Chapter <b>342 </b>
<b>There’s </b>something about his refusal to talk that tells me he’s determined to leave in July and I can’t stand the idea of him leaving me. I feel this is a unique situation where we arepletely alone and I can push him a little farther than i normally would to get answers from him.
“I understand that you don’t want to talk about breaking into your father’sputer. I get that, I really do. <b>This </b>room is soundproof and no one is going to bother us. I need you to open up to me. <b>It’s </b><b>a </b>lot to ask of you but it seems like you’re determined to return home and I need to understand why.”
I exin my position gently as I slowly walk back to the desk. He’spletely stopped working on theputer, staring at me intently, Worry and fear consume him as he briefly makes eye contact with <b>me</b>. I watch him as he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. A clear sign that I spiked his anxiety. Using that to my benefit is a dangerous move but I’m hoping to get him angry instead of the normal childlike breakdowns he’s been having.
He returns to his typing, remaining silent. I give him several minutes before trying again.
“How old were you when you first essed your dad’s Big Brother program?”
I decide to try and work up to the information he’s so hesitant to give me.
“Neen.”
His reply is simple and barely audible, even with my heightened werewolf hearing, I barely pick up on what he
says.
“So after you moved back into the pack house from your apprenticeship with the Jenkins<b>.</b><b>” </b>
He nods silently as he continues to type and click.
“With your permission, alpha, I’d like to unlock your programming so you can <b>ess </b>five years of video feed easily but in doing so, I will need you toe over here and create a password so the information feed is
encrypted.”
Although I have always appreciated one’s ability to remain serious and on topic I’m also frustrated by his inability
to open up.
“Are you ready now?” I ask almost shocked that he could have done it so quickly.
“No sir. It’s going to take a little longer for me to crack the codes thepany put on the program.”
“Thepany? I didn’t think they were the ones to put restrictions on the video feed.”
“Based on the research I’ve done on thepany, you fill out a questionnaire that tells them what you’re looking for and when you sign a contract with them they set the program up to your specifications. If you need to change those parameters then you have to pay them toe out and change them.<b>” </b>
“Yet you figured out how to hack into their system and change those parameters for nothing more than seeing <b>if </b>
you could?”
<b>Chapter </b><b>342 </b>
I try <b><i>to </i></b>keep <b>my </b>voice calm but I can tell by the <b>way </b>he looks <b>at </b>me <b>that </b>he can hear <b>the </b>irritation behind t
<b>“</b><b>No</b><b>, </b>alpha, I concentrate my learning on skills that I need to know.”
“<b>Why </b>did you need to know this?<b>” </b>
He stops workingpletely. Closing his eyes as he looks down toward the floor.
<i>“</i>Cole<b>?</b>”
I reach out to his shaking hand, lightly touching the tips of his fingers now frozen above the keyboard. He pulls away from my touch, sucking a sharp, shaky breath in before speaking<b>. </b>
“It’s not something I can talk about.”
His voice is quiet and submissive concerning me as to the reasons behind his desire to hack into such a system<b>. </b><b>I </b>remain silent as he resumes typing hoping the distraction will help keep him from going over the edge. I <b>wait </b>until his typing slows again<b>, </b>taking my time to think of how I could possibly convince him to stay here past <b>July</b><b>. </b>
“I don’t want you to leave. Do you know that?<b>” </b>
He looks at me briefly before training his eyes back to the screen.
“No. Why would I? Every pack my dad has sent me to couldn’t wait to get rid of me. <b>I </b>am nothing but a liability.”
His voice is quiet and something about his tone is utterly heartbreaking. <b>I </b>can hear in his voice how he has <b>given </b>up hope. Thest thing I need him to believe is that there’s no way out.
“Cole, stop.” My voice is gentle and pleading. “Stop and look at me.”
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