basis to clean. Floor to ceiling windows lined one wall with patio doors leading to a large balcony, overlooking the city. Hard, black leather furniture formed a semi-circle around a ginormous flat screen TV hung over a gas fireplace.
A solitary, silver framed picture sat on one of the side tables. Riley picked it up, and ran her fingers over the cold glass. The photo was a candid shot of an attractive dark-haired woman, holding two young boys. The youngest was obviously Turner, his big, silvery blue eyes looked up at the woman with the adoration only a child has for a parent.
"Chase has the same picture in his wallet," Lora said, startling Riley. "I think it's one of the only photos they have of her."
"What happened to her?" Riley placed the photo back on the table.
"No one knows for sure, but it's thought she may have been abducted." Lora sat on one of the oversized loveseats and curled her legs under her. "That's what Turner believes anyway."
"Abducted?" She looked back at the photo. The woman shared the same features as Turner and Chase, but there was something hard around her eyes, something that made the hairs on the back of Riley's neck stand on end.
"Chase isn't as sure. He was just a kid when she went missing, but there were things leading up to her disappearance that didn't make sense." Lora shrugged and pulled a pillow to her chest. "Either way, it destroyed their family. Their dad starting drinking soon after. Eventually killed himself, years later."
"That's terrible." She knew what it meant to lose a parent, to lose both.
"They were mates." Lora tilted her head and watched her. "I don't know if you understand what that means, but for a metamorph, we mate for life. To lose a mate is like losing a piece of yourself. It breaks you."
"So what happened to them?"
"Chase had graduated from high school by the time their father died, so he was granted custody of Turner. My mom helped. They only lived a couple of blocks from us, so she brought them into our house whenever she could. It was hard on both of them, but I think Turner's had the most difficulty letting it go. He needed someone to blame, and when one couldn't be found…he created one."
"What do you mean?"
Lora shook her head and reached for the remote control. "I've probably said too much. You need to talk to him." She turned on the TV. "Want to watch a movie while we wait for the pizza?"
"I'm just going to wash up first."
Lora nodded and began flipping through the channels.
In the bathroom, Riley splashed cold water on her face. Everything was happening so quickly and her brain barely started to comprehend one thing before she was slammed with another. Marcus was dead, Kiera was a lion, and her father had apparently been a sociopathic killer.
She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and let out a rough sigh. Her face was pale, and there were dark smudges under her eyes. Nothing seemed right. Everything was topsy-turvy. She felt like Alice through the looking glass, except Alice's life made more sense.
Straightening her shoulders, she opened the door, and started down the hall. A noise, the beeping of a fax machine, drew her attention to a door that was slightly ajar. Moonlight filtered in, casting shadows across a large mahogany desk, but it was the white board, and the multiple photos that lined it, that made her stop cold.
She closed her eyes tight, feeling the world shift around her. This wasn't happening. She opened her eyes, hoping her mind had been playing tricks on her, but when she switched on the office lights, there was no mistaking the images plastered across the board.
"Riley, you okay?" Lora called out from the other room.
"Yes," her voice was a croak. She stumbled towards the board. "Fine."
A large black and white photo of her and Kiera, taken only a couple of weeks before, was placed in the center of the board. There were multiple pictures of her, some were recent, others had been taken at least three years prior. There
A solitary, silver framed picture sat on one of the side tables. Riley picked it up, and ran her fingers over the cold glass. The photo was a candid shot of an attractive dark-haired woman, holding two young boys. The youngest was obviously Turner, his big, silvery blue eyes looked up at the woman with the adoration only a child has for a parent.
"Chase has the same picture in his wallet," Lora said, startling Riley. "I think it's one of the only photos they have of her."
"What happened to her?" Riley placed the photo back on the table.
"No one knows for sure, but it's thought she may have been abducted." Lora sat on one of the oversized loveseats and curled her legs under her. "That's what Turner believes anyway."
"Abducted?" She looked back at the photo. The woman shared the same features as Turner and Chase, but there was something hard around her eyes, something that made the hairs on the back of Riley's neck stand on end.
"Chase isn't as sure. He was just a kid when she went missing, but there were things leading up to her disappearance that didn't make sense." Lora shrugged and pulled a pillow to her chest. "Either way, it destroyed their family. Their dad starting drinking soon after. Eventually killed himself, years later."
"That's terrible." She knew what it meant to lose a parent, to lose both.
"They were mates." Lora tilted her head and watched her. "I don't know if you understand what that means, but for a metamorph, we mate for life. To lose a mate is like losing a piece of yourself. It breaks you."
"So what happened to them?"
"Chase had graduated from high school by the time their father died, so he was granted custody of Turner. My mom helped. They only lived a couple of blocks from us, so she brought them into our house whenever she could. It was hard on both of them, but I think Turner's had the most difficulty letting it go. He needed someone to blame, and when one couldn't be found…he created one."
"What do you mean?"
Lora shook her head and reached for the remote control. "I've probably said too much. You need to talk to him." She turned on the TV. "Want to watch a movie while we wait for the pizza?"
"I'm just going to wash up first."
Lora nodded and began flipping through the channels.
In the bathroom, Riley splashed cold water on her face. Everything was happening so quickly and her brain barely started to comprehend one thing before she was slammed with another. Marcus was dead, Kiera was a lion, and her father had apparently been a sociopathic killer.
She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and let out a rough sigh. Her face was pale, and there were dark smudges under her eyes. Nothing seemed right. Everything was topsy-turvy. She felt like Alice through the looking glass, except Alice's life made more sense.
Straightening her shoulders, she opened the door, and started down the hall. A noise, the beeping of a fax machine, drew her attention to a door that was slightly ajar. Moonlight filtered in, casting shadows across a large mahogany desk, but it was the white board, and the multiple photos that lined it, that made her stop cold.
She closed her eyes tight, feeling the world shift around her. This wasn't happening. She opened her eyes, hoping her mind had been playing tricks on her, but when she switched on the office lights, there was no mistaking the images plastered across the board.
"Riley, you okay?" Lora called out from the other room.
"Yes," her voice was a croak. She stumbled towards the board. "Fine."
A large black and white photo of her and Kiera, taken only a couple of weeks before, was placed in the center of the board. There were multiple pictures of her, some were recent, others had been taken at least three years prior. There
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