I know that feeling; I've lost track of how many times I've said "NaNo! I'm really gonna do it this year guys! :DDD" and wrote absolutely *zip*.
As for the wolves, maybe you could split the cast? Like, take a couple characters who's backstory could be substituted with domestic abuse, homelessness, gang-type stuff, etc.-- stuff that would be about as likely to introduce PTSD as a military career? (If I'm remembering correctly, they're all currently ex-black ops, right?) That way you could have some characters you're interested in on 'the other team' so to speak.
And if you don't want a typical "asshole leader", what about a charismatic but paranoid schizophrenic? Or hell, a plain ol' charismatic sociopath. The former I could see ruling the pack with fear, possibly using government conspiracies (that might actually not be too far from the truth) to spook his followers into believing only he really knows how to keep them safe. The latter would probably have gathered the pack to basically do his bidding-- they could be involved in different kinds of trafficking and white collar crimes.
Also, they don't have to take over the whole pack; there might be a few who would like to get out but have been playing along for the benefits, and others who have completely bought into it. I could see that becoming a HUGE conflict depending on who's in charge and how big a threat they believe deserters would pose. In ancient China during a land shortage, landless peasants formed bandit gangs that would occasionally go to war with one another over territory and other things, and when a victor emerged they would just absorb what was left of the losers and take the spoils.
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As for the wolves, maybe you could split the cast? Like, take a couple characters who's backstory could be substituted with domestic abuse, homelessness, gang-type stuff, etc.-- stuff that would be about as likely to introduce PTSD as a military career? (If I'm remembering correctly, they're all currently ex-black ops, right?) That way you could have some characters you're interested in on 'the other team' so to speak.
And if you don't want a typical "asshole leader", what about a charismatic but paranoid schizophrenic? Or hell, a plain ol' charismatic sociopath. The former I could see ruling the pack with fear, possibly using government conspiracies (that might actually not be too far from the truth) to spook his followers into believing only he really knows how to keep them safe. The latter would probably have gathered the pack to basically do his bidding-- they could be involved in different kinds of trafficking and white collar crimes.
Also, they don't have to take over the whole pack; there might be a few who would like to get out but have been playing along for the benefits, and others who have completely bought into it. I could see that becoming a HUGE conflict depending on who's in charge and how big a threat they believe deserters would pose. In ancient China during a land shortage, landless peasants formed bandit gangs that would occasionally go to war with one another over territory and other things, and when a victor emerged they would just absorb what was left of the losers and take the spoils.