Chapter Eighteen
"Okay, first on the agenda. . . " Chris, the lead vampire, said the next morning as he prepared to announce partners at Meet Your Campmate hour-which was an hour that students were paired with someone else from the camp just to encourage interspecies harmony. Chris held his top hat in front of him as if to add drama to the moment.
Kylie stood centered between Della and Miranda, and arm-locked to Miranda's side was Perry.
Miranda had spotted Nikki, the shape-shifter who was crushing on Perry, waving at him earlier, and the witch hadn't let go of Perry since.
Kylie had also spotted Miranda's pinky twitching. If Nikki knew what was good for her, she'd give up on Perry. Kylie didn't believe Miranda would do something really terrible, other than pimples of course, but considering that Socks spent months as a skunk, any spell from Miranda could wind up accidentally terrible.
Kylie looked around, searching. Not for any one person-but for a certain sword. It hadn't shown up last night. Which was a relief. Maybe it was just a fluke. She didn't really believe in flukes, but she wanted to.
"Okay," Chris said. "Let's see who goes first. " To paraphrase Chris, "let see who paid in blood to spend an hour with someone. " At one time, Kylie considered the whole thing outlandish, but now she understood it was just a way to supply food, their main nutrition, to the vampires. They needed blood and this was just one way to get people to donate a pint.
It was still embarrassing to be the person someone paid blood to spend an hour with.
And damn if Chris's gaze didn't collide right into Kylie.
Not again.
Oh, just freaking great. Who was it this time? She glanced around to see if she could find Derek or Lucas. They both stood on opposite sides of the crowd, each staring at the other with accusation. Okay . . .
so if it wasn't those two, who?
"I'd be careful, Kylie," Chris said. "I'm beginning to think Fredericka has a thing for you. "
Kylie happened to be focused on Lucas when Chris made his announcement. Shock tightened the were's face, followed by a fierce look of protection. His eyes shot across the crowd apparently looking for Fredericka. When his gaze lit on her on the other side of the circle, his scowl deepened.
The girl frowned back and started walking toward Kylie. Walking with a sense of purpose.
Kylie heard Lucas's growl and watched him stomp over with an equal amount of purpose.
Great. Now she had two pissed-off weres coming at her.
"You want me to do something about this?" Della asked.
"No," Kylie said.
"You want me to moon everyone again?" Perry asked. "No," Kylie said, and just to be safe, she moved several feet away from her friends so no one would be tempted to start a fight or pull down their pants.
The two weres arrived at the same time. One on Kylie's left, the other on her right.
"You don't have to do this," Lucas seethed, obviously talking to Kylie. "I'll pay for her blood. But you don't have to go with me, either. "
Kylie looked from Lucas to Fredericka.
Hurt flashed in the female were's eyes. "If Kylie doesn't want to go, she doesn't have to. And I'll still pay for the blood. I don't need you covering for me. "
"It's okay," Kylie mumbled, feeling the eager gazes of everyone standing around. A light tingling ran up her legs and pulsated in her knees. Her heart lurched when she recognized this as the beginning stages of vanishing. She focused really hard to stop it. The last thing she wanted to do was vanish right before all the other campers and become even more of a freak than she already was.
Lucas snarled at Fredericka, "If you lay a finger on her, I'll get your wolf ass tossed out of the pack.
I'm done making excuses for you. "
Kylie's emotions ping-ponged all over the place. She felt sorry for Fredericka having to face Lucas's wrath. Sorry that Fredericka had to face the knowledge that Lucas's loyalty lay with Kylie and not her- one of his own kind. Having to face that in public had to be hard on her werewolf soul. Harder still because she loved Lucas.
But empathy for Fredericka wasn't all Kylie felt. She felt . . . shocked. This was the first time that he'd chosen her over one of his own kind.
Oh, he'd told her a thousand times, but his actions had never proven it. Not until now. The realization was so damn bittersweet. She didn't want to feel cherished by him after he'd betrayed her. She didn't want to feel guilty that he was hurting.
But she did.
Guilt, that ugly emotion, swelled inside her and made her chest feel heavy. But why? Was it someone's fault when she couldn't forgive someone else for a wrong they'd committed?
He looked at her again, his pain visible in his dark blue eyes, and then he took off-leaving her in a cloud of hurt and the awareness that, once again, all the Shadow Falls students were privy to her private life.
Fredericka watched him shoot off and then faced her. Kylie saw the blinders go down on the girl's emotions as she tried to hide her own hurt. She swallowed as if trying to get a painful lump to go down, then she lowered her head and spoke. "I told him I'd made my peace with you but he didn't believe me. "
Kylie nodded, and sensing Fredericka was as uncomfortable being the entertainment as she was, then started walking. Fredericka followed.
When they were out of earshot, Fredericka said, "Where do you want to go?"
"I don't care," Kylie said.
Kylie heard wings flapping above them and remembered Perry was shadowing her. "We're gonna have company," Kylie said. "My shadow. " She pointed up.
"Yeah, I figured that," Fredericka said. "Do you think he can hear us from up there?"
"Beats me," Kylie said. "I don't know how good a prehistoric bird's hearing is. "
"Then let's just pretend he can't hear," Fredericka said. "Okay. " And the burning question rose in her chest. "Does Lucas know you were the one to tell me?"
"Yeah, he knows. " Fredericka hesitated. "He thinks I told you to break you two up. "
Kylie remembered Fredericka denying it once before, but . . . "Did you?"
Hurt flashed in her eyes. "You don't believe me either?" She walked a few steps without speaking.
"I'm not stupid. I knew if I stopped him from going through with Monique he'd turn to you for good. "
"But you also admitted you love him, and you've tried to break us up before. "
"It finally got through my head how pathetic I was. He doesn't love me. He loves you. Always has and always will. It was a bitter pill, but I swallowed it. "
Kylie inhaled and realized she believed the girl. "Okay, so why did you pay blood to see me again?"
"For two reasons," the were said.
"And they are?" Kylie asked.
"I hear you're good at . . . giving people relationship advice. "
Kylie's mouth dropped open. "You want advice on how to win Lucas back?"
Fredericka make a funny face. "No! I told you, I swallowed that pill already. "
Kylie remembered what Miranda had told her. "Please tell me it's not the new teacher, Mr. Cannon. "
Fredericka looked shocked. "How did you know about me and Cary?"
Cary? So they're on a first-name basis? "Rumor has it you're hot on him. "
The were frowned. "I didn't think I was that . . . obvious. "
"Well, you thought wrong. And let me tell you, it's not a good idea. He's your teacher. "
"He's twenty. He's like some super-smart kid that finished college when he was nineteen. And I'll be eighteen next month. We're barely two years apart. "
Kylie could hear Perry's wings flapping in the breeze. She cut her eyes up, and for Fredericka's sake, she hoped he wasn't listening. "Fine, it's not the age thing. It's the teacher thing. "
"I don't see why that
matters," Fredericka said.
Kylie let out a deep gulp of air. "It matters if he wants to keep his balls. Burnett already threatened to send Hayden Yates away minus his when-"
"You and Mr. Yates had a fling?" Fredericka's eyes widened. "I thought you loved-"
"No! Burnett thought we were. "
"Why would he think that?" Fredericka made another face.
Kylie realized she shouldn't have mentioned this. "It's a long story. The point is that Burnett will be overly pissed if this new teacher gives you even a second glance. "
"Why don't you let me worry about Burnett and Cary's boys and you just tell me how to . . . to make it happen for us the way you did for the others. "
Kylie sighed. "Why does everyone keep saying that I'm good at offering relationship advice? Can't you see what a disaster my own relationships are? If I was good at that, do you think I'd be in the mess I'm in right now?"
Fredericka shrugged. "But everyone who went to you with problems says you fixed things. Perry and that little witch friend of yours. Helen and Jonathon. Burnett and Holiday. "
"How do you know they wouldn't have worked things out on their own?"
Fredericka frowned. "They all sing your praises. "
Kylie shook her head. "Look, I don't think you and the teacher is a good idea. ""So you won't help me?" Fredericka said. "Even after I set you straight on Lucas and saved him from having to spend his life with someone he doesn't love?"
Kylie exhaled. "Okay, here's my advice. Go talk to Holiday, tell her about your feelings and-"
"She'll say hell no. She doesn't even like me. "
"Oh yes, she does. With all the trouble you've caused, she'd have kicked your ass out a long time ago if she didn't. And if you're worried about her completely disagreeing, why don't you start by telling her you have a thing for someone who's only two years older and see what she says before you tell her who it is.
Get her to say it's not such a bad thing and then drop the bomb about him being a teacher. "
"You really think she'll listen to me?"
"Listen, yes. Whether or not she'll tell you not to do it is another matter. But she's the fairest person I know. "
"Okay. " Fredericka seemed to be thinking. "Now what about Cary? How do I get him to. . . ?"
"Notice you?"
"Not notice. He's already noticed me. I know he's attracted to me, he's just putting up roadblocks, probably for the same reason you said. He's a teacher and I'm his student. "
"Then why don't you go to him and tell him that you understand that this is hard, but you really like him, and would at least like to be friends until-"
"I don't want to be just friends. "
"Fine, but you start by being friends, and when you get the green light from Holiday, then you two can . . . go run off in the woods and do the wild thing, or do whatever you want to do. You're not going to be in school but for nine more months. So the worst-case scenario, you two build a friendship, then take it to the next level when school's out. "
She started nodding as if she agreed with Kylie. "Hell, I've waited for two years for Lucas, I could easily wait for nine months for Cary-if I had to. " She smiled. "See, you are good at this. Thank you,"
Fredericka said with sincerity.
"Good, are we finished? I think Perry's getting impatient. "
"No, there's the other thing. "
"What thing?" Kylie asked.
"The thing about you needing to forgive Lucas. "
"Look, you asked for my advice, I didn't ask for yours. " She started moving faster down the path that led to her cabin. A nice, quick run.
Fredericka matched her pace, footfall for footfall. "He loves you. Don't you get why he walked away from getting engaged? He gave up so much for you. Maybe even his own pack. "
Kylie came to an abrupt stop and faced the she-wolf. "Why did you tell me? Why didn't you just let him go through with it? Damn it! He shouldn't have done it!" And right then Kylie accepted that this was part of her angst over Lucas. She hadn't wanted to admit it. She hadn't even allowed herself to really let it soak in. But it was there, the truth right under all the betrayal she felt. Lucas had lost everything for her.
His dreams. His quests. Even if she did forgive him, sooner or later, he was going to hate her for this.
"Why?" Fredericka threw the question back at her. "Because, you fool, if he'd gone through with it, he'd have lost you. And whether you believe it or not, you are more important to him than getting on the Council. It's you that matters most to him. "* * * Kylie walked in a bit late to her first period class with Perry right behind her. She plopped down in the empty seat right in front of Della. Sitting her book on the desktop, she opened it and pretended to read.
She felt Lucas's eyes on her. She ignored him. Or tried to. Her heart started breaking all over again the second she felt his gaze fall on her.
She had a lot of thinking to do. But damn, she was still so confused.
Still so damn mad at him.
Still so much in love with him that she could hardly breathe.
"Miss Galen, it's so good to have you back with us," Miss Cane said.
Miss Galen? Kylie glanced up, but didn't speak. A nod of appreciation was all the lady was going to get. She hoped she'd be happy with it. Refocusing on the page in her English book, she didn't want to look anyone in the eye. Like Derek, who sat three seats away from her and was studying her with a shitload of worry because he could read her emotional state.
Then she felt Della lean in behind her.
"What's wrong?" the vampire whispered. "Do I need to bite some she-wolf's ass after class?"
"No. "
"Your face is all splotchy. And that means you've been crying. What's up?"
"Allergies," Kylie muttered, and wished she'd skipped class. Was it too late? Too late to just get up and walk out?
"You'd think you'd know better than to try to lie to me," Della whispered.
Kylie clenched her jaw and whispered back, "And you'd think you'd stop asking questions that would put me in a position to have to lie!"
"Okay," Della said. "We'll just chalk this conversation up to Miss Galen being in a pissy mood. "