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“No shit.”
Cade looked thoughtful. “I wonder if the doctor can mix something up to give him—some drug that will inhibit his shifting back so quickly, but won’t hurt him. If we can keep him in his wolf for a while, we can try to train him—teach him to be a respectful member of the pack.”
“What the hell kind of drug would that be?” Marco said irritably. “I won’t allow him to be experimented on. He’s been through enough.”
“Well, we can ask about it, can’t we?” Cade replied. “That won’t hurt anything. We have to do something. If Nicky keeps this up, it’s going to drive him crazy. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have your wolf at war with you, hating your mate and wanting to kill him. When Jax resisted his wolf coming out, we got in arguments almost every day. It almost tore our pack apart. C’mon, Marco, get Dr. Cornsilk up here. It can’t hurt to ask.”
By the time the doctor arrived, Marco was pacing by the window. He left it to Cade to explain, making it clear he didn’t like any of this. Cornsilk looked thoughtful. “Shifting requires a high amount of adrenalin in the body, and we’ve given small doses of adrenal extract to young wolves to help them through their first shift for years now.”
“You have?” Marco stopped his pacing and looked at the doctor in surprise.
“Yes, for at least the past ten years. Even humans take adrenal extract by mouth for all kinds of conditions. Things like low adrenal function, stress, severe allergies, certain skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Oh, and rheumatoid arthritis. Lots of conditions. For the young wolves who have problems completing their first shift because they’re nervous or have low adrenal function, the extract seems to work fine.”
“And it’s not dangerous?” Marco asked.
“Oh no, not if administered by mouth in proper dosages. It’s even given to women sometimes to prevent miscarriages, I believe, though that’s not my area.”
“So if you gave it to Nicky, what might happen?”
“Well, probably nothing would happen, unless he tried to shift. Then it would help him transform and help him to maintain the transformation longer.”
Cade smiled. “It’s worth a shot, Marco. If the doctor can get the medicine for us, we can make sure Nicky takes it and then take him out on one of the trails and make him shift for us. Then we can all get a look at his wolf and observe how he interacts with ours. See if it’s only your alpha that he distrusts or if it’s all alphas.”
Marco finally nodded his agreement. “Okay, we’ll try it, but only if Nicky agrees. I won’t go behind his back on this.”
“Understood,” Zack said. “So when do we try this thing? Gabe and I have to get back home soon.”
“If he agrees, then we can do it tonight. Why don’t you all stay for dinner? And then afterwards…”
Cade slapped Marco on the back and smiled at him. “In the meantime, cheer up. We’ll get Nicky to agree, see what’s happening with his wolf and with any luck get the whole thing straightened out. You’ll see, by this time tomorrow, things will be much better.”
“I hope so,” Marco said softly. “God knows they couldn’t get a whole lot worse.”
* * * *
“To say things couldn’t get any worse is a failure of the imagination,” Nicky said, aft
er Marco explained what would happen after dinner that night and repeated his comment to the other alphas. “Things can always get worse. It’s like a law or something.”
Marco seemed nervous, but he was smiling at Nicky, pretending everything was fine. At least Marco was telling him about it. In the old days, back when Nicky first became Marco’s mate, Marco might have just slipped him the drug and never warned him at all, forget about asking his permission.
“You don’t have to do it just to satisfy Zack and Cade’s curiosity. We can go on like we have been and keep trying to get your wolf to accept me.”
“No,” Nicky said. “I guess I need to do it. At least I want to try this. I know we can’t go on this way. When do we do it?”
“Right after we eat, I guess, if that’s okay.”
“Why not?” Nicky got to his feet, shoving his hands down in his pockets. “Is that all? I need to get a shower before dinner. I helped Casey out in the garden earlier and I’m filthy.”
“Sure.” Marco watched him walk to the door. “Nicky?” Marco said softly as his hand touched the knob. “Please be careful tonight at dinner. Zack apologized for his temper last night, but things are still a little strained. If Gabe starts…anything…just walk away, okay? I think Zack is talking to him about toning things down, but you know Gabe. And I really don’t think another brawl is going to help anybody.”
“Gabe can’t help himself. He’s such a little slut.” He grinned to indicate the true affection he felt for Gabe beneath the words. When Marco still frowned, he turned and put a hand over his heart. “But I can help myself. I promise, okay? I’m not so sure about this crazy son-of-a-bitch inside me, though. I think he seriously has the hots for ole Gabe.”
He laughed and walked out, aware that Marco had not so much as cracked a smile at his remark.
Dinner at the lodge was always at six-thirty, late enough for everyone to be in from work but early enough for the younger members of the pack to eat and still have time for baths and stories and other bedtime rituals. Nicky surveyed himself in the mirror before he went downstairs. He was wearing a new pair of jeans and a shirt that he probably should have chosen in a larger size. Seriously, had he grown more in the few days since he’d bought the damn thing? Marco would probably love it, but then again, he wouldn’t like the other wolves admiring Nicky in it. It was hard to please the bastards.
Smiling to himself at the thought that he was now one of those bastards, he went downstairs and into the private dining room where their alpha guests—plus Gabe—would be gathering. Cade and Jax were already there with Marco. Jax smiled at Nicky and gave him a nod.
