Kali sat alone in a local Black Iris that night, waiting. Her eyes ran over the crowds of Night People, but she couldn't see the two she was looking for. School for the day had been cancelled due to the unexpected murders of the popular girls. Her lips curled. Two bonuses for her.

And of course, the boyfriends would be devastated. So why not jump in on the rebound and kill them? But they weren't here. She frowned a little, hating the thought of having to spend longer than she had to amongst vermin without killing them.

She knew had had their eyes on her, but they didn't seem to want to approach her.

"Seat taken?" a husky voice beside her said.

Kali turned to the vampire boy beside her. Tut, tut, she thought dryly. He didn't seem the least bit upset over his girlfriend's death. In fact, if anything, he looked rather pleased, considering the way he was leering at her. "It's all yours," she said, giving him a stunning smile.

He flirted with her non stop, buying all her drinks, commenting on how good she looked, his eyes couldn't seem to leave her chest. Kali was starting to tire of the routine, and she was getting hungry too.

"Why don't we try somewhere a little less crowded?" she whispered into the boy's ear.

"Yeah?" he slurred. "Where'd you have in mind?"

Kali was excessively glad that vampires didn't have bad breath. She stood up, pulling him to his feet, through the crowd and to the alley out back.

She glanced around to make sure there was no one who would come and stop her. No one seemed to be around. Good. Before she could protest the guy had pushed her up against the wall, hot, wet lips pressing themselves against her neck. She growled in anger. "No you don't," she hissed. *He* thought he could bite *her*? Not a chance in hell.

After a brief struggle she managed to wrench herself free of his grasp, slamming his back against the alley wall, knocking his head back. She could feel her own fangs extend as she dug them into his flesh. The hot blood filled her with a wonderful tingling sensation as she drained him.

She tossed the body to one side. A shriek filled the air. Annoyed, Kali turned around to see the shapeshifter guy she was after with another blonde girl. The blonde screamed, turned and ran.

"Thanks a lot," the guy snapped. "You cost me my meal."

He started advancing on her. From the look in his Kali knew he was getting ready to shift. She grinned savagely, but she managed to shift before he did, her wolf pouncing on top of him, tearing out his internal organs.

She shifted back to her human form. Task completed.

* * *

"They're dead."

Aurelia blinked in surprise, putting her keys down. She turned around to see Kali sitting in a chair in her living room. She frowned. "How the hell did you get in?"

Kali smiled. "Through the door. It wasn't locked in any serious way."

Aurelia opened her mouth, then shut it. She folded her arms across her chest. She really should get some stronger wards. But then again, what could keep out the leader of Circle Midnight. "So you killed them?"

"All the popular Night People are dead. I got two in the bathroom and the other two just now at the Black Iris," Kali said, a smug smirk on her face.

Aurelia felt her anger draining, replaced by amusement, and, she had to admit, she was rather impressed. "That was quick," she said.

Kali just sat there, looking at her expectantly. Aurelia sighed heavily. "All right, all right. I'll talk to my boss and see what I can do."

Kali nodded in satisfaction and left. Aurelia watched her go. Where did she find all these people? She thought dryly.

* * *

Kali studied the two tattoos on her arm, one signifying her BB Guns rank, the other a black poppy, her Wolf Clan symbol. She'd made it in. And had her first assignment. She studied the manila folder in her hand, the boy she was supposed to kill. Jacob Harrison, a human who knew about the Night World.

She had wanted something a little more challenging, but probably another test just to see how good she really was. She'd passed the first one, so this shouldn't be too hard.

"So I see you got in."

Kali looked around, glaring at Aurelia lounging on the couch. "How did - "

Aurelia just smirked at her. "You're not the only one who can break into people's apartments." She stood up, stretching.

"Yeah," Kali answered. "I got in."

"You should be pleased," Aurelia said heading towards the door. And with those words she was gone. Kali stared after her, bemused.

Then she focused on her task.

Jacob Harrison would be dead by the end of the week if she had her way, which she usually did.

* * *


Kali sighed heavily, watching the human boy as he headed down the hallways of his high school. She wasn't looking forward to forcing herself to be in a vermin environment again, but it didn't look as if she got much of a choice.

Jacob was quite good looking for a human, with a sleek, muscular body, nice brown hair, shining blue eyes. Shame he was vermin, and knew something vermin wasn't supposed to know.

She winced, catching sight of herself in a car wing mirror, Gone were her usual dark, twistingly designed Gothic clothing, replaced instead by jeans and a short royal purple top, her raven hair cascading to her shoulders. The only thing that had a hint of darkness hidden inside her were her glowing red eyes.

She had decided that if she were going to infiltrate into a human based school, the best way to do it would be to pretend to be human.

"Hey, you new?" The voice behind her caught her attention.

Kali gritted her teeth and forced herself to smile as she turned around. And was surprised. Jacob was standing behind her, leaning against the car, giving her a brilliant smile. "Yeah, Kali Wolf," she said simply. Why bother lying about her name?

"Joshua Harrison, or Josh to those who I like," he said.

Kali was confused. "I thought your name was - "

His laughter startled her. No guy had ever laughed at her before and lived. "You're confusing me with my wimpy little twin bother," he said with a snort.

Kali blinked. Twins? She hadn't been prepared for that. "Oh. I didn't know that." She studied Josh. There was something about him that said...he wasn't human, she was sure of that.

But if he wasn't human, then how could he have a human brother?

~I'm a made vampire," he said inside her mine. ~ A Redfern in that case,~ he added proudly.

Kali stared at him. This guy was starting to annoy her. Maybe she'd have to kill him on a side note. ~How did you know...~

He just shrugged. ~You're a werewolf, right?~

Kali was insulted. ~I am *not* a stupid werewolf!~ she hissed at him indignantly. ~Wolves and werewolves are totally different, for your information.~

"Hey, my mistake," he said aloud, "I didn't realise."

Kali eyed him. He must be a new vampire. Redferns never admitted their mistakes. Unless he was trying to hit on her, which he undoubtedly was. The bell rang. "I'm going now," she said cooly.

And she left before he could say anything else. As she moved away she could feel his eyes on her. She tried to focus on the task at hand. She had a human who knew about the Night World to kill. She didn't need to spend time daydreaming over his twin.

Daydreaming? It was a phrase Kali had never used before. What was happening to her? She didn't like Joshua Redfern. Didn't...

Much.

* * *

Kali sighed heavily, sitting in a classroom mainly full of vermin. She wasn't really concentrating on English lesson, she was trying to figure out how to seduce Jacob and kill him. She doubted Josh would interfere with that, but he might interfere with other parts of her...

Kali shook her head in disgust, what was the matter with her? She barely knew him. She glanced up, playing the black poppy ring on her finger. Anyone would know Night World flowers if they saw one.

After glancing around again, she could see someone trying to get her attention. The girl was small, with a river of dark hair falling down her back. Her eyes were violet. A witch. She was showing Kali a drawing - a black dahlia. Pretty much a given, really.

After class Kali followed the girl out. "You new?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, Kali Wolf," Kali said for the second time that day. The girl didn't seem particularly threatening, so she wasn't Circle Midnight, which meant she was either Twilight - or worse, Kali thought, blah - Daybreak.

"I'm Ari Harman." Her voice was soft because there were other kids around, and she clearly didn't want to be heard.

"What Circle?" Kali asked. The girl may be Daybreak, but she wasn't stupid. Anyone from Circle Midnight would have recognised her name.

Before Ari could answer, a guy had come up behind her and slipped strong arms around her waste. Sleek body, nice face, bright eyes.

Ari turned in his arms. Kali remained where she was. This must be Jacob Harrison. And it looked like he had a girlfriend. Problem. But, Kali thought, problems could always be solved. She kept a polite smile on her face.

Ari suddenly seemed to remember her. She broke off her kiss with Jacob and turned to Kali. "Jacob, this is Kali, she's new." Ari's smile turned dreamy. "This is Jacob."

Kali just nodded. "Hi," was all she could manage. She wasn't used to conversation with vermin.

The bell rang then, saving her. She asked where her next class was. She found it without too much trouble. On the way she ran into Josh again.

"Oh, you," her voice was less than enthused.
Josh grinned at her, with that annoyingly sexy grin. "You don't sound too pleased."

Kali snorted, pushing her dark fringe out her eyes. "Should I be?"

Josh chuckled. "My, we do have an attitude, don't we?"

Kali slanted him a glance, her red eyes sparking. "Looks like I'm not the only one," she retorted. She tried not to look at him as he followed her into the classroom.

She took a seat at the back, away from prying eyes and curious glances. She watched Josh take a seat next to a tall, stunning blond in a cheerleading uniform. The girl turned, giving Kali a deadly glare.

Kali was surprised to see the girl's eyes changed colour like lights in a glacier, shifting from moment to moment. She was a Redfern. A cheerleading Redfern? She tried not to snicker. The Council reps would love that.

The glare was a warning. Miss Ra-Ra-Redfern was warning her off Josh. Was she the Redfern that had changed him?

The whole picture of that suddenly struck Kali as - well - completely ridiculous. The other Redferns must be having a field day with it. When class was over the girl fell into step here.

"You're new here." It was a statement, not a question.

Kali shrugged. "Yeah, so what?"

The girl gave her a glance, her eyes flashing a dangerous yellow. "Then you don't know who I am."

"Obviously not." Kali had to bite her lip from adding she didn't give a damn who the girl was.

"I'm Damia Redfern, I'm in charge of the Night People here, and I'm telling you right now that Josh is taken. If you want to fit in here, find someone else to attach yourself to." And with that Damia headed off into the crowd, hips swaying.

Kali stood where she was, arms folded. She decided instantly she didn't like Damia Redfern. But now, she thought, she might just have to try and take Josh, for the hell of it, more than anything else. Her own pet Redfern.

* * *

Damia Redfern was annoyed. She didn't like this new girl. Kali Wolf seemed to have made quite a splash amongst the Night People, and both Josh and Jacob seemed to be all over her. Josh in particular, probably cause the girl was a new species he hadn't tried before.

She seemed more interested in Jacob than she did Josh, so why was Damia worried about her?

Maybe cause Kali presented competition she wasn't used to. Something had to be done about her, that was pretty much a given. She kept her head high as she sauntered down the high school hall way, determined not to let anything show on her face.

She met with her friends at their usual table at lunch. Lucky thing for them Kali wasn't with them. She was sitting at another table with the damned Daybreakers.

"We have a problem," she said flatly.

Amber Blackthorn shrugged. "What?" she asked, toying with a gold pendant that hung around her neck. "So there's a new kid, and she's a damned Daybreaker, so what?"

Gia Harman laughed, her violet eyes flashing. "She is *not* Daybreak," she snorted, pushing her dark fringe out her eyes. "That's Kali Nightshade, the leader of Circle Midnight."

"I thought her name was Kali Wolf," Damia said, frowning. She watched the girl whispering something into Jacob's ear, making him flush. Ari didn't seem too happy about it.

"She wants Jacob, not Josh, so what's the problem?" Amber asked, folding her hands on the table.

Damia didn't know how to explain it. Kali was dangerous, that was went without saying. There was something hidden under that "nice girl" exterior she portrayed. And if she was really the leader of Circle Midnight, or now a Wolf, that meant she was up to something.

"She's been flirting with Josh, too," Damia said with a scowl. "It doesn't matter which one of them she wants, she has to *go*."

Amber and Gia exchanged glances. "You're saying kill her?"

Damia smiled for the first time that day. "Exactly."

* * *

Kali was trying not to focus on how low she appeared to be sinking. Forcing herself to be nice was one thing, but forcing herself to be nice to Daybreakers. The thought was making her shudder. And she still wasn't getting anywhere with Jacob.

He was typically nice-guy Daybreaker, friendly to her, but made it clear he wasn't interested in her. She almost never saw him alone. Ari was the problem most of the time.

And if that wasn't bad enough she still had Damia Ra-Ra Redfern breathing down her neck, glaring at her every time they passed in the halls.

Kali scowled as she sat in her last class, watching the rain fall. Perfect weather. It matched her foul mood exactly. She just wanted the damn assignment over and done with.

She sighed, wondering how she was going to come up with a seductive way to trap Jacob alone. From across the room she could see Josh grinning at her.

She brightened a little, at least things seemed to be going well with him. Which was why Damia was probably so pissed off.

She tore her eyes away from Josh, trying to force her mind into a clever plan to take out Jacob. The more she thought about it, the more an idea was slowly starting to form in her twisted mind.

* * *

Ari frowned a little, watching Kali Wolf saunter out the class room, hips swaying, dark hair curling at her shoulders like a cape. There was something about the girl that was wrong - wrong in a weird, disturbing way.

She didn't like the way Kali seemed to be toying with not only Jakob, but Joshua as well. She didn't seem to care that both Jacob and Josh were actually taken. She just seemed to want something she couldn't have.

"Earth to Ari!"

Ari blinked, realising that someone was talking to her. She flushed, realising she hadn't noticed that class had ended. She stood up, gathering her things quickly. She tried to ignore the confused look of her best friend Liana Weald.

"You were daydreaming," Liana said with a faint smile as they left the room.

"I wasn't daydreaming," Ari protested. "I was musing." They stopped on the front steps of the school. Ari frowned, noticing Kali getting into Josh's car. Damia looked absolutely livid as she watched them drive off.

"You don't like Kali?" Liana guessed. "It wouldn't have something to do with the fact that she's been hanging all over Jacob, would it?"

Ari shrugged uncomfortably as they started walking to her car in the student parking lot. The rain had eased up, a faint drizzle hung in air, the type of rain that soaks you to the bone. "I don't trust her," she said, settling for bluntness. "You can't tell me you haven't noticed something scary about her."

"Maybe the tattoos don't fit in with the 'nice' image she's trying to portray," Liana offered.

Ari nodded. "When she's with us, it seems like the niceness is almost forced," she agreed. She's seen the tattoos on Kali's upper right arm, a single black star and a black poppy. Maybe it was that they were black.

"So..." Liana said as they got into Ari's car.

"So what do I want to do about it?" Ari said with a sigh, putting her seat belt on and starting the engine. She drove out the lot slowly, pulling into the main stream of traffic.

"I'm guessing we do a little research party?" Liana suggested.

Ari nodded. She knew she probably wouldn't like what she found out, but it was a start, at least.

* * *

Ari shook her head, refusing to believe it. Kali was the leader of Circle Midnight? Circle Midnight? And she was here, in high school, flirting with Jacob?

"She must want him for some purpose," she complained unhappily. She and Liana sat in her living room, laptops open, trying to see whatever they could drag up on Kali Wolf. Unfortunately, information on Wolves was very scarce. They were apparently good at covering their tracks. They weren't a Night World species - they were something else.

All they had been able to find on Kali, that she used to be the leader of Circle Midnight, then about four weeks ago had disappeared. No one knew where she was.

"We've got to tell Jacob that Kali can't be trusted," Ari said firmly.

Liana snorted, brushing her fringe out her eyes. "You think he'll believe you?"

Ari sighed. It was most likely that Jacob would just think she was jealous. "I have to try," she said. And stood up to do just that. She couldn't let Kali do anything to Jacob.

Why would Kali want to hurt Jacob? All he had done was be nice to her. Kali had Joshua fawning all over her as well, she could kill him, or use him for her black magic rituals. Josh would probably be thrilled at the thought. Although Damia wouldn't be.


She had heard Damia and her friends complaining about Kali, they were Night People, maybe Ari should just let them take care of the problem.

Her lip curled slightly at the thought. But she shook it away abruptly. Daybreakers didn't think like that. There must be something else she could do about Kali.

She arrived at Jacob's house, not pleased to see a shiny black BMW motorcycle parked in the driveway by Jacob's red pick-up truck. As far as she knew Jacob or Josh or that matter didn't ride a motorbike.

Oh great, she thought, banging on the door. Just let him be okay. Let him be okay.

* * *

Kali scowled in annoyance. She didn't know who was at the door, and stood up when Jacob went to answer it. She had been so close to killing him too. She should have just stabbed him the minute he'd opened the door, but she had wanted to get him somewhere more private so she could eat him. She was hungry.

She moved out of the lounge to the front entrance hallway where she could see Jacob talking to Ari. Damn it. The little witch getting in the way and screwing everything up.

"...leader of Circle Midnight, for God's sake," Ari was saying, not sounding happy at all. "You can't trust her."

Jacob folded his arms across his chest, not looking too impressed. "Don't you think you're overreacting a little?" he said, sounding rather tired.

Kali sighed heavily with impatience. Both Jacob and Ari turned to look at her. Ari scowled. Kali just smiled unpleasantly. She reached inside her jacket and pulled out an iron dagger strapped to the inside lining. Iron for witches.

She sauntered casually over to Ari and plunged the knife into her heart. Ari was too shocked to even scream. Why wasn't Jacob actually doing anything? He just stood there, frozen.

Kali turned her smile on him as Ari's dead body fell out the way. Jacob shook his head, as if gathering himself and getting back to reality. Kali snorted. Humans. So predictable.

He lunged forward, trying to knock the knife out her hand. She blocked him easily, brining her heeled boot down on his ankle. He cried out. She wasn't prepared for him actually hitting her. She growled at him, struggling to get on top of him. They scrambled about on the floor trying to get possession of the knife. His bare hand somehow landed on top of Kali's.

She wasn't prepared for a simple touch blowing her mind away.

* * *

It felt like all her circuits had been fried. Kali had never experienced anything like it before. The minute her hand had touched Jacob's everything was the same - yet everything had changed tremendously.

She could feel a tremor taking over her body, waves of shock were running through her. She wasn't fighting him anymore, or even thinking about grabbing for the knife, or the dead body of Ari on the floor.

All her senses were fixed on this thing going on between her and Jacob. What the hell *was* it? A shimmering sort of light was starting to bloom now, pulling her closer to Jacob. But it wasn't a physical sensation, it was more of a mental one.


Jacob didn't seem as afraid of it as she did, she could feel his wonder, his awe, he was fascinated by this. They had sat up together, and Jacob was trying to hold on to her, pulling her into his arms.

~It's okay~ he was thinking. ~It's weird, but it's not bad. It's sort of good-weird.~

~You're crazy,~ Kali thought bluntly. She didn't *want* this thing. Deep in her mind she remembered people talking about it. She had mentioned it to Aurelia at one point, she had been whining about how hers was such a pain in this ass...

~What *is* this~ Jacob asked.

Kali hadn't been aware he'd been reading her thoughts. But then again, they were in each other's mind, that was what the white light was trying to do...merge their minds together.

There was a word for this sensation. Kali had never imagined it would happen to her - or if it did it wouldn't be the idiot she was supposed to kill.

"Soulmates," she whispered. Even as she thought it, she knew Jacob was sensing within her what it meant - one true love for everyone on earth. That person was supposed to totally understand you - but Jacob was

"Vermin," she spat at him. The trance was broken. They were thrown back into the real world. The illusion of the brilliant white light was shattered.

Jacob was looking as if she'd slapped him. Good. She'd struck a nerve. She snatched her knife up and struggled to her feet. She should kill him now. It was the only thing for her to do.

But for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She put it down to an experience beyond her. She'd recover in a day or two.

"Kali?" Jacob was scrambling to his own feet as she stalked to the door. He reached out to catch her arm. This time the connection wasn't fireworks and lightening. It was like he'd given her an electric shock.

She jerked away from him, telling herself to avoid any sort of skin-to-skin contact. That must be what set the whole damn thing up. "Get away from me," she snarled.

"But we're soulmates." He said it so simply, as if that should make everything okay. Of course he knew about soulmates. He was vermin, a damned Daybreaker. Good as dead anyway, so she might as well kill him.

"Why would you want to kill me?" he asked, head tilted, arms folded.

Kali sneered at him. "Because it's my *job*," she snapped at him. "I'm letting you off this once, but next time, you won't get away so easily." And with that she turned and stormed out the door, slamming it behind her.

Just great, she thought moodily, getting on her bike and revving the engine. The sun had set, darkness was spreading slowly over the sky. Darkness would calm her down.

What did she do? Soulmates didn't have to be all stupid and lovey-dovey all the time. She had a task to do, and she would complete it.

She couldn't allow herself to fail. Jacob meant nothing to her. Nothing.

Yet all her reassurances sounded strangely hollow.

* * *

Kali's nerves were a frazzled mess the next day. For the first time she was actually pleased to be in class. School was a handy distraction from real life.

All she needed to do was get through the halls without seeing Jacob. So far she was doing okay, but everywhere she looked, Josh seemed to be grinning at her.

During a brief period when she was going to her locker for books she found Josh waiting for her. "Have you been avoiding me?" he asked with his annoyingly cute grin.

Kali glared at him. "So what if I have?"

He chuckled, rich and deep. "Gee, me feelings are hurt." He lounged by her locker, deliberately trying to get in her way.

"Get out my way," she snapped. Maybe she should kill him as well. He was really bugging her. But glancing around she could see the blonde head of Damia Redfern heading in their direction.

"There's something else I'd rather do," Josh said. He was still grinning, which made Kali extremely suspicious. ~Vampires,~ she thought. ~What a waste of space.~

Before Kali could do anything, Josh had grabbed her shoulders, pulled her close and kissed her. Kali started to pull away, ready to punch his lights out...then she changed her mind.

The kiss wasn't the lighting and sparks she'd experienced with Jacob, but it still sent tingles down her spine, made her feel warm, and smug cause she knew Josh's supposed girlfriend was coming down the hall at that moment.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Damia's outraged voice shrieked.

Kali pulled back slightly and grinned at her unpleasantly. Her red eyes flashed with triumph. Damia was flushed and angry. The other students coming down the hall were eyeing them as they passed, curious to see what would happen next. "What does it look like?" Kali answered.

Josh moved Kali to one side, and slipped his other arm around Damia. "Don't be so bitchy," he said cheerfully. "Learn to share."

"I don't share well," Damia snapped.

Kali glanced at Josh, lightly probing the edges of his mind. But even that was enough. "That's not exactly what he's thinking," she said sourly.

Damia glanced at her. "Huh?"

Kali rolled her eyes. Damia really did seem to fit the dumb blonde category. She pushed the images she was getting into Damia's mind. Damia looked disgusted. "Men! Ugh."

Josh looked innocent. "Oh come on, gimme a break!"

"Where?" Kali snorted. Even if she did break his bones he'd heal up in a few days. That was what took the fun out of beating up vampires. Of course, she reflected, if you wanted to torture them you could make it last a long time.

The bell rang and most of the kids scattered off to class. A few curious ones remained lurking at the edges, but glares from Kali and Damia sent them running.

"I think we need to talk," Damia said, scowling at Kali.

Kali returned the look with a scowl of her own. "What if I don't want to talk to you?" she snapped.

Damia pushed Josh away, who was watching the show with a smirk. Shame he was such an asshole, really. "Go away Josh."

"If you want to talk, talk."

Damia sighed with irritation, grabbed Kali's arm and with surprising strength yanked her off into the nearest girl's bathroom. Her two groupies Gem and Amber were waiting.

Maybe they had planned on ambushing Kali, but they hadn't been prepared for Josh being there.

"Maybe somebody should teach you it's not nice to play with other girl's boyfriends," Damia hissed at her.

Kali sighed heavily. She was tired of this now. "I never wanted Josh," she said. "I was hired to kill Jacob. He's a human who knows about things he shouldn't. Josh just happened to get in the way."

"What got in the way, was an irritating little werewolf," Gem interrupted with a smirk.

Kali hit her, hard, shattering her nose. Gem shrieked and moved backwards, stumbling, blood pouring from the injury. As a witch, Gem wouldn't recover so fast. "I am *not* a werewolf!" she hissed at them. "Wolves are totally different." Something orange was blooming between Gem's hands.

Before she could hurl it at Kali, Kali had pulled out a knife concealed up her sleeve, and plunged it into Gem's chest. Gem fell down, moaning. The moans stopped.

Amber and Damia were looking at her in shock. "The hell with this," Amber said. She grabbed her purse and ran.

"Steel doesn't kill vampires," Damia said with a smirk.

Kali smiled unpleasantly. "But wood does. You didn't think I'd come unprepared for vampires, did you?"

Damia's expression had changed slightly. She looked wary - almost afraid. But apparently she was smarter than she looked. "Jacob has a girlfriend, a Harman witch, she's Daybreak, she's the one who broke cover."

"I know," Kali said. "I killed her already."

"Oh."

"Maybe if you don't want to end up like Gem over there, you keep your mouth shut and stay out my way from now on," she snapped. Damia didn't say anything. She simply stepped back as Kali walked out.

Kali sighed with annoyance. This whole thing was starting to get tiring. She still had the problem with Jacob left to solve. She simple kill him no matter what solution, didn't seem so simple anymore.

But she had to kill him. It was her job. She couldn't fail this.

What was she going to do?

* * *

Jacob didn't really know how he was supposed to deal with the situation. All he knew was that Kali was his soulmate, his one and only. She had killed Ari in cold blood, she had just walked up to Ari and stabbed her.

But she was his soulmate, and he knew that without his soulmate, now he knew who she was, he would never be truly whole. Kali didn't have to be so cold. He was positive there was a warm side to her.

Maybe all she needed was someone to bring it out. If he would only get her away from that stupid arrogant brother of his. He had noticed that Damia wasn't too happy with Kali.

If he could get her away from everyone, take her somewhere quiet, explain to her how he felt, she could start seeing things the same. Daybreak healing would do her good. It had helped him. He had found people who had helped him deal and understand.

That was all Kali needed. She didn't need to kill people for a living. No one needed to do that. He could change her mind...

The problem now, was finding her. Where would she be? He waiting impatiently for class to end. He wondered what her last class was. When the bell rang he grabbed his stuff and headed for her locker.

He'd just wait for her there. He was confident. He could do this.

* * *
Kali sighed with impatience. Jacob was by her locker again. He'd been following her around like a lost puppy since the discovery of their soulmate connection. So they were soulmates. So what? He needed to get a life.

Josh was so much more fun. Now there weren't anymore problems from the Damia front, she had him all to herself. She didn't really ant him, she just had him because it pissed off Damia.

"What do you want?" she asked bluntly, shoving him out the way as she opened her locker.

"We need to talk," he said. He sounded almost too calm. He had the air of someone who'd planned on what they were going to say. Kali rolled her eyes.

"What it I don't want to talk to you?" She knew it was petty and childish but the sooner she could be rid of him, the better. Change of tactics then. "Fine," she snapped.

He took her arm and led her out the school building. Kali could feel a burning heat on her back and glancing over her shoulder she could see Josh scowling at them. She gave him a look. She turned her back and followed Jacob.

Where was he taking her? A thought crossed her mind, and she just followed him where he led her. They were moving into more quiet streets away from crowds of people.

"This soulmate thing," Jacob began. ""It's really not as bad as you think it is. If you would just - "

"Yes it is," Kali cut him off harshly. "You're *vermin*." She spat the word at him, and with that, pulled out her silver knife, plunging it into his heart. "Who wants to be soulmates with vermin?" she asked the now dead body.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist, cool lips touched her neck. "A little harsh, don't you think?" Josh asked.

"You followed us, didn't you," Kali said with a faint smile, wrapping her own arms over his.

"Yeah, what else was I supposed to do?" Josh turned her around to face him. "You two were soulmates?"

Kali nodded, making a face. But who said soulmates had to stay together? There wasn't a written law somewhere. Hell, even if there was, she probably wouldn't follow it. "I didn't like him. Besides, he knew about something he wasn't supposed to and he paid the price."

Josh gave her a stunning smile. "So you're all mine now?"

Kali opened her mouth to retort she didn't belong to anyone. Well, she didn't have to stay with him for long. "For now," she answers, sliding her arms up around his neck. "What about Damia?" she asked with a smirk.

Josh shrugged. "She's history."

"Good." She let him kiss her. It wasn't sparks and silvery white lightning, but it was a pleasant tingling sensation running down her nerves. "Let's go."

She let him lead her away. Well, she was done with high school for the moment. She'd completed her assignment, the target was dead. She doubted she'd have much trouble convincing Josh to come with her.

She couldn't stand anymore vermin environments. The sooner she got out of there, the better. It was true, she thought with a curve of her lips. Bad guys did have all the fun.

THE END.