"I get mad. I get furious at you guys all the time. Remember-"
"Wait, something doesn't make sense," Miranda said. "I've never heard of a protector being anything but a hundred percent supernatural."
"See? That proves it." Kylie slapped her hands on the table, wanting to believe it. "I'm not that nice of a person, and I know I'm my mother's daughter. So I'm not a protector."
"Or maybe you're just the first hybrid protector to exist," Miranda said. "I mean, usually there's only one protector born every hundred or two hundred years. But, hey, enough about that. Let's get to the good part about what happened that night." She waved her hands through the air as if to push that thought to the side.
"What good part?" Kylie asked.
Miranda's grin spread into the perfect smile-one that could be used to sell teeth-whitening strips. "Pleeeassse. You were there, in the dark, late at night, for several hours, and alone with Lucas. Who happens to be the hottest werewolf alive. I mean, I'm so not into werewolves, but even I can see it. He's like a god. So..." She held out her two palms. "What happened? And don't you dare tell me nothing. Because I will totally, completely lose faith in romance if nothing happened."
Kylie opened her mouth to answer and then saw Della leaning forward, turning her head slightly, as if to listen to Kylie's heartbeat to see if she attempted to lie.
"The little witch has a point," Della said. "This might be the good part."
Kylie frowned at Della. For a girl who always kept secrets, she sure didn't give anyone else a break. Then Kylie looked at Miranda, who held her breath in anticipation of Kylie baring her soul.
"Sorry," she said. "Nothing happened."
"Ugh." Miranda dropped her arms on the table and sank into them.
Della stared, and Kylie knew the vamp was listening to her heartbeat and checking for lies again. Frankly, Kylie wasn't sure what Della would hear. It wasn't actually a lie. Nothing happened. Except ... She'd felt so safe when Lucas had held her, except that she'd turned into Wonder Woman when she'd heard the rogue hurting Lucas. What did that mean? Kylie wasn't sure. So how could she explain it?
Miranda lifted her head off the table. "See what I mean? You're Mother Teresa. Pure. Without lust."
"No," Kylie snapped, not wanting to be viewed as a saint. "I ... lust."
Della and Miranda shared a pensive stare. "Sorry," Della said. "When it walks like a saint, and quacks like saint-it's a quacking saint."
"He held me," Kylie said. "Held me close. And I fell asleep on his shoulder. It was nice. And kind of ... He was hot." Though she meant temperature hot, she didn't mind if they drew their own conclusions.
"Yes!" Miranda smiled extra big again. "Did he kiss you? Like the awesome kiss he gave you at the creek when you first got here?"
"No," Kylie said.
Her two friends met each other's gazes again. "Mother Teresa," they said in unison.
"But he kissed me when I got back here," Kylie blurted out, deciding she'd rather kiss and tell than be considered a saint. "And he almost kissed me when he followed me to the office earlier."
Miranda squealed and Della laughed. "So he planted one on you, huh?"
Kylie looked at the humor on her roommates' faces and didn't find any of this so funny. "I'm so confused." She dropped her head on the table. Socks, now back up on the table, stuck his nose against her head and sniffed her scalp as if he were concerned.
"Confused about what?" Miranda asked.
Kylie lifted her head and rested her chin in her palm. "Confused about what I feel for Lucas. Confused about what I feel for Derek-other than pissed off. I'm really angry at him right now." Socks bumped against her hand, seeking some TLC. Feeling as if she could use some herself, she offered the little guy some affection.
"And you should be pissed!" Della shot Miranda an odd look. "She needs to know."
"Know what?" Watching the two of them exchanging gazes, Kylie got a bad feeling.
They didn't get a chance to answer because she heard a cracking sound and the cabin's front door swung open. Burnett walked inside, and behind him stood Holiday. Behind Holiday stood Perry.
Did they have news about the Brightens? Kylie's heart jolted.
"I told you to knock," Holiday snapped at Burnett.
"I did." He looked back at Holiday.
"Well, usually after you knock, you wait until someone tells you to enter."
Burnett shot Holiday a tight smile. "Guess you need to be more specific next time." He glanced back at Kylie, and she could see concern in his eyes.
"What's going on?" Kylie's gaze went back to Perry, who looked almost guilty. But guilty about what? Oh crap! What had happened?
"I'm sorry." Perry's eyes turned deep green.
Kylie's chest tightened. "Sorry for what?"
Perry looked at Burnett and then at Holiday.
"What happened?" Kylie asked. "Are the Brightens okay? Answer me!"
Perry just stood there looking guilt-ridden.
"I'd answer her," Della said to Perry in her snarky voice. "She might go after your ears again if you don't."
Chapter Five
"I don't know what happened." Perry moved in closer, his eyes brightening to emerald green.
"How could you not know?" Kylie looked to Burnett and then Holiday, waiting for one of them to pipe up. When they didn't, she refocused on Perry. "You were following them." Suddenly, the guilt she spotted on his face did a flying leap and landed right on Kylie's own shoulders. If something really bad had happened to them, it was her fault. She'd been the one wanting to contact them. But damn it, she'd been so sure it was the right thing to do.
"They disappeared," Perry said. "One minute they were driving down the freeway in that silver Cadillac and then, poof." He waved his hands out in front of him. "They were gone. Cadillac and everything. Gone. Poof."
Kylie's chest grew heavy. "People, human people, don't just go poof." She managed to keep her voice low, but her frustration laced the tone with sarcasm.
Then the truth hit. She only thought people didn't go poof. Not too long ago she didn't think people could turn into unicorns, or that vampires and werewolves existed. She wouldn't have thought she could use her dreams to communicate with people or that she could break down a concrete wall. So who the hell knew if people went poof or not? And if they did go poof, did that mean...?