Dire Desires: A Novel of the Eternal Wolf Clan Read Online Free PDF

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    “Jinx, what’s wrong?” she asked without saying hello.
    “I’m bringing a Dire wolf in.”
    “Who’s hurt?” she demanded.
    “No one you know. It’s a full female Dire.”
    There was a long silence and then, “I’ll open the garage for you. Come right into the clinic.”
    She hung up and Jinx directed Jez to park in the garage in between the Hummers and the Harleys and various other sports cars and classics. He moved quickly, with Gillian in his arms and Jez trailing behind him until he saw Gwen waiting in the hallway. She motioned for him to follow her and he did, placing Gillian gently down on the stretcher before backing away to give Gwen room to work.
    But for a long moment, Gwen simply stared down at her.
    “She’s full Dire,” she finally breathed.
    “Yes. She was in a psych ward.”
    “So she has no idea what she is?” she asked as she turned her full attention back to Gillian. “She’s pretty.”
    Jinx agreed, watched Gwen put two fingers on Gillian’s wrist as she placed the stethoscope on Gillian’s chest under her T-shirt. Jinx heard his growl, low, warning, before he could stop it.
    Gwen stilled and stared at Jinx, her canines elongated.
    “Jinx, you’ve got to back off and let Gwen check her. She’s not hurting her,” Jez said and when Jinx looked at the vampire, his fangs had come down too.
    “Jinx is feeling . . . protective,” Jez told Gwen and she stared between Jinx and Gillian. The bond was palpable, at least to Jinx and from the look on her face, she felt it too.
    She looked back at the vampire, who simply smiled.
    Christ. He stared at the floor, took a deep breath and tamped down that reaction because what the fuck? “Sorry,” he mumbled after a long, tense moment and Gwen went back to her exam.
    “Do you know if she’s been drugged like this for five years running?” she asked.
    “I’m assuming so, but maybe not as heavily. If they have her birthday listed correctly, she’s due for her first shift in three months.” Jinx went for the intercom. “Maybe Stray can look into her records.”
    “That’s a good idea,” Gwen said. “Because I have to know how bad her withdrawal’s going to be.”
    Jinx put his finger on the button but he hadn’t pressed it yet. Gwen went over to him and pressed, called up to Stray. “Come to the basement and bring your laptop. Stat.”
    Stray gave a sharp “Will do,” and she added, “Bring Killian.”
    Jinx looked at her with a furrowed brow.
    “Gillian might be from the Greenland pack,” she offered.
    “Right. They might know her.” His entire body tensed at the thought of other Dires coming down here, coming near Gillian. And it had to have shown, because Gwen asked, “Are you going to be able to hold it together?”
    “Of course he can,” Jez said. “What? I have impeccable hearing. It’s not just you wolves.”
    Gwen gave Jinx a lingering look and then went back to Gillian. She ran some IVs, explaining to Jinx, who’d been a medic in the Army, what each one was—he’d know what they’d do. It was nothing he wouldn’t have done for any of the Dires, nothing that could hurt Gillian. Rather, this could push the drugs out of her system, but not so fast as to cause a reaction.
    It dawned on him then. “You think her body’s addicted to the drugs?”
    “I don’t know. Can wolves get addicted? Don’t forget, this is all preshift,” she said. “I mean, our metabolisms are really too fast for drugs to stay in long, but this kind of exposure, day in and day out . . .”
    “She ran away for days at a time. And she always came back. Wouldn’t she have gone through withdrawals then?”
    “Maybe she was. Or maybe the wolf was urging her on. I can’t be sure, Jinx. But I’ll do everything to make sure she’s comfortable,” Gwen promised and Jinx believed her.
    He heard Jez at the door talking to Killian and Stray, and he could make out the bare-bones conversation that consisted of
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