Chapter 76
Wednesday, January 24th; 9pm
(Cole’s POV)
I wake up screaming, thrashing and fighting. My body aches as if the beating had just happened hours ago not four days and I’m in an absolute panic again. I’m vaguely aware of my door opening quickly, slamming hard against the wall.
“Cole!”
I can hear my name being called but I’m lost and completely unnerved, struggling hard to come to my senses. It’s only as I feel the strong presence of the alpha over me and his voice, commanding my attention, that I finally start mentally grabbing hold of where I am.
I start concentrating on one sense at a time, allowing myself the time I need to slowly come back to reality. I stop screaming and still my body as alpha’s tightening hold makes it difficult to move. I concentrate on my breathing next as the slight wheeze I’ve developed makes it difficult to hear.
I steady my breathing in an effort to take in the smell of the room and those who are in it. The bed is clean. Not a single other scent is on it telling me it’s a medical bed but the room itself doesn’t have the same scent. I take a moment to really think about where I have smelled something like this before and it slowly dawns on me that I’m in the medical room beside the alpha’s room. Just like every pack house has a medical wing they also have a medical room near the alpha for those who are injured but don’t need constant monitoring. I’ve never been in the medical room back home making it a lot easier to relax.
Alpha picks up on my slowly relaxing state immediately. He lowers his body even closer to mine, moving his arm even closer to my face.
“I can tell you’re trying to use scent to figure out where you are. Seek my scent Cole. I promise, you are safe here.”
His positioning is perfect as I’m suddenly overwhelmed by the strong unmistakable scent of an alpha male. I jerk my head away from his arm, whining lightly as the back of my head is stopped by his other arm, as I adjust to what I smell. He’s clearly not my father but his scent has delicate and barely perceptible hints of emotions that I’ve never smelled on an alpha before.
“Is he okay, Demetri? He got quiet really quick.”
“I think so. His breathing and heart rate are slowly returning to normal. We just need to give him some time to wake up. Whatever he was dreaming was very real to him. Cole, can you show me that you’re awake even if you don’t want to open your eyes yet?”
I start moving my arms to see if one is loose enough to allow me meaningful movement. To my surprise alpha adjusts his full body hold on me enough for me to roll towards my stomach and put my left hand on the bed.
I start sliding my hand blindly on the sheet, searching for alpha’s hand. It’s as I feel alpha’s body and this time his aura closing in on me again that I freeze my movements and weakly whimper as I try to curl into a ball. The only auras I have ever known have been dark, cold and painfully dominating. No matter the alpha, I have always struggled to breathe in their very presence when their aura is flaring.
“You seem to be afraid of me. It’s my aura, isn’t it?”
I slowly nod my head before realizing that I’ve answered the wrong way. I quickly cover my head waiting for the blows to follow.
“Demetri,” I hear luna whisper as if it knocked the very wind out of her in shock.
“I know this will be a challenge for you as it doesn’t seem your interactions with alpha’s have been positive in any way but I need you to concentrate on me. Allow yourself to feel my aura. I know that my angry aura can be painful and oppressive but this one isn’t. My kids seek this aura all the time. The worst you will feel is confused if you have never felt it from your own father.”
I clear my mind and follow his directions, concentrating hard on this alpha. I want to feel this different aura, to give it a chance but alpha’s right, I find it confusing and disorienting.
I whine hard as I cover my head again, uncertain as to what’s going to happen next. I hear both alpha and luna sigh. They sound disappointed but I don’t understand what I was supposed to feel, increasing the belief that I’ve done something wrong.
I startle badly at alpha’s touch, barely managing to choke on the yelp that tried to escape from within me. Even though I’m fully awake and have full understanding that I’m at Crimson Dawn, I’m finding it extremely difficult to regulate my emotions.
Somehow I manage to act my age and hide my fear of everyone when I’m home. I take care of myself and the little girls when they need my protection but I have never been able to push aside the fear that seems to always claim me when I’m away from home. I have never truly understood why leaving home has always been so difficult but it is.
“You seem to be better aware of your surroundings now so I’m going to ease myself off of you. Just be still for me Cole.”
I keep my body still so he can move around but it doesn’t keep me from shaking.
“Open your eyes, Cole.”
Alpha’s voice is soft and reassuring as I slowly open them to find him sitting in a chair near my head. He reaches slowly towards my head, yet I can’t control my desire to shy away from his touch. He follows my movements easily as he gently places his hand on the right side of my head, slowly running his fingers through my hair towards the back of my head. I close my eyes not wanting him to see the pain such an innocent gesture is creating. As frightening as I find interacting with this alpha is, something in the way he treats me has unlocked a desire, a longing for his attention that is contradicting everything I have ever known.
I cringe and whimper softly as he passes over the gash in my scalp that was left from Andre slamming me into the counter. It has been struggling to stay sealed and busted back open when I tried to brush the blood out of my hair just a few hours ago. I was too injured to get a bath before I left Red Fang and too sick to get one here making it easy to loathe myself even more for my own weakness.
“Cole, is this a new or old injury?”
I open my eyes as he draws his hand away, my blood staining his fingers.
“Another one?” I hear luna gasp as alpha sighs.
“It happened before the rest of it.” I whisper meekly.
“So you were in a fight before you got beat?” Alpha sounds incredulous of the idea.
“Getting my head slammed into the counter isn’t much of a fight alpha.”
“No, guess not.” He whispers as he rubs the top of my head.
“I’m sorry I didn’t realize it earlier. I’ve been smelling a lot of old blood on you but I haven’t tried to find the source of it. I know it’s late but I think you’re overdue for a bath and I have a body wash that also makes for a great shampoo that has both antiseptic and pain relieving medications in it. I would like to help get you cleaned up.”
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