*Chapter 21: The After*
The first snow fell two weeks after the moot.
It came quiet, dusting the rooftops and the unfinished schoolhouse roof in white. The pack didn’t stop for it. We never had that luxury. But for the first time in months, no one was moving like they were waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I stood at the edge of the clinic’s porch, mug of tea in hand, watching kids drag a sled down the hill. Their laughter carried farther in the cold.
Kade came up behind me, warm and solid. He wrapped his jacket around my shoulders without asking.
“Thought you’d be inside,” he said.
“I like it out here,” I said. “Feels like it’s actually ours now.”
He followed my gaze to the kids.
“Schoolhouse opens next week. Full classes.”
“Then I’ll have to start teaching basic field
