Kylie turned in her chair and faced a puzzled-looking Lucas. He wore a pair of black jeans and a solid light blue T-shirt. The shirt fit just tight enough that she knew his abs could compete with Zac's.
He continued to stare. "Did you just say-?"
"It was ... a spell gone bad. I zapped a guy here for a couple of seconds." Normally, she'd be blushing, but her emotional dilemma with him chased away the embarrassment.
She stood. She felt antsy just sitting there. Her chest swelled with both joy at seeing him, and angst over her unresolved anger toward him. She wanted to kiss him, but she also wanted to let it all out and cry.
"Oh." He looked pointedly at Della and Miranda. Before he put the question into words, they got up-Miranda moved nonchalantly, Della's stance exuded a bad attitude.
"We'll be on the porch." The vamp's tone matched her body language.
"Thanks." While Kylie hadn't confided her most recent misgivings about Lucas to them, she knew they suspected. Just like she knew what went on in their lives. She watched as her two best friends left to give her privacy.
Kylie's gaze stayed fixed on Lucas and his deep blue eyes stayed on her until the door closed. She turned and faced the refrigerator and tried to decide how she felt ... besides hurt. Just to give herself something to do, she opened the appliance.
"You want something to drink?" she asked, not that there was anything but pickle juice in an otherwise empty jar of pickles and a bottle of Della's blood.
"I texted you three times and e-mailed and you haven't responded." He sounded hurt.
Closing her eyes, she tried to push away the wiggle of guilt tightening her stomach. "I haven't checked my e-mail." She shut the fridge and moved over to the computer desk.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Checking my e-mail. You said you e-mailed me." It sounded stupid. Okay, it didn't just sound stupid, it was stupid, but she needed a few minutes to think.
Was she wrong to be angry?
Or right?
She dropped into the chair. With the computer on, it took one mouse click to land on her e-mail. One downward scan of her eyes to see Lucas's name.
The subject on all three of his e-mails was the same: miss you.
A knot formed in her throat.
"Are you mad at me for something?" he asked.
"Yes." Her gaze moved back to the screen and it felt as if her heart started swelling-big, then bigger-until it felt as if it was outgrowing her chest. The ache was real and made it hard to breathe.
She swallowed. "No."
"Is it yes or no? Are you mad or not?" He sounded hurt. Or angry. Maybe both.
She closed her eyes and while she didn't hear him, she sensed he'd moved closer. His scent, a wonderfully earthy smell, seemed to take up residence in her cabin.
She inhaled. "Maybe."
"Hmm." He did indeed sound closer. Too close. Right behind her close. Touchable close.
As tempting as it was to turn around, she didn't. She stared at the screen and held her breath.
"Is this what they mean by a woman having the prerogative to change her mind?" A slight sound of humor rang in his voice.
"It could be," she muttered.
"Is this about me not showing up last night? I left a note. You were asleep."
"It's not about that." Her gaze stayed fixed on the computer screen. She spotted three e-mails from her dad. Another emotionally hard thing she needed to deal with. Knowing her mom was dating, knowing that her stepdad and mom probably would never get back together, would make seeing him even harder.
She blinked.
"Then what's it about?" His hand pressed down softly on her shoulder. Warm sensations flowed from his palm. "Because right now, I'd really like to kiss you and I don't know if that's possible. If you really are mad at me, I mean."
Inhaling, her heart raced at the thought of him kissing her. Of feeling his chest against hers.
"It's about you avoiding me," she said. "You're pulling away."
His other hand breezed across her shoulder. "Just until my father gives his approval for me to join the Council. I know it's hard, and yes, being together is going to be even harder with Clara here, but ... I need his approval. I don't think it will be much longer."
She blinked again, and that's when she saw it. Four ... no, five e-mails all with the word fog in the subject line. Could it be...?
"Oh, shit!" She saw another e-mail from the same address with a subject line that read talk.
"Oh, shit what?" he asked.
She opened her mouth to tell him, but shut it at the same time she shut off her e-mail. She hadn't told him her grandfather had been what chased his sister-hadn't told him because it didn't feel right. Telling him now felt even less right.
If she decided to meet her grandfather without Burnett, Lucas wouldn't approve. He'd be overprotective and insist on telling Burnett.
Kylie couldn't let Lucas tell Burnett, because Burnett would not want her to meet her grandfather without his being present. And it appeared as if her grandfather wasn't keen on meeting with Burnett.
She had to meet her grandfather-with or without Burnett. He had answers, and discovering those answers was her quest. How many times had Holiday told her that following your quest was about listening to your heart? And her heart said this was the right thing to do. Lucas would just have to understand.
And just like that, it hit her. Lucas's quest was to get on that Council. And to do that, he had to pretend in front of his pack and Clara that she wasn't that important to him. How could she be angry with him when ... she had her own agenda that was equally important to her?
Which meant she had to be more understanding. If his quest meant that they couldn't sit together at meals or he had to pretend they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, she would accept that. Just like she expected him to accept that she had to follow her own quest.
She stood and turned around and faced him. "I'm sorry. I was overreacting." She placed her hands on his chest.
He stared at her, appearing even more puzzled. "You're not mad?"
She offered him a smile that came from deep within. The thought that her grandfather hadn't given up on seeing her filled her chest with a light bubbly feeling. She cut her gaze toward the computer and then met Lucas's gaze. "It hurt to feel that I came second after everyone else, but-"
"You don't come second. When I get on the Council, I'll have the power to put a stop to all this crap. The younger werewolves are clamoring to have someone on the Council to voice their opinion. I'll get their support and the elders won't be able to tell anyone who they should see or share their lives with. They won't hold anyone responsible for the sins of their parents. Please give me a little time."
"I will. And I'm sorry I was a bitch."
"I never said you were a bitch." He pulled her a bit closer. So close that the warmth of his body sent a wave of pleasure through her.
"I know," Kylie said. "And I get it now." She met his gaze and moistened her lips with her tongue. "Didn't you say something about kissing me?"
His brow wrinkled, but with a smile. "I don't think I'll ever understand girls."
"Then stop trying." She lifted up on her tiptoes. She wanted to kiss Lucas senseless, and then she wanted to send him on his way so she could find out what her grandfather said in his e-mails. But the moment Lucas's lips found hers, when his warm chest pressed against her breasts and his hands slipped up under her shirt to fit against the naked curve of her waist, she decided that the e-mails could wait a little longer.
This ... this was magic. The kind she could do without screwing up.
That night, Kylie lay in her bed with her clothes on, waiting to hear Miranda come in from her nightly outing with Perry. Their evenings were getting later and later. Not that Kylie could blame them. Pulling away from Lucas after their little make-out session had been hard-even with her grandfather's e-mail waiting for her.
Lucas had been humming with desire, and she'd been humming right along with him. The ability that male weres had to seduce their mate had bitten into her heart and soul. His touch had felt so good, she hadn't wanted to stop. It was getting harder not to give in. And yet ... she did stop.
Maybe because of the e-mails.
Maybe because she didn't want the hint of any unresolved issues to be involved with her first time. And while she understood that Lucas was following his quest, deep inside, it still stung.
Then again, probably the biggest reason she hadn't given in was because Della and Miranda had been sitting outside on the porch. Yup, that was for certain the biggest reason she'd found the willpower to stop things from going any farther than they had.
The fact that she and Lucas had ended up lying on the sofa, kissing, while her two best friends were on the porch, had her blushing when she'd faced the two of them after Lucas had left. Making it worse was knowing Della could smell the pheromones they'd put out.
However, that blush and those pheromones were, hopefully, going to help make tonight's plan work. The plan Kylie had come up with as soon as she'd read her grandfather's e-mail requesting that she meet him-alone-at Fallen Cemetery.
Had her grandfather learned the truth? That until recently his wife, Kylie's grandmother, had been buried there in a mismarked grave?
Her e-mail back to him had been brief: I'll do everything possible to be there at 1 AM. The fact that she hadn't heard back from him bothered her very little. He'd asked. She'd answered. What more was to be said? But it hadn't stopped her from checking her inbox every fifteen minutes.
The biggest downside to this whole thing was the lie she'd have to tell her roommates. A lie that was only going to work if Della wasn't automatically tuned in to hear Kylie's heart beat fast at the white lie. If Kylie could state the untruth and Della automatically believed it, she might not even check Kylie's heartbeat. Or at least Kylie prayed it would work that way.
A few minutes later, Kylie heard Miranda and Perry on the porch. Kylie got out of bed. Quietly, she moved into the living room, waiting for Miranda to come inside. Kylie knew Della was probably already aware that she'd risen from bed.
The door opened. When Miranda saw her she gasped.
"It's just me," Kylie said.
"What are you doing up?"
Not chancing lying twice, she commenced with her plan. "Did you see him?" Kylie asked.
"See who?" Miranda studied her. "Are you having one of those weird vision things again?"
"No. Did you see Lucas? He's supposed to meet me and we're ... going somewhere to be alone." Shooting to the window, she glanced out. "I see him," Kylie lied, and felt the guilt. "Gotta go."
Miranda grabbed her elbow. "Are you going to...?"
Perhaps it was Kylie's imagination, but she could swear she heard Della getting out of bed.
"Tell Della for me. Tell her I want to be with Lucas. Tell her I said to please let us have this time." If Della was listening now with her sensitive hearing, she'd recognize that as the truth. Kylie did want to be with Lucas.
Knowing it was imperative she leave before Della arrived, Kylie skirted out into the darkness, leaving Miranda standing there with her mouth slightly agape.
The late August air held a hint of coolness as Kylie bolted off the porch and ran as fast as she could away from the cabin.
Please let this work. Please let me make it. She repeated the words like a litany. Her body tingled with the knowledge that she followed her heart.
With each footfall that took her farther away, her confidence built. Even hearing Burnett's warning of never entering the woods alone, she knew that route offered the quickest escape, and she took it. Moving between the trees, she accepted the risk. Mario, or someone on his side, could be waiting.
But it was a risk worth taking, she told herself, and ignored the sensation of being followed. Ignored the wiggle of guilt she felt for lying to her two best friends.
She had to lie. This was her quest. And the risk should belong to her, not one of her friends who felt compelled to join her. She wouldn't put anyone else in Mario's path.
Suddenly, the phone in her pocket dinged with an incoming text. She slowed down enough to check the message.
Derek.
"Damn," she muttered, her voice whispering in the night air.
No doubt Derek had sensed her emotions and was concerned. But if she told him, like Della or Miranda, he'd think he had to come with her. She pocketed her phone and then pushed herself to move faster.
As she dodged limbs and jumped over thorn bushes, she listened to the night noises-finding peace in knowing that the darkness hadn't fallen silent. If Della had followed, she would have been here by now. Kylie could only surmise that her plan had worked. Della had relented to Kylie's wish to be with Lucas.
Aware of how far she'd gone, she knew she drew near the fence where the Shadow Falls property ended. Her heart knotted with fear that this was where her plan would get upended. Burnett could come running.
However, she'd heard rumors that someone was constantly breaking the rules. Perry, who never liked being limited when he transformed himself into some other creature. Then, Lucas and his pack constantly being called to visit their elders, who didn't respect Shadow Falls's rules.
Maybe, just maybe, Burnett wouldn't guess that the person slipping out of the property was Kylie.
The fence became visible. It loomed in front of her, a good eight feet in height. Kylie's breath hitched. She pushed to move faster, praying she could leap over the metal barrier.
Her body felt weightless as she moved into the air, higher. Higher. Her feet cleared the fence and she came down on the other side, avoiding a bad landing-and serious injuries. She hit hard and rolled a good seven feet.
She picked herself up and brushed her hand over her elbow that had found earth before the rest of her. The pain dulled, coming in second to her sense of success. She was doing it. She was going to make it.
The stickiness of blood met her palm. The berry scent filled her nose. Who knew her own blood could smell this good? She continued moving, fast, then faster, putting distance between her and the fence.
The sounds of the night continued to sing around her. No vampires making the night go silent. She was alone.
She crossed the road and moved into the trees lining the road as she continued onward. If she estimated correctly, she was only a few miles from the cemetery.
She was finally going to meet her grandfather and learn the truth. The mystery of just what she was-of what being a chameleon meant-was about to be solved. A smile widened her mouth.
The sensation of victory filled her chest and gave her speed, agility, and courage.
Or it did until a male voice called out, "Where the hell do you think you're going?"
Blood throbbed in her ears and she didn't recognize the voice at first-except that she knew it wasn't Burnett. It didn't matter. She didn't care who it was, because no one was welcome right now. She had a mission and didn't want company. And that was exactly what she planned on telling the intruder, too.
She came to a sudden stop-or as sudden as she could when traveling at a manic, inhuman speed. Her knees buckled. She wrapped her arms around a tree, catching herself from a bad fall.
Still unsure of the identity of the intruder behind her, still clinging to the tree for dear life, another voice, a different one from the first, spoke up. "I was about to ask the same question."