Monday, April 15th Pt. 2
“Why Andre?”
Her voice is cracking and for the first time someone in my family feels guilty, sad with what my life has become.
“Because his freedom is the only way to fix what dad has destroyed.”
“What has happened to him?”
“Dad, Kristoph and several others have been beating him nearly around the clock for over three days.”
“Why? Why would he do that?”
“He’s been doing it Cole’s entire life. Why do you think Kristoph and I have done it as well?”
“You?”
“Yes, Ashley.”
“I don’t understand. Everything you did when he was little.”
“I know. I’m not proud. I’m trying to make it right.”
I can feel him nod as he gingerly pets the back of my head. I whimper quietly as no part of my body has been left untouched.
“Cole.” I nearly yelp with the presence of another voice standing close to me.
“I’m sorry if I’m too loud. I found a mess of keys in the desk drawer. I need you to stay still while I try to figure out this lock on the shackles you’re in.”
“Yes sir. I’ll try.”
“Max, is there any way to lower the hoist more so he can sit. He’s been hanging like this for days.”
“Three days?” Ashley gasps.
“Three days ago is when I actually found him. He started this attempt to run March 28th. My security crew got him all the way to the western woods during the blizzard before dad called them back. Kris interrupted my plans to get him to Alpha Julian April 1st. He attempted to run without me and actually made it into Red Moon’s buffer zone just to collapse from his asthma attack. That was April 3rd.”
I silently curse as I can hear the strain of the motor from repeated attempts to lower the hoist even more.
“It’s as low as it will go. Is there a way to get the chains off the hook?”
“No, that’s the first thing I looked for.” Amos finishes up the conversation.
“You’ve hurt him like this?”
Ashley seems to be having a hard time with Andre’s confession as he nods.
“You left the pack before he turned twelve. To my fortune you found and had started to live with your mate in the White Moon pack around the time he turned fifteen. Dad encouraged me to fight him when he spoke about how warrior training can’t be any worse than dad’s beatings. I left him alone for three years after that. I started again five years ago when my mate rejected me. The last time I participated in his beatings was last year. I reported to dad that Sasha had been assaulted by Cole again but something about what Cole said in defense of himself really made me think about what was going on and it made me hesitate. I got word two weeks later that the alpha of the pack dad sent him to discovered his injuries and put him in the ICU. Dad blamed me for him surviving blood and silver poisoning. Told me that I didn’t tie the silver belt around his leg tight enough. As punishment he sent me to an alpha training camp that was rumored to be brutal and unforgiving.”
“The camp changed you.” Ashley’s voice is hushed as she waits for my hands to be freed.
“It did.”
He pauses as I start to whimper, pulling on my arms as a sharp pain radiates through the one Amos is working on.
“What’s going on Cole?”
“These cuffs are special. They are designed to give me medication three times a day. It hurts me. Get them off. Please get them off!”
I’m starting to panic as four needles pierce my skin.
“No! No! No! Please. I can’t handle throwing up again!”
I’m struggling to get away even though it’s futile.
“Be still, I see something.”
Amos hisses at me while grabbing my arm, digging the needles further into me. A sudden jerk, a slight push and the sound of liquid landing on the mat completely silences me.
“Cole, are you still awake?”
“Barely.” I whisper as Amos resumes his attempts to get the cuffs off of me.
“Talk to me Cole, ask me anything.”
“What happened at the camp to change your mind about me? My own twin can’t stand to be around me because of dad’s lies.”
I struggle to get through the sentence without crying over the loss of my own twin.
“I found my second chance mate.”
He pauses as the sorrow emanates from his voice.
“The training camp dad sent me to had been taken over by the council without anyone ever knowing about it several years ago. It was a popular training ground for creating mean, abusive alphas about six hours away from here.
The council knew about the camp and decided to turn it into a way to train future alphas about the harm abusing the pack creates. Abuse is what causes most wolves to go rogue. When they go rogue they don’t receive the help they need which makes them unstable and prone to violence. It’s that violence that threatens other packs. It was also found that when an alpha abuses their pack the pack is less likely to fight to keep the pack together.
Dad believes that by ruling the pack through fear that he’s strengthening the pack, keeping rogues and marauders at bay when it’s only a matter of time before the pack collapses. The camp maintains it’s bad reputation, how I’m not sure but in doing so they are getting sent the future leaders of packs all along the east coast. Some come so abused that they are placed into their recovery program, others, like me, that are not only abused but have already become abusers are placed into re-education programs. Those programs introduce us to the sanctuary program and operation underground. Part of their program consists of rogues that are captured by other packs being brought to them for rehabilitation. Kiara is one such rogue. Feeling her pain through the mates bond during therapy sessions is something I will never forget. She said and did a lot of things that reminded me of you, Cole. Always apologizing for things she can’t control. Always seeking to do the right thing to such a strict degree that it’s as if she’s living in a prison. She even described her self imposed prison, how she changed her room so no one could get in. A place that she could hide. A place of isolation, just like your room. You modified it so no one could get to you but it’s also your prison.”
“Hold him close, Andre. I’ve got these locks off but removing the cuff with the needles sticking into him is going to be painful. Ashley, Dr. Johnston. One of you needs to be over here as I remove it. There’s a lot of blood already coming from these wounds.”
“Wait a minute, Amos.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Dad’s coming back. I can feel his aura. Cole can too.”
My body has been shaking since the back door brought cold air in against my nude body but my whimpers and whines are now uncontrollable.
“He’s not going to walk away again.” I wheeze through my whine trying to find a way to stand but I’m uselessly weak after days without food and water.
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