The Son of Red Fang by Diana Sockriter novel Chapter 127

Chapter 127

Patrick and Lucas, I cannot fully support your stances not to work with him. I can, however, give you time to observe myself and the others working directly with him to allow you to become more comfortable with him. You will be expected to work with him on a limited basis in a neutral manner before the end. of the six month run. I will be holding Cole to the same character standards as the other prospects. In testing his character and abilities I will both be easier and harder on him then the others.”

“How can you be both?” Lucas is getting curious about my plans.

“When I work with a wolf like Cole I expect high stress situations to have extreme reactions. As a result of pushing him to that extreme, it’s important that I have complete control over the environment in order to help calm him and keep him from going into a panic attack. So it’s harder on him psychologically than on the others because of the high amount of negativity and punishment he’s going to anticipate, especially very early in the testing process as he’s getting to know us and what’s expected of him. It will be easier on him in the sense of the amount of emotional support he will be receiving from me. Unlike the others, Cole lacks all confidence in everything that he does. There have been multiple times that even when given simple directions involving physical interaction with me such as; look me in the eyes, lay your head on my arm, and scoot back into me; I have been met with resistance.”

I pause a moment to collect my thoughts as admitting what I’m thinking is quite difficult.

“What’s wrong dad?” Damian sounds concerned about my sudden pause.

“It’s not often that I come across situations where a wolf appears to have been punished as often for following directions as they were for defying them.”

“Then how would they know what’s expected of them?” Damian asks sadly.

“They don’t.” I state simply. “They grow up believing they are a failure. That it doesn’t matter what they do; good, bad or neutral, they will be punished.”

“You’re telling me that you’ve spent enough time with him today to believe he expects to be punished? For what?” Patrick sounds shocked and appalled at such an assumption.

“Anything. Everything. Eventually the abuse goes on for long enough that the wolf ends up in one of three personalities. They can become a crazed psychopath seeking revenge on everyone they come in contact with or, more commonly, they become numb to their environment. Nothing seems to matter to them. Cole seems to fit best into the third category as he’s obviously not violent but he’s not numb either. He’s actually extremely sensitive.”

“What’s the third category?” Parker asks.

“The perfectionist, although I’m not certain that’s the best way to describe them. It’s the wolf who wants to belong so badly that they develop an extreme sense of right and wrong. They are often compelled to enforce their narrow sense of what’s acceptable on others, often to their own detriment, out of fear that if the individual is caught doing what they believe is wrong, they would meet the same terrible punishment they have often suffered. I have a feeling that Cole is going to be the type that strives to do everything right and will ultimately struggle with anything he does wrong as he will have an overwhelming expectation for extreme punishment even for the simplest things.”

“Which is why you want to be one on one with his testing to start with.”

“Yes, Pat. I need to know his reactions, how easily he’s triggered and how hard it is to get him back on track once he’s triggered. Above all else, no one, but me, submits him.”

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