Page 31 of Wolf's Midlife Bite

“Is that really all it takes to find a man?” Dawn asked. “Lori, you and I are going to have to spend some time in the kitchen. I need some lessons.”

“Pass the parmesan?”

“Max, you’re not even going to be able to taste it under all that cheese!” Joan chided, though she smiled as she passed the dish of hand-grated parmesan to her son.

“Cheese makes everything better,” Jimmy countered. “Pass me that when you’re done, son.”

“Is there any more garlic bread?” Hunter asked.

“I’ll get the rest out of the kitchen.” Lori, looking delighted, went to fetch it.

Her son Conner gave Hunter a challenging look. “I’ll wrestle you for the garlic bread.”

“You will not!” Lori called back from the kitchen.

Brody ate slowly and thoughtfully. His family was all there, and he ought to be enjoying the moment. With their varying schedules, they couldn’t always manage to have dinner together. His parents had retired from pack leadership once Rex had taken over as Alpha. Rex was always busy, whether he was running the pack or his rock club, Selene’s. As his Luna, Lori shared those same responsibilities with him. Max’s position at the club meant he was usually there any time Rex couldn’t be. Dawn worked long, relentless shifts at the hospital, and half the time, she never knew exactly when she’d be off. Hunter and Conner were about the only ones that Brody got to spend quality time with on a regular basis, and that was only because he’d been training the younger wolves. This was the perfect time for him to catch up, but he wasn’t quite feeling it.

“Have you heard anything back from Kane?” Lori asked when she returned to the table. She pointed her finger at the two boys. “And there’s plenty for everyone.”

Rex shrugged. “The police are on it, but nothing new has come to light. They don’t have any good leads, at least not until some results come back from the lab.”

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Dawn commented. “Everything is quiet and peaceful, then all of a sudden, two bodies are found in the woods. I hope it’s making the young women in Eugene pay attention to their surroundings and stay in groups. I see plenty of bad things happening with the patients at the hospital, and I don’t like to think it could be getting worse.”

“Maybe someone is trying to send a message,” Max speculated. He continued when Rex looked at him with interest. “They were both found on our territory.”

“True,” Rex acknowledged, “but you also have to consider that our territory is pretty damn big. The fact that it includes the park and some of the other surrounding woods means that this could be pure coincidence. I don’t want to jump to conclusions and take this personally unless we find that we have a good reason.”

“If it were a message, it would make more sense for these victims to be people we know,” Brody pointed out absently as he poked his fork into his spaghetti. “Either that or someone’s just shitty at sending messages.”

“You did say that you’d tattooed the most recent one,” Max pointed out.

Brody had to acknowledge the truth of that. “Yes, but not the first one. I’d never seen her before.” He’d considered that same notion himself, and he’d been grateful to be able to dismiss it.

“Listen to all of you,” Joan said, sitting back and touching the crystal that hung around her neck. “You’re here having dinner with your family, but you sound like you’re having a pack meeting.”

“Isn’t it great?” Jimmy grinned.

She playfully slapped her mate on the arm. “You were just as bad back in your day. Business is important, but they need time to rest, too.”

As his parents continued to argue the finer points of scheduling pack business, Brody’s wolf grew urgent inside him. He brushed it off. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Robin, and discussing the recent murders hadn’t helped. He was just in a sensitive frame of mind at the moment; there was no need to panic. But the more he tried to push it away, the more his wolf insisted. Adrenaline shot through him, and his heart raced. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

“Excuse me for a second.” Scraping his chair back, Brody stepped out onto the back patio and whipped his phone out of his pocket. He dialed Robin’s number. Everyone else he cared about was right there in front of him, and there was no denying that he had a deep connection with her. They might not have yet completed their bond, but the beginnings of it were certainly in place.

The line rang and rang before going to voicemail. Brody hung up and tried again with the same result. He double-checked the time, and now his stomach was in knots.

Everyone was looking at him when he stepped back into the kitchen. “Robin isn’t answering her phone.”

“Maybe she had to work late,” Lori reasoned.

Brody shook his head. “Not this late. I’m going by her house to check on her.” For someone who was supposed to be giving her space and time to mull over their relationship, he was doing a piss poor job. Right now, though, he didn’t particularly care. He’d never forgive himself if he ignored his beast and something happened to his mate.

“Darling, let me save you a trip.” Joan got up from the table and came around until she stood in front of Brody. “Things might be fine, but I can locate her so you’ll know for sure. Do you have anything of hers?”

His wolf didn’t want to wait while Joan worked her magic. It wanted to go and see Robin for itself. But Brody knew just how strong his mother’s powers were. If she could find Robin, he’d be able to get to her faster, even if she was just at home. “Um, oh. Here. I have these.” He grabbed her reading glasses out of the pocket of his flannel. He’d nearly forgotten about them until now.

“Perfect. Just give me a minute.” Joan moved over to the patio door, her dark skirt swishing around her legs. She pulled in several deep breaths as she looked up at the moon, and Brody could hear her mutter a quiet prayer to Selene. Pressing her elbows to her sides, she put her hands in front of her and held Robin’s glasses in the cradle of her palms.

The clock on the dining room wall ticked loudly with every passing second, sending a sense of urgency through Brody. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to be still to avoid interrupting her spell. This was supposed to save him time, but it didn’t quite feel like it at the moment. Brody’s wolf reeled inside him, desperate for him to get the hell out the door and over to Robin’s place. He’d be warring with himself forever until he had Robin in his sights.

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