Awake at Dawn (Shadow Falls #2)(48)

Forgotten maybe, forgiven not so much. Kylie sensed it when she looked into the camp leader's eyes. And the pain of knowing that her mistake had altered their relationship left an empty spot in Kylie's chest. To make matters worse, there seemed to be even more tension between Holiday and Burnett. Obviously, Kylie's interference not only hadn't helped, but it had made the rift between them even wider.

"You ready?" Kylie heard Miranda call out from the living room. Socks raised his little skunk face off the mattress and hissed. No doubt the kitten/ skunk was tired of Miranda following him around and trying to undo her screw-up. Kylie wouldn't be surprised if Socks didn't end up spraying her. If he could spray, that is.

"No. I haven't even touched my hair," Kylie called back, and looked around for her hairbrush. "Why don't you go down to breakfast and meet up with Della and I'll meet you as soon as I can?"

"Got it!" Miranda called. "But hurry, I can't wait to head off. It feels like years since I've gotten to go shopping. And hey, when you leave, make sure you shut the door and don't just break it down."

Kylie frowned and wished she hadn't told Miranda and Della about the whole shower scene at Derek's. But not sharing didn't feel right, even if they teased her about it.

"Did Holiday say we had to be back at a certain time?" Miranda called out again.

"No," Kylie said.

Holiday, in spite of her emotional distance, had agreed to let Kylie, Della, and Miranda take one of the school vehicles into town and do some clothes shopping. It was either that or Kylie was going to have to borrow someone's shoes and bras. Thankfully, the growth spurt appeared to have come to an end. Not that it stopped Kylie from worrying. What did it all mean? And when would she know for sure what to expect next? The full moon would be here on Monday. The weres of the group had planned their show-and-tell event for that night, planning on allowing the group to actually watch one of them turn.

Every now and then, whenever Kylie let her mind go there, she worried she might be doing some show-and-telling that night, too. If her body's change was because she was werewolf, didn't that mean she might do a little morphing herself? Her heart raced at the thought. Would she know what to do? Would she remember who she was?

Kylie heard the cabin door shut and she reached for her phone to make sure she hadn't missed a call from Mr. Smith the PI. Looking at the phone, she realized she did have some messages. Her hope rose that it was him with good news.

But nope. No call from the PI. Two more messages from her stepdad and one from Trey. Great. Just friggin' great! She deleted all three messages without listening to them.

When she reached inside her drawer to find her brush, her eyes landed on Lucas's letter. Curiosity ate at her to open it, but another emotion-

one Kylie could best describe as guilt-kept the letter sealed and unread. Please don't break my heart, Kylie.

Derek's words played across her mind. She had no intention of breaking Derek's heart. She had no intention of getting involved with Lucas. So would someone please explain why she felt guilty about reading his letter?

Maybe because she kept dreaming about him. Almost dreamed about him. Oddly enough, the dreams always stopped before they really got started. However, Kylie had a feeling that was best. She somehow sensed that they would be all too similar to the dream she'd had about him before.

Dreams that involved kissing and touching where clothes were considered optional.

Why did she keep almost dreaming of him?

Because you have unresolved feelings for him, a voice from within answered.

A voice Kylie really wished would keep her mouth shut. Kylie didn't want to have any feelings for Lucas. He was off with Fredericka. And Kylie was now with ... well, almost with Derek. They hadn't even kissed since the night she'd seen him naked. A memory that never ventured too far from her mind. However, since that night, he'd sort of kept his distance from her. Kylie didn't know if it was because he sensed she still felt embarrassed about everyone picking up on her uncontrollable desires for him, or if it was something else.

It could be his way of trying to show how it felt to be avoided. Though Derek didn't seem the type to play head games.

Maybe it was simply because she still hadn't made any verbal commitment to being a couple, to going out with him. Not that this had anything to do with Lucas or his letter. Nope. Not at all. Lucas was history. Even if he came back. He'd made his choice when he took off with Fredericka. Not that she would be rude to Lucas if he did come back. They could even be ... friends. If his little she-wolf allowed it.

Thinking of Fredericka shot Kylie back to the night she'd been trapped in the bedroom with the lion. The Blood Brothers, a rogue vampire gang, had started terrorizing and killing the wildlife at the animal preserve next door hoping the FRU would blame the camp and then close it down. They had sent the lion into the camp as part of the setup. However, Kylie couldn't help but think that someone had made sure that lion had gotten in her bedroom. That someone would be Fredericka. Was she wrong to suspect her? Kylie didn't think so.

Oh, heck, this trip down memory lane was stupid. So was the fact that she hadn't opened Lucas's letter. She snatched up the envelope, opened the seal, and was just about to pull the letter out when her phone rang. Dropping the letter on the bed and checking the number, she took the call. "Hi, Mom."