Bracing herself, she pushed the door open to see him sitting at the desk where a file was open. His hand, which held a pen, hovered over it as if he'd been making notes.
Tall and muscular, he'd almost pass for a bear. But Carson was an Arcadian hawk. His black hair and sharp features paid tribute to his Native American father and the heritage Carson held dear to his heart.
His features softened to those of fatherly affection for her, which was almost comical since she was about a hundred years older than he, even though she looked younger. "Is something wrong?"
Shaking her head, she entered and closed the door tight behind her. "Do you have a second?"
"For you, always."
She offered him a smile at his sincere answer. The two of them had been friends since he'd first shown up and asked Maman about setting up a clinic in their home-over sixty years ago. It'd been the best decision they ever made. Not only was he the best vet and doctor she'd ever seen, he was a vital ally and trusted friend to them all.
Carson pulled a chair out for her to sit down beside him. Putting his pen aside, he leaned back and folded his hands over his stomach. "So what's on your mind?"
Aimee sat down and tried to sort through her thoughts and concerns. "I've been wondering about something."
When she hesitated, he arched a brow. "Is this a female problem? You want me to get Margie out here for you? Would that help with your embarrassment? You know, Aimee, I am a doctor so there's no reason you can't tell me anything. I may not be a woman, but I understand your bodies and am familiar with your unique problems."
Heat rushed over her face. That was just what she needed . . . a human to give her advice on her animal senses going awry. Margie was nice enough, but she knew nothing about mating rituals. Good grief, this was getting worse by the second. "No, it's nothing like that. It's just . . ."
I want to jump a wolf until we're both limping and I have no idea why.
Why was this so hard for her?
Because you want to jump a wolf and if anyone finds out, you're toast.
True enough. But she had to talk to Carson and find out if this was some freakish problem of hers or if there was a precedent in their species that she didn't know about. Something to make her feel a little more "normal." At least as normal as a werebear with heightened powers could be.
C'mon, Aim. Just say it.
"It's inter-species related."
Carson's other brow shot up. "Are you afraid of insulting me?"
"No . . . at least I hope not." She hadn't even thought about the fact that Carson was half human and half Arcadian. "I'm just trying to understand how it all works. I mean, I understand in your case where one parent is human and the other Arcadian . . . that's almost a natural attraction when two humans meet. Most of the time the human has no idea the other isn't human and so the attraction makes sense, especially since humans tend to have an unnatural attraction to us anyway. I get that. What has me stumped are the ones like Wren's parents. What would make a snow leopard want to mate with a tiger or a Katagari mate with a human?"
There, that should get her an answer without her telling him the real reason she was asking.
Carson considered his answer carefully before he gave her a gimlet stare. "Honestly?"
She nodded.
"No one really knows. There's all kinds of speculation that it's something wrong with the DNA. Maybe a defective gene we don't know about. A birth defect if you will. Kind of the same thing that makes a human crave inappropriate sexual partners. But . . ." He glanced away.
Great, she had a birth defect.
"But?" she prompted, wanting to hear if he had another explanation that didn't end with her being chromosomally damaged.
"I personally wonder if it's not something the Fates do to us as a continuing punishment."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, look at Wren. Regardless of who he partners with, human or Were-Hunter, he'll most likely be sterile. Anytime a Katagari, male or female, is mated with a human, there's no chance whatsoever of progeny. Even as an Arcadian, I have less chance of fathering children because my father was human. I think it's a way the Fates have contrived to kill off our species."
Aimee hadn't even thought of that. How cruel could three goddesses really be?
Then again . . .
"That makes sense in a very twisted way . . . which would coincide with it being a gift from the Fates."