"It might fail spectacularly." Rae's voice was flat. Honest. "We could put resources into this and make things worse. We could mix populations that shouldn't be mixed and create new problems we haven't imagined yet. We could destroy the credibility of the feral program before it has a chance to prove itself."
"Then why consider it?"
"Because doing nothing is failing already." She leaned forward. "Every day, there are wolves in containment getting worse. Young wolves, traumatized wolves, dangerous wolves—all of them stuck in systems that don't help them. If we have a chance to do something different, don't we have an obligation to try?"
I didn't have an easy answer.
"This isn't public yet," Rae said. "It's not even settled within the council. Derrow is cautiously interested. Tomlinson thinks it's worth exploring. Others are skeptical or outright opposed."
"Where do you stand?"
"I stand where I always stand." A ghost of a smile crossed her face. "On the side of trying something, even when it's hard. Even when it might not work."
I thought about Stone. About what he'd done with RJ—the way he'd reached into the darkness because he'd lived there. If the academy expanded, if it took in not just ferals but troubled young wolves of all kinds, Stone would be at the center of it. Whether anyone planned that or not.
He'd already proven he could do what trained staff couldn't.
That made him essential.
It also made him vulnerable.
"Stone needs to know about this," I said.
"He will. When the time is right."
"He's already involved whether you tell him or not. What happened today—"
"I know." Rae's expression softened. "I'm not trying to blindside anyone. I'm trying to build consensus before I drop something this big on people who are already carrying too much."
That, at least, I could understand.
"What do you need from me?" I asked.
"Right now? Just your awareness. Your input as things develop." She paused. "And maybe your help when the time comes to explain this to the others. They trust you."
"They trust the bond. That's different."
"Is it?"
I didn't know how to answer that.
"Think about it," Rae said. "We don't have to decide anything today. This is a conversation that's going to unfold over weeks, maybe months. I just wanted you to know the shape of what we're considering."
The shape of the gap.
That's what she'd described. A hole in the system where wolves fell through and kept falling. The academy—whether it was called a sanctuary or something else—was supposed to catch them.
But catching them was only the first step.
What came after was the hard part.
I stood. "I'll think about it. All of it."
"That's all I'm asking."
I walked to the door, then paused.
"Rae."
