Kimi stands up from the table and walks over to the built-in bookcase, where she grabs a white pebble the size of a grape. She sets it down on the table between us with a thud. “What do you see?”

“A rock,” says Marcel.

I’ve played this game with Kimi many times. She’s trying to teach us something, so I pick it up. “It’s white quartz that has been smoothed out by being scraped against sand. It probably spent years in the ocean for that to happen.”

“Very good, Tallulah.” Kimi looks at Marcel. “Do you know what white quartz looks like before it’s been smoothed out?”

He shrugs, and I say, “It’s rough. Jagged.”

“Yes. Now how are the two versions of quartz the same?”

Marcel says, “They’re hard. Strong.” A smile forms on his face. “Resilient against the forces of nature.”

“Or stubborn,” I say. Kimi raises her eyebrows at me, and I offer a positive spin, “They’re not easy to break.”

Kimi stands and picks up the pebble to hand it to Marcel. “There’s your answer.” She walks over and grabs a basket from one of the shelves. “I think a ripe tomato for dinner would hit the spot.”

As she heads for the door, Marcel says, “Wait. What does that mean?”

I say, “Don’t bother. She won’t tell you.”

Kimi walks out as if she didn’t hear us.

“Really?” Marcel lets out a sigh. “Okay. So resilient against the forces of nature, and can’t break. Are we supposed to force our kids not to shift?”

“I’m not sure. She wanted us to consider the condition of the rock before and after. So what if that refers to the fact that, right now, our children shifting is the rough version of quartz?”

“And the smooth version is what they’ll be over time? No. I don’t think that’s it,” says Marcel. “Our kids shift like the smooth version of the rock. I know some adults who wish it were so easy.”

“So they aren’t fighting what nature intended for them.” I frown as I consider that the fact werebear children don’t shift until they’re older might be a form of adaptation to survive. Shifting as small children is probably what is genetically natural. I smile as Kimi’s message comes to me. “That’s it, Marcel. She’s telling us not to fight this. That we’re strong enough to handle it.”

“You mean just let Adam and Ava shift whenever they want?”

“No. That doesn’t make sense, because we both know we can’t let that happen for the safety of the clan.” I shake my head as I try to sort out what the message really means. “I think Kimi’s telling us we need to accept what’s happening, and whatever we do, all of us are strong and are going to be fine. But that doesn’t really solve our problem, does it?”

Marcel groans. “You witches are so damn confusing. I think maybe Kimi doesn’t really have an answer and she’s buying time until she figures out what we can do.”

“No.” I shake my head. “She really is trying to tell us something. I’m sure of it.”

“You know,” he says, “werebear just put it all out there.” Marcel smacks his fist into his palm. “And if we don’t have an answer, then we figure it out with a little physical exertion.”

I chuckle as I think about all the werebear I’ve helped with their problems and the fact Marcel is right. The door creaks open, and Kimi comes in with a basket full of tomatoes, onions, and greens. “It’s a good night for burgers on the grill. Will you two stay for dinner?”

Marcel glances at me, and I nod. Like him, I’m not satisfied with what Kimi’s given us so far. And I think we need more time for her to open up.

He says, “We’d love to.”

“Wonderful!” Kimi opens up her fridge and then turns to us with a frown. “I’m going to need a few things from the grocery store.”

“Of course,” says my husband as he gets up, and the truck keys jingle when he pulls them out of his pocket. “What do you need?”

“Hamburger, rolls, those little fried potatoes you put in the oven. I suppose you might like beer and—” Kimi scrunches up her face for a moment as I try to hold back my snicker. “Ice cream.”

Marcel chuckles at the way Kimi asked him to buy dinner. He says, “I’ll be right back.”

Once he leaves, I go stand beside Kimi as she washes our mugs, and I grab a towel to dry them. I say, “I’ve missed you. I’m sorry I’ve stayed away.”

She looks at me and places her hand on her heart. “You were never gone, Tallulah.” She takes a cup out of my hand and moves to put it back in the cabinet.

I say, “Marcel wants us to keep the children away from serious magic until they’re old enough to understand it.”

“You agreed?”

“Yes. I did. We both thought it made sense since I became kind of infamous for a while. But that was before they shifted. Now I wish I hadn’t because how am I supposed to keep them safe from the human world?”

Kimi doesn’t speak as she takes the towel from me. She folds it slowly before she walks over to the table and picks up the rock. The skin on her fingers is papery smooth as she takes my hand and places the rock in my palm. She gazes intently into my eyes as she curls my fingers around the pebble. “The children are not the problem. Having them was your solution.”

The stone is cool in my hand, and I open up my fingers to gaze down at it. I’m even more confused now, and I let out a sigh. “Kimi, I haven’t got a clue what you’re trying to tell me.”

“You want to buy a vowel?” She cackles, and I recall how she likes to watch Wheel of Fortune.

“I want to buy the whole alphabet.”

She pushes the tin of cookies at me, and I take one as she goes to her living room. She returns with a framed picture of Marcel and me on our wedding day. She hands it to me and says, “Be that woman again, Tallulah. You trusted in your love, and you were right to do so.”

I stare at the picture and think about how happy we were when it was taken. I didn’t have any worries about my future because I was sure Marcel and I were meant to be together no matter how untraditional it seemed.

Kimi says, “I was the one who was wrong.”

I look at her. “Wait.” If she was wrong, she must be talking about me marrying Marcel. So if I was right to trust in our love, the way Jean Luc did, then does that mean I’m too worried about the alpha’s reaction to my children shifting? I smile. Jean Luc is the kind of leader who will find a way to accommodate for our children’s difference and do what’s necessary to keep us all safe. I say, “My kids are going to be fine.”

Kimi nods. “You are the problem.”