Mate Bond(11)

Pat's eyes widened. "No, you'll be healed in about six to eight weeks. Those bones were seriously shattered."

"Shifters heal fast," Bowman said-he kept saying the words, reassuring  everyone to also reassure himself. "You sticking them back together last  night helped a lot. I thank you."

"Did it help? You were up on it, and you re-broke it running around the parking lot."

Bowman shrugged. "It had already started to set by that time. When a  Shifter's fighting adrenaline is up, the metabolism speeds up even more.  Hell of a hangover the next day, but we can heal at the same time as we  fight." An exaggeration, because he felt like shit, and rebreaking the  leg had caused a boatload of pain. But it never hurt to make Shifters  seem invincible.

"Interesting." Pat looked thoughtful. "I'd think the adrenaline would  hinder the healing process, kind of putting it aside until the danger is  over. You might not feel pain, but you shouldn't get better until much  later."

"No idea," Bowman said, unworried. This woman was so harmless she amused  him. He kept an eye on her and assessed her to figure out what she  truly wanted, but for now, she could ask questions. "Healers might  understand it, but I'm just a fighter. I fight, I heal. It works-I don't  argue."

"There are Shifter healers?" Dr. Pat took another step toward the bed, caught up in her curiosity. "What do they do?"

Bowman shrugged. "They heal Shifters."

Ryan had remained silent the entire time, having taken a seat on the  chair Kenzie had vacated. He pretended not to be there, but he watched,  and he listened. Smart cub.

"Really?" Dr. Pat asked. "Do you have clinics or special hospitals? I've  never heard of them-do you think I could meet a healer?"

Bowman lifted one hand to slow her chatter. "There aren't many around,  and no, we don't have our own clinics. We go to human ones. Healers are .  . . special. And shy. Don't try to find one."                       
       
           



       

"Oh." She looked puzzled. "Do they go to med school? How do you become a Shifter healer?"

"You're born one," Bowman said. "It runs in families. Parents train cubs."

"Cubs . . . Oh, you mean kids." She shot a glance at Ryan, who stared  right back at her. "So it's like an apprenticeship. Neat. The surgical  practice was like that, ages ago, before we had med schools and vet  schools. Surgeons historically were looked down upon by doctors, you  know, and now surgeons are top of the profession. Strange, isn't it?"

She continued to babble. She didn't need to be nervous, but Bowman wasn't going to tell her that. "Are you a surgeon?"

Her flush deepened. "I am. But not for humans. Animals pull my  compassion-they have as many hurts and diseases as humans, and they need  care too."

"You don't have to explain that to me. I'm surrounded by animals every day."

Her eyes were starry. "Shifters are the best of both, aren't they?  Animal and human. The strengths of each. Maybe the weaknesses too? Would  be fascinating to study . . ."

Bowman's amusement swiftly died. "Humans like to study us a little too  much," he said in a hard voice. "They dragged us into laboratories when  we were first discovered and tried to figure out what made us work. Not  all Shifters survived the process."

"Oh." Now Pat was bright red and no longer smiling. "I didn't mean like  that. I mean study you to learn how to heal you. Like I studied to be a  vet. I didn't mean . . . dissection."

"No, you didn't." Bowman looked her over. Harmless, he decided again. He  read her scent, her eager chatter, the look in her eyes. She was  interested in Shifters because they were Shifters, not for some ulterior  motive.

That was his assessment, anyway. Kenzie would probably get a better reading of her. Kenzie was wise about people.

"Is that why you dress up?" Bowman asked her, letting his voice soften  to teasing. She was easily played, this woman, and maybe she could be of  use. He'd learned long ago how to quickly classify humans and Shifters  into either being useful or dangerous-the hazard of inheriting clan  leadership at a young age. "You dress up because you want to know how to  heal Shifters?"

"It's fun," Pat said, meeting his gaze, her cheeks still pink. "That  roadhouse you go to-the crowd isn't really my scene, but if I dress up  like the other girls, I get to watch Shifters. You and your friends  think I'm just one of the groupies and don't pay attention to me. I can  stand by and observe, which is what I like to do."

Bowman cocked a brow. "You know a lot of the groupies go there hoping  for sex with a Shifter. What if one of mine took you up on it?"

She looked suddenly shy, shooting another look at the listening Ryan.  Bowman had no problem discussing sex in front of his son-Ryan already  knew Shifters enjoyed healthy sex lives. Ryan had no interest in it  himself, wouldn't until his Transition, but Shifters didn't shield their  cubs from knowledge of sex. Sex was natural-how else would they make  more cubs?

"It might not be such a bad thing," Dr. Pat said, flushing. She was a woman who couldn't help being honest, Bowman deduced.

He laughed. A genuine laugh, which was something he hadn't felt like  doing in a long time. "Tell you what, Dr. Pat, when I'm better, I'll  introduce you to some Shifters. They like to talk about themselves, so  you'll learn a lot. Maybe more than you want to know."

And Bowman's Shifters knew better than to impart anything humans  couldn't already find out on their own. They'd feed Dr. Pat a lot of  bullshit, and Shifter secrets would stay Shifter secrets.

Dr. Pat looked grateful. "I'd like that. Now, would you mind if I had a  peek at your leg? As a doctor, of course. I'm very interested in seeing  how it's doing."


* * *

When Kenzie returned, she knew instantly that someone else was in her  house. She caught a whiff of scent as soon as she walked in the front  door. Bowman's and Ryan's scents were the most predominant, as well as  her own, but woven in with theirs was something female and clinical.

She recognized the scent a heartbeat later-the vet who'd set Bowman's leg last night.

Sounds came next: a woman's laughter and Bowman's rumbling baritone.  Kenzie strode down the short hall and slapped open the door to the  bedroom she shared with her mate.

Bowman lay propped up on the bed's pillows, covers over his hips, his  hair still a mess. Ryan sat cross-legged on the chair, watching in  silence. The vet was sitting at the end of the bed, Bowman's bare leg in  her lap, her hand on Bowman's calf.                       
       
           



       

A sheen of red rose before Kenzie's eyes, and a snarl clogged in her throat.

Bowman looked leisurely up at her-he'd have known the moment she walked  into the house. His gaze was unworried, and he was completely relaxed,  hands resting calmly on the sheets. He was conveying to Kenzie that  there was nothing at all in this room to worry about, but Kenzie's  Shifter instincts roared to life.

Mine. Her hands started to sprout claws, and her skin prickled, fur wanting to come out.

The vet looked up. "Hey," she said in a friendly tone. "You're Kenzie,  right? I just popped by to make sure Bowman was doing all right."

Kenzie couldn't speak. If she did, whatever came out would be  unintelligible, or possibly an all-out wolf howl as she went for the  kill.

Bowman knew it. He pinned her with his cool stare, the one he used when  he planned to make the world obey. Even Kenzie had to stop in her tracks  when he wore that look.

His eyes changed from warm gray to cold, his face so still it might be  carved from granite. The damaged leg and the woman petting it didn't  exist for him. His world narrowed to Kenzie, his gaze commanding her not  to gut the nice vet with the blond hair.

Ryan tensed, sensing the silent battle between his parents. Kenzie saw  Ryan shiver, the tiny cub inside him wondering whether he'd have only  one parent when the confrontation was over. Which one would it be, and  what would he do?

Kenzie's maternal instinct slammed against the mate's instinct, and the  mother won. "Ryan," she said, surprised her voice sounded almost normal.  "Will you come outside and help me with something?"

She held out her hand. Ryan flashed a glance at Bowman, who gave him the barest nod.

Ryan slid off the chair with the energy of youth and walked to Kenzie.  Walked, she noted. A few years ago, he would have darted to her side.  Now Ryan wanted to show more self-reliance. Her heart squeezed.

The touch of Ryan's hand in hers calmed her. Ryan must have realized  that, so he didn't try to pull away after a brief clasp. Instead, he  locked his hand around Kenzie's and walked her out of the room. Who was  helping whom, Kenzie couldn't say.