Yep, she was definitely not your run-of-the-mill shifter. Her senses were so much more acute than most of the pack’s. He’d been careful to wash with scent-dampening soap before seeing any patients. Some of the people he treated had suffered trauma, and the last thing he wanted to do was trigger them with the smell of sex. Thankfully, he’d only had routine cases thatmorning, because even that mild use of his healing magic had wiped him out on top of what he was still doing for Adri.
Shifter healing magic was rare and worked differently from witch magic. He knew that because when he first realised he had the power, he’d tried to learn his craft from a witch. He’d almost burned out trying to do it their way before he found his own methods through experimentation. His healing magic was much more reliant on his own personal energy levels to manipulate his patients, working with their bodies to achieve the ends he wanted. Although the term ‘healing magic’ was a bit misleading, a PR term at best, because he could equally use it for non-healing purposes.
“Don’t let him hear you talking about that,” Rafe warned, keeping his voice down as he felt his mate waking.
“Just take him somewhere safe and keep him there until he realises what he’s ignoring between you,” Bella offered.
Rafe huffed a laugh and shook his head as he went to make them a coffee. Was that how Bella had wooed her wife? “Safe? Or isolated? That’s called kidnapping, Bella. It’s generally frowned upon.”
“I prefer hoarding. Most of what our pack gets up to is generally frowned upon.”
“This is different. And not up for discussion,” Rafe said.
They both turned towards the door as Adri joined them, and Rafe took the third cup he’d made over to his mate.
“How’d you know I take it with cream?” Adri asked.
Bella snickered. “Because you’re a cat?”
Rafe shot her a warning glare. “Because I pay attention.”
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of in being feline,” Bella said, her pupils flickering into slits and back. “Although you should really stop your kitten from clawing the walls like that.”
Adri scowled as Bella jerked her chin to the marks he’d scored down the door to the study. Rafe probably should’ve grabbed a sander and buffed them out, but the marks made him hard every time he saw them. He liked the reminder.
“I’m not his anything,” Adri snapped.
At least he was holding his temper better today. Bella had an even lower tolerance for rudeness than Rafe did, and he was too wiped out to go toe-to-toe with her if she took offence at something Adri said.
“If you think that, you’re not paying enough attention,” Bella said.
Fuck.She needed to back off.
“Thanks for stopping by. I need to care for my patient now,” Rafe said, taking her still-full cup from her and gently shepherding her out the door, much to Bella’s amusement.
“He just needs a little push,” she murmured as they stepped outside Adri’s hearing range.
“Any more pushing and you’ll push him right out the door. He probably wouldn’t come back,” Rafe snapped.
Bella turned to face him, cocking her head. “He’ll get there, Rafe. I can feel the draw between you.”
“He’s a cat. The only way he’s going to get anywhere is if he chooses to go. He won’t be pushed.”
Bella smirked. “True. Reminds me of my wife. It’s fun. You just need to find his version of catnip and then roll around in it with him.”
Rafe sighed. “Go make trouble for her instead of me.”
Bella’s expression turned serious for a moment. “Make sure you take care of yourself as well as him, Doc. You’re running on empty.”
Rafe jerked his head in assent, watching until Bella’s form disappeared down the street and around the corner before locking the door to the clinic and setting the alarm. The last thing he needed was another break-in while he was dealing with whatever Bella’s teasing had sparked in his mate.
“Did you make me come with your magic yesterday?” Adri asked as soon as he got back upstairs.
Guess they were jumping right into it.
“I only amplified the sensations you were already feeling,” Rafe said.
“Isn’t it supposed to be a healing magic? Doesn’t that breach some kind of oath or something?”
