Awake at Dawn (Shadow Falls #2)(81)

Kylie didn't flinch.

She breathed in.

She breathed out.

She welcomed another round.

"You bitch!" Fredericka growled, and tossed her head back.

"You hurt my cat and you'll see how big of a bitch I can be!" Kylie voice sounded as animal-like as the she-wolf's. Then, suddenly frightened, not of Fredericka, but at what Kylie would do if the girl came at her again, she stepped back and slammed the front door. The whole cabin shook from the impact. And right then a cold presence filled the room.

Company.

Great. The cabin smelled of skunk, she had a majorly pissed-off shewolf outside, and now the spirit wanted to drop by.

Five minutes later, Kylie still stood with her back to the refrigerator, breathing through her mouth so she wouldn't gag at the pungent odor, and trying to calm herself and a very scared skunk-kitten. Socks, seconds after Kylie had come inside, had climbed up her leg, cuddled into her arms, and buried its little pointed nose in her armpit. Kylie wondered if the nose in the armpit wasn't so much his need to escape the smell as it was to hide.

The ghost paced the tiny living room as though she was trying to think. Kylie watched the spirit walk in circles before realizing the ghost's wardrobe.

"Why are you wearing a hospital gown?" Kylie asked, but the spirit didn't answer. And when the ghost faded, relief flowed over Kylie. She closed her eyes and tried to recall the calm she'd gathered at the falls about the whole "Someone you love is dying" situation.

Then the door to the cabin swung open. Thinking it could be Fredericka again, Kylie tensed and then un-tensed when she saw Holiday and Miranda.

"Are you okay?" Holiday asked.

Kylie nodded and Socks, hearing more commotion, snuggled tighter into Kylie's armpit. Miranda and Holiday both covered their noses and their wide-eyed gazes moved around the ransacked cabin.

"What happened?" Holiday asked.

Fredericka happened, Kylie almost answered, but then bit back the words. She'd never been much of a tattler and didn't want to start now.

"Socks got startled." It wasn't altogether a lie.

Holiday, her hand still plastered over her nose, squinted at Kylie. "I know Fredericka was here." Her voice came out muffled behind her palm.

"She told you?" Kylie asked.

"Didn't have to," Miranda piped in. "We smelled her when she walked past the office."

"What happened?" Holiday repeated her question from behind her fingers.

Miranda took a step closer. "She was spitting mad," Miranda broke in again, humor in her voice. "Seriously spitting. Did Socks get her in the face?" The witch laughed and wrinkled her nose at the smell again and waved her hands around the air as if to perform a bit of magic.

Kylie's next intake of air didn't include the skunk stench. "Thanks," she said to Miranda, surprised that her roommate had removed the smell without any goofs.

"Welcome," Miranda said with a sense of pride. "Odor removal is a piece of cake. Learned in the potty-training stage."

Holiday dropped her hand. "Miranda, can I have a minute alone with Kylie?"

Miranda rolled her eyes. "Why is it that everyone is always sending me away?" She stomped off into her bedroom, but flashed Kylie a smile before shutting the door.

Holiday met Kylie's gaze. "Now, what happened?"

Fredericka just stopped by to remind me that she tried to kill me once by putting a lion in my room and once might not be enough for her.

When Kylie didn't answer, Holiday studied Kylie suspiciously. "My job here is to show everyone that we can all get along without incident."

She sighed. "I agreed to her coming back because ... I know she doesn't have anywhere else to go. I'm afraid she'd be pulled into a gang, but if she's starting trouble, Kylie, I'll show her the gate."

Kylie knew Holiday meant what she said and she appreciated her loyalty to no end. While the temptation to tell the truth bubbled up inside Kylie, her own sense of loyalty bit down. She knew how important it was to Holiday to save every one of her campers from the dark side of the supernatural world. Even Fredericka.

Kylie wasn't sure the she-wolf was worth saving or even if she was salvageable.

But Kylie didn't want to be the one to make that call. Besides, she didn't want Holiday having to solve Kylie's problems. She got a mental image of how she'd managed to toss Fredericka out the door. Maybe, just maybe she was capable of taking care of herself.

Giving the still-scared Socks a good scratch behind his ears, Kylie said, "It's not a big deal. Socks didn't like Fredericka and Fredericka didn't like Socks. No one was hurt." Yet, a little voice echoed inside Kylie, but she ignored it. "I'm sure we can work it out."

When Kylie looked up, she spotted Della standing behind the camp leader in the doorway mouthing the word "Liar."

Holiday looked at Della and then faced Kylie again. "You're sure?"

Kylie nodded. It felt less like a lie.

Holiday gave Kylie a hug and then took off. Miranda came out of her room, and Kylie dropped Socks to the floor and started picking up the mess. Miranda and Della did the same.

"You don't have to help," Kylie said.

"Please," Miranda said, and they continued to straighten chairs. Della lifted the microwave back on the counter. She plugged it back in and when the light came on, she said, "Good as new."