Page 46 of Goldie and Her Bears (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 3)

“Doc is on his way,” Chase said. “Got a call from him about ten minutes ago.”

I turned and faced Chase. “I’ll leave now, then.”

Chase nodded. “I’ll leave a plate for you in the microwave.”

I smiled. “Thanks, bro.”

He waved his spatula at me as he shook the pan on the stove. I shook my head and headed out.

Nearly an hour later, I stood in the middle of the clearing, staring at the sky that had bits of bright spots of blue poked through the near-constant clouds that sheltered the forest. I searched the skies for any signs of Marcus’ arrival.

It wasn’t long before a black dot, barely visible to my eyes, came into view. In a spiral, he flew closer and closer to the ground. His body grew larger, and his color became more vibrant. He was a red dragon with a glittering, gold underbelly. A crown of horns topped his head.

I smirked. He was certainly a beautiful dragon. And he was an amazing doctor and friend.

Once he landed and shifted into his human form, we exchanged short pleasantries before heading to the cabin. The walk was quiet. Almost in a tense sort of way. When we made it to the cabin, I gestured for Marcus to enter first.

“Awesome! You’re here!” Chase said from the living room as I stepped through the door.

“I’m sorry for the delay. I just couldn’t pull myself away long enough to make the trip here,” he said.

Marcus was a tall man with thick muscle, curly brown hair that reached his shoulders, and brown eyes with a splattering of gold. He stood, easily, a head above Chase. But the guy was as kind as he was powerful.

Chase said, “No apology necessary. Your instructions helped to stabilize her. She’s back this way.”

He nodded and followed Chase to his room. I took up the end of the line.

Cassie sat up and stared at the man wide-eyed. “Hello.”

“I’m Marcus,” the doc said. “You must be Cassie.”

She nodded.

“Let’s take a look at that leg of yours,” he said.

She nodded again and uncovered her leg. The way she watched Marcus it was like she was trying to figure out if he was a shifter too, and maybe what animal he turned into. I suspected that she understood the world was filled with shifters and had finally started to show curiosity toward us.

That little thought struck me. She was astounding in every way.

Her eyes met mine, and she flashed a warm, bright smile. As much as I had tried to give her and Chase some space, it was hard to leave. All I wanted was to be around her. Especially now that the cabin felt much more inviting. She just made it exceptionally harder by smiling at me in the way she had.

Marcus had finished unwrapping the gauze around her leg and was closely inspecting the stitches. He nodded to himself before prodding her calf with his thumbs.

Cassie hissed.

“Still causing you some pain?” he asked.

“Yes. But not as much as it used to,” she said.

He nodded. “Well, that’s an excellent sign. I’m going to let this get some air while I check your vitals.”

“Okay,” she said and watched his every move as he placed a stethoscope on her chest and back, then took her blood pressure, and listened to her heart.

“Everything sounds great. You’re in fine working order, with the exception of your leg. There’s a small infection, but I had anticipated that and brought some antibiotics with me.”

“That’s smart,” she said.

He smiled. “Well, I’m good at what I do.”

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