Slamming the front door behind him, Brian grumbled, “I dinna know why ye picked the coldest night to go. The nessies are gonna get sick.”
Grabbing the big travel bag containing the nessies from Brian, Reif looked at his mate for a moment before saying, “It’s impossible for that to happen with the clothes they’re wearing and, between that and the sheepskin lined bag my parents gave us, they’ll be warmer than if they were under their heat lamp…even the doc said so.”
“Ay,” Brian muttered. He paused for a moment to search Reif’s face, nodding to himself at the uselessness of protesting any more. His mate was determined to meet the Scottish wolves, and he realized nothing would sway him to wait. Grunting in frustration, he brushed past Reif and stalked over to where Kieran and Logan’s dragon waited.
Reif shook his head, then said to his babies, “Daddy Nessie isn’t happy about flying tonight, so you all better behave.”
Julius peeked his head out of the top of the bag and flicked his forked tongue at his Papa. “Okey dokey,” he piped up sweetly.
“Hey, get back in there,” Reif said, opening the bag a little wider to help Julius settle back in his blanket nest. After checking eachof the nessies to make sure they were covered, he snapped the latch on the bag closed and headed over to the huge black dragon who was waiting for him.
Reaching Kieran, Reif helped him put his arms through the newly added straps on the bag before lifting him up onto the dragon’s back. Once the Shaman was secure, Reif linked his fingers, making a temporary stirrup where Brian could place his foot. “You ready?”
“Ay,” Brian growled, lifting his left leg and putting his left foot onto the makeshift step his mate had made for him. Then, without any warning, he was lifted into the air and onto the back of Logan’s dragon. Quickly grabbing onto the bag with the nessies in it with one hand, he grabbed hold of the dragon with the other. Then Brian silently began praying to the gods for a safe journey.
Chapter 16
Colton held the door to the examining room open as Smokey carried Theo in and placed him gently on the exam table. Looking into his mate’s eyes prompted him to want to kill the bounty hunter immediately, but that would have to wait. Theo needed both him and Norm close by since his body still shook with fear from the fight in the meadow. Leaning down, he kissed Theo’s forehead before moving next to Norm at the head of the bed. There they both stood motionless, each grasping one of Theo’s hands.
Mac entered, leading Ollie over to a chair near his cousin, and said, “I’ll have Colton get you some scrubs to put on while I take care of Theo.” He frowned as Ollie sat down gingerly, aware now that his mate was in pain, even though he’d denied it, but Ollie’s exam would have to wait—his cousin needed him first.
Turning to Theo, he carefully ran his eyes over him, noting the fearful expression on his face and constant shivering—symptoms that his patient was in danger of going into shock. He grabbed several blankets from the cupboard on the wall and quickly covered him, asking, “Is that better, Theo?”
Nodding, Theo stuttered, “T-t-t-thank y-y-you.”
After handing the scrubs to Ollie, Colton took Theo’s blood pressure and other vitals, relaying them to Mac. Then, he looked down at Theo and asked, “How’s the cub? Still moving?”
Theo shook his head, which was the only answer he could give as tears appeared in the corner of his eyes. The fear that his decision to take his cousin to the meadow might have led to the death of his cub replaced the fear he’d felt when he saw the wolfcharge him. And if that were the case, he would never forgive himself.
Mac placed his hand on Theo’s shoulder and said, “Don’t go there…remember, just because you can’t feel it move doesn’t mean anything’s happened to your cub. Remember, he responds to your emotions…especially the spike of fear you felt in the meadow.”
“So, the cub could be reacting to Theo’s fear?” asked Norm.
“Yes…much like a cub in the wild would, Theo’s cub would remain still in an attempt to hide from any threats,” Mac explained, rubbing Theo’s shoulder soothingly and noticing that his patient had stopped shivering. It was a good sign; the threat of Theo going into shock had diminished. “We’ll do an ultrasound in a minute, but first I want to feel your belly, okay?” After Theo nodded, Mac pulled back the blankets, lifted Theo’s shirt and placed his hands on his patient’s belly, gently pressing down on the cool skin in a circular motion.
Smokey’s eyes were glued to Mac’s face, looking for any sign of a problem with the cub, but the doctor was giving nothing away. Frustrated, he was about to demand to know what Mac had found when Norm grabbed his arm to get his attention.
“Don’t,” Norm mouthed when Smokey looked at him. He could only hope his mate would agree without question since it would have been impossible to keep Theo from picking up the panic Smokey was feeling. As it was, it was a miracle it hadn’t happened yet since Norm could see it reflected in the tightness of Smokey’s muscles.
Pulling down Theo’s shirt, Mac said, “I felt your cub move so…”
“Thank fucking gods,” Smokey growled, exhaling the breath he’d been holding. Squeezing Theo’s hand, he asked, “Did you hear that, Shining Star? Our cub is a strong one.”
Before Theo could respond, Mac held up his hand to stop Smokey. “I said I felt him move, which I agree is a good sign. But I need another ultrasound to make sure he’s okay,” he explained. “The most recent scan of your cub showed he was healthy, and that’s a positive sign—especially after surviving an event like this. This next scan will be about a day later, so I’ll be able to compare them to confirm that everything’s as it should be. Any questions, Theo?”
“How come I didn’t feel my cub move?”
“He only moved in response to my kneading of your stomach,” Mac said, smiling. “And he only did it because he didn’t like me disturbing him.”
“Oh…but he’s okay,” Theo said.
“I’m pretty sure he is,” Mac replied. “The ultrasound will give us visual proof of that.”
“When will I be able to feel him move?” asked Theo.
“It depends on how soon you feel better,” Mac said. “Once your body relaxes and your feelings settle down, your cub will return to his normal behavior.”
Nodding, Theo said, “Okay…I understand.”