Chapter 15

I entered mine and Colt’s room and closed the door. I let out a slight breath and leaned against the door a bit, letting my boner go down on its own. 

Scanning my eyes around the room a bit to take in the surroundings. 

We only stay in this room occasionally outside of training camp, and that is only when we want a break from the pack house or when we want to spend extra time on the training grounds. Colt and I live in the pack house with our brother, and each of us has separate rooms there. But when it’s time for runs, we stay in the barracks for most of the duration of the run to maintain order. Sometimes we’re fortunate enough to get only a few troublemakers each cycle, but this one is going to take the piss.

I look over at my brother’s side of the room on the left; our setup mirrors each other, with my side on the right and his on the left. His bed rests flush against the back corner wall with a neatly made blue comforter set and two fluffy pillows, while a nightstand with a small lamp and whatever novel he’s currently reading sits beside it. By the window, a large mahogany wardrobe is placed to the side for his training and casual clothes while we stay here. All of it sits on a plush gray rug that covers the floors, so our feet don’t get cold at night when we’re walking barefoot.

I turn my attention to my side of the room, where my bed rests against the right wall opposite the door that leads to the hallway, neatly made with a coffee brown comforter; smooth and almost completely free of wrinkles. A result of the cleaning staff coming yesterday to get all the rooms situated and ready for everyone staying in the barracks. They’re always efficient in their work, which gives me a quiet sense of pride, knowing that everyone will see just how professional and hardworking our pack is, and even though Raymond’s room was set up at the last minute, I can be certain, without even seeing it, that it’s also in pristine condition and already fully prepared for him.

I walk over to my nightstand and open the top drawer to take out my old phone for Raymond, and as I think about it, I realize I haven’t charged it in quite a while. I plugged it in to check the battery, finding it still at eighty-five percent; I let it top off anyway before bringing it over to him, knowing I have a fast charger, and it shouldn’t take long to get it fully powered.

I decided to use this time to link up with Draven so I can inform him that we are in our rooms and also see what his thoughts are regarding Raymond’s situation. I know he’s still in his office; the fucking workaholic never turns in early if his desk is full of papers, and from the looks of things earlier, he still has a while before he goes to bed.

[Hey Draven. I know you’re still up. Did Colt get to reach out to you about the young man from Nightshade that we have our eyes on?]

I know he’s still in focus mode since it takes him a moment to answer me, but he doesn’t leave me hanging for long; he never has.

[Yeah, he briefed me a bit earlier. From his tone, he sounded cautious and uncertain. What are your thoughts on the matter? You know I’m always down to raise some carnage, especially when it comes to someone who clearly attracts you guys. I’ll have to meet the little one soon. I’m looking forward to becoming…  better acquainted with him.]

I feel relieved that Draven is also in the same mind space as us; not that I ever doubted he wouldn’t, but hearing that he’s supportive makes things easier.

[Draven. I don’t know the full situation. I mean, Raymond—our little cutie’s name is Raymond, by the way. Well, he’s closed off and tightly guarded. When we were walking earlier, his steps faltered a lot. He’s extremely skittish, and earlier when Colt and I tapped him on the shoulder, he had a huge reaction. He became fearful; his body went into a subconscious defensive stance, his breathing was quick, heavy, and shallow.

When I leaned close to him, I smelled a faint hint of blood coming from him. And when I was rubbing his back to try to comfort him, I felt it—uneven raised patterns. He’s been abused, Draven. I don’t know by whom, but he was. I can feel it.

He was closed off from the rest of his pack mates, and I only saw him get close to one other from the group, but the rest seemed extremely hostile toward him. I think he came to our pack to escape. To survive.

And I won’t be the one to get in the way of his plans.

Colt and I  placed him in the room across from ours, and I’m giving him my old phone. Oh yeah, get this—a twenty-year-old wolf who is the son of a pack’s Alpha, doesn’t have a phone. Fucking ridiculous.]

I have to take a breath, my hands clenched into fists; shaking as I struggle to contain how fucking furious I am, because every time I remember the fear Raymond showed, I can’t help but grit my teeth in frustration. Not at him, but at how helpless I felt at that moment. I force myself to take deep breaths, trying to center myself and calm the feelings spilling over me, when Draven’s calm, steady voice suddenly enters my mind.

[Draegan. I think you’re doing the right thing. Colt has already informed me that Raymond has refused to go to the medical wing, and we can’t force him to go.

Keep a close eye on him and protect him. He is now in our pack, and we will do everything in our power to protect him and make him comfortable. I’m hoping we can convince him that he is safe here and to stay with us. Even if he doesn’t pass the assessment at the end of training, that will not disqualify him from getting a permanent position here.

I will inform the patrol to keep watch on him and let them know that he is under our protection from here on out. I will tell them to keep a low profile for now so he doesn’t feel any pressure. 

I will visit our little one tomorrow morning to introduce myself. In the meantime, if anything changes in his condition tonight, or he seeks medical attention, be sure to inform me. I have a disturbing amount of paperwork to go over, it doesn’t look like I’ll be sleeping anytime soon.

With that being said, try to get some sleep, and I will talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight, bro.]

I exhaled the breath I’d been holding as I took in everything my brother had just said, feeling a wave of relief knowing that he, along with Colt, both agreed that we needed to help this young man. I force myself to compose my thoughts again before picking up the phone from my nightstand and taking it off the charger now that it’s fully charged, unlocking the screen with a swipe of my thumb.

I’ve already removed the password and reset it, so Raymond can fully make it his own, and after that, I open the contacts and add mine, Colt’s, and Draven’s numbers so he can reach out to us if he needs anything; I can finally breathe a little easier knowing he’ll be able to contact us whenever he needs to. Even if I’m right across the hall from him, it’s still reassuring knowing he can pick up the phone and reach one of us almost immediately if he’s away from us, not that we plan on letting that happen often.