Outfoxed (The Fox Witch #1) - R.J. Blain Page 0,96
safe to say you haven’t had a proper medical exam in a while?”
“That’s correct.”
“And you’re not on birth control?”
“Only in winter,” I admitted. “And even then, it’s usually not needed.”
If given her way, the fox in me would go on a kinky rampage and target every man to catch her attention, although once she fixated on a man, she disliked pursuing a different one until she got her way—if she got her way.
She usually didn’t get her way, as wise men ran when in the sights of an amorous vixen.
“Excellent. You’re a developed enough hybrid to be influenced by your fox. That’s going to crank your auction price through the roof—and it’ll make sure your contract reflects the additional attention you’ll require in the winter. Hybrid foxes tend to require a lot of attention during the winter, which is when regular foxes are breeding. How it manifests varies from individual to individual, but we’ve seen anything from an intense need to be in close proximity to other people to enhanced sex drives. I’m going to guess by your statement you’re probably someone who needs close proximity to others, although the fact you are taking precautions indicates you may also have an enhanced sex drive.”
I raised a brow at that. “A little, I guess.”
“It’ll make for a nice warning label on your contract, and it removes some of your personal liability. We’ve had enough experience with foxes to recognize your seasonal instincts can be overpowering.”
“And that’s just forgiven?”
“Frankly spoken, a vixen will become exceptionally surly and temperamental if she’s ready to have a child and her husband isn’t cooperating. It’s unlikely she’ll pursue another man, but her husband will be, frankly, stalked until he cooperates. Should he fail to cooperate, things get broken, usually dishes and property. If it escalates, she might run for the border and to hell with her husband, and at that point, the auction house won’t even listen to his complaints, even should she turn up pregnant in the spring. If he’d paid her the appropriate attention, the problem wouldn’t have been a problem, and that’s entirely his fault.”
“That’s a little harsh, isn’t it?”
“No one should invest in a fox if they’re unwilling to put in the work to properly care for one, and both hybrid men and women have those instincts. So, no. I have no pity for anyone who has bitten off more than they can chew in this situation. Don’t look for a hybrid to be the mother or father of a child under these circumstances, unless prepared to handle the reality of the situation. It’s part of marrying a hybrid. They need extra attention compared to a human and other shifter species, and you don’t set up an auction for one without being aware of what’s involved.”
Life had gotten stranger on me, and I longed for the return of sanity. “Is it just me or is this entire system severely fucked up?”
“It’s not just you. Rich doesn’t mean smart or wise, and the current rules are the results of putting rich idiots into power for an unfortunately long period of time, resulting in a scramble to correct the system. One day, the whole system will break, and just about everyone will shrug because we all saw it coming except for the rich idiots.”
“Yet you’re in the middle of it.”
“When you’re paid as much as I am, your morals bend a little. Or a lot. But I do what I can. So, let’s begin with the general questioning portion of your exam. Have you had any childhood illnesses?”
“No. I was vaccinated for just about everything under the sun, and if I could have been vaccinated for rabies, I would have been. Rabies was quite the concern in my childhood household for some reason.”
Dorothy wheeled me down the hall and pressed a button on the wall, which opened a door leading into a reception for a doctor’s office. After a nod to the woman behind the wood monster of a desk, she took me to an examination room. “Just sit tight. I’m not going to do any significant measurements, nor am I going to put you on the table. I can measure you to my heart’s content once you’re taking a nap. It probably hurts like hell for you to breathe at this point.”
“I wouldn’t call it comfortable.”
“Broken ribs are never comfortable, your infection is bad enough it’s going to start hurting significantly within the next few hours, and I suspect we will be performing