Page 27 of Wolf's Midlife Bite

“She was thinking about herself instead of her son,” Robin concluded, knowing that JC would’ve been the exact same way. He wouldn’t have wanted to let himself be held back by children when he could’ve been exploring something he wanted to pursue. He always thought he was moving on to something bigger and better with one scheme or another, but all he actually did was waste time and money.

Robin had definitely made the right decision by not having a family with him, but she’d also made the wrong decision by being with him in the first place.

Their conversation moved on to careers, family, and their first cars as teenagers. The bourbon cocktail went beautifully with her fried fish sandwich. Robin questioned herself when she let the waiter get her a second one, but she was having too much fun to stop now. Brody was easy to be around. That was one of the things she liked about him the most, although it certainly didn’t hurt that he was hot. He wasn’t a guy who needed his ego boosted to feel important, nor was he trying too hard to impress her. He was a real person, someone she would’ve only been able to dream of up until now.

She knew her smile was a little too big as she polished off her sandwich and wiped her fingers. “You know, there’s something about you that I just can’t resist.”

The corner of his mouth turned up as he pointed to her cocktail. “I’m going to point out that you’ve had two of those before you say something you might regret.”

“I mean it, whether I’ve been drinking or not. I think I started feeling it right when I first met you. I was horrified when Poppy said she couldn’t do my tattoo, and I wasn’t comfortable with some random guy doing it. You were different.”

“As I recall, you were pretty hesitant,” he noted as he dipped a fry in ketchup.

“At first, yes, but that was just because a lot of other emotions were swirling around.” She gestured wildly toward the side of her head as though that would help it all make sense. “You made me feel so relaxed. I couldn’t stop thinking about you after I left, and not just because you did a good job on my tattoo.”

“So it wasn’t too much that I made an unnecessary dental appointment?” Brody asked, one eyebrow quirking up.

“It stopped me from having to make an unnecessary tattoo appointment,” she replied with a laugh. “No, it was actually really nice to know you wanted to see me again.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Brody reached across the table and took her hand in his.

Robin wove her fingers between his and felt that swell inside her like the tide, pulling her closer to Brody. She wanted to come around the table and curl up against his chest. “I wish I knew how to explain it. Even when we’re together, I can’t get close enough to you. Right now, I’m kind of pissed at this table for being between us. And when we’re not together, I just want to walk out the door and go find you. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true.” She’d felt it so many times already, and she could feel it even more right now.

“It’s not crazy.” His thumb rubbed slowly over the back of her hand. He glanced to the side, where Cole and his family had been sitting, but they were gone. They were the only ones in their little part of the patio right now. “I feel the exact same way about you. Every fiber of my being reaches for you. My wolf goes crazy when you’re not around, and then it goes crazy in a completely different way when you are.”

Robin’s cheeks felt warm. She knew that was probably from the bourbon, but the warmth flooding through the rest of her wasn’t. Earlier that afternoon, she’d had doubts about why she felt so strongly for Brody, but now she understood there was no reason to question it. Yes, she was relying on him to help her with her wolf, but this had come over her before that wolf was even inside her. She could feel it now. It was subtle, but it fit the description Brody had given her of how it felt to have this other being living within her. It reached out toward Brody’s beast, longing for more than just their hands to touch. “I think I’m starting to understand the feeling.”

He licked his lips and took her hand in both of his now. “Robin, there’s something I haven’t told you yet about being a shifter.”

She tipped her head, slightly disturbed by what felt like a sudden change in subject. Robin was content to revel in their feelings for each other, and the logistics of changing from human to wolf and back again could wait for another time. “It’s all right. I know there’s a lot, and we can’t get it all in at once. We could have another, um, training session if you’d like.” Robin was drunk, all right, but it didn’t have anything to do with the alcohol. She was drunk on Brody and on what they’d managed to find between them.

“I don’t think this can wait any longer.” Brody leaned forward, those remarkable hazel eyes of his intense on hers. “Robin, there are a lot of things about shifters that are different from the way humans are. You know that already, but it’s not just about changing shape or having excellent hearing. It’s also about the things we believe and feel.”

A jolt of nerves bolted through her. He was so passionate right now that it made her wonder exactly where he was going with all of this.

“We believe that there is only one true soulmate out there for each of us. Those two people are fated to each other, drawn together like forces of nature. I know that it’s quick for me to say something that sounds like such a big commitment, but that’s why you feel that pull toward me, Robin. We’re destined to be together. We’re mates.”

The jolt of nerves zipped down to her stomach. “If that’s true, and if that’s how you know, then how could each of us have been with other people before?”

He made a helpless gesture with his hand. “It happens. For me, I knew Danielle wasn’t my true mate. I was ready to settle down, but I hadn’t met you yet. I’m sure, in some ways, it was no different for you. People get married and then divorced all the time, and I like to think they then have a chance to find the person they’re supposed to be with.”

While some of that was all very reasonable, there was another aspect that Robin was having trouble understanding. “But I was just a boring old human until a week ago. How could you have been fated to someone who doesn’t exist? I mean, in the sense that if I wasn’t a shifter, I couldn’t have been fated to you.”

Brody leaned back in his chair but didn’t let go of her hand.

“I’m not trying to be difficult or deny what you’re saying,” she clarified. “I’m just trying to understand.”

“I know. And it’s hard because it means there’s just so much more to explain. You see, the Glenwood pack is kind of old-fashioned. We still carry on a lot of the traditions that more modern packs don’t bother with. Like worshipping Selene…and marking our mates.” He leaned up and scooted closer now, his hand drifting up her arm until he touched the curve between her neck and shoulder. “The male will use his fangs to bite the female, just here, and it deepens the bond between them. Once they have sex after marking, their bond is complete. Other wolves can see and scent the mark, but it also allows the couple to feel each other’s strongest emotions.”

“He marks her,” Robin repeated back. “He claims her as his.”

“In a way, but it’s more than that,” Brody insisted.

Robin swallowed. She wasn’t upset about being mates. She knew that being with Brody was the right thing. It was the only thing. She didn’t want to think about dating someone else or slowing down their relationship, whether they were wolves or humans.

But this marking thing was something else. A sense of desperation prickled her skin, the same sort of anxiety she used to get when JC would call her and demand to know where she was and who she was with. Logic told her that this wasn’t the same thing and Brody would never treat her like that. It was impossible to forget the way things had been with JC, though, and she’d fought so hard to get away.

She felt like the newly tattooed bird on her hip was getting shoved right back into its cage.

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