Falling in Love with the King of Beasts

RETH

"You have a tonic that can force the shift?" Reth asked Aymora breathlessly, hope coming alive in his chest.

"No!" Aymora cried, then turned to Jayah. "We can stop the shift with the venom of the swamp toad, but… you can force a shift?"

Jayah blinked and pushed herself back, off the sleeping platform to pick up the small bag she'd dropped at its base when she had come to help. She dug through it to pull out a small, glass bottle stoppered with the gum of the molasses tree. "The wolves have used this for generations," she said quietly, her forehead lined with confusion and unease. "I… I assumed all the tribes had it. We use it to test young that might be disformed. And to stop anyone from becoming stuck. I try not to use it during delivery, only because we do not know the effects it might have on the offspring. But we have before, with good results." She handed the bottle to Aymora who stared at it like it was a precious jewel. "I can show you how to make it.."

"How… why…"

"Perhaps the wolves have hidden more of our knowledge than I realized," Jayah said, her eyes jumping to Reth for a moment. "Perhaps… perhaps we need to get the healers together soon to compare our resources?"

Aymora nodded. She closed her mouth, but was clearly still reeling from this revelation. "And this will send them in either direction?" she asked faintly. "If we give it to Elia—"

"It has many of the herbs that we used to stop the contractions," Jayah said apologetically. "We would need to make certain that she was completely free of the others before giving her that. And… and we cannot give it during labor, except at the very end if it is obvious she needs to be in a different form. It lasts for an hour or more—giving more inside that time will only make the first shift last longer. We… we must use it carefully. But yes, under the right circumstances, we can return Elia to her human form. To my knowledge, as long as she's there, as long as the bond remains, it will work."

Reth looked down at his peacefully sleeping mate. In her lion form she was so strong, so massive… He wondered what affect the shift had had on his small, beautiful mate. Had she taken any of the Beast's character? 

Did he care?

He decided that he didn't. He just wanted his mate back.

"How long will it be until we're certain that these herbs have worn off and she's not going into labor again?"

Aymora frowned. "At least six hours, possibly eight. I would make it eight to be certain, before we give her anything else."

"And if she shifts in that time, can we give her the other tonic, to keep her in her human form?"

Aymora nodded. "We can," he said reluctantly. "I don't like that idea, though, Reth. She may need to shift if she goes into labor again. And the baby may need to shift as well. We don't know what affect that tonic will have on the baby. We don't know if.. if it will rewire her as she develops. I would be hesitant to take the risk."

"You will give Elia anything that keeps her safe," Reth growled. "Our cub is strong. She will endure."

"But what if it flips the switch in her and she is born unable to shift at all?" Aymora asked him carefully. "That is the risk you run, Reth. We don't understand all that happens with a babe in the womb, or when things are… finished. Especially with Elia's pregnancy. She's developing so much faster than she should. Who knows what affect that kind of drug would have your cub?!"

Reth let a growl roll in his throat. "I will love my daughter disformed or not. I only need her safe."

"But that's what I'm saying, Reth. We don't know—we can't know what kind of affect it could have."

Reth was tempted to say to hell with the possible effects. He just wanted his mate back. But he knew… he knew he'd regret it if he harmed their child without need. 

"We will wait until we know how she is. What is needed. But we will not rule it out, Aymora," he said with a warning in his deep voice. "In the end I'd rather have them both alive and affected, than gone from me."

Aymora sighed and nodded. "Well, we can't make that decision for several hours yet, anyway."

"But you do not withhold what is needed in an emergency, Aymora," he growled. "If I am not there, you do anything you are capable of doing to keep them both safe."

Aymora nodded again and reached to put a hand on Reth's shin. "I hear you, friend. Be easy. I love her too. Whatever is needed, we will do it."

Reth breathed a little easier then, though Jayah looked uncertain. But he decided not to worry about it just then. What was important then was that Elia was no longer in pain. She was resting. And she still carried the babe. 

"Is the cub… okay?" he asked suddenly.

Jayah leaned over the beast's belly again, a small cone that she'd brought out of her bag held against Elia's stomach, and to her ear. "The heartbeat is strong," she said with a smile. "She is well. For now."

Reth didn't like the implication of those last two words, but he did breathe easier knowing that Elreth was safe. 

He was about to ask Aymora if she'd eaten when the furs seemed to fluff and the warmth he'd been holding for hours disappeared.

"Reth?" Elia's voice was tiny and hoarse, and the most beautiful thing Reth had ever heard.

"Elia! Love!" he gasped.

She lay on her side on the furs, her head turned to look up at him, her blue eyes an echo of a cloudless sky, and the smile that broke on her face was like the sun rising through it.

Elia began to cry, happy tears. "It's real… you're really here? It's not a dream?" she asked weakly. 

"You're really here, Love," he said, his own voice rough with emotion. "And you're never leaving me, ever again."

She tried to press up onto her arms, but she was so weak, he gathered her in and just held her there, his nose in her hair, laying on the furs, stroking her back while she cried.

And he might have shed a few tears himself, but the females were too busy gathering their things and discussing what Elia would need for the next few hours to notice. So they fell into Elia's hair and dried.

Thank you, he prayed silently, holding his mate's shaking shoulders. 

Thank you. 

***** 

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