Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Jeikin, the receptionist, stands from behind the desk. “Oh my.” He waves me past the people in the waiting room. “Come on back. I’ll get a doctor right away.”
I follow Jeikin into an exam room, but I’m on autopilot. Inside my head I’m yelling at myself. My Little girl got hurt before I’ve even consummated our mating. She’s in pain. Sobbing uncontrollably.
Jeikin doesn’t even have to go find a doctor. Chadka must have heard Ava. He rushes in immediately. “Oh, you poor thing.” He pats the exam table. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.”
I lower her gently to the table, cringing as she cries harder. Her pacifier? Where is it? She must have dropped it when she fell. I pat my pockets. I don’t have another one on me. What kind of Papi doesn’t have a spare paci in their pocket?
Thabo, the other doctor, joins us. He sets a hand on my arm. “Take a deep breath, Ganrax. You’re white. It’s just a broken arm. We’ll get her fixed up in no time.”
I glance at him. He’s so calm. I’m a horrible Papi, and he’s so calm.
Thabo squeezes my bicep. “She needs you to be strong for her, okay? How about if you numb her arm to stop the pain? Then you can hold her other hand and talk to her while we get it all fixed.”
I slap my forehead. I forgot to numb her. I forgot I could have numbed her arm. Why did I go this long without easing her pain?
Chadka is carefully examining her arm, and he leans back so I can bend forward. I kiss her right below her elbow and then pierce her skin with my quill, holding it there for a few seconds to let my serum enter her bloodstream.
Using our quill on our mates is instinctive. It’s not something we do before we meet them. I’ve had this ability behind my front teeth for a hundred and twenty-five years without using it. I didn’t have any need to use it.
I pricked my Baby girl’s skin several times before we left Earth for the purpose of calming her and enhancing the bond between us, but I haven’t used my quill on her in the six months since then, and I certainly haven’t used it to ease her pain.
It’s not something I need instructions on, though. I just do it. In seconds, her sobbing slows to sniffles. Thank the heavens.
“Good,” Thabo says. “Round to her other side now so you can hold her hand while we get her all fixed up.”
Is it that easy? “Will she be okay?” It’s the first time I’ve spoken. My voice is rough. High-pitched. Filled with fear. I don’t know shit about broken females. This is my first encounter with one. I know on the rare occasion an Eleadian breaks a bone, we heal quickly. But what about humans? I don’t think they mend as easily. They’re more fragile, which is why I should have been watching her more closely.
Thabo sets a hand on my shoulder. “She’ll be fine. I promise. Littles get hurt sometimes. No matter how much we coddle them and try to protect them, they fall. They break bones. They get cuts and scrapes. It just happens.”
I clasp her good hand in mine and stare down at her, but I’m still panicking. “I should have been watching her closer.”
Thabo shakes his head. “We try. Heaven knows we try. I don’t like to leave my mate for even a moment. I want to wrap her in bubble wrap so she can’t get hurt when I look away. Janie is my world. But sometimes even toddling across the living room, she takes a tumble. She doesn’t have to be running. She might just trip. When a Little lands wrong, they sometimes break a bone. It just happens.”
I’m probably squeezing her hand too tightly, and I can’t look at her. I failed her. “She was in her crib. I wasn’t watching the monitor. I…”
Thabo pats my arm and smiles. “Little girls have minds of their own, Ganrax. Most of them climb out of their cribs at some point. Some of them fall. It’s not your fault. She isn’t even strong enough to climb like that. She made a poor choice, and you know what? She’ll make more bad decisions as the years go by because Little girls are obstinate sometimes. They like to test us. One day, she’ll get too close to the stove and burn herself. One day she’ll hit her head on a rock and need stitches. As a Papi, we lose our minds, but I promise it gets easier.”
I shift my gaze to Ava. She’s sniffling, but much calmer. She’s watching Chadka. Her face is white, and I fear she might bite a hole through her lip if she doesn’t release it.