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Julie: Caldwell misses her.

A photograph appeared beneath the message. Caldwell sat at the kitchen table holding the drawing from the birthday party. Sloane stood between him and me in crayon. Her hair had been colored too dark. I had been given shoulders wider than the table. Caldwell had drawn himself holding both our hands.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat.

Julie: He keeps asking when she’s coming back.

Mom: I miss her too.

Mom: I am still hurt, though.

Grandma Ruth: SHE REMEMBERED EVERYONE’S BIRTHDAYS

Grandpa: Pie.

Grandma Ruth: YES, SHE ALSO MADE GOOD PIE

Trevor: and she laughed at my jokes

Patty: Everyone laughs at your jokes.

Byron: That is not accurate.

Trevor: SHE DID

Byron: She listened when I explained things.

Mom mentioned Sloane noticing when Grandma needed to rest. Julie remembered her helping redesign invitations without making Julie feel embarrassed. Byron said Sloane asked him about work and remembered the answer.

Several cousins added small stories. Nothing dramatic. Coffee brought without asking. A compliment remembered. A child included. A joke repeated later because it mattered.

Taken together, the messages formed a person. Not a wolf. Not Loany.

Sloane.

I scrolled through them twice. Overwhelmed didn’t describe it.

The pack missed her. They were still angry, but they wanted her back anyway. I didn’t know what to say.

Karen entered the chat at eleven twenty-two.

Karen: This is exactly how manipulation works.

Karen: She cultivated affection so none of you would hold her accountable.

Patty: Nobody said she shouldn’t be held accountable.

Karen: You are all romanticizing a security breach.

Grandma Ruth: WE ARE REMEMBERING SOMEONE WE LOVE

Karen: You loved a fiction.

Trevor: no we loved sloane

Karen: You don’t even know who Sloane is.

My fingers tightened around the phone.