I thought Gage and I were destined to be together forever. Until he rejected me and abandoned our pack.

I found my fated mate over twenty years ago but got impatient waiting for him to admit his feelings. In my infinite teen wisdom, I cast a love spell to give him a nudge. But my plan failed miserably when I botched it, and Gage rejected me in front of our whole pack instead.

My dating history has been hilariously bad ever since.  So between my exhausting job as an ER nurse and my duties as the Glenwood pack healer, I’d resigned myself to becoming a crazy old spinster wolf witch.

Until Gage is rushed into the ER one night, unconscious and badly hurt.  The docs don’t think he’ll make it, but they don’t know I’ve got magic on my side. As he’s caught in limbo, I try to bring him back from the brink, but he’s too far gone, and my wolf howls in agony.

Until suddenly, he called my name.

Now that he’s back, will he break my heart all over again, or is fate finally giving us a second chance at forty?

Titles in the Shifter Nation: Marked Over Forty series include — Forbidden Midlife Mate —♥— Wolf’s Midlife Bite —♥— Wolf’s Midlife Secret Child —♥— Rejected Midlife Wolf —♥— Wolf’s Midlife Nanny —♥—

*This series is part of the Shifter Nation Universe and begins right after the Fated Over Forty series*

Be sure to visit the Meg Ripley page for more of her titles that have been reviewed here, and a link to her official website.

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Kindle Unlimited

Title:  Rejected Midlife Wolf
Series:  Marked Over Forty #4
Author:  Meg Ripley
Published:  June 14, 2023
My Rating:  4.5

Rejected Midlife Wolf is the fourth title in the Shifter Nation: Marked Over Forty series.  Dawn has played a part in each of the earlier stories; as a nurse and the pack’s healer, she has a vital role.  One that is of a powerful witch and shifter who stands firmly behind her own powers.  But there once was a different Dawn, and two lifetimes sort of combine in this story… that of the younger, impatient, impulsive Dawn, and the Dawn of today who is finally facing her actions from the past.  It’s not going to be easy, but it is beyond time to acknowledge her part in the way that Gage’s life has turned out.  Oh, it wasn’t only Dawn who had an impact on events, but she was the impatient one who had to act then and not wait for events to play out naturally.

Gage was part of Dawn’s pack.  She was the alpha’s daughter, and he and his family were certainly not at the top level that many others in their pack were.  With a father who constantly blamed others for his place within the pack (even though it was by his own actions), voicing his opinion constantly on the romance between Gage and Dawn — and Dawn’s assistance upon hearing words that he felt pressured to say out loud, Gage was placed between a rock and a hard place every moment of his younger life.  He knew that Dawn was his mate, but he didn’t feel the need to proclaim it to the world or his girl every single day.  It wasn’t his way.  Then one day, that connection just wasn’t there anymore; he couldn’t feel that special spark with his mate at all.  Unfortunately, he picked the worst possible time to announce that to Dawn… and life went downhill from there.

Now, they’ve come back into each other’s life again.  Gage has made some horrible decisions, especially in his associates.  And he will pay for that.  Dawn will have the chance to correct a wrong, not only to have her mate come back to her but because it’s the right, if dangerous, thing to do.  Gage has suffered long enough with the effects of her spell gone wrong, it’s time to try to fix it.  But every action has consequences, as they will soon discover.

Gage and Dawn’s story is painful on so many levels.  An impatient teen has changed the course of two lives… or has she?  I can’t help but wonder what the outcome might have been for so many people if they had not been separated by that spell for so many years.  Right now, there is extreme danger lurking in the shadows, headed for Dawn’s pack.  And she has a choice – trust her mate or not.  That decision will decide the course of the rest of her life.

Rejected Midlife Wolf is a well-written, emotional, steamy, and thought-provoking story that kept me on edge throughout.  I understood both sides of the situation and hurt for both Dawn and Gage.  I confess that I didn’t “like” Dawn as much in this story, perhaps because we learned of her actions as a younger woman.  I loved the story, it’s simply that my opinion of one of the secondary characters in this series has changed just a bit.

I read this title through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

Available for the Kindle as this title is currently in KU