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Kozlov raised his eyebrows but said nothing more. “My people are not happy about the Venuses.”
“Not my problem. That’s what the damn things are called. I thought your men were looking for weapons, not to get laid.”
“They were disappointed, but your man made it right. They would, however, like to talk to you about moving some merchandise that was more like what they had in mind?”
“Human trafficking? Not happening. And if you try and use any of my facilities, the authorities will be the least of your worries.”
Kozlov glanced again at Simone. Mischa growled. Kozlov shrugged. “Women shouldn’t be brought to business meetings. Something so young and pretty could come to harm.”
Mischa grabbed him by the front of his shirt, dragging him close. “You or your people so much as breathe in her direction and my men and I will annihilate you so fast you won’t even see us coming.”
“I was just making conversation,” said Kozlov.
“Well, this conversation is over.”
“As you wish, Alpha.” Kozlov ducked his head and backed up several paces before turning on his heel and walking away.
Mischa stepped back on the boat, pulled away from the dock, and headed back towards Mystic River.
“I missed you this morning. I reached for you, and you were gone,” said Simone quietly.
“I’m sorry. I had business to attend to.”
“Still, it would have been nice after last night to at least have you say goodbye.”
“You were sleeping.”
“You could have awakened me. I was fine, and I’m not upset, but as I said, I missed you. Maybe though it was better as I confronted my fear and had breakfast with the pack.”
Mischa smiled and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. “And according to Valentin you were a huge success. That can’t have been easy for you, and you’re right, I should have been there. How about if I won’t leave the estate without telling you goodbye.”
“I can live with that, and I will do the same.”
Mischa’s cell phone vibrated, and he looked down. There was a text from Doc indicating he had the results of the tests. Once more they pulled up behind the clinic and entered Doc’s from the rear entrance.
Doc escorted them into the office, then sat on the edge of his desk and indicated they should take the seats in front of him.
“Do you know what it is?” asked Mischa. “More importantly, can you fix it?”
Removing his glasses, Doc wiped them on a cleaning cloth he kept in his pocket. “There’s nothing really to ‘fix.’”
“I can’t shift. Do you mean I’ll never be able to shift?” asked Simone.
“You don’t know, do you?” Doc asked.
“Doesn’t know what?” asked Mischa, becoming concerned. Surely the gods wouldn’t have gifted him with her only to snatch her away.
“There’s nothing wrong,” explained Doc, “and Simone will be able to shift just as soon as she has finished transitioning.”
“Transitioning? What do you mean transitioning? Is she some other kind of shifter?”
“Mischa, I’ve only ever seen a dire wolf in my mind’s eye.” Simone was clearly stunned.
“No, my dear, you aren’t any kind of shifter at all. You are, or rather were, a human. That bite mark would have initiated the transition. Dire wolves are primitive creatures. Their transition process, while as safe as any other shifter, is much harder. Modern human DNA does not take easily to being overridden by prehistoric DNA.”
“That’s not possible.” Mischa’s eyes were wide and shocked upon Simone. “She can’t be human; I would have been able to tell.”
Doc nodded. “I thought the same thing. Shifters can always detect humans. The only thing I can figure is that something is blocking that.”
