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“One down,” she says. “One more to go. Just breathe.”

I get through the second shot, and when I open my eyes, Kincaid is still staring at me. His nostrils are flaring slightly, but his forehead is lined with concern.

“All done,” Everly says, sticking two circular Band-Aids on. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

It was awful, I think, in ways I can’t really explain.

I give her a stiff smile. “No.”

“And how is your head? Still no dizziness?”

“No more than normal.”

Her thin brows come together, a deep line forming. She definitely doesn’t have Botox. “You’re normally dizzy?” She glances over at Kincaid with a sharp look, as if this is somehow his fault.

“Yeah,” I tell her. “But it’s probably because I don’t eat enough.”

“Right,” she says slowly. “Hopefully, your appetite will return. All this exercise and fresh air, plus the food here is so good. Did you know our cook, Andrew, used to work at a Michelin-star restaurant? Only the best for the Madrona Foundation.” She gives me a prideful smile. “The best minds need the best nutrients.”

She straightens up. “I think we’re done here. You can put your sweater back on. And please let me know if you experience any memory loss, confusion, strange headaches, things of that nature.”

I quickly put my sweater back on and stand up, adjusting it.

“Thank you,” I say to her, but I stare down Kincaid as I leave the room, trying to send him a message with my eyes.

I need to talk to you.

I leave the room, dashing through reception so Michelle doesn’t bog me down with her blathering (the woman always seems on the verge of hysterics), and then step out into the common room.

Lauren, Munawar, and Rav are sitting on the couch, getting to their feet when they see me.

“Are you okay?” Lauren cries out as she hurries over to me. “Rav told me what happened.”

He didn’t tell you everything, I think.Because none of you know everything.

After the wolf encounter, Kincaid sped us back to the lodge as quickly as he could. He didn’t even slow down around the otters, though they didn’t seem to care. We got back before Nick’s team did, and he quickly ushered me in to see Everly.

“I’m fine,” I assure them, lying through my teeth. How the fuck can I be fine after all that?

I hear the door close behind me and see Kincaid step out of reception.

“Dr. Kincaid,” I say, trying to sound as professional as possible. “Is it possible I could talk to you. In your office?”

He swallows. “Of course,” he says, striding over to the lodge door and holding it open. “After you, Ms. Denik.”

I give the others another reassuring look before I step outside.

It’s a wall of grey, so misty now that the air is wet with it, almost drizzling. I follow Kincaid toward the north dorm, neither of us speaking. In the distance, I can hear the goats bleating on the farm section and the sound of an ATV. A raven close by makes a hoarse clicking sound before it swoops down in front of us, nearly touching the top of Kincaid’s head before it lands in a cedar on the other side of the path.

“That’s Poe,” Kincaid says. “He’s one of our resident corvids.”

“Original name,” I remark. “Don’t tell me he’s tame.”

“He can be when he wants to,” he says, glancing at me over his shoulder. “But he doesn’t belong to anyone but the forest. He’s good luck to have around.”

“I always heard that ravens were omens.”

“They are,” he says, opening the door to the north dorm. “But it’s up to the beholder to decide what kind of omen it is.”