Page 3 of Hellcat

The pup had yet to meet anyone he disliked, but he'd truly taken a liking to the staff here. Two women and a man started to coo, coax, and throw treats his way.

"You're here for your shot, right?" the guy asked. "You're with me. I just need to finish typing up the info about my last appointment."

"No rush. We're early, anyway."

He went to sit in the clean waiting area, staying a careful distance away from a woman holding a box of kittens and a man with a fox on his lap.

"Nice," Ian said, pointing to the fox.

The dude smiled. "Found him during the last fire. He's free to leave, but as he doesn't, I figured I'd get him all checked up."

"Pretty sure there's a Disney movie about that."

The woman with her cats grimaced. "That movie was traumatic." She glared at the poor guy. "If you take him to the woods and leave him, you have no soul."

Ian laughed, then a scent caught his attention. His head snapped back to the counter, right before she appeared. T. Martin.

Fuck me.

He'd remembered her all wrong. He couldn't see her ass at all from this side of the counter and she was still striking. That mouth. The things he'd do to that mouth!

"Doesn't look like the Hewetts are turning up. Want me to take your next appointment?" she asked the guy who was still typing away behind his computer.

He lifted his head and smiled. "That'd be great, Tania, thank you."

Tania. Sexy and feminine with some kick-ass around the edges. It suited her.

"Mr. Wayland with Cutie?"

Ian got up and followed her as she waved him forward.

"Ah! I remember this baby," she said, bending down to greet the pup who wagged his tail like there was no tomorrow. "How has he been doing, Mr. Wayland?"

"It's Summers, actually. Ian Summers. Wayland is the name of our alpha."

She didn't so much as blink, entirely indifferent to the fact that he'd just told her he was a shifter.

"And Cutie's great. He doesn't show signs of trauma or fear, but he eats everything we give him, very quickly, as you told us he would."

She nodded. "Yes, he mostly suffered from malnutrition; no outward sign of abuse. And I'm glad to see that he seems a lot better now." She looked up at him, beaming. "You've fed him well."

Ian snorted. "Too well, no doubt."

She got up and led the way to her examination room, saying, "Well, he isn't overweight yet, but you want to keep an eye on how much he eats, especially after we get him fixed. You still want him castrated?"

Ian winced on the poor pup's behalf. "If the boss said so, then yes."

Tania must have caught his disapproval, because she said, "It's best for him; less risk of cancer and a lot of other issues, medical and behavioral."

Ian laughed. "Oh, I get it. I just have some sympathy for the boy is all."

She smiled. Shit. That was a nice smile. "Understandable."

Her focus returned to the dog; she examined him, all the while scratching and cuddling him, so Cutie allowed it all without fuss, even when she gave him his shot.

"Dude, you have some serious skills!"

Tania laughed. "It took a bunch of student loans to acquire those skills."

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