Chapter 251
(Cole’s POV)
“That's only if everything goes perfect. What’s the likelihood that it will? And when does the countdown start?”
I ramble through, struggling to contain my growing anxiety. She takes my hand in hers, rubbing it lightly as I fight my desire to pull away.
“You have a very complicated case for the committee to work through so it is not likely that everything is going to go through in fourteen weeks but considering what we know about how you're being treated there the sooner you get out on your own the better off you’ll be.”
“If I wait for the committee to remove me, what would happen to me? Where would I go?”
“We really don’t want you to wait that long.” Alpha chimes in.
“We have no way of knowing how much research your father has actually done on this process. Even with Angela’s connection to the council we cannot get any information on if he turned in the application, let alone when he turned it in and where it’s at in the process. If by some chance he’s lied to you about making you a feral then he could kill you as you wait. I still wish you would reconsider. There’s got to be enough information from his big brother security system running on my computer to prove that he’s lying.”
“I am sorry that I set that up without your permission but I was hoping that you could help me.”
“What do you need?”
“I can set it up so that you have from the beginning of my run to the end in a single section. I can also help with identifying my brothers and Luna Sasha so you can get proof of what’s going on when I’m not there.”
“I’d rather you stay and do it.”
His voice is soft, even sad at the idea of me returning to Red Fang.
I can’t. I’m sorry. To all of you, I am sorry. I can’t explain beyond the laptop why I must do this in this way but it is what I need to do.”
There’s tears in my eyes as I look around me. I have never encountered anyone ever being this desperate to get me out of the hell I live yet I’m insisting on returning.
“As Demetri was saying, the application for investigating if a wolf has gone feral is treated as an extremely private matter. It doesn’t matter who you are or what information you have, they will not share the information with you. Only those directly involved in the investigation know anything about what the application status is and none of them know anything about any investigation until they are chosen to participate. This was implemented because of the extremely dangerous stigma that comes with just being investigated. The only thing anyone in your pack is going to know is that you were removed. Which brings me to the ways your case can be delayed or even dropped during the investigation.”
I cock my head slightly in curiosity but remain silent. I don’t know why I’m shocked to hear that a case can be delayed or even dropped but I guess there needs to be some sort of balance to the process.
“To start from the beginning and breaking it down, the application is turned in and the first council member has a week to go over it for completion. During that week any printed paper applications will be entered into the computer word for word. If they find the handwriting difficult to read then they will highlight the problem area and come back to it. If they find blanks or n/a in any of the spots, that question is highlighted as well. Once the council member has entered the application into the computer, they will go through the application and review highlighted areas.
If there are no blanks or n/a’s then they will schedule a phone conference with the one who filled out the application. The conference must take place within two weeks or the case will be dropped. If blanks or n/a’s are present then they will place removable paper notes next to the areas of question and they will send it back to the one who filled it out. The applicant is given a six week deadline to account for the mail delivery process. If the deadline is missed the case is dropped. If it arrives on time but the problem areas are not fixed the case is dropped. In this early step there is only one kickback and only fifty percent usually make it through the process.
Once the application gets past this first stage it is completely computerized and goes to the Department head of that headquarters. They have a month to find four council members that have no ties to you, your family or your pack. As I mentioned before, if no one can be found without a connection then it is elevated to the committee head of the same department. They will take a week to review the application and if it’s elevated to them at this early stage there’s a fifty percent chance that they will drop the case. If their preliminary assessment of the case leads them to believe there is a potential danger to the pack filing, that’s when they will turn the case over to the next closest council headquarters. That next location will have a month and has the ability to send back to the committee if four members can’t be found. A third location is given a chance and if they kick back to the committee then the committee will assign four members, often from different locations, to the case.
Each member will be assigned a number and each member will review the application for validity. Any statement inconsistent with an individual being feral or inconsistencies between the submitted evidence and the statements given in the application will result in the application going back to the filer for corrections. The filer has three weeks to resubmit to the next council member in line. There are three strikes in this stage. If two of the previous three council members had to kick it back and the fourth still finds validity issues, the case is dropped. Again only about fifty percent of applications make it through this part of the process. Those that make it through are sent to the committee.
Once the committee picks up your case, which is anywhere between a week and three months after it arrives, they have nine months to gather the evidence needed to hold a trial.”
I nod my head as it actually sounds like very few wolves are actually deemed feral during this process.
“Are wolves actually found to be feral? It sounds like a lot of cases get dropped.”
“A lot of cases do get dropped.” She confirms.
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