Page 2 of Violet: A Monster-ly Undercover Christmas

I touch the top of my head, making sure the elf’s hat is in place, and place a hand on my hip. “How do I look?”

“I like you better when you look like you,” Nole complains.

I almost mutter ‘bah humbug’ but stop myself at the last second. Nole’s not usually this grumpy, so I know something’s up. He can’t be this upset about me going undercover, can he? Maybe being all hairy is getting him down, or he just hates that his brothers got one up on him.

Cash, at least, is his usual cheery self. “Very convincing, little furry,” he tells me with a crooked smile.

Liam, every inch the cop, circles me to make sure nothing is amiss. “It’ll do.”

I roll my eyes. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“No, I mean it. You even sound like her. No one will be able to tell the difference.”

I flip my turquoise hair over my shoulder and grin. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s shifting. I spent an entire year posing as an eighty-year-old, and no one was the wiser. Not even Nole, who worked with me every day.

I test out the body, taking a few steps forward, then a few steps back, grateful the photographer wears knee-high combat boots instead of heels. “So how are we doing this?”

“We start with a practice run,” Liam announces. I can totally picture him using that same tone on all the new recruits. “Come with me.”

Chapter 2

Liamleadsusdownthe hall. We finally moved into the house of our dreams—which we had custom-built after months of arguing over exactly how it should look.

I think the end result is absolutely perfect. Especially the slide Nole convinced us we couldn’t live without. Taking stairs, to quote him, is ‘super lame.’ Most days, I’d agree. It’s a great time saver, and it really wakes you up before that first cup of coffee.

We’ve decorated it for Christmas by stringing garlands along both sides and intertwining them with Christmas lights that light the way downstairs. It’s like an arrow of red, yellow, green, and blue pointing straight toward our massive tree.

The four of us stop at the railing to admire our ten-foot pine. It’s violet-themed this year—not me-themed, but bluish-purple. There’s violet tinsel, violet ornaments, even a violet-colored train Cash spelled to run along an invisible train track that circles the tree. Sometimes, tiny gifts wrapped in shiny violet paper pop up in one of the train carts, and the train slows down so you can grab a mini fruitcake square, or a chocolate treat. There’s a violet star on the top of the tree, violet pine cones hanging off the branches, and even violet candles with magical violet flames that flicker and dance.

“Think we’ve got a chance at the tree competition this year?” Nole asks. There’s one in Silver Springs every year, but the magical creations are extremely elaborate… and unusual.

“I’m not sure,” I tell him honestly. “Juniper entered her tree, and it’s a giant dildo taxi covered in tinsel that, to quote her, spreads Christmas cheer. And there’s a Christmas tree shifter from Shifter Bay who entered himself in the competition.”

Cash grins. “Did you see the tree that runs away? It’s gone completely viral on Screech.”

We all nod. Not only is it a tree with chicken legs, inspired by Baba Yaga, but the creator hasn’t been able to catch it long enough for the judges to actually see it in person.

“I don’t care if we win or not,” Liam snaps. To an outsider, he’d probably sound angry, but the guys and I know him well enough to tell the nuances to his troll tone. And Liam sounds wistful as he bares his sharp teeth in a small smile. “We decorated this tree together, as a family. That’s what really matters. That it’s ours.”

“I don’t care if we win either,” Cash says.

“I guess,” Nole grumbles. But he’s a tad competitive, like me, so I don’t blame him.

Still… “Liam’s right,” I tell him. “I love our tree.”

I turn to admire it, but Liam places a large hand on my shoulder. “We need to get ready, gorgeous.”

I nod. No way am I missing my chance to go undercover.

Liam ushers us down the hall to the entertainment room. The blinds are open, and snow is falling heavily outside, covering our sprawling back yard. My gaze instantly darts to the bushes, searching for evidence of Nole’s brothers, even though I know there’s no way they’re planning another prank so soon. They’re probably busy high-fiving each other and checking their own bushes for signs of Nole.

Liam crosses the room to the window and stares outside. “If it keeps snowing like this, we may have to reschedule tonight.”

“Hopefully it stops soon.” I turn my attention to the interior of the room.

Liam pushed aside all the couches but one, which is in the middle of the room. There’s a red reindeer Christmas blanket draped over the back, a few Christmas hats tossed haphazardly into a basket on the floor, and a bunch of expensive-looking photography equipment facing it.

“Where did you get all this stuff?” I ask as he flicks on the studio lights and puts on some music. “Deck the Halls” starts playing quietly in the background.

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