Page 58 of Who Let The Wolves Out?

Held.

And as Rubi waves at us from the shallows, her bracelet-sleeved arms flailing, Jason squeezes my hand once.

“Yeah,” he says softly. “This right here? This is the good stuff.”

I nod, smiling into his shirt.

He’s right.

This is the good stuff.

CHAPTER 20

JASON

Torack clears his throat, and the entire mess hall falls into a half-hearted hush. It’s not fear—it’s just respect. Or obligation. Or maybe shared trauma from last year’s pixie infestation. Either way, the man’s got a presence.

He plants himself in front of the whiteboard with a stack of papers that looks like it’s about to crumble under its own bureaucratic weight.

“Alright,” he begins, voice like gravel and thunder. “We’ve got five days until camp’s out, and a hell of a lot to wrap up.”

I sigh and lean back in my chair.

My seat creaks. I creak.

Julie’s already got a color-coded checklist in front of her and a clipboard that may or may not be sentient. Aisla’s perched like a gargoyle two seats away, stone-faced and judging. Zak’s chewing a pen cap like he’s solving world hunger. Hazel is here for some reason even though she’stwelve.

And across the circle of misery—Alice.

She’s sitting with her ankles crossed neatly, hair pinned up in a way that makes the nape of her neck look dangerous, pencil in hand like this is her final exam.

God help me.

She looks up, catches me staring.

Smiles.

Not a big one. Just the kind that softens the air around her. The kind I feel in myribs.

And just like that, I could sit through this meeting for eternity.

Bring on the spreadsheets. The composting policies. The sacred rites of toilet duty rotation.

I don’t care.

Just keep her looking at me like that.

Torack drones on about check-out procedures, magical item returns, enchanted bunk deactivation.

My brain checks out. I doodle on the corner of my notes: a tiny wolf wearing sunglasses, holding a sign that says “Send Help.”

Julie catches me. Raises an eyebrow.

I grin and draw a second wolf with a tiny clipboard labeledAdmin Beast.

Alice coughs softly behind her notepad—covering a laugh. Her eyes find mine again, a spark dancing in the edges.

Totally worth it.

---