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She shrugged. “I like it.”

She turned toward the screen, leaving me to suffer through a private cardiac event. A wolf shifter had just commented on the substance I’d bought from an Etsy witch. Either the woman was legitimate, or Patty had a generous relationship with bad perfume.

The projector started, lighting up the wall. A cheer rose from the littles. Byron stood near the equipment table and adjusted the focus while Hudson watched, practically vibrating with tension as he resisted the urge to help.

“You want to go over there, don’t you?” I asked.

“The picture is slightly crooked.”

I laughed. “It’s a movie about a giant radioactive lizard. I don’t think visual precision will save it.”

Hudson sent me a sidelong glance. “You’ve seen it?”

“No. I read the description after you told me about it.”

Tonight’s selection was Atomic Titan: Rise of the Deep, a low-budget creature feature released directly to streaming three years earlier. The poster showed a skyscraper-sized reptile emerging from the ocean while fighter jets flew directly toward its mouth.

Trevor had picked it, which seemed to surprise no one.

Byron finished the setup, and the opening logo appeared. People settled into chairs, blankets, and hay bales. The lights around the pavilion went dark. Conversations dropped to murmurs, then mostly stopped.

Apparently, wolves were serious about silence during movies because when a teenager three rows back whispered something, five heads turned simultaneously. The teenager promptly closed his mouth.

I glanced at Hudson. He held one finger to his lips, then took out his phone. A message appeared on mine.

Hudson: Enhanced hearing, am I right?

Sloane: I thought you wanted me to reduce screen time.

Hudson: Special exemption for poorly made cinema.

The film opened with a marine biologist explaining an experimental energy source to military officials who appeared to have been cast based on access to matching uniforms.

The scientist pointed toward an animated map. “We have awakened something ancient.”

A deep rumble came through the speakers. Several children leaned forward.

Sloane: They awakened the CGI budget, and it’s furious.

Hudson coughed into his fist.

I looked over. His eyes remained on the screen, but his shoulders were shaking.

Hudson: Be respectful. Someone spent days creating that water simulation.

Onscreen, the ocean moved with the consistency of blue gelatin.

Sloane: I hope they recovered from their lack of sleep.

His grin appeared in the projector light.

The monster emerged six minutes later. It was green, enormous, and moved so rigidly, it looked like a lawn ornament subjected to strong wind.

Hudson: Terrifying.

Sloane: I’ve seen more convincing threats in aquarium gift shops.

Hudson lowered his head, his shoulders shaking again.