Whispers at Moonrise (Shadow Falls #4)(71)

She shrugged but didn't meet his gaze. "I trust that you'd have tried to stop me. And you proved me right."

"You could have reasoned with me, instead of casting a stupid net." His words came out with a light growl.

"I didn't have time to reason."

"Which is why you should have told me earlier. The idea that you didn't trust me infuriates me."

Like he didn't trust her. "I know exactly how you feel," she said, letting him figure out what she meant.

"It's different," he answered, his figuring-things-out ability right on target.

"No, it isn't." A knot rose in her throat. She still refused to look at him, afraid he'd check her pattern and be repulsed by what he found. And God help her, but she didn't think she could deal with that.

"You told me you understood. You said you overreacted yesterday when you were mad, or not mad, or maybe a little mad. Aw, hell, you confuse me!"

"I did tell you that," she admitted. "And I do understand, or I'm trying to, but when you can't seem to offer me the same courtesy, I'm reconsidering my understanding."

"So we're back to you being a woman and having the right to change your mind," he bit out.

"Yeah!" Tears stung her eyes and she moved faster.

They passed a couple of dilapidated statues with missing arms. She saw Lucas glance at them. How much had it cost him to come into the cemetery? He, like ninety percent of all supernaturals, hated cemeteries. Was that why her grandfather had asked to meet her here? He knew very few supernaturals would enter this place.

But Lucas had. He cared about her more than he cared about his fear of spirits. Would he have entered if he knew that she was vampire? Would he still care about her if she turned to him right now and let him see her pattern?

The question, or rather the fear of his answer, drove her to move faster. She wanted to be alone. Alone to contemplate every word her grandfather had said.

Alone to revel in the knowledge that she'd finally gotten the truth.

Alone to figure out what it all meant.

She was a chameleon. However, for now, she was vampire. But for how long? How long before she could control this crazy thing that was happening to her?

The spirits waited for her at the front gate. Lucas grew tenser, as if he sensed them. Slowing down only long enough to push open the creaky gate, she offered the dead reaching out for her one promise: I'll be back.

As soon as the icy wind blew the gate closed behind her, she picked up her pace, running. One foot hit the earth and then the other. She moved with purpose. She wanted to be home. She wanted to be at Shadow Falls.

You are one of us. We share the same blood. A chameleon alone will not survive. She heard her grandfather's warning ring in her ears, but she refused to believe it. The mere thought of leaving Shadow Falls sent a wave of pain shooting across her heart. She couldn't leave.

Yet even as she ran to the one place in her life that felt right, the place she felt the safest, she knew that the answers she sought were not at Shadow Falls, but with her grandfather.

The knowledge caused a sharp pain in the very center of her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes and slipped from her lashes. She felt them hot against her cold vampire skin. Air shuddered in her chest from the emotion when she realized that before she could retreat to her cabin, she'd probably have to face Burnett's fury.

"Slow down," Lucas demanded.

She ran faster. Burnett's wrath was nothing compared to facing Lucas. His prejudice against vampires right now would hurt more than she could stand.

* * *

The gate to Shadow Falls loomed just ahead. Her heart thumped in her chest. She prayed Burnett's tongue-lashing wouldn't take too long. While her body didn't feel the least bit tired, her heart did.

"Damn it, Kylie," Lucas muttered again. Everything from his breathless tone to the stomp of his feet hitting the earth told her he was pushing himself to his limits.

"I said stop!" He sounded closer this time.

Just when she was about to take the leap over the fence, she felt him grab her around her waist. They went down. Hard. He wrapped his arms around her to protect her from the fall and they rolled several times.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked.

She ended up on top of him, his hot body reminding her that she was vampire. He stared up at her face. She tried to get up.

He caught her.

"What's the matter?" he asked again.

He rolled her over and landed on top of her. Afraid he'd see her brain pattern, she turned her head and stared at the underbrush. Tears stung her eyes again.

"Hey." His voice came out more tender this time. He'd obviously noticed her tears. "Look at me."

She didn't. She couldn't. "I just want to get this over with," she snapped.

"Get what over with?" His chest moved up and down on top of her as he breathed.

"Facing Burnett."

"He doesn't know, but if you leap over the fence right now, he will."

She looked back him. "He doesn't know?"

"No. I got out without being detected. And if you'll listen to me, I think I can get you in without him knowing, too. Or you can jump over the fence and go head-on with his wrath."

Realizing she was facing Lucas again, she turned her head. The underbrush against her back felt like soft moss, but the emotion in her chest was scratchy.