Chapter 96
I follow slowly behind Angela. The room we’re going to is much smaller than the others so I allow her to get him settled before entering myself. I link with Lilly, asking her to come to the room. Angela places her hand on my shoulder bringing me back from my link. It took a few minutes but in the end I believe that she’s willing to come.
“Fortunately this is the warmest room in the wing but I still got him an extra blanket. His temp is down again.”
“I imagine so.”
“I’m headed to bed unless you need anything else.”
I pull Angela into a hug.
“Thank you. Hopefully we’re right behind you. Just do me a favor.”
“What’s that?”
“Make sure whoever’s on call doesn’t wake him. We both know that sleeping is important for healing.”
“Of course.”
She smiles as she walks away, placing her hand over her mouth as she yawns. I continue down the hall, stopping just outside the door. I can hear the television playing but the volume is too low for me to understand what’s on. I smile gently at Lilly as I see her turn the corner coming back down to the med wing. She stops just outside his door, worry in her eyes.
“He has a very high protective desire with the pups.”
I reassure her, placing my hand on her cheek. She nods her head silently but I know she’s not convinced.
I usher her into the room, it’s half the size of the other rooms but still big enough for two adults to sit comfortably in with the patient. He’s sitting up in the bed, the blanket is unfolded sitting just above his knees and I can see the black sweatpants he wore downstairs covering his legs.
“When did you get those back?” I wonder out loud.
“Dr. Pierce grabbed them on the way out.”
He’s speaking calmly with me and I can’t help but smile. Madilyn perks up immediately upon seeing him, nearly jumping from her mother’s arms to get in the bed with him, a broad smile on her face.
Her smile fades quickly once she’s on the bed as he sits up even further, stopping her from coming up to the head of the bed with him.
“What’s wrong?”
She asks quietly, tears forming in her eyes from the rejection she feels.
“It’s okay for her to be here Cole.”
“No alpha.”
He’s stern in his response leaving me speechless and shaking Madilyn up even more. He sees her tears falling but there’s something about the situation that forces me to stop Lilly from taking Madilyn back and allowing it to play out.
“I’m sorry, Madilyn. I didn’t mean to make you feel unwelcome.”
His voice is much softer, attracting her attention to him.
“I’ve only been here two days and it seems so far that this is a very different world than the one I live in. The pups at my pack are often told, like Lucas told you, not to listen to me because I can’t be trusted. If you want to be with me, however long your parents allow, then we must have an understanding with each other.”
She nods her head quickly, hanging onto every word he says.
“You must be willing to follow my directions. I will never ask you to do anything that will hurt you, another pack member or myself. If you don’t understand what I’m asking you to do, please, ask questions. I will never get mad over you needing help to understand what I need from you. Can you do that with me?”
“Yes sir.”
“Okay, so first I need you to understand that I’m very sore. Dr. Pierce gave me a shot which has toned it down quite a bit but I can’t handle even a little one like you falling on me. I need you to take my hands, stand up and walk up here to me.”
His hands are outstretched, inviting her to take his hands. She puts her hands in his before standing and walking across the left side of the bed, sitting cross legged beside him when she gets to him. Lilly and I have settled into the loveseat on his right. We remain silent as he interacts with her, simply observing a completely different side of him.
He takes her face gently into his hands gently wiping her tears away with his thumbs.
“I am sorry to have upset you like this. Do you understand why I needed you to stop?”
“I was excited and you didn’t want me to hurt you.”
“Yes ma’am. That’s exactly right. Now I need you to be honest with me. Don’t ever tell me what you think I want to hear no matter if you think it would hurt my feelings. Honesty is what I need. Nothing else.”
She nods her head quietly looking at him intently.
“Are you still afraid of me? It’s okay if you are. As I just said, honesty is the most important thing to me.”
“No sir. I was sad when Lucas told me bad things about you. I didn’t believe him. I only got scared when you said you needed to touch my belly and my belly already hurt bad. I thought you would make it hurt more. So I repeated what Lucas said. I don’t know what a pervert is. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I just wish my skin was a bit tougher so that sort of thing didn’t hurt as much.”
“I guess it’s like Maddie calling me a baby when I get hurt. No matter how much you hear it, it still hurts.”
He nods his head to her assessment of the situation. She yawns hard, covering her mouth near the end. It’s obvious that the Ativan is starting to take effect.
“Would you like to lay down with me? Snuggle for a little while if it’s okay with your parents?”
She looks at me before training her gaze to her mother. It takes a moment but Lilly nods, caving into what she knows Madilyn desires.
“Yes you can, for a little while.”
“Thank you.”
Madilyn says with a smile on her face.
“I’d like to get in a better position for sleeping before I get you laying down with me.”
He looks directly at her, his hand cradling her chin.
“How about I help you a little with that?”
I offer, suddenly standing from my seat without waiting for a response. I take two steps to the bed and pick Madilyn up before she has time to protest. I stay beside the bed, offering my hand on occasion as Cole fights his body to turn to his right side. Madilyn is nearly asleep as I lay her on her side with her back against his chest. His eyes are closed and his body is tense as I lay her head on his arm.
“Thank you, alpha.”
His voice is quiet but sincere as I grab the blanket at the foot of the bed and cover both of them. I slip my hand into his. He’s hesitant to wrap his arm around her in our presence.
“Relax Cole. You know we’re allowing this.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about alpha.”
He admits as I lower his arm around a very settled in Madilyn.
“It’s how many strings you had to pull to get luna to allow this.”
“He didn’t push for this, Cole. He explained his thoughts and let me make my decision based on what he sees and what little I’ve interacted with you. He felt that you could help her; we just didn’t anticipate the level of help you would be willing to give. It made me nervous, the description of what you wanted to do but your willingness to be transparent, even after you said that it was better done with the gown covering the area you were working on, made it easier for me to allow. She likes you and wanted to be with you when Demetri suggested taking her to the bathroom.”
I’m relieved that she was willing to explain her standing. Hopefully it allows him to relax.
“We both know it wasn’t a suggestion, Luna. The wording I used was inappropriate for my intentions. I struggle to properly communicate what I need others to understand. I can get frantic when talking about the littles, especially if I think I’m feeling something that I shouldn’t be feeling towards them.”
“Is that what you were struggling with? Feelings towards Madilyn?”
“Yes ma’am. I’ll tell you what I told alpha.”
He pauses. I’m certain he’s struggling again to convey the correct feelings without scaring Lilly.
“It’s okay Cole.”
I try to soothe his anxiety.
“No it’s not, alpha.”
He whispers as he curls his body around Madilyn.
“It doesn’t sound right coming from me. Not with the pedophile rap hanging over me. It’s not acceptable to want to be with her.”
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