Bearclaw Valley well shit

Lucas could tell she didn't feel it as much as she wanted him to think she did, but her reasons made sense. He hadn't looked at it that way. Perhaps it was because he assumed they were returning to Lost Creek Hollow, and had no reason to doubt that his mother's former home would take her in despite this. But she seemed unsure, which was enough to set the cogs in his mind turning once more. They did so slowly; he was more of a street smarts guy than a real thinker.

But eventually he suggested, we can just go back to Bearclaw Valley, maybe? It made the most sense. They were already familiar with the territory and presumably Laurel's whelping den from last year was still there. Nunataq—he pushed the invasive thoughts that sought to dig their claws in away at this thought—Nunataq had made a home of the place, and she would surely help her aunt, even if she turned against all the rest of them. If Wyatt ever changed his mind then he would know where to find them. Things had always been good in Bearclaw Valley, as far as Lucas knew. It was the perfect solution.

Or so he thought, anyway.