Sunday May 12th Pt. 6
(9pm; Deven’s POV)
We’ve been on the road about an hour yet we’re not even halfway to Shadowlands.
‘Cass.’ I turn the radio down and link with my best friend and alpha.
‘So now you’re going to use the link?’ He speaks sarcastically with a chuckle behind his voice.
‘I need you to start researching sanctuary laws. This lad needs help.’
‘That’s why you’re helping him. What else has happened?’
‘Listen.’ I encourage as Colton whimpers and whines in his sleep.
‘Is that him?’ Cass asks, shocked.
‘He’s sleeping but yes. I’ve already pulled over twice to interrupt his nightmares. He indicated that was why he left the hospital but wouldn’t talk about the dream.’
‘What do you think is going on?’
‘As was said before, this isn’t a one time incident. I haven’t met a wolf yet that hasn’t gone feral with the amount of damage this young man is showing me.’
‘Showing you? Dev please, he has no memory so you need to get detailed.’
‘I’m pulling off at the rest stop.’
‘Dev, what’s going on?’
‘He’s fighting.’
I allow Cassius to maintain his link as I park and hop out of the Jeep. I jog lightly around the front and open his door just as he sits up screaming.
“No! Stop it! Leave him be! He’s just boy!”
While his sentences make no immediate sense to me his determination to leave the car does. He wrestles the seat belt from around him before jumping from the parked vehicle. He runs easily into me as a blind terror has taken a hold of him.
While his past may be a mystery his behavior most certainly is not. He’s easily displaying signs of severe ptsd that are causing him to go through brief rounds of psychosis.
I wrap my arms around him as he jumps, screams and struggles against me.
‘What’s going on?’ Cassius' concern has grown.
“Stay with me.” I encourage.
‘Which one.’
‘Both.’ I link back quickly.
“Talk to me Colton. What happened?”
“The dream. It won’t stop.”
He sobs as he fights my guidance towards my shoulder.
“Lay your head. I’m not going to hurt you. Talk to me, tell me your dream.”
He continues his fight against me until exhaustion sets in.
“I can’t see in my dream but I can feel it. The little boy is pinned against a table or desk. His father is hitting him, whipping him hard. It’s violent and unrelenting. I can feel the cuts from something metal hitting his skin and his screams only make it worse. I don’t understand. His boy is begging him to stop but he just won’t stop.”
He finally quiets his frantic speech just to bawl on my shoulder. He grabs hold of the side of my shirt with his right hand as I hold him close to my body.
‘Dev?’
‘He’s not fighting me, it’s okay to talk.’
‘That dream. Do you think it was just a dream?’
‘No.’ I respond simply.
‘Me neither. Tell me what you need.’
‘As I started in the car, I need updated laws on sanctuary. How long has it been since I brought you a wolf in need of sanctuary?’
‘Three, four years. Enough for them to change several times.’
‘Yes sir. I will also need you to get an appointment with Aaron Hamilton. The bones in his wrist are not correct. I attempted a realignment before leaving but it only fixed it part way. We need to put him in twilight and use the traction machine to stretch his arm out. Hopefully everything will fall into place.’
“I need to use the bathroom.” I barely hear Colton whisper.
‘Link with me again when you’re back on the road.’
Cassius lets go of the link as Colton pushes himself slowly off of me.
“We’re at a rest stop so the bathroom isn’t a problem.”
I help steady him before pointing to the building behind him.
“Just give me a minute to lock the Jeep.”
He nods as I step away. It only takes a moment to lock everything and catch up to him easily.
“Deven?” His voice is nervous and hesitant.
“Talk to me.”
He shakes his head.
“It’s okay to voice your needs.”
“I’m embarrassed.”
“Don’t be. I’m a doctor. I’ve seen and done everything to help another.”
I’m trying to keep the conversation light.
“My arm hurts enough that I don’t want to move it but I’m not certain how to take care of my pants without it.”
“Helping you is no issue. You guide me to what you’re comfortable with.”
He nods his consent as we enter the building.
It took longer than I expected to take care of our bathroom break as Colton struggled immensely with my help. Despite directly asking for it, skin to skin touch even for the briefest of moments, was foreign and uncomfortable for him. In the end we did succeed and we’re now back to traveling with a little over an hour left to go.
I found a set of Bluetooth headphones in the Jeep. I was concerned they wouldn’t fit but they worked out easily. I paired them with my phone and pulled up the internet, he easily found the sounds of a thunderstorm and has finally found peace while he sleeps.
‘Cass are you still up.’
‘I was beginning to believe you weren’t coming home.’ He jokes around with me.
‘I think we found a way to make it without stopping. I hope to be home before midnight.
What were you able to find?’
‘Dr. Hamilton was off tomorrow so he’s willing to come into Shadowland University to put him in traction with the fluoroscope. I added chest, head and spine to your orders. I know he said no needles but do you think you can change his mind.’
‘I hope to when we get home. I’m hoping he will accept a shot of toradol.’
‘Laws have changed drastically. I’m certain we can help him under the current sanctuary laws without him knowing what happened to him but it is critical that we identify him. We need blood.’
‘If I can get him to agree to twilight then I will be getting a lot of tests done on him.’
‘Good. What else do you need?’
‘Two things.’
‘What are those?’
‘I haven’t asked this of you since that second wolf went very, very wrong but I need you to back off this one. He expressed enough fear that meeting you immediately may make him flee and I can not take the chance of that happening until his wrist is fixed. He couldn’t even pull his own pants down because of the pain he’s in.’
‘Are you absolutely certain he’s not a feral?’
‘Over half the three dozen wolves I’ve helped have been feral. I know them easily now. He’s terrified of making a mistake. Had a panic attack over the menu because and I quote ‘he doesn’t choose’. His wolf is dormant which has lowered everything about him to a human level. He isn’t a threat to anyone. Cody at six is stronger than him.’
‘Does this mean you’re keeping him at your house?’
‘Yes. Sheila will struggle but she will come around. He’s afraid of the hospital so that will be brief and monitoring him at my house is the only safe place outside the medical wing.’
‘What’s the second thing?’
‘We need immediate involvement of the council. With his wolf in a coma and his diagnosis of dissociative amnesia he has no understanding about werewolves, who is safe and who is not. I don’t wish to trap him at Shadowlands but if he flees we need to be able to find him.’
‘You want a tracker for him.’
‘Until the amnesia resolves and his wolf has recovered, yes.’
‘I have written everything down and I will speak to you at the hospital. I’ll stay out of sight, he won’t know that I’m there but Aaron is doing this as a favor to me so my presence will be there.’
‘Thank you Cassius.’
We let go of the link at the same time. I reach over to Colton and place my hand on his. I keep my touch light as I brush my fingers against his. To my relief his face visibly relaxes while moving his fingers slowly. I leave my touch with him until he stops, showing me that he’s back into the deep sleep he needs.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
