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I frowned. “Fennec’s not going to take his own life just because he’s alone in the wild. He knows how to survive.”

Jason laughed. “He’s obviously not okay in his head, kid.”

Guilt started to take up most of the space in my chest, and with Jason’s words sinking in, I realized I shouldn’t have been such a bitch to him while trying to get Papa back to camp.

We also shouldn’t have left him alone in the forest, but he didn’t even move a muscle when Jason arrived.

He didn’t want to help, and he wanted us to leave.

He wanted me to leave.

“He’ll be fine,” I whispered.

*

After an over six-hour drive to Fairbanks, we met with Mama at the hospital and waited for Papa to get checked out by the doctors.

Jason had stayed with us for a while because he was worried about Papa, and when the doctors told us that Papa had fractured his ankle and would need to stay the night to also clean up his wound and get the medication he needed, Jason left.

He told me to call him if I chose to drive back to Wiseman with him, but I wasn’t so sure about it yet.

Fennec didn’t want me there, and even if he wasn’t okay, I knew being alone was what he needed.

I got up from the chair in the waiting room after a nurse told us we could go see Papa for a few minutes before we’d have to leave, and with Mama following me, we went inside the room to find Papa comfortably lying on the bed.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, stepping up to the side of the bed and placing my hand on his arm.

“Better. The meds are helping with the pain. Doc said it’s not a bad fracture, but that I was lucky.”

“I knew this would happen someday. It’s not safe out there. And with all that snow falling in the winter—”

“Alena, that’s enough,” Papa warned. “It’s late, and I would like to rest. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Mama sighed and shook her head, then looked at the cast around Papa’s ankle and let out a harsh laugh.

“Just so you know, I don’t approve of you leaving Fennec out there on his own. He’s still a kid.”

“He turns twenty in three weeks,” I muttered, but Mama didn’t wanna hear that.

“He’s all alone and not even Jason’s up there to help in case he needs it.”

“What are you gonna do about it? Drive all the way to Wiseman and get him to come here? He won’t. The forest is where he wants to be. No reason for us to make him do something he doesn’t want to. Will only anger him.”

I hated listening to them fight, but Papa had a valid point.

Nothing could get Fennec to come down here, and at that moment I believed not even I could make him.

“We’ll talk tomorrow. You need to go home.”

I leaned in to kiss Papa’s head. “See you in the morning,” I whispered, squeezing his hand before walking over to the door and letting Mama say goodnight to him.

“You’re not being honest with me, Judd,” I heard her whisper, and with Papa’s emotions changing in his eyes, I slowly started to believe the same.

“Bye, Papa.” I waved at him, then I went outside with Mama to head to her car.

“What do you mean he’s not being honest with you?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

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