Ivy studied me for a long moment. Whatever she was looking for, she seemed to find it.
"Okay," she said.
"Okay?"
"Okay, I believe you." She uncrossed her arms. "I don't understand. I don't like being kept in the dark. But I believe that you think you did the right thing." She paused. "And I believe that you're not crazy, no matter what the idiots in this school are saying."
Something loosened in my chest. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet." Ivy's expression hardened again. "The rumors are getting worse. People are scared, and scared people do stupid things. You need to lay low for a while. No more giving them ammunition."
"I'll try."
"You'll do more than try." She glanced at James. "Both of you. Whatever this is, whatever you're doing — be careful. Because the people who are whispering today will be shouting tomorrow. And I can only shut down so many conversations before someone decides I'm part of it too."
She turned and walked away without waiting for a response.
James watched her go. "She's terrifying."
"She's loyal." I stood. "Come on. I need to check on Cal."
The east wing of the Healing Center was quieter than the main building.
And Cal was exactly where I expected him to be.
He was curled on the floor outside one of the closed doors, wolf form, eyes fixed on the barrier that separated him from his packmates. The four ferals were inside — I could hear them, soft sounds of movement and breath. Alive. Present.
He didn't look up when I approached. Didn't acknowledge me at all.
I sat down beside him. Let my back rest against the wall, let the cold of the floor seep through my clothes.
"You need to eat," I said quietly.
No response.
"James could bring you something. Whatever you want."
Still nothing.
"They're safe now," I said. "You brought them home."
Cal made a sound. Low, mournful. Not agreement.
I couldn't argue with him. The four ferals in that room weren't home. They were in a medical facility, surrounded by strangers, pumped full of sedatives to keep them manageable. They'd traded one cage for another.
But at least this cage came with heat. Food. People who were trying to help.
It had to be better than dying alone on a frozen mountain.
"I'm going to check on him," I said. "The alpha. Will you be okay here?"
Cal's ear flicked. Acknowledgment, if not agreement.
I stood. Brushed off my jeans. Started toward the main isolation wing.
"Cal." I paused, looked back at him. "What you did — finding them, leading them back — it matters. Even if it doesn't feel like it right now. It matters."
He didn't respond. Just curled tighter against the floor, eyes still fixed on the door.
