Even in unconsciousness, I was more than aware of the sparks that tingled over my skin. The scent of my mate that enveloped my body, tantalizing my senses to the point that I blindly sought his presence. Snuggling closer and purring as his arms wrapped around me, voice a reassuring murmur that swept over my mind and calmed the slight anxiety that had reared its ugly head.

I could tell I was feverish the second I woke, whining when Jethro moved slightly before gently cupping my head in his palm. "Drink darling. It holds a suppressant to stave off the worst of your heat."

My mind was a blur as I struggled to lift my head, had to rely on Jethro slowly feeding me the tonic. Hazy memories of the day before filtered through my mind, followed by the following night. Where I had been relentless and had been the one to actually exhaust Jethro to the point where the man had to quite literally fuck me into unconsciousness in order to get a break.

Not only for himself but to give my own body a moment to heal. Yet whenever he had backed away and told me to try and relax, the heat had been far too relentless, too painful to even think. The soreness and aches in my body was nothing compared to the sharp, stabbing pain when I had attempted to ignore the pull of the Heat.

"How is he?" A soft murmur sounded at the door whilst I closed my eyes and nuzzled into Jethro's neck. A low grumble rolled through his chest whilst I shivered feverishly, whining when Jethro moved away slightly to put the empty glass in its place.

"Delirious from the pheromones. I didn't expect his first heat to be that potent." Jethro responded with a sigh, fingers drifting over my spine to soothe any discomfort as I nuzzled closer with a content purr. "Or that I'd lose control this badly."

There was a moment of silence from Zander before the man heaved a troubled sigh behind the closed door before he questioned "Can I get you anything else?"

I leaned into every slight touch from Jethro before he replied with a low "Some food that's easy on the stomach. Perhaps a light broth so I can see if he can hold that down." My ears vaguely detected Zander's footsteps fade away before I whined when my body ached as I turned.

"Easy darling. You've pushed yourself too far and your heat isn't allowing you to rest properly. Try to relax until Zander returns with your food." He murmured before pressing a kiss against my forehead which in return made me purr even louder.

Pushed myself?

I couldn't quite make sense of what Jethro meant and judging by his chuckle, he understood. "Still flying high huh? You've been relentless the past two days. Jumping me whenever you're awake, no matter how sore you are."

Days?!

I had thought it was just a single day but the heat must truly be messing with my senses if two days had gone by in a blur.

Jethro hummed in agreement, groaning as he moved his body before giving a wry laugh. "As I said, your very first heat has been brutal. And while I'm glad that both you and your shift feel this pressed to show your need for me, I worry about your health. At least the suppressants will help relieve some of that instinctual drive for sex."

All I could do was produce a low hum in reply, reaching out with my mind when my mouth couldn't work properly to relay my message. "Can I have a bath? I feel disgustingly sweaty." I murmured tiredly and sighed when Jethro gently gathered my limp form.

"Of course sweetheart. Just try and keep your hands to yourself this time around." He warned. At first I thought he was joking but there was a flash of a memory that Jethro expanded on, sharing his own recollection.

How he had tried to bathe me the first night, trying to cool off the insistent fever from the heat while I had clung to him like a drunk octopus. Hands moving all over his body and whining for more than a simple bath whilst my pheromones had filled the tiny shower stall.

And evidentially, had also swayed Jethro into lifting me into his arms, press me up against the cool shower tiles and do as demanded.

I swallowed thickly at the memory, groaning as it certainly didn't help in keeping my heat back. After all, the mere thought of begging for a repeat of being slowly fucked against the wall whilst feeling the refreshing cool water spray on us both, was far too tempting.

And the low groan coming from Jethro proved he wasn't that far behind in giving into the temptation. "Behave you." He snarled, sounding more like he was reprimanding himself as I clung weakly to him.

But then he flicked my nose, making me whine and lean away from... oh. A slight blush filled my cheeks as I realized I had subconsciously started to mouth at his mark that was oh so temptingly within reach.

"Sorry." I managed to croak before I was lifted into the bathtub this time around. Jethro was wise enough not to take me to the shower or join me in the tub because it seemed my tiger was very much insisting on answering to the call of our Heat.

Soon enough my jaws were pinched in Jethro's grip, turning my face so I couldn't escape his commanding gaze. "Behave." He growled lowly at my shift, eyes glowing as he added, "Neither your human self nor I are felines. Even in our Rut and Heat, we don't feel the need to breed every few seconds. Your insistence and attempts to break down my control are endangering your human's health!"

A low whine rumbled through my chest as the tiger protested briefly before relenting. I could feel it pace uncomfortably in the back of my mind but it seemed to stop pushing for more. At least for now. Just the relief of its demands made me sigh with relief, fully relaxing as Jethro released my face with a sigh of his own.

"Was he that bad?" I asked after a few moments of silence, of enjoying the brush of the washing cloth move over my body as Jethro took care of us. When he stayed silent, I frowned before struggling to open my eyes and look at him.

Jethro's expression was contrite, lips pursing thinly as he washed me completely before sighing. Fingers pausing as they reached my right hip, making me aware of the dull ache that throbbed through it.

"When your tigers' instincts took over, demanded constant breeding in order to douse the heat, I tried to stay in control. Even with my own desire to breed, the alure of your heat, I thought I had everything under control." He clicked his tongue at himself with a shake of his head, filling me with confusion.

After all, I looked fine. No bruises or cuts beside a tender mark and soreness. It was true I felt more sore than usual after a scene or simple loving but... it wasn't that bad. My confusion was easily sent over the link as Jethro grimaced and shook his head.

"It's not that bad because you already had a dose of healing agent. When I lost control..." Jethro paused, draining the tub before drying me as gently as if I was something utterly fragile. "The pheromones that your tiger produced made my control snap for a moment and my dragon, well..."

Lifting me in his arms, he motioned with his chin to the mirror behind us and as I turned to look at it, my breathing hitched.

Purple blotches around my hips were a perfect match to Jethro's fingers if he were to grab me there to pull me back against him. Not to mention the deeper bite as I had been remarked and the slight swelling of my right hip...

"My dragon... dislocated your hip." Jethro breathed before shaking his head, voice filling with disgust as he corrected "we dislocated your hip. I lost control, lost to the heat and only noticed after-" With another deeply disgusted noise, Jethro carried me back to our bed, pausing momentarily when there was a knock on the door.

He placed me down on the couch on the opposite end and after covering me in a soft blanket, stalked towards the door whilst I was lost in thought. Part of me wondered if the Heat was still meddling with my mind because there must be a reason why I wasn't in any pain.

Surely dislocating a joint should hurt terribly. I shouldn't be able to move around without feeling pain, let alone sit on the supposedly injured hip. My fingers reached for the sensitive area on their own accord, slightly applying pressure.

Nothing beyond a similar ache as poking a bruise.

While Jethro was talking to Zander at the door with a hushed murmur, I slightly turned on the sear and lifted my leg. Gaining more confusion by the second as I could move it with ease.

"Are you sure it was dislocated?" I questioned before I could stop myself, gaining attention from both the Dominants at the door. Jethro released another deep sigh and Zander surprised me by releasing a low chuckle.

The other man patted Jethro on the shoulder, ignoring the low grumble he got as he turned his attention to me. "My darling Faust came with me when Jethro called for us in a panic. He's been an ICU nurse for several years now." Zander offered me a reassuring smile as he motioned between Jethro and myself.

"Jethro clothed you before we were even allowed near an open door and Faust only did a quick inspection. If you're both okay with it, he can look at it more thoroughly but Faust did suspect it was only a partial dislocation."

When both of us nodded, Zander poked his head out of the room and called out to Faust. The other man appeared after a moment, likely having waited to see if he was needed. He still seemed nervous, especially so with our pheromones acting out from our Heat.

Yet with both mine and Jethro's approval, he approach the couch and inspected my body. I was grateful Jethro had at least thought ahead and put some boxers on me as I was far too lethargic and dazed to even think of that before Faust was gently tugging at the blanket.

"Please say immediately if anything I do hurts, no matter how small." The young man murmured as his usually shy demeanor changed, turning more professional and in charge. His black and white hair draped over his shoulder as he gently inspected my leg and lifted it, checking the movement range and flexibility which I barely protested.

There was definitely some soreness when he pushed down on the joint and lifted it to its max but beyond that, it was far less than I had anticipated. I even offered a smile to both Faust and Jethro, showing that I was feeling just fine.

Faust hummed thoughtfully, lowering my leg and offered us both a smile. "I think his hip may have dislocated slightly at one point and stretched the ligaments and tendons there before popping back in place. And Lord Jethro, I can reassure you that this is a rather regular occurrence on the ER." Faust smiled, a slight flush on his cheeks as he added, "We see plenty of shifters there who have injured themselves before or during the act. Even humans pop up in the ER when they're a bit too heated for their own good."

"Thank you, Faust. For the healing agent and suppressant as well." Jethro replied with a hint of relief, quickly reaching out for me the second I whined plaintively and was up in his arms before I could fully protest. Both Faust and Zander chuckled at my behavior before Jethro sat back down with me in his arms.

Faust tilted his head slightly, his mane of hair moving along with the motion. "I think it's best that Lane limits his hip movements for a bit, considering those tendons and ligaments need a bit to heal to their correct position. If both of you can withhold at least a day..."

Normally that wouldn't be an issue but this was at the start of my Heat. Faust quickly amended "Of course we'll keep an eye on Lane's condition and try and keep the Heat surprised with the suppressants as much as possible. Things can still... happen just... it's best if you keep any hip movements restricted for now."

I could feel Jethro hum thoughtfully, drawing my attention upwards to his face until I could spot the slight smirk on his lips. When my Master noticed my look, his smirk only deepened as he reassured, "I'm certain that I can think of a way to restrain Lane if he were to overexert himself."

A shiver darted over my spine as I was happy the suppressants were doing their job. Because I had no doubt that if I was unable to control myself or my shift, I would be trussed up like a rotisserie chicken before I could blink.

"The suppressants should work wonders though, especially if this is Lane's first time being introduced to them." Faust murmured, bringing his fingers to his lips in thought. "Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to get his shift distracted from its Heat, redirect their focus unto a new experience...."

Then Faust blinked, smiling as he leaned up to Zander's shoulder and murmured something in the man's ear. Zander listened and nodded, smirking before he chuckled, "Babe, I love your idea. This is something I got to see."

"I'll get the toy ready then."

Toy?

Turning to Jethro in confusion, I only saw the same expression mirrored back as he gazed at the disappearing Faust and then Zander. "What exactly are you intending to give to my mate?" He questioned lowly as his reptilian friend quickly raised his hands in the air.

"We figured the easiest way for Lane's tiger to stay relaxed and allowing the suppressants to do their work, would be to give him something he hasn't experienced before. And as far as I've seen personally, Lane didn't have an inkling of what he smelled in the living room yesterday when Faust and Charlie noticed they forgot to clean up one of Faust's nip toys."

That cleared Jethro's confusion as he chuckled and shook his head before cuddling me closer to his chest. "Now I understand your reaction. And I do want to see if the tiger is going to respond to that toy at all."

When I looked up at him, Jethro smiled down and gave me a satisfying kiss, gaining a low purr in response. "If you're willing darling, we'll see if we can distract that tiger of yours with some catnip." He purred as I leaned against him with a soft hum.

"Never had it before." I murmured, though I had heard of it. Several in the Pride had their own catnip toys for when they were highly stressed. Naturally those were items kept away from me, because why would they even think I'd ever need destressing?

It made my own curiosity swell and my shift chuff eagerly, wanting to see why everyone seemed so interested in its reaction to this toy. A smile slid on my face as I agreed with the others. I wanted to see where this was going and if the catnip would even affect my shift to begin with.