Chapter 141
“The final bus with two dozen prospects arrives early this afternoon and I’ve got several meetings and a ton of paperwork backed up. I’m not going to be able to keep an eye on him as I’d like and after such a painful random flair I don’t want him alone.”
“That’s understandable but I don’t know that I can force him to stay.”
“When you see him you’ll understand why I don’t think he will fight us on it.”
“So I can prepare for him, what do you need?”
“I’m sorry Cole.”
“Why?” I can’t help but respond to his genuine sadness.
He reaches over and I can’t control my wince as his fingers connect with my hair.
“I’m sorry” I whisper quickly at the sight of alpha’s hurt expression.
“It’s okay Cole. It’s just a scar that will take time for us both to adjust to. It’s been four years since we’ve last gone through this. As many wolves as I’ve helped I don’t think I’ll ever get used to anyone cringing at the sight of my hand.” He explains gently.
There’s something about what he says that reaches me. Against my own wishes my body responds and makes contact with the alpha’s eyes.
“I’m sorry Cole, but I need to get blood from you. We need to start running panels to figure out what’s going on as I believe you’re very sick and it’s only a matter of time before you crash.
Our previous try was on the left because you were favoring the right side for laying on. That’s why it took so long to find that laceration on the right side of your head. We have a special chair. It’s going to be rough because we will be belting you down but we need to get the blood. I will help you get through it and we are going to turn it into an IV when we’re done. Your arms are heavily bruised from all the shots over three days. We’re going to start giving all your medicine through the IV again and I want to run fluids as well. It’s hard to tell how hydrated you are.”
I nod my head slowly even though I really just want to be left alone. It’s always been easier to just agree with everything than try to fight against it.
“What do you want to order?”
“First it’s critical that there’s no cap on Cole. He gets what he needs. Not just the minimum to stay alive but to actually assist him in getting better.”
“Demetri, you know we have never been that way.”
Dr. Pierce sounds shocked that he even mentioned such a thing.
“But he doesn’t.” Alpha responds quietly. “It would be so much easier if Jessa was feeling better. She could narrow down what we’re dealing with.”
“She’s doing better. She actually showed up this morning and checked on Melody but I sent her back to her apartment once she was finished with her. I’ll be clearing her to go home in an hour or two. Do you want me to call her?”
“No. I want to run as much as we can. What do we have in regards to in-house tests for wolfsbane and silver?”
“Not much. We have a finger prick test that will tell us if he has either in his blood at the minimum concentration it takes to cause generalized weakness.”
“I want him tested for both. If he comes up positive, then I want a panel run to find concentration levels. If he’s positive for silver then we need to know the purity level so we can get him on the correct binders. Check his sugar level that way too. We need to start tracking how well he’s maintaining his sugar levels since he’s not eating regular meals. I want to get a complete blood count with differential, comprehensive metabolic panel, thyroid panel, cardiac biomarkers, liver function, kidney function, arterial blood gas, C-reactive protein, nutritional panel and abo typing.”
“Some of those have already been run? Are you certain you want to run them again?”
“Yes, we can use Tuesday’s results as a comparison of a rapid decline despite our best efforts to help him.”
“And are you certain about the abo typing? Do you really feel it’s necessary?”
“I do. I want him typed and matched to known compatible donors in the territory. I want to be ready for the worst case scenario.”
“Speaking of the worst case, I’m adding a blood culture to it and I want another urine sample. I’m going to have a urine culture and other tests done looking for anything abnormal in his urine. His results will determine the next best course of action.”
“I agree Angela. Thank you. We will see you in a few minutes.”
“I’ll set up the room he was in Wednesday night. Being in a private and familiar room should help his anxiety once we get him through the bath and blood draw.”
“I’ll meet you in the lab.”
I watch silently as he hangs up with Dr. Pierce. That’s a lot of tests.
“Am I really that bad?” I accidentally whisper out loud.
“We’re trying to get ahead of whatever is going on with you. If you get worse or we can’t control the pain by the end of the day then I will be admitting you back to the wing. A rapid decline will result in a transfer to Crimson General. I know how scared you are of the hospital but it is possible for you to hit a point of no choice and I’m already pushing that boundary way too close to the point of no return. I know you're struggling to believe and trust us but I promise, nothing we’re doing is out of malice.”
I nod my head slowly as I start slowly moving my limbs, trying to figure out how painful my body is. I whimper as I push myself up slowly to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Let me know how I can help.”
Alpha states softly as he slowly walks around the bed to where I sit. I can tell he’s using caution when he moves, watching for my reaction. He seems to genuinely dislike my fear of him, the first alpha I’ve encountered like that. Could my father actually be wrong about this pack?
He wasn’t with the other three. I know he has purposely chosen the pack’s with the worst reputation for being strict and unforgiving to the point of abuse to send me to. I’m deep in thought as I attempt to stand, yelping and whimpering as I end up losing my balance and fall back onto the bed.
“Wait a second before you try again.” Alpha’s voice is gentle and patient making it easy to follow his directions.
“Take my hand when you’re ready.” I nod my head as I reach for his hand, grasping it firmly as I pull myself up.
I sway hard again, yelping when his arm closes around me, pulling me into him instead backwards into the bed.
“It’s okay to lean on me.”
He encourages as I lean my head on his shoulder struggling to breathe through the pain of just standing up. Part of me is ready to give in, to take myself to the hospital. I can deal with pain. I haven’t had a choice as the majority of my life has been spent in constant pain. It’s a reminder, my father tells me, of why I should be afraid. Always aware of what and who’s around me. No one can be trusted.
But this pain is different. I don’t know how but it’s more difficult to deal with than what I’m used to. It’s only when it’s different like this that I end up in the hospital.
I pick my head up slowly. The concussions I’ve gotten over the last week have made it easy to become dizzy and disoriented. Once I know how I feel, I push myself up off the alpha and move my feet. One step at a time I inch towards the door leading back to the place of my darkest fears. Without a fight I head back to the hospital wing. I have no doubts with the way I’m feeling I’ll be seeing the inside of Crimson General sooner than I would like.
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