Life Straight Up (reposted - feedback wanted)

Chapter Thirty Seven

Ray's POV

I woke up with a start as I heard the cries of all three of my babies. I pulled myself up to sitting, finding the soreness in my abdomen had lessened. Knowing I had no other choice at the moment, I slowly climbed out of bed. My legs were a little weak and shaky to start with, but they soon sorted themselves out. I shuffled over to the cot and picked up Cein first, instantly noticing he needed his nappy changed. I carried him over to the table and quickly started cleaning him up, thankful that I had had some practice with the twins. Once I was finished, I put him back into the cot. Then in turn I changed both Cody and Cerys. Once they were all clean, they all settled down. Cerys whimpered a little in my arms, clearly hungry as she rubbed her face against my chest. I had fed them all a couple of times so far, but I was still not completely certain I was doing it right. The last couple of times Helena or Angie had been here with me, guiding me. Obliviously, something must have come up or they were resting, which I knew they needed. After all they had been taking it in turns to stay with me, as well as looking after the twins. Deciding I had to do this by myself, I climbed onto the bed and got myself comfortable. I grabbed one of my pillows and placed it on my lap, a trick that Helena had shown me. I laid Cerys down upon it and undone my top and bra. As soon as I got my nipple close to her mouth, she launched at me, latching on straight away. It felt a little uncomfortable to start with, but I soon adjusted to the new sensation. Grace had already explained that breastfeeding all three of them could be difficult and I might need to express a lot of my milk. As I sat there stroking Cerys's soft dark hair, I couldn't help but wonder where Cole had gotten to. I wasn't really sure how long I had been sleeping, but I knew he would be in a rush to get back to the babies and me. It wouldn't surprise me if he had popped back in, but stepped out quickly to sort things out with Alec. I'm sure he would have plenty of questions for Cole. I sniffed the air quickly, hoping I would pick up a faint trace of his scent, but there was nothing. I scrunched up my eyebrows as a wave of uneasiness washed over me. I was distracted from my thoughts as Cerys started to fuss. Doing up my top, I picked her up and held her against my chest. The door opened as I patted her back, quickly making her burp. I smile can to my face as I waited for Cole to step into the room, but I was met with disappointment. Instead of Cole, Alec walked in and he didn't seem his normal happy self.
"Hey Ray, congratulations by the way," he said, forcing a smile on his face.
It was unsettling seeing him like this, the uneasiness I felt before now doubling. Having finished winding Cerys, I got up and placed her back in the cot.
"Thanks," I replied, as I sat on the edge of the bed.
"Ray there's something important I need to tell you," he said coming to sit next to me.
"Alec what's wrong? You're scaring me," I replied as my heart began to race uncomfortably.
I quickly reached out for the babies, knowing they were the only ones that could calm me right now.
"When we found Cole he wasn't in great shape. He explained to me that he had been drugged, but that Max had given him the antidote," he answered, looking down at his hands.
"Well if he was given the antidote, he's fine. Why are you bringing this up right now?" I asked still feeling panicked.
"When he left this room earlier, he collapsed," Alec replied, looking me in the eyes.
"What?" I whispered out, as tears pooled in my eyes.
"Ray Cole is in a coma."

I cried for hours after Alec had told me what had happened to Cole. I was desperate to see him, but they told me I couldn't, that Grace was still running tests. It wasn't until the next day that I was finally allowed in his room. Grace explained that he had been given a drug called Slumbering Wolf, a new toxin used to weaken our wolves. She had managed to find out a lot about it from an old friend, who specialised in toxins and poisons. It seemed that somehow, they had been giving him small doses for a while. Which I now learned was probably thanks to Max. It still surprised and confused me how Max could betray us like that. Although, if it wasn't for him, Cole would be dead right now. The last dose they gave him would have killed him in a matter of days. The antidote slowed the process, but with Cole shifting so quickly after he was given it and racing back to me, had burnt through most of it. Grace had been giving him regular doses of the antidote which, her friend had shipped over. It's been two months since Alec had told me and so far, there's been no change in Cole's condition. The babies and I had all been discharged from Graces care, we were now back at the pack house. Everybody helped me finish off the nursery, with us having to buy extras with Cerys being so unexpected. Alec had stepped up and had been in charge, including travelling to Jude's old pack and naming a new Alpha. I had also stepped up making the majority of the decisions back home. That was between looking after the triplets, who were growing so quickly, and sitting with Cole. Every day I went and visited him, taking the babies with me. I'd talk to him for hours, not about anything in particular, just anything and everything. It killed me to know he was missing out on so much time with the little ones. I knew how much having a family meant to him. I just prayed this would be over soon and I'd have my Cole back.