Page 88 of Prayers for the Prickly

Okay, then we’ll be right there and we’ll pause at the fridge for ice chips on our way up. Which form is he in?

“Prickly,” I muttered as I continued to caress his head.

Good, that’s good, it’s going to be okay,she said.You tell him to stay just like that and not try to shift or do anything at all until we get there, okay?

Her no-nonsense tone was calm, firm, and soothing as hell. Exactly what I needed to hear at that moment.

“Yes, ma’am.”

All right, put that phone down and focus on your mate, and for goddess’ sake, Gregor, remember to breathe, honey, you can pass out later after the hard part is done.

Chuckling, I let the breath I’d been holding whoosh out, my shoulders heaving as air filled my lungs again. I don’t know how she knew I’d been holding it while I’d hung on her every word, maybe that was just what happened when you got old enough to be an elder, all the intuition that had saved you in your youth sort of reformatted in your head to let you know how to save others later on.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, focusing on breathing now that I knew help was on the way.

Don’t worry about August’s mama, she just popped through here on her way to the bank. Probably has that damned phone on do not disturb again. Bet she’ll think twice before she puts it on that setting again. Be there directly.

She ended the call then and I dropped the phone back on my jeans so I could turn all my attention back to August.

“They’re on the way.”

Oh good, because this is starting to hurt now.

As if to punctuate his thoughts, he let out two loud, high-pitched squeaks, back-to-back and wiggled, tiny feet waving beneath the blanket until I loosened it some so he could move more freely.

Thank you.

“Of course. If there anything else I can do?”

Our playlist and for you to shift and wrap around me?

That was easy enough to do, but unlike in those hot and heavy days of my rut, I was a lot more mindful of the way I moved and how much wiggling I did getting those briefs off, telling the smart speaker what playlist to play before I shifted and wrapped around him.

More squeaks came before I was fully in place, and I lightly touched my snout to his belly, hoping my caresses would be welcome. One of his feet pressed against my ear like he was holding me there, and Aunty Eunice’s voice echoed through my head with her reminder to breathe. It felt like he was holding his breath with each squeak, so I ran my tongue over his swollen belly and gently spoke in his head.

Inhale, sweetheart.

This squeak sounded half pain and half protest, but he did it, foot pressing tighter to my ear.

That’s it, focus on breathing.

Gonna get to hold them soon.

Yup.

I wish this wasn’t so uncomfortable,he thought.I want to be excited, but this is getting really uncomfortable far faster than I expected it would.

I hadn’t known what to expect, so I stayed silently licking that swollen belly, which seemed to be helping, because I could feel him breathing easier and relaxing more in between the tightening I felt each time a contraction hit. A weird sensation against my tongue and nose, I couldn’t imagine how to felt to him, especially when the next one came and his squeak turned into a drawn out squeal right before he nipped my ear.

Sorry, sorry,he panted, but I could smell that something had changed.

Perfectly okay, but I need to move a little, to check and see what’s going on because I smell blood.

Yeah, yeah okay, just don’t jar me, my hips hurt,he replied before squealing again. They hurt so much.

Bearing that in mind, I moved super slow, inching around his body, knowing my bulk could cause me to be clumsy from time to time, especially when my nerves were on edge. The moment I slipped down where I could see his bottom half, gripping the blanket in my teeth so I could peel it all the way off of him, I saw exactly why his hips were hurting. A small head was already out, and it was definitely larger, wider, and missing all the prickles a hedgehog should have.

Okay, sweetheart, um, one of our whelplets has grown extremely impatient and has already started coming out.

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