My mind swirled with so many questions, I didn’t even know where to begin. Since being reunited, we never really sat down to discuss anything except for catching up on that first day. But that was mostly us telling her about our journey to find her. I still didn’t know why Mom left, or why we were suddenly shifters, or what the hell it meant to be analpha.
Thinking about it too much made my brain hurt.
“I’m just confused,” I admitted. “About everything.”
I expected Nishiki to make fun of me but he didn’t. He wore a sympathetic expression, like he understood exactly how I felt. We were in the same boat—no water-related pun intended. As Mom watched me expectantly, the dam blocking my feelings broke and everything overflowed.
“Like, why am I an alpha shark shifter, whatever that means?” I blurted out. “Why’d you leave us to live out here by yourself? If you’re a human, and we’re apparently not, then who the hell is our dad? And why’s he such an asshole?”
Mom listened, then smiled. “That’s a lot of questions.”
I blew out an exhale. “Well, I amreallyconfused.”
She put a finger to her lip in thought. “I think the best solution is to find those answers for yourself.”
Typical cryptic Mom answer. I loved her, but the woman was batty. I wasn’t sure why I expected anything different from her.
“And how exactly would I do that?” I asked.
She spoke with a mystical quality. “The answers are closer than you think, Nero.” Then she clapped me on the back and yawned. “Well! What an evening. I’m going to sleep early. Goodnight, boys.”
She retired to her corner and drew a woven-straw privacy screen. I wordlessly glanced to Nishiki, who nodded in silent understanding.
We crept outside and met outside on top of the canyon, out of earshot. The sky straddled the line between late afternoon and evening. Everything was a brilliant blend of orange, pink and purple.
“Okay. What the hell was that about?” I asked, throwing my arms up in frustration.
Nishiki ran a hand through his long golden hair. “I think that’s Mother’s confusing way of telling you to go find yourself.”
“I’m right here,” I said bluntly.
Nishiki pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh, Nero, you really are a caveman sometimes. I meantspiritually.”
I rolled my eyes, exasperated. “Okay, well, I’m right here spiritually, too. My entire being is standing right here on a big rock. Doesn’t mean I’m any closer to the answers to my burning questions.”
Nishiki squinted at me incredulously. “How are we even twins?”
“Nature messed up.”
With a sigh, Nishiki gazed out into the beautiful sky. In the light of the sunset, his golden hair really looked like it was glowing.
“I don’t think Mother is lying to you,” Nishiki said softly. “If she says the answers are close, it must be true. Would it kill you to go and find out?”
“Uh, yeah, it might. There’s mountain lions and wolves and who knows what else out there.”
“Those mountain lions and wolves arealsopeople,” Nishiki said wryly. “People who saved our lives and reunited us with Mother.”
“…Okay, but what if there’s mountain lions and wolves whodon’tmagically turn into people?”
“Then I hope they eat you.”
“Thanks.” After a long silence, I said, “They looked happy, didn’t they? Those shifters. The ones that were couples especially.”
Nishiki let out a soft sound of agreement. “Their baby was very cute, too.”
I smiled, thinking about the tiny mountain lion cub. None of it made sense to me—how could a man give birth, much less to a cat?—but they were so full of love that I didn’t care about logic. Their family was like a storybook come to life. I wanted to learn more about it.
A strange shiver ran down my spine, even though I wasn’t cold.
