Chapter 84
Madilyn is calm and more relaxed so I roll to my side allowing her to sit up in the bed. Her eyes are now more curious than fearful but both are still easily seen within them.
“Did he make you go to school?” Madilyn asks with a yawn.
“No. For the first time in years he believed me. He turned off my alarm and waited until I was asleep before he left. I woke up around lunch after the kitchen staff left lunch on my desk. Next to the tray of food were two prescription bottles and a note underneath.
Dad wasn’t one to apologize but that note was the closest he ever came to one. He kept me out of school for a week and I got to meet and spend time with the injured rogue. Everything changed after that. He incorrectly believed that I was an empath but I never developed the ability to feel what they were feeling.
The intense emotional distress that abused and endangered wolves experienced simply manifested into severe stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting.
When I was eighteen the council came and performed several tests on me. No one knew why they were there until they were done. At the end of the week, they called me and my parents into a private conference and told all of us that I was an intuitive, not an empath.”
“You’re listed with the council?” Lilly is shocked at the revelation.
“I’m sorry I never told you. Cole is the first wolf to come into this territory to cause me such severe symptoms and the first one to come since the girls were born. The last abused prospect we helped came through three months before they were born.”
It doesn’t take long once the medication starts taking effect for Madilyn to calm down. My concern is that Cole ran into some anxiety issues while working with Angela.
I pick Madilyn up off the bed and motion Lilly to follow me. We make our way down to the kitchen where I grab two ginger ales from the fridge and a box of cheese-its from the cabinet. I pour a small amount of the crackers into a bowl before taking both Madilyn and the snack to the table, sitting her gently in my chair. Lilly follows behind with the drinks, opening one for Madilyn.
“Sip it slowly, sweetheart.”
Lilly reminds her as she sets it down in front of her.
“I don’t want it.” Madilyn whispers, sounding afraid.
“I know you’re sore right now but you need something in your stomach. I promise, take your time and it won’t hurt you.”
She nods her head as she looks at the light snack sitting in front of her.
I open my own drink, taking several deep breaths of the ginger, calming the queasiness in my own stomach before taking a small drink. I close my eyes as I allow the cold drink to slide down my throat. When I open them again Lilly and Madilyn are both looking perplexed at me.
“I have an idea. I know he will be nervous but will accept it in the end, my concern is your agreement with it.”
I mention to Lilly before disappearing into the closet. I make my way to the back scanning over the various shelving units to find the correct one holding men’s clothing. I find his size in the crew neck cotton t-shirts and the cotton briefs with the cloth covered waist. I grab a pack of each before heading to the door, turning off the light as I exit. I return to the table to find Madilyn struggling to eat the cheese-its.
“I’ve got to head back to Cole but I do believe that there is something that will help both him and Madilyn.”
I explain as I sit in the chair across from Lilly beside Madilyn.
“And what’s that?” Lilly asks cautiously.
“Even though you calmed down nicely last night I still don’t see what I want to do as an easy thing for you to allow considering your past. It wasn’t until I found you that I discovered that when I work with those in need, one on one, that it calms the negative physical symptoms that I get from being close to them. I was eighteen when we met and I told dad before we even walked into Alpha Tanner’s office that someone was being abused there. It infuriated my dad to find out it was you. You didn’t pick up on it at the time but I nearly broke my dad’s hand when you walked in from the pain it caused.
Over time I had developed the ability to share what I physically felt with my father. I have a similar link with you that allows me to feel your pain.”
“That’s why you taught me to lock my link with you.”
“Yes, it took some time but when you are completely open to me I can feel everything you do and I can differentiate between myself and you. It’s an advanced linking skill that empaths have.”
“Like Jessa?”
“Jessa is a mystery to me right now. She doesn’t have the standard linking ability but she is able to tap into what others are physically and emotionally feeling both by being near them and by touching them which does qualify her as an empath. The problem with contacting the council and getting her officially registered as one, is empaths don’t lose abilities. Intuitives and empaths have complex advancements in their current abilities.”
“You’re saying it is supposed to build?”
“Yes. The standard wolf has the ability to link with members of their pack, their mate and can feel when their mate cheats. A select few, about a quarter of wolves, will be an intuitive and even fewer become empaths. When an empath decides to learn about medicine and how to help others that’s when they are considered natural healers. Both types occur randomly and genetically but it’s more common for a parent who is an intuitive to have children with varying degrees of the ability then what happened with me. My ability occurred randomly.”
“What does this have to do with helping both of them?” Lilly asks, tension rising in her voice.
“Cole relaxes with pups in a way that no amount of medication allows him to do. Combine that with the physical symptoms of being an intuitive being calmed by helping the wolf in need……”
“They would benefit from being close to each other.”
Lilly finishes my sentence but I can hear and feel the fear in her voice.
“The final decision is up to you Lilly but before you decide I want you to understand that I’m not talking an hour.”
She cocks her head in question but remains silent.
“I know it’s a lot to take in so late at night and I don’t expect you to understand but I do need you to trust me. I have double checked all the records I have access to and there are no traces of assault or rape ever being indicated. He was discharged from the three previous packs due to medical liability. I even looked into the records of Dallas, Richard and Andrew.”
“The boys you sent home this evening?”
“Yes. Dallas and Richard both have been discharged from the majority of the packs they visited for both assault and rape. So other packs are reporting but for some reason they are still getting approved by the council for runs at other packs.
Andrew has been discharged from four packs’ programs for offensive touching. Lilly?” I wait until she looks me in the eyes.
“I believe him, Lilly. Despite the chaos, I was able to do some poking around on the internet and the protection marks are real. They are extremely rare but they are real. The final decision is yours but I am confident that he would never harm her.”
I gently touch Madilyn’s face, attracting her attention as she attempts to eat her snack.
“Am I sleeping with Cole tonight?”
“It’s up to mama. Those bad rumors make her nervous. Especially when it comes to her little girls.”
“He just wants to protect them.”
“I know Lynnie. I believe that too but it’s up to mom.”
“Yes sir.” Her voice is quiet and disappointed.
“If you decide to let her stay with him, give me half an hour. I need to do a physical to verify that there aren’t any more injuries to care for before we can start numbing the laceration on his head and the abscess near his neck.”
Lilly silently looks into my eyes again.
“Yes, we found another. The trauma of these beatings causes him to black out. He said it can take days for him to fully remember everything that happens and usually that’s only because of his dreams.”
She nods as I stand from the table. I push my chair in and kiss Madilyn’s forehead before grabbing the two packs of clothes and head towards the medical wing.
Getting back to the wing doesn’t take long and I’m relieved when I see Cole relaxing in the tub. He appears nearly asleep allowing the padded ramp to support him with only his head poking out of the water. He has his head resting to one side, there’s a large patch of hair now missing from the right side. I make a mental note to hook him up with our stylist for a proper haircut so it’s not as noticeable once he’s out of here.
The laceration to his head is a lot larger than I originally thought and was undoubtedly a huge source of anxiety.
“Cole.” I speak at normal volume in a neutral tone.
“Yes sir.” His voice is normal but easily conveys the exhaustion he’s feeling.
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