Chapter 12
David stopped and turned around to search Cain’s face. It took him only a second to understand the reason behind his request. “Would you like me to stay for a little while?”
Nodding quickly, Cain walked slowly toward David, stopping in the middle of the room. “Sofia is your mother?” he asked softly.
“Yes.”
“She told me about you and what happened. It was bad…wasn’t it?”
“It was, but it was worth it in the end because I found Zane. He’s the one who’ll teach you how to use the computer I brought.”
“Sofia said he’s a wolf shifter.”
“Yes, does that worry you?”
Shrugging a shoulder, Cain said, “I don’t know. Sofia told me he won’t hurt me and …”
“He won’t!” David exclaimed. “My mate is the kindest, sweetest, nicest, smartest person I ever met.”
A small smile graced Cain’s face. “Sofia told me that, too.” Then, glancing over at the computer David had set down on the coffee table, he pointed to it and said, “Steel already gave me one…why do I need another?”
“You don’t. The new one has software on it that will help you learn how to use it.
My mate wrote it for his nephew but when he found out I’d never used a computer before, he had me use it so I could learn the basics.
Once I did that, he wrote another program that’s more advanced…
and that’s what I’m using now. Do you want me to show you? ”
Cain paused for a moment. Then, deciding it was okay since it was Sofia’s son, he nodded.
“Great!” David exclaimed. Picking up the laptop, he headed over to the small table in the sitting room. “We can sit here. It’ll be better. That way you can be next to me to see what I do. When I first started, it was so frustrating, but once Zane installed his program, everything became simple.”
Pulling his chair close to David’s, Cain sat down and waited, wondering if it was really going to be as easy as David made it sound. Somehow, he doubted it.
“Okay, here’s the button you press to turn it on,” David said, pointing to it.
“Go ahead and press it.” He watched as Cain’s finger hovered over the button for a moment before he lowered it and pushed the button.
Within a few moments, the screen lit up with a picture of a beach and small waves lapping at its edge.
“Oh wow! That reminds me of…” Cain began, then snapped his mouth shut. He had learned it didn’t pay to remember any good times when survival was more important.
David glanced quickly at Cain and saw the brief look of pain in his eyes before it disappeared. Deciding to ignore it for now, he opened Zane’s program and handed the mouse to Cain. “Here, all you have to do is what the wolf says.”
“A wolf?” Cain asked weakly, placing his hand on the mouse. “Why not a…I don’t know…maybe a…a…bird.”
Laughing, David replied, “If you want, I’m sure Zane can change it. I think he used a wolf because Danny’s a wolf…that’s his nephew.”
“No…that’s okay,” Cain muttered, focusing on the wolf on the screen. Then, reading the first instruction, he clicked on the wolf and a new instruction appeared. “Oh, this is gonna be easy,” he murmured. “I like this.”
Smiling, David sat back and watched Cain proceed through the different levels, remembering how elated he’d felt about his success. He was sure it would help give Cain the same self-confidence as it had done for him.
~/~/~/~/~
Sofia sat quietly while Jackson read over the proposed schedule for Cain she’d given him. After her breakfast with him and their subsequent discussion about computer lessons from Zane, she’d decided Cain needed a lot more support than she and Jackson had initially thought.
After he’d finished reading the last page, Jackson set the paper down on his desk and looked at Sofia. “I thought you were going to include rules for him…what changed?”
“During my discussion with him this morning, I wasn’t sure rules would give him the security he desperately needs. And after thinking more about it, I realized it’s because his scars go too deep.”
Frowning, Jackson said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand.”
“Cain lives with the fear that no one wants him, so everything is filtered through that lens. And because of that, he always expects to be kicked out, especially from a world he knows nothing about.”
“That’s not exactly correct,” Jackson replied. “Remember, the reason he was in the High Council prison was for shifter trafficking. So at least he knows our world exists.”
“I haven’t forgotten that,” Sofia said. “But you also have to consider he was told everything he knows by other humans whose knowledge is questionable at best.”
“Made up of hearsay, hmm?”
“Exactly. I knew nothing about your world even though my son is a wolf shifter, but luckily for me, my neighbor was a wolf shifter and he taught me all about your world. So when David and Zane brought me here, I didn’t have a problem interacting with everyone…
nor did I fear them. Now, put yourself in Cain’s shoes… ”
Jackson leaned back in his chair and thought for a few seconds, before nodding his head and saying, “I see what you mean.”
Sophia continued, “His fear of what exists outside his door has made his bedroom into another cell. He’s afraid to leave it.”
“Why do you say that? He knows he’ll have to leave it to work in the garden and to do his other chores.”
“On one level, Cain is aware of that, but if I’m not mistaken, he has retreated to the one coping mechanism that got him through his childhood.”
“Which is?”
“Becoming invisible to everyone around him by staying in the background as much as possible, and in his case that means staying in his room. He learned it was the best way of being forgotten in a house full of kids.”
Chuckling, Jackson said, “Zane did that. He spent hours in his room working on his computer, so much so, most of us forgot he was even there.”
“Fortunately for Zane, Hope did not.”
“No, our mother always made sure of that.”
“Unfortunately, Cain did not have a mother like yours.”
“No, he didn’t…but it’s different here…I want him here, so why do you think he’s retreated, especially after experiencing what he did in the foster homes?” asked Jackson.
“He feels safe in his room. If no one pays him any attention, then, by his thinking, no one will kick him out. And that is his biggest fear…that you will kick him out and he’ll be back living on the streets without his protector, Sarge.”
Shaking his head, Jackson asked, “Did you tell him I will not do that?”
Shrugging, Sofia nodded, “And I’m sure he’s heard that from other people, but…”
“Right…he’s learned to not believe anyone when they say it,” Jackson muttered.
“Cain needs to learn how to trust again…something that was stolen from him when his parents left him in that park.”
“I see,” nodded Jackson, “so what do you propose I do?”
“Instead of rules, I thought it would be better for me to be both his friend and teacher. By that, I mean I would stay with him all day, showing him how to do his chores, answering his questions, and if he panics, I would be there to offer him support immediately. This is something similar to what I did for David when he was a prisoner of the High Priestess. Then, as he grows more confident, that’s the time to give him the rules that will hopefully provide him with the stability prison gave him.
“I can also teach him about the paranormal world and it would be helpful for him to see me, a human, interact with you and see how I’m treated. That would also help change his impression about your world.”
Leaning back in his chair, Jackson thought about Sofia’s suggestions and decided they made sense.
Only time would tell if her appraisal of Cain was correct, but he was willing to give her the time to see if she could help the young man.
And that would help him fulfill the mission the Fates and gods had given him and his pack.
Cain was critical to their success, but after meeting him and listening to Sofia’s appraisal of him, Jackson had doubts.
Not that he would ever tell Oracle he thought the Fates had made a mistake when they chose Cain, but in the deepest recesses of his mind, he questioned what the real purpose was behind their decision.
Sitting upright, Jackson smiled at Sofia. “Everything you’ve recommended is fine…but I think you should start with a tour of the pack house…get him out of his room.”
“I planned on doing that tonight…after everyone had gone to bed. That way, he wouldn’t have to worry about meeting anyone. Also, I spoke to Dakota, and it’s all right with him if I continue to take Cain his meals for the time being.”
“Okay…but eventually he’ll have to eat with the pack,” Jackson said.
“Of course…that is the goal…to have him become a full member of the pack,” Sofia replied. “Anything else?”
“No…yeah,” Jackson said, grabbing the schedule again. “What does it mean ‘spend fifteen minutes every other day with the Alpha’? You mean me, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why? And what will he…and I…be doing during that time?” asked Jackson.
“Whatever you want,” Sofia replied, smiling.
“You can’t expect Cain to trust you if he doesn’t know you.
Right now, he sees you as the person with the power to toss him back into prison or out on his ear, and that has to change.
I can tell him until I’m blue in the face that you won’t do it, but unless he believes it, Cain will never feel completely safe here.
And you also have to learn to trust him if you are going to use the information he gives you to send pack members out into dangerous situations.
Right now, neither of you trust each other.
So, my thought was that spending some time together will allow both of you to learn about the other. ”
Nodding, Jackson said, “That makes sense…I guess…but…I’ll have to figure out what to do during my time with Cain.”
“Tell him about your childhood…the trouble you and your brothers got in…and maybe about growing up as a wolf shifter. What I want for him to realize is that there isn’t that much difference between your world and the human one.
It will help bridge the gap between the worlds and I’m hoping he’ll come to the conclusion that it’s the humans who want to hunt and capture paranormals that are the true enemies of all of us. ”
Chuckling, Jackson said, “Sofia, you amaze me…I have met no one with as much knowledge of the human mind as you have. I hadn’t realized your grasp of psychology…Zane never mentioned it to me, but I wish he had.”
Shaking her head, Sofia said, “I didn’t formally study it, I’m more self-taught.
After David’s kidnapping, it took me two years to find him, and during that time, the High Priestess had filled his head with lies and nothing I said could change his mind about any of them…
well, except the one that I was dead. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I knew I couldn’t abandon him and vowed to find a way to break through the wall my David had built in his mind to survive the terrible things done to him.
“In the beginning, the only thing I could do was to offer him comfort and encouragement that things would get better, but I knew that wouldn’t be enough.
One day, while I was dusting in the library, one book caught my attention.
It explained the mind and how it could be manipulated.
That gave my journey to help my David a direction and, through the years, I read every book there I could find about human behavior.
In the end, I was able to get David to believe he was free to leave that horrible place when he turned 18.
Thank goodness. Well…you know the rest of the story. ”
Shaking his head in amazement, Jackson said, “That explains why you could help my mom.”
Smiling shyly, Sofia said, “Mac helped as well.”
“Yes, with the physical therapy part,” Jackson said. “But Mom told me how much you helped her overcome the sense of helplessness my uncle’s actions caused her.”
Embarrassed by the praise, Sofia’s cheeks turned pink. Unsure how to respond, she decided it was best to just ignore it and move on. “I better see how Cain and my David are getting on.”
Raising an eyebrow, Jackson asked, “Cain and David? What about them?”
Nodding, Sofia said, “I asked David to deliver the laptop Zane had given me for Cain.”
“Zane agreed to this?”
“Yes…after I told him why. He also thought it would be good for David.”
“And why was that?”
Shrugging, Sofia said, “My David knows what it feels like for someone to take him from me and, while Cain wasn’t kidnapped, he felt the same pain when his parents abandoned him. Plus, he’s the least threatening member of the pack I could think of.”
Chuckling, Jackson said, “That he is…which is why I think Lucius has…” His voice trailed off as an idea suddenly occurred and, after thinking about it for a moment, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
“Speaking of Lucius, would you be willing to help him deal with his new reality of being a vampire? Usually, the transformation into a vampire wipes out a human’s memories of their past life, but unfortunately, Lucius still remembers his.
Because of that, he’s constantly comparing his vampire life with his human one, making it very hard to accept his new life. ”
Nodding slowly, Sofia said, “I wondered why he always seems so sad, but I didn’t want to pry. Can’t anything be done to erase his human memories?”
“No…everyone I’ve spoken to has warned me against doing anything, which means Lucius will never be completely happy…and I refuse to accept that.”
“What have you tried so far?” asked Sofia.
“Other than convincing Lucius and Brady to move here…nothing. And the only way I could do that was to have their home and garden moved to a meadow near the pack house.”
Sofia frowned slightly. “I can understand about wanting their house, but why move a garden? They could have planted one here.”
“Long story short…they both love gardening. Brady’s roses, to be exact.”
Sofia’s eyes lit up. “So does Cain. Hmm…okay, I’ll do what I can to help Lucius.”
“I appreciate it. I wish I had the power to grant Lucius’s wish to be human again, but I’ll have to settle on making his life as a vampire as happy as it can be,” Jackson said softly.
Then, handing the schedule back to Sofia, he added, “Let me know if you need anything…and good luck with Cain…and Lucius.”
Rising, Sofia said, “I will…and I also think it would be good for you to meet with Cain in his room for the time being, if that’s all right. It’ll help him feel safe and be able to concentrate more on you than on his fear.”
“I can do that,” Jackson said. After seeing Sofia’s nod, he watched her leave before swiveling his chair around to look out his window, thinking about Cain and what they’d talk about at their first meeting.