Chapter 173
“Are you certain that’s the best way?” I ask as he places the call and puts it on speaker.
“Dad, are you busy? Alpha Black needs help with Cole. He’s gone into a black out.”
“Well that doesn’t sound too good. Fortunately, I am at a stopping point for the evening. What’s going on? How can I help?” Jamie places the phone into my outstretched hand.
“Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. I am sorry for the sudden call, Mr. Jenkins.”
“Not at all an issue Alpha Black. Cole is like a son to us so it’s always disturbing to hear that he’s struggling.”
“I’ve been having issues with my sixteen year old son and unfortunately it appears Cole has become his target. He’s already been sent away to his room, house arrest again until I can figure something more out as it’s imperative to get Cole back into a functioning state before something else happens.”
“The only way I’ve been able to bring him back is through submission, alpha. It’s not the best way considering the triggers it creates but nothing else I’ve tried has worked. I truly wish there was another, more comforting way.”
“So what do you do, Mr. Jenkins?”
“I grab the hand pads and give him something to hit for a while. He has a lot of pent up anger and frustration from the abuse he’s been forced to endure. Shit…” I hear Jon curse lowly under his breath.
“Relax, Mr. Jenkins. I’m already aware of his situation at home. Well sort of. This was not a testing or training exercise that got Cole into this situation. Today is the first day I’ve allowed him to explore the grounds on his own since having him admitted to the hospital.”
“You had to admit him as soon as he got there?” Jon is completely shocked.
“Unfortunately, without Cole’s permission I can’t tell you the details but yes. He spent four days going in between the medical wing and my medical room on the second floor. When we made an extremely dangerous discovery we transferred him to the ICU at Crimson General. He was there a week before we brought him back early to the medical wing. I was able to step him down to the medical room a week ago.”
“He’s been in the hospital for six weeks.”
His voice is breathy with shock as I’ve already told him too much.
“He’s recovering slowly from his ordeal but he has recovered enough that Jamie doesn’t believe he has the strength or stamina needed to bring him back to reality. That’s why he called you. Now you said to start with allowing him to get his anger and frustration out but using the training hand pads usually reserved for beginners.” I make the statement loudly as Patrick and his son walk into the training annex.
I receive a silent nod of recognition as they head over to the equipment closet.
“Yes, you need to spar with him until he loses his steam. It should be easier for you to tell when that happens as an alpha. It took me several times to really start recognizing it. Once he doesn’t have a lot of fight left in him, I wrap him in a bear hug and use a modified submission hold on him.”
“Is it okay to speak, boss?” Patrick inquires as he approaches the ring with the hand pads.
“Jon Jenkins is still on the phone but yes, what’s on your mind?”
“Lucas complained of being in pain so I took him to Dr. Pierce. Jessa verified that he wasn’t faking it to get out of house arrest so I called luna to stay with him while Dr. Pierce does a bare bottom exam. When asked what happened Lucas claims that Cole challenged him to a sparring match after watching him spar with his friends and several prospects.”
I nod slowly as Jon comes over the phone.
“Alpha, Cole doesn’t spar.” He states slowly testing the water for my receptivity towards his information.
“Considering the state of mind it seems to put him in, I guess not. But that makes me wonder how he’s gone through three packs as a prospect without being able to spar without the council being alerted to there being a prospect in the program that can’t perform the basics of the program.”
“I’m not certain how he functions when he’s in other packs. He may have found a way to do just enough to stay in the program but here, when I train with him, which is the only formal training he receives, sparring is kept to the basics. Any actual contact between him and his opponent causes him to go into a protective black out where he is in pure defensive autopilot. He has no understanding of what he’s done while in this black out and finding out that he’s hurt anyone, even if they were attacking him, is devastating for him. He despises hurting anyone.”
I take a deep breath and let it out as a sigh.
“Tell me Mr. Jenkins, right now he’s standing relatively still. I just can’t tell from his eyes how present with reality he is. What’s the best way to engage him without hurting him?”
“Touch his hands. He will draw back ready to fight if he’s not ready to come back to reality yet.”
“Have you ever tried your parental aura with him?” He sighs hard before answering.
“I have but it wasn’t strong enough to reach him.”
“How do you implement this modified submission?”
“I usually need to resort to sparring with him until he’s exhausted before I’m able to physically tackle him to the ground. Once I have him on his side, I straddle him, placing one hand flat against his chest just below his neck and the other is flat against the back of his neck. It’s a really rough go for him but it’s the only thing I’ve been able to do to get him out. I’ve seen others in the pack use tranquilizer darts on him which is even worse as he ends up overdosed and sent to General comatose.”
“My goddess, how often does this happen to him? That's awful.” Patrick exclaims.
“Well that’s not going to happen here. Thank you for your input, Mr. Jenkins. You’ve given me several ways to deal with this situation.”
“Your welcome alpha. I’m going to let you go Jamie. I need to head over to the daycare. Call me at the same time tonight?”
“Yeah dad, we’ll talk more later.”
“Thank you. Love you.” As Jamie hangs up with his father I enter the sparring ring, now sparsely surrounded by those who chose to stay.
“All right Cole. Let’s see how you respond to me.”
“Cole.”
I call as I approach the young man cautiously not knowing what kind of reaction I’m going to get.
“I need you to come to me, Cole. I promise you’re not in trouble, there’s no punishment of any kind coming to you. I’m not going to hurt you son.”
I keep my voice firm yet kind and reassuring as he finds his feet. Slowly inching his way forward I can tell that he’s scared and in a lot of pain.
“That’s it. Come to me Cole. Once you’re calm I’ll take you to see Angela.”
For a moment he looks into my eyes and it’s truly frightening to see the level of fear he’s in right now.
“Alpha, I’m sorry.” His voice is low, submissive and uncertain.
“I know you are. Everything is okay. Lucas is with Luna Lilly and Angela now. He will be moved to his room once I tell him the consequences of his actions.”
“Please alpha. Stop hurting him because of me.”
His voice is pleading for mercy even though my son is showing him none. I stretch my arms out in a hug, inviting him to come closer as he comes to a stop.
“Come closer, Cole. Holding you will help calm everything down.”
He shakes his head slowly.
“I can’t.” I barely hear him whisper.
I can see his hands shaking as he balls them into fists. He closes his eyes as he stands stiff as a statue reminding me of someone prepared to receive a lashing.
“Cole, I need you to follow my directions. Can you do that for me? I promise I’m not going to hurt you but no matter how gently I approach you I know it’s going to scare you. You’re going to want to pull away and I need you to fight that. Let me help you Cole.”
He shakes his head slowly again speaking in a mere whisper.
“I don’t know how. Alpha please. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry for all of this.”
I continue my slow approach as he’s yet to open his eyes again to see me but I know he can feel me. He shifts his feet back as I touch his fists with my open hands gently sliding them up to his elbows before cradling them at his sides.
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