“How long have you gone without eating?” He holds up five fingers as Jamie speaks again. “Five days” “No one ever tried to feed you like I am?” He closes his eyes as he tries to sigh. “Everyone is too afraid to touch him let alone hold him like you do.” “I know I haven’t done anything that warrants an apology but I am very sorry to hear you have suffered through such misery in the hands of those who are supposed to help.” “He appreciates the thought. He feels that it’s not their fault. The only one at General that’s stayed long enough to get to know him and his history is Dr. Carter. It’s the budget and the rumors that are started about him that truly hurt him. Everyone thinks he is some crazy psychopath that rapes little girls. That he’s violent and unpredictable.”“Are you ready to try and eat something?” He gives me a confused look before pointing to the tube taped to the side of his face. “No Cole, not the tube. We’re going to supplement the small amounts of chicken soup
Angela smiles as she agrees with my observation. “If I can’t touch the bruise to determine sensitivity and potential fracture then I need to do an x-ray.” “If you can get the x-ray without moving him then that’s what we need. Otherwise it can wait until I do his physical.” “You’re going to do it personally, privately?”“Yes. If we’ve gotten him out of the cycle then I should be able to move him up stairs after dinner tomorrow. He needs to be up, walking around before I can move him.” I state as I tie his gown back together. “Even though he seems asleep I’m going to distract him as you give those shots. Enough time has passed for us to get back to Jamie. He should be fairly numb by now.” She nods in agreement as she picks the syringes up off the bed as she sits behind his back. I take the stool next to Jamie, who’s practically sleeping himself, and run my hand through Cole’s hair. To my surprise, he opens his eyes. “I didn’t think you were completely asleep. Are you upset that I
I’m intrigued by his honesty about Cole and I desire more information but the young man seems hesitant to divulge too much about his friend. “Nothing you tell me will change how I treat Cole. What are these tics you’re talking about? I have noticed that he has a liking for rhythmic movements when he’s stressed but he hasn’t been active enough for me to see anything else.” “I don’t know what triggers it and we only saw it once during the eighteen months he lived with us but...... He came back from one of his monthly visits with his dad in really bad shape. The worst we had seen over the six months he had been there at the time. Dad pushed him to tell him what happened but instead of talking he got angry. Dad kept pushing until he put his fist through the wall. He ran away from us. Stayed away for several hours, he didn’t come back until late that night. When he came back both his hands were in bad shape. Red, swollen and bleeding. He had a bad cut to his forehead, similar to the one
Jamison and I stop by the kitchen inside the pack house. Any leftovers from lunch are packed up and stored in the refrigerators we have set up in there. I open the door and pull out a dish, setting it on the counter. Peeling back the foil, I come across lasagna, one of my favorites. I pull out several more dishes to reveal broccoli with cheese and a plate of the standard grilled meats; hotdogs, hamburgers, and a variety of different sausages. We try to appeal to everyone who may decide to eat at the dining and banquet halls by having a main dish with vegetables, potatoes, pasta and meat. The pack is big enough that food rarely goes to waste. Dinner is the only meal that my family eats together, separate from the pack. Most nights my beta and his son join us. My delta, Anthony and his family, will join when I have important information that he needs to be briefed on. Everyone in the pack knows they can come in the kitchen and heat up leftovers if they get hungry or miss lunch. I pull
I walk out of the bedroom with Lilly, throwing her paper plate in the garbage as we pass it on our way to the door. Jamison has finished his lunch, cleaned up his plate and is calmly playing a game on his smartphone.“I’ll see you at dinner.” Lilly whispers as she kisses my lips. “I love you.” She smiles as she leaves out the door. I watch her walk down the hall until she disappears around the corner into the central area of the pack house. I close the door and turn back to my desk.“Are you still willing to talk?” “Yes sir. What would you like to know?” “Let’s finish the story of when Cole took care of you and your siblings. Last thing you mentioned was him wanting to keep your siblings routine in your parents absence but had a difficult time psychologically with bathing a five, three, and one year old pups. You said your parents had a hard time with getting past the pedophile rumors that were going around about him.”“Yes sir. Dad was less concerned than mom. He had more of an o
The tears were finally falling as Jamie remembered that night with his friend. “His manhood was purple with red cuts. Painfully swollen unlike anything I had ever seen. I saw tears in his eyes when he turned to show dad. For the first time he was fully exposed to us and he was breaking down because of it. He didn’t want us to know. I heard his voice crack as he apologized. Over and over he was sorry for disrupting our peaceful home. He felt like he had brought his hell to us. That we didn’t deserve to be exposed to the brutality that’s part of his life. He thanked us for our hospitality but he wasn’t going to complete the apprenticeship. He had exposed us to too much of his problems and he had to go. He couldn’t expose us to anything more and his father will only get worse. He started trying to get around dad. He was determined to leave but his movements were slow and easily blocked by my dad. It was only when he saw mom and I in the doorway that he completely gave up. He collapsed
“It was two years after he moved out when mom found him in really bad shape in the bed they left in Jeramy’s room. Both his eyes were bruised and swollen shut. There was a lot of swelling and blood all over his face and hands. Goddess he screamed as soon as my dad touched him. Dad took me from the room because I started falling apart seeing him like that. Dad explained that with his eyes swollen like they are he’s blind so he’s going to have an exaggerated fear response. If I felt I could handle it he really needed my help getting Cole into a salt bath. I pulled it together and went back to the room. Mom had managed to calm him down, got him talking to her. She explained that Alpha had been beating him daily for the last six weeks. Alpha had done it before so he knew he just had to hang in there until whatever was angering the Alpha subsided. Unfortunately, that day was one where Cole got called to the office four times and by the last one that evening he didn’t have the stamina to av
“That’s still a significant amount of injuries.”Jamie nods as he adds in more. “Dr. Carter said his ribs were in various stages of healing just like all the bruises we see on his body. Although Cole wasn’t happy about it, arrangements were made between the three of them for Cole to stay with us while he healed. Even though he still couldn’t see Cole signed his name agreeing to stay two weeks under dad’s care. I’m certain he only agreed so he could get out of the hospital.” “The level of anxiety I’ve seen from him just today would lead me to believe the same. Was there ever a time that he stopped coming to your dad?” “Yes. Him and dad got into a major argument at the end of the two weeks with us. Once Cole left the hospital, every day for the two weeks he was with us dad would disappear and not even mom knew what he was doing. On the last day Cole had to be with us dad disappeared for several hours. When he came back he walked very stiffly and was in a lot of pain when he sat down.
The very breath I breathe is knocked right out of me as he has never commanded me to do anything. Even his father has made a strangled growl in response to his statement. “Even though you are an alpha, I am commanding you to come back.” His tone has softened but the seriousness in his voice has not. “I will return or I will die trying.” I somehow manage to whisper. Luna steps up next as Alpha Damian steps back wrapping her arm around me as Madilyn grabs my neck. I can feel Madilyn trying to wrap herself around me. Luna loosens her hold as I timidly take the young pup into my arms. “No! Don’t leave!” She starts off yelling. “You don’t deserve your daddy. He hurts you when you’re a good wolf. Please stay. My daddy can be your daddy. I promise I’ll share him.” She barely makes it through the last two sentences before breaking down crying. I hold her tightly as I look at luna’s face, her cheeks wet with tears. “I’m sorry.” Is all I can manage to whisper as she takes the little one
(Cole’s POV)It’s a shock to say the least to see Lucas come out to the porch let alone to see what appears to be a forced apology from him. I have a hard time believing what he has to say. I have never heard of Wolfington Academy and the only hint he gave was that he would go away. Not something I would ever want to happen to a newly shifted teen but I certainly wouldn’t want him to continue being a danger to the preshifts either. It’s been easy enough the last few months for me to avoid interacting with him even though I have sincerely missed the twins. These last two months, while they have been terribly hard and mentally painful for me, have also been the best for showing me the support I will have when I’m not myself. Alpha and luna both have gone out of their way to help me through my own decision to return. Every night luna and the twins would come to my room after dinner with a plate of food wrapped in cling wrap and several drinks. They would put the food and drinks in the
He finally lifts his head and stands from the stairs, walking slowly towards me. Suddenly his pace picks up and has taken on a more aggressive look. I start moving to intercept him as he’s headed straight towards Cole. ‘Stop me. Please dad, I don’t want to hurt him.’ His call for help is real, he genuinely fears hurting Cole. I step quickly into his path, silently wrapping my arms around him. One around his waist, the other under his arm allowing me to curl around and place my hand on the back of his neck. He freezes in place and stifles a yelp as I hold him close. I’m struggling to put together what these new symptoms mean. “Lay your head. I need you to relax so I can submit your wolf without causing you pain.” I whisper in his ear as I guide his head down. He whimpers quietly as I massage his neck looking for the best pressure point. “I need you to talk, Luke. To anyone. I don’t care if you confide in your brother, your mother, any of the doctors or nurses in the wing, tell
I wrap my hands around his, sliding my fingers gently between his hands and hair. He surprises me with how easily he gives up his stimming. “Stand up son.” I keep my voice gentle and reassuring, waiting for him to respond. He fights me briefly as he stands, trying hard to get out of my hold. “No, Cole. Accept the contact.” I persist as I refuse to let him run from me. Surprisingly, it seems he wants to run towards the van picking him up, not back into the house. “Stay with me a moment son. Allow me to calm you.” He relents to my desire, slowly giving me the calm I know he needs to make a rational decision. “I know you heard the conversation. I need to know your thoughts.” “Dad sent him.” He whispers, his voice fearful. “I know. Your dad requested the change but the council honored it so the plan remains the same. You have pack members at White Ridge which gives your father no excuses for picking you up.” He nods against my shoulder before slowly pushing himself away.
“Come.” I state as I gently pull him up and into me. He whimpers and fights briefly before taking hold of me tightly. We simply stand in silence, waiting for the trauma of leaving to subside. I wait for him to push away first, following his lead for when he’s ready to start out towards the front door. “Would you like some Ativan? It won’t take effect until you're well on your way north so it won’t alter your ability to decide to stay or go but it will make the trip easier to handle.” “Please.” Is all he manages to whisper against my neck before he pushes himself up to stand on his own. “Stay.” I whisper just as quietly as I step away from him into the attached bathroom, opening the cabinet and pulling out the low dose Ativan that I keep there. I return in front of him cupping his chin in my hands, lifting his head so he’s looking straight instead of the floor. He whimpers subtly as he pulls away but I don’t allow him to leave me. “Easy there, son.” I whisper as I use my thumbs
His eyes are wide with my explanation but he slowly removes his shirt as I’ve requested. “Put it on my desk.” I keep my calm helping him along when he appears lost. “Please.” He pleads helplessly. “It’s okay.” I try to comfort him. “No sir. It’s not okay. I’m not okay.” “I know. That’s why I’m doing this. Don’t step away.”I instruct as I close the distance between us. He accepts my embrace as I pull him into me again. There’s one test that I’ve never done with him as I’ve respected his sensitivity towards his back being touched but today I’m using that sensitivity to break him down in the hopes that he’ll be better able to handle leaving. It could also lead him into a complete breakdown requiring me to place him on a mental health hold but I’m taking my chances. “What are you going to do to me?” He asks as he struggles to lay his head on my shoulder.“I’m going to touch your back.” I explain as I guide his head down and pet the back of his head. “Please, sir. You don’t know h
It’s as we sit in silence that his frantic sobs finally quiet and are slowly replaced by the steady rhythm of his slightly wheezed snore. He hasn’t slept or ate right in the last two months and his condition shows it easily as he’s nearly back to the same weight he was when he got here despite our efforts to counteract his depression by upping his medication. I close my eyes and lay my cheek against his head as I listen to everything around me. I reassigned everyone that normally helps in the pack house to other tasks, closed the med wing with the exception of emergencies and canceled all the meetings that were scheduled today. I knew today would be tough but nothing could have prepared me for the brutal reality of this young man choosing to leave. The pack house is eerily quiet as if the house has been swallowed whole in preparation for the sadness, the sheer trauma of his departure. I have no idea how long I’ve been sitting with him when the shuffle of my mate’s feet starts down t
Friday July 20th; 8am(Cole’s POV) It’s been a month since my meeting with alpha discussing my options for getting out of the hell I call home. I was allowed to take the hard splint off for good two weeks ago but that hasn’t kept me out of the med wing. I’ve been in a steady slide into severe depression and I’ve had to seek the comfort of both alpha and Dr. Pierce when my feelings have become too extreme for me to handle alone. My mood swings have been so wild that I’ve gotten extremely nasty with Jessa. I so much as begged alpha to send her on a trip with Alpha Damian until today because I knew how badly I was hurting her. I didn’t mean to hurt her and I know I’m going to pay dearly for my lack of control when I return. Sleep is scarce at best and eating is nearly impossible. I can’t begin to describe how many times I have screamed myself awake, fighting alpha’s hold around me just to break down and cry in his arms. The anticipation of returning after six months of relative peace
“This is also the reason why we don’t want you to wait for the committee to remove you. The information that your father has access to without much digging on the process says if you make it to the final step in the investigation ten members of the council will move into your pack and you will be simultaneously moved out. The move is permanent no matter if you go to trial or not as the council members that move in are not simply investigating you.” I stop my gentle rub just under the hem of Jessa’s shirt and cock my head slightly as this was where Dr. Pierce had essentially stopped when breaking down the process.“So what are they doing when the committee starts their nine month investigation?” “What they’ve done for ten years now is remove the wolf being investigated to a temporary sanctuary pack within an hour’s drive of the regional committee’s headquarters. The pack has constant contact with the committee and as soon as any feral behaviors are seen the wolf is placed in the pack