He sat there frowning. "So you're going to take Lucas back. You are going to forgive him for running off and getting engaged to someone else."She tightened her hold on her leg. "He didn't really get engaged. He stopped it before he got to that point."
Derek's frown increased. "Only because you showed up-because you discovered his dirty little secret."
"I know that. And I don't know what I'm going to do. I haven't forgiven him yet, but I haven't stopped loving him either."
"But if you gave us a chance, maybe you'd really fall back in love with me. I think you were really in love with me at one time. We could get back there where we feel that way again."
"We?" She sighed, realizing what he said. "See, you don't even feel the same way anymore, either."
"I didn't mean..." He shook his head.
"Yes, you did," she said. "Derek, I think we were in love with each other," she admitted. "And I don't want to hurt you, Derek. I really do care about you and I still love you, just not ... that way. And I think it's the same with you."
He stared off at a line of trees and she knew he needed a few seconds to get his feelings in order. She saw him swallow and she felt his pain.
He inhaled. "But what we had was so great."
"I know and I'm so sorry." She felt her voice shake with emotion. Hurting him was so hard.
He looked back at her and she saw the honesty, the genuine concern in his gaze. And wasn't that just like Derek. He was such a great guy. And for that reason alone, he deserved someone who adored him, who loved him more than anyone else.
"You didn't do anything to apologize for," he said. "You really didn't. If anyone can be blamed for this it was me when I got scared and did what I did. Or maybe this is just fate. The way it was supposed to have turned out."
She nodded.
"I want one thing from you," he said. "One promise."
"What?" she asked, knowing she'd give it to him if at all possible.
"Don't stop being my friend. Don't avoid me because you think it's awkward. When you need something, don't hesitate to come to me. I can accept that we can't be boyfriend and girlfriend, but I don't want to lose you as a friend and I'm not saying that just to say it. I mean it."
She nodded. "I promise." Tears filled her eyes.
"And when you do go back to Lucas, make him understand that I'd like to still be a part of your life."
"I told you, I don't know if we will-"
He reached out and brushed an escaping tear from her cheek. "Yes, you will. Because when you love someone, you forgive them."
Her breath shook. "Like you are forgiving me right now?" And another tear escaped.
"I told you, you didn't do anything to be forgiven for. But if you did do something, yeah, I would have forgiven you."
She inhaled and stared down at her shoe. "Even if it was because of me that you couldn't complete the one thing you always wanted to do."
"I'm lost," Derek said.
"I'm sorry. I'm just thinking out loud.""About Lucas?" Derek asked.
Kylie nodded and realized how insensitive she was being. "I'm sorry," she repeated.
"Don't be." He exhaled. "This is what I'm talking about you not doing. I want you to talk to me." He gripped his hands together. "Look, I don't like saying this, but Lucas does love you. I can feel it. And he's hurting like the devil right now. Whatever it is you think he can't forgive you for, well, you're wrong."
She ran her hand up and down her leg before talking. "Because of me he won't get on the were Council.
He won't be able to change all the things he wanted to change with his own people. His own pack will probably disown him. Sooner or later..."
"But he chose you, Kylie. He made that choice. You didn't force him to."
Kylie nodded, but looked him in the eyes. "Maybe it was the wrong choice."
He leaned in, and his shoulder brushed hers with warmth. "I'll bet he wouldn't think so."
She shook her head. "Being a were means everything to him."
Kylie's phone in her pocket chimed with an incoming text; a second later Derek's did the same. She pulled it out and saw Burnett's name on the screen as the sender. She glanced at Derek, who looked at her at the same time.
"A text from Burnett," Derek said.
"Oh, crap," Kylie said, hitting the button to read her text.
Get to the office now! his text read.
Holy hell, Kylie thought. What could be happening now?
* * *
Burnett's message to Derek had read almost the same: Get Kylie to the office now! So Kylie and Derek ran to the office. She could have moved quicker if she'd left Derek in the dust, but she held back. What was a couple of seconds?
Nevertheless, by the time she got in front of the office, her heart was thumping in her chest. From exertion or fear of what awaited her, Kylie wasn't sure.
She hadn't made it up the office steps when she heard the voices. Shit, Kylie thought, what was her stepfather doing here?
"It's my stepdad," Kylie said to Derek. "I'd better handle this alone."
She hurried inside and found Burnett, Holiday, her stepfather, and Jonathon in the office. What the heck was Jonathon doing in here? Tom Galen stood in the middle of the room, facing Holiday's desk. Holiday sat relaxed like the essence of calm, but her stepfather's posture wasn't picking up on Holiday's mood.
His shoulders were tight, his hands clenched.
And like her stepfather, Burnett appeared a little tight, but she could tell he was trying to contain himself. But Jonathon ... the vampire just looked guilty. And Kylie got a bad feeling.
Holiday's gaze shifted briefly to Kylie, as did Burnett's, but her stepdad didn't realize she was standing there.
"What kind of school are you running?" Tom Galen bit out.
"The same kind of school that the state is running," Holiday answered, her voice tranquil. "We have a security gate for a reason. You went through it and set off alarms. You were mistaken to be a threat."
"I'm not a goddamn threat. I'm a student's father.""Fathers don't usually try to break into a school," Burnett insisted.
"What happened?" Kylie asked.
Her father swung around and at least some of his tension subsided at seeing her. "I jumped the gate instead of pushing the button and you would think I'd just broken into Fort Knox. I was tackled by this wisecrack of a kid."
Holiday glanced up and Kylie could see from her expression she was trying to play nice. "Jonathon saw your father and made a bad judgment call. Instead of asking questions as he possibly should have, he detained-"