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She laughed. “You always have work, Hudson.” Her eyes remained on me. “Sloane made you slow down.”

“I can slow down without her.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

I glanced toward the untouched water on the table.

Grandma followed my gaze. “Exactly.”

“This isn’t about hydration.”

“It is partly about hydration.”

I shook my head.

She continued. “You became easier to be around.”

“Now you’re insulting me.”

“It’s both an insult and a compliment.”

A reluctant laugh slipped out of me.

Grandma’s face softened. “You started enjoying your life instead of just managing it.”

I looked toward the yard. “She did that because I trusted her.”

“Yes.”

“And she betrayed that trust.” My voice cracked, the pain still too fresh.

“Yes.”

“You keep agreeing with me.”

“I don’t need to distort what happened to believe she’s more than the worst thing she did.”

I rubbed a hand over my face. “She knew everything about me.”

“Yes, and you told her all of those things.”

“Because I thought she was someone else.”

“Did the person listening change because she was human?” she asked.

The question caught me. Grandma waited.

“She pretended to be a wolf,” I said.

“She did.”

“Knowing I would react differently if I knew.”

“Probably.”

“She controlled what I was allowed to choose.”

“Yes.”