Angela is looking me straight in the eyes as she finishes the last part of her sentence and as she starts the next.
“If this is bad enough to demand surgery then it is not possible to keep this from the council. Based on what Demetri and I have seen, if we report your condition to the council, they would launch an abuse investigation with or without your consent, which could be very dangerous for you if this injury is indeed because of abuse. Do you understand what I’m explaining?”
He nods again slowly.
“I need you to keep your legs down and straight as I do the scan. I don’t know the level of discomfort this will cause you but I will give you something for the pain afterwards if there’s any lingering. Take Demetri’s hands, I’m going to have him hold your arms and hands on your chest. Doing that should bring you some comfort and help keep you from trying to fight this too much.”
She’s gently sliding the blanket down to Cole’s waist as she finishes her instructions. I gently take hold of his hands and calmly work through the little bit of resistance he gives me. He whimpers softly as Angela tucks a towel into his waistband. His eyes are closed as he leans his head into my arm, his grasp on one hand is steady while the other is being squeezed rhythmically. I can tell he’s fighting to stay calm as he startles and stifles a yelp when the cold gel lands on his abdomen and the probe gets placed on his skin.
She starts the exam on his far right side, just under his ribs where his liver is. It’s as she presses the probe against his skin to get his liver to come into view that he yelps painfully, grasping both my hands hard as I tighten my hold around him trying to keep him from leaping off the bed. The tears forming in the corners of his eyes easily portray the pain that he’s in as his yelp turns into a persistent whimper as he tries to bury his head into my arm.
“I’m sorry Cole.”
I try to soothe the young man as I feel his body trembling against me.
“I know we promised we wouldn’t hurt you but this isn’t something we knew about beforehand.”
“You’re doing wonderfully, Cole. I know this is painful for you but you’re still managing to be very still which is helping this to go a lot faster without sacrificing being through.”
Angela chimes in as she moves to another area.
After a brief twenty minute scan she seems satisfied and cleans everything up. As she puts the machine away and gets a little more pain killer for Cole, I start working with him to get him off his back. I get him on his side easily and step away to grab the body pillow.
It’s as I’m returning to the bed that I see the scar that Angela mentioned. To me, it looks to be a one time incident. That this scar that takes up over half of his back, was one huge injury not several small ones that happened over time. Angela was correct about one thing. The lighting in the room created too many shadows to figure out what may have caused such an injury. I reach out towards the middle of the scar. A large patch directly over his spine that appears similar to burns I’ve seen when silver laced water is dumped over an open wound. An old, barbaric way of torturing confessions out of detained wolves that was outlawed by the werewolf committee over sixty years ago. Unfortunately, the lack of reporting and subsequent punishing for such an archaic practice of torture has been slow to fully quell and many packs still use it freely.
I stop short of touching it. Coming to my senses I gently place the pillow wrapped in a soft blanket behind him before leaning over him, speaking softly alerting him to my presence and that I was rolling him onto the pillow. To my relief instead of yelping he simply grabs my hand as I start to move him. Angela comes over to us as I finish getting him comfortable.
“Cole, I’m going to give you a little more hydrocodone. The ultrasound showed some scaring on your liver but it’s difficult to tell if it’s a past or present injury. There was no active bleeding which is good but it is inflamed and enlarged so it’s something I need to monitor. You're going to need to stay away from any acetaminophen based painkillers as they will adversely affect your liver.”
It’s as I finish placing the second pillow in the bed and covering him with the blanket that I hear his voice.
“Alpha.''
He's barely whispering but I can still hear him clearly.
“I’m here Cole. Do you need anything?”
“Can... you... stay... until... I.... sleep?”
Although his voice is clearer than before it’s still quiet and breathless, showing just how challenging getting his asthma attack under control is going to be.
“Yes, I’ll stay until you’re asleep but I won’t be able to nap with you this time. Angela has to get back to Jessa’s patients since she’s out sick and I have some meetings I need to attend to but you won’t be alone the entire time. The monitors will alert us to everything going on and one of us will be checking on you every two hours. Angela will be giving you medication every four to six hours and I’m certain Damian is planning to visit sometime today.”
I’m sitting back in the chair at the head of the bed gently running my fingers through his hair.
“You know I’ve never thought to ask if you were okay with this. Most he-wolves in a new territory can’t stand another male touching them but over the hours I’ve been with you this morning I haven’t felt you react as if you want me to stop.”
“No... don’t.... stop.... Only one.... family…. bothers.... to help.... me at.... home.”
I nod my head silently knowing he can’t see it as I continue petting his head gently, rhythmically. Slowly I can hear his light whimpering fade, gradually replaced by the high pitched sound of his wheezing. I continue quietly listening to his wheezing and the steady beeping of the monitor for twenty minutes before leaning over him and speaking softly in his ear.
“If you can bring yourself to trust me I can free you from whatever hell you’re living in.”
I place my hand gently upon his head before reassuring him of my return in a few hours. I use the link to connect with Damian, Dominic, Patrick and Parker.
‘We’re meeting for lunch in the dining hall with the rest of the prospects at noon. I’ve come to an important decision that involves all of you.’