Chapter 77: Friday, July 12th Pt. 3

Everything is quiet when Angela enters the room. I’ve been holding him in a particular position for several minutes, allowing him to float at the surface of the spa. She holds the uncapped syringe in her hand, sitting on the edge she’s able to silently press the small hypodermic needle into his thigh, pushing the contents of the syringe slowly into the muscle of his leg. It takes longer than normal due to the reduction in the size of the needle as we need him to feel as little of this as possible.

She stops briefly when he tenses, allowing him to relax before finishing the injection. She leaves as silently as she came using the link to reassure me that she will remain close by as she knows that I’m going to tell him what just happened. All wolves are acutely aware of both silver and Silvex entering the body the moment that it happens. I gather him into my arms, pulling his body back down into my lap.

“Dad, I’m really sleepy and everything hurts. I think we need to head home or I’m not going to be able to get out.” He states through a yawn just a minute later.

“We will, but it’s important that I tell you something first.”

“What’s that?”

“Angela came in and gave you a shot of Silvex. I’m sorry I resorted to this. I thought we had a lot more time but your wolf is stronger than we knew.”

“How did you know?” He asks a lot more accepting of my confession than I anticipated.

“Last week. The more I pushed the idea of taking oral Silvex the more obvious it became. You would start a sentence, stop, then go into a different subject than what it started with. You were stuttering when you’ve never had one, slurring your words without being drunk and combining words that didn’t go together. It became obvious during our daily meetings that he was suppressing you to prevent you from agreeing to take it.”

“Thank you.” His voice whines with the classic waviness that comes with crying.

“Really?” It’s a statement that I didn’t expect from him.

“Yes, dad. Thank you. Thank you for listening to me.”

It only takes a moment for the flood gates to open with a fury I didn’t expect. I hold him closely until he calms enough to speak again.

“I was screaming inside but nothing I wanted to say ever came out. I tried to link with you but he blocked that too. Everything has become a fight; shifting, linking, sleeping. It hurts dad, everything, my head, my body, everything just hurts.”

He sighs heavily as he tries to explain the frustration. We remain silent for several minutes before I hear Angela emerge from just outside the room.

“You’re taking this a lot better than we anticipated.”

She squats down getting closer to his level. He simply nods.

“I need help. I don’t think I can get out. I feel weak.” He confesses the hardest thing for an alpha to confess.

“Sedating your wolf this heavily will have a cross over effect. That’s why we prefer that both of you agree to the medication so we can prepare you better for the side effects.”

She explains softly as she reaches into the water again, this time to place a stethoscope on his chest.

“I’m glad you did it the way you did.”

“Really?” She sounds shocked as well.

“Yes ma’am. He didn’t know what was going on until it was too late to react. We felt the burn but when it went away quickly he thought I had touched something hot. We are in a spa after all. It was when he started feeling sleepy that he cursed both of you. He ran his mouth about revenge for a minute but he didn’t have the energy to stay long. With a few select parting words he walked to the back, laid down and fell asleep. The pain has increased substantially but the internal fight is gone.”

He speaks with a subtle whine and obvious exhaustion.

“I think it would be best to get you out of the spa. I will let your father take over helping you to get dry and back to the house. I’ve already explained what needs to happen from here. I’m certain he will explain it as long as you’re awake.”

Angela explains patiently as Damian moves off my lap and starts to stand. He grabs her out stretched hands and climbs the stairs carefully. I stand slowly, standing behind him in case he slips before making my own exit. I take over for Angela nodding a silent thanks as she walks towards the wall turning the heat and jets off before going out the back door. I chose a Friday to do this as there are no appointments in the med wing and we lucked out that she’s not on call this weekend. I’m hopeful that she will return home and get some more sleep before starting her day. It only takes a few minutes after she leaves to get Damian dressed in dry boxers and a thick bath robe before making our own exit back to the mule.

I stay behind him as we walk out of the annex back to the mule as he’s staggering like he just left the local bar. He manages to situate himself in the seat of the mule but he ends up needing help getting the buckle fastened. While this way was the best way I could think of to give him the medication I’m kicking myself for not planning better. We have no elevators in the pack house; just a handful of dumb waiters large enough to transport the laundry carts to and from the basement.

He somehow manages to hang onto the handle beside the windshield for the three minute ride to the back side of the medical wing, the only place that doesn’t require the use of steps to get inside. The lights are dimmed as the wing has been shut down for the weekend but I can still smell that Angela has chosen to work in her office instead of going home. I help Damian get inside and stay close as he struggles to get down the hall. My offer to allow him to stay in one of these rooms only serves to motivate him more to get out of the wing. I jog to catch up with him, stopping him as he turns towards the stairs.

“Not tonight, bud. I know it would be more comfortable as it’s your space, you just can’t make those steps safely right now.”

I explain calmly as I guide him to the hall under the stairs. We stop briefly as I open the door ushering him inside as I flip the switch by the door turning on the small lamp beside the bed.

“At the moment, this is the safest option.” I explain as he removes the robe before climbing into the bed.