I lift my eyes from the screen as the scent of my mate hits my nose. I close everything up and hurry to the door not wanting any knocking to wake Cole. I step outside into the hall wrapping my arms around Ari sweeping her into a chaste kiss. She giggles as I pull away, my mom coming up from behind. “He’s fallen back asleep. I’m trying to keep stimulus to a minimum since he ended up in three panic attacks the first hour after he woke up.” They both nod. “Are they giving him Valium or anything to calm his fear?” My mom asks as we walk into the room. “That would do the opposite of what we need him to do.” Nurse Carol walks in behind the rest of us. Cole stirs with subtle whimpers as he attempts to curl into a ball. Carol walks over to him, petting his head in an effort to wake him gently. “I know my first round waking you was rudely painful but I think the discomfort you’re in now is from not using the bathroom. Will you let Cassius and I help you to the room? All I ask is for you
“Let’s get your legs up and lay you back.” Carol encourages gently. “Is everything okay?” Mom asks from just inside the door. “The uti is causing him a lot of pain.” I explain quietly. “Can I get my shirt? Please. This isn’t enough.” He whines softly. “It’s better if you stay in the gown until this second medication is finished.” Carol attempts to calm his nerves. “Please. Can it wait? I’m feeling really sick right now and it hurts to throw up.” “As soon as this is done we can get you out of here.” I try to calm him as well. “That’s what I need to talk to you about.” She starts cautiously. “The sonographer isn’t available until tomorrow morning and Dr. Atkinson will not approve of releasing him until after he has the ultrasound.” “You’ve spoken to him.” “Yes. When I retrieved the second antibiotic from the delivery system I called and spoke about releasing Colton. He wouldn’t budge.” “Can you get him on the phone again? Colton is not staying the night here.” “Yes sir.” She
“No Cole. You can’t do that.” I chastise gently as I place my hand on his stopping the ineffective yet desperate clawing he has resorted to when the tape failed to give. “Please. It needs to stop. It hurts.” He’s absolutely frantic as I climb into the bed with him. Somehow his instincts are very strong and he immediately submits to the hold I had on him last night. His broken arm is between us as we sit chest to chest. He’s actively crying from the panic and pain that this medication has caused yet none of us know enough to stop the machine. “What’s going on here?” The patient, kind voice of Carol comes back into the room. “Why did you speed this up?” “It’s supposed to run over half an hour, not a full one.” “Which means you didn’t read his chart before coming in here.” “The call button was activated while you were using the bathroom. I came in to see what he needed. I didn’t realize I needed to research him first.” “Then why did you change the feed? Extending the time reduce
It takes an additional two hours to get Colton situated and released from the hospital but in the end I did succeed in getting him out against medical advice. The big win was gaining Dr. Atkinson’s cooperation on working with Deven on additional tests. Dr. Hamilton has also requested that he return for additional MRI scans as the number of breaks he’s found on the young man was unexpected to say the least. I promised I would talk to Cole but emphasized that the young man needs the ability to make his own decisions and I would not force additional tests for exploration purposes. Colton has fallen asleep in the car. It is expected considering the medication that he’s on. I encouraged him to lay against me when he could no longer keep his eyes open. I can tell by the change in the trees outside that we will be pulling into the pack house garage shortly. I run my hand through his hair attempting to wake him gently. It has taken me very little time to discover that his head is the easiest
(Deven’s POV)‘Cass, I know it’s been a long day but something happened while Colton was waiting for you at the pack house. We need to convene a meeting with you and Lunas Charlotte and Arianna.’ I wait patiently for his response. ‘I’ll be there in ten.’ ‘Thank you. Do me a favor?’ ‘What’s that?’ ‘Change your clothes. Non business without the need for a belt. Sheila and I have already changed into night clothes even though we just finished dinner.’ ‘What’s going on? You’ve never requested that.’ ‘You’ll understand when we start talking about the issue that was run into. Have you heard anything from Braysen?’ ‘He stumbled out of the hallway with a bloody nose and decently bruised face shortly after I came back downstairs. He gave me a story claiming that Colton intercepted him taking Clayton to my office for punishment.’ ‘Why did you say “a story”?’ ‘Have I ever told you how much you read into my wording?’ ‘No. I didn’t think it was an issue.’ ‘Sometimes it’s annoying but n
“Can you tell me what’s going on between you, Lauren and David?” He shakes his head. “No?” Cassius is easily as shocked as I am. “Why, little buddy? I can’t help you if I don’t know.” He shakes his head as he speaks. “I tried to go to you. I talked to Braysen instead. He started meeting with them and now he adds to their punishment every day.” “You feel that talking has made it worse?” He asks gently. I can tell that he’s hoping to gain a little confidence to keep him talking. “It did!” He suddenly steps back forcing Cass to grab his hands. He yelps and screams again, fighting to get away. I’m surprised when he succeeds. I know that Cassius allowed him to pull free. What I didn’t expect was Colton’s reaction to the child’s desire to flee. With energy he shouldn’t have while under the drugs he’s on, he leaps from under my arm and across the room pulling the young pup into his legs. Clayton immediately wraps his arms around him, crying softly into his thigh. Colton leans his should
“Cass?” It’s the first time Colton has addressed him directly.Cassius pauses his attempts to disrobe Clayton, allowing the young boy to whimper quietly against him. “The position you need to see his rear while giving him some privacy won’t work out well. Let me help.” He speaks slowly, uncertain about Cassius’s receptivity. “I’m not taking his underwear off.” He responds to Colton. “Easy Clayton. I just need to look but I need you to calm down first. It’s okay.” He picks Clay up, bringing the screaming child to his chest again. It’s a relief for all when he immediately responds. Colton ducks his head against my arm and the ladies are in a state of shock as the damage to the young boy’s body is easily seen. Cassius rocks him gently. Arianna stands and makes her way over to him. “Cass, let me hold him.” Her voice is light and patient as Clayton is lowered to the floor. He turns quickly but remains between Cassius’s legs. It appears that his fight or flight response has not yet se
“I agree. It will happen. What else?” “For the moment, I feel he will be most comfortable in Cody’s tight fit pajamas. I know it seems odd but the medication I am using to make him more comfortable works best with body hugging clothes but he will need his own. Cody is six months older and six inches taller. The summer pj’s will work but the rest of his clothes won’t.” “I’ll be stopping over at the Nova’s house tomorrow evening. I’ll be getting his belongings while I’m there.” Cass and I stop as we see his mouth move but can’t hear what he says. “What do you mean you don’t have anything?” Sheila’s voice is as shocked as I feel. Cassius motions for Sheila to come over. “Hey little guy. I know you’re still afraid but I need you to talk to me again.” He brushes Clayton’s hair to the side. “Do you have any clothes, shoes, stuffies, anything?” “No sir.” “What have you been wearing?” “What they give me doesn’t fit except the shoes. Everything else is very tight and short. I don’t
“It was during his return that things became more active in his case. Alpha Demetri made the trip with his mate to the Shadowlands pack. Turns out she’s an empath and was very sick with silver poisoning. They were able to save her and to the best of my knowledge he returned to Crimson Dawn around the beginning of the year.”“He did it? He made it home?”His face lights up like a child on Christmas day.“Yes, he is with his mate in the protections of Alpha Demetri Black. Unfortunately, his amnesia has not yet resolved and as a precaution, in order to obtain custody of Cole, Alpha Black had to agree to restrict his movements until his mental health improves.”“He’s a prisoner there?”I had a feeling he would take this part hard.“Not necessarily. Considering what little I know about the hell he lived through next door and his encounter with the alpha of Purple Mountain, I don’t see where he’ll have the desire to leave that territory any time soon.”He nods his head a little more relaxed
(Julius’s POV) I smile as the tall frame of my son in law stops and knocks on my open door. “You wanted to see me?” “Yes sir. Please come in.” He steps inside the room but only manages to close the door halfway before the demons of his past creep back upon him. “I would prefer this to be a private conversation but if closing the door makes it feel like you’re going to be punished then I encourage you to keep it open.” I speak my true feelings as he slowly turns around. The look of disbelief on his face. While it takes him several deep breaths he does manage to shut the door by the time I’ve stood from my desk. “Where would you like to sit?” Once again he’s in disbelief. “I need you as relaxed and level headed as possible. Where would you be the most comfortable?” I try again. “The recliner?” He manages to speak after a hard swallow. I nod and allow him to lead. He chooses the rocking recliner allowing him to rock subtlety as Hayden stirs gently. I smile as he console
“I threw a fit. Charles waited until I was outside the courtroom to start punishing me for embarrassing him. He punched me in the face several times before I fell to the ground, then he started kicking me. He kept me on the ground until he was certain Heather and Marcus had left. Even though I had driven my own car to court he dragged me to his. He drove me home, only he didn’t go to the garage. No, he went to the back of the west wing where the room he modified for Cole is. I’ve only been in that room a handful of times when participating in my brother’s torture.” I stop as the memories of wrapping the silver belt around his leg and the condition he was in when I rescued him eight months ago blend together in a confusing mess. Murmurs float around the room, commenting on my unprompted confession. “Breathe, Andre. That was a very difficult truth to admit to. No comments will be made.” I know he’s addressing the pack as I continue to struggle. “You knew what was going to happen to
“I’m concerned about you Andre.” Julius now has my attention only he has crouched down to my level. “While your statement seems to have helped Hayden it gave me the clue I was looking for.” “A clue to what?” “The true reason behind the terror you have in gaining custody of your kids. While any other wolf in this pack saying such a thing would be passed off as simply being very serious about their statement, you stating that you nearly died once to fight for them is something I take very seriously. What happened the last time they were taken from you?” I shake my head hard, holding my breath as I fight against the flashbacks trying to invade my thoughts. “Andre?” He tries again but all I can do is shake my head slowly. “Papa Redmen hit him. He made him bleed.” The innocent voice of my daughter breaks through. “You saw it?” Abe seems shocked that it would be done in front of her. I watch as she nods her head. “Mommy spanked me for crying.” She whines hard before laying against h
(Andre’s POV) Stepping into the pack house is surreal at best. My head is spinning out of control with thoughts I had desperately tried to put behind me. I had relinquished all hope of ever having my kids just for the full force of the unpredictably of my life to cripple me when I need to be my strongest. The house is silent as I pick my way through the crowd. Julius is carrying Harper and Abe is trailing behind the two of us. It seems Julius wants as much of a barrier as he can create between Hayden and any escape route he may manage to find. I’m more concerned about him getting lost inside the pack house than him getting outside it. This place has proven to be a maze to me despite living here full time for the last six months. The house is completely silent except for the television quietly counting down the seconds until the new year. I can only hope that this year is different. That the New Year will actually be the change I’ve needed for years. Shamefully, I feel the dread tha
“To show him the effects that abuse has on others. To prove to him once and for all that what his father taught him is wrong. Besides, Charles has been extremely cruel to Andre as well.” “How so?” “Well, I just learned tonight that Alpha Redmen gave each of his sons permission to have sex, to even rape, at the age of sixteen but lied about the penalty for getting the lady pregnant. Andre has been beaten multiple times for pregnancies. The first two were not his, yet he was mercilessly beaten three times during both of those pregnancies. He was forgiven a fourth when the pups came back not his. The beatings got worse when he got three others pregnant just to be denied the ability to be their father. The two older ones with two different ladies are in better packs than Red Fang but the two with him now. Well, their mother isn’t much of a mother.” I state sadly as I pull into the garage, turning off the motor as the door closes behind me. “I need your help. These pups are terrified a
(Julius’s POV)It’s an hour's drive to get from Red General to the Red Moon pack house. Since Charles has been removed, moving through the Red Fang territory has become easier as the borders are completely open while the council is here. The bad news is, it’s gotten a lot more dangerous. While open borders allows the pack members to come and go, even move out if they please, it also allows rogues to infiltrate the territory. I’ve had to up my own guards on the border to account for the vulnerability it’s created for my own pack. The council hasn’t been happy with me accompanying Andre to and from the territory. They felt that, as the coronated heir, he should be able to handle this himself. I took the opportunity of his consistent meltdowns to save the fallout from such visits showing the council exactly how severe his abuse has been. I cringe every time I hear him speak about his brother, Cole. How has Cole even survived if his analogy of the situation is true? That Cole’s suffering
“It’s quite alright. We are used to this type of reaction from children who come in abused. I can tell by the way he’s calmed that you are his biological father. We’ve been waiting for you.” I’m stunned when a voice comes from behind me instead of the nurse in front of me. I turn to see an unfamiliar woman in the doorway in front of Julius and Alex. Something about her unnerves deeply and my immediate reaction is to step back. “Easy Andre, she’s here to help.” Julius tries to calm me. We study each other silently as I sway gently. “I understand that you have had a very rough time with the council’s family court. I promise it is different this time. Take a seat so we can talk. Are you okay with me sitting on Harper’s bed?” I nod slowly without moving. “Mr. Redmen, do you think you can get him to take this?” The nurse hands me a little cup of purple liquid. “What is it?” “Tylenol 3. It has a small amount of codeine in it. Humans won’t give it to children this young but it has be
I wake up yelping, screaming and fighting from the fitful dream I fell into during the ride to Red General. I cling hard to the back of Alpha Julius’s shirt as he silently embraces me. I had no idea how hard dad had been on me until I went to Blister Ridge. I had to harden up while I was back at Red Fang which has not only delayed my ability to process what has happened but it has added to the trauma I’m already struggling with. Josh has diagnosed me with complex PTSD, he did shortly after I moved into this pack after Cole disappeared. He simplified the description as being multiple traumatic events instead of just one causing the post trauma anxiety. Julius waits patiently for me to get myself together as going into the hospital with my own PTSD on full display won’t help me with my kids. I lift myself from his shoulder slowly, taking several deep breaths with my eyes still closed. It’s only as I open them and look into his blue-green eyes that he speaks. “Are you ready?” His voic