Chapter 37
It’s as he starts to kneel that I grab his arm, stopping him from moving. He makes eye contact with me briefly before looking back to the ground in a respectful submission.
He looks worried but doesn’t say anything to me. I grab two stools from across the room and call his name as I roll one over to him. I kick the other one consistently as I walk back over.
“Have you ever seen him while he’s at General?”
“Only the two times that my dad and I took him. He’s not allowed to have friends. I think his father is afraid the secrets of their relationship will get out. It’s not easy for Cole there. I’m sorry Cole. I shouldn’t be sharing your business like this.”
“It’s okay....., Jamie.... He’s..... a doctor.... He’s.... already.... figured.... it out.... He’d..... be stupid..... not to..... Let.... Jamie.... speak.... for me.... alpha.”
“It would be easier for you to communicate through the link so yes, that’s fine. With certain statements I may ask you to verify what he’s said so just nod or give me a thumbs up, whichever is easiest for you.”
He gives me a thumbs up as he adjusts his position to be more on his belly than his back. He scrunches his face briefly with the movements showing me the pain he’s in without yelping.
“Do you need something more for the pain?”
“He said Dr. Pierce just gave him vi-co-profen? Am I saying that right?”
“Yes Jamie, that's what we’ve been giving him.”
“Okay, I haven’t heard of that. Well she gave him that and restarted the nebulizer and steroids not long ago so he doesn’t think he can get anything more.”
“I’ll check and see what we can do for you after we get Jamie stitched up.”
He opens his eyes for the first time in a while. It’s the first time I’ve noticed his eye color. It’s dark, but it’s not brown like mine. It looks almost black like he’s in a partial shift. I place my hand under his head, tilting it slightly up so I can make eye contact with him without it being overly uncomfortable. He manages to keep contact with me for a minute or two, long enough to see what I was looking for before he starts squirming uncomfortably in my hold.
“I’m sorry Cole but I was trying to confirm that you weren’t in a partial shift. That your eyes are actually dark navy.”
I explain as I lay his head back on the pillow.
“My father noticed that too when he moved in with us for a year and a half. He told me that his eyes never changed color. They’ve been like that his entire life. Dad said that it means something but could never figure out what.”
“It is quite significant for an adult to have what we call pup blue eyes.”
“Pup blue eyes, sir?”
“All babies, human and werewolf, are born with navy blue eyes. In humans, the eye color changes around six months but in werewolves it tends to be around four to six years old depending on the wolf’s maturity level and birth rank. Omegas tend to mature faster than alphas.”
“So what does it mean when a wolf keeps the pup blue?”
I can tell by the way Cole is looking at me that he’s quite interested in the answer as well. I sigh hard, not wanting to let him know how much I actually know about the level of abuse he must have suffered to be where he is now.
“Pups only keep the navy color if their emotional maturity is severely stunted by severe trauma. If the wolf’s eyes don’t change due to ongoing, long term trauma, by twelve years old then their eyes never will.”
I can see a hint of sadness in both of their eyes. I reach out and run my fingers through Cole’s hair. He stiffens badly and closes his eyes again. I can tell he’s fighting himself and his desire to make me stop.
“We need to get you patched up Jamie. It looks like Angela is ready for you.”
“Won’t my wolf heal it in a week or so?”
“Yes he will but in that time it could get infected and with it being down to the bone, infection could get very bad very quickly. If we stitch it then it will be completely healed in three days.”
I hear Jamie growl before becoming suddenly silent.
“Okay, if you think that’s best.”
“What did he say?”
“It's best that I get stitches. The lidocaine shots hurt quite a bit but it’s nothing compared to doing your own.”
I look away from Jamie towards the bed where Angela and Patrick still sit to find the shocked faces that I’m certain I mirror.
“Cole? You’ve been forced to stitch your own wounds?”
He nods his head slowly before Jamie begins to speak again. “His father cut his budget down severely when he was twenty-one so it was cheaper and easier for Dr. Carter to teach him how to do it himself and give him the supplies then for him to get them at General. That way it saves that money for when he’s in a crisis like he is now. He says he wants to talk to you but it hasn’t done him any good. Three packs have figured out his living hell just for them to send him back to it. Things have gotten really bad each time the council came after he returned home. Never once did they speak to him directly. He was warned that if the council shows again he won’t be allowed to continue in the warrior program.”
“Cole, I need to get Jamie started but I also want you to keep talking. Tell me anything you need me to know. I’m listening.”
He opens his eyes, looking at me briefly as I run my hand through his hair as I direct Jamie back to the bed.
“You using the link will be a good distraction for him as well but you need to be careful or you’ll end up taking on his pain.”
He nods again before I walk away.
“All right Mr. Jamison. You’re looking really nervous right now. Have you ever had stitches before?”
“No sir”
“We figured as much. That’s why they called me. So, this is what happens. Angela’s going to rinse it out with a combination of lidocaine, steroids, antibiotics and saline. After that will be the shots. There’s a lot of them because you need multiple layers of stitches. While she’s doing the shots, since this is your first time, Patrick is going to hold your head still while I hold your hands. They do burn and I don’t expect you to hold it in but you can’t fight either. You can kick your feet as long as you’re not pushing your body off the table. Squeezing my hands helps quite a bit and you’re allowed to yelp, cry, scream ow, I’ve even had wolves beg us to stop but we can’t until it’s done. Most have found it easier to handle with their eyes closed, especially if you’ve had a hard time with shots in the past. Once those are done you will have about fifteen minutes before Angela starts stitching it up. She is going to move fast through the shots. It only takes a minute or two to get all the layers done.”
He nods his head but doesn’t look any more comfortable when he lays down. He breezes through the rinse and the first few shots but as Angela moves through the multitude of shots he starts whining hard as the burn catches up to him.
“Squeeze my hands Jamie. You’re doing very well for your first time. Breathe with my count.”
I go through the slow count I use when wolves are brinking on a panic attack which calms him enough that he doesn’t start screaming on me. I hold my hand out to him and help him sit up while the numbing medication takes effect.
“I’m going to get Cole something to eat if you think you can help him out, Alpha. I’d like to see if he can get Luna's chicken soup down without cramping when it’s warm.”
I nod my head and invite Jamie to come with me. He takes the stool he was sitting in before as I try to wake Cole back up. He reacts a little better, squeezing down on my hand hard as he opens his eyes. I start running my hand through his hair as his eyes meet mine.
“I’m sorry. I know you just fell back to sleep but Dr. Pierce would like to try getting you to eat again. Are you hungry?”
He nods as Jamie starts to speak for him.
“He usually stays hungry the entire time he’s in the hospital. Despite having the feeding tube harshly shoved inside him they hardly use it and when they did, it would cause him a lot of pain. He tends to lose quite a bit of weight also.”
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