Mated To The Cold Hearted Alpha
Chapter 144

“This formula has a high nutrient and electrolyte content.” Grace held up a bag of creamy, light-caramel colored substance for me to see. “It will deliver the nourishment Hycinth’s body needs to maintain her own health and that of the young pup.”

“Okay,” I murmured.

“Before and after feeding, we need to flush the line.” Grace attached a small vial of clear liquid to the tubing and pressed down on the plunger.

My Wolf’s and my attention was riveted to Grace’s every move as she then unscrewed the empty vial and deftly attached the bag of nutrition. We memorized the procedure so that we could re-create it when the time came.

Grace hooked the bag to Hycinth’s IV pole. She pointed to a small plastic piece on the tubing. “The nutrition is being fed via gravity but the flow rate is controlled by this clamp. It has six adjustable positions.”

“How frequently do I feed her?” I asked.

“We’ll go slowly to start. We don’t want to overload her currently empty gastric system,” Grace responded. “Things like urine and stool output as well as abdominal distention, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation will help us assess the frequency. In general, we would like to deliver about thirty-five energy calories and one-point-two grams of protein per kilogram of Hycinth’s body weight per day as well as two-point-five liters of water. These amounts are on the high-end of the spectrum, but we are having to consider the pup’s nutrition as well.”

The pain in my chest increased. I lightly stroked Hycinth’s swollen belly and worked to keep my voice from trembling, “She still isn’t…. moving.”

“I know,” there was worry etched in her voice as Grace extended her hand to place it on my arm, but she stopped before she reached me, her fingers hanging in midair, and then she pulled away, thinking better of the action. “But maybe this will help.”

I appreciated the concern I saw in Grace’s eyes, but she was right. not to touch me. My Wolf did not take favorably to any female contact other than our mate at the moment. He’d reacted violently in the past. The pain of our loss had just been too great, too overwhelming and all-consuming.

Refocusing my attention, Grace continued, “Now you just need to decide how you want to handle her bodily excretions. Up until this point, the waterproof pad beneath her has been more than sufficient since her bodily functions have slowed to almost nonexistent. However, once we administer optimal nutrition, her gastric system should return to somewhat normal.” Her tone was gentle, easing into the conversation, but it didn’t quite match the elevated beating of her heart, revealing her increased anxiety over my reaction to her words.

“What do you recommend?” I asked tightly.

“One option is to insert a urinary catheter,” Grace explained carefully. “This would ensure complete emptying of her bladder, but there is an innerant risk of bladder or urinary tract infection and physical damage.”

My teeth ground together. Fiery anger ignited inside of me. I glared at her. Grace had been right to be concerned over my response. I didn’t like the idea of any more foreign objects invading that area of Hycinth. She had already been through enough violating trauma to her sensitive tissues. I understood this wasn’t the same. Grace was only suggesting a simple medical procedure. But the problem was I didn’t know the extent of emotional and mental trauma Hycinth had endured. Would she even understand what was happening to her body? Or in her unconscious state, would Hycinth believe someone was violating her all over again?

To a certain extent, I could determine her emotional state through the mate bond, particularly when she was agitated and projecting. I could stop the procedure is Hycinth got upset. But my ability to interpret her emotional stability was really secondary when it came to my unwillingness to take any risk of adding physical or mental strain. That just wasn’t going to happen.

Correctly interpreting my unhappiness with her first suggestion, Grace continued quickly, “Or the least invasive option would be adult diapers. Considering adult diapers would be the optimal choice for keeping bowel movements contained to a smaller portion of her skin, using them to collect urine as well would work just fine. The only potential additional work would be having to change it more frequently.”

I rubbed a hand against the back of my neck. “Okay, let’s go that route.” I didn’t care about any additional work I had to do.

Grace walked to another bag of supplies and unzipped the top. She pulled out a diaper and two additional containers. Returning to Hycinth’s bedside, she deposited the supplies onto the tray table.

“I will be the one taking care of her needs in this matter,” I stated firmly. I didn’t mind Grace showing me what to do, but it would be my responsibility to handle it going forward.

Grace’s motion stopped. She looked up at me, a question in her eyes, silently asking me if I was sure of my decision. Willingness to help was written all over her face. It was commendable and nothing less than I expected from her, but I was done with people touching Hycinth in a private manner, even for medical or caregiving purposes. Hycinth’s choices in regards to who touched her in that area had been brutally stripped from her. I didn’t know what damage had been done to her psyche as a result so I would give my mate the only power back I could. Until she was conscious and could make her own decisions about who touched her intimately, I would be the only one.

I held my ground without speaking.

A slow moment when by. Finally, Grace nodded and handed me the diaper.

I held it tightly while she pulled the blanket aside and lifted the sheet from the bottom, exposing the lower half of Hycinth’s naked body. “Roll Hycinth onto her side, facing away from you.”

Setting the diaper on the edge of the bed, I carefully eased Hycinth to her side.

“Okay, open the diaper and place it on the bed. The tabbed end will go under her bottom.”

I fiddled with the garment for a moment, looking for the tabs and then settled it into position.

“Very good. Now, slightly roll the edge of the diaper, and then slide it under her h*p.”

I did as instructed and tucked the rolled edge beneath Hycinth.

“That’s good,” Grace encouraged again. “Return her to her back again and close the diaper.”

From there, it was fairly easy to complete the process of moving Hycinth to her back, pulling the front of the diaper up through her legs and attaching the tabs to secure it.