Chapter 28

They finish about the same time with Cole’s shirt falling to one side exposing his chest and abdomen. I watch Lilly close her eyes and silently turn away as she sees the young man’s bare upper body. It’s no longer a question as to if he’s still being abused as angry red cuts and redish purple bruises appear all over his chest. ck and blue bruises litter his abdomen so tightly that it’s difficult to tell where any normal skin is.

‘Is this what you saw on his back‘ I link Ang.

‘It’s difficult to tell without more light.‘ She responds.

“Cole, I’m not going to report what we do for you medically to the council. It’s rare for me not to do things by the book but I think I’m in a situation with you that warrants giving you this safety. But in giving you this pass, it’s important that you allow us to treat you properly for the injuries, the issues that we see. By the way your abdomen looks it will likely cause pain but Ang will need to do an exam and ultrasound to verify that you’re not bleeding internally. I have one question about all the bruising and cuts I’m seeing. How old is it?”

“Three” I hear him barely croak out.

“Three days?” He nods his head gently against my arm.

“I’m going to need him toypletely t to do an ultrasound on him. We can change his position to something morefortable for him once I’m done.”

Ang informs us as she finishes turning on the heart monitor. Lilly unplugs and moves the thermal pillow to a chair near the bed as the two of us gently move him to his back. He whimpers lightly during the move but makes no effort to fight this time.

Not knowing how long it will take for Ang to grab the ultrasound machine, Lilly covers his body with the heated nket before gently touching his cheek. He flinches at her touch but makes no other effort to move away. She leans in, giving me a brief kiss before looking sadly upon Cole.

“Let me know if you need me for anything else. I’m going to head to the kitchen and direct the food prep for lunch. I’ll bring him some chicken soup and some protein shakes for when he feels like eating.”

“Thank you, Lilly.”

I smile gently as I caress her face. She leans into it, closing her eyes, allowing a single tear to drop. Using my thumb, I gently wipe it away. Although I’m unaware of the true extent of the abuse she endured, it has made asting impression on her. She has always struggled immensely anytime we have been contacted to take in an abused pup that was abandoned at the local children’s hospital. Finding an adult in this bad of shape that hasn’t already gone rogue or killed their abuser is very rare. Unfortunately they are also the most difficult to help and as vulnerable to death from their abuser as a child.

I stay at the young wolf’s head, gently running my hand through his hair again as I hear the monitoring equipment start picking up the slow rhythm of Cole’s heart. I can’t help but let my thoughts wonder as Cole starts to rx with me. What has he gone through? How did he survive his childhood when he’s being beaten this badly as an adult? How do I gain his trust? I’m surprised but say nothing when heys his head against my arm, snuggling against me like a pup seeking thefort of their parents. I slip my hands under the warm nket he’s covered with as I talk softly near his ear.

“Cole, will you let me hold your hands while Ang does the ultrasound?”

He shifts slightly against my hands as I ce them lightly on top of his. Ang returns with the ultrasound machine. She touches his shoulder

as she talks .

“Cole, I need you to open your eyes and show me that you are awake enough to understand my instructions.”

He slowly opens his eyes and turns his head to look at her.

“Considering the amount of bruising I’m seeing I don’t think this is going to be a painless procedure but it is a necessary one.”

He nods his head, seeming to recognize the need.

“I need to make certain that you don’t have any ongoing internal bleeding that may require surgery. I am willing to follow what Demetri has said about keeping this out of the council until you’re ready to talk about what happened but that’s conditional.”