Chapter 122
(Demetri POV)
I’m stunned in place as Cole backs away from the table. Considering the effort it took for him to get out here, I’m surprised he’s even standing, let alone that he’s cradling Madilyn protectively to his chest.
‘Do not move. He’s going to take off but he’s going upstairs. He’s in no condition to do anything else. Keep Lucas in his seat and the path to the stairs clear.’
I link with Patrick, Parker and Damian. To my relief, I see Patrick move behind Lucas, putting his hands lightly on his shoulders.
Cole’s eyes are darting wildly making me wonder how the young man can even comprehend what he’s seeing. No matter, he seems to see what he needs to take off into the foyer towards the stairs.
‘Angela, Lilly; Cole is headed upstairs with Madilyn.’
I stay seated, steepling my hands, thinking deeply about the information Cole just shared. What kind of hell has this young man been living in? What kind of mental torture has he had to endure? To be the one forced to go into their rooms, to untie them as they fight and scream. To see their broken, battered bodies. To find out they had killed themselves after Dallas forced them to abort his pup in the cruelest way possible.
He admitted that the pups of his pack are indeed being molested and raped. I just have no way of putting his acknowledgment of seeing the damaging results of such treatment in the pups with the fact that he’s providing protection marks for them.
Which brings up another question, does he even realize that the marks are protecting them? Or is his knowledge confined to the fact that it relieves the symptoms? Did he even say? I can’t remember. Which is why I recorded it. I need to revisit it, transcribe it for future use.
Then there’s his knowledge of Melody. How does he know after such a short visit from ten feet or more away that she’s a pre-shift? That they had unprotected sex?
Considering he’s interacting on a regular basis with seven to fifteen year old girls, it’s understandable that he would recognize her age but his ability to detect semen on her or worse, in her? Shock doesn’t even begin to describe the feelings I have.
Cole’s yelp echoes through the foyer. The only reason I stay seated is because I had heard Angela’s footsteps coming from the west wing. Her voice is too quiet for me to understand, reassuring me of her ability to calm him when I know I’m far too angry to do so.
“I’m heading to bed.” Lucas suddenly declares trying to stand from the table.
“No, you’re not. You will remain at the table until I take you to your room.”
My voice is calm, but firm with a monotonous tone.
“And when will that be? I’m tired.”
“When Cole is asleep or once you tell me who you’ve been having sex with.”
“I’m not telling you about Melody or the others I’ve slept with.”
He has a dangerously daring tone to his voice, pissing me off even further as I cringe from Cole’s yelps. They are muffled by the fact that he’s upstairs in his room but they are as painful to hear as it is to feel my stomach churning wildly with the stress he’s in. I sigh heavily before turning my attention back on Lucas.
“You and Damian both are under the same strict rules. When each of you turned sixteen, I sat you down and talked at length, not simply about what sex was and how to do it but the laws of the pack and my own strict rules. I made it clear that sex before adulthood was a privilege not a right and as long as you’re under twenty-one and living under my roof you will follow my rules. First rule being, as an alpha, you can only have sex with shifters delta level or higher. Having sex with a gamma or omega can be misconstrued as rape by coercion because of the rank difference. You can also run into the risk of accidental pregnancy with a non-shifter which tends to be high in those ranks. Getting a non-shifter pregnant with an alpha’s pup will kill both of them.”
“I know this dad!”
“Well you’re running the same unnecessary risk by having unprotected sex with a pre-shift!”
“No, I’m not! None of the girls I’ve been with can get pregnant! Do you really think I’m stupid enough to bed a pre-shift that can get pregnant!”
“You can’t be serious.”
I’m completely bowled over by his admittance of not only having sex with girls under sixteen but with girls too young to have started their menses. I start drumming my fingers on the wooden table, I can’t believe Cole is correct. That Melody is likely between ten and twelve years old and my sixteen year old son is having sex with them.
“How many have you forced?”
I sound a lot calmer than I actually am, the shock of what little he’s shared with me is gnawing at my brain but one of my skills as an alpha is asking just the right questions to elicit an emotional response that’s more likely to give me the information I’m after when the one I’m questioning doesn’t want to be straightforward with their answers.
“What the hell dad! I would never rape them!”
“Sex with an under aged girl is still rape, Lucas. You’re a sixteen year old alpha male. You have influence. That’s the whole reason I have such strict rules on sex. That’s why you not only have to follow pack laws but my rules as well. It’s why I raised the two of you, as well as your sisters, in a way to promote an open relationship with your mother and I. We raised you so that sex is not a taboo subject to be swept under the rug. Yet everything I have talked to you about concerning the responsibilities that come with being sexually active has been tossed away like a sack of garbage. How many girls have you forced?!”
“None. They wanted it. They begged me to be their first and I figured what better way to stay away from diseases and condoms than to bang virgins.”
I run my hands roughly through my hair. More information that I needed but didn’t want to know. The only benefit I have at the moment is that my kitchen help has already left and Damian is silently clearing the dishes from the table.
I motion silently for him to leave his brother’s plate while Parker sprays down the table and towels it off. It’s only after things appear calm with Lucas that I ask Parker and Patrick to check in on the prospects with an emphasis on Jamie. He has an appointment with Angela in the morning to check on his healing and I plan on meeting with him to ask about what he saw in regards to today’s fight.
Damian takes a seat in my normal spot, pulling his phone from his back pocket as he does. Everything has gone silent as I struggle with the increasing cramps forming in my own abdomen. I go through a series of deep breathing exercises, trying to calm and soothe my nausea and pain but I can tell that he’s struggling badly.
I catch Damian’s eyes after a particularly harsh attempt for my stomach to turn itself inside out. Fortunately, by decreasing the amount I eat and eating more frequently I have been able to ride Cole’s bouts of severe anxiety since the worst of it hit last night. I will admit that I’ve never had a significant delayed reaction before. I had a hint of queasiness the night he came but it was nothing compared to last night when he had his night terror.
“Are you okay?” He nearly whispers.
“Yeah, I’m in need of some Zofran and Ativan. It’s been a long time since a wolf like Cole has been around.”
“Is that why we’re still sitting at the table? You don’t want to make him more anxious?”
“Something like that. Even though Cole is extremely sensitive he has no perception of the different auras a werewolf can create. All he understands is power and his abuse is deep enough that he feared Patrick this evening.”
Damian nods quietly. “I saw him try to move away from Patrick when Pat got upset seeing his head. That’s not normal. Alpha’s usually only respond to the pack leader with submission. I’ve never heard of one fearing a lower rank.”
“None of it’s normal as Cole doesn’t have a normal life.”
I reach into my pocket, pulling out my ringing phone.
“Lilly?” She starts talking before I have a chance to ask what’s going on.
“Demetri, what happened at dinner after I left? I know Lucas was being ridiculous with his comments but he was a lot better than this when I brought Maddie up.”
“I’m sorry. I should have warned you two that he would be rough. He got fed up with Lucas’s comments and cussed him out. The trouble is he’s disclosed disturbing information both from his own pack as well as what, or rather who, Lucas was having relations with last night. I’m certain disclosing such information about the alpha’s son the way he did has him anticipating some sort of significant physical punishment.”
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