War Claim (The Claim: Book 3)

Chapter 29 - Animkii (Part 1)

Violence.

After Birch knocked Cameron down from his position, a week of discord and chaos reigned as the pack hierarchy shifted. Restructuring always took place within packs after a high positioned wolf was knocked down from his place. A few disillusioned and bold wolves attempted to challenge Animkii's father, but he and Mik beat them down into submission, keeping the medical staff at the infirmary busy all week.

Animkii's private training sessions with Cameron would start once he had fully healed from his injuries. They were scheduled to meet in the evenings three times a week for an hour. Cameron was to watch Animkii's training in the mornings and afternoons so he could pinpoint his weaknesses and how to correct and improve them.

While Cameron was recovering, Animkii continued his training with his parents on his duties as Alpha—the various tasks he had to do and operations within the pack to oversee, mediate disputes between pack members, aid in personal crisis situations, and improve his connection with the Moon Goddess and his spirituality so he could be a spiritual leader as well.

He wondered how Madison's parents learned how to lead a pack without the formal education he was receiving. Learning on the fly seemed more stressful and less successful than learning all the necessary skills beforehand.

There was never a shortage of things to do. Animkii visited the Donatta Pack females every weekend, bringing Anwaatin with him to connect with the pups and try and help them cope with the loss of their fathers, brothers, mothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends—and even a few siblings.

They gathered everyone in the community center and Anwaatin would put on a puppet show for the pups to try and show them how they can talk about their feelings with each other and how they can learn to relate with each other. She had a few of the older pups help her out, and any of the small ones brave enough to share with the group as well.

"Why do you get the pups to go behind the theater and use the puppets to talk for them instead?" he asked her a few months back when she started doing the puppet shows.

"Because it's easier for kids to talk through something than directly at others. This way, they're behind the theater where no one can see them and make them feel judged."

She surprised him and he wondered when she had become so smart.

He did a few of the puppet shows with her for a few minutes before he would go to work with the females at the other end of the building.

In the first few months, he had Dr. Peter and a few other packmates who had lost mates come to the meetings to help the females. They paired them off with someone who had gone through loss as well and it worked well.

Now that they had been in the Zhooniya Miskwi Pack for a year, group meetings were briefer and voluntary. If anyone didn't feel like they needed to attend, they weren't required to. He always set aside time on the weekends to check-in with everyone. Most of the females were doing better now and keeping themselves busy with making hats, mittens, coats, and boots from furs, knitting scarves, and making beautiful quilts for the winter months ahead, and tending to the crops in the field they had planted in the spring. They weren't located within walking distance to the northland pack house, but rather five miles south of it. They claimed they didn't feel like members of the pack yet and wanted their own space for healing.

Whenever he came, he'd bring food and supplies for them. In the spring, he helped them sow the field and pick the harvest. He learned how to can fruits and veggies, and preserve food as much as possible so they could be as independent as possible. They preferred it that way, not wanting to be a burden on anyone.