<b>Chapter </b><b>126 </b>
<b>“</b>Everything about Cole just feels wrong to me. I saw him struggling on the bus to interact with me. The obvious fear he had of having done something wrong when he addressed me <b>as </b>Alpha ck and I asked him not to. The anxiety he had when he thought you were going to send him home because you decided to treat him <b>as </b>an individual and separate him from his pack. The strangled yelp he had this morning when I touched him during <b>the </b>asthma attack, The <b>way </b>he weakly tried to get away from you when you got close enough to him to help. The way he screamed when you put your hand on <b>the </b>back of <b>his </b>neck and the way he begged you not to hurt him when you ordered him to submit. It’s wrong dad. You’ve beat my ass twice and forgave <b>a </b><b>third </b>1 more <b>than </b>deserved. You’ve grabbed me in a painfully hard submission hold when I’ve crossed line and wouldn’t back down but to fear calling you by the <b>wrong </b>
name<b>?</b><b>” </b>
He’s shaking his head hard and I’m struggling with the pain I see Damian going through, trying to figure out his own thoughts on what position he wants <b>to </b>take with Cole<b>. </b>
“You said you allowed Lynnie toy with him, that he <b>was </b>afraid of her. What did you <b>see </b>that told you he was
afraid?<b>” </b>
<b>“</b><b>Well </b>from the beginning, when I sat her down on the bed, he reached out to touch her but stopped short <b>of </b>actually touching her. <b>It </b>was only <b>after </b>she crawled off the bed into my arms that I tried to exin the rumors on simple terms which caused her to ask why. That’s how I found out that he’s protecting them. I put her back with him when she settled down. When sheid down with him he asked her if he could touch her. Every move he made <b>with </b>her is the same as what I have done. Rubbing her back, petting her hair, nothing that I would consider predatory or sexual. Before your mom came in <b>I </b>noticed that his breathing was stiff and his bodypletely frozen except for the one hand that was petting her hair.”
“And you believe this was a fear response?”
“He told Lynnie that it’s not her that he’s afraid of. Which leads me to believe it’s his interaction with her that he’s afraid of. When he stopped short of actually touching her the first time she was on the bed he told her he didn’t think I’d want him to touch her.”
“So even when given permission he feels he’s going to get in trouble for being with her?”
“It seems that way.”
I’m not certain as to where this is going but I want him to know I’m not going to hide anything from him.
He finally makes eye contact with me again as he speaks.
“He needs help, dad. Being afraid even with permission to do something isn’t normal. Something is wrong with the pack <b>he’s </b>in and he needs a way out. I don’t know what you have nned but I will help you anyway I can.”
I nod my head, slowly taking in consideration what my main trainers and trainee in the pack have said. I have one trainer and my only trainee that are already against Cole and three, not including me, remaining neutral. I have several ns in mind but they are all contingent on something else happening first.
“At the moment,” I speak candidly, putting everyone’s attention back on me. “The bulk of Cole’s testing and training will be one on one with me.”
I watch as several heads cock to one side, silently asking the question why.
“Although I do not feel he’s a danger to anyone, the level of anxiety he has shown and his very high activity to his environment lead me to believe that challenging him in the way that’s needed to judge his character will be quite difficult for him to handle. Out of everyone here<b>, </b>I have the most experience <b>in </b>bringing him back to reality should he ck out into a shback. That is not to say you won’t work with him.
<b>Chapter </b><b>Comments </b>
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