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

“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

“It’s okay to let go, Jamison.” My voice is gentle as I encourage the emotional release I know the young man needs as I hold him close to me. It doesn’t take long before I feel his body shake with silent tears, his hands balling into fists around the fabric of my shirt. Giving him permission to talk to me was more about giving Jamie the emotional release he needed than a cry for help from Cole, but in encouraging it, I’m closer to knowing the truth about Cole. I rub Jamie’s back until his body relaxes before heading him over to the couch. “I want to thank you for your willingness to be open with me on what your experience with Cole has been even though Cole is hesitant to be the same. It seems like he’s been burned by other packs for sharing the truth of his situation which only makes it harder for me.” Jamie takes a moment to wipe his face before looking at me. “Please don’t let the nasty rumors about him cloud your judgment of him. He really is a good person. Never once has he e

“I need to know everything that’s associated with this beating. Dallas mentioned that your dad kicked you in the abdomen a dozen or more times before taking you to the training room. That it took you a long time to start screaming. This leads me to believe that the bruising to your abdomen and the cuts I have found all over your body happened at the same time. Are there any other cuts or bruises that I don’t know about?” He finally nods yes before looking back at me. The fear I see in his eyes is immeasurable as he begins to speak. “The back…. of my neck..... where he…. grabbed me.... My wrists….. my forearms.... and shins..... I broke…. the chain...... I couldn’t take...... all the hits..... without yelping..... I did..... what I could.... to protect myself.” “So I’m looking for defensive wounds as well.” He nods slowly as I stand back up. “I’ll help you get the gown back on once I finish with the pictures of your body. I can get pictures of your neck and other areas of bruising

She reaches out to him slowly, touching his cheek as he pushes his back into my chest. “That’s okay, Cole. The black out is likely a form of shock from the physical and emotional trauma that this would cause. Unfortunately, this does mean that Demetri will have to do a more extensive hands-on physical with you to verify that we have found all your injuries.” I nod in agreement when she looks directly at me. “It’s also important that if you remember any injuries at all about the fight you need to tell us about it.” “I’ve had….. a headache….. since Saturday.” “Thank you, Cole. It’s possible that you have a concussion that we will need to keep track of. Now back to the issue of your leg. Did this happen with the rest of the injuries we’ve found today?” “Yes….. ma’am.” “I feared as much. If this silver is of high enough concentration there is a possibility that we’re looking at a third degree chemical burn simply from the lack of medical care. The deeper it burns the higher the po