Free Floating Alone by Zenina Masters Page B

show her distended belly with the riot of slash marks.
    Maweel made a soft sound, and Irdan crouched closer.
    Irdan murmured, “She’s pregnant.”
    “All three of the ladies here are. We have two gentlemen, but they weren’t bleeding for two.”
    “Don’t they pair bond?”
    “Not really. The males come and go as needed.”
    “What is her name?”
    Marina paused, “I don’t give them names. They are the ladies and the gentlemen. They don’t call each other by name in the wild, so why would I tag them with a name here?”
    “How do you keep track of them?” Irdan murmured it softly as the large head of the female moved toward them.
    “Photos that document the damage and blood samples taken when they arrive.”
    “How many have died in your care?” Maweel asked as he watched the other females come out of the shadows, letting their curiosity shine.
    Marina looked at him in surprise. “None. If they are alive when they arrive, they are alive when they leave.”
    Maweel blinked. “So, you are a successful facility.”
    “Yes, but I have had to turn away six manatee this month alone. I don’t have the space or the staff to take care of them. We are run off our feet to take care of the ones we do have, and these are not a species that normally ends up in such close quarters. They are solitary but social.”
    She sent a signal to the ladies, and they rolled in the water, looking scarred up but playful. She stood and watched the two fey stare at the huge beasts in the water as they managed to express joy while showing the marks of brutal ignorance.
    Marina urged the manatee to play and radiate happiness, but the sudden streak of pain brought that to a halt. “Gentlemen, please excuse me. I am afraid that one of the ladies has gone into labour. I am sorry to bring our meeting to a close.”
    Irdan scowled. “I thought they could birth alone.”
    “They can, but if they have too much scar tissue, the skin won’t flex. I need to stay here with her to make sure that the baby can make it out.”
    She kicked off her shoes and jumped into the pool, swimming to examine the dominant lady in labour. She didn’t care what the elves would do; there was time to secure more funding later.
     

Chapter Two
     
     
    Marina focused on the labouring mother and the movement under her skin. There wasn’t a splash, but Irdan soon joined her, and he held his hands to the manatee’s belly as blood entered the water.
    She held her breath naturally, and he did the same. She saw the flare of reptilian eyes and was a little shocked to be facing someone who had another form. Her father was the only shifter she knew, and he would never have considered messing up a designer suit while helping a manatee cow give birth.
    Irdan stroked his hands along the belly, and a soft, pink glow emanated from him. He stroked downward, and the rigid skin flexed.
    They could feel the body working, and their patient rolled with them, letting them surface. Marina sucked in a deep breath before they continued the roll. Based on the memory, the mommy-to-be had been in labour for hours.
    Marina sighed, letting out a stream of bubbles. The manatee rolled again, and she grabbed another breath.
    The amniotic sac was out. A pearly bubble against the grey skin. Irdan helped with whatever magic he could, and the delivery took thirty minutes. A rush of blood and the flick of a bright mind later and there was a new occupant to the tank.
    Irdan wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to the surface. He placed one hand under her butt and boosted her up and out of the water with ease. He planted his hands on the concrete and was sitting next to her in one smooth move.
    “Well, you can count on my support. Give me a number, and you can have it.” Irdan grinned as another one of the pregnant ladies came over to visit him, snuffling at his legs as if disappointed that he wasn’t one of her kind.
    Maweel sighed. “If my cousin is in, I am in. Consider yourself