“True,” I acknowledged.
Human and shifter blood looked exactly the same to most people. In fact, no one could tell the difference unless they knew exactly what to look for. A human doctor or lab technician would never see anything strange in a shifter’s blood because they wouldn’t be looking for specific genetic markers. If you didn’t know to search for the single genetic marker, you’d never find it. Most scientists and geneticists believed the marker was a piece of junk DNA. But if you had that marker, you were a shifter. If not? You were human.
“I’ll need to call the boss as soon as we’re done here,” Ollie said. “Let him know how it’s going.”
“You mean your alpha?”
“Yeah. I told him I’d update him once we made contact with the woman.”
“I never asked about that,” I remembered. “What the hell happened that caused a change in alphas? Last time I was around, Alec was the head honcho. Now some guy named JC is in charge. What happened there?”
“Nothing bad.” Ollie glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot. He gestured for me to step over. I joined him, keeping my eyes on the exam room door.
Ollie lowered his voice. “Alec was only ever supposed to be an interim. He mentored JC until he came of age. Alec stepped aside a few years ago, and JC took over.”
“Where’d Alec go?” I asked, knowing the man would never become a lone wolf like me.
“Still around. He’s more of a respected advisor now.”
“Is JC cool?”
“Yeah. I told you that the other night. Really good guy. He’s young, though. Twenty-five.”
“Holy shit, are you serious?” Most alphas took over their packs at a later age. The youngest I’d ever heard of was thirty.
“Yeah. Once Alec thought JC was mature enough, he stepped aside. JC has done well as the alpha. This will be his first bigproblem,” he said, glancing at the exam room.
I lowered my voice so only he could hear me. “What are the odds she’s been turned?”
“No way of knowing yet,” Ollie said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Usually, if a shifter turns a human, it’s from a bite while the shifter is fully transformed. Cameron’s story tells us he wasn’t. The guy was in his human form.”
“But,” I prodded.
“ButI’ve heard rumors that the bite has nothing to do with the transformation per se. It’s more about how much the shifter has given themselves over to their animal side. If this guy is feral, and Cameron has the right genetics, then it could turn her, regardless of the form he was in. From what she told us, it sounds like the guy was acting like a mindless animal.” He shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. It’s a fifty-fifty shot.”
“Does she have the blood on her paternal side, though?” I asked. “That would alter the odds a lot one way or another.”
A shiftercouldturn a human with a bite. It was rare, but it happened. In order for that to work, though, the human had to have shifter lineage on their father’s side.
“Haven’t been able to dig up much on her dad,” Ollie said. “The guy vanished when she was really young. Left her and her mom in a lurch. No clue if he has shifter blood in his lineage. We can hope not. Obviously, if it’s on her mom’s side, she’s in the clear based on history.”
“What you’re saying is that we’re basically jerking off in the dark until this blood test comes back.”
“You have a real way with words, Nate.”
“What about her symptoms?” I asked, ignoring the jab. “Those are the first signs of turning.”
“I’ll tell JC about that, too. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Honestly, it could just be a virus of some sort. We can’t jump to conclusions. We wait to see what the doc says. Once we have a clear idea, then we go forward from there. I’m not telling this poor woman about the shifter world and upending her whole life if she’s got the fuckingflu.”
“Fair enough. Do you think your alpha will accept her into the pack if she is turning?”
“Not sure, if I’m being honest. Maybe.”
“Maybe?” I gaped at him incredulously. “Dude, are you serious?”
Ollie gave a half-hearted shrug. “The Toronto-Ottawa pack is massive. JC is always working and dealing with stuff. The guy’s been alpha for years, and I’ve only met him face to face three or four times. Otherwise, we only interact via text, email, and on the phone. This is high on his list, though,” Ollie emphasized. “I’ve never seen him so interested. If this goes bad, it could go really bad. He’s texting or calling me a half dozen times a day. I have faith he’ll do the right thing, though. He’s level-headed and reasonable. I haven’t heard anyone say anything bad about him.”
Packs. They were way too much trouble. So much bureaucracy. Our species was no better than humans when it came to that.
