Ouachita Mated(22)

“We need to get her to a hospital,” Ryan snapped.

Doc frowned, moving the flat part of the stethoscope over the thin fabric of Josie’s shirt. Her expression was pinched and she let out a growl of frustration. Pulling back, she grabbed the t-shirt by the collar, ripping it open to expose Josie’s chest.

Magic drew in a sharp breath. Some territorial instinct pulled at him, with her breasts out for all to see. He knew Doc only cared about helping her, but he wanted to preserve Josie’s dignity as much as possible. His gaze flew to Ryan.

“Turn away,” he growled.

The human’s brow furled. “What the fuck? You turn away.”

A threatening sound ripped from Magic’s throat, and Ryan’s eyes widened. “Stop looking at her.”

“Magic, your eyes,” Bethany said carefully.

His panther was close, and if that bastard Ryan didn’t look away soon, Magic was going to let it out.

“Look,” Doc snapped. “This isn’t helping. I need to be able to hear, so both of you, just shut the fuck up.”

“Ryan,” Bethany urged, and finally he turned.

Magic looked back to Josie. She was so still, but her chest rose and fell with breaths. She was just… sleeping. She’d be fine.

“I’m calling an ambulance,” Ryan murmured, stalking toward the phone on the night stand.

“Don’t.” Doc’s voice was sharp, as she pushed the earpieces farther into her ears to listen. It didn’t make sense. Doc had shifter abilities, she shouldn’t even need the stethoscope to hear Josie’s human heart.

Magic listened himself, tuning out everything else in the room. He heard the rush of air in and out of her lungs. The soft pant of her breath. But her heartbeat…

“Look. No offense, Doc, but she needs a hospital. Like, an actual fucking hospital. For humans.”

Doc shook her head, removing the stethoscope from her ears and bending over to put her nose against Josie’s neck. She took in a deep breath while the phone receiver hung in Ryan’s grip.

“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” Doc said, pulling back and using the scraps of Josie’s shirt to cover her chest.

Her gaze skipped to Magic and he could see she was struggling with her words.

“Doc, what is it? Tell me.” His breath, he could only get short bursts into his lungs. His stomach clenched at his friend’s expression, her wide eyes, the way her lips moved wordlessly.

“She’s…”

“Doc?” he snapped. If she didn’t tell him what was happening to his female, he was going to shake it out of her.

“She’s not… human.”

Magic’s breath stalled completely, causing his entire body to register numb. Josie wasn’t human?

No, Doc had it wrong. The woman Magic had known for years was a human. No way would he have missed a detail like that.

“Bullshit,” Ryan snapped.

Bethany couldn’t seem to stop shaking her head. “No, Josie is definitely human. She is. She’s just like us, me. And Ryan.”

“You’re wrong, Doc,” Magic managed.

She tilted her head, her brow creasing with worry. “Smell her,” she whispered. “Magic, smell her. Do it.”

He looked down at the female he held in his hands. Josie. The one he knew without knowing. Now Doc was telling him she was something else.

He brushed the hair away from her neck, and bent his head to imprint her scent. Pressing his nose to her jaw, he inhaled deep. His eyes fluttered closed at her scent. Fresh apples and faint perfume, just as he’d expected. It whipped through his body while his panther went wild inside. She smelled like… like… his. She was his.

Magic inhaled once more, needing every molecule of her specific essence deep in his lungs. And that’s when he caught it. Faintly, what Doc smelled. Delicate. Barely there, yet undeniable.

Cat.

And not just any cat. Magic’s cat. Mixed with another. As if he’d claimed and marked her.

He jerked back, his gaze locking on Doc.

“Have you ever…?” she asked.

Claimed her, was what she didn’t say.

“No. Never. I… can’t. You know how it works.” Technically he could have as many women as he wanted, but he could never mark another as his own. That alone belonged to Mandi.

“What is it?” Bethany asked. “What’s going on? Is she okay?”

Magic ignored her. “Why is her scent so faint?”

Doc shook her head. “I have no idea. I just… don’t know. But her scent doesn’t lie, and her heart beats like a shifter’s.”

“A shade.” Owyn’s quiet voice came from the doorway. He leaned against the side, hands jammed in his pockets. “Maybe she’s a shade. Like Tana’s mate.”