Boundaries

Grant: norms

{Grant}

When I found myself on the treadmill, I often thought of Conor, running all those months unable to speak or complain. I wondered what he thought about as he ran, or if he was pushed so far that he didn't have any more thought than the next step. I was faster than he was, but my endurance was limited; any real distance took more blood.

The pump worked, but in a limited capacity. I felt hungry all the time in a dull sort of way. I was weaker than I had been drinking Aidan's blood. It was a substitute, and my mother knew it, but no one felt comfortable letting me drink the amount of blood I needed.

"That's enough," Sasha said, taking notes.

The treadmill was turned off, and I slowed to a walk and then a stop. I didn't sweat, but my muscles still felt tired and achy. I had never gone far enough or fast enough to feel sore, but I was sure there was an upper limit.

"You don't get faster," she noted. "I expected you to improve with time."

"It hasn't been so much time," I replied. "And it's not as if my muscles are getting any bigger or stronger. I don't know what you expected."

"Don't be cute; I didn't expect anything," Sasha retorted. "But I have statistics of your strength and stamina from before, when you were human. It's useful to have you as a baseline."

I expected the jab, so didn't react. The sooner my mother got what she wanted from me, the sooner I could leave and join Ralph and Conor. Unlike Tish, I could be open about how much I liked being in the pack. How much I missed my boyfriend.

"I want to get a sample of blood, and then you're dismissed," Sasha said. "Did you know if you had silver in your blood?"

"From Conor? You're still taking his blood?"

"Well, we had to, he used all his stored samples to stay alive," she pointed out. "Anyway, I noticed it yesterday. It's interesting. Obviously, silver doesn't affect you like it does him, but I wonder what other substances would transfer?"

"Sure," I replied dubiously, holding out my arm. My mother wrapped my bicep in a tourniquet and retrieved the sample that she was after.

"The nerve stimulator has gone off less," she told me. "You haven't said anything about it."

"Oh yes, thank you so much for shocking me less," I shot back, not bothering to hide my sarcasm.

My mother rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. I had never thought she actually did the research herself when I had heard my mother moved to admin. I had assumed that she was behind a desk working on papers. But no, my two months as my mother's guinea pig had shown me that she took the work seriously, that she wasn't satisfied reading others' reports about how they were studying vampires.

"I am working on it, Grant. But the board is strict; they want you controllable. They want there to be something in place that keeps New Mexico from happening again."

"Then you should put these in the other hunters," I replied. "Because I was freshly turned, Sasha. You know that. You've seen me now; I don't lose control often. When I do, it's directly in relation to hunters' threats against my boyfriend and his pack."

"Oh, we know. Everyone is acutely aware that we're one misstep around Aidan away from you trying to kill us all," she said flippantly. "Fortunately for us, Aidan seems to be the level-headed one, so he'd probably talk you out of it. You should worry less, Gayle has taken a shine to that alpha in medical."

"Ralph," I cut in.

"Sure," Sasha shrugged as if his name was unimportant. "But he's left quite an impression. Personally, I think Gayle also has a crush, but perhaps I'm reading into things."