“Under what grounds do we have for doing such a thing?” Arthur sounds surprised that Andre would make such a request. “My father used the link to torture Cole for weeks when he first got here. He also set everything up for Cole to be attacked by five of his pack members knowing Cole would run after dad abandoned him here.” Andre sounds exasperated that he has to even explain what they are already aware of. “Can you explain why your brother would agree to leave Crimson Dawn just to run back to them after twelve weeks at White Ridge? If things are so bad at Red Fang for him why did he choose to return and why is he choosing now to try and run?” I’m shocked at the sudden callousness that Arthur has towards Cole. “Alpha Whiteman and I met with the three of you multiple times concerning the attack Cole was under where his father was using his broken linking ability to torture him. All of you agreed that it was torture and approved using the link blocking medication. Why are you suddenl
“I can’t tell them all that.” He speaks without being spoken to. “It’s okay, Amos. Give us his message.” Marie encourages. He shakes his head. “It’s not nice.” “We won’t penalize you no matter what is said. Please, tell us his message.” Arthur also encourages. Amos finally nods as he places his hands over his ears. “Andre, you need to slow down and concentrate. Your distance makes this very difficult.” It doesn’t take long for Amos to start concentrating on his link.“He says that he can’t believe Cole was correct about the council. He’s overheard Cole tell Jamie several times that he refuses to get the council involved because it doesn’t do him any good. That they only make things worse for him. Up until now, he simply thought that maybe his dad was paying off the local council members that came to investigate after Cole returned from each of his other runs. He truly wanted to believe that the council was formed to help wolves in bad situations like his brother is in but now h
(Cole’s POV)I awaken slowly to the rudeness of immeasurable pain. I can’t help but yelp just to find that the sound of my own painful cry causes me even more discomfort. It takes a concerted effort to settle into a quiet whimper yet somehow I do manage it. “Try to relax, Cole. I hit the call button to see if I can get you some pain killers.” I cringe at the sound of his kind, yet familiar voice. “Good afternoon, Dr. Moore. How may I help you?” I yelp harshly as I cover my ears in an attempt to dull the sound of the voice coming over the speaker. “Cole has woken up and seems to be in a lot of pain. Can you check his chart for the next dose of Vicodin?”“Yes sir.” I’m curled into the fetal position by the time the short conversation concludes. It’s only when I feel hands gently rubbing the tops of mine that I react again, rather over react to the simple stimulation. Yelping and screaming I fight back. It doesn’t matter that my head is already screaming in pain, I’m weak and that’
(Cole’s POV)I sit upon the cold, hard, unforgiving tile floor as I struggle to recover. My stomach flips violently as I lean my back against the coolness of the tub. I pull my knees to my chest, knowing that my need to hurl is done, I lay my head upon my arms. The flood gates I was desperately trying to keep at bay finally break loose of their confinement and I can’t help but bawl. For the first time ever I regret the decision not to talk, to not take Alpha Black’s offer of sanctuary from the impending doom. How could I have dismissed so easily the help Jamie could have provided me? How could I have been so careless to forget the help he has provided me over the last two years? Just because I’m not conscious enough to remember him being there doesn’t mean I haven’t been told. Olivia has repeatedly told me stories about Jamie bringing me back to my room. How he and his father have used glue to seal the worst of my wounds. She has even heard her father brag about the beatings he’s giv
(Jamison’s POV)I knew today would be hard, I just didn’t anticipate how hard it would be. Last night was the first time Cole has slept since returning to Dr. Moore’s house two days ago. As soon as I get into a decent slumber I’m awakened by his screams as he begs out loud to be left alone. These very real nightmares often trigger his asthma resulting in me having to fight him to get the nebulizer mask on him. I’ve gotten more sleep than him but we’re both running on fumes and it pains me to wake him this morning. He finally found some peace and managed to fall asleep sometime after I did, which for me, was two this morning. I managed to get up around eight giving me plenty of time to grab breakfast and start packing my bags. Considering all the extra supplies Alpha Black is sending home with me, I’ve got a large amount to get out to the boarding area. I move quietly around the room pulling all the items I unpacked from the closet and dresser, folding them before placing them in my
“Dad took the belt, hit me with my clothes on until I collapsed from the pain before picking me up and tying me to his chair. He talked while he worked which is how I found out that Kris’s belting would be his age four times. Dad wanted him to feel this one. I begged for him not to as I had known for a long time what that meant. Kris took fifteen more with his clothes on before receiving thirty without. First round was with clothes from me. Second round was the loop end from dad. He was whimpering by the time dad stopped but he didn’t fight until dad pulled his pants down. He then received his age first with the loop end then with the buckle end. He stopped abusing me. Started acting as if I didn’t exist until I turned fifteen. It was three years later when dad started consulting him on punishments and scheduling time to give me to him.”“What has he done to you?” I whisper in complete shock as to what he’s shared with me. He has never gone in depth like that before. “I’ve already t
(10 year old Cole’s POV)“Will you shut the hell up? I’m trying to sleep and your pathetic crying is keeping me from doing that.” Kristoph growls at me callously. “It hurts just to breathe.” I whisper through my tears. While I’ve had several fractured wrists this is the first time my chest and back have hurt this badly. “Then stop breathing or I will give you something to cry about.” I duck my head in my arms, crying silently as his words are a crushing blow to the sympathy I was hoping to receive a little of. The older I get the more obvious it is that dad treats me differently from my siblings. “I said shut up.” Kristoph’s frustration with me grows as I silently ask why I sleep in the same room as him. A sudden crack of leather against my bare skin lights up the cuts and bruises already there as I scream from the pain it produces. “I told you to shut up. I can’t sleep with your pathetic crying in the room.” He’s wailing on me repeatedly as he screams expletives no child shou
“Can you handle me talking to you?” He asks quietly. “Yes sir.” I respond just as quiet. His scent is calming despite not having any pups of his own but surprisingly, there’s not a single hint of his aura present. “It was heartbreaking to do but we had to force Jamie to leave. It was difficult enough for us to alert your father to the fact that you were unconscious in the hospital again without the added fight that would come from Jamie not returning as well.” I nod my head, understanding the circumstances that they are under. “You have received no sedatives while you’ve been here. Honestly, I don’t think you’ve had any medication at all but I’d have to verify that the next time Emily comes in.” He pets the side of my head with a predictable rhythm that is slowly putting me to sleep. “They did another CAT scan and MRI. They were concerned that they had missed an aneurysm while you were here the first time. They occasionally occur with head trauma.” “Was there?” His confession
“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