The chill in her voice forced me back a step, and the wolf looked up at me with questioning eyes. “I—”

“You should go back to wherever you came from,” Aspen said. “There is no place for you here.”

“Aspen—”

“Go, Rowan. Juniper, get inside before that creature rips out your throat.”

Juniper obeyed, looking just as confused as I felt. Even Avery seemed taken aback, but he allowed his wife to pull him back into the warmth of the lodge. Aspen shut the door on me herself, and I heard the thud of a bar falling across it. I stared at the dark wood, stunned and aching and more tired than I’d ever felt in my life.

The crowd parted before me, and I did not dare to meet their eyes. They were not throwing stones yet, but I did not trust these people. The wolf pointed her nose toward the forest, and I hesitated, the temptation to vanish into the trees strong. I watched her lope into the woods, the wind rippling the fur along her back, while I followed the road back to the cottage.

I collapsed in front of the cold hearth. My eyes saw nothing and I heard only the rustle of thorn against thorn until a soft knock on the door roused me from a lapse in consciousness that bore little resemblance to sleep. I held my breath, listening, and then Juniper’s voice called my name.

“Can I come in?” Juniper’s lower lip quivered with suppressed emotion when I opened the door.

I stepped back, afraid to speak, afraid to break the spell of her presence.

“It’s freezing in here,” Juniper said. “Let me light the fire.” She checked that all the shutters were tightly latched, then laid a small fire in the hearth with shaking hands. “I brought you some bread and cheese and sausage.”

“Aspen,” I began, but Juniper cut me off.

“Ignore her. She didn’t mean it. Not really. I think she was trying to protect you.”

“Protect me? By telling me to leave?”

“You don’t know what it’s been like since you left.”

The accusation hurt.

“Since I left? Do you think I wanted to leave?”

“No! Of course not. Rowan, eat something, please. You look half starved. I brought something for your . . . your friend, too.” She pulled out another bundle, and I smelled the clean, coppery scent of blood as she unwrapped a meaty bone.

“Juniper.” I wanted to hug her, but something held me back. It was too strange, being back in this house without Aspen or my father. “What happened?”