Page 37 of Firefighter Midlife Wolf

Hayden knew perfectly well that his father was encouraging him to go talk to Jessica. He didn’t need anyone’s help or encouragement in that department. His wolf had never stopped tracking her, even as they all worked to figure out what had happened and what they needed to do about it. The threat of Darcy was out of the way, but he knew things between them weren’t necessarily simple. A lot had happened that day. He slowly walked over.

Verna was smiling at Jessica. “I guess you had some fire in you after all. It’s no wonder that—oh, never mind.” She saw him coming and cleared her throat. “I should go speak with Sean. He’s quite desperate to interview a real elf, even if I’m not a pureblood.”

“It was very nice to meet you,” Joan said graciously to Jessica. “You come by the packhouse any time. I’m happy to help in any way I can.”

“Help you with what?” Hayden asked when they were alone. The breeze moved around them, carrying the scent of ash and smoke with it.

Jessica touched the pendant, which she wore outside of her shirt now that there was no threat of anyone taking it from her. “Verna thinks I must have some fire elemental blood in me that was awakened by the amulet. I don’t know where or how far back. It’s certainly nothing anyone had ever talked about, and I don’t think anyone in my family even knows about it. Verna’s theory is that when Darcy touched it, the amulet activated that power in me to protect me.”

“It was really something to see you in that state.” Hayden didn’t think he’d get the image of the fiery wolf out of his mind for a long time. He couldn’t explain the panic he’d felt when she’d caught fire, or at least had appeared to. He’d always known how to combat fire, but this one happened in a moment when he could do nothing about it. He was forced to look at it differently once it became evident that the fire wasn’t what it seemed. “You were beautiful like that, you know.”

“Thank you.” She looked off into the distance for a moment, her grey eyes searching for something on the horizon. “I’ve never felt so much power within myself. I knew Darcy couldn’t do anything to me.”

“I never thought that was what the old phrase about fighting fire with fire meant, but it worked for you.” Hayden couldn’t stop looking at her, tracing his eyes along her features, her hair, her shoulders. She was even more beautiful than before, with a light and energy inside her. It wasn’t just the fire, he knew. It was much deeper than that, a renewed zest for life.

“I guess it kind of did,” she said with a smile. “This has all been so crazy, Hayden. My mind is spinning in a million directions. Verna and Joan are going to see what they can do to help me learn how to use this power. It’s not exactly the same as magic, but who better to consult with than a witchy wolf and an elf? I’ve got so much to learn, and I’m so excited about it.”

“I’m excited for you, too,” he murmured. His wolf told him to dive right in. Everything had changed in the matter of an afternoon, and what had held him back before was no longer a concern. His human side conceded that was true, but Jessica was experiencing an inner transformation, a whole new turning point in her life. She was over the moon but also overwhelmed.

As if on cue, her elation waned, and her eyes filled with trouble. “I just realized something.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ll have to explain all of this to Paige. If I have this ability, it’s possible that she does, too. It felt perfectly natural to teach her how to be a wolf, but I don’t even know how to be an elemental.” She chewed her lip as she looked up at him.

So many times throughout the day, he’d wanted to pull her close and tell her everything would be all right. He would make it all right, and he’d figure out a way if he didn’t know how. But Jessica had already proven she was more than capable of fighting her own fights, and this wasn’t a situation that could just be wrestled into submission. It required something more delicate. A woman’s touch. “From what I’ve seen, you’re an excellent mother. You’ll figure it all out. It takes time, but all good things do.” He looked over at Jack, who was still laughing and talking with the other Glenwoods.

“Oh, Hayden.”

The way she breathed his name made goosebumps stand out on his skin despite the warmth of the day.

She was facing him fully now, and her fingertips brushed lightly on his arms. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what? It’s not your fault that Darcy had gone so dark.” In fact, Hayden felt he was the one who ought to be apologizing. He hadn’t been able to protect Jessica against a creature so strong, who could incinerate everything in her path.

“No,” she agreed, “but I brought all of that drama to you. I involved you in it, and that endangered both you and Jack. I feel so bad about that. I don’t even want to think about what might’ve happened.”

His own heart was heavy with that. “I’m the one who allowed him to go with us. I felt sorry for him, being all cooped up in the house for so long. That was on me, Jessica, and I can’t forget that you were willing to sacrifice everything you could to keep him safe from Darcy.”

“I didn’t really succeed, though. He did,” she pointed out.

“Yes, and he’ll be impossible to live with for the next few months,” Hayden said with a soft laugh. “I can’t deny that it was terrifying, but his dream of being a wolf came true. Isn’t that what we all want? Even if the circumstances that get us there are dire, don’t we all want our dreams to come true?”

Jessica nodded. “Yeah. We definitely do.”

18

“Let me know if you find anything.” Jessica put her hand in the bathtub. The water was at the perfect temperature and almost at the right level. “I don’t know if we’ll ever figure it out, but I’m so curious to know where this comes from.”

“I will,” her mother promised from the other end of the line. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“You keep saying that.” Jessica smiled as she turned off the water and made sure she had a towel ready. She’d told her parents in person about her wild discovery. It’d been hard for them to believe, just as it had been for Jessica, but they were both just as curious as she was about where this remarkable talent had come from.

They’d also been very concerned about whether she was still in one piece after fighting Darcy, even though they’d seen her in the flesh. “I can’t help it,” her mother replied. “You’d feel the same way if Paige came to you with a revelation like this.”

There were many things Jessica hadn’t truly understood until she was a parent, and this would just be another one to add to the list. “You’re absolutely right. At least she knows now, before anything could happen. I’ve got some great people who are going to help me with this, and then we can help Paige. I guess we might need to work with you or Dad, too.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” her mother demurred. “I mean, we’re not young anymore, and we haven’t had anything happen so far. Your father insists it must be his side of the family, though. Something about how his grandfather could light a campfire like nobody else. Anyway, we’ll ask around and see if we can dig up any old stories that might solve some of the mystery.”

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