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“That is classic Karen,” I muttered, a small smile breaking through my tears.

“She claimed milk interfered with wolf development.” Patty laughed. “It absolutely does not. But the point is, everyone around me had this massive, magical part of themselves. They shifted together, ran together, talked about instincts. I didn’t have any of that. I was left behind.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“Nobody meant to exclude me, except perhaps Aunt Karen. That woman has never liked me,” she said, looking back at me. “But the exclusion still happened. So, when I say I know what it feels like to stand near a group you want to belong to and still feel completely on the outside… I mean it.”

“So that’s why you covered for me,” I said.

“I covered for you for several reasons,” she said, releasing my hand to count them off on her fingers. “First, this is the most insane story I have ever heard, and I desperately wanted to see how far you’d take it. Second, I knew you were lonely long before I knew you were human. And third, I genuinely like you.”

“That simple?”

“Not entirely.” She grinned. “I also wanted to see what kind of magnificent lunatic actually pulls off pretending to be a shifter.”

I pointed at her. “There it is.”

“But yes, I like you. You’re funny, you’re thoughtful, and you correctly identify the groundskeeper as the superior romantic option.”

“He’s the only logical choice,” I agreed.

She grinned at me. “Obviously.”

The first real wave of relief washed over me. I had prepared myself for anger, but Patty was treating my massive life disaster as a quirky personality trait rather than a moral failing.

“So you’re not going to tell anyone?” I asked.

“Not tonight,” she said.

The qualification made my chest tighten again. “What does that mean?”

“It means this can’t go on forever, Sloane. You know that, right?”

“I know.”

“Do you?” she pressed, studying my face. “Have you actually thought about what will happen when Hudson finds out?”

All my insides twisted into a knot. “I’ve been avoiding it.”

“He really likes you, Sloane.”

“I know,” I whispered. “Which is why he’s going to absolutely hate me.”

“He might be angry,” she allowed. “But that’s not the same thing.”

“Might as well be.”

Patty put the car back in gear. “What else did you do?” she asked, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

“What do you mean?”

“To pretend,” she said. “Besides the Etsy perfume and the sketchy blockers. Give me the full criminal inventory.”

“I bought a wolf tooth on Amazon.”

Patty’s mouth dropped open, and she blinked rapidly.

I pulled the wolf tooth out of my back pocket and handed it to her. Before she could ask why, I explained. “I thought the scent of it would help me smell more like a wolf shifter.”