“When you saywe, how many dragons are we talking about? Those unable to conceive, that is?”
She grimaced, her stare tracking down to her bag. “There are at least eight women I know who have been trying for years with no luck. Those are just the ones I’m close to. I have to imagine there are more, though.”
“Does Dr. Jenkins have a theory as to why this is happening?” I asked, doing my best to keep my tone polite and not insinuate that I thought he was a stubborn idiot.
She sighed, shaking her head. “He says our horde is just weak and needs to be stronger. He says he’s helping, giving us fertility medications, but they make us sick. Still, I know most of us take them religiously. In fact, I’ve been taking them since the day I was mated.”
“I’m sorry, sincethe dayyou were mated? Just like that? Had you even experienced fertility issues at that point?” I asked, frowning as I leaned over the desk.
Celia shook her head again, but then nodded—maybe a little overwhelmed by my questions. “Doc likes to get anyone who is going into a relationship on fertility meds right away to increase their chances of getting pregnant. It’s standard procedure around here. I hadn’t tried to conceive before then. My mate is Tanner, one of the enforcers.”
“Wait. Celia, hasanyonetried to get pregnant naturally, without any help, in the last few years?” A sickening feeling settled in my stomach, and that anger flared once more, forcing me to be careful with my tone and words.
Celia shook her head. “No. The birth rate was so low, and with what Dr. Jenkins had said, none of us wanted to risk it. We want a family so badly…” she admitted, her voice cracking.
I took a deep breath, trying my best torestrain myself, when what I wanted to do was storm out and give that bastard a piece of my mind.
“I’m sorry to bother you with all this. I just wondered if there was a second opinion. We all respect Dr. Jenkins. He’s been our healer for so long, but…” Celia trailed off.
I held up my hand to assuage her concerns. “You’re absolutely not bothering me. I have my own opinions on Dr. Jenkins, and I’m… trying my best to be professional.”
With my notepad open again, I quickly jotted down what I’d learned, then stopped, an idea occurring to me that I needed to follow through with.
“Celia, would you be willing to bring me the medications he’s had you taking?”
Her eyes widened, but Celia nodded quickly, determination filtering in through the worry. “I have them in my room. I’m helping with dinner service tonight, but I can bring them to you tomorrow morning. If that’s all right? I can also grab old bottles from the other girls using his medications, if that would help? I haven’t got my bottle of fertility medication at the moment, I just have a few of the pills, but the doc will prescribe me more soon enough and I’ll bring it straight to you.”
“That’s perfect and would help loads. I appreciate it so much.”
Celia nodded again, standing from her chair and walking toward the door. “Thank you for talking to me. I know we should trust Jenkins, but… well, it’s nice to have another opinion. Maybe you’ll see something he doesn’t.”
“I just might, Celia. I just might,” I assured her with a smile.
“The Alphas are really lucky to have you. If you stick around, I think you will be very well liked around here.”
I chuckled. “If I stick around, I’ll need a gym to work off all the pastries and treats Ma keeps feeding me!”
Celia bit her lip. “Well, there is an easy solution to that. Four mates means a lot of cardio… if you know what I mean. Tanner and I get a lot of good workouts in…”
“Okay, that’s enough from you!” I laughed. “Go help Ma before she tracks you down—but if you want my medical opinion, those workouts are very good, keep it up, especially if you want a family!”
“Fine, but keep it in mind…” She trailed off, gliding out of the room with a sneaky smile on her face.
On my own again, I studied my notes. First Rory, then the numerous cases of wounds not healing, and now this.
The health of the North Oak Horde was worse than abysmal, and I was starting to think I was taking on an impossible task. Luckily, I was stubborn and refused to walk away from a challenge.
Jenkins was clearly a danger to this horde. The question was… had he done it knowingly, or was he just a moron?
Rowan
“Holy shit.”
Sitting in my chair, I huffed, glaring at the mountain of pill bottles on my desk. Celia had been serious when she’d said she would bring me medications from several dragons… I didn’t know what I had expected, but the pile in front of me was much larger than I would have imagined.
Everyone who’d been struggling to heal had been taking some form of human medication, whether it had been orally or applied topically. To me, the answer to the horde’s pervasive health problems was glaringly obvious. So, why the hell was Jenkins so insistent?
Having completed my second day of patient appointments, I felt like I was repeatedly slamming my head against my desk. Despite the various issues, they all had the same concern. No one was healing in good time, and I would bet my left tit it was because of these damned drugs.
