Awake at Dawn (Shadow Falls #2)(14)

"Why not?" Della asked. "It's not a werewolf. It's just an animal."

"Yeah, a real live animal. It's not hurting us," Kylie said. "So why would you hurt it?"

"It's following us. And that's creepy," Della answered.

Miranda leaned in. "I hate to say this but I agree with Della. It's creepy."

Kylie stared into the woods, and between the collage of trees she spotted the golden eyes staring back at her. A shiver ran up her spine. Creepy? Maybe, but it still hadn't hurt anyone. Then Kylie couldn't help but wonder if the wolf's presence wasn't some sort of message, or a piece of a puzzle. Or was it like Derek had said, just a hybrid animal wanting company?

"Oh man. Is that its eyes?" Miranda pointed into the woods.

"Yeah," Della snapped. "And I don't like it. I'm really in the mood to kick wolf butt."

Realizing Della was serious, Kylie snatched up a small rock and slung it in the direction of the wolf. "Go away," she yelled.

The rustle of underbrush filled the silence as the animal shot off. Then she looked up at Miranda and Della. "There, it's gone. Happy now?"

The sound of the insects started chiming again.

"Not really," Della said. "It would have been more fun if I'd done it my way. I could have used a snack."

"Tell me you wouldn't have killed it," Kylie insisted.

"Just a little bit." Della grinned.

Kylie rolled her eyes and hoped like heck Della was joking.

"Is it really gone?" Miranda looked down the line of the woods.

"Yeah," Della said, and they started walking again. But Kylie couldn't help but look back and question just exactly why the wolf was here.

Then a thought hit and it felt as if Kylie's heart bounced around her ribs for a second. Could Lucas be trying to send her a message?

"Back to my problem," Miranda said as they approached their cabin.

"What am I going to do about Kevin?"

"That's simple." Della jumped up onto the cabin porch. She turned around and looked back at Miranda. "You have to make up your mind."

She held out her right palm. "Do you want Kevin?" She held out her left palm. "Or do you want Perry? It's not really that hard. Kevin?" She lifted her right hand. "Or Perry." She moved her left hand up higher.

"What if I choose Perry, but he never chooses me? Never makes a move. Never even kisses me. What if I end up being the oldest witch virgin alive?"

"Then you'll know you screwed up." Della shrugged.

"You're not a lot of help." Miranda looked at Kylie. "What do you think?"

"I think..." Kylie remembered kissing Derek tonight, wanting things to be different, but feeling as if something was always stopping her from taking that leap. Then she remembered feeling torn between Derek and Lucas.

"I think you shouldn't come to me for relationship advice. I suck at it."

Kylie shot up the steps and went into the cabin.

Thirty minutes later, Kylie snuggled in her bed with her kitten, the kitten Lucas had given her. Outside her door, she heard Miranda and Della talking to Holiday. When the camp leader had knocked on the cabin door, Kylie pulled the blanket over her face and closed her eyes. She felt her kitten climb on top and paw at the blanket. It wasn't that she no longer wanted to talk to Holiday. It was more like she doubted this chat would help.

How many times did she have to hear Holiday say "I don't know, Kylie, this is something you'll have to figure out for yourself"? Why did Kylie think this talk would be any different? Wasn't that the definition of insanity? To do the same thing over and over again and expect different results?

"Kylie?" Holiday's voice penetrated the blanket as she tapped on the door.

Leaving the blanket over her head, Kylie called out, "Come in."

Kylie heard the door open into her tiny room, she heard it shut, and she heard Holiday come to a stop. "That wasn't a very enthusiastic welcome," the camp leader said.

"You want me to fake it?" Kylie moved the blanket off her head and sat up. Socks moved to snuggle in beside her.

Holiday smiled and sat down at the foot of Kylie's bed. "I know it's tough."

"You don't know the half of it." Kylie pulled her knees to her chest and watched Socks move over to the camp leader and rub his face against her arm. "I had a plan to figure it all out. All I needed to do was get Daniel to hang around long enough to tell me what he was, so I'd know what I am.

He finally shows up tonight, but he doesn't have any answers." Kylie's throat tightened.

Holiday looked genuinely puzzled. "How could he not have the answers?"

"Because he was adopted. He didn't realize he wasn't human until he was eighteen. And I don't even know where to start to find the answers now."

"You'll figure it out," Holiday said, stroking Socks from his head to his tail. "I believe that with all my heart."

Kylie's eyes started to sting, which basically meant that the tears were on their way. "Does liking the taste of blood make me a vampire?"

Holiday hesitated.

"Wait. Let me guess. You don't know, do you? And then you're going to tell me that this is probably something I just need to find out for myself."