Feeling like an idiot for not mentioning it before, I took a deep breath and sagged back into the pillows of my bed. “I have a blood condition. I take medicine for it.”
Doc frowned. “What type of condition?”
“Chronic anemia. I’ve taken meds for it since I was a kid. I ran out weeks ago and forgot to get my prescription refilled.”
Nico looked at Doc. “Could that be it?”
Doc looked even more confused. “Maddy, what medicine do you take for this…um, condition?”
My face went red in embarrassment. “I don’t actually know. My mom always calls it in for me.”
“Maddy, you’re almost thirty years old and your mom still calls in your meds?” Doc asked.
My embarrassment grew with every word. “Not all of them, no. Just this one. She gets a discount or something on them. She gets it cheaper than I could if I ordered it.”
“Maddy, I hate to break it to you, but that makes no sense,” Doc said.
My embarrassment faded a bit and was replaced with anger. “What do you mean? It makes perfect sense.”
“It doesn’t,” Doc said, taking the blood report from Nico. “This blood test doesn’t say you are anemic.”
“What?” I must have heard him wrong. That couldn’t be possible.
“Maddy, this testandthe test from a couple months ago have perfectly adequate amounts of iron in your blood. You aren’t anemic now, and you weren’t then, either.”
I sat back up and tore the paper from his hands. “That can’t be right. I’ve had chronic anemia since I was eleven. It started after my first period. It had been a heavy flow. I—” my voice stopped as old memories resurfaced. Panic and fear fluttered in my chest.
“What is it, Maddy?” Nico asked.
I swallowed hard. “Um, I was acting out. Lashing out at my parents and kids at school. I can remember being frustrated and like there was something inside me trying to get out.” As I said the words, the meaning began to crash down over me.
“Oh, holy shit,” Nico whispered.
I shook my head, trying to push the thoughts away. “No, it was just normal puberty. Everyone gets pissy and emotional for a few years.”
“Maddy? Have you ever heard of suppressants?” Doc asked.
“Are you shitting me?” Nico practically shouted.
Doc held a hand up to calm him and looked at me again. “Have you?”
“Uh, not really,” I said.
“Not surprising,” Doc said. “They’re a bit frowned upon. It’s a type of drug used to suppress shifter activity. It’s mostly used in countries where being a shifter isveryfrowned upon. It’s also been used by humans who have adopted shifter babies. It’s very hard to get, very illegal, and hard to hide. Most kids start to question why they are taking meds at a certain age?—”
“No!” I cried out, jumping off the bed. “My parents wouldn’t drug me. They wouldn’t.”
Doc held his hands up. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply something. If it’s a normal medicine, why don’t you call your mother and find out the name. Then we can rule that out.”
The suggestion should have been an innocent enough request, but I had a panicky, dissociated feeling rising up inside me. What if they had lied to me? Had I been taking drugs to suppress the shifter inside me? The thought of calling her and getting that answer was terrifying. Except, I knew I had to. The only way to be sure was to ask my parents.
I nodded. “Fine. We’ll call and settle this right now.” I walked to my purse to get my phone.
Stepping over to me, Nico sighed and took my hand. “Maddy, if the answer isn’t what you want it to be, you have to remember that they are still your parents.”
“I know that, Nico,” I snapped as I pulled out my phone. I regretted it as soon as the words were out of my mouth.
It was past three in the morning, but I didn’t care. The phone rang seven times before Mom answered, her voice groggy. “Hello?”
