Nikolai's Wolf Read Online Free PDF

was fine by her.
    When Shannon went home to get her belongings, some of the Raven pack, including a deputy sheriff, went with her. Rory watched the proceedings. He didn’t say a word the entire time she was there, nor did he offer to help. She knew this wasn’t over between them.
    Sooner or later, they were going to have to work out their differences. She was willing to do a lot of things, but spending the rest of her life estranged from her brother was not one of them.
    18 Zena Wynn
    Chapter Three
    For the last hour, Shannon had been poked and prodded by Alex and now sat in his office waiting for the results of her tests. She knew what they would reveal. Both she and her wolf were losing their collective minds.
    A whole month had passed since the night of the hunt, and she still couldn’t remember what happened after she’d run from Rory. Neither Alex nor Carol would tell her who’d found her. Hell, she’d even asked Kiesha. They were mum on the subject, saying it was better that she remembered on her own.
    Tired of pacing, Shannon began leafing through one of the health and fitness magazines when Alex breezed in. He dropped into the chair behind his desk and tossed her chart on top. “Have you ever heard of a condition called polycythemia vera?”
    “No. What is it? Is this poly -- whatever you called it -- what’s wrong with me?” She was vaguely alarmed, and she didn’t even know what it was yet.
    “PV is a blood disorder in which the body produces too many red blood cells, thickening your blood. It’s extremely rare, but it explains a lot of the symptoms you are experiencing.”
    “Are you sure? I mean, if it’s so rare, how would I have it?” This was not what she was expecting. Shape-shifters didn’t get sick. Their rapid healing prevented everything from paper cuts to the common cold.
    “I’m not a hundred percent sure. I would need to run more tests. Your red blood cell count is higher than normal, which caused your blood to thicken. I noticed it when I drew blood. In conjunction with your other symptoms, and after a little research, this is the diagnosis I settled on.”
    Nikolai’s Wolf
    19
    “So I have PV and that explains the problems I’m having,” she slowly repeated, trying to let it sink in that she wasn’t actually crazy. There was a medical explanation for what was going on inside her body.
    “Not entirely. This is only a part of it. It would explain the tingling in your legs, itchy skin, and your lack of sleep. Insomnia wouldn’t normally be a major issue, not in its milder stages like what you have, but there are complications. Something has thrown your body into a second heat. You’re not mistaken. You are going into heat, and that’s going to create a problem.”
    “Ya think?” Once a year was bad enough. Twice was mind-boggling.
    “There’s more. Do you take birth control of any kind?” Alex looked downright grim as he asked the question. She suddenly had a bad feeling about where this was headed.
    Many she-wolves took birth control to regulate their heat. That was when a female was most vulnerable. The instinct to mate and reproduce could have her, literally, acting like a bitch in heat, accepting any and all comers.
    “Yes, I’m on the Pill.”
    “You have to come off of them.”
    Her mouth dropped open, and she bit back the urge to rail at him. Did he understand what he was asking her to do? “Alex, you know I can’t do that, especially not now.” If she did, she might as well lie down in the street naked and hang a sign around her neck that said FUCK ME.
    “Shannon, I’m sorry, but you really don’t have a choice in the matter. I hate to sound melodramatic. It really is a choice between your virtue and your life. With the extra blood your body is producing, the Pill can dramatically increase your chances of forming a blood clot, which I don’t have to tell you is deadly. That’s not a chance I’m willing to take with your life. You need to come off the