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Fennec wanted to leave Fairbanks and go live somewhere far away from home.

I didn’t know how that would work without having to find a job, and without our own land, there was no way we could start a new life in the wilderness.

We’d have to think about that before packing up and leaving without an actual plan.

I nodded, looking down at the clipboard. “It’s scary opening up to strangers,” I whispered before looking back up at him.

“I know. But you’ll be fine. It’s just one hour, and if you don’t feel like talking anymore, tell her you’re done. She can’t make you sit there.”

His hand came up to cup the back of my head, and after a quick but gentle kiss to my forehead, he nodded toward the front desk.

“Come on.”

We set the clipboards down and walked back to the waiting room, and just as I was about to sit down in my chair, Mrs. Irvine appeared in the doorway.

“Good to see you again, Alena. How have you been?” she asked Mama, giving Fennec and me a quick smile.

“I’m good, thanks. This is Vespyr, and that’s Fennec. They were excited to come today.”

Liar.

“That’s good to hear. Vespyr, you’re first, hm? You can come with me. I have a very comfortable couch for you to sit on and if you’d like, you can have something to drink and snack on.”

As appealing as she made that sound, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I turned to look at Fennec.

A smug grin tugged at his lips, then he encouraged me to follow Mrs. Irvine with a nod.

“Are you two going to wait in here? There are newspapers and magazines, and there’s a vending machine by the entrance too.”

“Thank you, Darla,” Mama said.

Them knowing each other didn’t seem like it would help Mrs. Irvine keep secret what Fennec and I would say to her, but at this point, there was nothing to hide from her anyway.

I looked at Fennec once more before following Mrs. Irvine into the room where I would have to talk to her.

It was a fairly large room with big windows letting in enough sunlight.

When she closed the door, she hinted for me to sit down.

I had two options.

Either a chair or a couch.

Both looked comfortable, and since I didn’t want to be one of the cliché patients that laid on the couch while talking to a psychiatrist, I chose to sit down on the chair.

“Would you like some water?”

“No, thank you.”

I had my coat still on, and the sleeves were still a little wet from the snow falling on it, but I didn’t want to take it off.

The room felt cold, and I needed something to stay cozy and comfortable with.

“So, Vespyr. I’d like to know about you. Why don’t you start telling me about your childhood?”

And so it began.

Every single thing I told her, interesting or not, she wanted to know more about.

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