So Julian let it go to voicemail and headed home. He had about an hour to get ready for work at Dr. Howard’s private practice. Thank God his work visa was up to date. He’d managed to get the necessary paperwork and certifications pushed through to accept the job in Dr. Howard’s office, but Jamie had said he’d take on Julian even without it. He valued the Spirit Bears and all they represented, despite the fact that the good doctor was a Puma.
Julian smiled. So far things were going well, and he had no intention of allowing little things like dates and impatient Bears ruin his good mood.
“What do you think, Doc?” Julian stared at the jagged wound Jamie had just finished stitching up. His fingers twitched. He desperately wanted to heal it, but had been ordered not to by Jamie. The power spread through him, trying to escape his control, trying to force him to do what nature had intended Spirit Bears to do—heal. He bet white had already begun to streak his hair from forcing himself to stop.
Dr. Jamie Howard finished cleaning out the wound and sighed. “He’ll need a tetanus shot.”
Julian watched as their patient, Ryan Williams, turned pale. The big Grizzly began shaking his head like a six-year-old. “No. No, no, no, no. No shots. Uh-uh. Ain’t happening.”
“You run the risk of getting infected, Ryan. We might be shifters but we’re not magically immune to disease. It isn’t like the movies where you shift and bam! Severed heads reattach, limbs re-grow and suddenly you no longer have leprosy. I swear, humans think being a shifter cures everything.” Jamie glanced over and Julian nodded. Julian could tell with barely a glance that Ryan already had the tetanus virus within him. How the Grizzly had managed to find a piece of rusty barbed wire in downtown Halle was unbelievable, but Ryan seemed to have a knack for getting himself into interesting situations. All Julian had to do was visit Living Art Tattoos to see proof of that. The pixyish Glory had the poor Bear tied up in knots.
Jamie handed Julian the orders to prepare the shot. While Julian could heal something as simple as tetanus in the early stages, Dr. Howard had convinced him to keep his powers as quiet as possible and use them only in cases where simple shots wouldn’t fix what was wrong.
Julian prepped the needle. “It’s only a pinch, you big baby.”
Ryan whimpered. “Hell no, I won’t go.”
“I’ll tell Glory what a wuss you are.” Julian held up the needle and shook it, then handed it to Jamie.
“I’ll tell Cyn how sexy you look in nurse’s tights.” Ryan growled.
“Really? You think so?” Julian held out his leg, currently encased in blue scrubs, and gave it a thoughtful glance. “I thought my calves looked a little big in white.” He batted his lashes at the Grizzly, trying to distract him. “But thanks, sweetie.”
It didn’t work. Ryan saw the needle coming and jumped off the examination table. “No.” He held up his hands and waved them like a three-year-old.
“Man up.” Jamie swabbed Ryan’s arm and did his best to hold him in place. “On three.”
Ryan eyed the needle with dread. “How about on one hundred?”
Jamie sighed. “Fine. One, two, skip a few, ninety-nine, one hundred.”
“OW! Motherfucker!” Ryan rubbed his arm where Jamie had jabbed him.
Jamie disposed of the needle, his face a mask of professionalism. “Was that so bad?”
“Yes!”
Jamie sighed again. He reached into a cabinet and pulled something out. “You’ll need to keep the wound clean. No shifting for a day or two.” He slapped something over Ryan’s heart. “There. You’re all done.”
Julian was laughing so hard he was wheezing. God, he loved Pumas. They were fucking sadistic.
Ryan peeled the Hello Kitty sticker off his chest. “I hate you.”
“Good. Don’t get hurt again.” Jamie grinned. “I’ll bill you.” He sauntered out of the exam room, winking at Julian on the way out.
Ryan grumbled something under his breath as he hopped off the table. He dumped the crumpled sticker on Julian’s head and stomped out of the room, growling at the desk nurse who asked for his paperwork.
Julian wiped away the tears and tried to catch his breath. “I love my job.” He cleaned up the exam room and got it ready for the next patient, all the while wondering whether or not Ryan was going to go show off his boo-boo to his as yet unclaimed mate, Glory. If so, Julian could relax.