"You want this documented officially?" Mara's eyebrows climb.
"I want this handled competently. Documentation follows competence." I look around the circle of faces. "Questions?"
The pack exchanges glances, uncertainty replacing the comfortable rhythm of unspoken orders.
"This is a significant departure," Thomas says carefully.
"Yes, it is." I don't soften the acknowledgment. "Effective immediately."
27
ELLIE
My shoulder throbs where the creature's claws raked across it, but I don't retreat to the cabin Caleb suggested. Instead, I settle onto a fallen log twenty feet from where the pack has gathered, close enough to hear their debrief but far enough that they don't feel obligated to soften their words for my benefit.
"You should be resting," Mara calls over.
"I am resting." I adjust my position carefully, favoring the injured arm. "Resting doesn't require isolation."
Caleb glances at me, and I catch the flicker of concern before he turns back to Rowan.
"The marks it left—they're deliberate. Geometric."
"Mapping territory," Rowan agrees. "But not claiming it. Planning something."
I pull out my notebook, balancing it against my good knee. The pages are slightly damp from the forest humidity, but the pen moves smoothly across the paper.
October 15th—creature retreat appears tactical, not defensive. Marks left behind suggest intelligence beyond territorial instinct.
"What are you writing?" Caleb asks.
"What happened. What we observed. What we don't know yet." I don't look up from the page. "Someone should be keeping record."
"For what purpose?"
"Because silence created this mess in the first place." I finish the sentence and look up. "Because if we don't document our choices, the next generation inherits our mistakes without context."
The pack exchanges glances, but no one argues. I continue writing, cataloging the creature's behavior patterns, the pack's response strategies, the gaps in our understanding. Each detail gets its own line, dated and cross-referenced.
"The binding ritual," I say, pen poised. "Who performed it originally?"
"Records were destroyed," Rowan answers.
"By whom?"
"That's not documented either."
I catalog this.
Deliberate erasure of accountability—pattern of institutional protection over individual justice.
The words feel heavy, familiar. Different context, same mechanism.
"The families of the disappeared," I continue. "Did they ever receive explanations?"
Caleb's jaw tightens. "They were told accidents. Natural causes."
Families denied truth and closure to maintain pack security.