He considered letting it ring until whoever was on the phone gave up. He didn't for two reasons. Mary Elizabeth needed her sleep. She'd had a rough night with everything that happened, and he didn't want her being disturbed. Also, she only knew a few people here in town. Judging by the way the phone continued to ring, whoever was on the other line must be family. Reluctantly, he lumbered into the front room to answer it.
"Hello?” He answered around a yawn, his voice heavy with sleep.
"Sorry, wrong number.” The male caller disconnected before Hugh could speak. With a shrug, he hung up and turned to go back to bed. He hadn't had nearly enough sleep. He didn't make it two steps before the phone rang again.
He sighed and answered. “Hello."
There was a pause, and then a confused, male voice said, “There must be some mistake. I'm trying to reach Mary Elizabeth Brown."
"This is her residence. She's asleep right not. If you tell me who's calling, I'll give her the message."
"Who the hell is this? If she's sleep, then what are you doing there? Why are you answering her phone?” The confusion left the caller's voice and his tone became arrogant and demanding.
"I'm the man who answered the phone. What's it to you?” Hugh operated on a “need to know” basis. As far as he was concerned, this person did not need to know who he was or what his objective was for being there.
"This is Charles Remington, III and Mary Elizabeth is my fiancée. I have a right to know what you're doing in her apartment, answering her phone at eight-thirty in the morning while she's still asleep."
Hugh's stance became battle ready and his hand clenched the phone. “Well, Mr. Charles Remington the Third, she may have been your fiancée but she belongs to me now. I'll tell her you called."
"Now listen here. WHO ARE YOU? I demand an answer!"
"I'm the man who spent the night fucking your fiancée,” Hugh said calmly, and disconnected the call. As an afterthought, he pulled the plug from the wall. Wouldn't want Mr. Charles Remington the Third calling back, at least not before he got some answers.
So that was Charles. Seemed he and his mate needed to have a little talk. Clarify a few matters. He walked back into the room and stood there contemplating her. She lay there completely oblivious to the turmoil swirling about her. If there truly was a fiancé in the picture, this was going to require a minute adjustment to his strategy. His objective was still the same, but he needed to change in his methodology. His timetable just got upped. He'd planned to be subtle in his maneuverings, but now that approach was out the window. He was going to have to be more direct, more in charge. The image of a human steamroller came to mind. His mate wouldn't know what hit her.
Shannon met with Alex at his office at nine the next morning as scheduled. She was nervous but excited. Maybe now she would get some answers. Knowing was always better than not knowing, in her opinion. If she knew what was happening, she could take action. This not knowing what was wrong with her was slowly but surely killing her.
"Tell me what's going on with you. I want to know everything. Don't leave anything out. I want to know if you're eating, how much you're eating, if you're sleeping at night and how frequently you wake up. Tell me about any pain or discomfort you're having and where it's located. Be totally open and honest. No symptom is too small or too strange. Anything and everything you tell me will help narrow down possibilities of what's going on in your body."
She told him everything. Her restlessness, and feelings of being watched. She mentioned the tingling in her legs and periods of extreme heat. She spoke of being thirsty all the time and strange dreams that she could never fully remember. Dreams that left her wet and wanting but never completely fulfilled.
"What about the attack? Have you remembered anything else from that night?"
"You think this is somehow related to the Hunt?” The thought crossed her mind, but she didn't see how it could be related.
"Anything is possible. I'm trying to cover all my bases. So? Did you remember anything else? Without access to your previous medical history, I have no way of knowing whether something that night is responsible for what you're experiencing."
"I remember the fights, and then the rest is a blank until I woke up in Carol's house.” No one would tell her who found her and brought her to them. They said it would better if she remembered on her own.
"Alright. Now I want you to go into the exam room and undress. There's a paper gown on the examination table for you to change into. Once you're ready, I'll come in and do a full exam and withdraw blood for testing."
When he finished examining her, he threw his gloves into the trashcan and helped Shannon to sit up. “Get dressed and go into my office. I want to run some tests and then I'll be in to speak with you."
Shannon dressed and then went into his office to wait. Flipping mindlessly through all of the health and fitness magazines displayed, her mind went through scenario after scenario of what the diagnosis would be.
Alex breezed into the office. Settling into his chair, he placed her chart on the desk before him. “Have you ever heard of a condition called Polycythemia?"
"No. What is it? Is this ‘whatever you called it’ what's wrong with me?” Shannon was irritated to discover that she was vaguely alarmed and she didn't even know what it was yet. Getting a grip, she waited impatiently for him to answer.
"PV is a blood disorder in which the body produces too many red blood cells, thickening the blood. It's extremely rare and it explains some of the symptoms you're experiencing."
"Are you sure? I mean, if it's so rare, how would I have it?” This is not what she was expecting. Of course, she didn't really know what to expect. Shape-shifters were rarely sick. It had to do with their rapid healing abilities.
"No, I'm not one hundred percent sure. I would need to run more test. Your red blood 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 into the matter, this is the diagnosis I settled on.
"So this is PV is what's causing my problems?"
"Not entirely. This is only a part of it. It would explain the tingling in your legs, itchy skin and possibly your lack of sleep. It 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're going into heat and that's going to create a problem."
"You think?” she asked sarcastically. Once a year was bad enough. Twice in one year was mind-boggling. Males had no idea what a female went through when her body went into heat.
"There's more. Do you take birth control of any kind?” He sounded downright grim. She didn't know where this was headed, but she didn't have a good feeling about it.
Many she-wolves took birth control to control the heat. It helped the female not to mount any penis that presented itself at the peak of their heat. That's when a female was most vulnerable. The instinct to mate and reproduce could literally have her acting like a bitch in heat, accepting any and all comers.
"Yes, I'm on the pill.” She named the brand.
"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 lay down in the street naked and hang a sign around her neck that said, “Fuck me.” It would be the same thing.
"Shannon, I'm sorry, but you really don't have any alternatives. I hate to sound melodramatic but it really is a choice between your virtue and your life. With the extra blood your body is producing, the Pill dramatically increases your chances of forming a blood clot, which I don't have to tell you are deadly. That's not a risk I'm willing to take. You need to come off of the Pill and any other natural substances you're taking to control the heat. All of them have the same threat potential."