There was silence in the room but for the sound of my panting.
“I am—”
I cut off as another wave of pain washed over me and panted through it, cursing across our mental bond.
As it ended, Kaede walked over—fully dressed in his uniform, probably hot as hell in the steamy bathroom atmosphere—to set another cup of Osso tea on the edge of the bathtub. He backed away to the farthest wall again, where he had been standing silently for hours, out of everyone’s way. Z’fir grabbed the tea and brought it to me. I smiled and sipped as I returned to our discussion.
“Are you saying these texts suggest that my being... umm... aroused during labor can help mitigate the pain?” My cheeks were on fire as I avoided looking at anyone else in the room.
He nodded, slipping back into his role as detached Master Scholar. “Yes, the references were not conclusive, and I could find little mention in established medical journals—which is why I had not brought it up—but we are out of options. And I am not sure the aphrodisiac properties in either Odelm’s or my essence will be sufficient since you are not ovulating. It will not be nearly as strong as it was during bonding—"
I cut off his dithering. I was willing to try this, even with an audience. “It’s fine. It’s worth a shot, if it might help. Where do I sign up? And what do we need to do?”
He gave a sharp nod and came forward to the edge of the tub as he said, “We will try my moss combined with Odelm’s tentacle tips and see if it is enough...” He paused, clearly thinking. “Perhaps Odelm’s tongue...”
The other Circuli in the room shifted, obviously a little uncomfortable. Z’fir climbed out of the water to join V’dim. I forced myself to ignore the crowd and looked up at Odelm.
“Are you both okay with this? I’m willing to try almost anything at this point. I terrified about this getting worse and not being able to handle the pain.”
Odelm looked down at me with a smile in his pale green eyes. “Of course, Selena. If there is any way at all we can help, we want to. It is hard seeing you suffering.”
I reached up to caress his cheek as I angled my body to face him. Then groaned as another wave of pain swept me under. As I panted, struggling to focus, Odelm bent and pressed his mouth slit to my lips. His tongue slid along the edge of mine, three-fingered tip grasping eagerly. The sweet-salt flavor exploded across my taste buds, though it was clearly lighter than before. My tongue tingled, warmth and sensation spreading down my throat.
As the contractions eased, I pulled away and lay back. It had helped a little, though I couldn’t tell if it was the distraction or Odelm’s essence helping most.
I turned as Xylo came up beside us and stroked my arm. “Any help, Selena?”
“A little.”
He smiled with relief.
“Bite my moss as well. We will need to flood your system with as much of our essence as we can, since it is weaker.”
He bent to me, pressing a kiss to the side of my head as I closed my lips over his shoulder. The unique herbal scent that was all Xylo flooded my senses as I crushed his moss between my lips and teeth. My tingling arousal blossomed, deepened and I shivered. I felt Odelm’s tentacles sliding between my thighs beneath the water, pressing into me and the tingling warmth spread.
I moaned. As another round of contractions began, I panted through it. But somehow, the edge of the pain had morphed to a bite of pleasure. I sucked in a deep breath at a particularly sharp contraction. The pain was far from gone, but maybe... maybe it was a little more manageable?
“Stars! I am definitely going to knee that ishing frax Aldawi in the balls when I see him for putting me through this then abandoning me.” I growled many hours later.
I heard a snort from across the room and glared over at Kaede, where he still held up the wall. Asshole.
The pain had become nearly unendurable and not even my nestmates’ combined essences were mitigating it anymore. I couldn’t even feel the arousal over the pain.
As I panted through the latest round of contractions, Xylo and Chyox approached with the monitor. They pulled it across my stomach and began discussing my lack of any dilation and whether the cubs had shifted or not. Ayces and Usthu chimed in as they observed via the monitor at the sink.
I tuned them all out and slumped against Odelm, closing my eyes in fatigue. I didn’t know how much more of this I could take. It was already late night with no end in sight. I felt like I’d had enough tea to sink the Destiny—though eating had been next to impossible. Xylo had begun fussing over my ‘nutrient intake’ and discussing options with Chyox.
I screamed as a searing pain shot across my abdomen followed by the most intense contraction I’d felt thus far. Odelm’s arms and tentacles tightened around me, and Xylo and Chyox bent to the monitor with concern.
“I do not see any signs of a problem, but surely there should be progress by now?” Chyox muttered.
“She should have dilated already... It does not seem possible it would be this slow...” The calm detachment in Xylo’s voice and demeanor had long since vanished.
In fact, everyone had grown tense and anxious. All the Ulax in the room, including Odelm, had shifted past orange and were headed into a panicked yellow. V’dim shaded to black at the edges, and Odelm’s yellow was nearly white with fear. Something had to give, and soon.
As the long wave of contractions eased, I
