“We thought you meant your wolf spirit,” said Norman, “you know, like, what we call our animal bear spirits,”
“No, I don’t. Doesn’t everyone have a spirit?” asked Kieran as he looked around at the blank faces staring back at him. “Huh, I guess not. Well I’m sorry about thatbut my spirit is very important to me. He made me aware of you, Cody, when you were invisible in the dungeon. He told me to show you all the prisoners and the babies. I did exactly what he told me to do. How did you think I knew you were there? You know, when I asked you to flip the light switch to show me you meant no harm?”
“You said before you ignored your spirit one time. What happened then?” asked Cody.
“The night I told my parents I was gay my spirit told me I was in danger, but I didn’t believe it. Fuck! I was so stupid! But really…these were my parents!” Kieran shook his head. “I ignored the teachings of my Shaman and look what happened to me. So, you see, I have to go to Scotland. I have to!”
Cody looked at Dylon then back at Kieran. “Do you know why you have to go to Scotland?”
“Nope. Not yet. I expect I’ll find out when I get there,” answered Kieran.
“Cody, why don’t we put aside the issue of Kieran’s spirit right now and address the logistics of a trip for the three of them,” said Jackson.
“But what if they’ll be in danger over there? I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something happens and I’m not there to prevent it,” Cody insisted.
“Did you have any visions about Kieran in Scotland?” asked Jackson.
“No, but still…why are you pushing for them to go?” asked Cody.
Jackson smiled. “Because someone I love taught me not too long ago that if I stopped him from going to a place where he might face danger, then I was keeping him a prisoner by using my desire to protect him. Remember?”
Cody groaned. “That’s not fair. This is a different situation. The boys are…”
“…are adults and are capable of making decisions. Ones you may not agree with but ones you need to respect,” admonished Jackson. Then addressing Kieran, he added, “I don’t know anything about your spirit, but I’ll accept what you say. Now, has your spirit said anything about you being in danger in Scotland?”
Kieran’s eyes closed as he concentrated on talking to his spirit. After finding the answer to Jackson’s question, he opened them and said, “Nothing. Just that I must go to Scotland.”
Jackson nodded. “So back to the trip. Dylon, do you think your mother would go with the boys to Scotland?”
“I don’t know. Dad needs to get back to the High Council soon. He stayed longer because Mom wanted to spend time with the twins,” answered Dylon.
“Cody, if Lizzie could go with the boys would you agree to the trip?” asked Jackson.
“Yo, Alpha,” Kieran cut in. “You don’t own us,” he said, pointing to himself, Theodore and Norman. “This is our decision and we have something to say about what we want, too. You all are talking as if we’re children or we don’t exist. I won’t let my friends ever be treated that way again. Our right to decide for ourselves was taken from us by our parents and Arald. Don’t treat us the same way just because you claim you want to protect us. You should be asking us if we want to go with Miss L and not asking Cody.”
Jackson smiled broadly to the group in front of him. “You, of course, are right. Part of being an adult is speaking up for yourself. Now, let me ask you, Theodore,and Norman. Do you care if Lizzie goes with you on your trip?”
Holding up a finger, Kieran leaned over and held a whispered conversation with his friends. After it was over, he announced, “We would be delighted if Miss L could go with us.”
“Cody, Dylon, do you have any problems about Lizzie going with them?” asked Jackson.
After a short conversation using their mind link, Cody said, “Nope. And guys, I’m sorry. My only excuse is I’m still learning how to be a parent.”
“Yeah, Jake and Jessica are going to owe me big for all the lessons I teach you about being parents,” snickered Kieran. “And good luck when they become teenagers.”
“Really? Well,” said Cody, “let’s see how I do as a parent with this next item. I’m assigning you some chores…well not chores, really…more like intern duties.”
“Why?” asked Theodore.
“The main reason…because you are members of the Blackwood Pack and everyone helps out. But, I devised something a little different. After talking to each of you, I thought about what I could do to help you figure out what your interests are. Each of you will intern with my different brothers to see if you have an interest in any of the following…cooking, computers, medicine, business, social work, interior design. If these don’t interest you after spending time learning about those things, then I’ll look for other fields you can explore. To begin with, Theodore, I’m assigning you to Dakota, Norman, I’m assigning you to Colton, and Kieran, you will be spending some time with Zane.”
Theodore and Norman exchanged glances and, after his friends held one of their mind link conversations, they nodded to Kieran who said, “Sounds great. When do we start?”
“Today. And the last item I need to discuss is your physical. Please make an appointment with Colton this week for your examination. With your trip coming up, it’s more important than ever to make sure none of are suffering from long term damage resulting from what Arald did to you.”
“Is that an order?” asked Kieran.
“Hey Ki, we don’t mind,” Norman said, speaking for Theodore too.
