Alpha's Faire

XL

"The latest data does show an increase in red blood cells." Hamma read off of the pages in front of her. Jexanna's eyes glanced over the data from the blood panel tests and tried to focus on the numbers in front of her. But that man still remained in the back of her mind.

Him and his silver eyes. Jexanna shifted in her seat, bringing her chin to nestle between her fingers. He was still there, in the back of her mind. It didn't help that after the fourth round that she decided to leave during his shower. She closed her eyes and breathed in slowly, trying to clear the crevasses of her mind. Her eyes opened as a long breath passed through her parted lips. Then she saw it. A number that didn't seem to make sense on the levels panel. Jexanna pulled the packet of information closer to her, her thumb was skimming through the pages quickly. All of the panels showed the same trend. Her lips tightened at the realization.

Iron. The iron was extremely low. Iron was thought to be an internal conduit for magic. It had been proven that certain metals in the body could actually increase someone's magical potential. As a young teen, Jexanna remembered sneaking iron supplements out of her father's lab in an effort to potentially activate healing magic, or any magic. Werewolves may not have had the ability to control magic, but their inherent healing abilities resulted in them having extremely high levels.

And these levels were low for a werewolf, almost in line with a human's, and they were decreasing rapidly. Soon those in the study would have very little left.

"It looks like you were right, Dr. Lewis." Healer Bethan remarked with a gentle smile. Her tone and gaze, actually genuine.

"Do packs carry iron supplements in their pharmacies?" Jexanna asked with her eyes narrowed. If the iron was rapidly dropping, then this would explain partially the struggle that those afflicted would have in fighting the disease. Their natural conduit for magic, self-healing, was depleted.

"No, iron supplements have always been targeted and distributed to human populations. Not even fae communities carry them." Yvette remarked. "Do you think that the depleting iron levels are of concern?"

"They're almost on par with a human's average." Jexanna stated pointedly.

"An increase in red blood cells could be depleting the iron. It's common in polycythemia vera patients to be low in iron." Dr. Thompson interjected rather dryly, pushing his glasses up. And Jexanna's eyes narrowed. He wasn't wrong. But the trend was exponentially increasing, not linearly as with polycythemia vera patients.

"The differences in red blood cell count and iron deficiency are too great." Healer Bethan surmised. "Dr. Thompson, you can't be suggesting the disease is rooted in a blood disorder. This isn't just a blood disorder. It's much more complex."

"Of course not, Healer Ceri. I did want to remind everyone that the production of red blood cells does depend on levels of iron. If we increase the iron, we run the risk of thickening the blood even faster."

Jexanna frowned. He was cautioning against the only obvious solution. They needed to increase the iron levels. Otherwise, a werewolf's healing abilities wouldn't work.

"Even if the red blood cells do hold a risk of increasing, we need to increase iron levels." Jexanna paused. Her eyes started at the levels, wondering if phase 3 patients had any at all. "We'll need to send shipments of iron supplements to all of the packs on this list and begin to have the patients due to come here begin infusions. To prevent the blood thickening from the iron, let's start them on a regimen of blood thinners and wolfsbane."

Silence followed her statement. An uneasy silence as eyes shifted around, uncomfortable glances were exchanged. Her fists tightened as her brows furrowed. No one wanted to be the bearer of bad news. The FLA didn't carry iron supplements. Why would they? The fae people, supernatural beings, and even hybrids didn't need iron supplements when they had inherently high levels.