(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 something, sense something going on.”
“Between what little he’s been willing or able to tell us and the little bit Angela was able to get from Dr. Carter he’s a severe asthmatic with significant anxiety issues that’s regularly denied access to both his medication and medical care.''
“So he’s being denied medical attention, Demetri. Most prospects come from lower wealth families within a wealthy pack looking for something better than what they have. It doesn’t always equate to the prospect being abused.”
“No it doesn’t but he is Alpha Redmen’s son. There's no reason, outside of choice, that he shouldn’t be receiving the proper medical care he needs. Besides, the reason I inherited the pack over my older brothers is because I have a sixth sense about these things. I knew when I met you that Alpha Tanner wasn’t treating you right. I was eighteen, you sixteen. We both felt the bond immediately yet you were so afraid to even look at me. I don’t think either of us understood how much you had been through until we moved you into the pack house and you’ve never wanted to talk about it. Unlike my siblings, who only took a week to complete the mating ceremony and bond, we took our time. I understood that you needed to learn and grow, to mature into the wonderful luna you are today. That you have been for the last fifteen years.”
Lilly can’t help but smile at the memories of how patient and kind I was towards her, the loving bond we took our time to develop. It’s because of her that I have very strict controls on physical punishment towards both kids and adults in the pack.
There’s no tolerance for mental, physical, or sexual abuse of any type within my pack. It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen, and I’m not so blind that I would deny the possibility of it existing. It simply means when I find evidence of a wolf engaging in such an act they are reported to the council and exiled from the pack after an investigation is completed. If I catch a wolf in the act of assaulting a pup, a rare thing to happen but not impossible, I will strip even an adult wolf down to their bare bottom and lay into them with a thick leather belt. Then they are sent to the holding cells while they wait for the council. Rape is similar to assault. Everyone in my pack is taught that false allegations of rape or assault earns just as steep a punishment as committing the act itself.
“So what’s your plan at this point? If you believe that the high anxiety is due to an abusive past then he would need to be reported to the council. Severe asthma on its own is a ....”
I click my tongue interrupting Lilly before she could finish her sentence as the young man begins to stir, clenching my shirt into his fist showing me the pain he’s still in. I switch over to the link to finish the conversation.
‘Nothing is going to change. I am well aware that his asthma is a disqualification but it seems like so far we’re the only ones that have been exposed to that fact and I’d like to keep it that way. What I need is time to figure out his personality. He is the son of Alpha Redmen who is as cruel, vile and disgusting as they come. I need to make sure that the submissive, yet helpful and caring demeanor I saw last night is who this young man really is. Get him through the six month requirement so I can bring him back for a year. Gain his trust so he opens up. The only way I can get him out of a bad situation is as a transfer through the prospect program or through a protection order. He has to be in immediate danger if he returns to his pack for me to initiate one or more of those.’
Lily is nodding her head as I finish up my initial plans for Cole. I back out of the link as Angela enters the room with a body pillow, handing it off to Lilly as she passes her.
“It’s going to be very important that the two of you follow my directions. According to Dr Carter, when Cole is admitted to Red General it’s usually a very painful stay for him. The only time the nurses come into his room is to give him medication which is usually in the form of very painful shots and for their protection he’s usually tied down with a hard restraint system that doesn’t allow him to move.”
“So his association with people checking on him when he’s been admitted to the hospital is very negative.”
I attempt to finish her sentence.
“For the most part. Combine that with his difficulty with accepting changes in the interventions used to help him and patience becomes an absolute necessity.”
“I kind of figured on that when he said something about getting tied down. Cole, are you awake?”
I ask as I run my hand through his hair. He stirs slightly but not enough to let me know that he’s aware of anything going on.
“Lilly, can you lower the side rail Demetri is near. I’ll get this one.”
I reach around the rail myself helping Lilly to lower it down so it’s easier for me to get out of the bed. I listen as Angela does the same on the other. I feel the bed dip under her weight as she stands with one knee on the bed. She reaches across Cole, gently loosening his hold on my shirt.
“Cole, I need to roll you onto your side so Demetri can get up. Can you squeeze my hand so I know you understand me?”
I can’t tell if he responds but shortly after her request she starts moving his arm and body away from me. I startle and curse badly as the most terrified yelp comes repeatedly out of Cole’s mouth. I had never heard such an agonizing response to being moved. I know I had sorrow in my eyes when I looked at Lilly as Angela finishes moving Cole.
I slip out from under Cole as I hear Angela trying to work with him.
“Cole. Dr. Carter told me that you have a really hard time being in the hospital back home. That it tends to be very painful and terrifying for you. I need you to remember what I told you this morning. The IV that’s already been done is the most painful thing I’m going to do to you. I will explain to you everything I’m going to do before I do it. I promise you Cole I’m not going to hurt you and I’m not going to tie you down. You’ve been an incredibly sweet and gentle young man despite the fear and pain you’ve been in. I have no reason to put you in any type of restraints.”
By the time she’s finished talking to him, he’s settled down into a soft whimper. She still has hold of his hand and I’ve noticed a rhythmic squeeze that he’s engaged in.
“Angela, do you feel what he’s doing?”
“Yes, Demetri and he’s absolutely fine. I’m just waiting for it to settle down. I noticed it earlier, actually. He seems to engage in repetitive behavior when his anxiety is up and I know moving him when he’s this sedated spiked his anxiety.”
“Now that I think about it, that’s what he was doing against my legs. You wanted him to stop out of fear that he’d hit me in the groin but I allowed it to continue. I noticed a pattern. He’s very deliberate and calculating with his movements.”
Angela has taken over the comforting aspect of my presence placing her hand in his hair as I get up from the bed.