Page 34 of Wolf's Midlife Bite

But nothing happened. Frustrated, Robin looked down at her body. It was still very much human.

Shit. What was it Brody had said? She had to let down her own defenses. That made sense. It was scary to turn into something else, to become a different creature than she’d been her entire life. Plus, it hurt like hell while it was happening. All she had to do was relax.

No matter how many deep breaths she attempted, though, Robin didn’t make any progress. She leaned forward and pressed her head to the floor. She was too nervous, and there was no way she couldn’t be when she was about to be killed. Not just killed but sacrificed to some dark lord. Her guts swirled inside her.

So did regret. At the time, it’d seemed that discovering she was becoming a wolf shifter was the strangest thing that’d ever happened to her. Being sacrificed, Robin decided, definitely topped the list over that one. What good had it done to train in wolf form if she couldn’t even become one? What good had it done her to stay at an unsatisfying job when the bills she’d been so worried about paying were about to become obsolete?

And what good had it done to start her life over when it was all about to be taken away?

Her heart wrapped around thoughts of Brody. She’d doubted him on numerous levels. She’d pulled away from him when she thought he’d asked too much of her. Robin realized that even though she’d pushed away, come back, and then pushed away again, Brody had been right there for her the entire time. She’d been a fool to suddenly balk. If she hadn’t, maybe the two of them would’ve had a chance to spend a little more time together.

The loud thump that suddenly ripped through the room startled Robin upright. Her muscles tightened, and she jerked painfully against her bonds. She swiveled her head around, trying to see what was happening.

Edith and Watson turned as well. “What the hell is that?” Edith demanded.

She got her answer when another resounding crash went through the room. The candles flickered as the door banged open, sending pieces of intricately carved trim splintering to the floor. The doorway filled with gray fur as several wolves came charging into the room. They surrounded her captors, their hackles raised and their teeth bared.

A woman rushed in after them. Her curly gray hair hung down her back, and the skirt of her dark purple dress whisked around her legs. Her brilliant hazel eyes flared as she curled her hand through the air and then whipped it forward, sending a ball of flame shooting from her fingertips.

Robin watched it all in pure disbelief. Was she dreaming this? Was she hoping so badly for a rescue that her poor, addled brain had allowed her the illusion of one just to make her feel better in her final moments?

“Robin.”

“Brody!” Her heart soared at the sight of him, but she still wasn’t quite sure she could believe all of this. It was too wild to be true. “Is that really you? What’s happening?”

His fingers worked quickly at her bonds, and he grinned. “I guess this is one heck of a way for you to meet my mother.”

18

Brody kepthis wolf in check while he freed Robin from the last of her bonds, but it wasn’t easy. He’d felt the urgency of getting to her with every pump of his blood as they’d raced to this strange mansion in the woods. That had only magnified once they’d found her. They’d decided as a pack that the witches would go in on two feet to make the most of their powers. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he had Robin in his arms again. He did now, but seeing the deep gashes that the ropes had made in her wrists and ankles made a twist of rage run through him.

“You’ve got to get out of here,” Robin urged as she held one hand in the other, trying to relieve her pain. “Edith. She’s one of his friends, but she’s a witch. She’s the one who killed the other women, and I don’t want anything to happen to you or your pack.” Her eyes were wide as she tried to take in everything happening around her.

A screech filled the room, issued from the woman Robin had called Edith as she pressed her hands to her chest and then flung them forward. A vortex of blackness spun through the air toward Dawn. His sister dodged to the side as she summoned her own powers, but Brody saw the massive hole it left in the wall behind her.

“Don’t worry about that,” Brody reassured her, though he knew this wasn’t a guaranteed mission despite the numbers being in their favor. Whoever this woman was, she was incredibly powerful. He forced himself to focus on Robin. There was no point in all of this if he didn’t get her out of there. “I need you to shift.”

Robin shook her head. “I can’t. I already tried. I can’t concentrate enough. Plus, she put some sort of spell on me, and I’ve still got this horrible pounding in my head.”

He didn’t doubt that was true. She’d hardly spent any time in wolf form so far, and he couldn’t imagine trying to shift in such circumstances when she wasn’t used to it. The aftereffects of a spell wouldn’t help. “I know, but we’ll get you out of here much faster if you’re on four legs.”

She clung to him as the fighting raged around them. Max and Conner had managed to get around behind Edith as she battled the others, and Max clamped his teeth around the back of her knee. The witch responded with a crackling surge of red energy from her fingertips that sent him and Conner flying back into the corner of the room. They smacked into the wall, breaking the plaster. An old frame above them teetered on its nail and then fell, scattering broken glass over their fur.

Meanwhile, Hunter had cornered Dr. Watson, his teeth bared and his hackles raised. He bunched his muscles and lunged. His size and strength were no match for the older man, but the iron curtain rod the doctor had snagged from a pile of junk in the corner was. He swung it like a baseball bat, sending Hunter flying back.

Brody could feel the uncertainty in Robin, and he knew he had to fix it somehow, or they’d never make it out of there. He took her face in his hands and forced her to look only at him. “If you shift, you’ll heal faster. The headache will go away, and it’ll be like the ropes were never around you. I need you to trust me on this, Robin.” Her skin was gritty with dust, streaked by the traces of tears.

She swallowed, her breath quick and shallow. “I’ll try, Brody. But I’m so worried about you.”

He pushed his face closer to hers, hoping it was enough to drown out the rest of the room. “We’ve got this.You’vegot this. Just close your eyes and listen to the sound of my voice.”

She flinched as something heavy fell to the floor just behind them.

“Take a deep breath. That’s it. Just like that. Let it out. Let yourself relax. Everything is going to be okay. Your wolf is in there, and I have no doubt that it wants to come out right now.” He knew his sure as hell did. Eventually, Robin would be able to call her creature forward in urgent times without even giving it more than a thought, but she wasn’t there yet. “Another deep breath. Good. Remember how it felt to be in your wolf form when you and I were in your backyard. Think about how good it felt to be in that skin.”

The barest hint of a smile touched her lips.

“You want that back. I know you do. This whole thing will feel completely different when you bring your wolf back. It’s new, I know. But you can do this.” He licked his lips and pressed his forehead against her. They couldn’t communicate telepathically in their human form, but nevertheless, he willed all of his knowledge and experience into her. “Let everything else melt away, even yourself. Think about the sharpness of your teeth, the strength of your muscles, and the thickness of your fur. You need it, Robin. It needs you, too.”

---