Duskfire Glacier A secret isn't a secret if I know

We can stretch it out! :D

Brainless, right. -- hm?

Njal stopped and turned his head with a lurch, catching the sounds of further conversation after Jace's baritone acceptance of the facts; and this, though he only barely heard it, made Njal curious. He doubled back a few steps, and was close enough to hear Jace mutter, I wish you well, Njal. And the sentiment reflected in those words made Njal remember, barely, what it was like when Jace was still loyal to the creek. They had been wardens together - the old and the young. Somewhere in the fiasco their friendship had been tested and broken.

He recognized now that Jace was doubting himself. Or maybe not himself, but at the very least, his leader. Interesting that it took this long for the boy to realize what Njal and the other Swiftcurrent wolves had known for so long: that Ferdie was a lost cause. Jace. Njal called out, and then carefully pulled himself closer; his aggressive predisposition had not entirely left, but he did trust the Beta to keep his word this time.

You once showed great promise as a warden of the creek. I do not know what possessed you to be led so far astray. But if you doubt Ferdie - Njal took a breath and directed a pointed look towards the boy. It was similar to the expression the Alpha held when addressing one of his misbehaving children: sharp, but not hostile. Curbing rebuttal. -then you should leave him. There are so many other packs that could use your skills. Ferdie cost you your home and your family, do you not see that? Perhaps it was pointless of him to make these comments now; Jace had made his decisions. But this could be the last chance Njal had to talk sense to the boy, and he would take it. For the glacier's sake as well as the creek's.

He is the reason we've reached this point. And it was as if, by saying this aloud, Njal reached a conclusion. He could be as hostile as he wanted towards potential threats - such as the mountain pack - but Jace was never a threat. It had always, always been Ferdie as the root cause. Everything else was just bad luck.