After some convincing, Nicholas agreed to a video chat with Alpha Richard and Luna Amber, finally he understood that it was a mix up, and that he was not banished from the pack. Alpha Richard also talked to him about the abuse he was going through, and it turns out that his teacher had requested a meeting with Richard regarding his abuse. Once he was presumed dead the teacher didn’t press any further, and she regrets not coming forward sooner. Dr Banner agreed to let Nicholas be discharged, and one of the spare rooms on our floor is being set up for him. He started to become distraught when the Doctor told him he was going to be leaving the hospital. Samantha offered to let him stay in a room close to us and he agreed, gripping her in a hug. Even though he is just a pup I still felt a ping of jealousy, and I hug her as well with Nick between us. Samantha chuckled in my mind. I winked, but I was a little shocked when Nick wrapped one of his arms around me too. This kid was so sweet who the hell would want to hurt him so bad? I could start to feel my anger and rage creep back up before Samantha leaned over and laid her head on my shoulder. Samantha sighed in my mind. I nodded and pushed my anger down; I should hit the gym later and burn off this steam. “Come on, kid. Let's get you outta here.” I said as I picked up his bag of clothes. A bunch of the pack got together and gave him some clothes as all he had to wear was the rags we found him in. Samantha handed him his backpack and he walked out of the hospital with us, walking in-between us holding both of our hands. ~~~~~~~~ We get Nick settled and as soon as he takes the pain medicine that the doctor prescribed, he was out for a nap. He still had some gashes and deep bruises that weren’t completely healed and wouldn’t be for at least a couple of weeks. The only good news the doctor had for us was that none of his fractures were healed incorrectly; if they were surgery would be needed. Samantha made some calls and found a therapist who specializes in pup mental health. He agreed to come by later to meet in Nick’s room. The therapist suggested it would give him a small sense of control and safety to meet in his room. I look in on my mate, she was in her office with the door open. The door was open in case Nick needed to find her in a hurry. “Hey Love.” I poke my head in. “I’m going to the gym for a little while, I’ll be back soon.” I smile. Samantha looked up from her papers and smiled. “Okay. Have fun. I might join you after Nick wakes up.” She blew me a kiss and I head downstairs. I stop on the landing of the Beta floor and look to Elder Alan’s office. He is not there again. I sigh and head to the gym, taking all my anger out on the nearest punching bag. I ignore all the stares from the other wolves who are there, it's like they haven’t seen anyone punch a hole in a bag before! I move on to the weights as Buck walks over. “What’s up with you dude?” He starts to spot for me. I growl, just thinking about it. “Just blowing off steam.” “Wanna hash it out? You and the Alpha didn’t get into a fight, did you?” “No.” “Another guy didn’t flirt with her?” “No.” I growl again. “You know all of those wolves we rescued?” “Oh yeah.” “You know we recovered a pup, right?” Buck nodded, “Yeah, it's sad. We heard he was banished from his old pack.” “Well, he wasn’t! It was all a trick to get rid of the pup!” I growl again and I feel my anger flash. “Turns out that his SOB stepfather has been abusing him for over a year! And since I can’t put my fist through his face I’m here!” Buck nodded. “Damn dude. So that’s why there is a hole in the bag then.” He sighed as he helped me put the bar on the rest. “What did the alpha say?” “She is more pissed than I am. Thankfully, we figured out that it was all a ruse, someone else forged a note and tricked him into leaving the pack! The alpha didn’t know anything about his abuse and to make matters worse, someone staged an attack and made the alpha think he was dead!” Now Buck was growling. “That poor kid, to think no one in this world cared for him...I can see why you’re so pissed. How is he holding up?” “He is napping right now; Sam is keeping an eye on him. She is angrier than I am. Alpha Richard is looking into things for us, he has a mess up there himself.” I wipe my forehead with my towel. I am starting to feel a lot better. “Thanks, Buck.” “No prob, man.” He smiled and punched me on the shoulder. “Want to spot for me a while?” I nod as he starts his workout. ~~~~ Sometime later I am leaving the gym feeling a lot lighter and more relaxed. I pass the yard where I see a lot of the pack pups playing and running around. One of them sees me and runs over. “Alpha Ben!” He calls as more of the pups run over. He looks at the others. “If anyone can do it, he can!” The others nod. “Yes! Alpha Ben!” Another calls me. “We can’t find Alpha Samantha!” I glance around and see Nick and Penny are with them. Nick comes over and stands with me. “What do you mean you can’t find her?” I ask a little worried. “We can’t find her or Sandra!” Nick pouts. “They are too good.” My nerves start to calm down, they are just playing a game. I chuckle. “Alright, let’s find them. Where are the boundaries?” I glance around. “Anywhere in the yard.” Another pup answered. “We looked everywhere!” I smirked, I already figured out where she was thanks to the mate bond. “Are you sure you looked everywhere?” I pointed to the bushes away from where she was. “What about over there?” The entire herd of pups flocked over to the bushes and started peering under them. I laughed as I walked to the trees that surrounded the yard and leaned against the trunk of the one she was perched in. I heard her slight giggle. She giggled. I smirked, trying not to give her location away. I could smell her close by, but the other pups were having fun running around. I saw the pile move slightly and a small sneeze came from underneath it. I smiled as the rest of the pups ran over to me. “She wasn’t there!” One of the pups whined. The rest looked up at me with big eyes. I smiled. “Well, she can’t be far...where else could she be?” The pile of leaves sneezed again, and I did my best to stifle my laughter. The pups heard it and one of them dug into the pile and pulled out a small little pup who I assumed was Sandra. “I found Sandra!!!” The pup yelled! “She was under the leaves!!!” The group of pups started laughing and chattering. “We should have known! She likes to hide under things!” Another pup laughed. “Yeah, she used to hide under our parent’s bed!” And older pup said, I guess that was her older brother. “But she stopped cause one time our parents came home and started jumping up and down!” “Hey, my parents like to jump up and down on the bed too!” Another pup said. “But when I do it, they get mad.” I could feel the amusement in our bond. She started laughing in my mind. I bit back my laughter as well. “Hey, Alpha Ben, do you like to jump on the bed???” One of the pups asked innocently. This time I heard a stifled laugh from above me. My mate’s laugh was roaring in my mind. Her laugh was getting a little louder and I was surprised none of the pups heard her yet. I finally looked all the way up and she was stretched out about halfway up the tree. She caught my eye and started laughing harder. I smiled and winked. She started to calm down and she leaned back against the trunk. All this time Nick was still standing close by me. He was watching the other kids and I was happy to see him smiling and having fun. After a minute he looked up at me watching him and noticed my mate above me. “There is Alpha Samantha!” He pointed, grinning. The rest of the pups looked up and they all started cheering and laughing. Samantha looked down at them and waved. They all started to surround the tree and a few of them started to climb. “Alright pups.” Samantha started as she started to move. “Off the tree, I’m climbing down.” I started to move the pups away from the tree. “Alright, what are we playing now?” I smile. “Oh! Let’s play tag!” One of the older pups said as he raised his hand. The other pups cheered, and they ran off. “Alpha Ben is it!” They laughed as they scattered away. I look up to where my mate is watching me, she smiled. “Don’t look at me! You are it!” She made to start climbing down the tree again. “You’re not gonna get me!” She laughed as she jumped out of the tree and started running. Laughing, I chased her, and we made it back to the pups who were all screaming and laughing. I try and pick the oldest one, letting the younger and slower ones run themselves out. As soon as I tagged him, I dodged him and retreated so the younger ones could play. Samantha was watching from the sidelines laughing. “This is fun.” I hug her around her waist and bring her close to me. My smile starts to falter slightly as a weird sensation starts to come through. This is new...it's coming from the pack bond...is someone in danger? Samantha tensed. “Oh boy.” She whispered. “Hey, watch the pups closely...” I glanced over and none of the pups were acting strange, they were all laughing and playing happily. Suddenly, a familiar red head falls to the ground, screaming in pain. “Penny!” I pointed.

Chapter 57