“I hate this,” she admitted into my neck, takingseveral slow, deep breaths. “Even though I feel the pull to all of you, I just don’t feel safe. That’s not a reflection on you, though. It’s this whole messed up situation.”
“We will spend the rest of our lives ensuring you are safe, Ro. After everything we’ve been through, we won’t allow anything bad to happen to you again.”
My hand trailed up and down her spine, reveling in her nearness. It almost felt like no time had passed, and we were in my old office cuddling late into the night.
Fuck how I missed those nights.
Only this was starkly different. There was a wall between us, made up of unanswered questions regarding what had happened six years ago.
She was silent for a moment, then spoke so quietly, even my dragon’s hearing almost didn’t pick it up.
“I really hope that’s true.”
Rowan
“Hello, Rowan!” Celia greeted me warmly as she entered the clinic. “I think I’m a bit early. I’m sorry, am I disturbing your lunch?” She looked at the untouched plate of pasta on my desk.
It had been a busy morning, like all my mornings were now that I had most of a horde to heal.
“No, it’s okay.” I waved her concern away. The pasta had long since gone cold. “I’m honestly not that hungry. Did you bring the medications for me?”
This particular appointment was one I had been eagerly anticipating. I was deadly curious about what the women were taking. She had given me a few of her medications, but none of the ones that idiot, Jenkins, was prescribing for “fertility.” He was clearly pumping the horde full of any and every medication he could get his hands on.
“I did. Well… I brought the empty bottles of the ones I’ve already finished. I didn’t want to stop taking them just in case…” She trailed off.
“In case they were actually useful?”
She sat down delicately opposite me, a frown forming on her features. “It’s not that I don’t trust the doc, but his methods feel…” She struggled to find the right words. “They feel wrong.”
“Your intuition is a valuable tool; you should listen to it. As for what you’re currently taking… let’s just say, Jenkins and I have very different ethics when it comes to healing.” I held out my hand, and she dropped a few pill bottles into it.
“These are pretty strong,” I commented, turning them over in my hands. A few of the names were familiar, and several of the doses seemed rather high, but to understand better, I would need to look them up.
After all, I didn’t go to a fancy medical school.
Celia bobbed her head. “Doc said as much, but he said we had to be aggressive because the birth rate in our horde is so low.”
“Okay. And how long has he been giving the women in the horde these medications to help them conceive?”
“I’ve been taking them for at least two years. I don’t like that they make me feel queasy, but you know… I really want a family. My mate, Tanner, wants to be a father so badly. I hate that I can’t give that to him.”
“Don’t talk like that. We don’t know what’s causing your infertility. It may be temporary. You have never tried to conceive without the help of medication, correct?”
Celia shook her head. “No. It seemed impossible with how rare it was to have a birth. There have been two in the last twelve years. Rory, and then Finn seven years ago.”
The idea of there being so few births was baffling to me. Every horde I visited was full of babies and toddlers running around. Half the time, while I was healing, I would have a baby in my arms. I'd actually grown to rather like it.
“I know I’m new here, Celia, but do you trust me to make decisions based on what’s best for you?” I asked, tryingto keep my voice calm.
“You’ve been so lovely. I’m willing to try anything.” She leaned forward, meeting my eyes with a confident smile.
“Even going completely off these medications?”
Her face was torn for a moment before she steeled herself, sitting up straighter and nodding. “You know what? They haven’t worked in two years. What’s the harm in trying something else?”
“My old mentor, Kiki, was a great healer. She must have helped thousands of dragons give birth over the years. Her method was to be as natural as possible: If there was any trouble conceiving, use herbal teas first. She believed that everything we needed was available from the land. Dragons are intrinsically closer to nature than humans, so nature provides everything you need.”
“I suppose that does make sense,” Celia agreed, chewing on her lip. “EvenI’veheard of Kiki.”
