Awake at Dawn (Shadow Falls #2)(62)

Kylie looked back at the office and remembered her questions about her dream, remembered her newly discovered hearing abilities, too.

Was this a werewolf talent? She recalled asking Lucas if he could hear her heart beating and he'd told her that weres' hearing wasn't really set to do that, but to hear enemies approaching. What kind of hearing ability had Kylie just experienced? Was it werewolf or vampire?

Turning her head to the side, she listened to see what else she could hear. Nothing. Sure, she heard the normal noises, but nothing seemed too loud or out of the ordinary. Della had said she could hear the animals at the wildlife park. Kylie couldn't hear that. So why had she been able to hear Holiday and Burnett's fight? What did this mean?

Staring up at the sky soaked with pale early morning colors, she tried to accept all the things about herself that were changing. Problem was, to completely understand, she needed to know what the hell she was!

With a chest full of emotion, she started walking back to the office, praying Holiday might have the answers.

"Holiday, it's me." Kylie called out when she stepped inside the main office ten seconds later.

"In my office," Holiday answered.

When Kylie stopped at the door, Holiday swept her palms over her cheeks. She was crying. Or she had been.

Her eyes were still washed with wet sadness, and her face looked red. Angst and sorrow filled Kylie's chest. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing." Holiday waved a hand in the air. "Burnett and I just had ... words."

"I know," Kylie said, deciding the best approach was to come clean. "I heard."

A frown appeared on Holiday's lips and Kylie wasn't sure if it was because she thought Kylie had been intruding or if the expression stemmed from her lingering frustration with Burnett.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," Kylie said quickly. "When I stepped up on the porch and heard arguing, I wanted to see if you were okay, but then I moved off the porch, but I could still ... hear. So I moved farther.

And I could still hear." A little of her panic crept in Kylie's voice. Holiday's frown deepened. "Were we that loud?"

"No. And that's what's so freaky. I shouldn't have been able to hear you. I kept getting farther back and I..."

Holiday's eyes widened. "And you could still hear us? Are you sure we weren't just loud?"

"Positive," Kylie said. "I was at the beginning of the trail."

"Wow," Holiday said.

"Yeah, wow!" Kylie dropped down into a chair. Her gaze shifted to the bills strewn out over the desk. Holiday's emotion and frustration still filled the room. Kylie looked at Holiday. "Are we really in financial trouble?"

Holiday eyed the stacks of bills. "A little bit. But it'll work out in the wash."

"Are you going to take Burnett's money?"

Holiday's eyes tightened in worry. "I will before I let Shadow Falls suffer.

But this issue isn't important right now. You're important. Are you okay with ... this?" She studied Kylie. "I mean your sensitive hearing."

"Do I have a choice?" Kylie batted back a bad mood. "If I say I'm not okay with it, will it just stop?"

Holiday shot her a sympathetic smile. "I can only guess how hard this must be on you. I mean, I grew up knowing certain things would happen and expecting there to be some surprises, but I'm sure for you, it's really a shock. These last few weeks have been a real eye-opener for you, haven't they?"

"Just a little bit," Kylie said sarcastically, and pushed her palms into her eye sockets. When she looked up, Holiday studied her. "I just want to know what I am. If I knew that, then ... I think I could deal with it. I'm so tired of thinking I'm this, and thinking I'm that." She gripped her hands together. "I've been ... so moody lately. A real bitch. I grew a cup size, half a shoe size, and added an inch to my height overnight, and now I'm hearing things I shouldn't be hearing. Do you think this means I'm werewolf?"

Holiday chewed on her bottom lip as if considering. "Sensitive hearing is one of the gifts of being werewolf, but it's also part of being vampire- though I'm told they each have different types of hearing."

Kylie hung on Holiday's every word, hoping she would tell her something Kylie didn't know. But some of it she already knew.

"Like I told you," Holiday continued, "when you mix human with supernaturals, or different species mix, sometimes the offspring are born with different abilities, but they always inherit the DNA and the main gifts from the dominant parent. And they fit into one pattern of a species.

I'm sure your pattern will emerge soon. With all the changes happening to you so quickly, it's bound to become apparent any time."

Kylie struggled to understand. "But you also said if I was werewolf or vampire you thought I'd already have experienced some of the basic transitions."

"I did say that," Holiday admitted. "But I also said I've never seen a case like yours."

"I'm just a freak."

"No. You are unique."

"I don't want to be unique." Kylie sighed. "Do fairies ever have sensitive hearing?" She looked at Holiday.

A smile whispered across Holiday's lips. "Not commonly." She continued to study Kylie as if reading her disappointment. "You want to be fairy?"