Monday, October 21st Pt. 5

Deven explains as Margo sets the feeder up. She leaves his room shortly after.
“I used the link to explain what was going on and why I needed her to skip taking all his vitals.”
“She wasn’t happy about it.” I comment.
“No good nurse is but I assured her that everything will be recorded before he’s transferred.”
I nod as I resume my gentle pets to Cole’s head. He’s calmed down a lot quicker than I expected.
“Are you doing okay?” I ask quietly.
“I’ve taken on about half the pain that the spasms created. They have loosened up I’m just waiting for the medication to start taking effect.”
“I thought he was on a muscle relaxer.”
“It was causing too many issues for what little benefit it was providing. We stopped giving it last night as he started vomiting half an hour after receiving it.”
I nod quietly as I take his hand. He has finally reduced the grip he has on the bed and started a more rhythmic one in its place.
“Is everything okay here?” Cassius asks as he walks back in.
“Moving him caused a bad spasm in his back. It’s starting to calm down but I want to wait until I can start feeling a difference in his pain level before releasing what I’ve taken.” Deven explains calmly.
“Which is why you requested the extreme of using an epidural for moving him to University.” Dr. Nelson comments.
“We heard his screams in the kitchen.”
“Were you able to find what you were looking for?” Deven continues the conversation.
“Yes.” He nods and holds up a can of olive oil at the same time.
“I would like a picture of what the black light shows.” I speak casually not wanting to alarm the nearly sleeping Cole.
“That’s a great idea.” Martina chimes in.
“Video taping it would be better. My understanding is that he’s seeking sanctuary?” Dr. Nelson asks.
“Yes. The end goal for him is sanctuary status in my pack.”
“Thank you for pointing that out.” Tina jumps back in. “I’m going to video this from start to finish so that you have it for submission to the council. I promise you, Demetri, I am a friend and my desire for Cole is the same as yours.”
“He doesn’t trust the council and I don’t blame him for how he feels.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t get the information that you needed.”
“It would have saved him the hurt he’s suffering now if I knew l could have kept him with me.”
I look down upon Cole as he subtly whimpers. I know he’s finally asleep and Deven is slowly releasing the pain he took back to him.
“I had nothing to do with that but those who did will be found out and appropriate consequences assigned. I’ve never seen a file of abuse come across my desk as severe as his. Not in the twenty years I’ve been with the council.”
All I can do is nod as Dr. Nelson lays out his plans with Deven.
“I’m ready to start when you are.”
He speaks so everyone can hear him. I stay on the stool at the head of Cole’s bed. The restriction of breathing from lying on his stomach is evident in his snores but overall he’s calm. Finally asleep from the combined effect of the Vicodin and the harsh panic attack he has struggled with all morning.
The hiss of the aerosol can is my only indicator of them starting. Cole sighs slightly but overall the feel of the oil being sprayed on his back doesn’t disturb him. It takes little time to cover his back with a thick sheen of oil. Within seconds of finishing Dr. Nelson turns off the overhead lights and picks up the black light sitting off to the side.
Turning it on, he shines it on Cole’s back. His shoulders fluoresce a solid brilliant red with thin lines erratically crisscrossing a slightly duller shade showing me what I’ve known all along, he hasn’t had any dramatic injuries to his back across his shoulders. I gasp as Dr. Nelson starts moving slowly down his back. The tail marks of the whip coming into view as an even duller shade of red than the few scars we saw on his shoulders. Halfway down his ribs the individual hits start merging together making it difficult to determine how many hits he received. Using my hands over my mouth I choke back a cry of shock and disbelief as he approaches his waist. True to the large scar I’d seen while he was in my wing and the difficulty he’s had with anything touching it, the scar is nearly black indicating it’s the thickest area of scaring. It’s a solid six inches long and almost rectangular in shape. The hardest part to stomach is how it appears to be targeted directly over his spine.
“Do you have any ideas on what this is?” Martina asks me quietly.
“Even with him sleeping I don’t want to chance it. Does anyone have ear muffs?”
“Here.” Deven walks over with a pair in his hands. “He’s been having a very difficult time with nightmares for the several nights he’s been here. On his second night he started asking for white noise. Thunderstorms in particular.”
He explains as he works on a phone. “Both of these are his.”
He looks me straight in the eyes as he places one side of the ear phones against his ear. He hands me the smart phone before approaching Cole.
“I know you’re asleep but I also know you can remember more of what you hear than you think. This will give you what you need.”
He speaks directly to Cole before lifting his head and sliding the headphones over his ears. It’s a sigh of relief when he visibly relaxes with the sounds he hears.
“What did you wish to speak of before being cautious?” Tina gets right back to it.
“He’s been whipped.”
“Be careful about your willingness to accuse such a high crime, Alpha Demetri. False accusations of first degree torture is punishable up to your removal as leader of your pack.”
I look up but with Cole’s phone providing the only light her movements around the room make her difficult to see.
“What else could it be?”
I state in a whispered awe as more things come together in my head. I stay silent, watching as Dr. Nelson uses the black light to place several dots across the top of the thickest scar.
“You can turn the lights back on. I have the top marked but I need the overhead light to determine where along his spine I can place the epidural.”
The lights come on as he finishes his explanation.
“Are you still recording?” I ask with some hesitation.
“Yes sir.” She replies.
“I need it to be understood that I would never pursue formal charges without some sort of statement verifying what I have put together but you also need you to know why I think the way I think.”
I start off as I know I’m pushing the limits I feel are appropriate for a high council member.
“I wouldn’t sanction you unless you showed intentional malice.”
“Who wouldn’t try to have Charles Redmen locked up for the rest of his life.” Cassius surprises all of us with his statement.
“Walk me through what you think you know about his back. Why does a whipping seem so logical?”
“The scar itself is enough to charge him, Martina. It is my belief that this is what happened to him at fifteen that has me shaken to the core.”
Everything stops within seconds with all eyes upon me.
“The first night that I was able to get him to the table with us Patrick, my beta, asked about sports in an effort to include him in conversation. We’ve never been the type of pack to leave people out. He disclosed that finishing high school was a challenge due to being in the hospital over a month due to sepsis. He told me he was fifteen when he was hospitalized.
Several months later when we were preparing to let him return to Red Fang we held a meeting to determine what kind of help he would need to get himself back out. His beta, Jamie, had mentioned that Cole’s abuse runs in cycles and that his abuse had been getting worse over the last several years. When I spoke to him he not only confirmed it but mentioned that it reminded him of his teen years. Things kept getting worse until his fifteenth birthday. Just his mention of that birthday and getting hit with a penalty he’ll never forget triggered flashbacks severe enough that had Jessa not been there he would have needed a seventy-two hour hold.
The day he left me he was a mess. I begged him to tell me what happened. That his back alone would warrant protection from torture but he couldn’t. His only response was the day he tells me about his back will be the day he needs a true seventy-two hour hold.
What really puts it together is his statement when he was at the Blue Tail pack. His insistence that he had been whipped when the council intervened before it could happen at Purple Mountain. The markings are of a whipping. No doctor here can deny that.”
“What holds you back from a formal accusation?”
She asks the only question I don’t have an answer to.
“Because there’s more to the story.”
I respond without thinking, surprising myself.
“I’ve got the ketamine ready. Dr. Nelson wants him to receive it before we roll him back to his side. We could use your help.”
Deven brings me back to the reality of what needs to happen quickly. I nod as I turn my attention back to him.
“What do you need me to do?”