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We drove back to the community hall. Figures moved across the meadow in the distance. They had already shifted back to their human forms. Laughter carried toward us. The run had apparently left everyone energized and in a great mood.

Hudson stood beside the pavilion, his hair damp near his forehead. He looked relaxed in a way I hadn’t seen before, all the weight briefly removed from his shoulders.

Then he spotted me, so I climbed out of the car, holding the bag of food.

He jogged over to us. “You’re back.”

“Yeah. We went for a drive.”

Patty closed her door. “And committed crimes.”

Hudson looked between us. “What crimes?”

“Fast food,” I said quickly.

Patty smiled.

Hudson’s gaze dropped to the bag. I held it toward him. “We brought you something.”

His eyebrows lifted. “For me?”

“Yep. Burger and fries.”

Pleasure moved across his face with such openness that my stomach turned warm. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know.”

He looked inside. “Double?”

“Patty said your metabolism required it after a run.”

“Patty was right.”

“She usually is,” Patty said.

Hudson glanced toward the trail, then back at me. “I’m sorry I left you.”

“You don’t have to apologize. You went on a pack run.”

“I still feel bad.”

“Don’t. I had fun.”

His gaze flicked toward Patty. “Good.”

Patty took a sip of her milkshake, then said, “Well, since you two couldn’t run together, maybe you should go for a walk.” She turned and winked at me. “Text me later.”

I nodded. “I will. Good night.”

Hudson watched Patty walk off, then shifted the food bag to one hand. “A walk sounds nice.”

My stomach clenched. He didn’t know the truth. My lie was invisible and growing. I hated lying to him. Still, the path beyond the hall looked quiet. Hudson looked happier than I had ever seen him, and for once nobody was calling his name.

“Yeah,” I said. “I’d like that.”

I tossed the blanket in my car, and we started toward the meadow together.

A sharp whistle cut through the air from the edge of the woods. Hilary stood near the trail boundary, holding up a radio. “Hudson! We’ve got a straggler near the north ridge. Trevor’s caught his leg under a fallen branch. Need a hand lifting the timber.”