Pack Mentality: An unexpected turn

"-Did you get lost?"

Raven was the first to turn around, since he recognized the voice as one of the senior members of his tribe. "Hello Jordon!"  When Quint and George heard the name they spun around quickly and dipped their heads in respect.  "We just got caught up in a major snowstorm and Daniel offered us a place to stay to wait it out, then there were several intense moments when we were there.   Rick,  the guy that we all heard about in the nursery tales, got involved in a life of a kid-"

He was interrupted by Jordan saying "well, it seems like you guys got swept up in the thick of it.  We all saw the smoke from the fire last night.  Glad you three are ok.  What did the Packs of Shoshone Lewis have to say about  the theory that Tom proposed?"

Quint replied this time.  "They all agreed that the humans are the cause of rising tensions.  They also came up with an interesting resolution that seems like it may work for that specific complex.  They talked about shifting their territories to counteract the human presence.  I think that it is honestly a really good idea because they have an incredibly large amount of territory, between The Geyser, Daniels territory, and Sky's territory."

Jordon tilted his head to the side deep in thought.  "If only our leaders thought of something to counteract in some way."

Raven interrupted, "why? - is that the reason that our camp is empty?"

Jordon resumed, "Times were tough already when we sent you over to that complex across the mountain.  Everyone around this complex was already stuck in a tough situation.  It only got worse after you left.  Tom spent about four of the days after you left trying to convince the other leaders to stay because things were worse for them.  All attempts to get the other packs to stay eventually failed and all the packs separated."

Raven questioned, "Wait what-"

"Yeah.  I am one of the few Omegas that stayed behind, and that was mainly because Tom wanted me to relay a message to you.  Being Omegas is not easy for any wolf.  It makes a bigger target for all other major predators, not the least of these is a grizzly bear.  It also makes hunting harder.  Tom, the other senior members, and I think it would be good for you if you returned to Daniel's tribe.  We want you to know that we did not make this decision lightly.  You three have served us well but we feel like the way of the omega pack lifestyle would not be for you."

Quint spoke up while Raven and Quint were silently sitting, slightly depressed.  "So everyone is gone?"  He dipped his head in disdain, "and we wouldn't be able to say good bye? What about you?  The betas?"

"We will stick together through thick and thin so we can manage.  Even though we will not be here we will stick together.  But the time will come when we will return, and you will know when that time will come.  Oh, and Quint,  I have a gift for you."  Jordan turned and walked for a little bit, but then he came back with a pup that was just old enough to start training.  "Tom gave me the authority to give you your first Beta for training.  Meet Smokey.  He is just old enough to train.  May you train him well.  I hope that you will pass on the lessons that I gave you when you were a Beta.  His eyes clouded over, and there seemed to be a tear coming from his eyes.  "Take care you four.  Like I said before, you will know when the time will come for the packs to return to Heart Lake.  You guys could stay around here for a couple of days to regain your strength, but then you should head back to Daniel's tribe.

***

Back at The Shoshone/Lewis complex campground Jackson had had no trouble going to sleep after being out spending part of the night with Rick calming down and eventually drifting off.  

The previous nights had been doing Jackson no good however.  Whenever he would fall asleep, he would wake up a couple of hours later because he had been having a lot of nightmares lately.  A couple of nights he had to have his mom calm him down because he had been constantly flashing back to the Night when Rick had started taking him under his wing.  He kept on seeing his dad getting more and more drunk, then he literally hit a breaking point when he started getting sort of angry and shouting at  Jacksons mom, then when Jackson was in his tent he heard several thuds.  Jackson, every single night would get out of the tent charge at his Dad telling him leave his mom alone and go for a walk and as he tried to pull him away things went a little blurry, as he got hit across the face.  

At that point Jackson would jump awake back in reality, where it was just him and his mother, and Rick stopping in on occasion checking on them to see if they needed anything.  

But tonight, things seemed to be a little bit different.  Jackson eventually thought to himself Its almost as if he is turning into our guardian at the moment.  Is it a possibility that he wants to become a bigger part of our lives?  He felt a sense of peace as if there was something more at play tonight.  It seemed like Rick had started to look at him as a son, whereas before it seemed like Rick was doing his job.  He thought to himself again Could it be that he is starting to feel something for us?  Maybe I should set up something for Mom and Rick.  At this he fell asleep and slept like a log.

The Next morning was an interesting morning.  Jackson woke up at around 6:30 wide awake, but this time it was an energized feeling because he was going to talk to Rick about taking his mother on a date.  As he was walking to the cabin, He heard the sound of several wolves howling echoing across Lewis Lake.  He glanced across the lake to see if he could see anything, but his eyes didn't pick up anything, so he continued.  When he got to the cabin he knocked at the door, clothes for the day in hand.  As he was waiting he glanced down and  saw the claw marks on the door from Bramble.  As the door opened He looked up and saw Rick.  Rick let him in and led him to the shower and said "Good morning.  You're up early"

Jackson answered, "Yeah I just woke up thinking that today was going to be a good day.  After I shower could I talk to you for a minute?"

Rick answered, "Sure.  I'll be here."

"Ok."

About 10 minutes passed and Jackson stepped out of the bathroom already dressed.  Rick welcomed him and said "Come in and have a seat.  Could I get you anything?"

Jackson answered "Some toast and eggs please.  Thank you."

A couple of more minutes past, and it felt like an eternity.

Rick eventually walked into the living room and opened the conversation.  "Whats up? After I am done with this I have a couple of questions to ask you about what happened a few nights ago.  I am sorry about this in advance if it opens up old wounds"

"I am guessing this is about my Dad?"

"That is correct"

"I will start us off."  Jackson said.  "So I want to know what you feel about my mom, because I feel like there is something more going on that is causing you to treat us differently than other times.  Before you seemed to be helping us just because it is your job, but now it feels different."

Rick answered.  "Good question.  Well, before I guess  I was treating you like you were more my  responsibility for the time being.  But, now I think that I am starting to feel more for you two in the best way possible."

Jackson continued, "What changed?"

"I guess it started when Daniel told me that you would be a good, they say Beta, but we say, trainee.  But then after that conversation, I just started to look at you two differently, as if there was something more to the err... relationship."

"I think that you should take my mom out on a date, just to confirm or deny the way you feel."

Rick answered, "That sounds like a real good idea.  Yeah I'll think about it. What sort of stuff does she like?"

"She likes hiking maybe you could do something with that?"

"Yeah Ok."

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~After This weeks episode, there is going to a new Part every two weeks from now until April.

~ Thank you for all the support! Stay tuned for some more old style music and movie oriented articles.

~Also I am thinking of what to do during the lull Between Pack Mentality Season 1 and Season 2.  Any comments on Ideas are more than appreciated.  Please fill out the contact form on the bottom of the blog, and write in the message summer series and your idea.  I am thinking about a kind of thriller, suspense, action/adventure series.  Thank you! Any ideas are much appreciated! Stay tuned for more details on this.