His voice is quiet and low, and I feel a little bit ashamed of my attitude. “Sorry.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not asking you to apologize. Like I said, I can understand your feelings. It’s easy to hurt somebody, but trying to win back their broken trust is never an easy journey. Father wanted to come here himself when he heard of the black wolf sighting, but I offered to come in his stead. I wanted to see you.”

Mention of the black wolf makes me go still. I try to keep my voice ...