Chosen at Nightfall (Shadow Falls #5)(52)

Kylie looked around, searching. Not for any one person-but for a certain sword. It hadn't shown up last night. Which was a relief. Maybe it was just a fluke. She didn't really believe in flukes, but she wanted to.

"Okay," Chris said. "Let's see who goes first." To paraphrase Chris, "let see who paid in blood to spend an hour with someone." At one time, Kylie considered the whole thing outlandish, but now she understood it was just a way to supply food, their main nutrition, to the vampires. They needed blood and this was just one way to get people to donate a pint.

It was still embarrassing to be the person someone paid blood to spend an hour with.

And damn if Chris's gaze didn't collide right into Kylie.

Not again.

Oh, just freaking great. Who was it this time? She glanced around to see if she could find Derek or Lucas. They both stood on opposite sides of the crowd, each staring at the other with accusation. Okay ...

so if it wasn't those two, who?

"I'd be careful, Kylie," Chris said. "I'm beginning to think Fredericka has a thing for you."

Kylie happened to be focused on Lucas when Chris made his announcement. Shock tightened the were's face, followed by a fierce look of protection. His eyes shot across the crowd apparently looking for Fredericka. When his gaze lit on her on the other side of the circle, his scowl deepened.

The girl frowned back and started walking toward Kylie. Walking with a sense of purpose.

Kylie heard Lucas's growl and watched him stomp over with an equal amount of purpose.

Great. Now she had two pissed-off weres coming at her.

"You want me to do something about this?" Della asked.

"No," Kylie said.

"You want me to moon everyone again?" Perry asked."No," Kylie said, and just to be safe, she moved several feet away from her friends so no one would be tempted to start a fight or pull down their pants.

The two weres arrived at the same time. One on Kylie's left, the other on her right.

"You don't have to do this," Lucas seethed, obviously talking to Kylie. "I'll pay for her blood. But you don't have to go with me, either."

Kylie looked from Lucas to Fredericka.

Hurt flashed in the female were's eyes. "If Kylie doesn't want to go, she doesn't have to. And I'll still pay for the blood. I don't need you covering for me."

"It's okay," Kylie mumbled, feeling the eager gazes of everyone standing around. A light tingling ran up her legs and pulsated in her knees. Her heart lurched when she recognized this as the beginning stages of vanishing. She focused really hard to stop it. The last thing she wanted to do was vanish right before all the other campers and become even more of a freak than she already was.

Lucas snarled at Fredericka, "If you lay a finger on her, I'll get your wolf ass tossed out of the pack.

I'm done making excuses for you."

Kylie's emotions ping-ponged all over the place. She felt sorry for Fredericka having to face Lucas's wrath. Sorry that Fredericka had to face the knowledge that Lucas's loyalty lay with Kylie and not her- one of his own kind. Having to face that in public had to be hard on her werewolf soul. Harder still because she loved Lucas.

But empathy for Fredericka wasn't all Kylie felt. She felt ... shocked. This was the first time that he'd chosen her over one of his own kind.

Oh, he'd told her a thousand times, but his actions had never proven it. Not until now. The realization was so damn bittersweet. She didn't want to feel cherished by him after he'd betrayed her. She didn't want to feel guilty that he was hurting.

But she did.

Guilt, that ugly emotion, swelled inside her and made her chest feel heavy. But why? Was it someone's fault when she couldn't forgive someone else for a wrong they'd committed?

He looked at her again, his pain visible in his dark blue eyes, and then he took off-leaving her in a cloud of hurt and the awareness that, once again, all the Shadow Falls students were privy to her private life.

Fredericka watched him shoot off and then faced her. Kylie saw the blinders go down on the girl's emotions as she tried to hide her own hurt. She swallowed as if trying to get a painful lump to go down, then she lowered her head and spoke. "I told him I'd made my peace with you but he didn't believe me."

Kylie nodded, and sensing Fredericka was as uncomfortable being the entertainment as she was, then started walking. Fredericka followed.

When they were out of earshot, Fredericka said, "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't care," Kylie said.

Kylie heard wings flapping above them and remembered Perry was shadowing her. "We're gonna have company," Kylie said. "My shadow." She pointed up.

"Yeah, I figured that," Fredericka said. "Do you think he can hear us from up there?"

"Beats me," Kylie said. "I don't know how good a prehistoric bird's hearing is."

"Then let's just pretend he can't hear," Fredericka said."Okay." And the burning question rose in her chest. "Does Lucas know you were the one to tell me?"

"Yeah, he knows." Fredericka hesitated. "He thinks I told you to break you two up."

Kylie remembered Fredericka denying it once before, but ... "Did you?"