Page 139 of Heart of the High King
Everyone greeted her and Dr. Park. Then she turned to Rafe and once again flashed a grin. “So, things are looking great. There’s still some magic in your cells, but it’s nearly gone. I think those Cwylld stones were instrumental in moving this along so fast. If you keep it to a single round-trip, I’m okay with you teleporting daily.”
“What about his aging?” Aleksander asked.
“At this point, there’s nothing to suggest he’s got any age-related problems. I’m going to ask that you continue coming back to see me every six weeks until we can either relax and say that your mate’s dragon is holding it at bay or until we can measure it to set up an appropriate treatment plan.”
“I really want to apologize to all of you for my behavior at our last meeting. I underestimated not only your magical abilities but Rafe’s endurance. I’m finding the more I learn about the Council, the less I know,” Dr. Park offered.
“I wasn’t angry with you. I kind of thought there was a chance you were right,” Rafe told him. “As far as I’m concerned, you didn’t owe me anything.”
“So, let’s talk about long-term issues,” Dr. Suricata said as she took a seat. “You’re not a dragon. I know you’re working with a trainer, and I truly think if it’s possible to regain a beast you’re the one who can do it, but you aren’t a dragon right now. You’re also not quite human, but you are susceptible to illnesses, viruses, and other things that people in the Council typically don’t have to even think about. So, be careful and if you have any new symptoms, whether big or small, call me. We know we can use magic if we handle the situation carefully, so I’m confident we can conquer it, but there’s no sense in putting yourself through an ordeal if we can easily mend it, so don’t wait until it gets bad, okay?”
“Yeah, Sander’s not going to let me ignore anything.”
“What about his weight?” Aleksander asked.
“I was just getting to that,” Dr. Suricata responded. “While in the past we’ve used weight, we now prefer to measure BMI, or body mass index. You’re about halfway between five foot nine and five foot ten, so we’re going to round up. Right now, your weight as of this morning is one hundred and twenty-six pounds, making your BMI eighteen-point-one, which is underweight. We’re going to use the human BMI range, so you want between eighteen-point-five and twenty-four-point-nine. Dragons are generally higher than that because of their larger muscle mass, so you’ve got a long way to go after you get your beast back too. I’m not even going to give you a goal weight, I just want you to start gaining.”
“Yeah, I get that, but I also don’t want to be fat,” Rafe responded.
“Like I said, you don’t need to worry about that. If you want to get stronger, I might suggest some exercise. You don’t have a dragon to keep your body toned, but no going crazy with cardio stuff. You’re not trying to lose or maintain your weight yet.”
“What kind of exercising should I do?”
“Find things you like to keep it fun and to help stay motivated,” Dr. Suricata suggested.
“I’ll have to think about it,” Rafe muttered. There were a couple of things that came to mind including jogging, which he’d started to do not long before he was hurt. It helped clear his mind, and Aleksander had plenty of land for him to stretch his legs. Rafe was determined to find other activities he might like as well.
“Show her the mark on your neck,” Aleksander stated.
“I was getting to it,” Rafe told him as Dr. Suricata got to her feet. “We noticed it this morning.”
With Rafe’s help, Dr. Suricata pushed down the collar of his shirt and she tsked. “Dr. Park, I’ve heard of these and seen them on television, but we generally heal too fast to have them for more than a few minutes. Is this what I think it is?”
Her voice gave nothing away as the other doctor joined him, leaving Rafe wondering if it was bad or good. When Dr. Park grinned wildly, Rafe scowled.
“You have an erythema. It’s an area of the skin reddened by expanded blood vessels. In this case I’m going to attribute the cause to love play. Rafe, you have a hickey.”
Brogan’s laughter filled the room, and Dra’Kaedan elbowed him. “Hush.”
“Your Highness, if you don’t want marks to show, perhaps you should go a little easier on Rafe’s nearly human skin,” Dr. Suricata teased Aleksander, who was, in Rafe’s opinion, grinning like an idiot. “The good news is that it should resolve itself in a few days. Let’s avoid magic for these kinds of things. We don’t know yet if you’re going to grow increasingly sensitive to it with time.”
“I don’t know what’s so funny,” Rafe griped.
“Amateurs,” Brogan said, giving his attention to the ceiling, no doubt to contain his chuckles.
“While we’re on the topic, that leads us to a rather sensitive issue we need to discuss,” Dr. Park said. “You are vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases and infections, and I’m aware that shifters can have relationships outside their matebond. Even if you aren’t with a human, one of your partners might’ve been and may be able to carry it even if they’re unable to contract it. There have been zero studies done on that, so we are working in the dark. Use condoms Rafe, to prevent catching anything.”
Rafe shook his head. “I appreciate your concern, but I won’t be going outside my matebond.”
Dr. Park’s smile was rather condescending. “I know you two have a new romance, but sometimes after that first bloom dies things might change. Please, just be careful.”
Growing annoyed, Rafe’s mouth flattened in a line as he contemplated how not to tell the kindly doctor to fuck off. The more he thought about it, the more pissed off he got at the implication that he’d ever hurt Aleksander, so he refused to measure his words. “I will never cheat on Sander. Not only did I survive some fucking horrible shit just to be with him, that’s not the kind of person I am. And, although it’s none of your fucking business what I do—”
“Rafe, it’s okay,” Aleksander said, no doubt to soothe him, but Rafe wasn’t having it.
“No, it’s not. I’m not going to go running around fucking anyone. He’s the only one I’ve ever wanted to be with. I mean shit, I’m demisexual anyway. I’m not the type of person who can just run into a bar and find someone I’m interested in like that,” Rafe retorted. His brain readily supplied ugly images and filled his brain of it working the other way. “And you better not cheat on me, Sander. I’m not going to stick around and be fine with it. I’ll pack up my shit and walk right out.”
Aleksander threw his hands up in frustration as his brow furrowed. “Of course I wouldn’t do that. I’ve got agoraphobia. How the fuck would I even meet anyone if I somehow lost my mind and didn’t want to be with you?”
