In the Shadow of the Wolf 3 - Splintered Lies Read Online Free PDF Page B

answered without checking the screen.
"It's Keith. I got the results you wanted. Remember, this was a rush job so I can't guarantee the results one hundred percent."
"Go on."
"I must say, I'm quite impressed. You have a slick bit of pharmaceutical engineering on your hands. The vitamins were laced with the inhibitor all right but it was tweaked. You've heard of slow release, well imagine the opposite. It was built to pass through the mother's system directly into the fetus."
"Fuck," Nick swore. "There was inhibitor in the pills," he explained to Joe. His friend indicated he wanted the phone and Nick passed it over.
"Keith. Joe here. Tell me." He listened as the lab tech passed over the same information he had given Nick. "Okay," Joe said flatly. "Was the dosage killing our baby?" There was a pause as he listened and then he passed back the phone and left the room.
"What did you say to him?" Nick asked.
"I'm sorry. He asked. I didn't know what else to do but tell him."
"It's fine. You said what you needed to say. I'll handle any fallout on this end. Tell me what you told him," Nick said. He reassured the technician without really believing he could handle anything to do with Joe at the moment.
"The dosage wasn't enough to kill. I'm sure that wasn't the intention. My hypothesis is that this dose level, introduced to the fetus at such an early point in development, would cause basic genetic changes. In this case, it would stop the baby from being able to shift."
"Keith, make some sense, man, babies don't shift." Nick was distracted; he thought he could hear retching. It sounded like Joe was in the bathroom being sick. What the hell?
"Yeah, like I don't know that," Keith sounded annoyed but Nick thought it had a lot more to do with what he'd discovered than any real irritation with him. "You aren't paying attention. I would need to check the fetus to be sure. But—my theory is that this drug is designed to scramble genetic markers, making the child unable to shift at puberty. Or ever."

Chapter 4
    Nick didn't say anything for a long minute listening to his friend retch in the bathroom and trying not to imagine what it would have been like if Joe's baby had lived. Deliberate genetic tampering, aimed at the ability to shift. Finally learning what lay at the end of the twisted chain of events they'd been following the last few months didn't bring Nick the sense of closure he'd expected. Instead he had more questions than ever and not an answer in sight.
    "Look, Keith, thanks. I mean it. Keep this quiet for a while, for us." Nick wasn't sure Keith would agree. He didn't owe them anything. He barely knew them. Still maybe he'd keep it low-key for a few days.
    "I'll do it for Sam, Doug, and the wolves. They deserve answers and maybe you guys can find them."
Nick sighed with relief. "We won't let you down. Will you send the results to Rob at the station? We need to dig deeper into this mess. Thanks again."
Nick ended the call and hit the number to quick dial Rob, who answered on the first ring.
"Rob here. Did you find out anything?"
"Keith is sending over proof that the vitamins were laced with the inhibitor. Joe's not taking it well."
"What next?"
"I'm taking Joe for a run. Getting him out to spend time as a wolf is the best thing I can think of for him right now."
"I agree. You take care of Joe, and I'll find out what I can."
"Call if you learn anything. We'll catch up with you later." Ending the call Nick tucked his phone into his pocket.
The sound of water running in the bathroom alerted Nick that Joe would emerge any second. Nick had no doubt his best friend would be more on edge than ever. Chewing the inside of his bottom lip, Nick glanced out a back window into the small courtyard the U of his apartment building was built around. No place to run but like he'd told Rob, that's what they needed. The safest place he could think of was the woods behind Doug's place. They wouldn't have to go in the front and announce they were