Saturday, November 24th Pt. 3

Jamie is in tears by the time he finishes telling Demetri of this odd connection.
“I’m sorry you experienced that. Has it ever happened before or after that one time?”
“No sir. Dad and I have tried to link with him since it happened but he simply pushes it away. His room is locked up, which is unusual considering the kids that use it as a sanctuary. I have no way of verifying where he is but based on what I felt Kristoph wasn’t simply hitting him, he was using an object to break him.”
I hurry to Jamie’s side as he sobs. He hasn’t been able to speak of what happened since he woke up. I take the phone from his hand and place it gently beside us before pulling him into a long hug. His body shakes with his sobs as I remain speechless with what he’s revealed.
“I’m sorry Jamie.” Alpha Black responds quietly.
“Do either of you have any information on Cole at all?”
He asks with great hesitation.
“I was able to speak with Dr. Carter. He indicated that he didn’t like the situation he was having to resort to but he did reassure me that Cole is being cared for.”
“What does that mean?” He asks, confused.
“Even though I know he wasn’t supposed to share this, he indicated that Cole’s status has changed to that of a feral rogue. He said that it’s giving Alpha Redmen a pass to stop giving Cole money to care for the injuries that he causes.”
“I see.” He responds sadly. “I do apologize as inquiring about Cole wasn’t the purpose of this call. I wanted to check on all of you, ask the kids very specific questions to ensure that you are all safe staying there.”
“We talked about that already.” Jamie responds obviously on edge.
“A lot of things have changed now that Alpha Redmen has requested a ferality trial.”
He speaks with great patience.
“To start with, Jamie, I don’t think Cole’s connection with you was purposeful. I had an opportunity to speak with him a few hours before he was kidnapped from the hospital and he said that before he had the seizure he was trying to get into the channel plane and connect with Jessa. Jessa believes that he has indeed opened and is now able to channel similar to linking but knowledge of the skill is limited.”
“Are you able to tell us anything about it? I’ve never heard of the channel plane before.”
I ask, curious about this new finding.
“Not much is known. What little research I’ve done resulted in finding there are seven planes, but only three of those planes are accessible to werewolves.”
“Who can get into the others?”
“Witches, warlocks and other highly religious groups tend to learn how to access these additional planes. The two planes everyone knows about are the physical plane and astral plane. We all live on the physical plane and all werewolves become aware of the astral plane over time through interactions with their wolf. I believe the channel that Jessa is referring to is the mental plane. The simplest definition I found for this plane is that it’s where all thoughts are shared. With werewolves already having limited telepathic abilities, this realm enhances that ability.
Jessa explained that when she first accessed the channel all she did was think to herself what she would like to say and everyone in the room heard it. Think sassy, angry teenager that’s holding their tongue and you can guess quite accurately what she wanted to say. Over time she has gained control so that once she’s seen anyone just once she can target her conversation towards them. The problem is only about ten percent of wolves are born with the ability to access this plane. While all wolves can open the door to the plane, for the rest of us, it’s a very painful experience to open it.”
“What happens when a wolf opens it?” I can’t help but be curious.
“Well, Damian ended up with a crippling migraine for about a week. He was able to function after that first week but had a lingering headache for three weeks after. For Cole, it resulted in a seizure that left him unconscious for three days.”
“What happens after the door is opened?”
“To the best of her knowledge, once you open the door it stays open, you just have to use it to gain control over it. The problem is because he did it without her guidance, we don’t know if he realizes that he’s gained this ability.”
“You said he was kidnapped?”
I can’t explain the sudden realization of what the alpha said several minutes before.
“Yes, Dr. Moore arrived about half an hour after he was taken. He had made arrangements for him to stay at an undisclosed pack until Jessa and Anthony could get to him and bring him back.”
“What changed?”
I’m confused considering how Alpha Black wanted to keep him from returning.
“The law.” Jamie speaks quietly. “Alpha Whiteman was the first there to help me with Cole. He told me that he was there to hurry Cole along with the packing just enough that he could move him to a safe room inside the pack house. Once the bus for Red Fang left, he planned on helping to pack the rest of his stuff before moving Cole to a known sanctuary pack six hours away. Far enough that Alpha Redmen couldn’t easily use the link to torture him. He admitted that was his plan before finding out about the changes to the laws.”
“You are correct. He, Dr. Moore and I had been in consistent contact after Dallas attacked him. I convinced him to implement Operation Underground after an unexpected but very close source disclosed some very disturbing information. Unfortunately after he was hospitalized the sanctuary pack we were going to use was too far away after the seizure and lingering crippling migraines. It was at the last minute that Dr. Moore was able to arrange an alternative. Unfortunately, Alpha Redmen either had impeccable timing or he found out our plans because Kristoph snuck into the hospital and chased Cole down to the underground garage before Dr. Moore could get back to him.”
Alpha finishes with a disappointed sigh.
“Now, I need to speak and receive answers directly from each of you on these questions. Like I said before, things are changing at Red Fang and I feel that these changes are going to endanger the good wolves struggling to keep the pack together.”
“Yes sir.” I respond.
“Molly, have you recently or in the past received physical punishment of any kind from Alpha Redmen?”
“No sir.”
“Good. I need each of the kids to honestly answer the same question. Caitlyn?”
“How do you know my name?” She responds nervously.
“Cait, you need to answer Alpha Black’s question.” I remind her softly.
“It’s okay. I expected at least one of the pups to ask.” He addresses me first.
“I know you and your siblings’ names because I worked very closely with your brother Jamie.”
“Oh.” She responds softly. “I’m scared. Am I allowed to be scared?”
“Allowed, Caitlyn?” I can’t help but ask.
“Of course you’re allowed to be scared. Can you tell me why you’re afraid of me?”
It seems that Alpha Black is very skilled with these situations.
“We were called to the office at school today. Alpha Redmen and Alpha Kris were there. They took Jeremy. Alpha claimed that they were doing an investigation and needed to talk to Jerry alone. They let him sign him out. He told Brittany and I to stay quiet or he will punish us with his belt. He told the head master to punish us when we cried. You're an alpha and you want the truth but he commanded us not to tell that he took Jerry from the school.”
Caitlyn is in tears after her confession, torn by the differences in commands that she’s received. I pull her into a tight hug before whispering in her ear.
“You have done the right thing telling us, Cait. I promise, no one is going to hurt you. Answer everything Alpha Black asks. I’m going to check on Jeremy.”
She nods as the tears fall. She is obviously frightened of what she’s admitted but seems to know it was the best thing she could do for her brother. I stand silently and walk towards Jeremy. His eyes are wide and filled with tears.