Kintla Flatlands Now and at the hour of our death, amen

Before Junior could answer the Healer, Dante appeared and the teenager's lips pressed together. She threw Blue Willow a frantic sideways glance, begging her not to say anything to the Alpha male, then redirected her eyes to her toes. Junior did not recall the previous night's events, though she felt a strange sense of shame in Dante's presence she could not explain. Her wet tail fell limp.

"It helped," she said in defense of her polar bear plunge. "I feel really weak but my legs aren't burning anymore. And I'm tired but I feel like I can think straight for the first time in a couple of days. As soon as we get back, I'm going to sleep for weeks." Talking really was exhausting, so she left it that, waiting for Blue Willow to start the march back to her den.