming car. It bounded to the ground on four legs, darting away from the inferno. Its fur was singed, and it swished its tail to put out the flame that lit the end of it.

It was Jack.

17

“I just can’t believe it.” Jack sat on the ground with his pant leg pulled up, inspecting the thin pink scars that had not too long ago been his incision sites.

“I think you’d better,” Dawn said with a chuckle as she looked him over. “Feels pretty good, doesn’t it?”

“Shit, yeah! What did you think, Dad?”

Hayden sat next to him, exhausted to the bone after everything that had happened that day. Shifters did heal quickly, but no shift could help him recover fast enough emotionally. He touched Jack’s shoulder gently and squeezed it. How could he possibly tell him how he felt? For a horrifying moment, he thought he’d lost his son. It wasn’t even the first time in the past month that’d happened. There he was, on the side of the road, with several emergency cars and a wrecked vehicle. It was too similar, but at least this time, he knew with all certainty that Jack was in one piece. In fact, he was more whole than he’d ever been. “I’m proud of you, son. You look damn good as a wolf.”

“Other than that burned fur,” Sean joked. “It was one hell of an entrance into the world as a shifter, like an action hero.”

“Yeah?” Jack was eating up all the attention, and rightfully so. “I can’t wait to tell Ellie.”

“She’s going to be thrilled,” Hayden said quietly. “Just be ready, though. If you thought she wanted to hang out with you all the time before, she’s going to be on your case even more now. She’s missed you while you were laid up, and now you can do more than you ever could.”

“Great. Now she’ll be the expert and want to teach me things.”

“She probably has plenty she can tell you,” Dawn advised as she packed up her med bag. “Us little sisters know a lot more than you older brothers give us credit for, you know. I have to keep my brothers in check all the time.”

“Is he really okay?” Hayden asked as Dawn stood. “Should we get him in for X-rays or anything? He was injured for quite some time, and he’s only had that one shift.”

Dawn put a reassuring hand on his arm. “We can do that if it’ll make you feel better, but I’ve seen people come out of some awful situations as long as they’re capable of shifting. Jack will only continue to get better as he explores his wolf. He’ll keep your hands full.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Pierce hosed down the last vestiges of the car’s flames. He lifted his hand to give Rick the signal, and the fire chief cut off the water. Pierce took off his helmet as he headed over, shaking his head. “Holy shit. You guys really know how to create chaos, don’t you?”

“Did you hear?” Jack asked.

Pierce clapped him on the back. “I sure did, buddy. Congratulations. I guess your wolf was just a little more stubborn than others, making a late entrance like that.”

Rick stepped up next to Hayden. He pointed at the squad car parked not far from the fire engine. “Kane is making some phone calls, but he said he can get the cars towed. We’ve got enough connections that you shouldn’t have to worry about anything that happened here today. I’m not sure how we’re going to deal with her just yet, but we’ll figure something out.”

Hayden glanced to the side. The burned site where Darcy lay was now covered with a sheet. Jessica and Verna stood a short distance away, having a deep conversation with Joan Glenwood, the retired pack Luna. “It’s hard to believe something like this can happen. I’ve been playing with fire my whole life, but I didn’t have a clue about elementals.”

“It’s about as weird as someone turning into a wolf at will, huh?” Rick commented quietly. “What do you think about Jack’s recent discovery?”

Once again, Hayden struggled to put it into words. “I’m happy for him. I know this’ll make his life easier in many ways. We all have the burden of keeping our secret, but that was a secret he was already keeping for the rest of his family. I just wish it didn’t have to happen this way.”

Rick nodded and let out a long sigh through his nose. “It’s not easy to be a parent, even in the best of circumstances. You have to watch your children go through all the lessons in life, and they’re usually tough ones. It doesn’t stop when they grow up, either.”

Hayden laughed. “Is this your way of scolding me? I know there’s a big mess to clean up here, but it wasn’t my fault.”

His father laughed as well, but only for a moment. “No, it’s not that. It’s just that the lessons your children learn as adults are some pretty big ones. Divorce, for one, or starting over again.”

Looking at Jessica, Hayden knew exactly what Rick was talking about. He thought he’d seen his mate go up in flames when Darcy had touched that amulet. He’d stood by, helpless, knowing that no matter how powerful he was as a wolf, it would never be enough to combat the elemental. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling. Even now, knowing Jessica was perfectly safe, he hadn’t been able to shake that sense of loss. “It’s hard to know what to do. Every time one obstacle gets knocked out of the way, another seems to come up.”

“Then all you can do is keep trying.” Rick patted his shoulder. “I’d better go congratulate my grandson.”

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