"Oh," I reply, my smile immediately fading. After everything that happened in that other Darrow, after everything I saw, it isn't difficult at all to imagine Derek hurting so much he'd resorted to spending most of his time just as a wolf.

Not for the first time, I'm so, so glad he's found friends here to help him, people who genuinely care for him and see all the good he still can't.

"Did it work?" I ask, still cradling my cocoa between two hands.