Pandora grabbed the shorter girl’s collar and jerked her up onto her toes. She held a crackling ball of witch fire in front of Dessa’s shocked face. “Who’s Frosty now?” she growled.

Someone wrapped a hand around her arm and she felt sparks that had nothing to do with the orb of energy she cupped in her palm. The hand pulled her back. She let go of Dessa, but didn’t extinguish the flames she held in her hand. “What are you doing here, weasel?”

The other girl raised her eyebrows and seemed highly offended. Cole quickly stepped in front of his soulmate. “I’m sorry for her rudeness,” he apologized. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

“No!” Pandora tried to get at Dessa but Cole restrained her. “She’s a spy, damn it!” Cole’s eyebrows came together as he eyed the short brunette who had just arrived. She didn’t seem very dangerous. Of course, that’s what made good spies. They were always not what they appeared to be.

“I assure you I’m not here to spy on you,” Dessa Veleur said smoothly. “In fact, it’s exactly the opposite.”

“What?” Pandora was confused. The last time she had encountered this girl she had gotten trapped in a lake under a thick layer of ice. It had been extremely cold, she remembered, shivering a bit. Granted, the ferret ‘shifter had left her a rope to climb out, but she had also written, “See you later, Frosty” in the condensation on the window of a nearby shed. The other Daybreakers on her team had called her Frosty for months. She heard Cole suppress a laugh and she knew he’d seen the memory through their soulmate link. She shot him a dirty look. “You see now?” she asked, trying to appeal to him. “She’s on the other side. She works for the Night World!” He still looked skeptical. She shoved him. “Go. Get Nilsson, or anybody you can find, for that matter. I’ll watch her.”

Dessa raised an eyebrow, an amused grin playing on her face. She stared at the girl in front of her, who was dressed in a tank top, a business-like knee-length skirt, and four-inch heels. “You?” she asked.

Enraged, Pandora turned back to her, her voice filled with deadly calm. “Yes,” she replied. “Me. What, you tryin’ to say I can’t take you on or something? Let’s go!” She took a step back and spread her arms wide. “You and me, right now. Let’s go.”

Rolling his eyes, Cole picked up his soulmate and threw her over his shoulder. She gave an indignant shriek and pounded his back, piling a thousand curses upon his head. He ignored her after hearing “May you rot in hell, you son of a—”

“Please excuse my soulmate’s behavior,” Cole told Dessa, who smirked. “I really don’t know who’s who around here, but I’m sure we can find someone who—” He was cut off when Pandora screamed, long and loud. Startled, he nearly dropped her. He started to tell her to shut up, but a man with a long, dark ponytail appeared from a hallway. His eyes widened when he saw Pandora flung over “Dylan Richards’” shoulder. He pulled a gun out of his suit jacket and aimed it at Cole.

“It’s got silver bullets,” he said calmly, as if he had stood pointing a gun at a shapeshifter before. Hell, he most likely had.

“No!” Pandora yelled. “Don’t shoot him. Shoot her!” She gestured frantically at Dessa. Nilsson looked confused, and glanced at the smiling brunette standing by the open front door.

“I’m here to join Circle Daybreak,” Dessa said. Her voice was normal, as if the boy in front of her didn’t have a screaming girl tossed over his shoulder and a gun pointed at him.

Nilsson put the gun away.

“Hey! What are you doing? I said, shoot ‘er!” Pandora pounded on Cole’s back in frustration.

“Hey, stop,” he said.

Nilsson shook his head. “What the hell is going on?” he asked.

Cole shrugged and almost dropped Pandora again. “Just put me down!” she hissed, and he placed her on her feet. As soon as she was on the floor he grasped her wrist in a firm hold, so she couldn’t try to rush Dessa again. She scowled at him. Nilsson walked over to the trio.

“State your business,” he told Dessa, suddenly professional.

Meeting his cool gaze, she held her head high. “I wish to speak with Thierry,” she said, her voice filled with dignity.

Eyeing her, Nilsson shook his head. “Lord Thierry is out of town on—” He faltered.
“—business.” Pandora snickered and he ignored her. “If you would like to make an appointment—”

“No.” Pandora broke out of Cole’s grip and walked over to Dessa. “I’ll take care of it, Nilsson, right now.”

Nilsson looked uncertain. “Miss Veleur,” he began, but she interrupted him.

“It’ll be alright,” she said. “Thierry left me in charge of dealing with ‘shifter representatives.” Shrugging, she continued. “She’s a shapeshifter. She’s representing herself. This is my job. Besides,” she gestured to the tall blue-eyed raven ‘shifter next to her. “Cole and I can handle her.”

“Who’s Cole?”

Biting her lip, Pandora pointed at her black-haired soulmate. “Him. He’s Cole.”

Eyes narrowed in suspicion, Nilsson said, “I thought he was Dylan Richards.”

Sighing, Pandora patted his shoulder. “I know you did, buddy. It’s a long story, believe me. I’ll explain later.” She grabbed Dessa’s wrist. The older girl tensed. Pandora tugged on her arm, leading her to the room she and Cole had been in. “Come on,” she told her. “You’d better have a damn good explanation for showing up here.” Cole followed them. The three shapeshifters entered the room and shut the door, leaving Nilsson by the open front door, a cool wind ruffling his hair.

He shook his head, and muttered, “Shapeshifters.” He closed the door and locked it, then returned to his room to finish watching what was left of “Sphere.” When he got there, the movie was almost over. Oh, well, he thought. Good thing HBO shows their movies over and over again for the whole month. He picked up the remote control and reclined in an armchair. He changed the channel, switching it to MTV’s Spring Break Special. It was something he eagerly awaited every year. He set down the remote and settled himself more comfortably in the chair to watch.