Kai vaguely remembered meeting Ryder at the Masked Ball. On a personal level, he related to Ryder's introverted nature. While Ryder's older brothers were obnoxiously outgoing, he was quiet and mostly kept to himself. Unlike Kai's older brother, who wasn't as obnoxious as Levi's older offspring, Chester was outgoing and inspirational during the bleak times of war. Overall, Kai perceived Ryder as one who is unveiling the traits of wisdom.
"I've never heard of anybody having such a unique gift," Kai remarked, relatively impressed.
"It is very unique and strange," Ryder added. "The only challenge is that it's not fully mastered."
Mastering the full potential of a gift can take well over thousands of years. At roughly nine hundred years old, Ryder still had a long way to go to master it fully. To enhance his mastery over the gift, he must efficiently disentangle the challenging obstacles to unlock each level of his gift's capacity.
"Can you at least walk through one?" Kai inquired, brainstorming ideas.
"Only I can walk through them on the same planet," Ryder plainly explained. "Unfortunately, I still can't travel through any dimensional worlds with it being recently unlocked."
Mastering to unlock each level of his gift hasn't been an easy task for him to conquer. The potential power of his gift had sent him blasting out of the pocket like an explosion, causing him bodily injuries. If he weren't immortal, his gift would have potentially killed him every time he attempted to traverse through it.
"Do you think you can get one tiny note to pass through it, though?" Kai asked, mulling over an idea that surfaced.
"Maybe, but it has to be in something durable like a glass bottle, or it will burn up." Ryder thoughtfully declared. "Though, I've never done it before. But we can give it a shot."
Fueled with determination to save his mate, Kai concluded, "If you're willing to help, then open one up so I can send my message."
"OK, but it will only open once. I'm not strong enough to do it twice," Ryder warned. "You must pick an area where you know someone will receive it."
He couldn't stress that enough. One chance to unlock this pocket is all Kai had, so Ryder needed to make that clear to him to ensure that the right location was picked. If the wrong pocket opens into an area where nobody is around to retrieve it, then their efforts are wasted. Running on limited time, Ryder couldn't unzip another pocket until he healed first, and there was no time for that.
As Ryder was lost in his concern, an ideal place came to Kai's mind.
Stretching out his hand, he instructed. "I know the perfect spot. Now touch my hand."
Upon making a connection in a handshake-like lock, Kai showed him the appearance of his father's office. This space was his father's one domain, where he often spent his time, and normally, everyone frequented his private space, similar to an invading army of pesky ants.
Even if it happened to be empty, eventually, someone was bound to find the note, at least Kai hoped in his heart.
To move the plan along, Devon announced as he hurried out of the living room, "I'll find a bottle!"
Retrieving a pen and a piece of paper from his back pocket, Kai quickly jotted down all his demands. Minutes later, Devon returned with an old bottle that was perfectly sized to hold a note and passed it to Kai. Once Kai finished double-checking the note, he looked at Ryder as he curled the message inside the bottle.
"I'm ready," Kai informed him.
Having everything set, everyone gave Ryder some extra space in the large living room. Filled with curiosity, they watched how Ryder merely pinched his fingers together. Like unzipping a zipper on a coat, he drew his hand downward amid the air. A thin light shone through, indicating an opening was splitting apart between the different areas, or in this case, two completely diverse worlds.
"I've never seen anything like this," Zane commented, standing between Levi and Mitchell.
As the pocket split apart, Levi remarked, "It certainly isn't anything you've ever seen before."
Next to Mitchell, Kai muttered in amusement as an image unveiled before them, "It's astonishing."
Within seconds, Mr. Collin's office became visible, as if they were peering into a mirrored reflection of another realm. As Kai predicted, the office was filled with his friends and his father's five advisors, though they were busy cleaning up a huge mess. He noticed the office appeared as if it had been ravaged by a wild cat.
Books and papers were strewn across the floor as if a tree had been ruthlessly hacked apart. Table stands lay flipped upside-down or overturned on their sides. Bookshelves and picture frames got torn off the wall hinges. Broken glass shards glistened like a frosty glaze on the carpet, and even his dad's beloved grandmaster clock stood tilted against a wall. Overall, Kai couldn't fathom the chaos that emerged after his best friends had the guts to abduct him.
Inside the office, just before the pocket opened, everyone was busily cleaning up the mess they created from the fight until a thin glowing chink grabbed their attention. Near the desk in mid-air, a peculiar effluent light unfurled like a zipper in a single streak until it split apart, extending wider.
Upon peering inside, they caught a glimpse of Ryder before he stepped aside, revealing Kai and his Alpha friends on the other side. Minus Kai and Zane, the other Alphas sheepishly waved at them as communication was impossible across the divided gap.
Having their undivided curiosity, Kai threw the bottle into the pocket. Sparks of light scintillated as shooting firecrackers while the bottle barely made it through, rolling on the floor to rest near Ace's shoe. Just as fast as it shot in, with a resounding bang, the pocket closed as swiftly as it had opened.
Ryder was forcefully thrown into a wall before his body crashed to the floor.
"Easy!" Levi cooed, cradling his injured son in his arms as Ryder had a violent seizure, causing blood to gush from his mouth and his nose.
Once the convulsions ceased, Ryder feebly peeled his eyelids apart, merely catching a glimpse of the happy smiles surrounding his disoriented figure.
"Did it work?" he weakly whispered as Kai knelt before him.
"Yes, you did it. I owe you big time," Kai praised, patting his extended leg. Mastering one's gift took great mindfulness and self-discipline. With this simple task, Ryder passed out from over-pushing his limits.
"Let him rest on the couch while the rest of us prepare for battle," Devon suggested, helping Levi to lift Ryder.