“The beginning,” I intoned flatly. “The beginning of what?”

“Everything has a beginning, Scout.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you being enigmatic and obtuse on purpose?”

“Not everyone can be as literate and witty as you,” he said with another flash of dimples. “Anyway, this is supposed to be one of those really important coming-of-age experiences. How will you grow as a person if I just give you the answers?”

“Easy. I’ll employ the Jase Method. You tell me the answers, and I’ll memorize them long enough to pass the test.” That was an unpleasant thought. “Is there a test?”

“Tests. Pop quizzes. Trials by fire…” He kissed my temple where I’m pretty sure a blood vessel throbbed. “Don’t worry, though. You’ve always been good at tests.”

“That was high school. This is the real world.” The place where failing meant losing your best friend to the Shifter slave trade or getting “severely punished” by a man you once considered family. “I’m not so sure those skills translate well.”

Alex looked over his shoulder before leaning in and lowering his voice. “Want to know a secret?” I nodded, intrigued. “The real world is just like high school. The only difference is no one has the excuse of being a teenager when they act like idiots.”

“And you know this how? Because you’re so old and worldly?”

“The world is a lot easier to figure out when you don’t live in it anymore.”

At that, the world changed. The sky clouded over; the scent of rain filled the air. The wind tossed around strands of my hair, slapping them against my face.

I clung to Alex, knowing our time was running out. I held onto him with all my might, as if I could drag him back with me.

“Not yet,” I begged. When would I dream of him again? What if I didn’t? “There is still too much to talk about. I’m a Shifter and no one knows why. I think Toby wants to kill me, especially since I accidentally stole half his Pack.”

“Shhh… It’s going to be okay,” he soothed, capturing some of my hair and securing it behind my ear. “You’ll get answers when you discover the beginning.”

“Talley is going to get kidnapped by a Pack of Shifters straight out of Deliverance. Am I going to find the solution to that in this mysterious beginning of yours?”

Alex’s tone was more than a little patronizing. “It’s not just my beginning; it’s our beginning. Mine. Yours. Liam, Jase, Charlie, and even Talley. It’s all of our beginning.” A flash of lightning struck somewhere behind me. “And the Talley problem can be easily solved. All she needs is a mate.”

“A mate?”

“Ask Jase about it.”

A raindrop landed on my hand. Another splattered on my thigh.

“I love you, Scout. For me, it was always you. Forever and always.”

I reached for him, but he was gone. The lake faded until there was nothing but the occasional drop of rain against my hand.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

The fact that I realized the water was dripping on me in the real world relatively quickly while only half awake made me feel somewhat better about being stupid enough to think it was raining in my bedroom.

“Sorry!” Talley said as I bolted up in bed, looking for the indoor storm cloud. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.” More droplets splattered against me as she bounced off the bed, slinging her wet hair over one shoulder.

I wiped my hand on the sheets and pushed back the mess that was my hair with the other. I swore I could still smell Alex mingled in the strands.

“For the love of all things sacred, what time is it, and why are you awake?”

Talley began twisting her hair into a complicated, princess-worthy braided knot thing. “It’s the butt crack of eight, and Jase and I have to go in to work early.”

Yet another reason summer jobs are evil. Everyone should be allowed to sleep until noon.

“Is the munchkin up?”

“Yeah, she’s insisting on making Jase and me cinnamon toast and honeyed milk for breakfast.”

Of course she was, because on top of every other anti-Scout thing about my little sister, she was a morning person.

“Does that mean I have to get up too?”

“She did mention something about redecorating the living room while your mom is at work.”

I slung my legs over the side of the bed, not at all thrilled about the challenging day ahead of me. Of course, sitting on the side of the bed is as far as I got for a while. There is no such thing as a good reason to move quickly in the mornings.

“Where do Shifters come from?”

Talley jumped a little at the sound of my voice as if she’d forgotten I was there. “Well, when a daddy Shifter and a mommy love each other very much, they share a special kiss. Nine months later, a baby Shifter is born.”

I lifted two fingers since British hand gestures didn’t offend her as much as their American counterparts for God only knows what reason. “I meant, what is the Shifter and Seer origin story? Does it involve Hellhounds? Cold ones? Do we get our crazy powers from the white moon?”

“Alex never told you this story?”

“No. Apparently that would be ‘cheating’,” I said, using air quotes.

“You’ll like this one,” she said, sitting down beside me. “It’s a love story.”

Uh-oh. “Does it involve a human and wolf making half and half babies, because I seriously might yak.”

Talley pouted. “When you say it like that, it sounds gross.”

“That’s only because it is gross.”

“No, listen.” She turned to look me in the eye. “It is a good story, and it’s not gross.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” She made an X over her chest with one finger to seal the deal. “Do you promise to behave and listen?”

“Maybe.”

She wasn’t enthusiastic about my semi-compliance, but she continued on. “Back when the land was new there was a beautiful woman with skin like snow and hair that shone like the glow of the moon.”

“Oh yeah. She sounds totally hot.”

“Scout, keep the sarcasm to yourself.” She leveled me with her Mom look. “As I was saying, the beautiful woman —”