While I highly doubted the stubborn old dragon would consider three years of nursing education as medical school, it sure as hell was medical in my book.
We glared at each other, the energy in the room much too tense. I could already tell Jenkins was one of those men who thought his fancy degree made his word law. My visit to Griffin’s horde was already more complicated than I had hoped.
“Get out!” he shouted, his frame vibrating, eyes turning red.
I took a step back, worried he would shift in the tiny medical suite.
“Jenkins!” Griff growled, stretching to his full height, barely contained anger painted on his face.
“She’s not allowed near my patient! Get her out of here. I’ll be calling the Alphas!”
I backed away. Jenkins was dangerously close to shifting, judging by the way his body was trembling. He may have been frail in human form, but his dragon form waslikely a different story. Worse, I worried he’d knock Rory to the floor or accidentally thrash into him in the process. Rory’s safety came first.
I looked at Griffin and shook my head, silently telling him this wasn’t the time.
“We’ll leave for now, but wewillbe back later,” Griff snarled, grabbing me gently by the arm and escorting me out of the room.
I was seething. While I appreciated Griffin getting me out of the situation, I couldn’t deny how pissed I was that the old man was being so pigheaded. Everything in me wanted to scream at the man for being a stubborn fool, but that wouldn’t help Rory.
“What a goddamned ass! What, because he’s got a degree, he’s more knowledgeable than thegenerationsof healers who came before him? Are you kidding me?”
Griffin sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Yep. He’s a crotchety old bastard. Are you sure you know what’s going on with Rory, though?”
I dropped my head, trying to breathe. “Not a hundred percent, but I’ve had so many cases where dragons got sicker because of human meds. You guys heal so fast, usually all you need is a little herbal help.”
“Like that paste you kept shoving down my throat?” Griff asked. He’d come down with a nasty bug not long after I’d healed his physical wounds. I’d treated it with mainly natural remedies.
“Yep. I also applied honey to your wounds. Naturally anti-bacterial and no chemicals to harm you. Don’t get me wrong, modern methods of securing broken bones and stitching up wounds are amazing, but modernpharmaceuticalmedications contain so many synthesized ingredients that they do more harm than good in most cases.”
Griff stepped closer, lowering his chin to meet my eyes. “So, what do you recommend for Rory?”
“A few days of restwithoutthose medications, some root teas to help his body fight infection and gain strength, and Jenkins far,faraway.”
“Leah and Donald aren’t unreasonable. We’ll talk to them.First, we need to feed you, though. Ma mentioned hash browns and bacon, and we aren’t missing that.”
I laughed, the tense mood breaking. “Still food-obsessed, I see?”
“Always.”
Rowan
The kitchen was loud and chaotic when I arrived. Griffin had abandoned me as soon as we entered the den, making a beeline for the dining hall—thinking with his stomach, as always.
I, on the other hand, needed to talk to Ma before food.
The dragon in question had her back to me as she stirred an almost comically large pan of scrambled eggs. While only a handful of dragons lived in the den, many more descended upon the dining hall for meals. The gigantic room could easily hold up to a hundred dragons, so Ma had plenty of people to cook for.
She wasn’t alone, there were several others who I hadn’t been introduced to bustling around, taking large trays of bacon out of industrial ovens and following Ma’s orders.
Part of me felt bad for disturbing her, but I knew if I didn’t, she would tell me off for not doing so.
“Ma?” I called, raising my voice slightly to be heard over the clattering of pans.
She turned, her shifter senses allowing her to hear what I never would have been able to. “Rowan! My dear, how can I help? Have you eaten breakfast?” she asked as she wiped her hands on a dishcloth, heading toward me.
“I will eat in just a moment,” I assured her. “Griffin is already there, trying to steal all the good food before I get there. I just wanted to give you this,” I said, holding up the piece of paper with my scribbled notes.
She rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Of course he is. You would think, with how many years I've been feeding this horde, nothing would surprise me. What’s this?”
