The Boy on the Chain

Chapter 7 - Tristian

A sense of relief fills me as I see the teenage boy laying on the bed were the wolf once laid. I look up at Linus as Ethan and my adopted father massages some of the boy's muscles. The young boy looks like he is not much older than 15 but if he is my mate that cannot be right. His black hair has fallen over his face. Its length showing how long he has been imprisoned as his wolf. He is also extremely small his ribs showing, and his cheeks look very sunken.

"I hate forcing shifts, but he should be fine." Ethan says taking in how small the boy looks. "He definitely needs some more nutrients and I think I am going to add some to his IV as soon as I set it up. He was most likely not fed enough for both his human and his wolf side. Since his wolf side needed it more his human side only got enough to survive."

My gorgeous mate looks up at me as he hears Ethan's voice and I grab ahold of his hand squeezing it just a little bit hoping it gives him some reassurance. Ethan and Linus move him so that he is sitting up and he just sits there looking at himself. I wonder if he can talk after being stuck in his wolf form for so long. He flexes his hand in front of himself and I smile watching him discover his human side.

"I would really like you to try eating just a little of the soup that I had bought you." Ethan states as he unlocks the wheels on the side table and starts to place it over my mates' bed. "After you are done, we have a few more questions and a few more tests. I am going to set up an IV for you, so you can get the nutrients even if you don't feel like eating. Your stomach would not like that anyway and this way your body can still get what it needs."

My poor mate just looks at the bowl in front of him with confusion. I decide to pick the spoon up off the table and dip it into the bowl. I direct it to his mouth, and he opens it with his tongue sticking out trying to lap the broth out of the spoon. That of course does not go very well and seems to get all over the place. I look at Linus and then at Ethan not knowing what to do.

Ethan seems to be writing on his clipboard and Linus has brought another chair over to the other side of the bed.

"Just let him put the spoon in your mouth without using your tongue and then swallow pup." Linus tries to tell my poor mate.

I take the spoon and try directing some of the broth to his mouth again. This time he is able to eat it with very minimal spillage and we carry on just like that.

After the bowl is empty Linus takes it away and Ethan brings out the IV stand for my mate. He watches everything Ethan and I do with curiosity. I bet he has never been in a hospital ward before so everything in here is most likely very new to him.

Ethan is able to put the IV in with minimal trouble since my pup is distracted and he begins the second part of my pup's checkup. My mate's human does not look as good as his wolf does. He seems to have a lot of trouble moving some of the muscles he needs for this body like his legs and his arms.

After everything is checked out, I watch as Ethan injects something into the IV bag.

"Just something that will help him sleep for a little bit. He really needs it after the troubled shift." Ethan states answering my unasked question. "You should get some sleep to. You only slept a few hours last night and that's not good for you. I could give you something as well?"

I scowl at his request and continue to watch as my mate seems to fall back asleep. I decide it would be good for me to take a walk around the pack house to stretch my muscles and maybe grab some homework that is sitting in my room. I had a lot of it since it was decided I was not going to be in school for a few weeks after we had recovered my mate. The principal who is a pack member said that he would write it off as a family emergency.