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26

SLOANE

NATURE, ROMANCE, AND SODIUM

The run itself had been worth it. The waterfall had been worth it. The kissing had absolutely been worth it. Unfortunately, none of those facts prevented my quadriceps from informing me that descending a mountain after an emotional reconciliation and several miles of cardio violated multiple laws of nature.

I climbed into the passenger seat of Hudson’s truck and pulled the door closed.

Hudson settled behind the wheel with a deeply irritating ease. His muscles had barely noticed the exertion.

I leaned my head dramatically against the seat. “I’m already enjoying the sitting portion of our date.”

He chuckled as he started the engine.

I stretched one leg toward the floorboard, then the other. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

“No.”

“Will there be more running?”

“No.”

“Hiking?”

“No.”

“Climbing?”

“No.”

“Anything involving a rope?”

Hudson glanced at me. “Sorry to disappoint you, but that’s not part of the date.”

“Good. My arms have gone into retirement.”

He backed away from the trailhead and turned onto the narrow service road. I watched the trees pass outside my window while the pleasant exhaustion of the run settled through me.

For the first time months, I felt light. Of course, I wasn’t absolved and I still had to deal with the consequences of what I had done.

I stared out the passenger window as the pine trees blurred past. My muscles still ached, and my brain felt like a browser with fifty tabs open, but the weight in my chest was gone. The truth was out. I wasn’t pretending to be a wolf shifter. I was just Sloane—a human graphic designer who had gotten hopelessly, ridiculously tangled in the Blackwell family tree.

I turned my head toward Hudson. He had one hand resting on the top of the steering wheel, his broad shoulders relaxed, looking completely at home behind the wheel.

“I have a confession to make,” I said seriously.

Hudson glanced at me and his body immediately tensed.

I held up my hands. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. It’s just the truth about Patty.”

“What do you mean?”

“She might have shown up unannounced at my apartment with a full presentation on everything I needed to know about shifters.”

Hudson burst out laughing. “Is that so?”

I nodded. “Oh, yes. If you need someone to demonstrate obedience in front of an alpha, I’m your gal.”