Everyone just stopped and stared at him. Clara was looking around for another lamp to throw at her boss's head, and Shamira's jaw was just hanging open.Shane was not done. "Shamira, I love you as much as the day I brought you over, and I will do everything in my power to make you better. I have not always handled you the way that I should have, and I will probably screw up again." People looked even more surprised, since a Lord publicly admitting an inadequacy violated certain social rules."You died protecting me, you risked your life protecting innocents from the Dark Pools, you risked my wrath again by breaking ranks and helping that were family, and then you rescued a young werebear from death with no regard for yourself. And this is in less than three months! Just once, you're going to have to let US look after YOU. With Kira's access to certain financial information and Pierre's hacking skills, we can cut off what little resources that Lacroix has left. If n

"That's the question, isn't it? But I've got to do something."Samantha hugged her sister. "You will." She was interrupted by a phone call from their parents, who was wondering when she'd be back. Seeing as Samantha had no real excuse for being gone all night, they both realized that she needed to go."I wish you hadn't had to see this," Shamira said as she escorted her sister back to the house. "And I know you don't want to hear this, but it might be good if you just called for a while. Things are getting kind of hairy right now --""I refuse to not be there for my sister!" Samantha said obstinately."Sam, you can't help me heal this. You can still be my moral support, and God knows I need it, but you can do that safely over the phone. Please, this is dangerous shit." As if to emphasize the point, she looked at her wheel chair."But --""I'm going to get back to work, and I can't be worried about you getting involved and leaving

--------- ------------------Back in Atlanta . . .--------- ------------------They crew had not had much success in divining Lacroix's (and by proxy Jonas's) plans, so Shamira and Bunny had hauled a load of prisoners back up to the house in Atlanta where the security team and the Representative's people took them into custody to "discuss" their wrongdoings. This time around, Shamira did not feel a great deal of sympathy for the captives, but Shane had still promised to be much easier on them than Daniel had been to her."Where IS Shane?" she muttered as the werelionesses Barbara and Kira . . . "Hey, your name is Kira!""So nice of you to notice," the supple blond noticed with a smirk."No . . . sorry, I mean . . . One of my donors is names Kira. I just . . . it's not THAT common of a name," she continued. "I'll stop talking now.""It's okay. We haven't really had much chance to spend time together since we got here. Th

Shamira had never been nowhere before. It was disconcerting to say the least. This was not "middle of nowhere" nowhere . . . that phrase was referring to places that actually existed on the edge of civilization. There was no civilization here. No earth, no sky, and not even air to breathe. Just a darkness so deep and vast and . . . comforting. How could nothing and nowhere be so familiar? She had no body to feel with or eyes to see, but she could apparently still hear."Welcome," came a deep voice from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "I have very much wanted to meet you."Shamira was not stupid. "Shadow Wing.""Yessssssssss," the voice came. The serpentine quality did not seem menacing, but rather natural.Suddenly, Shamira was very angry. "You did this to me! Why? Why me?""I am sorry, but 'why me' what?"Shamira would have clenched her fists if she actually had any in this weird "nowhere" world. "You know damn well! I

----------- ------Outside . . .----------- ------Clara had been involved in a staring contest with a young dragon for about thirty minutes when Shamira returned, swooping down into the cleared area and landing far more gracefully than Clara might have imagined. The smaller dragon instantly perked up, moving to Shamira and placing itself in a subservient position at the big dragon's feet.Shamira moved her enormous head over to Clara, who just grinned and stroked her scales."You're still pretty damn gorgeous," she said softly.Shamira opened her mouth to reveal a number of dragon eggs, nestled in between her sharp teeth and tongue. * We need to take these somewhere safe, and we need to do it soon, * Shamira sent.Clara waisted no time and started grabbing the eggs out of Shamira's mouth. "You are the strangest girlfriend that I've ever had," she said. "Hey, Lacroix --"* -- is no longer among the living, * Sh