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, I want you to still your legs. I don’t want you to hurt Demetri.”
“He’s fine Angela. Just as you said before he’s very gentle. I can tell by the way he’s moving that he’s very aware of where he’s at, not even coming close to the family jewels. Plus something about it seems to be calming for him.”
I pull on my arm again as she starts feeling around for a vein. She ends up concentrating on a single spot that’s been used before. It hurts bad and is badly scarred from all the bad attempts on it.
“Alpha '' I wheeze through the mask.
“I can hear you Cole, what do you need?”
He speaks softly as his head is on top of mine.
“Bad... spot.... hurts..... bad..... little..... flow...”
I’m not certain how it made sense but he put it together quick enough.
“Angela, that vein is no good. See if there’s another one.”
To my relief she starts moving around my arm again allowing me to relax a little. The alpha’s hand is in my hair, giving me a third thing to distract me.
“Cole, can you tell where I’m at?”
“Yes” I wheeze into alpha’s ear. “I.... don’t.... think.... it’s.... been.... used..... much.”
“Okay, so we will give that one a try.”
He lifts his head so he can speak loud enough for Dr. Pierce to hear. She switches over to cleaning the area with alcohol causing the high pitched whine to return. I can’t help but whine and squirm as she lines everything up.
“I need you still Cole. I know these are hard on you so I’m moving quickly. This feels like a nice thick vein so I’m going to take some blood when I get in to verify flow before taping it down. Big pinch in 3... 2...”
I yelp and struggle as she pushes the needle into my arm. Alpha’s hug is tighter than before forcing me to stay still. A couple of seconds seems a lot longer but to my relief I hear her tell Patrick that he can let me go.
“I’m not going to show you since the IV isn’t taped but he’s got me now and I’ve got to say, this one’s got a good grip on him.”
Now I’m worried.
“Am... I.... hurting.... him....?” I gasp through the mask.
“He’s worried that he’s hurting you Pat.”
“No Cole. You hang on as long as you need.”
I settle back into alpha. There’s something about the way he’s holding me that is comforting in a way I don’t understand. I’m starting to relax when the needle moves again. I yelp as I try to push myself away but Patrick has grabbed my hand so I can’t pull away.
“I’m sorry Cole. I just need to move a little deeper into the vein. Seems like I had only grazed the surface and I was getting just a little bit of a flow from it. It’s good now, no more moving. I’ll tape everything in place in a moment.”
“So you actually got a good line going?”
“Yes sir. Cole is very sensitive to everything going on despite his high amount of fear. It made it a lot easier to get this the first time.”
Alpha’s hand starts moving around my head again. I can’t help but relax into it as I’ve never received this kind of attention from my parents when I was having a bad attack like this.
“Dr. Carter told me that you’re very sensitive to the medication he gives you. That, when it’s given in the IV it tends to burn badly and the side effects are numerous when given too quickly so the Valium is going first over about thirty seconds instead of five and I’m putting the steroids on a feeder. Are you familiar with an IV feeder?”
I finally let go of the beta’s hand to form a thumbs down for no.
“I didn’t think so. Alex mentioned that your access to medical care is limited. Your father gives each wolf a budget they’re allowed to use during the year and yours tends to be on the low side for an alpha.”
I nod my head against the alpha’s arm.
“Alex said his normal therapy for these attacks is 2mg of Klonopin, we’ve given you 1mg of Ativan so far. He also gives you 10mg of Valium, not Xanax, and a large starter dose of steroids. Valium and 500mg of the steroids are given as intramuscular shots, single doses.”
I startle badly when the beta lets out an unexpected yelp and I hear the alpha growl softly near my ear.
“I take it neither of you are strangers to the steroid injections?”
Dr. Pierce speaks lightly of their reactions.
“How did you manage to take five units of that stuff in a single shot?” Alpha Demetri asks near my ear.
“Why something so harsh, Angela?”
“Alex said that Cole’s medical care tends to exceed what his father allows so they cut costs where they can. It takes too long and too many people to get an IV going on him so they don’t. They give him one to three large doses of steroids IM depending on how his breathing improves after each one, then put him on the pills at a higher dose then what he’s regularly on. But we’re not going to do that Cole. Now that I’ve got a good IV line taped down on you I’m going to give you 2mg of Valium and I’m cutting down the steroids. I’m going to put 200mg on a feeder so that it takes an hour to give you the full dose. The steroids will be repeated at that dose every six hours for six doses and I will reassess the next phase of treatment aiming for getting you out of here once we get to that point. Unless he wants you to stay, you should be good to get up Demetri.”
“If you don’t need me anymore I’m going to head back out to the track and observe the rest of his pack. Don’t forget members of the Blue Moon pack arrive today around four so we may have to end your punishment early. With how slow some of these wolves are moving you’d think they were the ones who couldn’t breathe.”
Alpha chuckles lightly before responding.
“That’s fine Patrick and thank you for your help. We will meet during dinner so I can explain things a little better.”
“Sounds like a plan. See you then boss.”
It’s as the beta leaves that Alpha Demetri starts to move around so he could get up. I can’t explain my sudden desire for him to stay close but my reaction surprises us both. Without thinking I grab the side of his shirt causing him to freeze.
“Cole, what’s wrong?”
“Please..... stay.... I’m..... scared..... I’m..... sorry..... I’m..... weak.....”
He lays back down with me as Dr. Pierce comes over with the medication.
“Being scared doesn’t make you weak Cole. Everyone experiences fear. I will stay until you’re asleep. Would you like that?”
“Please”
“Okay, I’ll stay a while longer.”
He reassures me as he gently starts running his fingers through my hair again. I’ve never before been able to relax under an alpha’s touch but there’s something different about Alpha Demetri.
I can feel the Ativan starting to kick in as my mind is no longer racing with all my fears of everything going on around me. Dr. Pierce takes my hand in hers as she starts the Valium. I whine loudly and draw my arm back as the burn of the medication hits me but instead of being insulted for my weakness to tolerate pain Dr. Pierce simply slows down even more. The effects of the Valium combined with the Ativan are almost immediate and I barely register her giving me a second drug.
“This is Vicoprofen. It’s Motrin mixed with a little hydrocodone to help with your pain. It will make you sleepy but that’s the biggest side effect.”
I nod my head as I allow the medication to take hold of me. I’m completely exhausted and for the first time that I can remember I actually feel safe in the arms of this stranger, this alpha. I bring my head towards him, laying my forehead on his chest as my breathing finally seems to be easing up. It’s as my body is relaxing that I hear his voice again, soft against my ear.
“I’m not going to push you to talk to me but I do feel it’s important for you to understand that I can help you if you’re in danger back at your home pack. You have to ask for help though. It’s obvious you are medically neglected but because you’re an adult I can’t just take you from your home. You must tell me that your life is in danger, that you need protection in order for me to help you. I promise you, I can help you.”
Those are the last words I hear as I let the medication pull me into the deep sleep I need.