before sitting on it. "Mind if I run some blood work? Since you're the alpha's mate, I'd like to get all up in your business for a moment. I'm assuming by your questions the other day that intimate relationships have been challenging without exposure?"
"I, uh..." I paused, then decided I just didn't care. "I guess there's a mating ceremony? I thought it was a wild and kinky date. They used condoms. And then my daughter turned, and I found out about the virus and that it's sexually transmitted, so, um, for the most part, we put things on hold, but I just recently decided that condoms would be safe. You said they were, right?"
"Correct," she assured me. "I'd still like to test you for sexually-transmitted diseases, general blood chemistry, and a few standard tests. Just to make sure there's nothing that could cause problems if you do shift. Knowing ahead of time would make it easier for us to support you in the change."
"Really?"
"Easier," she repeated. "Elena, I'm not going to lie to you. The situation here is one of the best I've seen for our kind. A transition in such a well-secured area, with such a strong pack? It increases the odds. You wouldn't need to worry about the biggest problems that kill most new wolves. But, with that said, your state of mind really does have a lot to do with the final transition. Turning back to human, I mean. So, let's keep an eye on how you're doing, and if you are exposed, then we can ease you through it."
"That's the thing," I told her. "I have a fourteen-year-old daughter. Her father knows nothing about this, and she's a wolf. Well, she's almost fifteen, so I have three years. I honestly have no idea how to keep an intimate relationship for that long with condoms as the main prevention, but if I don't make it through the change, then what? What happens to her?"
She gathered up some vials, moving them over beside my hip on the bed while I talked. Then it was a strip of latex and a needle and hub thing. Just as I finished, she turned my arm, tied the latex strip around my bicep, then began to hunt for a vein.
"Ok, stick," she warned, then talked while the tubes filled. "So, natural-born wolves are used to condoms. Both males and females. So long as you don't have a latex allergy, and I'm assuming you don't since you're using them, then you should be fine. Your mates are probably used to it."
"They were sleeping with a wolf before me," I hissed.
"Or they will get used to it," she assured me. "And if that man is fated for you, then the alpha isn't going to just change his mind. The bond between alpha and betas is stronger than just friends. It's more than even brothers, but that's the closest you can understand. Imagine twin brothers, and you get the idea. Ian isn't going to just get a new beta, and Lane isn't going to simply stop needing to be around you. So stop worrying about them acting like self-serving little boys. They're grown wolves, and they know exactly what they're getting into."
"Yeah, but..." I tried.
She pressed a cotton ball to the inside of my elbow and withdrew the needle. Setting that point down in a little red box, the doctor then grabbed a piece of tape to hold down the cotton. I was actually impressed with how easily she seemed to manage it all.
"Look." When she was done, she glanced up at me. "Turn when you want to. Not because you want to keep a man. That's as stupid as having a baby to save your marriage, and it never works. If you never want to, that's fine too. You will always be a part of the pack, because your daughter is. Condoms are safe, but they do have a risk of failure. The disease is not highly contagious. Those two things should cancel each other out. Now, are you on another form of birth control?"
"I have an IUD," I told her.
"Good," she said, "because it's more likely that you'd get pregnant than turned if you weren't." Then she sighed. "Right. Your knee." Rolling backwards, she grabbed a bandage for that. "Elena, I've been here a week. I've already heard that all of this happened around Halloween, so you're doing great. You've learned a lot, and no one expects you to know everything."
"Except the woman