Chapter 140
Friday January 26th
(Cole’s POV)
I’m awake even though I’m too exhausted to even bother opening my eyes. My entire body aches in a way that I don’t recall feeling before. The only thing comparable was waking up in the hospital after my father forced them to take me off all medication after he took a whip to my back. It’s a struggle not to mentally return to those days.
Part of me wants to trust this alpha. To reach out for the help he seems desperate to give me. To leave my home forever. But I’ve done that before. Three times now actually and each time they ran painful tests on me, before accusing me of lying, abusing me and ultimately abandoning me.
Never again will I fall for their tricks. All he wants is dirt on my pack. Dirt that will only result in relentless beatings from my father and over the last year, my brothers.
Just because Andre hesitated with Saturday’s beating doesn’t mean anything. He’s laid into me hard before and Kristoph, well he’s already consistently there. Hell, he’s even more vicious than my father. He’s the one that suggested drugging me just before they start beating me last year. Now when I’m chained I have to power through an overdose of Valium just to get away.
I’m surprised I even managed to break the chains last Saturday. I don’t know what the other drug dad gave me was when he broke the needle off into my neck but it definitely seems to have a lasting effect.
I startle hard when I hear the door open and soft footsteps approach.
“Cole?” A soft feminine voice calls to me.
I can feel her aura as she sits on the bed. It’s powerful but different from what I’m used to. I still shrink away, whimpering in the process from the pain I’m in.
“I’m sorry, Cole. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ve come to wake Madilyn so I can get her ready for school. You don’t look much better than when I left you last night. I’ll let Demetri know that you’re awake. He wants to take you down to the medical wing.”
I force open my eyes to find Luna Black sitting on the side of my bed gently rubbing Madilyn’s back. She starts stirring around gently before sitting up, looking at me.
“Good morning, Cole.”
“Hey sweet pea.”
I force a smile as I reach to move a piece of hair from her mouth but I stop just short of actually doing it.
“You’re still ‘fraid of me.” She whispers sadly. I open my mouth to respond but close it instead. I refuse to lie to a little.
“I’m sorry.” I finally manage to whisper.
“It’s okay to touch me.”
“I can’t.” I gasp as I feel Alpha Black walk into the room. I close my eyes as he nears the bed.
“Deep breaths, Cole. Slow and steady son.”
I reach up into my hair, gathering the lengthy strands into my fist as I struggle to contain my desire to whimper and yelp. My entire body suddenly feels like it’s on fire and fisting my hair is all I can think of to distract me from the pain.
“Cole?”
I hear Madilyn’s voice quiver in fear on the verge of tears as I struggle with the onslaught of unprovoked pain.
“I’ve got this Lilly. Shut the door on your way out.”
I barely notice their exit as alpha slips down beside me.
“What’s going on Cole. No one has done anything but you seem to be in extreme pain.”
“I don’t know.”
I barely pant through as I start tugging on my hair, desperate for a distraction from the burning pain coursing through my body.
“Come close to me.”
Alpha encourages me as I refuse to move a muscle. I can feel him getting closer but I physically can’t do anything. I am trapped by the increasing pain and I can’t hold back the whimpers.
“What’s going on Cole?”
“I don’t know. It burns bad.”
I manage to pant through a second time. I can feel him sliding his arm under my head. I whimper hard as I lift my head trying to accommodate his desire to be close.
“Let it out, Cole.”
I shake my head no as I start holding my breath. The deep burning sensation is coursing through my body and is growing in intensity. I yelp and scream in pain as he pulls me close. I can feel my body shaking as he settles me into a hug.
“Put your arm around me. Grab onto my shirt. You can squeeze and pull as much as you need.”
I do as he instructs but it’s painful to move and I’m whimpering badly when I’m done. I feel him tenderly petting my hair. It’s the only movement either of us is making as I wait for this strange but incredibly painful symptom to go away. Symptom of what, I don’t know.
“Am I hurting you?”
Alpha’s voice surprises me. It’s incredibly gentle and genuinely concerned that his touch is hurting me.
“No.” I lie.
Despite the gentleness of his touch everything hurts right now but his gentle pets are creating a different kind of pain. One that’s familiar, easier to tolerate and I want to concentrate on it over the unfamiliar, unrelenting burn that’s trying to consume me from the inside out.
I remain completely still and silent, concentrating on my breathing. In for five out for five. Alpha has tucked me into his shoulder, his neck providing a constant stream of his scent.
Although the first scent I’ve come to expect from him was different I found it calming when I was stressed. He’s now giving off a new scent. It’s equally as calming but different then before.
Slowly the burn dies down, leaving me completely exhausted and ready to sleep. Yet the pain from the broken ribs and concussion are now screaming and I know rest isn’t going to happen.
“I’d like to get you downstairs to Angela in the medical wing. Do you think you can get down the stairs?”
I nod my head slowly as I try to lift my head off the alpha. It feels like it weighs a ton as I whimper in defeat, putting it back down on the pillow as alpha gets up.
“I don’t like this. I need your help, Cole. Tell me what you’re feeling.”
I open my eyes, turning my head slightly, looking briefly into his eyes before the pain of the position causes me to look away.
“It feels like someone threw me into the fire pit. Only it started on the inside, in my chest.”
He picks his phone up from the pillow beside me, dials a number and puts it on speaker.
“Hello?” The familiar voice of Dr. Pierce greets him.
“I’m sorry for the early hour. I know you have things that you’re setting up.”
“I’m not busy and you sound worried, what’s going on?”
“Well I guess that’s the problem. Neither of us know. Lilly used the link to tell me Cole was in a lot of pain when she came in. When I got here it steadily got worse. I laid with him, pulled him into a hug so I could hold him through the worst of it but the act of touching him was torture. It’s calmed down now but the worst of it lasted about three minutes from when Lilly linked me to when he started relaxing.”
“Did he tell you anything about what he felt?”
“It was like a fire started in his chest and spread through his entire body.”
“Burning is a common reaction to silver and wolfsbane.”
“We know he’s been exposed to silver.”
“But we don’t know if it’s made it into his blood. So far all tests on the hypodermic needle we pulled out of him is negative for drugs. I’m going to order them to check for traces of silver and wolfsbane.”
“He’s not going to like it but I need you to admit him to the wing for the day.” I whine softly at his comment.
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