Page 31 of Wolf's Midlife Baby

Pierce’s eyes flicked to the sliding door. He could see Holly out there at a table with several of the Glenwood women. That connection Joan spoke about tugged at him even now, reminding him that even having one wall separating them was too much. “I do.”

She nodded. “Perhaps it isn’t any of my business, other than the fact that I worry about all of you as though you’re my own children. I only wonder if there’s anything I can do to help. I know the incident with this journalist has made things difficult, but I think something more is putting a wall between the two of you.”

He pulled a deep breath in through his nose. Pierce didn’t want to have the mate debate yet again with yet another person. He could tell her about how he and Holly lived on opposite sides of the country and had their own lives. He could tell her that it was simply too late for them and that if things had happened differently, they might be able to work it all out. Instead, his mind wandered to a part of his issue with Holly that he hadn’t yet been able to wrap his head around. “There seems to be a lot keeping us apart, but there’s one aspect that I honestly don’t know how to handle.”

“What is it?” Joan asked, eager to help.

“She’s not like us,” Pierce admitted. “She’s a shifter, but she’s a bear. If we were able to figure out all of our other differences—which I honestly don’t have much hope for—we’d still have that as a problem. I don’t mind it, of course. I think she’s beautiful. It’s just that…I’d want to follow our pack traditions. I don’t know what might happen if I were to mark her.”

“Ah, I see.” Joan’s long beaded necklace tinkled softly as she let go of his hand and poured hot water from the kettle into her mug. “Would you like some tea?”

“No, thank you.” What he’d like was a magic spell that would’ve made him meet Holly twenty years earlier, back when they were young and the world still felt malleable.

Joan reached for the jar of honey. “Fate acts in very mysterious ways. It’s something we have to think about a lot since it’s so closely tied in with our way of life. That doesn’t always make it any easier, though, especially when it seems like it’s beating the hell out of us.”

He let out a grunt of agreement. “It’s good at that.”

“Yes, it is, but I still think it’s acting in our best interests.” She slowly stirred her tea and then set the spoon in the sink. “It has a plan for us.”

Pierce thought about his mother dying so young and his father’s house burning down. He thought about how Holly had been in Eugene once a year for several years, yet he’d never met her until now. Then, even once he did meet her, he wouldn’t get a chance to be with her. “Sorry to say it, but this doesn’t seem like much of a plan.”

“That’s because it’s much greater than anything we can possibly fathom,” Joan explained. “It’s bigger than us, much bigger. Our little brains simply can’t comprehend something as vast as the way we’re all interwoven.”

“But has a wolf ever marked another species before?” Pierce pressed, ready to get back down to brass tacks. If the result would be something terrible, there was no point in working out their other issues. “Do you know what might happen?”

“Not from experience, no,” the older woman admitted. “Perhaps we could see if there’s any other information we can tap into.”

Joan reached up and put her warm hands on either side of his face. She smiled up at him as she tipped her head back. Her hazel eyes suddenly went cloudy, and her shoulders slackened. She blinked a moment later, and her eyes returned to their natural color. “Follow your heart.”

“What?” Pierce had occasionally experienced Joan's oracular talents before, and he’d been expecting something much more cryptic.

“Follow your heart. Those exact words in that exact order,” she confirmed as she dropped her hands to her sides.

He shook his head. “I thought that’s what I’ve been trying to do all along.”

She grinned at him. “Then I suggest you keep trying. I’m going to read a bit and then go to bed, but you know where I’m at when you need me.”

Joan left him alone, and Pierce headed for the sliding door.

“She wasn’t kidding,” Angela said. “Sasquatch actually does make his appearances pretty regularly around here. I have to admit I’m pretty amused that Tiffany was able to use him to throw off the scent for the rest of us, though.”

“Hey, we’ve got to do what we can, right?” Stephanie said. Facing the house, she was the first one to see the door open. “Hey, Pierce. Everything going okay?”

“It’s mostly taken care of,” he replied as he stepped out into the night. “I just need to talk to Holly for a second.”

Angela looked at her watch. “And I’ve got to get home and into bed.”

“Same,” Stephanie agreed. “I wouldn’t have even been out this late if it hadn’t been for an emergency call at the office. But I have a long day of doggy acupuncture and massages ahead of me, so I’d better turn in. It was nice to meet you, Holly.”

“Thank you. You, too.” She waved her fingers at them as they left.

Pierce waited until the door had closed behind them. “Do you mind if I sit down?”

“Not at all.” The moon cast her in a gorgeous glow, illuminating her skin and brightening her eyes despite how tired she must have been. “Everyone in your pack is so nice. What’s happening with Kyle?”

He settled into the chair next to her. It pleased his wolf to be so close, but it also suited him not to have to look into her eyes for this entire conversation. Nothing between them had been easy, and it didn’t seem to be getting any better. “You clocked him good, but he’ll be all right physically.”

“Physically?” she asked.

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