Chapter 245
Monday, June 25
(Cole’s POV)
It’s been nearly a month since the brawl and despite how quiet it’s become around here I tend to stay in chaos. I just moved back into the pack house yesterday. Alpha Black thought being in the guest wing while the council was here would be too much for me and allowed me to move around. He started me out at Dr. Pierce’s place but after two weeks Jessa wanted more privacy. I gave being there a try but without Dr. Pierce or her wolf around her confidence in me not harming her failed.
Alpha let me know that the council left about three days ago and Jessa helped me move my stuff back into my room. She drove me over to general this morning. They removed the hard cast and replaced it with a brace I can remove for showering. She’s been apologizing nonstop about me moving back. Telling her that I’m okay doesn’t work because of the bond between us. She knows I’m not and it seems that she feels my moving back into the room alpha gave me is a set back. I guess it is in regards to our relationship. How the goddess Diana thought matching two abused wolves together would work out, I don’t know but I love her all the same.
“Is there a certain place you want things? I’m sorry, I feel so lost and useless right now.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s just going to take a little time to get strength and movement back to normal in my elbow.” I smile lightly as I push the hair out of her face.
A knock on my door pulls my attention away from Jessa. Looking up at the door I’m greeted by the warm brown eyes of the alpha, leaning against the door.
“Angela said something about you coming back to this room. Don’t worry. You will get the time you need once you’re permanently here but we need to start talking about how to get you out and that takes understanding the complex process of getting a ferality trial. I need the two of you to join me, Angela and Julie in my office. You can take a few private minutes to finish what you’re doing but it’s important that we talk.”
We both give a nod as he turns from the doorway. I close the space between us and take the socks from her hands. I pull open the top drawer of the dresser she’s in front of and place the socks in with the rest. She mouths a quiet ‘oh’ as not all of my clothes were packed when he sent me to be with Dr. Pierce.
It was a fitting move considering the help I needed the first week after I broke my arm. I don’t remember ever being in a cast let alone one that kept my elbow from moving. I ended up staying at General three days before Dr. Fawn was satisfied that the cast provided enough support that my bones would mend without surgery to pin them together. Alpha had half my stuff packed and took me straight to Dr. Pierce’s place when I got out. He felt that it would be better than me being in my room for a few days than having to move. We finish up putting my stuff away before I flatten and fold my pack so it fits neatly in the closet.
“Are you ready?” Jessa’s voice floats through the air.
“No but it has to happen some time.”
I look over at her standing beside the bed. I close the closet door so I can open the bedroom door wider. I stop and look at the brand new sneakers that alpha got for me once he measured my feet. It's been years since I’ve had the pleasure of wearing new shoes. Normally I have to find some under worn pair in the donation closet as the money I made during my apprenticeship with Jon I wasn’t allowed to keep. Something about how the alpha’s son doesn’t need money.
I ultimately decide to leave them at my door as we’re only going down the hall to alpha’s office. I hold the door and gesture for her to leave first. We walk together to the office. The little bit of time we had at Dr. Pierce’s place together relaxed me a lot when it came to interacting with Jessa. Once again I’m allowed to rely on my instincts as to what she needs. It’s a lot easier to touch her and hold her. Even simple kisses are relaxing now, perhaps that’s why alpha wants her to come too.
I stop just outside his office, knocking lightly but not waiting for a response as I allow Jessa to walk in first. Looking around, the office is quite crowded which naturally spikes my anxiety.
“I’m sorry for the crowd but I’m anticipating your return to be a very complex undertaking and I’m trying to put as much support in place as I can. It’s important that you understand that I’ve never had a case like you and no one has ever elected to return once I have discovered their abuse and offered them sanctuary.”
“No one?” I can’t help but sound shocked as I still have a hard time believing that sanctuary even exists.
He nods while pointing to the couch for us to sit on. I take a seat first giving her the option of sitting in my lap or sitting beside me. She grabs a pillow from the end and places it in my lap before sitting beside me giving me enough room to stretch out.
“First I feel it’s important that we establish that you have done nothing wrong.” Alpha seems to be going first.
“You expressed a lot of concern when everything happened that you had started the brawl and put the girls in danger. I know it’s been a month and I haven’t addressed it but I wanted to wait until the council concluded their investigation before speaking to you. Explaining what we found.”
I nod silently but keep my gaze submissive and towards the ground.
“Two of the three wolves involved in kidnapping Willow and forcing her to the warriors’ cabins had been stalking her for a while. She had actually filed a complaint against them the day before she was attacked. I had scheduled time to meet with each of them the next day but she went into heat that night. She was a week earlier than she expected.”
“You’re saying they planned this? What about the one that walked away? Hunter Rain?”
“While Hunter was not involved in the stalking he still participated in the kidnapping. He was punished for his involvement but because he was unaware of what they were doing until after he started helping them he received a lesser punishment.”
“What happened to the rest of them?”
“We found on video that the two original kidnappers did not manage to rape her but four other wolves got involved. As a delta she was at a disadvantage as the four that got a hold of her were all beta level. The two betas you interrupted in the shack were the ones who clubbed you with a tree branch. All six were taken to the council’s regional jail for further investigation and prosecution when they left.”
“What about Willow?”
“She has returned to her pack and withdrawn herself from the prospect program.”
I stay silent waiting for him to continue.
“Has Jamie talked to you about what happened with the run?”
“He told me it was canceled but didn’t give any details.” I explain what little I know.
“So, this crowd of people is the first to hear of my final decision. I do feel it’s important for you to know that with this run getting canceled I can not hold my year long run next year. The council mandates that three six month runs must be held before the year long one can be scheduled. Now, I do have the option to start a new six month run July 27th which would give me the standard week between runs to get ready but with Micayla seeking sanctuary and the unknowns involved in getting you out of your home pack and back here I have plenty to keep me busy so I felt it best to take a break.”
I look up briefly to see him nod lightly.
“Now, to touch on getting you out of Red Fang, I need you to run as soon as you’re healthy enough to do so.”
I sit up, looking at his face curiously trying to figure out how much he knows.
“Jamie told me about the cycles in severity that you tend to go through. It was a little hard for him to leave out considering his abuse is tied directly to yours.”
He sighs heavily as he continues.
“I’ve been trying to plan step by step how to get you out and come up with additional plans for everything that could possibly go wrong each step of the way but there’s so many things that I can think of going wrong that I just can’t wrap my mind around it. Being completely honest with myself I had to scrap every plan I’ve thought of so far.”
I can’t help but see this as the alpha giving up on me. I nod my head in understanding but bring my eyes back to the ground. Keeping my emotions in check is proving difficult to do as I feel the tears fill my eyes.
“Instead of having a detailed plan in place I have changed to utilizing the friends you have back home. Putting support and supplies in place that will give you the assistance you will need to run. With your father turning in the paperwork requesting a trial during this run, time is not on your side. Angela found that if everything goes as quickly as possible you have approximately four months to get out before the werewolf committee removes you from the pack.”
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