Satisfied at his win, Slate smiled, “Sure, what are they?”
“One, Dakota uses a wheelchair. I don’t want him up walking. Two, Dakota can’t use his gift on his mother until I give permission…”
“Now wait a minute,” Slate interrupted. “I’m sure my mate will agree to that, but only for tonight. We get it, you want him to rest tonight but all bets are off tomorrow.”
“Not acceptable,” replied Ian. “Kieran has removed a lot of the trauma associated with some of Hope’s memories and she needs time to process it in order for her to want to wake up and live again. I’m asking that your mate give her that without any pressure from him.”
“Dakota would never hurt his mother,” snarled Slate.
“Intentionally? No, I know he wouldn’t. But unintentionally? There’s a possibility it can happen. Slate, there’s much that medicine doesn’t know about the power of the mind, but wedoknow it has the ability to heal a lot of mental trauma. That’s what I want for Hope…time…to find her way out of the hell she’s in.”
After Ian put it that way, Slate knew Dakota would agree. “Fine, we accept number two. Anymore?”
“Yes, three, Dakota stays in bed for the next few days so I can make sure there aren’t any issues, and fourth, no more than ten minutes tonight.” Before Slate could object, Ian continued, “If Hope has a good night then Dakota can have a longer visit with her tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Ian. We’ll be right back.” Slate grabbed a wheelchair near the nurse’s station and headed back to his mate.
Joining Ian, Colton said, “I heard most of it. Do you want me to be in there with Kota?”
“No, I’ll do it,” replied Ian. “I’d rather you sit in on the meeting with Hunter to find out what your mother experienced. Knowing that might help us decide what course of action we can take to help her.”
“Okay, but I don’t think we’ll be of any help to Mom; she needs more of what Kieran can do than what I can do,” Colton answered, looking down at his mother’s chart.
“Agreed, but it’s still important to find out exactly what we’re dealing with,” insisted Ian.
Glancing up, Colton saw Slate wheeling his brother toward him. Handing the chart to Ian, he murmured, “Babe, please make sure Kota doesn’t get too stressed out over seeing Mom. I never told you this, but after the massacre, my brother went into a deep depression and it took a long time before he came back to us.”
Gently pushing his mate toward the door, Ian replied, “I promise to take care of both of them. Now go. We need that information from Hunter.”
~/~/~/~/~
Cody was the first to enter Jackson’s study, his face grim as he glanced at his Alpha. Sitting in a chair near his brother’s desk, he said, “Dylon’s taking care of the pups.”
“Are you going to be okay without him here?” asked Jackson. “I can get Theo and Norm to do it instead.”
Cody shook his head. “Not necessary. Right now, my mate’s putting the twins and Daniel down for their naps so once they’re asleep, he’ll join me.”
Giving a short nod, Jackson’s eyes settled on Zane and David as they walked in and sat on the love seat. David looked nervous and he wasn’t sure it was a good idea forZane’s mate to be in on this meeting; nevertheless, he trusted Zane’s judgment.
“Hey,” Colton greeted everyone as he headed for another chair close to Cody, “Ian won’t be coming.”
“I figured,” replied Jackson. “How’s Dakota?”
Giving a snort, Colton said, “Okay. Slate convinced Ian it’d be in Dakota’s best interest if he could visit Mom and, after laying down some ground rules, Ian finally agreed.”
“Can I see Mom?” asked Zane.
“Yes but…” Colton started to answer, but Jackson cut in.
“Right now, Mom’s condition is stable, but I want to hear from Ian first. If he approves, I’ll schedule visits for everyone. Okay?”
“Yeah,” Zane replied.
“Is Carson coming?” asked Colton.
“Yup,” Carson answered his brother as he claimed a chair in front of Jackson’s desk. Looking around, he asked, “Is Logan coming?”
“I’m not sure,” replied Jackson. “Did he say anything to you, Colton?”
