Friday, August 30th Pt. 4
His left hand tightens hard around the fabric of my shirt. I can tell he’s holding his breath as Maverick sprays down his wrist. Something about the lack of fight shows a level of trust that I didn’t expect.
“Cole protected my twin sister.” Maverick speaks suddenly.
“What?”
“You asked before I warned Cole of the spray how did I find him. I didn’t. My sister Melissa went to a neighboring town about two hours away. The Gremlin pack had been on the move and she found herself being followed by them, a pack of six males I believe. She stumbled upon Cole wandering the streets. Even though his scent was off she could still tell he was a werewolf. She ran up to him, wrapped him in a hug and asked for his help. He didn’t hesitate and agreed to have dinner with her before she ultimately brought him home. He’s lived with us for the last two weeks or more.”
Cole is holding his breath as his left wrist gets the same treatment as his right.
“Is that why you called the council?”
Alister jumps into the conversation.
“Dresden has been doing this form of physical punishment for a while. He’s held fifty of these in the ten years that he’s been alpha, forty of those in the eight years I’ve been a doctor.”
“He does this five times a year?” Alister is as shocked as I am at the revelation.
“Until Cole, Dresden has always been a step ahead of the council. Why he rushed the punishment I couldn’t tell you. What I can tell you is that in the first hour of meeting him, I was able to tell that he was a protector. It was only a matter of time before he ran into the ills of this pack and I wanted to repay him by getting him away from here as quickly as possible. I resumed my research on the council and their laws the day after Missy brought him home. My previous searches concentrated on child abuse and how to report to the council. What I discovered when I started researching legal penalties for adults was that most of Alpha Draven’s laws were against the council’s. As one of three pack doctors, I get to see and hear from half of the pack’s adult males and a third of the pups. I have reported child abuse for eight years and nothing has ever happened. It wasn’t until I reported that Cole was going to be whipped two days ago that I finally got the response I was looking for.”
“You’re telling me the council never responded to your need for help with child abuse?”
Alister is surprised. I am too.
“I’m done bandaging your wrists, Cole. I know these short braces put a little pressure on the wounds but they need to be on for a week so your wounds don’t break open from the constant movement. Do you think you can keep down some Vicodin? It will help as you travel, especially considering the additional bruised ribs Mr. Leaven gave you during your fight with him.”
He nods as he slowly pushes himself off of me. I move my hands to his waist as he tries standing on his own for the first time in an hour. I look around the room and find that it has largely cleared out. The crowd that was present when the whipping had started being introduced is now gone as are the four other council members who never introduced themselves to us.
“I’m sorry you had to go through this. I hope this is the worst of it. That you don’t fall into the wrong pack again as you didn’t deserve this. No one does.”
Maverick speaks kindly as he places two pills and a bottle of water into Cole’s hands.
“I realize the pain of these burns are bad but this was the best outcome. They intervened before he struck you. I don’t know a single wolf that hasn’t gone feral from a whipping.”
“I believe that’s why the council outlawed it.” Bradley speaks for the first time in a while.
“Are you ready to get moving?” He asks generically.
I’m surprised when Cole nods and slowly starts walking towards him. We all walk easily out the door, following Bradley to the car. We exit the building just to find that Brad has moved the Traverse to just outside where we were at.
“I didn’t think he would want to walk far. I got with the council members that took Dresden out of the building. I was able to talk to him and he gave me his shirt, shoes and a single backpack. Is that all you arrived here with?”
Bradley seems shocked as Cole simply nods.
“I’ve got everything in the vehicle. Where would you like to sit?”
He barely looks up at Bradley before shaking his head. It’s obvious he’s not as comfortable speaking to the council as he was Maverick and I.
“Sit in the front. I’ve got a few things I’d like to use to try to get you comfortable.”
He doesn’t protest the plan and I stop at his door just as Bradley walks away. His head is down as he’s completely exhausted and in need of a long nap.
“There is one more thing that needs to be done before we go.”
I bring up gently.
“What’s that?”
He asks nervously as I place the lightweight tracker into his hand.
“It’s a gps tracker. You’ve been spooked into running away twice. The first time they took care of you. This second time you nearly got whipped. I know Maverick took care of you but he was helpless to prevent this whipping without reporting to the council. While this pack has been in need of new leadership for a while, it’s going to be a difficult adjustment to something so sudden. This does not confine you to my pack but it will allow us to find you should you get spooked again. It will allow us to keep you out of the hard core packs that you won’t do well in.”
To my surprise he hands it back to me and moves his right leg outside of the car. I touch his leg gently as I push his pant leg up. I wrap the flexible plastic band around his leg, locking it in place when I feel there’s adequate space for him to wash underneath it but not loose enough to get it over his foot.
“Thank you, Cole. Once your amnesia has resolved we will be able to take it off but for now, this is the best way to protect you.”
“Yes sir.”
I can tell by his speech that sleep is quickly taking its hold. I allow Maverick to approach him.
“I’m sorry Missy couldn’t be here. She’ll be sad you left but relieved that the whipping was stopped. Hopefully we will meet again, Cole. You truly are one of a kind and it’s been a pleasure to get to know you.”
I can hear a quiet thanks as the two embrace. It’s only as they separate that I get hands on with Cole again, arranging everything so he can lay back and relax. He is sleeping soundly by the time I get in the seat behind him. Without much conversation, Alister hops behind the wheel and we start his new journey to the Bluetail pack.
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