I woke to warmth.

That was the first thing I registered — a deep, bone-melting warmth that wrapped around me like a blanket. My mind was foggy, slow, still half-caught in a dream of straw and soft clucking sounds. For a moment I didn't know where I was. I didn't know who I was.

Then it hit me. The alley. The egg. I fell asleep in the alley.

I gasped and tried to sit up, but my body wouldn't cooperate right away. Everything felt different. Heavier. Lighter. Both at once. I blinked against the morning light filtering through the gap between buildings, and slowly, groggily, I looked down at myself.

I was naked. Of course I was naked — I'd pulled my jeans off to lay the egg. But that wasn't what made my breath catch.

Feathers.

White feathers, covering my body like a second skin. They ran down my arms, across my chest, over my stomach, thick and soft and impossibly real. When I twisted to look behind me, my tail feathers fanned out — a full, glorious spread of white plumage, each one tipped in glossy black.

I stared at myself. At the way the morning light caught the feathers, making them shimmer. At the way they moved when I breathed, rippling like water.

I'm beautiful.

The thought slid into my head like honey, warm and certain. I was beautiful. This was what I was meant to be. And Ms. Gibson — Brooke — she would see me like this and she would want me. She would take me right there, her eyes dark with hunger, and she would—

I gasped, my hands flying to my face.

What the hell am I thinking?

Horror crashed over me like ice water. I was lying in a filthy alley, covered in feathers, and for one horrible, blissful moment I'd been proud of it. I'd wanted her to see me like this. I'd wanted—

I shook my head violently, feathers rustling. No. No, no, no. This isn't me. This isn't what I want.

Someone could have seen me. Someone could have walked past this alley while I was sleeping, naked and feathered and curled around an egg like some kind of barnyard animal. My heart slammed against my ribs. I needed to get out of here. I needed to get to the lab. I needed—

My phone buzzed.

I jumped, then …