Looking at Jackson, Colton sighed. “You aren’t going to like this, bro.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Jackson.
“Briefly…Norman, Kieran and Theodore are meeting tonight to decide if they want to leave the Pack. And something happened to Cody. I don’t know what because Dylon wouldn’t let Ian examine him…he whisked him off to their bedroom, I think.”
“Is Dylon with Cody now?” asked Jackson.
“Yes, but he needs Ian. Cody was white as a ghost and shaking so hard, I thought he was going to hurt himself. Do you want me to send Ian to their bedroom?” asked Colton.
“No, that’s not necessary…at least not now. If Cody needs a doctor, Dylon will let Ian know. Now, what happened to cause the boys to want to leave?”
Colton explained how he teased Kieran and how it had pissed off Norman. “Jackson, I’m sorry. I was treating Kieran like I would any of my brothers…like Zane or Carson. If I had known the shit they went through while prisoners, I’d never have teased him. Holy fuck! I still can’t wrap my head around what happened to them and I know there’s more. Crap, did you know Kieran slept in a small cage for all those years?” Colton’s voice rose as he became more distraught.
“Stop, Colton! None of us knew any of this, well, except Cody but I don’t think he knew everything. Anything else?”
“Yeah, Dylon wanted me to tell you he wants to talk to the boys in Kieran’s room in an hour,” Colton said.
“Got it. I’ll handle that. Would you please find Theodore and Kieran and ask them to meet me there? I’ll go find Norman,” Jackson said.
“What about Cody? I’m worried about him. I think Ian should take a look,” said Colton.
“Not now. I’ll talk to Dylon first. I’ll let you know if we need Ian,” assured Jackson. “Go, please, and let me know if you have any problems with Theodore and Kieran.”
Giving his brother a worried look, Colton left to find the two boys.
~/~/~/~/~
Dylon sat at the foot of the bed, studying Cody, relieved to find him breathing slowly and deeply. The tension was gone from his mate’s body and he could feel the love Cody was sending to him through their life thread.Good. Now to sort out this mess. “My pet, how are you feeling?”
“Better, sir.”
“Did you have a vision?”
“No, sir. I had a panic attack, sir.”
“What caused your panic attack, my pet?”
“My failure with the boys, sir.”
“What failure is that?”
“I didn’t protect them, sir. They want to leave, sir.”
“What do you mean ‘you didn’t protect them’?”
“Colton teased Kieran and he was hurt by it. I didn’t stop my brother from hurting Kieran, sir. I failed him, sir. I failed the Fates and myself, sir.”
Now he understood why Cody reacted the way he did. “Look at me.” He waited until Cody raised his eyes tomeet his. “Wrong, my pet. You haven’t failed our boys, yourself, or the Fates. There wasn’t any indication that would lead you to believe Kieran would react the way he did. In this instance, you would have failed our boys only if you knew what was going to happen and took no steps to prevent it. That wasn’t the case here. Colton was teasing Kieran. He meant no harm by what he did. It’s how you and your brothers interact all the time. What it does show is Colton has accepted the boys, and that’s a good thing because it will give the boys more security. More importantly, Kieran’s reaction shows that our boys need more emotional support from us until they feel comfortable enough to tease back. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir. I have to figure out what to do about it, so I can make sure they are adjusting to their new life. I don’t want them to go, sir.”
“Neither do I. Now, I want you to climb into bed and rest. I’m going to chain you, so you can go to sleep without fear.”
“Yes, sir.” Cody rose gracefully, climbed into bed and slid between the sheets. Holding out his arms, he sighed when he felt the cuffs lock onto his wrists.
“While you get some rest, I’m going to talk to the boys in Kieran’s room. If you need me, use our mind link and I’ll come immediately. Okay, my pet?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
