Wolf Camp (Bear Naked 2)

Chapter 13, part 3

The next day there were three packs at breakfast. Jerry and his pack and had been there for some time, having turned back from the competition. Mitch and his pack had made their landfall late yesterday evening. There was a sense that the power had shifted in the wolf camp. Connor and pack had won the canoe race. Marcus and Tyler were glad to see them back. Jerry and his pack were acting overly friendly, calling out to them at breakfast and expressing praise over their victory. Whether the feeling was genuine or motivated by their anger at Mitch's sabotage, Mitch and his pack were clearly losing support.

The pack revelled in this new status. You could see it in their walk and in the speed at which they answered Marshall's commands. Having such a limited complement of trainees, Marshall took them through their paces on the obstacle courses and then on a long run in wolf form.

Amanda made her way back to the cabin, two breakfast burritos wrapped in paper towels in her front pocket. "Just me," she said before opening the door, so as to not startle the otters.

She found Corey sitting cross-legged on her bed. Jay, in otter form, was curled in a ball on his lap, napping. Corey stroked his fuzzy head, gently, so as not to wake him. He looked down at the otter with a smile on his face. His eyes were tender, but tears brimmed against his lashes.

Amanda slid next to him on the bed. "Is there a problem?" she asked.

Corey shook his head no. "I, I just worry sometimes, you know. He struggles with his gender, a lot more than he shows. This spring, he was so intense about 'making a decision.' I understand the gender issue, believe me I do. But I don't get his intensity. I love him. He can be Jay, or Jane; he or she, and I will love him just the same. So will his mom and dad. So will, everyone. I don't know why he can't just relax and be himself, whatever that means. Why does he tie himself in knots about it?"

Amanda put her arm around Corey's shoulders. "I don't know," she said. "He's always been like that. Under that sweet gentle exterior he is so intense sometimes." She chuckled. "I used to tease him that his totem animal was a mongoose. I guess I wasn't so far off, huh?"

Corey laughed too. "Yeah," she agreed.

"He'll figure it out," Amanda said.

"What if he doesn't?" Corey asked, his voice barely a whisper. "He's spent so much time in otter form this summer. I think he's happiest when he doesn't have to think about this stuff. I worry he's going to be like my uncle Mort, just forget he's human."

"What would you do?" Amanda asked.

Corey shrugged. "What choice would I have?" he said. "I'd go with him, become an otter and live in the wild. I have to, I love him."