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“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 big problem,” 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.

“ But I’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 shifter could turn 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 fucking flu . ”

“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.

“She’s gonna need some kind of guidance,” I said, then stopped talking as an orderly rolled a gurney down the hall.

An ancient-looking man lay on the bed. To me, he looked to be one minute away from death.

Once they turned the corner, I added, “I know you said you don’t want to jump to conclusions, but you guys are gonna have to have a plan in place.

This girl, if she has been turned, doesn’t have a lifetime of knowledge.

She wasn’t raised as a shifter. She’ll need to know the rules, protocol, hierarchy, all that shit.

” I rubbed a hand over my face. “ Fuck, ” I hissed.

“Not to mention she’ll lose her mind during her first shift.

What if your alpha decides she’s too much of a risk and just kills her then and there? ”

Ollie’s head snapped around, an angry gleam in his eyes. “Hang on,” he growled, still keeping his voice low. “You know that executions are rare?—”

“But not unheard of,” I cut in. “You know how fucking jumpy everyone is when it comes to our secret getting out.”

“Yeah, yeah, but this isn’t the same. That woman is innocent.

This isn’t like this fucking feral or that drunk dick back in the bar last week.

Alphas who go around killing anyone and everyone who cause the slightest problem end up dictators.

They eventually fall when they lose the respect of their pack and are overthrown by another alpha. You know that.”

I snorted. “Right. I know how it works. You don’t execute her.

You decide to be gracious,” I said derisively.

“Just deny her entrance to the pack, relegate her to being a lone wolf, and then wait for her to cause trouble. Then you can fuck off her with a clear conscience, right? That’s the—what would you call it?

Oh, yes. The diplomatic approach.” I glared at him, pissed off at the situation rather than him.

Ollie sighed. “You’re cynical as shit, Nate. Always have been.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve seen the way the world works. You’ll probably end up calling me in to deal with her when she turns feral, huh? Well, if you do, you can count me the fuck out. If your precious pack wants to do a dirty deal, then you can clean up the fucking mess.”

“No one said that was going to happen.” Ollie jammed his fists into his pockets. “You’ll see. Just chill out.”

If Cameron did turn, and the Toronto-Ottawa pack turned their back on her, her life would be a slow descent into the madness of being feral. If she was one of the small minority like me, she’d keep her sanity but would forever be looked down on for being a lone wolf.

I knew full well what it was like to find yourself becoming something you didn’t understand.

Cameron had been dragged into it by some crazed madman.

Part of me pitied her if that was the lot she’d drawn.

Another part of me felt empathy and kinship toward her—something I most definitely wasn’t used to.

If Cameron had been turned into a shifter, then she and I would have more in common than I did with anyone else.

I’d grown up not knowing who my family was.

My first memory was of a long, rainy road and loneliness, my small feet stumbling forward on the pavement, unsure where I was going or where I’d come from.

From there, I’d bounced around foster homes, until one night, misery and pain had exploded inside me, and I’d turned.

My first shift had been terrifying. I’d thought I was dying. No one to guide me, no one to warn me.

Deep-seated, visceral fear surged through me at the memories.

I quickly tamped them down, shoving them into the farthest recesses of my mind.

There was no time for fear or self-reflection.

Those were things that would get you killed if you dwelled on them too long.

That would make me weak, and a lone wolf could not allow weakness to creep in.

But while we waited for the nurse to finish with Cameron, my mind continued to drift.

Unbidden and unwanted, the memory of my first meeting with Cameron came back to me.

She was gorgeous, and a smartass. I could still remember the way her body pressed into mine when I pulled her back from the stairs.

Her breasts against my chest, her breath on my neck.

My cock stirred, and I shook my head, trying to throw off the thoughts. Now was not the time to be getting the hots for some chick. As soon as Ollie and I had this feral shifter settled, I would be leaving town. I’d never see her again. No point in starting something.

Even if it was with a woman who might end up a lone wolf like me.

The door to the exam room finally opened. The nurse stepped out and surreptitiously slid the vial of blood into Ollie’s hand before turning back to Cameron.

“I’ll send this sample to the lab,” she told Cameron.

It’ll take a couple of days.” She slid her hand into the pocket of her scrubs, pretending to tuck the sample away.

“Your vitals are fairly stable. You do have a low-grade fever. You should be drinking more fluids. The blood draw took a while, and that usually means you’re a bit dehydrated. ”

“Okay,” Cameron said, running a hand over her dark curls. It appeared her anxiety had returned while in the exam room with the nurse.

“Come with me real quick,” the nurse said to her. “Let me see if I have any samples of medicine I can give you for your nausea. That way, you won’t have to wait at the pharmacy for it. You can go right home.” She glanced at Ollie. “I’ll bring her out to the front door when I have her all set up.”

“Sounds good,” Ollie said, and the nurse and Cameron disappeared down the hall.

Ollie tilted his head to the door, then took his phone out of his pocket as we strode out the exit. A few seconds later, he began to speak to whoever was on the other end.

“It’s Vickers,” Ollie said. “I’ve got that sample we talked about… yeah, she did … she is… do you have one of the pack doctors lined up to do this test?”

“Is that your alpha?” I whispered.

Ollie nodded absently. “Yes, sir, I know… I’ll have it to you ASAP… yeah, I’m leaving right now. Depending on traffic, I should be there in less than forty-five minutes… okay, thanks. Bye.”

He shoved his phone back into his pocket as we approached his car.

“Listen,” Ollie said. “I’ve got to go. Now. JC wants this test done by the end of the day. You’ll need to give Ms. Torres a ride back to her office.”

Excuse me?

“No way. I’m not a fucking taxi service. You take her back and give me the vial and the address. I’ll take care of it for you.”

I did not want to be around Cameron alone. Not after the ridiculous thoughts that had been running through my head. The less interaction with her, the better.

“Uh…” Ollie broke eye contact and stared at the ground. “Not a good idea, Nate. It’s better if I do it.”

“Why the hell can’t I? It’s a simple delivery job. I could…” Then it sunk in. “ Oh ,” I said bitterly.

“It’s not personal,” Ollie said.

His pack was secretive, as all packs were. They didn’t want their members to be exposed. Less dangerous if a pack member did the delivery rather than some filthy fucking lone wolf. I was an outsider, and they wanted me to stay in my lane.

It shouldn’t have bothered me, but I couldn’t deny that it stung.

Ollie’s face crumpled into an apologetic wince. “Nate, we’re friends, but I gotta follow the rules. You get that, right?”

“Right,” I grunted, then waved at his car. “Go on. Go deliver your shit.”

“Nate—”

“Fucking go already,” I hissed. “I’ll give her a ride back.”

Ollie heaved a sigh but said no more. Instead, he walked around to the driver’s side of his sedan and got it. In a few seconds, he was gone.

I’d been short with him, but I wasn’t mad at Ollie. It was more the whole situation that pissed me off. I was good enough to bring in for a tracking job, but the moment I offered to deliver some goddamn blood, I wasn’t.

What a crock of shit.