There were three sweaters on the bed.

One was blue, one was cream, and one was a soft green that reminded Eli of the greenhouse. He stood before them for several minutes, unable to decide.

Nobody was waiting to grade his answer. That made choosing harder, not easier.

Cassian had brought the clothes that morning, then immediately apologized for buying them without asking.

“You can return all three,” he had said. “Or keep none. Or choose something entirely different.”

Eli had looked at him as though he'd been offered the moon.

Now he touched the green sweater.

He put it on and went downstairs.

Ronan noticed first. “New color.”

Eli stiffened.

“I like it,” Ronan added. “But you don't need my opinion.”

Eli relaxed a little. He walked into the dining room and chose a chair rather than the cushion on the floor.

Adrian looked up from his newspaper. “Good morning.”

Eli nodded.

Lucien set a small board on the table. It showed the day's choices: greenhouse, library, garden, or rest. Beneath the activities were five simple wolf drawings.

“Only if you want company,” Lucien said.

Eli studied the board. He selected the garden, then circled the black wolf.

Silas blinked.

Ronan stared at his own brown wolf drawing. “Really?”

Cassian kicked him beneath the table.

“Ow.”

“Let him choose,” Cassian whispered.

Eli's gaze flickered between them. He began to withdraw his hand.

Silas spoke before the moment could turn frightening. “I'd like to walk with you. If that's still what you want.”

Eli circled the black wolf again, more firmly.

They left after breakfast. Silas wore an ordinary coat rather than his uniform. Eli carried a notebook, a pencil, and a small packet of crackers he had chosen to bring.

The garden path wound through pines toward a quiet stream. Eli stopped often to examine things Silas had never thought to notice: a curled fern, a bird feather, the shape of a cloud caught between branches.

Silas never hurried him.

At the stream, Eli crouched beside the water. He watched a leaf drift around a stone and continue downstream.

“Water finds a way,” Silas said.

Eli drew the stream in his notebook. Then he sketched a small black wolf sitting beside it.

Silas looked away to give him privacy.

Eli tugged his sleeve.

When Silas turned, Eli held up the drawing. Beneath the wolf was a second figure with silver hair. The two figures sat side by side.

“Us?” Silas asked.

Eli nodded.

Silas smiled. “May I keep a copy?”

Eli considered this, then tore the page carefully along its perforation. He placed it in Silas's hand.

“Thank you.”

They sat by the stream until the sun shifted. On the walk back, the path grew slippery beneath fallen leaves.

Silas offered his hand, palm up. Eli looked at it for a long moment.

Then he took it.

Silas kept his grip light. They walked slowly enough that Eli could let go whenever he wished.

At the house, Ronan opened the door and saw their joined hands.

He smiled too quickly. “Good walk?”

Eli nodded, then released Silas and showed Ronan the feather he had found.

“That's a good one,” Ronan said. “Want a box for your collection?”

Eli considered. He touched green on the card hanging from his belt.

Ronan brightened. “I'll make one.”

Cassian appeared behind him. “We have perfectly good boxes in the west study.”

“I said make one.”

“Your woodworking is a public hazard.”

Eli looked from one to the other. Their voices were low, their faces animated. He had once believed any disagreement between Alphas would end in violence.

Ronan caught his expression and stopped.

“We're teasing,” he explained. “Nobody's fighting.”

Eli studied Cassian. The younger general lifted both hands in surrender.

“Ronan may make the box,” Cassian said solemnly. “I shall survive the insult.”

A tiny laugh escaped Eli before he could stop it.

Both men fell silent.

Silas moved past them. “Don't stare.”

They looked away at once.

Choosing breakfast had been another challenge. The housekeeper had offered oatmeal, eggs, fruit, and toast, and Eli had looked at the plates as though they were part of an examination. She had waited while he considered them. Finally, he pointed to toast and sliced pears. She served exactly that, without asking why he had not chosen the more elaborate meal.

Eli ate slowly. Each bite tasted different when it was something he had selected. He left half a pear on the plate and watched to see whether anyone would insist that he finish it. Nobody did. Later, he returned to the kitchen and asked for the remaining half by pointing. The housekeeper smiled and gave it to him.

In the garden, Silas showed Eli how to recognize animal tracks in the soft earth. Deer left narrow prints. Rabbits made paired marks near the hedges. A fox had crossed the path sometime before dawn. Eli knelt to sketch the tracks and then drew a question mark beside the fox prints.

“Where did it go?” Silas guessed.

Eli nodded.

“Anywhere it wanted,” Silas said. “The forest's big enough.”

Eli looked toward the tree line. The idea of walking beyond the estate still frightened him. But it also made him curious. Silas offered to bring a map next time. Eli nodded again, and this time the motion came without hesitation.

Back at the house, Cassian asked whether Eli wanted to join him for music after dinner. Eli considered the invitation, then chose the red card. Cassian bowed theatrically.

“Another evening, perhaps.”

Eli watched him leave. There was no anger in Cassian's posture. No cold silence. Refusing an invitation had not ruined the day.

Before bed, Eli opened his notebook to a fresh page. He wrote three words he had practiced with Lucien: yes, no, and later. He underlined later twice. The word meant that refusing now did not have to mean refusing forever.

That evening, Eli asked to visit the library alone. Adrian showed him the door sign again and reminded him that privacy was his to claim.

Eli turned the red side outward.

For nearly an hour, nobody disturbed him. He read a book about northern birds and drew a second picture of the stream.

When he opened the door, Adrian was passing in the hallway. He stopped rather than entering.

“Did you have a good afternoon?”

Eli nodded.

Adrian noticed the green sweater and the notebook tucked under his arm. “I'm glad.”

Eli looked down at the drawing in his hand. It showed five wolves beneath a tall pine, with one small figure standing in the center.

He did not give it away. Not yet.

Some things could belong only to him.

He carried the drawing back to his room and placed it beside his bed.

In the morning, he found the green sweater folded over the chair. He had chosen it yesterday and could choose it again. Or he could choose blue. The thought made him smile. There were so many decisions ahead that he could not imagine making them all. For now, he only had to make the next one. He picked up the green sweater, then changed his mind and reached for blue. Nobody would know except him. That was part of the pleasure.

That night, he climbed onto the mattress for the first time without anyone watching.

He stayed there for ten minutes before returning to his blanket nest.

Ten minutes was enough for today.