Secretly Mated (Ouachita Mountain Shifters Book 4)

Now…

Doc Davis stared at the nervous tiger shifter on the exam table as she put her stethoscope back around her neck. Part of her job at the lodge involved relaying bad news, but most of the time is was bandaging cuts, doling out aspirin, and taking care of the members of her clan. The problem was she never knew when the bad parts of her job would rear their ugly heads and demand a kiss on the lips.

Luckily today was not that day.

“Is there anything we can do?” Bailey asked, a hint of embarrassment in her voice.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Bai.”

The clan’s assistant chef’s wide-eyed look implied Doc was missing something huge.

“But… there is. Can’t you see that?” She held her arms wide to give Doc the best look at her body. As if that would clear up the confusion.

“Your blood pressure is perfect. Your cholesterol levels are normal. Your heart rate is great and you have no trouble breathing. Your blood work shows nothing out of the ordinary. Hormone levels are fine…” Doc trailed off as Bailey’s shoulders sank with each sentence. She should be happy with this news. Not the other way around.

“But… the weight. My body. It’s… it’s…” Bailey shook her head.

It was true, by human standards, Bailey was overweight. Her body bulged a little extra in places that made some people uncomfortable.

And there was a remedy for those awkward stares and whispers. It was called Middle Finger. Lift daily, as needed.

But Bailey wasn’t a human. She was a werecat and her body was exactly what it needed to be in order to function optimally with her animal.

Besides, some males would worship a figure like Bailey’s. Doc would gladly take some of her curves if they could be bartered and traded like tangible goods. Lush thighs instead of pencil legs? Hell yeah, she’d take ‘em.

But wasn’t it always this way with people? The-grass-is-always-greener syndrome. It was the great sickness of their time. The Black Plague of the twenty-first century.

Doc crossed her arms, resting her hip against the counter. “Medically, there is nothing wrong with you. Your body functions perfectly. Your cat is healthy. What more could you want? Why this sudden urge to change who you are?”

Bailey stared at her hands where they twisted in her lap. “Lots of things have changed around here,” she said with a small laugh. “What’s it matter if I want to a little.”

Doc frowned. Things had changed. A lot, and quickly. But intuition told her Bailey’s issue was something specific. The female was submissive, moreso than the others of their clan, but she was in no way lacking pride. If what Doc suspected was true… this had to be hard to talk about.

“Is this about mating?” Doc asked quietly. She could practically smell the humiliation wafting from her friend, but there was no way to make this any easier for her. All Doc could do was stay professional.

Bailey swallowed twice before lifting her gaze, pushing her chin out and shoulders back. “Yes. It’s a possibility now. Even for me.”

“Of course it is.”

“And I’d like to be acceptable in the eyes of whatever male I choose.”

Doc didn’t add that Bailey would never choose a male who refused to account for the beauty inside as well as outside. She’d pick someone who wanted the whole package. And forever. So her issue was a moot point really.

“And you don’t think you’re acceptable the way you are?”

Bailey’s eyes never left Doc’s. “I think I could be better.”

Aw, screw professionalism.

Doc reached for her script pad, jotted down a line, and ripped it from the stack. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she handed it to Bailey who looked overcome with relief. She studied it, a frown creasing her forehead and causing the three braids that ran along one side of her scalp to pull forward. She shook her head in confusion, the rest of her curly hair falling over the other side of her face in a rippling curtain.

“I don’t understand,” she said, looking to Doc for an explanation.

“It’s a prescription. Relatively new. Called Fuqdat. It’s innovative, cutting edge medicine. I’m on it myself and it’s just about time for my next dose so I can show you how to administer it.”

Bailey rolled her eyes, the hand holding the script falling heavy to her lap.

“So, it’s like this,” Doc said in her most professional sounding voice. “Take your hand—whichever one you’re more
comfortable with—and hold it up like so. Sort of like you’re making a fist, with the back of your hand facing away from you. Now slowly, but firmly, flip your middle finger up, leaving your other fingers down, and hold it… hold it… for about three solid breaths. Then return your hand to its original position.”

Bailey blinked at Doc’s antics. “You are the actual worst, you know that? You really are.”

“I’m actually not. It’s just that I’m true and I don’t like bullshit. And that could-be-better stuff, my friend, is utter bullshit.”

Bailey pursed her lips.

“You are strong and capable. You are beautiful and smart. You have been through a shitty upbringing and managed to become a loving, caring person. You’re a hard worker, you make damn good food, and you’re there for your friends when they need you. You are wonderful the way you are. There’s no better. This is you, and you need to remember it. Also, if you don’t mind me saying, your tits are banging. So, there’s that.” Doc shrugged. “Or you can fill the prescription.”

“No,” Bailey said, putting her hand up to ward off more of Doc’s medicine. “No, I think I’m good.” A smirky tilt of her lips told Doc she was finally seeing the light.

 “You sure? If you need more, you know where to find me.”

Bailey shook her head, exasperated. “I swear you aren’t okay in the head.”

Doc shrugged in reluctant agreement. “Side effect of Fuqdat. Forgot to mention it.”

Scooting off the exam table, Bailey headed for the door. “Banging tits, huh?”

“Yup.” Doc grabbed her own tiny teats. “You’ve got the bongos, and I’ve got like, I dunno, the empty coke cans. But either way, we have tits. Let’s remember that.”

A laugh slipped past her friend’s lips, and her eyes twinkled with humor. Doc even thought her shoulders stood a little higher and her back a little straighter. Her confidence was returning. Whatever had shaken it was being flushed away with the truth, and Doc felt that warm satisfaction that came from truly helping someone who needed it. This was what her profession was all about.

Sometimes healing a patient didn’t happen by doling out medicine.

 “Yes,” Bailey agreed, “let’s always remember the tits.”

“Very important.”

Doc’s hands fell away as Bailey pushed out of the room, and she breathed a happy sigh. Not even 9am and already kicking ass at her job. It was a good start to the day, and hopefully a sign of more good to come.

Maybe today she’d get that call she’d been waiting for. The one that would explain his absence. Or explain… something. Maybe today he’d even come home. Wouldn’t that make her cougar happy.

Too many days had gone by without any word.

Not that she expected any updates. That wasn’t part of their agreement. He was a grown-ass man, and he wasn’t truly hers no matter what their bodies had to say about it.

But as Bailey said, lots of things had changed around the Ouachitas. Maybe a certain panther’s heart had changed as well.

Yes, maybe today would be a good day.

And if it wasn’t? Well, there was a prescription for that.