A chameleon alone will not survive. His warning stirred in her already heavy chest.
Pulling the pillow tighter, she sat up. She wasn't alone. She had Holiday and Burnett, and everyone here in her circle. And she'd just have to play it by ear on what, if anything, she'd tell the people close to her.
The sound of her stomach rumbling with hunger filled the silent room. She got up and went into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she reached for the orange juice, but her hand stilled when she saw Della's blood.
Della would kill her, but ...
* * *
"Where's my blood?" Della's voice vibrated through the entire cabin.
Kylie cringed, stepped out of the shower, and debated between the red or the white towel. She chose the white, for purity. If Della killed her, she'd at least be wearing white.
"Did you spill it again?" Della bellowed, no doubt screaming at Miranda.
"I didn't do anything with your blood," came Miranda's offended reply. "I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole."
Kylie tightened the towel around herself.
"Fess up, witch!" Della snapped.
"I told the truth," Miranda shot back. "Clean the stinky vamp wax out of your ears and listen to my heartbeat."
Okay, now their insults were getting to the ugly stage.
Hurrying, Kylie stepped out of the misty warm bathroom right into the middle of the warpath.
"My ears aren't dirty," Della said, snarling. "I'm not the one letting some shape-shifter suck on my earlobe."
"That's enough." Kylie held up her hands
"I'm never telling you anything else." Miranda sounded so hurt.
"Thank Gawd!" Della spewed. "You think I want to hear about you having your earlobes sucked?"
"Bitch!" Miranda seethed.
"Stop!" Kylie yelled.
"I never said he sucked them," Miranda spit out. "I said he nibbled on them." She started walking toward Della, her pinky held out like a weapon.
Della bared her canines and started forward. "Same thing. Equally gross!"
"Cut it out!" Kylie shot between her two best friends.
"She poured out my blood!" Della accused.
"Did not!" Miranda mouthed back.
"She's telling the truth." Kylie looked at Della. "I ... I did it."
"You poured out my blood?" Della asked.
"No. I ... drank it. And I'm sorry." Kylie held out her wrist, exposing her vein. "Here, have some of mine."
Della stared at her, her brows creased, and then her mouth dropped open. "Holy shit! You're a vampire!"
"She's a witch," Miranda said proudly, standing at Kylie's back.
"Not anymore," Della said. "Use your eyes, Miss Smarty Pants, and see for yourself. Or did Perry lick them, too?"
Not wanting to draw this out, Kylie faced Miranda. It wasn't as if she could hide it.
"Crap!" Miranda gasped. "What happened? Did having sex with Lucas turn you into a vampire?"
"No," Kylie said.
Della slapped a hand on her hip. "Why would having sex with a werewolf turn someone into a vampire?"
"I don't know," Miranda said. "Maybe it was really bad sex."
Della shot Miranda a bird and then focused on Kylie. "Did you have sex with Lucas?"
"No." Kylie tugged on her drooping towel. "We just ... made out."
"How far did you get?" Della wiggled her brows.
"Thought you didn't like hearing about it," Miranda said in an angry voice.
"Not about earlobe sucking. That's gross."
"Bitch!" Miranda charged at Della; Della charged back at Miranda.
Kylie caught Miranda by the shirt with one hand and Della by the arm with her other hand. Right then, her towel fell to the floor. Naked as a jaybird, and suddenly furious, she stomped her foot. "I said stop!"
Della and Miranda both giggled. No doubt she looked funny naked and furious.
Kylie released them, and then snatched up her towel. "Look, I have some things to share, but if you don't stop arguing, I'm going to walk away and just let you kill each other."
"You tried that line once before," Della said. "We let you down. We didn't kill each other." She snarled at Miranda. "Of course, it could change this time."
Kylie rolled her eyes. "Are you going to stop arguing or not?"
"Maybe," Miranda said. "Especially if you can explain how the freaking hell you can change your pattern. Oh, and if you give us details about last night with Lucas."
Kylie looked at Della. "Truce?"
"Yeah," Della said. "Besides, it's you I'm pissed at now for drinking my blood. You thieving vamp." She showed her canines, but a smile came with it. "And Miranda's right. We want details on both counts."
* * *
An hour later, after Kylie had given all the details-or at least all the details she planned on giving-the three of them walked toward the office. Kylie had confessed about going to the cemetery. She'd known Della would be pissed that she'd been tricked, and Kylie had been right. But telling them seemed important, and not just to clear her conscience. If she needed to meet her grandfather in the future, she'd need allies. Della and Miranda were her best allies.
As well as her best friends.
And a big part of the reason Kylie couldn't do what her grandfather wanted: to go live with him. A detail Kylie had omitted from the conversation.
"Are you going to tell Burnett and Holiday?" Miranda asked as they neared the office.
"I don't know." Kylie looked up at the porch and listened to someone breathing inside. What if they went berserk and forbid her to see her grandfather and aunt again?
Would Holiday do that?
Probably not. But she could see Burnett doing it. Or trying to do it.
Kylie's heart grew heavy when she remembered she wasn't here to just talk about her grandfather. It was time. Time to tell Holiday about her sister. But first, she hoped to talk to Burnett about what all she'd learned about Hannah. He needed to know so he could look into this Blake character.
But damn, Kylie wasn't looking forward to having either of those chats.
"Shit!" Della caught Kylie's arm. "If you tell Burnett about meeting your grandfather, then I'll get my ass in a sling because I let you go. He won't care that I thought you were going to go get lucky with Lucas."
"He'll blame me, too." Miranda frowned.
"He won't blame you two," Kylie said. "It's all on me."
"Right, like Burnett's reasonable," Della said.