Chapter 144
I head back to where Cole is sitting after walking Melody and her parents to the door. He took advantage of his freedom from the restraints to move himself to a less intimidating chair still inside the lab. He’s not looking good and he has me very concerned.
Myla has finished up the lab work and has taken the tubes not going to the lab at Crimson General down the hall so our own techs can get started on them. I slow my walk as I approach him. He’s stressed and in enough pain that the last thing I want is to startle him. He’s sitting in a cushioned chair now. His arms are on his legs and his face is in his hands.
Angela stops me before I sit, handing me a clipboard with papers. I can tell by their appearance that the documents are legally binding and I need to sit down and actually read them. She reaches into my pants pocket and pulls out my phone, she’s one of only four people aware of my password.
I step away from her and sit in a seat across from Cole. It doesn’t take long for her to set my phone up to record the conversation.
“Cole, I am very sorry but things seem to be getting worse which is why I want to record this conversation. Is that okay with you?”
He raises his head slowly from his hands, he looks completely exhausted but manages to speak.
“Yes ma’am. That’s fine.”
She places the phone on the table beside Cole considering he’s the quietest one out of the three of us.
“I don’t mean to scare you but I’m certain you are already aware that things are getting very bad for you. The flair you had upstairs as well as the one you had a few minutes ago is a very concerning symptom of silver withdrawal so it’s very important that you be completely honest with me. Have you ever, at any time in your life, used silver as a drug?”
Shock washes over his face, he appears to be at a loss for words.
“No ma’am.” He finally whispers. “I started helping Olivia when I was sixteen and I’ve been protecting the littles since I was seventeen. I have to keep a sound mind for that.”
“I didn’t think so but I always have to ask as that is the most common cause for silver being in a werewolf’s blood.”
He shakes his head not understanding what is going on.
“I thought silver was deadly for werewolves.”
“A bullet of high purity silver penetrating your heart or with the use of modern medicine, injecting it into a vein, are the quickest ways for our kind to die, yes. But it was discovered about sixty years ago that small doses of high purity or large doses of low purity silver have temporary enhancement features. When injected into the muscle, either one will give you a euphoric high as well as increased strength and stamina with decreased pain perception. It’s very common for prospects in poor shape to engage in using it for that purpose. Unfortunately, those who do use it, often don’t realize the danger they are putting themselves in. The high only lasts for twenty-four hours but withdrawal takes three to five days to start. You’ve been here almost four days so if you were exposed to silver before leaving home you are in the time frame to be in withdrawal.”
“I thought you tested for silver with the drug test?”
“I didn’t take a large enough sample of blood when you were here Tuesday to run all the standard panels that we do on prospects. That’s what I’m doing now. All the blood I just took will be processed for all the standard panels that we run on all transfers into our pack, which is more extensive than council requirements for prospects. As you know, I ran the quick test for silver and wolfsbane which is why we are talking right now with the recorder on, you are positive for silver in your blood. My fear is that you’re in withdrawal and possibly have been in withdrawal for several days now. The level of injuries that you have can easily mask the early symptoms.”
“What am I in for? I’ve never gone through withdrawal before.”
“First I need to know exactly what you’re feeling.”
“Freezing cold, dizzy, I’ve got a migraine which makes being in this room very difficult.”
“The lights?” Angela asks.
He nods even though he’s leaning forward on his knees again.
“The echo in here hurts too.”
“So you’re having light and sound sensitivities.”
“Yes ma’am. I feel like hurling even though it’s been a while since I’ve eaten or drank anything. Abs hurt constantly. My whole body does, actually. Feels like I’ve been hit by a bus.”
“You said that last night.” I chime in.
“Have any of your symptoms changed while you’ve been here?”
He nods his head but takes his time before speaking.
“My head and my tremors.”
“You have noticed that they have changed?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Can you tell me how?”
“My head was throbbing constantly but the dizziness only happened with fast movements after my encounter with the counter. It started dying down Wednesday morning. Had it stayed persistent then I would have been a lot stronger about getting Madilyn back to the alpha. Although I won’t turn a little away I can’t protect them, take care of them after something this harsh happens. My migraines and everything that goes with it, came back even worse several hours after Lucas kicked me in the face. I figured it was a delayed reaction to the concussion.”
“And the tremors?”
“My hands always have a bit of shakiness but it feels like it’s in my entire body.”
“Is that unusual for you considering the stress, pain and anxiety of being here injured?”
“Honestly, no. I just noticed that the migraine and full body tremors started about the same time after they had started to subside.”
“When was that?”
I join the conversation now that I’ve finished reading the document Angela gave me.
“It started creeping in while at dinner. It hit me hard when you interrupted Dr. Pierce’s desire to do the lidocaine shots around my leg.”
“Did that play a part in not wanting the shots?”
He shakes his head, lowering his face back into his hands.
I watch silently as he slowly moves his hands to the sides of his head, covering his ears. I must admit that it’s nice to see this calm and mature side of him.
“Hopefully we have caught this before you have gone too deep into withdrawal. The silver panels I have ordered will give me an idea of which issue we are dealing with as there are two different types of withdrawal you can encounter.
The first type is when you have received either a large dose of low purity silver or a small dose of high purity silver. Withdrawal of either of those is called Silver Shock Syndrome. Most healthy wolves can make it off of that without an issue. You just feel like you’ve caught a virus and feel really bad for about a week. Headache, dizziness, nausea, muscle aches and sometimes vomiting.”
“Sounds like the aftermath of a late night party.”
He states dryly with a slight chuckle to his voice.
“What if I’ve got both low and high purity in my blood?”
He gets right back to being serious.
“Triple S in your condition would already be a serious ordeal for you to deal with. If you come back with significant concentrations of both high and low purity silver or an extremely high concentration of high purity then that is considered silver poisoning. Withdrawal from silver poisoning without medical help has a fifty percent death rate in healthy wolves.”
“I guess that means I don’t have much of a shot, do I?”
The sadness in his voice physically hurts as his silent tears fall.
“I guess dad really had it out for me this time.”
“You think he exposed you to silver purposely?”
I prod hoping that he forgot that my phone next to him is recording. He shakes his head slowly.
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