The chamber was filling up.
I could feel worry in the bonds They were all waiting to see what would be decided.
"Welcome." Dr. Werrow, the acting head of the council, rapped a gavel against the table. "This session will review the status of the five feral wolves currently housed at the Healing Center, in accordance with the thirty-day probationary period established at our previous meeting."
Thirty days. Had it really been thirty days?
It felt like a lifetime. It felt like yesterday.
"Ms. Whitaker." Werrow gestured toward the display screen. "Please present your findings."
Rae stepped forward. Her expression was calm, professional—but I could see the tension in her shoulders, the careful way she was choosing her words.
"Thank you, Dr. Werrow. Council members." She touched her tablet, and the screen behind her lit up with data. Charts. Graphs. The clinical language of recovery. "Over the past thirty days, we have observed significant changes in the condition of the five feral wolves under our care."
She began with the gray one.
The partial shift. The brief return to human form. The recognition in his eyes when he'd looked at Cal. She presented it clinically—documented, measured, quantified—but underneath the data was something extraordinary.
Proof.
Proof that recovery was possible. That the feral state wasn't permanent. That somewhere underneath the wolf, the human mind still existed.
"This represents proof of the partial recovery we’ve seen in one of the feral wolves," Rae said. "The subject maintained human form for approximately four seconds before reverting. However, during that time, he demonstrated clear signs of recognition, awareness, and intentional movement. He was, briefly, present."
Murmurs rippled through the chamber. I saw council members exchanging glances—some skeptical, some surprised, some carefully neutral.
"And the others?" Werrow asked.
"The remaining four subjects have shown varying degrees of stabilization." Rae changed the display. More charts. More data. "Three of the wolves have demonstrated decreased aggression, increased responsiveness to environmental stimuli, andimproved vital statistics overall. Their prognosis is cautiously optimistic."
"And the fifth?"
Rae hesitated. Just for a moment.
"The fifth subject—designated Stone—has shown the least improvement. His violent episodes continue, though their frequency has decreased. His response to the bonded individual—" She glanced at me. "—has shifted from hostile to tolerant, and occasionally to something approaching receptive. However, his overall condition remains unstable."
Unstable. The word hung in the air.
One of the council members leaned forward—an older man with silver hair and cold eyes. "Are you suggesting that one out of five is an acceptable success rate?"
"I'm suggesting that any recovery rate is significant." Rae's voice didn't waver. "These wolves were considered by many to be beyond help. The official position of this institution—and previous councils—has been that for the vast majority, feral wolves cannot recover. That they are, essentially, lost. What we've observed in the past thirty days contradicts that assumption."
"What you've observed is one wolf who briefly appeared human before collapsing back into his feral state." The silver-haired man's tone was dismissive. "That's not recovery. That's a spasm."
"It's a start."
"Is it enough to justify the continued risk? The continued resources?"
"With respect, council member." Rae's eyes hardened. "The question of whether these wolves deserve the chance to recover is not one I can answer with data. That's a moral question. A policy question. My job is to tell you what's medically possible.And what's medically possible is more than we previously believed."
The chamber fell silent.
Werrow cleared her throat. "Dr. Wilson. I understand you have additional information to present."
Neal stood. I watched him move to the front of the room—watched the way he held himself, careful and controlled, revealing nothing.
"Thank you, Dr. Werrow." He didn't use the display screen. Didn't reference charts or graphs. Just stood there, facing the council, and spoke. "Over the past several weeks, I've been reviewing historical medical records. Records from before the Healing Center existed. Before the current council took authority."
