After our “unforgiving” run, I cleaned up and changed for the day. I met up with Paige and we rode the shuttle to the Menagerie together. She was due to continue on to the greenhouse and help Marcy move her office materials into the building with Suthering’s and Glorian’s office suites. I wondered if she’d feel bereft without the building of plants as her surroundings, but I had a feeling she’d seldom be in her new workspace. Marcy wasn’t a desk kind of girl.
I met up with Wolf in the ancient wing. He’d texted me last night, asking for me to help him in here first thing. Without a further reason why, I’d headed up there.
My longma and his mate were waiting for me in a cavernous corner of the ancients’ wing. Wolf darted back and forth from the longmas lying on the ground and the wall where a shelf had been built in like a table.
He grabbed a clipboard and returned to the dragonish horse-panthers.
“Hey!” I rushed toward them, excited to see the creature I’d saved freshman year. I’d heard reports about them but hadn’t had the privilege to see them since I’d freed the female from Bateson’s forcefield trap.
The darker, longer male stood immediately and trotted toward me. I smiled wider with every vibration of his heavy footfall on the ground and I briefly wondered if the floors could withstand the weight.
“Don’t agitate him,” Wolf warned in his gravelly tone. He sounded awfully tired. And he’d sent that text late last night. Maybe he wasn’t sleeping much.
The longma pushed his head into my side and purred a low growl. I wrapped my arms around his neck and petted his dark scales. “Hey, buddy,” I cooed. “I’ve missed you.”
Knightley walked up behind me and sniffed at the longma’s feet. The female longma, still lying down in front of Wolf, growled.
“Easy, old lady, easy.” He stroked her squashed snout. Again, she growled.
She couldn’t be intimidated by my grog. Knightley was six times smaller. “Maybe she doesn’t like you calling her old.” And how could anyone determine a longma’s age, anyway? So much was unknown about the last descendants of dragons and it fascinated me.
“Or maybe she doesn’t want another guy in here when she’s about to finally have her baby.”
I gasped and hugged my longma’s neck tighter. A longma baby?
“She’s been in labor all night.” Wolf rubbed at his temples.
The male longma returned to lie next to his lady and I walked closer. Once I was near enough, I held out my hand. She sniffed it and then closed her eyes. I gently stroked the calloused yet smooth scales on the top of her head.
“Want a coffee?” I asked Wolf while watching her.
One large eye blinked open. I meant him. I doubted a longma would know what caffeine was.
“I want to sleep.” He stood and cracked his back. “Just an hour or two. Hell, even five minutes. Please.”
I laughed. I was no midwife, especially to a longma, but I could babysit, I supposed He wouldn’t ask me to take over if it was something I was unequipped to do—he cared too much about these creatures to slack off.
“Sure.”
As he stepped back, he held out the clipboard to me. “Just monitor her heartrate on the hour. Feel her stomach, like this”—he pressed my hand to her abdomen—“and note if it feels harder. This is a very slow labor, and I just want her to be comfortable and watched closely. To my knowledge.” A yawn cut through his words. “To my knowledge, this is the first longma to be born in a century.”
“Okay…” Like that’s not pressure or anything.
“But comparing her progress to any other animal’s she’s got a long way to go yet.” He patted her thigh. “I think she’s just one of those girls who don’t like being pregnant.”
The longma grunted.
“Easy for you to say,” I muttered. “You’re a guy.”
He held his hands up. “Fair enough. Just keep an eye on them. I don’t want anyone or anything in here to bug them. You’re the only one I trust. Well, I know they trust you, so I can too.”
I nodded.
He whistled. “I’ll have Arthur watch the door. She won’t see him if he’s lying down in the shadow.”
I narrowed my eyes at him as I lowered to sit on the blanket near the couple of ancient beasts. “She?”
“I think—” Wolf frowned as the longma growled something like a roar.
What’s the matter, mama? I ran my hand over her leg, seeking to comfort her without a guess why she’d called out. A contraction? Thirsty? Impatient?
“Why is she in here?” Glorian asked from the door I’d entered through moments ago.
“Leave.” Wolf pointed at the door.
Now the male longa grumbled a growl.
Glorian leaned to look past Wolf standing between her and the longmas. She glared at me and then stood straight again. “I don’t want her in here.”
“Too bad.”
“This is the first longma birth since nearly one hundred and thirty years ago. She’s not trained, not medically knowledgeable to be of any assistance in an ancient species birth.”
I raised my hand. “Funny. You can’t even actually see them.” I waved my hand. “I can.”
“Don’t start with your attitude. I’m in no mood for—”
The male longma growled again and shut her right up. Glorian couldn’t fully see the ancient species, but she was semi-Pure enough to sense them.
“Leave,” Wolf repeated.
“She’s not staying in here.”
I laughed. This woman was so full of herself. I’d spent every morning with my longma. I’d practically adopted him as a running buddy, a pet, after I’d rescued him in the woods. She had absolutely no ground to stand on, insisting I leave. Sure, I’d never attended or helped with any living creature giving birth. But if the longmas needed a babysitter, I was probably the best equipped.
“I’ll leave when she leaves,” Glorian declared, crossing her arms.
Wolf rubbed at his eyes. “You’re on my turf. I have the final say in here. Not you.”
She didn’t budge.
“Leave!”
Still, she didn’t move. I clenched my teeth and readied to get up. The female longma’s gut-ripping and floor-trembling roar halted me.
I met the headmistress’s eyes and calmly said, “How about this? You try to stay and I won’t stop her from kicking you out.”
With one final stony glare, Glorian marched to the door and exited, slamming it shut.
Wolf let out a long sigh. “You remember last week how you were pestering me with questions?”
“I don’t pester.” There’s no such thing as a stupid question, either…
“You were nagging at me.”
“And I don’t nag.” Other than trying to get Sabine to text in complete sentences.
“You were going on and on, asking why I don’t go with Suthering and seek out Rogues with him. Why I always come back to this job at the Menagerie.”
I nodded, suspecting where he was going with this.
He flung out his arm, gesturing to the door Glorian had stormed out of. “That’s why. If I left the Menagerie for any longer times than I already do, she could try to screw things up. Anyone could.”
Wolf was fiercely passionate about caring after the animals in the Menagerie. Suthering was right to hire him as manager. Sometimes I wondered if Wolf thought anyone could do their jobs right in here, he was that much of a nit-picker and perfectionist when it came to the creatures’ wellbeing, but I understood his aggravation with Glorian.
“She’s been trying to get in here all night. Wants to make sure ‘nothing goes wrong.’ She annoys me, which irritates them. I don’t want her distressed.”
More than she already is. I patted the longma’s leg again, offering my comfort. I nodded. “Heartrate.” I tapped at the clipboard I’d set on the floor next to me, referencing other items. “Blood pressure. Make sure water’s filled. Feel her stomach. Bar Glorian from the room. Got it. Go get some sleep
before this baby is born.”
He grinned at me and moved to leave. As he grabbed his phone and empty water bottle from the built-in table-slash-shelf, I asked, “If Glorian wasn’t such a nuisance, and if you could find someone to trust to stay here, would you ever want to go with Suthering to look for Rogues?”
With a heavy sigh, he leaned back and propped his hip to the ledge. “Maybe. You forget, I do go with him often. My calling is here, but that’s not all that’s holding me back.”
“Then why?”
“I promised Justin.” He swallowed hard and looked away before meeting my gaze again.
Marcy’s fiancée who’d died on a longma tracking. Stu was the catalyst to his death.
“We…he and I were friends, Layla. Well before we even met Marcy. It’s… I promised to look out for her.”
Marcy didn’t necessarily need looking out for. She was badass in her own right. At that moment, though, I understood this vow to be near her and ready to fight for her was more for Wolf’s state of mind than Marcy’s.
I nodded and couldn’t find my voice to drag out this conversation. The torment in his eyes was hard enough to witness.
“Go on. Sleep. Before her water breaks or something.” I glanced back at the longma. “Or are they dragonish enough that they lay eggs?”
He barked a laugh. “It’ll be a mammalian birth.”
I shooed my hand at him. “Then go rest up before—”
“God, Layla, don’t jinx it or anything.”
I smiled as he left and I leaned back against the male longma’s chest to relax.
I wonder if it’s a boy or a girl.
The mama-to-be grunted and I laughed. “Oh?”
She purred.
Well, we’ll find out soon.
Chapter Twenty
Later the next day, it wasn’t a matter of asking which gender the longma baby would be, but how many. Two girls were born after a stressful and challenging labor. I’d been there to help. Flynn, Suthering, Marcy, and I all came to the room to aide Wolf with the delivery.
Wolf had graduated from an Olde Earth affiliate school in Costa Rica. He had been professionally trained in animal husbandry and wouldn’t have needed a team. But these were longmas. Beasts of great size and fiery temperaments.
Before they were born, Wolf actually asked me to distract the male. So we’d gone for a run in the evening and I watched as he soared into the sky. Maybe it was his way of venting energy and impatience, flying high and swooping.
It took hours to welcome the first girl, and when the second one was due, the umbilical cord caused complications. Suthering had alerted us that the longmas might be excessively territorial after the baby was born and had prepared us to leave as soon as she was delivered. Only, as we’d been filing out, leaving the trio to bond and tend to their offspring, the male longma blocked Flynn from reaching for the door.
That was when we’d realized another was coming. Both mom and dad were stressed and began lashing out, so Wolf instructed everyone except me and him to leave. When the second girl was delivered, not breathing, Flynn instructed me to start chest compressions while he tried to clean out her mouth and nose. I’d diligently obeyed—thankful for my training for getting my arms toned enough to truly force pushes on the baby’s chest. I glanced at the female longma, catching her watching me with weary eyes.
After not even a minute of chest compressions and clearing out her airways, and me focusing my thoughts on the little one to take her first breath, she coughed out fluid and squirmed on the table. The size of a great full-sized dog with longer than usual legs, baby girl longma number two stood.
Wolf cheered and carried her to the mama, and we both left the family of four not three to rest.
Having helped with an ancient species’ birth gave me a sense of accomplishment I bet I’d never find ever again. Except, maybe having my own kid, of course. Someday. Far, far away someday.
I hadn’t had to help toward the actual site of birth, helping the male longma stay calm and out of the way as he supported his mate. I bet if I’d witnessed the gory details, I probably wouldn’t even be thinking about giving birth—ever.
Any way I looked at it, I’d been part of a once-in-a-lifetime event. It was something that would rock anyone to their core. Tired but happy, and excited, we left the Menagerie. Well, Wolf remained stationed at the door to the longma’s temporary room. Suthering had brought a sleeping bag for him. Just because Glorian had stopped coming to the room didn’t mean she’d be done with it. I bet, if anything, she’d be even more determined after the delivery to get in that room and hear confirmation of the birth.
I’d almost planned to sleep in the guys’ room again, but when Knightley, Flynn, and I came up there, we found Lorcan with his nose in a book. He was the only one who hadn’t finished his reading and lit coursework. From the looks of his frown and scattered notes on his bed, it seemed like he was going to plan an all-nighter.
“I’ll just go back to my place.”
Flynn nodded and yawned. “Maybe I should come with you.” He glanced over at Lorcan.
The Aussie waved at us without looking up from his tablet now. “Nah. I don’t wanna kick you out of your own bed.” Then he raised his face and smirked. “Unless you guys are after some privacy.”
Flynn had never stayed in my room and I figured it was only because most of the time, we hung out all three of us together before sleeping. I wasn’t opposed to the idea, but I really just wanted to sleep. We still hadn’t figured out a compromise. Not between me and Flynn. I bet he wanted some ZZZs the same as me. We had yet to find a solution to the fact Knightley always wanted to lay between us like a grog sandwich and spread out. Both of us had been kicked out of the bed many times now. And it wasn’t like we could ask for an upgrade in size from the standard twin all students had.
“Just go get some rest.’ Flynn pulled me in for a hug and kiss. “We’ve all had a long day. I’m beat.”
An hour later, I was showered and cozied up under my blankets. Knightley slept soundly at the foot of the bed but I knew he’d ease up to stretch out next to me by morning.
I’m so going to have to have a full-size bed after I graduate. Wherever I ended up. The thought of bed sizes would have had me rambling with thoughts, but as tired as I was from the roller coaster of a day, I fell fast asleep.
I didn’t stay out for long. I’d been so fatigued, I must have fallen into a deeper sleep than normal. When Knightley roughly nosed my calf, I frowned in my drowsiness.
There was no way I was getting up for a potty break now. I opened one eye a crack and saw it was pitch-black in my room.
My heart raced instantly.
Not even my nightlight in my bathroom was on. I always left it on since I had a water bowl in there for Knightley.
Knightley growled and something tugged on my shirt collar. I gasped, fully awake, and sat up. I tried to. A body blocked me. Panic took over and I balled my hands, ready to strike.
A hand reached for my neck—no, my necklace—and I shoved my chest forward, instead, using this person’s momentum to my advantage. It worked. I slammed into someone hard enough to knock them over.
Get him.
I knew it was no girl reaching for my necklace. I hadn’t crashed into a female’s chest—no boobs. His hand gripped my shoulder and I chopped my hand down to break his grip.
Knightley barked and lunged. I didn’t want to order any animal to violence, but this was self-defense. I had to get out of this bed and on my feet.
A snake of white light zapped in the air and Knightley went silent. Fingers groped at my neck and I growled. “What did you do to him?”
I broke his reach for my neck and I twisted off the bed. I landed with a roll and sprang up on my feet.
Knightley! Are you okay?
My assailant came at me and I deflected his hold. Whoever was stupid and ballsy enough to break into my room, zap my grog, and attempt to steal my neala—which I had no doubt was the goa
l—wasn’t at all prepared to get his butt kicked. Even though I was smaller and didn’t have as many muscles, I had the know-how.
Thank you, Hazel and Martino.
After a couple of minutes of a scuffle, I pinned the guy to the floor and huffed out a breath. He hadn’t spoken in anything other than words, but I needed light to identify him.
“Knightley?” I called out. Nothing.
“If you killed my grog, you are done.” I reached for the plant on my nightstand and wrapped my fingers around the skinny sapling’s trunk. It was a houseplant, a money tree that Dad had mailed to me for my birthday as a gag gift. I didn’t need riches at the moment. Focusing my energy, I thought of binding vines and the tree spread growth toward the person beneath me. Once the vines snaked his fists, and a few seconds later, his ankles, I stood.
I patted at my necklace, ensuring not only the neala was there, but also the hematite. After Suthering told me they could expedite an elf’s energy path, I researched which stones were best. It took me no time at all to order some, and once they arrived, I tested out how true that was.
I was infinitely glad I’d purchased the stone pendant.
With my attacker restrained, I turned on the light.
When I saw Ren on the ground, I scoffed. Figured. Once I knew it was a male, I thought of my enemies. Stu came to mind first, but he’d know how to fight back. He’d surely landed me on my ass in Mooresboro.
“What did you do to him?” I asked as I went to my bed. Knightley lay still.
“Who?”
I shook my head, gnashing my teeth. The guy had no Pure power. He hadn’t even known what he’d been aiming for.
“My grog. The beast that will still try to tear you apart when he wakes up.”
His delay to answer—or maybe it was a lack to even reply—was the last straw. I kicked at his knee strapped to the floor. The vines had kept him lying face-down and he had to struggle to turn his head to face me.
“What did you do?”
He flipped me off, his hand still squashed down but his fingers free.
Wake up. Now!
Knightley grunted as he snapped to. At least he was only asleep. As the grog got to his feet and then dropped to the floor, I asked him to lick Ren’s face—let him know something he couldn’t see was coming for him.
Victory: Year Four Page 17