I puff my chest out with the pride that she wants me with her. Then again, a best friend would provide support too. She hasn’t accepted me as a mate, and I’m starting to wonder if she ever will.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
ANGEL
When we enter the lab located down the hill behind Damien and Tess’s house, I’m surprised to see a room full of shifters there, not just Mila. Damien, his top shifters, and Anna, a human who blood-bonded Blade. I’ve only met her once.
“I thought my exams would be private,” I say to Garrett as we enter. He’s only here because he looked so rejected and sad, as if I’ve been intentionally ignoring him. I guess to some extent I have been.
It’s been six days since we returned to the pack. I spent the first two resting and healing. Once my wolf finished healing my injuries, I got so focused on my private journey that I didn’t make the time to reach out to Garrett. A part of me feared I’d get caught up in him so easily, that I’d forget about my goal of belonging to more than Garrett, but the pack as a whole.
Garrett’s pinkie strokes the hand he’s holding. “You okay?”
“Slightly distracted. No worries.”
“Angel, I will always worry about you, especially when I smell your fear.”
Fear of not fitting in, of losing not the pack but Garrett. If I leave here, he’ll follow me. That’s part of why I love him, but I refuse to rip him from family and friends. I know what that feels like, and I won’t let it happen to him.
“Just nervous about my diagnosis. And why all these shifters are here.”
“Glad you finally made it,” Mila says. “I called Frank, Hayden, Blade, and Callen in ahead of your appointment to run the same test on them that I did you. And you brought Garrett. Perfect. Stand still, shifter,” she orders as she lifts a swab to take a nasal sample.
Garrett raises his hand defensively. “What’s that for?”
“Cooperate,” Damien orders.
Garrett doesn’t move, letting Mila get her nasal swab. She places the swab on a tray and passes it to Anna. “Angel, we found an organometallic compound in your nasal tissues, specifically cadmium thiol.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“It damages your olfactory epithelium—special nerve endings in your nose—by binding to the tissues. This is the area responsible for scenting. Your vomeronasal organ is similarly affected, making it hard to detect pheromones and chemical signals, such as fear and excitement.”
“Like the day little Alex went onto the river? I’ve been kicking myself because I didn’t pick up on his excitement before he got on the ice. If I had, I would have reached him in time to stop him.”
“Exactly. You’ve been working with a handicap since you arrived, Lina.”
Relief floods me. I haven’t been lax or too emotionally crippled to function. There’s something physically wrong with me.
“Is it treatable?” Garrett asks.
“Yes, the cadmium mercaptan compound damaged but didn’t destroy her olfactory receptors. Anna’s creating the chelating agents needed to bind and remove the heavy metals from her tissues.”
“It will be a nasal rinse with a specialized solution,” Anna speaks up. “I might need to add some supplements to your medical regimen, though. I’ll have the solution ready tomorrow.”
“Two weeks of treatment should do the trick,” Mila finishes as Anna walks off with Garrett’s swab. “Then your wolf can take over and heal your olfactory neurons in a matter of weeks, two months tops. Full recovery within three at most.”
“That’s wonderful!” I hug Mila. “Thank you!”
“Good news, indeed,” Damien says. “But why did you test the recovery team?”
“I kept wondering why the WSSO would destroy Angel’s sense of smell. From everything she told me, they had no reason to. They already had her under their control. She confirmed they never did any testing on her, only used her as bait to lure other shifters.”
“That’s right. No exposure to any chemicals.”
Mila shakes her head. “That you’re aware of. You mentioned cannisters in the truck they used to transport you.”
“I remember those,” Garrett confirms as I nod yes.
