Ch. 75: Black Magic Covens = Cults?

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE:
Nick~
Goddess help me. Please. I’ve been on the phone now for over six hours. Calling between all these packs that still insist on doing things like they were done in the 90s - or the 80s in some cases. I’m scouring for information from the packs other packs have heard of at this point. Anything about black magic covens. Unfortunately werewolves are not very unified and there’s no sort of directory. In our defense, this is partly due to keeping our existence on the down low. But still.
“Hello?” a husky older voice asked on the other side.
“Hi yes, Gamma Wilmer, thank you for taking a moment to speak with me,” I started, “Has your Alpha explained what I am calling about?”
I exhaled. I have had this conversation with other werewolves all across the nation by this point. My eyes are roaming my page of notes, figuring out who else to call next. No one has been able to help so far. I’ve called over 100 numbers.
I may just plunge my head into a tree at this point. Maybe this was a dumb idea. I just don’t know what else I can do.
“Yes, yes. He explained you were looking into the kidnapping of your Alpha and Luna - my condolences,” he droned on.
Pay attention, Asher insisted in my mind.
That caught my attention, he’d been quiet all day. I sat up.
“Something to do with a black magic coven, yes?” he asked.
“Yes sir,” I responded, my focus now entirely on this older guy.
“Ahem,” he cleared his throat. “I’ll cut right to it boy, you need to get your next Alpha ready. Like it or not, he may be called to step in more than he’d like. And if he’s not of age, your Beta needs to buckle down. Black magic covens are brutal. Most of them were wiped out decades ago, I was just a pup then. But I remember my Alpha and our warriors joining forces with our neighboring packs, and it nearly wiped us out. These covens… they’re like cults. And they’re always led by some crazed loon, hungry to build their power. And I mean they’re tunnel-vision focused on it. They summon demons using different sacrifices, they kidnap and blackmail for the blood of rare supernaturals… If your Alpha and Luna have really been kidnapped by them, I don’t want to discourage your pack from doing what they need to do - but I don’t see them coming out of that alive.”
I couldn’t respond, he was confirming my deepest worries.
“Kid, are you still there?” the Gamma asked, his voice crackling.
“Yes, yes sir I am,” I exhaled.
“Are the high fae aware of what you’ve found?” he asked.
I explained to him that they were the ones who looped our kind in.
“Well,” he exhaled. “The fae have traditionally looked out for themselves. If you really have some sort of ‘in’ with them, hold onto it. You’ll need their help finding these guys. The fae have people with abilities who may be able to track or predict their movements. We wouldn’t have been able to bring down as many dark magic users here without their assistance. I’m sorry I don’t have much anything else to tell you - except… Do know that these dark magic users, they can summon demons. Actual demons from beyond the gates of hell. Some of them can, with enough knowledge and power. I am assuming your Alpha and Luna are… special somehow and have ties to some strong lines if the coven is holding on to them. They’re likely using their blood. For what, I couldn’t tell you. But something to build power for their leader for sure. My advice - lock down your pack, get your next Alpha in place, and keep whatever fae connection you have. We’ll be praying to the Moon Goddess for you all.”
I thanked him and before we hung up he gave me some contact information for a few other packs he knew of. The secondary purpose of all this calling around has really been about warning other packs. Everyone I’ve spoken to has mentioned that they would be increasing security, calling pack members back from other places, looking for any information their pack members’ ancestors may have left behind about black magic covens, and so on. As hard as it was to find people still living from the days of black magic battles, everyone was familiar with the stories. And from what Gamma Wilmer just told me, those stories were all right. Goddess da*nit.

Jake~
Nick had just finished updating me on what he’d learned from an older Gamma in New Mexico when my phone rang. It was Mitchell. I had asked him to call me as soon as he found out more about what had happened to Rachel yesterday.
I glanced up at Nick and he nodded, seeing the name on my phone. He knew I have been waiting for this call.
“Hey Jake, my buddy was able to find out more,” he began saying as soon as I picked up. He knew I was in no mood for formalities when it had anything to do with Rachel and her safety. I’d become an even crankier and serious guy than I was before.
Whatever was brewing in me, it felt heavy with anger, the need to protect, and some sort of seriousness that Rachel (well, the Rachel who had known I existed) would’ve teased me for. My heart cracked a little remembering she currently had no idea who I was.
“It looks like this guy.. a Vance something… had been bothering her at school for weeks. I don’t have the exact details, but it - it seems like he was stalking her, even trying to get physical with her-”
I threw my phone.
Nick was on the other side of the dining room with me and ducked as I chucked it across the room.
I felt like I was on fire. Everything was red. I was so pissed. Enraged. Murderous. I felt pain all across my body and I started screaming. Howling. I felt an arm by my side but the touch of it burned my body more.
“NO,” I howled out.
I felt my bones crack, my muscles pull.
The front doors.
I ran to them on two legs or maybe four. More pain.
All I could see was a faint image of Rachel in my mind. I had an urge to kill everything and everyone around her that swelled up, becoming my only focus.
My bare feet touched the cold wet dirt outside and I took off running.
Then suddenly it all went dark and I felt myself falling.

Rachel~
My mom thinks we need a break. So we’re getting ready for a short trip after the semester ends this week. We're going to Lake Tahoe to go play around in the snow. I’m excited, I haven’t been in the snow in so long, and I really do think changing things up would be good for me. Whether at school or at home, I just haven’t been able to feel… right. It’s like I’m not really happy. I’m not sure if this is all in my head.
My dreams feel happy. And once I wake up, I feel like something is missing from my reality. It feels dangerous to want my dreams more than my real life. I’m fantasizing about my fantasy life, my dream world that I keep visiting. Lately I seem to be taken to the same place each night. One with wolves, lakes, and trees. Forests so dense they should be spooky but they are full of comfort. Night skies and full moons. The scent of pine and oak. The feel of crisp air on my skin.
My phone buzzes and I look down to see a text from Sean. He’s been extra text/call crazy since the Vance stuff. If I don’t respond within a few minutes he’ll keep calling or texting or messaging me over all kinds of social media platforms. He’s even tried messaging Meg over her social media when I took a long shower a few days ago. Now that really ticked her off. And me, I don’t know. My mind keeps ping-ponging back and forth from being exhausted with him and thinking how lucky I am that he’s so caring.
I open his message and see he wants to hang out with me tomorrow after school, and is insisting he drive me home from school so we can talk. Talk. Talk? Does this mean he wants to break up?
I hope so. I hope not.
I shake my head, my thoughts fighting against each other, and feel a migraine coming.
I message him back, agreeing. Like I had a choice…
Some minutes later I’m ready for bed early and Meg is looking at me like I’m a three-headed dragon when I get under the covers and shut my eyes, ready to be taken away.