"Thanks, Holly," I smiled as I grabbed my box of muffins and trotted out of Em's Bake Shop early in the morning. I was running late for a meeting with my parents and Grandpa Billy. We were hoping to figure out why I was having such a visceral reaction to the Holts.

A typical day on the Rez was pretty busy nowadays. It felt like every couple of months, people were opening new businesses, finding their new passions. It was inspiring. Even more so because they knew that the pack would always be here to protect them and our land. When I was a kid, Mama and Dad used to talk about getting off of the reservation for a while; they wanted to take our family to Seattle for a while so that we could all have a break. They never outwardly showed how running the pack wore on them, but I did hear things sometimes. Those small moments when their walls are down and I hear one of them say, I can't wait to rest.

There were days when I wished I wasn't an additional job for them. The more I develop, the more they worry. I can feel it. Their energy flows through me every single day. So I try to make it better for them. I know my place in the community; instead of sitting afraid of my own body, I make it work. When I'm not training with my uncles or doing side work at the garage, I'm helping to take care of our people. I was all in.

Sometimes, that starts with breakfast. "Good morning!" I sang, walking through the front door of Grandpa Billy's little red house.

"You're late, young lady," Grandpa lightly scolded, rolling up to the door.

"Yes, true," I said, kissing the top of his head. "But I brought muffins and I feel like that kind of makes up for it."

Mama and Daddy were sitting in the living room with the Holts. I met Travis's gaze as I walked in and noticed how his eyes lit up as we saw each other. I gave him a small smile as I advanced into the room. I also noticed how Reese saw the exchange and rolled her eyes. As I set the box down, my dad reached for a muffin inside. I tapped him on the hand. "Guests first," I reminded him. "I got blueberry, chocolate chip, banana nut, and oh! Holly said that she tried a new recipe with lemon raspberry or something like that and they're really good. So dig in!"

"Em's has the best pastries on the whole reservation," Mama said, grabbing a chocolate chip muffin, her favorite. "Hell, probably in the whole state." Emily opened up the bake shop a couple of years ago and brought on Holly, Collin's long-time girlfriend, after she brought the most delicious chocolate chip cookies to a bonfire.

"I have to say," Matthew started, reaching for a muffin, "it's heartwarming to see how tight knit your community is here."

"Where are you all from?" Dad asked.

"A couple of hours outside of Memphis, Tennessee," Reese answered, keeping her eyes low. "It was, uh, pretty isolated."

"But necessary," Matthew added on, a slight edge in his voice. He and Reese stared each other down for a beat before Reese rolled her eyes and turned away from him. I prided myself on my ability to sense the good and otherwise in people. It was very rare that I couldn't read someone. At that time, I couldn't quite get a good handle on Matthew; he wasn't a threat to us. That was easy to see. But there was something behind his eyes that I didn't trust completely. Do you remember when Kaya was talking to my parents about being able to see people's auras? I have something similar. Except I can't see colors; I feel people's vibrations. Vampires, werewolves, humans. Everyone has a vibration pattern that signals to me whether they are a threat or not.

Some people are more harsher vibrations than others. It's all in their nature. Someone like Cassie or Ella or Holly have a really soft vibration because they are so sweet by nature. They are people who want to help people; they're nurturers. Compare that to vampire bounty hunters with bloodred eyes and a crazed look who have a harsh vibration because their aim is to kill and only to kill. There are people in the middle, of course; it was a sliding scale. My uncle Paul had a harsher vibration, but that was only in his passion for protection. Same with my parents. Their strength and leadership are very noticeable to anyone who pays attention.

Along with being able to feel people, I'd started to learn how to interpret people for who they were at their core. Reese had a softer vibration than I expected, but I could tell that she was putting on a face while she adjusted. From what I had observed, she held onto this really old lighter as a comfort, but that also enabled her nicotine habit. We all have our vices, so I definitely wasn't judging. She looked like she was used to this unsettled existence. Her body was slightly slumped over and, in her seat, she stayed curled up, making herself look as small as possible.

"Other shifters pass through, but we hardly ever encounter them in our neck of the woods," Travis stated, attempting to ignore the tension Reese and Matthew created. Travis reached over and patted Reese on the back causing her to gently shrug him off. "This is the most shifters I've ever seen in my whole life."

His Southern accent was kind of cute. It was just a nice tie-in with that whole bright smile, friendly personality, love-to-help thing that he had going on. It felt like he was different than his family; something about him…I don't know. "Well," Mama spoke, "you all are welcome here as long as you need. We have someone coming to show you where you'll be staying. We know Billy's isn't the most spacious."

"Do you guys go to school?" I asked Travis and Reese. They glanced at each other apprehensively before shifting in their seats.

"Not really…" Travis answered.

"Our lives are a little too unpredictable for school," Reese said. "Too many questions."

"We just work as much as we can, go home, and try not to attract attention to ourselves," Travis nodded. Wow. It just sounds like such a lonely existence. I had read somewhere that not all shifters stay in packs like we do; I had thought that was a little far-fetched to me. In my head, it only made sense that all shape shifters had some security in each other. It shouldn't be enough to just know of each other; I think all shifters should feel as secure as my family does.

My dad's voice broke me out of my thoughts, "Don't worry; you'll all be safe here."

I really wanted to get to know Travis and Reese more, so I invited them to a movie night at our house. Maybe if I got them around more people our age, they'd relax a bit. Especially Reese. Maybe if I could show her a good time, she would relax enough to feel settled here with us. When I asked, Travis thought it was a great idea, his eyes lighting up almost immediately at the suggestion; in that same second, Reese snorted and said, "Hard pass," but after Travis elbowed her in the side, she rolled her eyes and said she'd think about it.

Mom arranged for Aunt Rachel to come help our new guests find a place to stay. So, while they were examining properties, I was sitting in the middle of Grandpa Billy's back porch with 5 pairs of intense eyes examining me. I could count the individual wrinkles in my grandpa's face because he was studying me so closely. Mom, Dad, Grandma Sue, and Uncle Sam were all standing around me like I was something under a microscope. My eyebrows drew together as Billy made a 'hmph' sound before resting back in his wheelchair. "She looks fine to me," he said.

Mom rolled her eyes, "Of course, she's fine right now. The problem is that something is causing her to have a visceral reaction. I've never seen her that weak and dizzy before."

"Now you said it happened to you twice yesterday, right, sweetie?" Sue asked.

I nodded. "Once when Travis came to help me after that deer hit me and once when we got to the border to greet them."

"It could be a fluke," Sam threw out there.

I raised my hand, "I actually had my own theory. Can I chime in?" I asked meekly.

"Unless it's not," Dad countered, answering Sam and not acknowledging me. "Hadley's senses are pretty sharp. I don't think it would have happened if it was nothing."

There were days when I would get a little frustrated with this process. Everything that I feel, anytime that I feel something that's not "normal", it's scrutinized. It's exhausting. It's like all of it is guess work. I could hiccup at some inopportune time and it's cause for discussion. I get it; it's a learning process. We were all kind of figuring it out.

My mother's face was pensive as she studied me. I could always see how the wheels turned in her head. "Is it…" she started and then paused. "Is it possible that encountering a new kind of shifter will trigger something in her?"

Dad crossed his arms over his chest as he shook his head. "But it's never happened like this," he said.

"That we know of," she corrected. "Remember when she was two years old? We were in Port Angeles and we ran into that man that said he was passing through town; he told us he knew who we were and thanked us for handling that random string of newborns wreaking havoc in Portland a couple years earlier. She started crying hysterically until we walked away from him. When I went back to apologize, he was about to phase and head south. We could never figure out what made her so upset."

"It's definitely possible that she's able to sense different types of shifters. Actually, that would be a convenient way to…" Billy's voice faded.

I zoned out as they continued to talk around me. This could go on for hours. The 'woulds' and 'coulds' were all they had to go off of sometimes. There were so many questions. What could I do? What couldn't I do?

Sometimes those questions felt more like this—what are they too afraid to let me do? Is there anything that I can do that will make our job a little bit easier? Is there something I was missing?

I remember being a kid and hearing Mama think about how she wished Kaya would just give her the answers to me. According to her, all of our ancestors have their hand in everything that we do, everything that we are. I remember asking her to tell the story of Kaya coming to Earth over and over again when I was a kid. Mama said she came down in a brilliant flash of light like an angel and brought her kindness and wisdom to the pack through some hard times. I think Kaya was for my mom what my mom is for me. Mama is my guiding light; I don't know what I'd do without her.

I've met Kaya once. I was 12 years old and she was probably the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. She was different than what I had seen from the pictures. Almost as if time in the heavens transcended everything about her. I had gotten myself lost in the woods that day. Uncle Embry took the twins and I out for a hike that day. Cam bet that I couldn't make it to the top of the cliff before he could; I naturally took the challenge, knowing I could beat him to the top and still had time to spare. I used to be a little bit of a showoff and took a wrong turn because I wanted to take the "longer route."

"You're a long way from home, little one," I heard from behind me. I whirled around to see this angelic person leaning against a tree. She, quite literally, had a white glow around her. I knew every inch of her face already from pictures while my mom would tell me the stories. I knew everything about her. Kaya. She smiled at me and waved, "Hi Hadley."

I was stunned to silence. When I had asked Mama before if Kaya would ever visit again, she always said it was unlikely. Our ancestors above made a special exception while Mama and Dad were learning how to be an Alpha couple. According to my mom, the rules are really strict up there so I had come to terms with never meeting Kaya in my lifetime. "Whoa…" was all I could manage.

Her light giggle was like bells in my ears. She walked up to me and bend down to meet my eye, delicately placing her hands on her knees. "You're so grown up, little wolf," she said, reaching for me. I couldn't actually feel her as she grazed her fingers down my cheek; it was just a cool sensation that sent a shiver down my spine.

"How are you here?" I asked.

She held her index finger to her lips and made a shushing sound. "It's a secret," she said, winking at me. "I just couldn't resist not seeing you up close any longer, so I snuck down here."

Kaya studied me with a look of adoration in her eyes. She took my hand in hers, marveling at the fact that she could actually touch me, and then she spun me around. I was covered in mud from the hike up and my baby hairs were matted on my neck; in short, I looked a mess. But Kaya didn't seem to mind. "Can you stay?" I asked.

I know that my mom would love to see Kaya again. So much has changed since Kaya was last here and none of it would have happened if Kaya hadn't come down to guide Mom and Dad. I looked up to my mom the same way she looked up to Kaya. She sighed, "I wish I could stay, little one, but I can't."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because you guys don't need me," she answered. "I just came to give you a message."

Thunder rumbled above us at that second. The sky was actually clear, for once, that day. There wasn't supposed to be a storm today. Kaya looked up and then rolled her eyes. Mama said that sometimes the ancestors would send them a storm or make the sun shine bright to let us know they were still watching over us. Kaya looked back at me and grinned, "You are so beautiful, Hadley," she said, "and you're coming into yourself so well. I know it's a little overwhelming."

I bit my lip anxiously and nodded my head in agreement. The thunder crackled louder above us as she continued to hold my hand in both of hers. I could feel each individual goosebump rise on my arm. "Sometimes I'm afraid of what I can do."

"That's ok," she reassured me. "We know you can handle it though."

She led me to an old fallen tree for us to sit down. "How are you so sure?" I asked.

"Because I know everything about you inside and out. You, little one, are going to make great change to our people."

"A lot of people say that…"

"They say it because they know it too. You can believe me though because I know juuust a little bit more than they do," she said, winking at me.

I cocked my head to the side in confusion. "I thought you guys couldn't see the future."

"We can't, but that doesn't mean we don't have plans for you. You're coming into yourself wonderfully. I want to make sure that as your powers grow, you welcome them. It could be very dangerous for you not to fully embrace them."

I didn't know what that meant. Every day I felt a little stronger and a little more out of control. I wish someone could just tell me out right what my purpose is supposed to be.

"Hadley!" I heard Cam yell. My head whipped into that direction to see if he was close. "Lee, where are you?!"

"Hadley," Kaya gently pulled me by the chin to face her again. "I need you to understand that as you get older things will change. Not just in you, but around you. A lot of people are going to be coming after you, even more so as you explore more of your abilities. Don't let that scare you. Keep your heart and mind open to every possibility as they come. Help could come from some unexpected places."

I started to open my mouth to ask her what that meant, but my uncle Embry's voice erupted through the trees. "Hadley? Come on out, sweetie! We gotta go!"

"I'm over here!" I called over my shoulder. When I turned around, she was gone. Gone without a trace.

"You know what I think?" I interrupted my family's nonsensical jabbering by standing up. They all stopped talking at the same time, mostly kind of shocked that I was speaking up. "I think it's a great theory. It's very well possible that I'm tracking other shifters. But I also think that there's no way to know until it happens again. So why don't we shelf this for now? And if it happens again, we can have another meeting."

"Hadley, sweetie, you called this meeting," Dad reminded me.

I nodded as I slowly sat back down, "Right…"

"Honey," Mama said, crouching in front of me. "We all want to figure this out. I know it's tiring. We just need one key piece of information that only you can tell us, okay?"

"Yes?"

"Are these people dangerous to us?" she asked.

Help could come from some unexpected places echoed through my head. As I started to think about the Holts, they started to pass with Aunt Rachel gesturing to everything as she showed them around. My gut was telling me no and I always trusted my gut. Matthew walked next to Rachel, seemingly asking her questions as they walked. Reese's head was aimed toward the sky as cigarette smoke billowed from her mouth, trailing far behind the group. Her red flannel was falling off of her shoulders, completely unaffected by the persistent winds blowing.

And then there was Travis, who was walking directly in the middle and taking it all in. His eyes wandering over to us and immediately caught mine. His smile was warm as he tipped his invisible cowboy hat at me. Something was pulling at me; I wasn't sure what it was, but I just felt this tug from my chest since they'd been here. "No," I answered my mom, "they're not dangerous to us."

And I meant that.

XXXXXXXXX

"One of you has to make a decision," Cass said, her hands on her hips. Alex, Hunter, and Jace were crowding the TV stand in the living room, trying to pick a movie. "Not Fight Club again, though, please?"

"I agree. None of you are Brad Pitt and I don't feel like breaking up another wrestling match," I called from the kitchen.

"It's still not as bad as when they all tried to be Bruce Willis," Nate commented.

"Mom was so pissed when they wrecked her coffee table; she literally threw Die Hard in the garbage," Cass shook her head at the memory.

Jace waved us off, "We gotta prep for when we finally phase. Our pack is gonna kick vampire ass!"

"Yo, watch your fucking mouth," Wyatt joked, smacking his brother on the back of the head as he passed. He strolled into the kitchen and hopped up on the counter next to me as I poured popcorn into the bowl. "Hey Lee," he smiled.

Wyatt was the eldest son of Jared and Kim; he was the most charming, charismatic person I'd ever met. He had the whole dimpled smile, twinkling eyes thing going on for him. We all had a special bond, but there was something about the group of oldest children that was always a little more connected. Me, Nate, Wyatt, Gabriel, and the twins were all born really close to each other, like within weeks of each other. And they were all like siblings to me growing up. Except for Wyatt. He was better than the best friend I could ever ask for.

See, Cassie was my best friend; she was the one person who helped me to feel normal. We could talk about watching that vampire show that we both secretly loved and we could walk along the beach and have fun. Cass was my normal.

And then there's Wyatt. Wyatt was the guy that hyped me up when I discovered new things about myself. He stood on the sidelines while I trained with my uncles. He…gave me little butterflies in my stomach, but we always kind of agreed that it wasn't in the cards for us. We never wanted things to be complicated; it was already complicated with me just existing. So, we were just friends. Yup, just friends. "You wanna get your butt off of my counter?" I asked him, poking his leg.

"When are these new people supposed to be showing up?" he ignored me, grabbing a large fistful of popcorn. "Who are they again?"

"Travis and Reese," I answered. "They should be here any minute."

"What do we even know about them?" Nate asked, his face stern. Wyatt chimed with a full-mouthed 'yeah, what he said.'

"We know that they came here for refuge and the least we can do is make them feel welcome," I scolded them both. "I have a good feeling about this, guys."

Cass snorted a little under her breath, "Only because Hadley thinks Travis is cute."

Wyatt looked at me, a little amused. "Is that right?" He licked his lips, the dimple in his right cheek poking a little.

I shrugged sheepishly before grabbing the popcorn bowl and candy bags and walking out to the backyard, Cassie following behind me. We had set up the projector and sheet against the side of the house. Part of me really wanted to pull out all the stops for them because I really wanted them to feel at home. It didn't matter if I thought Travis was cute or not; it wasn't about that. I could hear the boys still arguing over which movie inside. "Guys, come on!" I called. "Just pick one!"

From the other side of the house, I heard hushed tones bickering back and forth. There was a slight pull in my chest as the whispers grew louder. "I don't care if you don't like it. We're here to stay," one voice said.

"Trav, they're too happy. It's fucking weird," the other voice said.

"Can you just try for me, please? We have to make this work."

"Fine…whatever…"

The doorbell rang a second later. Nate, being the big brother that he is, answered the door to welcome Travis and Reese inside. As he showed them around the house, I tried to shake the nerves of hosting new people into our traditions. Reese was so tough to crack; I didn't want to make her uncomfortable, but I also didn't want to exclude her.

As I laid out more blankets, Cass nudged me, "Is it going to be weird with Wyatt and Travis here?"

"Why would it be weird?" I asked.

"New cute guy meets Rez cute guy," she pointed out. "I know you and Wyatt decided to be just friends, but—"

"But nothing," I interrupted her. "And keep your voice down. You know all supers have good hearing."

Cass covered her mouth with a small gasp as the backdoor opened and the boys started pouring out of the house. All of the boys were crowding Travis asking him questions about where he's from and what he is. Cass and I turned to watch Travis as he chuckled uncomfortably as he tried to brush off their questions. God, it was so embarrassing. It was like they had never been around people before.

A few paces behind was Reese, looking completely uninterested in being here. She glanced around at the yard lights, blankets, beanbags, the picnic table covered in food, and she winced a little. "Oh my god…" I heard Cass beside me. When I looked at her, she was staring at Reese, unblinking and pale-faced. "Oh my god," she repeated before she grabbed the sleeve of my shirt. Reese glanced up at Cass and I saw her eyes squint in intrigue.

"What?" I said. Cass abruptly yanked her whole body until she was facing me. She ducked her head until her hair was covering her face. She just kept repeating 'oh my god' over and over again. "What is the problem, Cassie?"

In the lowest voice she could muster, she clung to my shirt and said, "She might be the prettiest girl I've ever seen, holy shit."

"Why are you getting so flustered?" I asked, puzzled and tickled.

Cass started to fuss with herself, pulling at her dress and smoothing down her hair. "Do I look ok?" she asked. "Is she looking over here? Don't look at her!" she snapped when I started to turn my head.

"Cassie, chill," I chuckled. "Just relax."

"I…" she started, looking at Reese again, who was starting to make her way over to us with Travis, who had managed to escape the peppering questions of the boys. "Oh my god."

Travis offered a friendly smile as they crossed the backyard. "This all looks really cool. Thanks for the invite," he said in his Southern drawl.

"Yeah, thanks, princess," Reese said sarcastically. Travis nudged her. "I mean, thank you. It means…so much to both of us."

I ignored the sting of her little quip as I gestured to Cass. "This is my best friend, Cassie. Cass, this is Reese and you met Travis on the cliffs, of course."

"H-Hi," Cass choked out before clearing her throat. Reese eyed her up and down slowly, carefully, before smirking and waving. "It-It's nice to meet you."

"So, you guys do stuff like this often?" Travis asked.

"Every chance we get," I answered.

"Yeah," Cass agreed, finally getting her bearings. "Tradition is pretty big around here. We spend a lot of time together because we never really know when things could change."

I nodded, "Family is everything to us."

Reese let out a little laugh, "This place is like a regular Disney movie. I'm just waiting for someone to break out in song."

"That usually happens in the middle of the movie," I joked. Reese, to my surprise, cracked a small smile before settling back into her usual pout. Travis chuckled a little. "Um, anyway, there are snacks and everything you need. Cass, do you want to take Reese to get something to drink?"

I felt Cass glare at me before straining out a 'sure' and leading Reese to the coolers. I shot her a thumbs up right as she flipped me the bird. Cass was usually really shy; sometimes, she just needed that extra push in the right direction. When she got comfortable, she was the most fun person I'd ever known. But, around girls she liked, she went back into her shell in a snap.

I turned back to Travis with a smile. "How did house hunting go today?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Pretty good. I think we found something we like. The one just off the main road near the tree line? Matt just feels bad that we don't have that much money to offer up front."

Matt? If I ever called my dad Jacob, his head would explode. "I wouldn't worry about that," I told him. "Like my mom and dad said, your safety is the priority."

The loud Warner Bros intro blasted through the speakers. Jace and Alex high fived as they figured out the projector. The creepy music escalated as the lines of green text streamed down. The Matrix. Another crowd favorite. Nate and Wyatt waved me over from the other side of the backyard. I nodded before turning back to my present company. I gestured to the entire backyard, "Just make yourself comfortable," I told Travis.

I started to turn when he caught my hand, the same surge of energy rushing over me again, "Well, where do you sit?"

That's how I ended up sitting between Travis and Wyatt as the sun was setting. Wyatt was leaning toward me in his beanbag, his familiar scent present and kind of distracting. His arm crossed my body, reaching for the sour patch kid bag in my lap. Cass and Reese were in front of us, comfortably sitting close, but not too close. Every time one of them shifted, their shoulders would brush. Travis had his legs kicked up on the back of Reese's chair and his hands folded behind his head.

Sometimes, it was hard to actually relax. Everything sounded like something. The snap of a twig or the rustle of the leaves. It had been over a year since the last vampire tried to come after me; the pack always handles them quickly, but I worry about the day there will be too many of them to fend off.

Like clockwork, as soon as the fight scene started, August and Gabriel started wrestling in front of the projector. Gabriel laughed as he held August in a chokehold, their shadows almost completely covering the screen. "Guys, knock it off!" Cass called.

Can't we just have one normal movie night? I heard in passing as the rest of the younger boys started to cheer on August and Gabriel's antics. It took me a second to realize that I didn't hear it with my ears; I heard it in my head. Who was that? Before I had a chance to figure that out, Wyatt and Nate hopped up to break up the fight. Nate shook his head as he grabbed Gabriel by the shirt with ease and held him at a distance. Wyatt took a second or two longer to get August in a standing position, dodging Aug's attempts at tackling Wyatt next.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Reese lean over to whisper something in Cassie's ear and watched Cassie's entire body tense up. She nodded her head before turning to Reese and smiling bright. I watched Reese bit her bottom lip as she looked at my best friend.

"Looks like they're hittin' it off," Travis said lowly in my ear. When I turned to respond to him, his face was so close to mine, my breath hitched. His brown eyes were so dark and so deep. He was so close to me I could smell the chocolate on his breath. Normally, I didn't like people being close to me; I felt like I couldn't defend myself. But, right then, I couldn't get a grip of myself. My entire body was flooded with warmth as he beamed at me. "It's hard for someone to keep Reese's attention like that."

"Cassie's special," I managed to say. "Sweetest girl I know."

The corners of his mouth twitched up before he leaned away from me. "Where's the restroom?"

I stared at him for a second, still reeling. Then I snapped out of it. "Uh, up the stairs, first door on the right."

When he got up, I felt like kicking myself in the ass. He probably thought I was an idiot. Every time he looked at me, it felt like he was looking through me. I felt tongue tied. I felt my stomach do little flips. Beside me, I heard Wyatt flop onto his chair with a sigh. "I swear, it's like managing a bunch of Kindergarteners," he said, grabbing the candy from my lap altogether this time. "Where'd your boy go?"

"Come on, he's not my boy," I said.

"You two had a cute little moment just now—"

"Wyatt…" I warned.

"You should go talk to him," he bumped my shoulder. "You can put on that cute, Hadley charm that you have and make a new friend."

I contemplated it for a second. I was used to everyone knowing who I am; it had been a long time that I had to get to know someone. And I couldn't describe it, but there was something nagging at me. Something inside me was saying that Travis had something to do with this tugging in my chest.

When I headed into the house, I could hear Travis moving around upstairs. There were small murmurs, but I didn't think anything of it. I awkwardly lingered downstairs as I tried to gather my thoughts. The door to the bathroom creaked open, but Travis never came down the stairs. Instead, I heard his heavy footsteps wander around upstairs.

Mom and Dad liked to take Will and Melody out for ice cream and a movie when I wanted to hang out with my friends. Sometimes it felt like this house was a walking time capsule; every memory embedded into the walls, the floors, the fixtures. It felt strange having new people in my house, admittedly. I've grown up around the same mass of people my entire life. The last new person to step foot in here was probably a new baby or Grandpa Billy's girlfriend.

I went up the stairs, slowly and cautiously. My bedroom sat at the top of the stairs, the door ajar and my forgotten lamp still bright. There was a small clatter as something fell to the ground. "Oh shit…" I heard Travis's voice from the other side. "Hey Hadley…just knocking your shit over. Don't mind me…" He wasn't talking to me. He was…talking to himself? "God, you're an idiot."

He was just hanging out near my desk, holding a picture frame in his hands. He set it down abruptly and shook his head, turning toward the door. When he crashed into me, his eyes widened, and he grabbed my elbow with lightning speed to make sure I didn't fall. I gasped, but his valiant effort wasn't needed; I have great reflexes. Travis let go of my elbow, emphatically repeating 'sorry' over and over again as he took a step back. "Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah. I'm sorry," he cringed a little. "Curiosity just got the best of me."

I smiled at him, "You don't have to apologize." I moved around him to walk into my bedroom. I waved him back in the room and sat down on my bed. "I'm an open book. You can ask me anything."

Travis hesitated before stepping through the threshold. He looked around, taking it all in. Three of my walls were purple and the remaining one was covered floor to ceiling in pictures. Family portraits, selfies, weddings, meeting my newborn cousins. I understood how fortunate I was to be surrounded by family all the time and I always wanted to remind myself of that. "So, you grew up here?" he asked a little uncomfortably.

I nodded, "Born and raised in this house."

"Sounds lucky," he said as his mouth twitched upward a little. He picked up the picture frame he was looking at earlier again. Every year, my aunt, Bianca, insists that we take a new family picture. This year's was sitting in that frame; Melody was perched on my lap as we all sat on the front porch of the house. Mom sat on one side of me, pressing her cheek to mine. Dad and Will were sitting on the bottom stair, looking so similar it was almost spooky. "You're kind of living the perfect life."

I snorted a laugh, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he insisted. "Great family, close community, good friends."

"I've been blessed with amazing people, that's true," I shrugged. "Sometimes it feels like they all rally around me because we're never sure what tomorrow looks like. Especially for me."

"I didn't know being the Alphas' daughter had that much weight," he said with a sympathetic look in his eye.

I shrugged, "It's a little bit more complicated than that," I admitted. Then I waved my hand in dismissal of the subject. I patted the spot next to me on the bed. "Anyway, tell me about you. I want to know all about Travis Holt. Who is Travis?"

He sat down next to me with a sigh. "Calloway," he said.

"Huh?"

He chuckled, "Travis Calloway. Matt is my adopted guardian."

"You're an orphan?" I asked, my eyes widened. Then I smacked myself on the head. "Oh my god, that sounded so mean; I didn't mean it lik—."

"No, it's alright," Travis said, placing a hand in the crook of my elbow and bringing my hand away from my face. "But, to answer your question, yes, I'm an orphan. Reese too. We grew up together in the system."

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

His face settled into a somber expression; his eyes trained on the ground. "My family's from Georgia, way in the country. Not near no big city or anything like that. It was pretty secluded, so I'm used to being in the quiet, away from the people. It was kind of like here; we were really tight knit from what I can remember."

I nodded and waited for him to keep going.

"My parents were special," he smiled a little at the memory. "I was their only child, so they spoiled me to the heavens and back. At three years old, I knew everything to be perfect. And then one night, I just remember being yanked from my bed. My father covered me with a big blanket and rushed me out of the house. Our entire town was up in smoke; someone had gone around and set everything on fire. I remember sitting outside, wrapped in this Power Rangers blanket, and watching my father run back into the house for my mother. But it was too late…and he died trying to save her.

He blinked a couple of times, resisting the tears. "Reese was too young to remember all of that; she was only two. Someone had gone in to save her and her mom. Only a handful of people survived that night. I just remember the sirens and all of these big people coming to talk to us. And then we were in the back of someone's car…and then we were in an Atlanta orphanage. They say that Reese refused to be anywhere without me. A couple of people wanted to adopt her and she would scream her head off until I was back in the room with her. But…no one wants to adopt a poorly behaved two-year-old and three-year-old; that's too much.

"Then we just started bouncing from foster home to foster home. It could be grueling and awful some days, but we always took care of each other."

"It's good that you two had each other," I commented. "I can't imagine going through that alone."

"It wasn't all bad," he said, making his tone light. "Some of our foster families didn't really care about what we did, so some nights we would just sit outside and count the stars, as far as we could see. One of our foster moms even let us have a cat."

"We used to have a cat too," I said, perking up. "She was a little black cat."

"Ours too," he grinned. "Charm was the sweetest, but we had to leave her when we moved houses again."

"So how did you meet Matthew?" I asked. "How are all three of you shape shifters if you're not blood?"

Travis blew out a breath, "You ask the hard questions, don't you?" he chuckled, easy. "Matt was one of the police officers there that night. He had always been there to keep Reese out of trouble, no matter where we were. It always seemed like he knew us better than we knew him, though; it was strange. Then, when I was 14, my foster father came home sloppy drunk one night. Anna, my foster mother, was one of the kindest women I'd ever met and she never deserved what he put her through. When he tried to put his hands on her, I lost my temper and it felt like something snapped inside me.

"I blacked out and, when I came to, Steven was gone, Anna and her son were leaving town, and Matthew was standing over top of me, pinning me to the ground. I still don't know what happened that night. Matt never told me, and I never wanted to know. But, by then, Reese was on her second strike and I was desperate for a new situation. So, he adopted both of us and we moved to Memphis."

Wow…I would have never imagined that kind of story from the kindness I see in his eyes. His openness to meeting new people and finding yet another new home. Reese had the right idea to be jaded. I can't say that I would be any different if I was in her shoes. She's been ripped from her home with no memories to hold onto and then forced into situation after situation where she could never really feel at peace. "Is he good to you guys?" I asked.

Travis nodded, "He has his moments, but he always looks out for us."

"Did he make you guys shifters?"

He scrunched his nose as he thought about it, "It's a little more complicated than that."

"Can I ask how?"

"I'll tell you if we stay long enough," he winked at me.

I bit my lip to suppress my smile. "That's fair," I said. Boldly, I slid my hand on top of his, wanting to feel that rush of energy again. "Well…I'm happy you guys are here with us. I hope you get to stay."

He met my eye and held my gaze for a second. "Me too," he replied.

"Travis!" Reese's voice carried through the whole house. "Let's go!"

Neither of us made a move to stand up. Whatever force was keeping us there, it was strong. I welcomed the energy he was giving me without question. Deep in his eyes, I thought I could see a twinge of confusion. Wonderment of what was happening every time we touched.

"Trav, come on!" Reese called again.

Travis was the first to move. He stood up swiftly, scratching the back of his neck. "Um," he cleared his throat, "I should get going."

I nodded, my face flushing in embarrassment. "I'll walk you downstairs."

Cass and Reese were standing at the bottom of the stairs, talking amongst themselves. Cass looked flustered, but content. Reese raised an eyebrow at her brother, folding her arms over her chest. "It's about time," she commented, lightly. "I thought you ran off with the little mermaid here."

"The little mermaid? Really, Reesie?" Travis rolled his eyes.

"What?" she shrugged as she laughed. "Isn't she Ariel though? Her dad is the king of this place or whatever."

"I'm the daughter of the chief," I corrected, playfully. "Although, he does like to think he's king sometimes…"

"Oh, ok, Moana," Reese cracked, smirking. "I was just inviting Cassidy here out to a party this guy in Forks told me about next weekend, if you want to come too. It should be fun."

"Wait," Travis said before I had a chance to answer. "We've been with you the whole time. How did you manage to meet someone?"

"I work fast," Reese quipped. I noticed her flipping that lighter between her fingers again. "Well?"

I wasn't much of a party person. Cass was looking at me, silently begging me to say yes. She knew that if I said I was going, Bebe and Embry would say that she could go. I had only been to one party before and it ended up getting broken up by Charlie, my grandmother's boyfriend and the Forks police chief, about 45 minutes after I got there. I didn't love it. Drunk teenagers tripping over themselves and trying to dry hump each other under the guise of dancing. I don't know…I didn't love the idea. But standing there with Cass, I could see how badly she wanted me to agree to it. So that's what I did…for Cassie. "Sure, that sounds like fun," I said, plastering a fake smile on my face.

Reese watched my eyes for a second, searching for any type of hesitancy. When she didn't see one, she nodded before taking her pack of cigarettes out of her pocket. "See you then," she smirked before heading to the door.

Cass mouthed 'thank you' before following closely behind Reese. Travis turned on his heel, facing me. "You don't have to do that, you know?" he said. "Reese can be a little intimidating."

"It'll be great," I reassured him. "Will you go?"

He winced before looking at his shoes, "I don't know about that, Hadley."

"Well, think about it. You might be surprised."

He snorted, "With Reese, there's always a surprise." He looked back up at me and gave me a tight smile. "I should head out. I'll see you around though, right?"

"For sure," I nodded emphatically.

After he left, I wandered into the backyard to assess the damage. Wyatt and Nate were still around, tentatively cleaning up. Wyatt looked up right as I walked out of the backdoor, his face lighting up a little. "There she is," he grinned as he folded another blanket. "How'd it go?"

I shrugged, dropping into a beanbag. "It was fine," I tried to brush it off.

I don't trust that guy, I heard quietly. "Don't you think you should get to know him a little bit more before you're hanging out alone with him," Nate advised.

I narrowed my eyes at Nate. Am I hearing Nate's thoughts? "Well, how else am I supposed to get to know him?" I asked, cautiously. "It's not a big deal."

Great, another mess I'll have to get Hadley out of…the thought came in a little louder and a little clearer. "You just need to be careful, Lee."

I gasped quietly. I stood up and crossed the yard, eyes trained on Nate. "Why exactly do I have to be careful, Nate?"

"Because I don't trust that guy," he said, completely repeating his thoughts.

"You're being a little harsh, bro. You don't know him," Wyatt argued.

"Neither does she," Nate refuted.

I moved until I was really close to Nate. His body was radiating warmth, something all too familiar to me. What is she doing? He thought, eyeing me strangely. I grabbed his arm, feeling the searing heat that his skin was producing. I ripped my hand away from him, taking a step back. "What's your problem?" he asked, clearly confused and irritated.

"Nate…" I started carefully, "are you feeling alright?"

XXXXXXXXX

I promise I didn't forget about this! I started my dream job and it's been a whirlwind!