Chosen at Nightfall (Shadow Falls #5)(27)

"I'll go now," he said, and she couldn't remember ever hearing him sound so defeated. So lost. "I've said what I wanted to, and just know I'll give you all the time you need to forgive me. But not forgiving me, that isn't an option. Because I love you."

She moved out of his way and he walked out the door. She went to the bed. Sat down. Kicked her shoes off. "Kitty, kitty?" she said, wanting something to hold on to. But Socks didn't come out. He really didn't like weres. Right now, a part of her agreed with him.

She brought her legs up, hugged her knees to her chest so tight it hurt.

Then she waited.

Waited for the tears to flow full force.

Waited for some of the pressure building in her heart to fade. But the tears didn't flow. The pressure remained.

Closing her eyes, she bit down on her lip. Why couldn't she cry? Was she just too emotionally exhausted?

And confused?

Yes, she was so damn confused.

How could Lucas suddenly see how wrong he was now, and not have seen it earlier? How could he have stood up there and vowed his soul, promised to marry someone else if he loved Kylie?

But why would he lie? Why would he come here and tell her all these things if they weren't true?

She sat there in the dark room for several long minutes. She felt alone. Lonely.

A crazy and somewhat childish thought ran though her head: I want my mama. But her mama wasn't here. Not at Shadow Falls. Not even in the country. Her mom was in England banging some guy that Kylie hated.

But she could still call her. Heck, maybe she'd even cause a little hiccup in John's plans to seduce her mother. That made calling even more tempting. She wanted John to know that her mom wasn't alone in the world.

She reached for her pocket and then groaned. She'd left her phone at her grandfather's.

"Damn it," Kylie muttered. As the frustrations of her lost phone bounced around her brain, her thoughts went to Jenny, to her conversation about talking to Hayden, and to some of the accusations she'd made about the elders. Were the young chameleons really being forced to live in a world of isolation? That seemed so wrong.

Just like that she felt compelled to find Hayden Yates. He would have answers. Maybe he could even assure her that her grandfather wasn't behind this. Popping up, she started out, then immediately slowed down when she got to the door. Oh, just friggin' great! She was supposed to be shadowed.

Burnett would flip if he thought Kylie was out wandering alone at night. But damn it, she needed answers. And sometimes you just had to break the rules. She went outside, quietly shutting the door so not to wake Miranda. Moving down the porch steps, she started toward the path that would lead to Hayden'scabin. He'd probably still be asleep, but she didn't care.

She only got a few feet when she saw someone move out from the trees. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw who it was.

The thought that came to mind was a phrase her Nana had often said when she'd found herself in a bad situation. She was up shit creek without a paddle.

* * *

"I ... I'm sorry," Kylie mumbled.

"Don't you even try to talk your way out of me being pissed!" Burnett growled. "Not a word!"

"I just..."

"That's two words and I said not one!" he snapped, and he swiped his hand through the air for emphasis.

Kylie bit down on her lip, and wouldn't you know that's when the tears started flowing. Big, fat, and fast tears. She sniffled and wiped her cheeks with the back of hand. Her breath caught in her chest. But damn it. Why couldn't this have happened when she was alone?

"Those tears do not affect me, young lady!" He pointed a finger at her. While she couldn't hear his heart beat to the rhythm of a lie, she heard it in his voice. They did affect him. Not enough to stop him from him being mad, but enough that his voice tightened with emotion.

And knowing she'd disappointed him added another layer of pain to her chest. Just what she needed ...

more pain.

She hugged herself and tried to stop crying. But the tears kept coming. He didn't say anything. Just paced, back and forth in front of her.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Staring at her with complete discontent and disappointment the whole time. She started to move back to her cabin, and he growled. Just a growl. No words, but enough inflection to know he didn't want her moving. Obviously, her punishment was to stand here and accept the fact that she'd let him down.

In the back of her mind she wondered if this was how Lucas had felt.

She swallowed another trembling breath. "I just..."

"Did I say you could talk?" he asked. He did three more pacing laps, as if working off steam, before he looked at her again. "Where were you going?"

When she just looked at him, he bit out, "Answer me."

"You said I couldn't talk." She wiped at her cheeks again.

"Where were you going, Kylie?"

Dear God, she didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell him the truth. She'd made a promise to her grandfather never to give up Hayden Yates.

Yup, she was really up shit creek and not a paddle in sight.

"Were you going to see Lucas?" Burnett asked.

She started to nod, but felt her heart race at just the thought of a lie.

"So it wasn't Lucas," he seethed, obviously hearing her heart and knowing her temptation to spout out untruths.He stepped closer and his dark eyes studied her. Studied her too closely. Up close, she saw again the disappointment in his eyes, and the knot in her throat rose again.