I nod quietly again yet against my better judgment I ask the question I think I know the answer to.
“What happens to prospects that have a major mental health issue, like ptsd?”
“It depends a lot on how stable the individual is and why they have it. A lot of wolves have ptsd from battles where they witnessed pack mates killed or they were severely injured. It can have a lasting effect but with therapy and proper medication the council will allow them to return.”
“Oh.”
“Not the answer you thought?”
I shake my head as I follow them out the door to where the food is set out. No one is down here yet which is a relief for me.
“Are you good on your own now?”
I look at the alpha before nodding my head.
“Thank you Alpha.”
“For what?”
“For your kindness.”
He gives me a smile before placing his hand on my shoulder. For the first time that night I manage to keep myself from pulling away or jumping out of my skin.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Cole. We will talk more in the morning.”
I quickly finish my third trip out to the table as the rest of the pack has started coming downstairs to eat. I can already hear several of them complaining about the special treatment I seem to be getting over recognizing that they brought this on to themselves.
I was grateful that I had discovered a small table with a chair just inside the door to my room as this is where I ended up putting all the food and drinks that I picked up from the table. I had walked with Alpha and his son down the hall to the closet before heading to the table so I was able to get all the laundry supplies I needed before grabbing dinner.
I feel guilty as I look at the plates of food and a dozen or so drinks sitting on the table. I know I won’t eat all this food tonight. Between my father actively denying me access to food and him keeping me in a constant state of pain and panic I’ve gotten used to eating very little.
I sit at the table and turn on the television, picking lightly at the food in front of me, I surf through the channels. I have always found it interesting to encounter packs that have started to embrace human inventions like the television, internet, and cell phones. I guess with a lot of the larger packs now having major hospitals on their land with wolves that aren’t members working there the use of cell phones became a necessity since not all the wolves have a link with the pack. I set my sights on the human’s strong man contest. I’ve always found it interesting how human men had the desire to prove their strength by donning a harness like a dog and pulling a bus several yards with only the help of a rope to pull on.
I finally give up grazing on the food I brought into my room shortly after I started. My anxiety is still extremely high and I’m finding it difficult to eat. I’m not used to a pack’s alpha getting so invested and hands on with the prospects so early.
I take the cling wrap I found in the closet and carefully dismantle the sandwiches of the lettuce, tomato and onion so the bread doesn’t get soggy before wrapping each one and placing it in the fridge, doing the same for the condiments and drinks. I wipe the table down with the paper towels and multi purpose cleaner that were also in the closet before heading to the washer and placing my clothes in the dryer. I started taking care of my own needs when I was fifteen, so keeping my own space clean is second nature to me now.
I explore the room a little more and discover a walk-in closet with hangers already inside it. I grab a handful of those and place them on the table to use once my clothes are dry. The tv is on top of a long dresser situated against the wall across from the foot of the bed, that’s where I head next.
I open each drawer taking in the approximate size so as to best plan my use of space. I head into the bathroom next. The bathroom floor is a neutral beige colored stone like tile compared to the black carpeting in the rest of the room. There’s a combination tub and shower against the far wall, a large vanity with a larger single sink and a large cabinet with a mirror on the wall. I open the cabinet to find that it’s already stocked with a small amount of personal items. It’s only when I go to throw them away that I discover that every item is unopened. I’m impressed that they thought to stock it like this as I put the items back.
Beside the vanity appears to be a tall slender cabinet only about a foot wide with a long door on bottom and a shorter door on top. When I open the bottom door I find a single shelf stacked with towels while below the shelf, on the floor is a small vacuum, a bucket and a mop. The only thing missing is the soap. Opening the top cabinet reveals washcloths and hand towels. Once again, everything appears to be new. Not liking the idea of my towels being in with cleaning supplies, I rearrange the upper cabinet to accommodate all of the bathroom linens.
Pushing the shower curtain back I find unopened shampoo, conditioner and a bar of soap with an unrolled bath mat sitting in the corner. It seems like they have thought of everything in this pack. I don’t even feel like I have to unpack the stuff I brought with me. I do anyway as I don’t believe in being wasteful.
I unload my two backpacks of my personal items, finding a logical place for each item before folding my packs and putting them in the closet. I sigh heavily with the realization that my bag had been gone through and what little asthma medication I had left was removed before my bags made it to the bus.
As soon as the dryer is done I take my clothes to the table where I fold everything neatly and hang my shirts before putting everything away. I gently take my shirt off and toss it in the washer before climbing into the full size bed. It’s been an exhausting day of traveling and despite my constant pain from the beating I got Saturday night, it doesn’t take long for me to drift to sleep.
(Content Warning)(8 year old Cole POV)I yelp as I’m awakened by a sharp blow to the back of my neck. Before I can fully process what’s going on I receive a harsh slap across my face. I grab the side of my face, gently rubbing away the sting as my eyes well up in tears. I yelp again as my mom starts yelling at me. “What are you doing sleeping before dinner? There’s too much you need to get done before you go to bed and you know it.”I try to back away from her as she’s only inches from my face. Unfortunately this show of fear earns me another hard slap across my face before she grabs me by the back of my neck and drags me out of my chair.‘Fuck! Not the submission hold. Anything but that.’ I think silently. But it is. She forces me to my feet as I try to fight against going to my father’s office, the place of nightmares for me. My fight gets worse, crying and begging my mom not to leave me with him but as always my pleas fall upon deaf ears. She opens his door to find him on the ph
Tuesday, January 23I fall from my bed as I violently fight against the blankets that I have wrapped around me. My ass hitting the floor jars my back badly sending waves of sharp pain through my back and legs, knocking the breath right out of me in the process. I immediately start into dry heaves as my body starts trying to rid itself of what little I managed to eat yesterday. I scramble on all fours, never making it to my feet, as I push myself to the bathroom before heaving dinner into the toilet. As I sit back against the tub I realize that not only am I in a serious panic attack but I’m starting into a bad asthma attack as well. I’m gasping for breath as my panic consumes me. It takes everything I have to keep myself sitting up but I know it’s not going to last as black spots litter my vision. I manage to check my watch and register in my mind that it’s midnight. ‘Great,’ I think to myself ‘still seven hours before someone finds me’ as I collapse into unconsciousness. I wake gas
“Try to relax with me Cole. I just want to help as you’re struggling really bad right now.” I nod my head slowly as I try to force myself to cooperate. I fail miserably, letting out a soft high pitched whine that I’ve had since childhood. I’ve learned over the years that as I’ve gotten older only certain people, mostly the doctors, can even hear such a distressing whine. I step away from the alpha as he steps closer to me, whining as I do, just to be stopped by Damian’s grasp. I notice Damian making eye contact with his dad suddenly before talking with him. “He’s been making that weird little whine a lot and he’s struggling to breathe bad enough that he’s not talking.” “You can actually hear it?” Alpha Demetri sounds shocked. “Yes, but I’ve never heard a whine like that. Have you?” “It’s not common for an adult to have that whine, but I have heard it plenty when I was an intern at the hospital during my pediatric rotation. Pups experiencing high levels of distress and pain wil
Exactly to his words, once I’m standing, he guides me in a gentle turn allowing me to feel when to sit instead of pushing. I sit on the edge of the bed, pushing myself to breathe as it feels like the vise on my lungs is clamping down harder. The whimpers from my childhood are even more persistent as the spike in my anxiety is getting worse, worsening my asthma.“Dr. Pierce was able to get a hold of Dr. Carter. He mentioned that you get really anxious in the hospital making the whole process of getting better harder and longer. I have also picked up on your hesitation towards me. Which makes me believe that your alpha is quite harsh with you. Is he?” I nod my head slowly as I attempt to talk. “My .... dad ...” “Your dad is also your alpha?” ‘Damn that was a quick put together.’ I think as I slowly nod again.“So you are indeed one of Alpha Charles Redmen’s sons?” I nod again. “Okay. I feel this is going to be strange for you but I would like to try to help you like I do with Dami
“I know it’s hard but it’s important that you don’t fight us right now. We’re just trying to help you. You’re in a really difficult situation being in a new territory with leadership you don’t know or understand. I get it. I really do. Is there anything we can do that will help you relax?” “Xanax.” “You take a sedative when in the hospital?” I nod slowly as I attempt to reach for the mask. “Let me put the mask on you. I promise it will help you.” I shake my head trying to get away as he brings it close again. He lets go of my hand as my wheezing worsens from the stress, gently placing it on the back of my head while finally placing the mask on my face. “Just breathe Cole. I won’t strap it to you yet but you need to breathe.” I try to fight but he moves with me, keeping the mask gentle on my face allowing me the time I need to accept it. “Angela, do we have any Ativan here or is it only at General?” “I stock the half milligram dose here. How much?” “Let’s start with two pills.
Suddenly my chest cramps up badly and I can’t help but fight everyone around me. I hear Dr. Pierce instructing Alpha Black as to what she needs. “Demetri, I need that mask to stay on him and I need space to listen to what his lungs are doing when he’s like this.” As hard as I’m fighting, Alpha manages to keep the mask on me without smashing it to my face like most others have. Dr. Pierce manages to stay gentle with me as well while I’m starting to panic from the lack of air moving through my lungs. “You’ve gotten real tight on me and your oxygen level has dipped badly. I know this hurts bad but I need you to submit to us, let us do all the work. All I need from you is to breathe. I’m going to get a different mask and put more medication in the nebulizer. Demetri, if you can, go ahead and try to lay with him. This amount of stress is going to drop his body temperature and Dr. Carter already told me he tends to run on the low side. He’s going to need your body heat until we get every
I find myself relaxing with the alpha’s sermon towards his beta. I can tell by the sound of his voice that he is remorseful for his harshness without the alpha getting overly aggressive with him. I feel him on my hand again and once again I pull away, whining persistently as I don’t want him on me after that encounter with him.“Relax Cole, he’s not going to do it again.” This time he keeps a firm hold on my hand as I move around, following my movements instead of yanking on me. “Much better, Patrick. He’s just like Damian when it comes to needles, only he’s a harder stick which means when I start I need you to keep him still without yanking on him.” “Yes, ma’am.”He sounds submissive now but that doesn’t make me any more comfortable with him. Dr. Pierce uses my movements to get the band around my arm. The discomfort of the tight band spikes my anxiety, tightening my chest. I start moving my legs slowly against the alpha’s using caution when it comes to anything sensitive. “Cole,
(Demetri’s POV)I start stirring around as the familiar tingles of the bond alert me to Lillian’s presence. “Don’t try to get up quite yet. Angela and I need to help get you loose from the young man you seem to have bonded with.” She whispers softly in my ear. My wolf purrs softly as I open my eyes to be greeted with the gentle sky blue eyes of my mate, my luna. I give her a gentle smile receiving a short but passionate kiss from her in return. “You told me that you had a meeting with Angela and one of the prospects that came in last night but I got worried when I didn’t find you in your office. Angela filled me in on the events of earlier this morning. I came in about two hours ago. He was still fairly rough so I left you with him hoping that being with you would help.” I close my eyes briefly as she runs her hand gently through my hair.“He’s been abused, Lilly.” “I figured you believed as much. You don’t usually invest this kind of time on the first day unless you see somethin