I wake to the sound of gentle rain along tapping on the window. Outside, a dense fog blankets Manhattan, and the vibe of the day is dreary and a little unsettling. Deep down in the confines of my underwear drawer is the book, and every once in a while it creates a vibration that makes my whole room shake. No one has noticed, but me.

The day I returned to the store Silas made sure not to mention the backroom and kept me on my usual daily routine. He's been a little quiet since the events that went down that day, but has been treating things as if that day had never happened. I don't dare ask about the buzzing noise coming from the room, or about Rowan. We work and go home and that's the end of it.

Two long drawn out weeks have passed. I've had Rowan, the book, and the visions on my mind. I try not to let his absence bother me, but I won't lie, the disappointment is real. On top of the fact that I haven't heard from him, Hailey's been a bit weird and distant since the break-in. Joe could only spend so many nights here before having to return to his own apartment on the other side of the city. She's been staying in my room and dealing with all of my tossing, turning and nightmares. That's what I call them now, not visions or dreams; nightmares.

I try to ignore the fact that the book is knocking on the wooden draws only a few feet away from me. I don't feel ready to read it, and sometimes I swear I hear it whispering the tales inside. It speaks of a land of magic and winged creatures who rule that land. Maybe one day I'll be ready, but that day is not today.

I lift my shirt as I stand in front of the freestanding mirror. I stare at the small rose painted in the top right corner of the mirror until I'm ready to look. The skin just above my right hip has been changing more each day. If I wasn't aware of the strange things happening I would have made an appointment with a dermatologist to find out what's wrong. Only, I don't think they'd be able to tell me, because humans don't grow scales.

A knock at my bedroom door startles me, I pull my shirt down quickly. Joe peaks his head in. Confused, I wave for him to come in.

"What are you doing here so early?" I ask.

"Hales left early wanted me to walk you to work. I don't have to be in until ten today," he says.

I sigh, there is something more going on with that girl then just being afraid of a break in. This is the third day this week she's sent Joe over to walk with me to work. I keep telling her I don't need an escort to work, but she insists. I sigh.

"Has she said anything to you?" I ask.

Joe shrugs, "Not much."

"Okay, I'll be out in a minute."

He nods and leaves me to get dressed. I lock the door even though I know Joe won't just come barging in. The book drums louder in my drawer and I can feel the vibrations like a tiny earthquake. I lift my white t-shirt and now that I'm alone I stand there staring at the patch of black scales. My fingers run over its dry surface, and my stomach feels sick. On top of all the crazy changes food just doesn't have it's same appeal either. In the two weeks I've lost a total of five pounds, it's not a lot but it was enough for Hales to question me.

I quickly put my white cashmere sweater on, covering the scales. I lift my arms to make sure that it doesn't ride up enough for the skin to show. Satisfied with that, I pull on some blue skinny jeans and my brown knee high boots to combat the rainy city and my brown leather jacket to match. In the living room Joe is waiting on the couch with his feet propped up on the old wooden Ikea coffee table. His head spins and he looks up with a smile.

"I know I look horrible," I say.

"Girl, I wasn't gonna say that. In my eyes your beautiful as you always were," he says

I give a tiny smile, but know he's just trying to be a good friend. He stands and holds out his arm for me. He's the sweetest guy I know and if he wasn't all for boys, I would totally think about dating him. He's got everything a girl could want in a guy including knowing how to make them feel loved and well protected.

With the misty rain Joe and I decide the subway is our best route. Joe babbles on about his job and how he got to sing on stage to fill in for someone during practice. He says he was just in the right place at the right time. That saying irks me. As much as I enjoyed kissing Rowan, and I'd like for it to have been the right place and time, but as time goes on I highly doubt any of it was right.

We arrive at the shop and he's kind enough to walk me inside. Silas looks up from his book, as he's in the same spot he always is.

"Good morning Seraphine. Joseph. You're not working today, are you?" he asks.

"Nope just walking my girl to work."

Joe smiles and throws an arm over my shoulder. I met Joe well before I met Hailey. He saved me from having to sit in the bathroom to eat lunch on my first day of school. I had just come from foster family number three and was still having nightmares from the things I'd seen there. He slipped onto the lunch line next to me and just started talking. We've been friends ever since.

"Thank you, I'm here and safe. You can text Hales to let her know," I say.

"Awesome, because if I don't jet I'll be late for work."

"Bye darling," he says, kissing me lightly on the cheek. "Good day Silas," he says practically bowing.

I snicker at Joe, he really is a character, I'm actually surprised he hasn't been on Broadway yet.

It's quiet after Joe leaves, Silas retreats to the back and I start putting away some used books that came in yesterday. An hour into my shift Silas returns to tell me he's going out to run some errands. He gives me a complete list of tasks and tells me to try and complete them by the end of my shift.

The store is quiet and for the first time since working here. I hate it, I can hear the books buzzing from the back room. I used to just hear a hum, and it was comforting before all of this. Lately though, I'm terrified. Terrified that something is about to happen and there's nothing I can do to stop it.

I'm sitting on the floor knee deep in smutty cowboy romance novels when the back door opens. I freeze, no one should be in here except me. Silas still hasn't returned and he said nothing about a customer in the back room.

I stop what I'm doing and get to my feet. A strange low growl comes from somewhere deep within me. I try to ignore it. I grab one of the hard covered books, a shirtless man stares at me from the cover. I flip it over and tip toe towards the back of the store. I find it strange even though the backdoor opened I haven't heard any footsteps. I creep around each row of books like I'm James Bond attempting to make a sneak attack.

I manage to get to the second to last row just before the backroom. A dark figure is crouched down in front of a shelf in the back corner. I slowly inch forward as my heart races and my body warms up. The scales on my side itch and burn like crazy, I want to cry out in pain, but I know I can't. With each grueling step my body heats up. It hurts so bad, but I hide my pain. I begin to lift the heavy book up over my head. A strange puff of smoke shoots from my mouth and I gasp loudly. The figure turns around just as I lift the book to knock them out. My heart nearly stops when I see who it is.

"Woah there killer. Were you just gonna knock me out with...," Rowan tilts his head to read the cover, "Call of The Wild: Romance on The Ranch?"

He gives a quick smirk. I'd smile back if I wasn't so damn shocked from everything that's happened. My mouth continues to burn, and I'm afraid to speak in fear that more smoke will come from my mouth. The books continue to call for me.

"What," my voice is hoarse. "What are you doing here?" I ask clearing my throat. "Silas didn't say you were here."

"I came in through the back," he says.

I pause, no one comes through that back door without a key. A key that not even I have access to, nor have I ever seen. Silas has his secrets, and I was always perfectly fine with that. I was even okay with the back room and the light hums it gave off, but now the more time that passes the louder the room gets, and the more terrified I become. I'm wary, to trust this man standing before me. A man who claims to be interested in me, but disappears for two weeks after asking for my number.

"The back?" I find my voice again.

"Mmm, that's what I said."

My eyes shoot to his lips, oh - those lips. Get a hold of yourself, Seraphine. I shake my head and stare over at the door to the room, it's been left slightly ajar, it's no wonder the sounds are more vibrant than before. A tiny speck of light peeks out leaving a rainbow of colors on the soft wooden floor.

A calloused finger carefully grabs hold of my chin and lifts it. I find it hard to swallow as my eyes settle back on his lips. The itching on my side subsides, and I find myself lifting my shirt ever so slightly to feel it. I gasp when it seems to have magically vanished off my body. My mouth cools as he leans forward. His lips graze mine. I attempt to hold back afraid of it all coming rushing back again. Before I have the chance to protest his lips are on mine and my hands are in his hair.

I search for air as the world vanishes around me, including Rowan. I'm pulled right into the dark world. The orange glow from my dream returns, I can see it just over a mountain. It's not defined, but looks almost like a shadow, like the curves are colored in with black paint. Nothing is in focus yet, and the vision doesn't feel real.

My stomach drops as I'm lifted off the ground, sounds of wings flapping flutter in my ear. I'm flying, and as I do the world starts to come to life, only everything in the land is dead. Brown grass, those stupid trees, and the only color is the orange over the curvy mountains. I'm flying towards them, feeling the air rush through my hair and body. Only, I don't think it's my body, or is it? The scaly skin is over my arms, legs, and hands - my hands are no longer. The talons and paws have returned.

Serapine. Whispers. I turn my head. Seraphine. To the left. Seraphine. To the right. Seraphine. I'm so close to the burning orange, it's so close I almost think I can touch it when suddenly I drop. My heart feels like it's falling into my stomach, as I spin out of control. My eyes roll back into my head as I plummet to the ground.

Screaming, someone is screaming.

"Seraphine."

Warmth fills my body from the sound of his voice. I'm being pulled back, but I don't want to be. I want to know what this place is. The book, I've got to read that book. Finally, I allow myself to be pulled back out and back into reality. The store is quiet, and his lips are still on mine. I pull him in closer wanting more, when the front door chimes.

"Seraphine?" Silas calls.

Rowan and I back away from each other as if we were two teeangers being caught by our parents. I jump to my feet just as Silas comes around the corner. I face the direction he's coming from, turning my back on Rowan.

"There you are," he says.

He walks forward towards me, I expect him to say something to Rowan behind me, only when I turn he's not there and it's almost like he never was.