Page 195

Only horror.

The sight of it broke through my panic long enough to hurt.

“Hudson,” I said, my voice breaking.

He didn’t answer.

Karen bent, picked up the coin with her gloved hand, and held it toward the nearest string light. “Pure silver,” she announced. “An old council marker. No coating. No alloy.”

Everyone stared in shock.

“She doesn’t smell right,” Karen continued. “She never has. She hides behind blockers, avoids every question about her history, and somehow returns after years away knowing nothing about pack life.”

Patty stepped forward. “You tricked her, Aunt Karen. That was cruel.”

Karen spun around, pointing the coin in Patty’s direction. “And you knew all along, didn’t you?”

Patty’s lip quivered. “She’s my friend. You don’t understand.”

Karen laughed. “There’s not much to understand, Patty. She’s human, not a wolf. She lied to all of us.”

My heart pounded hard enough to hurt. Cold sweat trickled down my spine as Karen’s voice echoed across the yard, stripping away every layer of safety I’d spent months hiding behind. Human. The word hung in the air, dirty and accusatory, exposing me for the fraud I was.

The children had run to their parents. Caldwell stood beside Julie, his eyes fixed on me.

I couldn’t look at him for long.

The instinct to spout another lie rose in me.

Double down and insist you’re a latent shifter.

Say you have a rare condition.

Say the blockers interfere with silver sensitivity.

Say anything that keeps the door open.

Patty’s warning returned with brutal clarity. You’re waiting for a version where you don’t lose anything.

Before I allowed myself to fall back into the same downward spiral of lies, I crossed the lawn, nearly tripping over the edge of the temporary dance floor. My hip struck a table, sending plastic cups onto the grass.

I didn’t stop.

The lights blurred. The hall doors stood open behind me, but I headed toward the parking lot instead.

My keys were already in my hand. I had no memory of taking them from my pocket.

By the time I reached my car, I was sobbing hard enough to fumble the door handle.

“Sloane!” Patty’s shout came from the lawn.

I got the door open.

She reached the parking area as I slid behind the wheel. “Please don’t drive.”

“I have to go.”

She grabbed the top of the door before I could close it. “Wait. Let me come with you.”