‘Try to be available if she needs help. I will leave a note with instructions on what I would like her to do but she also knows she’s her own person here. She has her phone and knows to call you. She also has a link with me. I’ll link with Dr. Hammond for a late consultation appointment so we can get a better understanding of sex while she’s pregnant.’ ‘Relax honey. You have this more under control than you think. Ari knows I’m available the same as you and if she chooses to shadow me then I’ll show her around the easier things we do.’ ‘Thanks mom. I truly appreciate you.’ We break off the link as I exit the shower for the dryers, one of the quickest ways to get ready. I throw on some business casuals as I link with my beta, Braysen. ‘I’m very sorry for the short notice but I need you on point with the pack today.’ ‘What’s going on now?’ ‘Well I’m very sorry to interrupt your latest fling but Dr. Leroux stumbled upon a stray in need of assistance. Despite telling him I would lay
Sure enough, his yelps can be heard as I leave through the front door. My pace quickens as the morning dew makes my first few steps slick. My young age for an alpha makes for a quick recovery. I’m at the same spot as last night when Colton runs my way. He’s in a blind panic and doesn’t even see me when I step in his way. “Nooooo!” He screams as I wrap my arm around his waist pulling him into the chest to chest position we had when Deven put the IV in. “Please. I’m scared. I don’t want to go.” He whimpers as he struggles lightly against my hold. “I’m starting to understand why you fled the hospital. I promise it’s just for the day. As soon as you’re awake enough to walk we will get you home with Deven.” He seems calmer by the time I finish my promise to him. Without any guidance he has sought out my scent. I keep everything about me calm as I massage the back of his head. My other arm is wrapped around his bottom while I can feel a single hand grasping the back of my shirt. “I w
“Aaron, where are the curtains?” I ask cautiously as I noticed Colton opened his eyes as soon as I took my arm from around him. It’s easy to see the deep unrelenting fear that is consuming him within them. “Carol and Chasity are bringing them in from the closet. He’s a werewolf. It should be nothing to get changed with a crowd.” “Cassius!” Deven shouts my name. I turn in time to see the young man take off in a sprint towards the door. Fortunately the mix of Valium and Vicodin has slowed him considerably and in three big strides I’m in his path. His panicked run is blind as I wrap my arm around him and pull him into me. He yelps and screams as he pushes against me with both hands. I hate doing it but I slide my hand onto the back of his neck. He freezes instantly showing me how intensely ingrained his instincts are. “Come close. Lay your head. You’re having a horrible time right now.” I relax my pressure on his neck as he submits to my suggestion. He grabs the back of my shirt wi
I address him politely yet with a sternness he knows not to cross. “Why’s that?” He’s foolish enough to ask. “Because you need to think hard about what navy blue eyes on an adult werewolf signifies.” Deven jumps in before I do. My attitude notches down a touch when he stops, staring at Deven briefly. “Even though he’s knocked out cold I still expect you to be respectful. Just because he doesn’t remember it doesn’t mean he hasn’t gone through hell to get to where he’s at.” “Doesn’t remember?” I hear one of the students murmur to another. “Dr. Leroux, can you go through the patient’s identification and history while we set him in traction.” “Yes sir Dr. Hamilton.” I nod slightly as I walk a short distance from the bed and take a seat in the wheelchair we brought Colton into the room with. “Our patient today is registered with the hospital as John Doe Sanctuary, case number one, three, five. The only known history is that he woke from a coma approximately one week ago. He got sp
The file was nearly a year old and had a lot of pictures included. He had been hit dozens of times with the buckle end of a silver lined belt. He had an extensive second degree burn on his left thigh that had been allowed to become infected and he had evidence of being injected with multiple drugs. Alpha Black ended up putting him in the ICU for a week when it was discovered that he had both silver and blood poisoning. When she went through the evidence given for the ferality trial the first thing she noticed was that the submitting alpha included a lot of very grainy black and white photographs of the rape of children by what was obviously an adult. Upon closer inspection she was able to tell about a dozen photos were garbage as they held the telltale signs of being photoshopped. She didn’t throw them away though. She wants them as a different type of evidence. Once those were sorted out about a dozen of the pictures contained the same individual and there were a good handful or two
It’s 2pm and this is certainly proving to be a long day for both of us. Even though the reversal was given two hours ago Colton has yet to fully wake up. A complication that even Dr. Hamilton isn’t approving of. He came back to the hospital after leaving when he found out the struggle Colton is having. He reached Deven by phone and asked about the panels he drew from Cole last night. He told me when he came back to Cole’s room what he did. After explaining that the panels drawn last night will all take 24 hours to get the simplest ones done and two weeks for the more complex ones, there were several panels that could be run and completed in a few hours to give him a better understanding of the support Colton would need. I agreed to allow them to use the existing IV to draw two more vials for testing. He linked with me a few minutes ago to tell me the results. The main filters of his body, the liver and kidneys, have very elevated enzyme levels. For the kidneys, it’s common for the pe
“Are you okay, Carol?” I ask the nurse, uncertain how far his flailing had reached. “I’m fine sir. I’m going to get this to the lab for processing. Once he’s calm you can try to get him up and walking. Do you have any clothing for him?” “Yes ma’am.” “I think you should be able to get him dressed and I’ll start on getting discharge papers put together.” “Yes please.” He whimpers from beneath me. “I’m sorry that’s what you woke up to. You have a lot of blood in your urine which usually means you have a severe infection. Catheterization is usually a little uncomfortable but not painful. Not the level that you felt. You did very well. I’ll return in an hour to check on the medication on the feeder. Hopefully we can start the discharge process and get you out of here then.” “Yes ma’am. Thank you.” I finish up the conversation. “Are you ready for me to leave you?” I turn my attention back to him. “Yes sir. I’m sorry.” “It’s okay.” I try to reassure him as I slowly climb from around
He finally breaks down, releasing his fears in the form of tears. He yelps several times when a knock on the door signifies the nurse coming back. “What happened? He seemed to be doing fine when I left.” Carol walks in with a large clear plastic cup filled with ice and several bottles of cranberry juice, protein drinks and water. “No! Don’t do it again! I can go on my own!” He shouts as he fights. How has he gotten himself this wound up? I again pin him gently to the bed, fighting to help him gain control of a very broken mind and soul. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize doing the cath would create so much fear. There’s no reason to do another unless you find yourself unable to go on your own.” She chimes in. Gratefully, it helps him to hear those words as she puts what she’s carrying on the bedside table. “Would you like me to fix him a drink?” “No ma’am. He needs to do it. Thank you for the offer.” “You're welcome. You have a little over half an hour left on the feed. I’m going 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