Between My Mates A MFM Collection

1st Edition Skye Alder

Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmeta.com/product/between-my-mates-a-mfm-collection-1st-edition-skye-
alder/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Marked By My Mates Black River Pack Book 2 1st Edition

Skye Alder [Alder

https://ebookmeta.com/product/marked-by-my-mates-black-river-
pack-book-2-1st-edition-skye-alder-alder/

Chosen By My Mates Black River Pack Book 4 1st Edition

Skye Alder

https://ebookmeta.com/product/chosen-by-my-mates-black-river-
pack-book-4-1st-edition-skye-alder/

First Bites A First in Series Collection 1st Edition

Skye Alder

https://ebookmeta.com/product/first-bites-a-first-in-series-
collection-1st-edition-skye-alder/

Kept By My Mate Black River Pack Book 3 1st Edition

Skye Alder [Alder

https://ebookmeta.com/product/kept-by-my-mate-black-river-pack-
book-3-1st-edition-skye-alder-alder/
Rejecting My Shifter Boss Rejecting Fate Book 1 1st
Edition Skye Alder

https://ebookmeta.com/product/rejecting-my-shifter-boss-
rejecting-fate-book-1-1st-edition-skye-alder/

Rejecting My Shifter Boss Rejecting Fate Book 1 1st

Edition Skye Alder

https://ebookmeta.com/product/rejecting-my-shifter-boss-
rejecting-fate-book-1-1st-edition-skye-alder-2/

My Reluctant Shifter Match Love Bites Dating Agency 3

1st Edition Skye Alder

https://ebookmeta.com/product/my-reluctant-shifter-match-love-
bites-dating-agency-3-1st-edition-skye-alder/

My Lonely Shifter Match Love Bites Dating Agency 1 1st

Edition Skye Alder

https://ebookmeta.com/product/my-lonely-shifter-match-love-bites-
dating-agency-1-1st-edition-skye-alder/

First Bites A First in Series Collection Tropes to Love

By Book 1 1st Edition Skye Alder

https://ebookmeta.com/product/first-bites-a-first-in-series-
collection-tropes-to-love-by-book-1-1st-edition-skye-alder/
Between My Mates

A MFM Collection
Skye Alder
 Contents

Want a free book?

Protecting Our Mate

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15

Outfoxing My Mates
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
 Chapter 15

Ravished by My Mates
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14

Marked By My Mates
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12

Chosen By My Mates
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Did you know?
About the Author
Also by Skye Alder
Copyright © 2022 by Skye Alder
www.skyealder.com

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval
systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief
quotations in a book review. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of
copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and
storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect are
appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any
similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the
author.
Created with Vellum
 Want a free book?

Check out Growling For My Mate today!

You can grab it Here.
Check out www.skyealder.com for more freebies!
Protecting Our Mate
 Blurb

Raven Fuller is terrified. She came home last night to find

her stalker waiting for her in her bedroom, and she had
panicked, packing a bag and fleeing. She drives until she
can’t keep her eyes open any longer. Spying an abandoned
cabin in the woods, she decides to crash there for a couple
of hours and rest her eyes.

Kai Cook and Easton Wright have always been the closest
friends. Their the best hunters in the pack, and it’s probably
because they always seem to know what the other is
thinking. They’re out hunting when they scent her. Their
mate. They’re confused at first. No one has ever heard of
shifters mating with the same girl before but their wolves
are positive that she’s meant for them.

When they learn that their mate is running from someone,

they’re suddenly grateful that there’s two of them. They just
might need it if they want to protect their mate.

*Warning: This shifter instalove is HOT! It’s a short, quick

read, but trust me, it does not lack in steam or romance.
 Chapter One

R aven

My eyes keep darting to the rearview mirror as I make my way down

the highway. I don’t think I’m being followed, but I’ve been paranoid
this past month and the habit of constantly being aware of my
surroundings is hard to shake. I was sick of always looking over my
shoulder.
It all started two months ago when this guy Brock came to one
of my yoga classes. He had watched me the entire class and just
had this weird kind of intensity to him. When he asked me out after
class, I had gently turned him down. I had been asked out before,
and I knew that I wasn’t bad to look at but I never dated one of my
students and even if I did, Brock just didn’t do anything for me.
I figured that would be the end of it, but instead, he came back
almost every day and asked me out again. That had lasted a week
and a half before I finally snapped and told him in no uncertain
terms that I wasn’t interested. Things had escalated then and I
started seeing him following me home from the gym. I tried to brush
it off but Seattle is a big place so when he started showing up
everywhere that I went, I got nervous. I went to the police after the
first month but they didn’t seem willing to take it seriously. One
officer even told me that I should be flattered! Asshole.
When I came home yesterday and found Brock in my bedroom, I
had panicked. I screamed for my roommates and threatened to call
the cops, and he eventually left, his glare letting me know that this
wasn’t over. I had packed my bags then, needing to get away from
him. I mean, I didn’t even feel safe in my own home now. I got in
my car that night and started heading east, figuring I would head to
Chicago or someplace and try to find a new job and place there. The
gym that I was working at knew about Brock and they already told
me that they would give me a glowing recommendation even though
I didn’t put in a two-week notice.
I’ve been driving for almost twenty-four straight hours, too afraid
to stop for anything other than gas until I can get a couple of states
between me and my stalker. My eyes are getting heavy though now,
and I know that I need to find a secluded place to stop and spend
the night. It’s starting to snow when I see the tiny sign for Ash
Mountain. The road is little more than dirt and I hit my blinker,
figuring that it will be small enough that I can just hide here for the
night. I drive down the main street, trying to find a motel or
something, but there doesn’t seem to be one. Maybe it’s down the
road further, I think as I keep driving.
The road dead ends, and I sigh as I lean my head against the
steering wheel. I debate sleeping in my car but the snow is starting
to come down harder now and it’s already close to zero out there. I
don’t want to pay for gas to run my car all night and I know that if I
shut the car off, I’d freeze before morning.
I let out another sigh, rubbing my eyes before I shift the car back
into drive. I roll forward a foot, and that’s when my headlights
bounce off the cabin. It’s set pretty far back from the road and I
can’t make out much but it looks like it might be abandoned. There’s
a chimney though and I bet that I could start a fire and sleep there
tonight. I’d be warm and save money and if I can hide my car well
enough, no one will even know that I’m there.
I steer my car on to the shoulder of the road, parking behind a
grouping of trees. I’m hoping the snow will cover the bright red
color, and maybe no one will even drive this far down the road.
Everything else was a couple of miles back on main street anyways
and there would be no reason to drive all the way back here. I grab
my duffle bag with some of my clothes out of the backseat and
bundle up in my parka, tucking my black hair into the hood and
tugging on my mittens before I shove the door open and start to
hike towards the cabin.
I don’t even make it fifty feet before I realize my mistake. The
cabin is a lot further than I initially thought, and the wind and snow
are making it hard to see. My feet and face feel frozen and I’m
shivering already. I start to jog, hoping that it helps me warm up
and reach the cabin faster. My breath is coming out in white puffs of
smoke and I start to get dizzy, remembering that I only had a bag of
chips to eat today. I should have stopped to eat but I just wanted to
get as far away from Brock as I could.
You can do it. You’re so close now, I try to tell myself as I squint
through the flurries towards the cabin. My teeth chatter together
and black dots dance in front of my eyes as I continue to fight my
way through the snow.
Just a little further.
 Chapter Two

E aston

I creep through the woods, making sure to keep my friend, Kai, in

my line of sight as we move silently through the trees. We’ve been
hunting all afternoon, and we were just about to head home when
we caught sight of the deer. I knew without even looking at Kai that
we were going to hunt one last time before we headed home. The
snow is starting to come down harder now and it helps to silence
our footsteps. My fur keeps me warm as I pad through the trees,
following after the buck.
Kai and I live together in a house not too far from here. We’ve
always been close, best friends since the day that we were born. We
have a strong connection, and I can tell what he’s thinking without
even looking at him. He can do the same for me and that’s one of
the reasons why we’re the best hunting team in the pack. We know
without looking where the other one is and what their next move
was.
I pause behind some bushes, keeping the buck in my sights as I
wait for Kai to move closer. The snow is starting to come down
faster, and I know that we need to get home soon, before it turns
into a blizzard. I’m sure everyone else in the pack is home with their
mates and families. Jealousy hits me as I think about heading home
to an empty house. I wish I had a mate to cuddle up with on this
snowy night.
Kai and I are the last of our friends to find our mates, and it’s
getting frustrating. I’m so happy that my friends have found their
ones, that they’re happy and settled, but I wish that I had that too. I
know that Kai feels the same way and I’m grateful that I at least
have a friend to go home to. At least I’m not all alone searching for
my mate. I’ve been thinking about trying out another pack. Maybe
I’d have more luck finding my mate if I went searching for her
instead of just waiting for mother nature to bring her to me.
Every time I think about leaving Ash Mountain, though,
something stops me. I can’t leave Kai or the rest of the pack and for
some reason, it just seems like I’m meant to be here. My wolf lets
out a small whine as we think about leaving our friends, our family.
He wants to find his mate too, more than anything, but for some
reason, he thinks we’ll find her here. I always trust my wolf and if he
thinks she’ll come to us, then I believe him.
I see Kai’s wolf through the trees. He’s low, prowling through the
snow and bushes, his eyes locked on the buck. I watch him, my wolf
tensing, ready to run when suddenly the wind shifts, and the
sweetest smell that I’ve ever known blows my way. It’s faint and
mixed in with the cold air but my wolf can recognize it right away.
MATE.
I pivot, my wolf letting out a howl as I take off through the
woods, running as fast as I can through the trees. I can hear Kai
close behind me, and I wonder if I should stop and tell him that I’m
headed to get my mate but my wolf stops me. He wants Kai to be
there for some reason and I trust him. We race through the dark
snowy night, our shifter sight and smell helping to lead us straight to
her.
We’re close to the edge of our land now, and the snow whips
around us as we round the corner and spot her. She’s a small girl,
bundled up in her winter clothes so that I can’t see much of her.
She’s gripping a duffle bag in one hand as she slowly makes her way
through the forest. I wonder where she is headed but my wolf
whines, wanting to claim her.
My wolf looks over to Kai’s wolf, and we both take off at the
same time, headed toward the small girl. As we get closer, I notice
that her full lips are a bluish color and she’s shivering so hard that
her teeth are rattling together. She’s bundled up but it’s a blizzard
and I’m sure that she’s still freezing, despite the layers.
Kai and I skid to a stop next to my mate, and I hear him growl at
me. My wolf growls back, wanting to be the only one near our mate.
My eyes flash at him and he growls back at me again. MATE, I growl
at him and I’m surprised when he says it at the same time. We both
look back to the girl at the same time and I see her eyes roll back in
her head. We shift at the same time, reaching out and catching her
as she passes out in front of us.
Kai and I both wrap our arms around the girl, sandwiching her
between us as we try to keep her warm. We stand there, naked, as
we stare at each other over the girl’s head.
“What do you mean, mate?” I ask.
“She’s my mate,” Kai tells me, sounding so sure.
“No, she’s my mate,” I growl back, my wolf pushing to the
surface.
“How is that possible?”
“You must have made a mistake,” I try to tell him.
“I didn’t. Maybe you made the mistake,” he growls back, and I
can see his own wolf pushing forward.
I don’t know what is happening, but I know that I didn’t make a
mistake. This girl is my mate.
“Let’s get her home before she freezes to death out here. We can
figure this out at home,” I tell him as I lift the girl up into my arms.
Kai growls as I leave him to carry her bag, but I ignore him as I
start to run through the forest towards home.
 Chapter Three

K ai

I chase after Easton and my mate. I want to argue with Easton, but
I’m more worried about getting my mate somewhere warm. Our
cabin isn’t far from here and we should be there in a few minutes.
We’ll get her warmed up and then we’ll figure out what the heck is
going on. My wolf howls inside me, wanting to rub up against our
mate and coat ourselves in her scent.
It’s strange, but I’m not that threatened that Easton thinks my
mate is his. Normally, shifters are very territorial about their fated
ones, and they would have torn out anyone’s throat who threatened
to take or hurt their mate. When Easton said that she was his, I
didn’t feel threatened, just confused. When Easton said that she was
his, I expected my wolf to take over, to attack him but instead, he
hadn’t even bared his teeth. Sure, he had pushed forward but he
was more focused on claiming our mate than on fighting Easton.
Our mate?
I push that thought away as I follow Easton into the house and
back into his bedroom. We had flipped on it when we first moved in,
and he won the master bedroom. I watch as he lays her down on
the bed and I set her duffle bag down next to the dresser before I
head to get her some more blankets from my room. I slip on a pair
of pajama pants so that she doesn’t wake up to two naked men
standing over her before I rush back into the bedroom and wait as
Easton pulls off our mate's shoes and jacket before I grab the first
blanket and toss it over her.
We work together to cover her, but once we’re done, I can still
see her shivering and her lips still have a blue hue to them. Easton
steps away and tugs on his own pajama pants before he steps closer
to the bed. I look back to Easton to see him biting his lip as he
stares down at the girl.
“We need to get in bed with her to warm her up,” he says, and I
watch as he pulls back the blankets and slips in on one side of her.
I wait for my wolf to object to seeing Easton pressed up against
my mate, but there’s nothing. He just wants me to get into bed too.
I frown as I slip in on her other side. I cuddle up to her, my shifter
body giving off enough heat that she should be warm enough soon.
Easton wraps his arm around her waist as we sandwich her between
us. I watch him, trying to read what he’s thinking, how he feels
about all of this.
He looks up, his eyes meeting mine, and I can see that he’s just
as confused about all of this as I am. I also notice that he doesn’t
seem that threatened or upset about me claiming she’s my mate
too. My wolf actually seems to be alright that we both mated with
this girl and if I’m being honest, I’m warming to the idea too.
“We should talk to Slate,” Easton whispers, shifting closer to our
mate.
I nod my head, figuring that if anyone knows what is happening
here, it would be the Alpha. I roll over, grabbing my cellphone off
the nightstand and hitting the Alpha’s number. It’s getting late, and
when Slate finally does answer the phone, it sounds like we woke
him.
“Easton?”
“Hey, Slate. It’s Kai. Something’s happened.”
“Are you both okay?” He asks, and I can hear the worry in his
voice then.
 I look up when Easton nudges me, and I nod as I put the phone
on speaker so he can hear too.
“We found our mate.”
“What? That’s great, man! Congratulations! We’ll have to wait for
the snow to stop before Grier and I come out and meet her.”
“No, I mean, WE found our mate. As in, it’s the same girl,”
Easton corrects him.
Silence greets that statement, and I can tell that we’ve shocked
him.
“Have you ever heard of this happening before?” I ask him.
“No, I haven’t. Are you sure? You’re positive you’re both meant
for her?”
“I mean, I’ve never been mated before, but my wolf and Easton’s
both seemed to think that she was meant for us.”
“Yeah, as soon as her scent hit us, we both just took off for her.
My wolf was going crazy, kept saying mate and pushing me to go
faster to get to her,” I nod even though Slate can’t see me.
“That’s how it was for me too.”
Slate is quiet for a while, and I watch our girl as she sleeps. She
still looks pale but her lips are turning back to normal. She really is
beautiful, with delicate features and small curves. Easton reaches up
and brushes some of her black hair off her forehead as I hold the
phone between us and wait for Slate to say something.
“I’ve never heard of it before, but if your wolves think she’s both
of yours, then maybe she is. You two have always been close.
Maybe this is why your connection was always so strong. If you
weren’t meant to share her, then I’d think one of you would have
killed the other by now. I mean, I would kill anyone who tried to
touch Grier. Do you guys feel that way?”
“No,” Easton and I answer immediately.
“Then I say that you try to share her. Try to both mark her and
claim her and see how everyone feels then.”
I look up and see Easton nodding, and I’m so happy that he’s still
on the same page as me. Excitement courses through me as I think
about sharing this beautiful girl with my best friend. I’ve never
considered that before but it seems right now that we have our mate
here. I can see the twinkle of excitement in Easton’s eye and my
wolf settles inside me as we both agree to try to share her.
Now, we just need her to wake up so that we can try to explain
all of this to her.
 Chapter Four

R aven

I blink my eyes open, straining to see in the dim light. I’m in a

bedroom, and I search my brain, trying to remember how I got
here. I was walking to that abandoned cabin but I don’t remember
getting there and I definitely don’t remember building a fire. I sit up
in the big bed, stretching my hands up above my head. My muscles
protest, stiff from sitting in the car for so long and I long to grab my
yoga mat and work out the kinks.
I throw off the blankets, wiggling my way down from the tall
bed. My shoes and puffy coat are lying on top of the dresser and I
see my phone and car keys next to my duffle bag. I look around the
room, spying a bathroom off to the side and my body longs to wash
off the past two days. I’m about to head that way when I hear a
door slam down the hall and two sets of feet make their way toward
me.
I look around the room, wondering what I should do. Should I
hide? I’m about to duck under the bed when I realize that if whoever
is headed this way wanted to hurt me, they could have done it last
night when I was sleeping. They must have saved me and brought
me home. I stand my ground, my body tensing as the door swings
open.
I gasp when the two hottest guys crowd into the doorway. They
try to walk through at the same time and bounce off each other. I
laugh when they each shoot a glare at the other at the same time,
and they look back to me at the sound. They smile at me and my
body starts to tingle. I try to blame it on almost freezing last night or
on my empty stomach. That’s probably why I passed out last night
but I have a feeling there’s a different reason for why my body feels
like I was just plugged into a socket.
“Hi,” I say as my eyes scan over their large forms.
“Hey, honey. How are you feeling?” The one on the left asks.
He’s got brown hair and light blue eyes. He’s about an inch
shorter than the one on the right, but he’s just as wide. He looks me
over, those piercing blue eyes assessing me as I stand before them.
“Yeah, maybe you should lay back down. You still look a little
pale,” the one on the right says, and I watch as he takes a step
towards me, lifting me back onto the bed.
I take him in, trying to spot the differences between him and his
friend. This guy has darker hair, almost black like mine but not quite.
His eyes are green like a pine tree, and they remind me of
Christmas. He smiles at me and I can’t help but grin back. There’s
something very comforting about both of them and I feel at ease
around them. It’s a stark difference from how I’ve felt around men
for the past two months.
My stomach rumbles, and suddenly we’re all in motion. The one
who lifted me onto the bed picks me back up, cradling me against
his chest as he follows his friend down a hallway. My nipples harden
as I’m pressed closer to the one carrying me and I press my legs
together. I hear them both inhale deeply and they both let out
groans at the same time. The sound travels through me and settles
between my legs, causing a throbbing to start in my core.
“What would you like to eat?” the brown-haired one asks me as
he opens the fridge and shoves his head inside.
“Whatever you have is fine,” I say as the other one sets me down
in a chair.
 He moves to help his friend, and I shift in the chair.
“I can help,” I offer, “Or I can just head back to my car and grab
something on my way out of town.”
“No!” They both shout as they stand up from looking in the
fridge.
I startle in my chair, eyes looking around the cabin.
“It snowed quite a bit last night. You’ll have to wait until the
streets are plowed.” The darker haired one says as he pulls out some
eggs and bacon.
I look around the cabin as they cook breakfast. Their place is
nice, with tall ceilings and comfy rugs covering hardwood floors. It’s
a one-story ranch style house with plenty of room. I turn back to
watch the two men and my legs press together again as I watch
them move confidently around the kitchen together. They work well
together, and suddenly I picture them working together on giving me
pleasure instead of on feeding me breakfast.
I imagine two sets of hands rubbing along my body, touching me
in places that no one else ever has before. I stare at their hands,
wondering what they would feel like cupping my breasts while the
other kissed down my neck, sinking his teeth into my shoulder. I
shudder at that thought.
I never thought I would be into biting, but as I watch the two
men, suddenly, that’s all I can picture them doing to me.
 Chapter Five

E aston

Kai and I make our mate breakfast, working together as a team to

care for our girl. I flip the last egg out of the pan as Kai butters the
toast and pours our mate a cup of coffee. We carry everything over
to the table, taking a seat on either side of her.
“I’m Raven, by the way,” she says quietly, and I realize that we
never got around to introductions.
It doesn’t matter to us, she will be ours either way, but she
doesn’t know that yet.
“I’m Easton, and that’s Kai,” I say before I pass her a cup of
coffee.
“Nice to meet you,” she says quietly.
Kai passes her a plate piled high with food, and I want to laugh
when I see her eyes widen as she takes in the small mountain of
food. She licks her lips and I groan, taking a sip of my own coffee to
try to hide my reaction to her. I look up to see Kai smirking at me
and I shoot him a look.
“Dig in,” he tells her, and I watch her pick up her fork and do just
that.
 She stuffs food into her mouth like she hasn’t eaten in days, and
I make a note to feed her often. My wolf watches her, loving that we
could provide for her. I can feel the happy energy radiating off of Kai
too.
“Where are you from?” Kai asks her as we continue to eat.
Her eyes shift away from us, and she tenses. I look over to Kai
and sees he’s picked up on her change of attitude too. My wolf
stands at attention inside of me, ready for a fight.
“Um, I was living in Seattle, but I’m moving. Do you think the
roads are plowed by now?” she asks, craning her neck to see out the
front window.
“Not yet,” Kai says quickly.
My wolf paces inside of me, not liking how our mate keeps
talking about leaving us.
“Where are you moving to?” Kai asks, keeping the conversation
going.
“Out east somewhere. I haven’t decided yet.”
“You just decided to move one day?” I ask.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and my wolf whines
inside of me. I can tell that Kai is starting to get anxious too and I
keep my eyes locked on Raven.
“I just… I had to get away.”
She shoves another bite of food in her mouth, refusing to meet
our eyes as she finishes up her breakfast.
“I can walk into town. I was actually looking for a motel or
something last night, but I couldn’t find anything,” She starts to
ramble. “I promise I’ll be out of your hair soon.”
“No, you will stay here with us,” I answer her quickly, and I look
up to see Kai shoot me a ‘be cool’ look.
I don’t know how he isn’t freaking out. My wolf is going crazy at
the thought of our mate leaving us.
“Does… does anyone else know that I’m here?” Raven asks.
She seems scared but not of being alone in a cabin where no one
knows that she’s here. It’s more like she’s afraid that someone will
find her. Kai grits his teeth, and I can tell he’s come to the same
conclusion as me and his wolf is trying to break free. I’m right there
with him and I want to tell her everything. How we’re shifters and
she’s our mate, that she’s safe here with us, and that we will protect
her until our dying breathes.
“What are you running from, Ma-Raven?” I correct at the last
second.
She looks at me curiously, stuffing the last bite of eggs into her
mouth and chewing as she assesses me. My wolf and I both sit up
straighter, preening as she looks us over. She swallows her bite,
picking up her coffee and downing half of it.
“I just had to leave.”
Kai and I both growl as she evades the question again. We don’t
like that our mate is hiding things from us, but we know we can’t
force her.
After all, we have secrets of our own.
 Chapter Six

K ai

Raven insists on helping with the dishes, and Easton and I both
growl as we hover over her. She washes while I dry and Easton puts
everything away and soon we’re finished. Easton and I are both
lingering in the kitchen, waiting to see what she’ll do next. We want
to spend as much time as possible with our mate and I know that
we’re both thinking about when and how to tell her what we are.
“Do you mind if I stretch and take a shower? I think I was sitting
for too long,” she says as she rolls her shoulders back.
“Go ahead, honey. Make yourself at home,” I tell her, and she
smiles at us before she heads back down the hallway.
Easton and I follow her, loitering in the hallway as she digs some
mat out from the bottom of her duffle and spreads it out on the
bedroom floor. I grab a broom out of the hall closet and pretend to
sweep as I watch Raven take a couple deep breathes before she
folds forward at the waist. She bends down, touching her toes and
taking a couple of deep breaths. My mouth starts to water as I stare
at her ass, her tight yoga pants molding to her ass perfectly.
Easton moans next to me, and I can tell that he’s enjoying the
view too. Raven spreads her legs, folding forward again and looking
at us from between her spread legs. She giggles when she sees us
lingering in the hallway, pretending to clean while we just stare at
her. Easton and I both grin at the happy sound and she stands up to
face us, stretching out her arms and balancing on one leg.
“Do you guys do yoga?” she asks as she moves onto the other
side.
“No,” Easton says with a smile.
She grins back before she gets down on her hands and knees,
curving her back up and down and moaning as the muscles stretch.
Easton and I both moan with her as we watch her move through her
poses. I picture kneeling behind her, rutting into her while Easton
sucks on her little tits, his hand rubbing between her legs as I pump
into her. I want to run my hands down her back and grip her hips as
I pound into her. I want to look down at her as I claim her and see
our marks on her, Easton’s, and mine.
I blink and see that Raven is done and is rolling up her mat,
setting it beside her bag on the dresser. My wolf rolls over on his
back, loving that her things are now mixed in with ours.
“I think I’ll take that shower now,” Raven says, digging some
clean clothes out of her bag.
“Ok, there’s some shampoo and stuff in there. Use whatever
you’d like,” Easton tells her, and she smiles before she disappears
into the bathroom.
We both hang around the bedroom, neither of us wanting to be
far from her. We discussed it last night, and I’ll be moving into this
room with them. All of my belongings are still next door and I’ll wait
until Raven has all of her things settled in before I move my stuff
over. I want to make sure that she has enough room for all of her
belongings.
“We need to tell her that we’re shifters,” Easton murmurs.
I nod, my eyes staying locked on the bathroom door. I can hear
Raven humming something as she showers, and it brings a smile to
my face. I look over to see Easton smiling too and we both stand
there listening as she hums whatever song is playing in that pretty
head of hers.
 “What do you think she’s running from?” Easton asks me as the
water turns off.
“I don’t know, but we need to find out. We need to know what
we’re protecting her from.”
Easton nods, and then we pretend to be busy when we hear the
bathroom door start to open. She’s changed into a pair of tight black
leggings and an old rock band t-shirt. She smiles when she sees us
both still standing there and I walk over to her, taking her hand in
mine and leading her to the bed. I lift her up and then Easton and I
stand in front of her.
“We need to tell you something,” I start.
She looks between us curiously, and we each reach forward and
pick up one of her hands in each of ours.
“Have you ever heard of shifters?” Easton asks her.
“Um, no. What’s a shifter?”
“It’s a person who can change into an animal,” I say.
“We’re shifters,” Easton finishes.
We stare at Raven and watch as she looks between us, wide-
eyed.
“What kind of animal are you?” she asks after we’ve all been
staring at each other for a few minutes.
“Wolves,” Easton tells her.
“This whole town is shifters. Well, there’s a couple of humans
and one bear shifter, but the rest are wolf shifters.”
“Why do you let humans stay here? It seems like that would be
dangerous for you. If you’re trying to keep your existence a secret
anyway.”
“The humans are allowed to stay and know about us because
they’re mates,” I say, watching her face to check her reaction.
“Mates?” she asks, and I watch as a pink flush spreads across
her chest.
Her hand reaches up and rubs against her neck and shoulder,
and my wolf bares his teeth, wanting to mark her and claim her as
ours.
“Shifters have mates. It’s fated, and once a shifter finds his one,
there will never be another for them. You are our mate, Easton, and
mine, and we will love and protect you until the day we die,” I tell
her.
“Is that why I feel tingly?” she asks, and my wolf howls.
I grin at her, loving that she’s having such a reaction to us.
“Yes,” Easton says with a gentle smile.
“Once we bite you, it will be stronger. We’ll be more connected,”
I tell her, and I watch as her hand squeezes her neck again.
“Can I see you shift? Can I see your wolves?” she asks, looking
between the two of us.
We nod, both of us reluctantly dropping her hand so that we can
pull off our clothes and shift for her. She watches with wide eyes as
we strip naked before her, and then together, we start to shift. Our
teeth and fingernails grow as we lose our skin and fur grows in its
place.
Soon, we stand before her in our wolf forms, and Raven looks
between us with her mouth hanging open. She looks back and forth
a couple of times before a frown line forms between her eyebrows.
“You were there last night. Before I passed out. I remember two
wolves standing there, and it was you, right?” she asks as she
reaches out to pet us.
Our wolves practically purr as we brush up against her, nodding
our heads to answer her question. We sit before her, letting her run
her fingers through our fur. I look at Easton and see that he and his
wolf are just as content at this moment.
Now, we just need to convince her to stay with us.
 Chapter Seven

R aven

My body lights up when they both start to strip, and I try to avert
my eyes to give them some privacy but they don’t seem to be trying
to be discreet. Both of their bodies are gorgeous. It looks like they’re
carved from marble and I want to reach out and run my fingers over
all the dips, ridges and muscles. Working in gyms, I’ve seen a lot of
toned bodies but I have to say that Kai and Easton are by far the
best that I’ve seen.
All of my girly parts light up when they stand before me
completely naked, and I watch in amazement as they slowly start to
shift. In no time at all, they’re standing before me, not as the
ridiculously hot guys I was just ogling, but as two giant wolves. A
memory from last night niggles at my brain and I remember the
wolves in the woods before I passed out.
“You were there last night. Before I passed out. I remember two
wolves standing there, and it was you, right?” I ask as I reach out to
touch them.
They nod, stepping closer to me and rubbing their soft fur
against my legs. They sit before me, letting me continue to run my
hands through their fur as they rest their heads against my legs.
Their wolves are both beautiful with thick dark fur. They’re tall and
big all over, and I wonder if they’re the same size as a regular wolf. I
kind of doubt it. I can’t imagine any animal being this big. They start
to shift back and soon they’re standing before me naked again.
“We’ve told you our secret. Now, it’s time that you tell us what
you’re running from. We can’t keep you safe if we don’t know what
the threat is,” Kai says to me as he eases his hip onto the bed,
taking a seat next to me.
Easton does the same on the other side, and they watch as I
wring my hands in my lap and takes a deep breath. I let it out
slowly, deciding to trust them.
“There was this guy back in Seattle. He came to some of my
yoga classes, and he was always asking me out.”
I startle when both men growl and their arms tense around my
shoulders. I clear my throat, rushing to finish the story.
“I always turned him down, but then he started showing up
everywhere that I went. I tried to file a restraining order against him
but the police didn’t take it seriously. I came home two days ago to
find him in my bedroom and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I
haven’t felt safe there in so long but that was the last straw. I
packed my car and took off. I was trying to hide last night. I didn’t
even want to stop but I was just so tired,” I say and I can feel the
tears on my cheeks.
I hastily brush the tears away as Easton and Kai both sandwich
me between them. They rub my back, murmuring comforting words
in my ears as they wrap their bodies around me. Finally, FINALLY, I
feel safe, and I want to sink into them and never leave.
“We will protect you,” Easton assures me, and Kai nods on my
other side.
“You will never be safer than when you’re with us,” Kai says.
“You’re our mate, Raven, and we’ll never let anyone or anything
hurt you,” Easton promises.
Doubt forms in my gut. These men make me feel things that I’ve
never felt in my life, but I have no experience with men and I doubt
that I could handle one guy, let alone two. Two shifters at that!
 “I’m not sure that I want to get rid of one guy by jumping into
bed with two new ones,” I say quietly.
“It’s not like that,” Kai objects.
“How can I trust that?” I ask.
“We’ll prove it to you. We don’t want to smother you, Raven. As
your mates, we would never do anything to hurt you. We just want
to keep you safe. Give us some time and let us prove it to you,”
Easton begs.
I look between the two of them, noting the sincerity on their
faces. I don’t really think that they would hurt me or try to stalk me
like Brock did, but I’m still a little skittish.
“What do you say, Raven? Let us prove how good we’ll be to
you,” Kai says, as he leans into me further.
I look up into their eyes and feel myself melt. I can give them a
few days, I decide.
“Okay,” I nod, “you have two days.”
If I don’t fall in love with them before the two days are up, at
least I’ll have had a couple of days to lay low without worrying about
Brock finding me.
 Chapter Eight

E aston

My wolf whines, wanting to sink our teeth into her skin and mark her
as ours, but I hold him back. We need to show her that we can be
good mates, that we’re not going to try to force her into anything
like that asshole who was stalking her. If we can prove to her that
she will always be the most precious and important thing to us, then
she’ll stay here and we’ll have her for the rest of our lives.
“What would you like to do today?” Kai asks her.
“We can show you around town,” I offer.
The snow stopped coming down early this morning, but it’s still
freezing cold out and I’m worried about her being outside today
after she spent so much time out in the cold last night. At least if we
went into town, we could pop into the warm shops.
“No! I don’t want to go anywhere,” Raven says, her eyes filled
with fear and unease.
I know that she’s still scared of that guy, worried that he’ll find
her and my wolf growls. He doesn’t like that our mate is afraid, and
he wants to hunt down the threat and kill it. I look over to Kai and
see him gritting his teeth. I’m sure his wolf feels the same as mine.
“We will protect you,” Kai tells her gently, and I nod.
 “You never have to be afraid again,” I promise her.
“I still… I’d rather just stay here today. If that’s alright?”
“Of course, anything that you want, Raven,” I tell her, tucking her
into my side.
Kai meets my eyes over her head, and we share a look, vowing
to each other to keep our mate safe. No matter what.
“Why don’t we get dressed and then we can play cards or
something and get to know each other a little better,” I suggest.
“Okay,” she says, and Kai and I watch as she slides off the bed
and heads down the hallway.
I walk to my dresser, tugging on a pair of sweatpants and a long
sleeve shirt and I see Kai head to his old room to do the same. We
spend the rest of the day at the kitchen table, playing cards and
board games, talking and laughing with each other. My wolf curls up
inside of me, rolling onto his back and smiling every time our mate
lets her walls down a little more with us, every time that she laughs
and smiles at one of us.
My whole body has felt like it’s on fire all day, the need to claim
my mate pressing down on me. I can see Raven’s body reacting to
us too. Her face is flushed, and her nipples are stiff peaks poking
against her thin shirt. She keeps crossing and uncrossing her legs
and I’ve seen her checking both Kai and me out throughout the day.
I can tell that she wants us, and Kai and I both definitely want her.
We ate sandwiches and soup for lunch but Kai and I want to take
care of our mate and spoil her so we planned a romantic dinner. We
set Raven up on the couch in front of the fireplace with a book while
Kai and I worked in the kitchen. We both keep looking up to check
on her, smiling every time we see her curled up in our home. I can
feel peace and contentment coming off of Kai in waves and it makes
me feel more comfortable.
I had always dreamed about what it would be like when I finally
found my mate, and while Kai being her mate too never crossed my
mind, I’m glad that the rest is how I pictured it. It feels like my life
finally has a purpose. I will protect and care for Raven until I die and
I know that Kai feels the same.
 We finish up with dinner, this Italian chicken dish that’s one of
our favorites, and I head into the living room, carrying our mate into
the kitchen and over to the table. I set her in the same chair as this
morning and Kai sets the food on the table. We each take a seat on
either side of her, same as this morning and I wait for Raven to take
the first bite before I pick up my fork and dig in.
Raven praises our cooking, and Kai and I both perk up, loving her
praise. Our wolves howl, pleased that we made our mate happy. We
eat and talk and I’m glad that the same connection that we formed
this afternoon is still there. Raven is comfortable around us, more
open and it makes my wolf relax inside of me.
We finish dinner, and just like this morning, Raven helps us clean
up and I see her yawn. My eyes meet Kai’s and he wraps his arm
around her waist.
“We’ll finish up the dishes. You need to get some rest,” he says
as we lead her back to the bedroom.
“I’m fine,” she insists, but I can see her eyes droop.
“You had a couple of long days, and I’m sure you weren’t
sleeping great since the whole stalker thing happened. You need to
catch up. Let us take care of you, Raven,” I tell her as I lift her into
our bed.
I’m lucky that I got such a big bed or the three of us wouldn’t be
able to fit on it together. Kai and I tuck her in, making sure she’s
settled before we kiss her on the forehead and head back to the
kitchen. We finish cleaning up and then lean against the counter,
both of us staring longingly down the hallway. It’s still early, but
there’s nowhere else that Kai and I want to be than in that bed with
our mate.
We turn as one, not needing words, as we head down the
hallway and into our bedroom. We strip off our clothes before we
each slip into bed with her. I wrap my arms around her waist and
smile when I feel her nuzzle her face into my neck. Her warm breath
fans over my skin, and my cock hardens between us. Kai fits his
front to her back, wrapping his arm around her waist too before he
buries his face in her shoulder, breathing in her sweet scent.
 Raven shifts between us, her thighs opening, and my thigh slips
between them. My erection rubs against her soft curves and when I
hear Kai let out a groan, I know that he’s just as turned on. My
fingers brush against her skin as I take in her delicate features. Her
black hair is a cloud, spread out across the pillow and down her
back. I feel her shift against us again and I freeze, my hand gripping
her hip when I hear her let out a moan.
My eyes fly to Kai, and I see him grinning as he watches her. Her
hips rock again and the smile falls, replaced with a pained look when
he realizes that we never marked her. Shifters can’t come until
they’ve marked their mate and we haven’t done that. Feeling her rub
against us will just be torture until we’ve bitten her. Kai looks at me,
biting back a moan when she starts to move against us more
consistently. His eyes look pained and I’m sure mine are the same
but we both know that we would never deny our mate anything.
Our bodies tense, and we both stay still as stone as our mate
uses our bodies for her pleasure. She’s still asleep, her face calm and
her eyes closed tight as she rocks herself against us. My cock slips
between her legs, my bare skin rubbing against her thin yoga pants.
I can feel her hard nipples through her shirt as they press into my
chest and I bite back a groan as she lets out a moan.
My wolf is pacing inside of me, desperate to get out and claim
our mate. Kai’s dick settles into the cleft of her ass, and he bites
down on his bottom lip as she moves against us. My eyes close tight
when I hear her moan out our names. Wetness spreads across the
tip of my cock and I ease back so that Kai can push forward and feel
her wetness against him as well. He curses under his breath when
he feels the wet fabric against him and I smile. He grins back at me
and we both cuddle her closer as she sighs between us.
I kiss her forehead, and Kai kisses her shoulder as we cradle our
whole world between us.
 Chapter Nine

K ai

Easton and I don’t mention last night to Raven as we bundle her up

tight in her coat. We put my sweater on her and Easton’s hat on her
head before we let her outside. I know that we’re both still nervous
about her catching a cold, especially after she was out in that
blizzard.
We woke her up this morning with breakfast in bed and then let
her take a shower before we asked her to come into town with us.
We wanted to show our mate off and prove that we would always
care for her and keep her safe. It took a little convincing, but she
finally agreed to leave the house with us.
She still seems nervous to go out in public, but we promised her
that we would only go to the store and the bakery and then we’d
come straight home. Once we have her bundled up, we lead her out
of the house and down to town. Most shifters have cars or some
kind of transportation but Easton and I never saw the point. We just
let our wolves run if we ever had to leave Ash Mountain.
We have Raven sandwiched between us, standing guard as we
make our way into town. My wolf whines inside of me. Not claiming
Raven as our mate is killing me, and my wolf hates that she’s not
wearing our mark. I look over to Easton and I can see that he and
his wolf feel the same. I’m hoping that showing off our mate to the
Pack will help to cool some of this incessant need.
We lead Raven into the store, grabbing a basket as we start to
walk up and down the aisles. We watch Raven’s face, and anytime
she stares at something for longer than a few seconds, one of us
reaches out and drops it into the basket. She smiles when she
notices what we’re doing and we just watch her. She keeps doing it
as we walk down another aisle and I want to laugh at how she’s
testing us. I look up to Easton and I can see the way that he’s
watching her. He loves her already and my wolf and I agree. I can
feel my heart swell in my chest as I watch Raven.
Our mate stops in front of a small section, and at first, I think
she’s checking out the pregnancy tests and my wolf and I want to
howl. I can’t wait to see our mate swollen and round with our pups.
Then I look closer and see that it’s not the pregnancy tests that
she’s looking at. It’s the condoms.
I growl and feel Easton tense next to me. Raven looks up at us
with wide eyes, and I lean down to her.
“You can have anything you want in this store but not that,
Raven. When we take you, there will be nothing separating us,
nothing keeping us from planting our babies in your belly.”
Raven sucks in a deep breath, her pupils dilating as she stares up
at me. Easton grabs her elbow, easing her down the aisle and away
from the condoms. I shoot one last dirty look at the condom
selection before I follow after them. The general store isn’t big and
soon we’re done with our shopping. We head up to the front to pay
and I’m just grabbing the bags when Raven gasps.
Easton and I are by her side in a flash, and I grip her elbow
when I see how pale she looks. Her gray eyes look up at us,
pleading for something and Easton and I crowd around her.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” I ask as I grip her waist, shielding
her with my body.
“Brock,” she whispers, her eyes flying back to the front door.
Easton growls, and my wolf bares his teeth, not liking another
man’s name on our mates lips.
 “Who is Brock?” I demand, making her meet my eyes once
again.
“The guy from Seattle. The stalker,” she says, gulping as she
looks around the store.
My eyes meet Easton’s, and I can see the worry on his face too.
He nods at me and I look to the front door, ready to go out there
and kick some ass. My wolf is pushing forward, wanting to rip that
guys throat out and I look around to make sure there aren’t any
visitors in town today.
“Can we get out of here? Please?” Raven begs, and I sigh,
looking back to Clark, the store clerk this morning.
“We’re going to head out the back,” I tell him and he nods,
picking up that something is going on.
I pick Raven up in my arms as Easton grabs the bags and follows
after us. We head out the back door, and I hold Raven close as I
take off for home. We run through the forest, using the trees for
coverage. We get home and I settle Raven in the bedroom, cuddling
her against me as Easton puts the groceries away. I can hear him on
the phone, telling Slate and Finn about what happened. I’m sure
they’ll be on the lookout for any tourists in the area. They’ll help us
keep the stalker away.
I tug Raven closer to me, wrapping her up tight in my arms as
she shakes. I pet her hair as I try to comfort her, promising her over
and over again that we’ll keep her safe, that no one will ever be able
to hurt her or take her from us. Easton finishes us with Slate and
Finn, coming into the bedroom and curling up on Raven’s other side.
She settles against us, and I look up to meet Easton’s eyes over her
head.
I can see it in his eyes. Now that we have our mate, there’s no
way that we’re going to let anyone take her from us.
 Chapter Ten

R aven

I laid with my boys for a while, and Brock actually seemed to slip
from my mind. Something about having both of them wrapped
around me just pushes everything else out of my head.
Then they got up to make me something to eat. As soon as I
wasn’t in their arms, everything came rushing back. Now, I’m pacing
their cabin, biting on my bottom lip as I wonder what I should do
next. The smart thing to do would be to leave. Now that Brock is
here, it’s only a matter of time before he finds me. The thought of
leaving Easton and Kai tears me up inside, though, and my hand
rubs absently over my heart.
They’ve both been telling me that I’ll be safer here, that they can
protect me, and I believe them. Then I think about the two of them
being hurt as they try to protect me, and I want to cry. I don’t want
anything to happen to them.
“What are you thinking about?” Easton asks as he rests his hands
on my shoulders, stopping my pacing.
“I think I should leave,” I blurt, and I feel his hands tighten on
my shoulders.
 “No. We’ve talked about this, Raven. You’re safest here with us.
We will protect you and keep you safe,” he tells me and I see Kai
nod as he steps up on my other side.
“What if you get hurt? What if he hurts you when you’re trying to
protect me?” I voice my worst fear.
“That’s our job as your mate, and we would happily die to keep
you safe,” Kai tells her.
They pull me into their arms, promising that they want to take
care of me, and I melt into them. We eat dinner quietly and I can
tell that they’re both still worried about me. We clean up and do the
dishes silently and I let them help me into the bedroom. My body
starts to tingle and I want to laugh. How can I be getting turned on
in the middle of all of this? I slip off my pants and wiggle my way
out of my bra, dropping them next to my duffle bag on the dresser.
Kai lifts me into bed, and I watch as they both slip out of their
clothes. My face flushes as I remember waking up this morning to
their naked bodies wrapped around me. My body had tingled then
but for some reason, it feels stronger now. They strip naked and
slide into bed on either side of me. They immediately tug me into
their arms, and soon, I’m spooned between them. My body starts to
react, heat flooding through my bloodstream as I shift against them.
Both of them freeze on either side of me as I rub against them.
I’m not sure when I got to be so bold, but I just feel like I’m meant
to do this. The tingles spread throughout my body, and soon, I’m
lost to sensation. My fingers slip under my shirt, running along my
skin as I rock my hips against their erections. My eyes flutter closed
when I feel them pulsing against me and I spread my legs wider,
letting them slip between my thighs.
Rubbing against them isn’t enough, though. I’m not even sure
what I need or how to ask for it. Kai and Easton are both perfectly
still as I move against them and I let out a groan as I blink my eyes
open and look into theirs.
“More,” I moan. “I need more,” I beg them.
Both of their eyes have darkened with lust, and I can feel how
much they want me. They look over to each other and then back to
me with pained expressions.
 “We promised we wouldn’t take you until you agreed to be our
mate. We can’t sleep with you until you’re wearing our mark,”
Easton says.
“But that doesn’t mean that we can’t take care of you in a
different way,” Kai whispers as his lips meet mine.
It's our first kiss, MY first kiss, and it’s perfect. I hear Easton
growl before his lips land on my neck, and I feel him lick down to my
shoulder. Kai moans against my lips, his tongue dragging against my
full bottom lip. My fingers tunnel into his hair and I grip the long
strands as Easton kisses his way across my breasts, taking one stiff
tip into his mouth. His tongue twirls around the bud before his teeth
bite down on my nipple and I gasp into Kai’s mouth.
Kai takes the opening to slip his tongue into my mouth, and I
moan as my tongue darts out to tease against his. I get lost in them
then. Easton uses his tongue and teeth on my nipples, his hands
smoothing over my curves until he seems to have me memorized.
Kai’s fingers grip my hair and hold me in place so that he can
plunder my mouth. I moan, drowning in the taste of him as pleasure
explodes in every inch of my body.
Easton kisses lower, over my stomach before he shoulders my
legs apart. I gasp into Kai’s mouth when I feel my panties being torn
off and pull away to look down my body at Easton. He grins up at
me wolfishly before his head dips down, and he parts my folds. Kai
and I both watch as Easton uses two of his fingers to hold me open
and the three of us moan as one when he leans forward and licks up
my center.
My eyes fall closed as I fall back onto the bed, and Kai comes
down over me, his fingers toying with my nipples as his mouth lands
on mine once again. Easton licks me, his hand tightening on my
thigh as he holds me open to him. My mind blanks, focusing only on
what my two men are doing to me. Kai pulls away when I’m panting
for breath and I moan when he leans down and takes one of my
sensitive nipples into his mouth.
Kai’s hand slips down to join Easton between my legs, and I
almost shoot off the bed when he starts to rub my clit. Easton’s
tongue focuses on my opening then and he fucks me with it as I
moan and writhe under them. I don’t know how they seem to be so
in sync or how they seem to know exactly what I need from them
but I love it.
My body starts to tense, and my back bows off the bed as I feel
my orgasm start to rush through me. I scream out their names as I
come, my pussy spasming around Easton’s tongue as Kai sucks on
my nipples and rubs my clit. They prolong my orgasm like that and I
feel my juices running out of me. Easton licks it up with his tongue
as Kai brings his own fingers to his mouth and licks the digits clean.
I look down my body and see Easton still hovering over my
throbbing sex. My nipples are red and wet from both of their
mouths, and my thighs are still quivering. Even after that orgasm,
my body is still tingling and I look down at both of them as they
stare back at me with lust-filled eyes.
“I need more.”
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 Lameyran
Gmelin,
and Fremy,
Gas. Pflüger. from Lassaigne. Vogel. Raiset.
from
clover
clover.
CO 60–80 5 29 5 27 74.23
CO 28–40
CH 15 6 15 48 23.46
HS 80 80
O 14.7
N 50.3 25 2.22
The most elaborate observations on this subject are those made by
Lungwitz on the different aliments kept in closed vessels at the body
temperature, and on similar agents fed for days as an exclusive
aliment to oxen provided with a fistula of the rumen for purposes of
collection. He found carbon dioxide to be the predominating gas in
all cases, but that it was especially so in extreme tympanies and
varied much with the nature of the food. The following table gives
results:

Percentage of CO2.
Buckwheat (Polygonum fagopyrum) 80
Alfalfa (Mendicago Sativa) 70–80
Clover (Trifolium pratense) 70–80
Meadow grass 70–80
Indian corn (Zea Maïs) 70–80
Spurry (Spergula arvensis) 70–80
Hay of alfalfa or clover 70–80
Oats with cut straw 70–80
Yellow Lupin (Lupinus luteus) 60–70
Vetch (Vicia sativa) 60–70
Oats cut green 60–70
Potato tops 60–70
Potatoes 60–70
Meadow hay 60–70
Leaves of beet 50–60
Leaves of radish 50–60
Cabbage 40–50
 The marsh gas varied from 16 to 39 per cent., being especially
abundant in cases of abstinence. It should, therefore, be in large
amount in the tympanies which accompany febrile and other chronic
affections. Hydrogen sulphide was found only in traces, recognizable
by blackening paper saturated with acetate of lead. Oxygen and
nitrogen were in small amount and were attributed to air swallowed
with the food. In the work of fermentation the oxygen may be
entirely used up.
Lesions. These are in the main the result of compression of the
different organs, by the overdistended rumen. Rupture of the rumen
is frequent. The abdominal organs are generally bloodless, the liver
and spleen shrunken and pale, though sometimes the seat of
congestion or even hemorrhage. Ecchymoses are common on the
peritoneum. The right heart and lungs are gorged with black blood,
clotted loosely, and reddening on exposure. The right auricle has
been found ruptured. Pleura, pericardium and endocardium are
ecchymotic. The capillary system of the skin, and of the brain and its
membranes, is engorged, with, in some instances, serous
extravasations.
Prevention. This would demand the avoidance or correction of all
those conditions which contribute to tympany. In fevers and
extensive inflammations, when rumination is suspended, the diet
should be restricted in quantity and of materials that are easily
digested (well boiled gruels, bran mashes, pulped roots, etc.,) and all
bulky, fibrous and fermentescible articles must be proscribed. In
weak conditions in which tympany supervenes on every meal, a
careful diet may be supplemented by a course of tonics, carminatives
and antiseptics such as fœungrec oxide of iron, hyposulphite of soda
and common salt, equal parts, nux vomica 2 drs. to every 1 ℔. of the
mixture. Dose 1 oz. daily in the food, or ½ oz. may be given with each
meal.
Musty grain and fodder should be carefully avoided, also
mowburnt hay, an excess of green food to which the stock is
unaccustomed, clover after a moderate shower, or covered with dew
or hoarfrost, frosted beet, turnip, or potato tops, frosted potatoes,
turnips or apples, also ryegrass, millet, corn, vetches, peas with the
seeds fairly matured but not yet fully hardened. When these
conditions cannot be altogether avoided, the objectionable ration
should be allowed only in small amount at one time and in the case
of pasturage the stock should have a fair allowance of grain or other
dry feed just before they are turned out. Another precaution is to
keep the stock constantly in motion so that they can only take in
slowly and in small quantity the wet or otherwise dangerous aliment.
When it becomes necessary to make an extreme transition from
one ration to another, and especially from dry to green food,
measures should be taken to make the change slowly, by giving the
new food in small quantities at intervals, while the major portion of
the diet remains as before, until the fæces indicate that the
superadded aliment has passed through the alimentary canal.
Another method is to mix the dry and green aliments with a daily
increasing allowance of the latter. Some have avoided the morning
dew and danger of fermentation by cutting the ration for each
succeeding day the previous afternoon and keeping it in the interval
under cover.
Treatment. Various simple mechanical resorts are often effective
in dispelling the tympany. Walking the animal around will
sometimes lead to relaxation of the tension of the walls of the
demicanal and even to some restoration of the movements of the
rumen with more or less free eructation of gas. The dashing of a
bucket of cold water on the left side of the abdomen sometimes
produces a similar result. Active rubbing or even kneading of the left
flank will sometimes lead to free belching of gas. The same may be at
times secured by winding a rope several times spirally round the
belly and then twisting it tighter by the aid of a stick in one of its
median turns.
A very simple and efficient resort is to place in the mouth a block
of wood 2½ to 3 inches in diameter and secured by a rope carried
from each end and tied behind the horns or ears. This expedient
which is so effective in preventing or relieving dangerous tympany in
choking appears to act by inducing movements of mastication, and
sympathetic motions of the œsophagus, demicanal and rumen. It not
only determines free discharge of gas by the mouth, but it absolutely
prevents any accession of saliva or air to the stomach by rendering
deglutition difficult or impossible. A similar effect can be obtained
from forcible dragging on the tongue but it is difficult to keep this up
so as to have the requisite lasting effect. Still another resort is to
rouse eructation by the motions of a rope introduced into the fauces.
The passing of a hollow probang into the rumen is very effective as
it not only secures a channel for the immediate escape of the gas, but
it also stimulates the demicanal and rumen to a continuous
eructation and consequent relief. Friedberger and Fröhner advise
driving the animals into a bath of cold water.
Of medicinal agents applicable to gastric tympany the best are
stimulants, antiseptics and chemical antidotes. Among stimulants
the alkaline preparations of ammonia hold a very high place. These,
however, act not as stimulants alone, but also as antacids and
indirectly as antidotes since the alkaline reaction checks the acid
fermentation which determines the evolution of the gas. They also
unite with and condense the carbon dioxide. Three ounces of the
aromatic spirits of ammonia, one ounce of the crystalline
sesquicarbonate, or half an ounce of the strong aqua ammonia may
be given to an ox, in not less than a quart of cold water. Next to this
is the oil of turpentine 2 oz., to be given in oil, milk, or yolk of egg.
But this too is an antiferment. The same remark applies to oil of
peppermint (½ oz.), the carminative seeds and their oils, and the
stronger alcoholic drinks (1 quart). Sulphuric or nitrous ether (2 oz.)
may be given in place. Pepper and ginger are more purely stimulant
and less antiseptic. Other alkalies—carbonate of potash or soda, or
lime water may be given freely.
Among agents that act more exclusively as antiseptics may be
named: muriatic acid 1 to 1½ drs. largely diluted in water; carbolic
acid, creosote or creolin, 4 drs. largely diluted; sulphite, hyposulphite
or bisulphite of soda 1 oz.; kerosene oil ½ pint; chloride of lime 4
drs.; chlorine water 1 pint; wood tar 2 oz. The latter agent is a
common domestic remedy in some places being given wrapped in a
cabbage leaf, and causing the flank to flatten down in a very few
minutes as if by magic. The extraordinarily rapid action of various
antiseptics is the most conclusive answer to the claim that the
disorder is a pure paresis of the walls of the rumen. The affection is
far more commonly and fundamentally an active fermentation, and
is best checked by a powerful antiferment. Even chloride of sodium
(½ lb.) and above all hypochlorite of soda or lime (½ oz.) may be
given with advantage in many cases.
 Among agents which condense the gasses may be named
ammonia, calcined magnesia, and milk of lime for carbon dioxide,
and chlorine water for hydrogen.
Among agents used to rouse the torpid rumen and alimentary
canal are eserine (ox 3 grs., sheep ½ gr. subcutem), pilocarpin (ox 2
grs., sheep ⅕ gr.), barium chloride (ox 15 grs., sheep 3 to 4 grs.),
tincture of colchicum (ox 3 to 4 drs.). Trasbot mentions lard or butter
(ox 4 oz., sheep ½ oz.), as in common use in France.
In the most urgent cases, however, relief must be obtained by
puncture of the rumen, as a moment’s delay may mean death. The
seat for such puncture is on the left side, at a point equidistant from
the outer angle of the ilium, the last rib and the transverse processes
of the lumbar vertebræ. Any part of the left flank might be adopted to
enter the rumen, but, if too low down, the instrument might plunge
into solid ingesta, which would hinder the exit of gas, and would
endanger the escape of irritant liquids into the peritoneal cavity. In
an extra high puncture there is less danger, though a traumatism of
the spleen is possible under certain conditions. The best instrument
for the purpose is a trochar and cannula of six inches long and ⅓ to
½ inch in diameter. (For sheep ¼ inch is ample.) This instrument,
held like a dagger, may be plunged at one blow through the walls of
the abdomen and rumen until stopped by the shield on the cannula.
The trochar is now withdrawn and the gas escapes with a prolonged
hiss. If the urgency of the case will permit, the skin may be first
incised with a lancet or pen knife, and the point of the instrument
having been placed on the abdominal muscles, it is driven home by a
blow of the opposite palm. In the absence of the trochar the puncture
may be successfully made with a pocket knife or a pair of scissors,
which should be kept in the wound to maintain the orifice in the
rumen in apposition with that in the abdominal wall, until a metal
tube or quill can be introduced and held in the orifices.
When the gas has escaped by this channel its further formation can
be checked by pouring one of the antiferments through the cannula
into the rumen.
When the formation of an excess of gas has ceased, and the
resumption of easy eructation bespeaks the absence of further
danger, the cannula may be withdrawn and the wound covered with
tar or collodion.
 When the persistent formation of gas indicates the need of
expulsion of offensive fermentescible matters, a full dose of salts may
be administered. If the presence of firmly impacted masses can be
detected, they may sometimes be broken up by a stout steel rod
passed through the cannula. If the solid masses prove to be hair or
woolen balls, rumenotomy is the only feasible means of getting rid of
them.
In chronic tympany caused by structural diseases of the
œsophagus, mediastinal glands, stomach or intestines, permanent
relief can only be obtained by measures which will remove these
respective causes.
 CHRONIC TYMPANY OF THE RUMEN.

Causes: catarrh of rumen, impaction of manifolds, debility, paresis, peritoneal

adhesions, neoplasms, concretions, sudden change in diet, gastric congestion,
lesions of gullet, or of mediastinal glands. Symptoms are usually after feeding only,
inappetence, rumbling, costiveness, rumen indentable. Treatment: obviate causes,
give salines, acids, bitters, and water, laxative food, carminatives, antiseptics,
electricity, emetic tartar, eserine, pilocarpin, barium chloride, apomorphin.

Causes. The persistence of causes of acute tympany may lead to

the appearance of the condition after each meal, or even in the
intervals between meals. Among the more specific causes may be
named catarrhal inflammation of the rumen, impaction of the third
stomach, paresis of the rumen, general debility, peritoneal adhesions
affecting the viscus, tuberculosis, actinomycosis or other morbid
productions in its walls, hernia of the reticulum into the chest, hard
stercoral, hair or wool balls, or masses or foreign bodies in the
rumen, and the ingestion of a very fermentescible quality of food.
When the rumen is affected by catarrh or paresis or debility, even
ordinary food will lead to tympany, but much more so any food to
which the animal has been unaccustomed (green for dry, or dry for
green, grain for grass or hay, or beans or peas for grain). Also food in
process of fermentation, or the seat of fungoid growth.
Again, so intimately related are the different stomachs that
derangement of one instantly impairs the functions of the other, and
thus a slowly progressive impaction of the third stomach leads to
torpor of the first, and the aggregation of more or less of its contents
into solid, fermenting masses. In the same way congestion of either
the third or fourth stomach impairs the functions of the rumen and
induces tympany.
Morbid conditions affecting the functions of the œsophagus and
interfering with rumination and eructation of gas are familiar causes.
For example, strictures and saccular dilations of the tube, and
enlargements—tubercular, sarcomatous, actinomycotic,—of the
mediastinal glands.
The symptoms do not differ from those of acute tympany
excepting that they are less severe; and are continuous or remittent,
suffering a material aggravation after feeding. Rumination may be
suppressed or tardy, the bowels also are torpid, the fæces glazed, and
the ordinary intestinal rumbling little marked. When the tympany
has temporarily subsided, the knuckles, pressed into the left side, can
often be made to strike against the hard, solid impacted mass of
ingesta. Symptoms of impacted manifolds may also be patent and
the patient steadily loses condition.
Treatment must be directed toward the removal of the special
cause of the trouble, and if this cannot be secured, as in tuberculosis,
the case is hopeless. In cases of solid masses in the rumen the free
use of common salt with a drachm of hydrochloric acid, and one
grain strychnine with each meal, and a free access to water may
succeed. The food had best be restricted to gruels and sloppy mashes.
The daily use of electricity through the region of the paunch is an
important accessory. The common salt may be increased as required,
so as to keep up a very relaxed condition of the bowels.
In obstinate cases of this kind puncture may be resorted to and an
attempt made to break down the impacted masses with a steel rod
introduced through the cannula. Should this also fail the solid
masses or foreign bodies may be extracted by rumenotomy.
In simple catarrh of the rumen the continued use of strychnine
with gentian, and sulphate of iron, may prove successful under a
carefully regulated diet. Oil of turpentine, balsam of copaiba, or
balsam of tolu may also prove useful, or in other cases extract of
hamamelis, or of wild cherry bark. While strychnine and electricity
are to be preferred to rouse the muscular activity of the viscus, such
agents as tartar emetic, emetine, apomorphin, eserine, pilocarpin
and barium chloride are recommended and may be resorted to in
case of necessity.
 OVERLOADED (IMPACTED) RUMEN.

Definition. Causes, excess of rich unwonted food, gastric torpor, paresis,

starvation, debility, partially ripened, poisonous seeds, paralyzing fungi or
bacteria, lead, cyanides, congestion of rumen, chlorophyll, acrids, dry, fibrous
innutritious food, lack of water, enforced rest on dry food, over-exertion, salivary
fistula or calculus, diseased teeth or jaws, senility. Symptoms, suspended
rumination, inappetence, anxious expression, arched back, bulging pendent left
flank, impressible, no friction sounds, excessive crepitation, hurried breathing,
colics, grunting when moved, diarrhœa, stupor, cyanosis. Signs of improvement.
Phrenic rupture. Diagnosis from tympany, pneumonia, or gastro-intestinal catarrh.
Treatment, hygienic, antiseptic, stimulants, puncturing, purgation, rumenotomy.

Definition. The overdistension of the rumen with solid food is

characterized by two things, the excess of ingesta which produces the
torpor or paresis which is common to all over-filled hollow viscera,
and the comparative absence of fermentation and evolution of gas. If
the ingesta is of a more fermentescible nature the rapid evolution of
gas occurs before this degree of repletion with solid matters can be
reached, and the case becomes one of tympany, but if the contents
are comparatively lacking in fermentability they may be devoured in
such quantity as to cause solid impaction.
Causes. Overloading of the rumen is especially common as the
result of a sudden access to rich or tempting food to which the
animal has been unaccustomed. Accidental admittance to the
cornbin, breaking into a field of rich grass, clover, alfalfa, corn,
sorghum, vetches, tares, beans, peas, or grain, or into a barrel of
potatoes or apples will illustrate the common run of causes. A pre-
existing or accompanying torpor or paresis of the stomach is a most
efficient concurrent cause, hence the affection is especially common
in animals debilitated by disease or starvation, but which have
become convalescent or have been suddenly exposed to the
temptation of rich food. For the same reason it is most likely to occur
with food which contains a paralyzing element, as in the case of the
following when they have gone to seed but are not yet fully ripened:
Rye grass, intoxicating rye grass, millet, Hungarian grass, vetches,
tares and other leguminosæ, and to a less extent, wheat, barley, oats
and Indian corn. The same may come from the paralyzing products
of fungi or bacteria in musty fodder or of such chemical poisons as
lead, and the cyanides.
A catarrhal affection of the rumen, and the congestion produced by
irritant plants, green food with an excess of chlorophyll, and the
whole list of irritants and narcotico-acrids, will weaken the first
stomach and predispose to overdistension.
Anything which lessens the normal vermicular movements of the
rumen and hinders regurgitation and rumination tends to impaction,
and hence an aliment which is to a large extent fibrous, innutritious,
and unfermentable, such as hay from grass that has run to seed and
been threshed, the stems of grasses that have matured and withered
in the pastures, fodder that has been thoroughly washed out by heavy
rains, sedges, reedgrass, rushes, chaff, finely cut straw, and in the
case of European sheep, the fibrous tops of heather contribute to this
affection. Lack of water is one of the most potent factors, as an
abundance of water to float the ingesta is an essential condition of
rumination. Hence pasturage on dry hillsides, prairies or plains,
apart from streams, wells or ponds is especially dangerous unless
water is supplied artificially, and the winter season in our Northern
states, when the sources of drinking water are frozen over, and when
the chill of the liquid forbids its free consumption, is often hurtful.
Gerard attributes the affection to constant stabulation. This,
however, has a beneficial as well as a deleterious side. It undermines
the health and vigor, and through lack of tone favors gastric torpor
and impaction, but it also secures ample leisure for rumination,
which is so essential to the integrity of the rumen and favors the
onward passage of its contents. With dry feeding and a restricted
water supply it cannot be too much condemned, but with succulent
food and abundance of water the alleged danger is reduced to the
minimum.
Active work and over exertion of all kinds must be admitted as a
factor. At slow work the ox can still ruminate, but in rapid work or
under heavy draft this is impossible, and the contained liquids may
pass over from rumen to manifolds conducing to impaction of the
former, or fermentations may take place, swelling up the mass of
ingesta and distending the walls of the first stomach. Similarly, cattle
and sheep that are hurried off on a rapid march with full stomachs
are greatly exposed to both tympany and impaction.
In speaking of dry, fibrous food and lack of water as factors, we
must avoid the error of supposing that succulent or aqueous food is a
sure preventive. In a catarrhal condition of the rumen or in a state of
debility, impaction may readily occur from the excessive ingestion of
luscious grass, wheat bran, potatoes, apples, turnips, beets, or
cabbage.
Finally defects in the anterior part of the alimentary tract may tend
to impaction. Salivary fistula or calculus cutting off the normal
supply of liquid necessary for rumination, tends to retention and
engorgement. Diseased teeth and jaws interfering with both the
primary and secondary mastication has the same vicious tendency.
Old cows, oxen and sheep in which the molar teeth are largely worn
out, suffer in the same way, especially when put up to fatten or
otherwise heavily fed. In this case there is the gastric debility of old
age as an additional inimical feature.
Symptoms. These vary with the quantity and kind of ingesta also
to some extent with the previous condition of the rumen, sound or
diseased. They usually set in more slowly than in tympany. On the
whole the disease appears to be more common in the stable than at
pasture. The animal neither feeds nor ruminates, stands back from
the manger, becomes dull, with anxious expression of the face,
arching of the back and occasional moaning especially if made to
move. The abdomen is distended but especially on the left side,
which however hangs more downward and outward and tends less to
rise above the level of the hip bone than in tympany. If it does rise
above the ilium this is due to gas and it is then elastic, resilient and
resonant on percussion at that point. The great mass, and usually the
whole of the paunch is nonresonant when percussed, retains the
imprint of the fingers when pressed, and gives the sensation of a
mass of dough. The hand applied on the region of the paunch fails to
detect the indication of movements which characterize the healthy
organ. The ear applied misses the normal friction sound, but detects
a crepitant sound due to the evolution of bubbles of gas from the
fermenting mass. This is especially loud if the impaction is one of
green food or potatoes, even though the gas remains as bubbles
throughout the entire fermenting mass, instead of separating to form
a gaseous area beneath the lumbar transverse processes.
The respiration is hurried, labored and accompanied with a moan,
the visible mucosæ are congested, the eyes are protruded and glassy
from dilatation of the pupils, the feet are propped outward, and the
head extended on the neck. There may be signs of dull colicy pains,
movements of the tail and shifting of the hind feet, in some cases the
patient may even lie down but never remains long recumbent. There
may be occasional passages of semi-liquid manure, though usually
the bowels are torpid and neither passages nor rumbling sounds on
the right side can be detected. When moved the animal usually
grunts or moans at each step, and especially when going down hill,
owing to the concussion of the stomach on the diaphragm. In cases
due to green food the irritation may extend to the fourth stomach
and intestines and a crapulous diarrhœa may ensue. The
temperature remains normal as a rule. The disease is more
protracted than tympany, yet after several hours of suffering and
continual aggravation the dullness may merge into stupor, the
mucosæ become cyanotic and death ensues from shock, asphyxia, or
apoplexy.
Course. Termination. Many cases recover in connection with a
restoration of the contractions of the rumen, the eructation of gas, in
some rare cases vomiting or spasmodic rejection of quantities of the
ingesta, and the passage of gas by the bowels. This may be associated
with a watery diarrhœa, and loud rumbling of the right side, which
may continue for twenty-four hours or longer. With the subsidence
of the diarrhœa there comes a return of health, or there may remain
slight fever, inappetence, suspended or impaired rumination,
dullness, listlessness, and a mucous film on the fæces. This indicates
some remaining gastro-enteritis.
In some instances there is rupture of the diaphragm with marked
increase in the abdominal pain and the difficulty of breathing. In
others there is a laceration of the inner and middle coats of the
rumen so that the gas diffuses under the peritoneum and may even
be betrayed by an emphysematous extravasation under the skin.
 Diagnosis. From tympany this is easily distinguished by the
general dullness on percussion, the persistence of the indentation
caused by pressure, the outward and downward rather than the
upward extension of the swelling, and the slower development of the
affection.
It is far more likely to be confounded with pneumonia, which it
resembles in the hurried, labored breathing, the moans emitted in
expiration, in the dullness on percussion over the posterior part of
the chest, it may be even forward to the shoulders, and in the
cyanotic state of the mucosæ. The distinction is easily made by the
absence of hyperthermia, and of crepitation along the margins of the
nonresonant areas in the lungs, by the fact that the area of chest
dullness covers the whole posterior part of the thorax to a given
oblique line, and by the history of the case and the manifest
symptoms of overloaded stomach, not with gas but with solids. From
gastro-intestinal catarrh it may be distinguished by the more rapid
advance of the symptoms and by the absence of the slight fever
which characterizes the latter.
Treatment. Slight cases may be treated by hygienic measures only.
Walking the animal uphill, injections of cold water, friction on the
left side of the abdomen to rouse the rumen to activity, antiseptics as
in tympany to check further fermentation, and stimulants to
overcome the nervous and muscular torpor, may be employed
separately or conjointly. When it can be availed of, a rubber hose
may be wound round the abdomen and a current of cold water forced
through it.
When further measures are demanded we should evacuate any gas
through the probang or a cannula, as in tympany, and thus relieve
tension and then resort to stimulants and purgatives. Common salt 1
℔. is of value in checking fermentation, and may be added to 1 ℔.
Glauber salts in four or five quarts of warm water. A drachm of
strong aqua ammonia or 2 oz. oil of turpentine and ½ drachm of nux
vomica may be added. Bouley advocated tartar emetic (2 to 3
drachms), and Lafosse ipecacuan (1 oz. of the wine) to rouse the
walls of the rumen, and more recently pilocarpin (ox 3 grs.), eserine
(ox 2 grs.) and barium chloride (ox 15 grs.), have offered themselves
for this purpose. The three last have the advantage of adaptability to
hypodermic use, and prompt action. The repetition of stimulants and
nux vomica may be continued while there appears any prospect of
restoring the normal functions of the paunch, and when all other
measures fail the only hope lies in rumenotomy.
Rumenotomy. The warrant for this operation is found in the
entire lack of movement in the rumen, the absence of eructation, the
cessation of rumbling and motion of the bowels, and the deepening
of the stupor in which the patient is plunged. The longer the delay
and the deeper the stupor and prostration the less the likelihood of a
successful issue from the operation. The animal is made to stand
with its right side against a wall, and its nose held by the fingers or
bulldog forceps. If judged necessary a rope may be passed from a
ring in the wall in front of the shoulder around the animal to another
ring behind the thigh and held tight. Or a strong bar with a fulcrum
in front, may be pressed against the left side of the body, and well
down so as to keep the right side fast against the wall. A line may be
clipped from the point of election for puncture in tympany down for
a distance of six inches. A sharp pointed knife is now plunged
through the walls of the abdomen and rumen in the upper part of
this line, and is slowly withdrawn, cutting downward and outward
until the opening is large enough to admit the hand. The lips of the
wound in the overdistended stomach will now bulge out through to
the wound in the abdominal walls, and three stitches on each side
may be taken through these structures to prevent displacement as
the stomach is emptied and rendered more flaccid. A cloth wrung out
of a mercuric chloride solution may be laid in the lower part of the
wound to guard against any escape of liquid into the peritoneal
cavity. The contents may now be removed with the hand, until the
organ has been left but moderately full. Two or three stable
bucketfuls are usually taken, but it is by no means necessary nor
desirable that the rumen be left empty, as a moderate amount of food
is requisite to ensure its functional activity. As a rule at least fifty
pounds should be left. Before closing the wound and especially in
cases due to dry feeding, it is well in a tolerably large animal to
introduce the hand through the demicanal to ascertain if impactions
exist in the third stomach and to break up these so far as they can be
reached. This done, the edges of the wound in the stomach are to be
carefully cleansed, washed with the mercuric chloride solution and
sewed together with carbolated catgut, care being taken to turn the
mucosa inward and to retain the muscular and peritoneal layers in
close contact with each other. It will usually be convenient to cut first
the two lower stitches through the abdominal walls, and suture from
below upward. When finished the peritoneal surface of the gastric
wound may be again sponged with the mercuric chloride solution,
together with the edges of the wound in the abdominal walls. Finally
the abdominal wound is sutured, the stitches including the skin only
or the muscular tissues as well. The smooth surface of the paunch
acts as an internal pad and support, and with due care as to
cleanliness, antisepsis and accuracy of stitching, it is rare to find any
drawback to continuous and perfect healing. It is well to restrict the
animal for three days to well boiled gruels, and for ten days to soft
mashes in very moderate amount lest the wound in the paunch
should be fatally burst open before a solid union has been effected.
 RUMINITIS. INFLAMMATION OF THE
RUMEN.
Prevalence in different genera. Causes, as in tympany and impaction, irritants,
specific fevers. Symptoms: impaired rumination, tympanies, impactions, depraved
appetite, fever, nervous disorders. Lesions: hyperæmia, petechiæ, exudates, ulcers,
desquamation, swollen or shrunken papillæ. Treatment: remove cause,
mucilaginous food, or gruels, sodium sulphate, or chloride, bismuth, bitters,
mustard cataplasm, electricity.
This is not a prevalent disease but affects animals at all periods of
life and is a cause of tardy and difficult digestion and rumination. It
usually shows itself as a catarrhal inflammation and by favoring
fermentation in the food, and torpor of the muscular walls of the
organ contributes to tympany and impaction. It is more common in
the ox than in the sheep owing, perhaps, to the more habitual
overloading of the stomach and to the hurried, careless manner of
feeding. In the goat it is rare.
Causes. Among the causes may be named tympany and
overloading, so that all the dietary faults that lead to these may be set
down as causes of inflammation. Irritants taken with the food,
whether in the form of acrid plants (ranunculaceæ, euphorbiaceæ,
etc.), musty fodder, irritant products in spoiled fodder, aliments
which are swallowed while very hot or in a frozen state, and foreign
bodies of an irritating kind are especially liable to induce it.
Congestions of the paunch are not uncommon in specific infectious
diseases like Rinderpest, malignant catarrh, anthrax, and Texas
fever, and specific eruptions sometimes appear in aphthous fever
and sheeppox.
Symptoms. Rumination is slow and irregular, appetite capricious,
tympanies appear after each feed, and there is a marked tendency to
aggregation of the ingesta in solid masses, which resist the
disintegration and floating which is necessary to rumination, and
favor the occurrence of putrid fermentation. There is usually a
tendency to lick earth, lime from the walls, and the manger, and a
depraved appetite shown in a desire to chew and swallow foreign
bodies of many kinds. Vomiting or convulsive rejection of the
contents of the rumen is not unknown (Vives, Pattaes). There is
slight fever with heat of the horns and ears, dry muzzle, and
tenderness to pressure on the left flank. The bowels may be
alternately relaxed and confined, and bad cases may end in a fatal
diarrhœa. In other cases the disease may become acute and develop
nervous symptoms, as in tympany and impaction. When the disease
takes a favorable turn, under a careful ration, recovery may be
complete in eight or ten days.
Lesions. These are violet or brownish patches of hyperæmia on the
mucosa of the rumen, circumscribed ecchymoses, exudates in the
sense of false membranes and even pin’s head ulcerations. On the
affected portions the mucosa is swollen, puffy, dull and covered with
mucus, and epithelium may desquamate. The papillæ are often red,
and thickened or shrunken and shortened. In the specific affections
like aphthous fever and sheeppox the lesions are rounded vesicles
containing liquid. The ingesta is more or less packed in masses.
Treatment. If irritant foreign bodies have been taken rumenotomy
is demanded. If caustic alkalies, acetic or other mild acid. If acids,
lime water or magnesia. Feed well boiled flax seed, or farina gruels,
and wheat bran or middlings in limited quantity. Solids may be at
first withheld, coarse or indigestible food must be. It may be
necessary to rouse the organ by 10 or 12 ozs. of sulphate of soda with
a little common salt and abundance of thin gruels as drink. As a tonic
the animal may take nitrate of bismuth ½ oz., powdered gentian ½
oz., and nux vomica 20 grains, twice a day. The application of a
mustard pulp or of oil of turpentine on the left side of the abdomen
may also be resorted to. A weak current of electricity through the
region of the paunch for twenty minutes daily is often of great
service.
 HAIR BALLS IN THE RUMEN AND
RETICULUM. EGAGROPILES.
Balls of hair, wool, clover hairs, bristles, paper, oat-hair, feathers, chitin, mucus,
and phosphates. Causes: Sucking and licking pilous parts, eating hairy or fibrous
products. Composition. Symptoms: Slight, absent, or, gulping eructation,
vomiting, tympany, in young putrid diarrhœa, fœtid exhalations, emaciation.
Diagnosis. Treatment.
Definition. The term egagropile, literally goat-hair, has been given
to the felted balls of wool or hair found in the digestive organs of
animals. The term has been applied very widely, however, to
designate all sorts of concretions of extraneous matters which are
found in the intestinal canal. In cattle the hair licked from their skin
and that of their fellows rolled into a ball by the action of the
stomach and matted firmly together with mucus and at times traces
of phosphates, are the forms commonly met with. In sheep two
forms are seen, one consisting of wool matted as above and one
made up of the fine hairs from the clover leaf similarly matted and
rolled into a ball.
In pigs the felted mass is usually composed of bristles,
(exceptionally of paper or other vegetable fibre), and in horses felted
balls of the fine hairs from the surface of the oat, mingled with more
or less mucus and phosphate of lime make up the concretion. These
are found in the stomach, and intestines. In predatory birds the
feathers and in insectivorous birds chitinous masses are formed in
the gizzard and rejected by vomiting.
Causes. Suckling animals obtain the hair from the surface of the
mammary glands hence an abundance of hair or wool on these parts
favors their production. The vicious habit of calves of sucking the
scrotum and navel of others is another cause. In the young and adult
alike the habit of licking themselves and others especially at the
period of moulting is a common factor.
Composition. Hair, wool, and the fine hairs of clover are the
common predominant constituents, but these are matted together
more or less firmly by mucus and phosphates, the ammonia-
magnesian phosphate uniting with the mucus and other matters in
forming a smooth external crust in the old standing balls of adult
animals. The centre of such balls is made up of the most densely
felted hair. In balls of more recent formation the external crust is
lacking and the mass is manifestly hairy on the surface, and the
density uniform throughout. These have a somewhat aromatic odor,
contain very little moisture, and have a specific gravity
approximating .716 (sheep) to .725 (ox). Ellagic, and lithofellic acids,
derivatives of tannin, are usually present, and are abundant in the
egagropiles of antilopes.
In the balls of recent formation, as seen especially in sucking
calves, the hair is only loosely matted together, and often intermixed
with straw and hay, and is saturated with liquid and heavier than the
old masses. These are usually the seat of active putrefactive
fermentation, and being occasionally lodged in the third or even the
fourth stomach, the septic products act as local irritants, and general
poisons. They are therefore far more injurious than the consolidated
hairballs of the adult animal, and often lay the foundation of septic
diarrhœas and gastro-enteritis.
The balls may be spherical, elliptical, ovoid, or, when flattened by
mutual compression, discoid.
Symptoms. Generally these balls cause no appreciable disturbance
of the functions of the stomach. This is especially true of the large,
old and smoothly encrusted masses. The museum of the N. Y. S. V.
College contains specimens of 5½ inches in diameter, found after
death in a fat heifer, which had always had good health and which
was killed for beef. This is the usual history of such formations, they
are not suspected during life, and are only found accidentally when
the rumen is opened in the abattoir.
The smaller specimens, the size of a hen’s or goose’s egg, or a
billiard ball, have produced severe suffering, with gulping,
eructation, vomiting and tympany from obstruction of the demicanal
or gullet, and such symptoms continued until the offending agents
were rejected by the mouth. (Caillau, Leblanc, Prevost, Giron). Again
they may block the passage from the first to the third stomach
(Schauber, Feldamann, Adamovicz, Tyvaert, Mathieu).
In calves on milk they are especially injurious as beside the
dangers of blocking the passages already referred to, the unencrusted
hairs and straws irritate the mucous membranes and still worse, the
putrid fermentations going on in their interstices, produce irritant
and poisonous products, and disseminate the germs of similar
fermentations in the fourth stomach and intestine. Here the
symptoms are bloating, colics, impaired or irregular appetite, fœtid
diarrhœa, fœtor of the breath and cutaneous exhalations, and rapidly
progressive emaciation.
Diagnosis is too often impossible. Tympanies, diarrhœa, colics,
etc., may lead to suspicion, but unless specimens of the smaller hair
balls are rejected by the mouth or anus there can be no certainty of
their presence. If arrested in the cervical portion of the gullet they
may be pressed upward into the mouth by manipulations applied
from without. The looped wire extractor may be used on any portion
of the œsophagus. If lodged in the demicanal the passage of a
probang will give prompt relief. If retained in the rumen and
manifestly hurtful, rumenotomy is called for as soon as a diagnosis
can be made.