Neverwylde (The Rim of the World Book 4) by Linda Mooney Page A

expression, she gave a nod. “I’ll explain it in length later, but trust me. I’m fine. I’ll have minimal pain for a few days, and things might get messy, but it’s normal. Dr. Sandow is aware of it.”
                His gaze bore into hers, as if trying to read her mind. She knew he could sense things in her.
                “If it is natural for your kind, why are you concerned?” he murmured, still apprehensive.
                “Because I’m worried others will smell the blood, and we don’t know how they’ll react.”
                “Then I will tell them—”
                “No, no. That’s not…” She touched his mouth with a forefinger. Pausing, she took all of two seconds to come to a decision. “Oh, to hell with it.”
                Her body protested in ways she’d forgotten about. Worse, she felt her womb convulse as she sat up and she grunted softly, clutching her abdomen. Taking a deep breath, she mentally braced herself. “Hey, guys?” She waited until most of them were giving her their attention before giving them the news. “I need to let you know…I started my period.”
                On the faces of her fellow crewmembers she saw a mixture of surprise and pity. On the Seneecians’ faces, curiosity.
                “What that means is that I’m bleeding. My body is sloughing old blood from within. It’s a natural part of our reproductive cycle.”
                “How long will you bleed?” Kyber questioned.
                She shrugged. “In the past, I’ve gone as few as three and as many as seven days, but my cycle is no longer as it should be. Since I’ve been on the six month contraceptive shots issued to all reproducing females who go on deep space assignments, I haven’t had a real period for some time. I…I have no idea how long this one will last.”
                She saw the Seneecians’ nostrils widen as they breathed in her scent. Sandow also saw the aliens’ reactions.
                “I need to add that, although this part of Kelen’s physiology is natural to our species, we are concerned about the timing. We worry the smell of blood might draw unwanted predators.”
                They continued to stare at Kelen until Massapa got to his feet. “All the more reason we need to be extra cautious.”
                “Not intentionally changing the topic here, but I have a question I’ve been wanting to ask.” Jules tucked his tablet inside his uniform for safekeeping. “That howling noise we heard when we first arrived. Did it come from the creature Hoov killed, or was it Hoov we heard?”
                “That’s a good question,” Mellori admitted. “I’ll confess, I thought it came from the creature Hoov killed, but now…I don’t know.”
                Kleesod got to his feet and stretched. “We need to be moving.”
                “Right. Let’s try to get back to the temple before we stop to eat,” Sandow suggested.
                They rose and collected the bundles. Gaveer snuffed out the fire as the physician made his way over to Kelen.
                “Are you in need of napkins?”
                “I’m fine right now. I thought I might start last night and placed some extra padding down there. I should be okay until we reach topside.”
                “How about pain meds?”
                “I’ll let you know when it gets intolerable.”
                “Well, just in case, here.” He held out his hand to her. Kelen saw him drop a couple of capsules in her palm. Giving him a smile of thanks, she tucked them into her uniform’s breast pocket.
                The doctor nodded and followed Tojun out the tunnel. Kelen trailed behind Massapa, who carried Dox. When they were all gathered in the original