"He's twenty. He's like some super-smart kid that finished college when he was nineteen. And I'll be eighteen next month. We're barely two years apart."
Kylie could hear Perry's wings flapping in the breeze. She cut her eyes up, and for Fredericka's sake, she hoped he wasn't listening. "Fine, it's not the age thing. It's the teacher thing."
"I don't see why that matters," Fredericka said.
Kylie let out a deep gulp of air. "It matters if he wants to keep his balls. Burnett already threatened to send Hayden Yates away minus his when-"
"You and Mr. Yates had a fling?" Fredericka's eyes widened. "I thought you loved-"
"No! Burnett thought we were."
"Why would he think that?" Fredericka made another face.
Kylie realized she shouldn't have mentioned this. "It's a long story. The point is that Burnett will be overly pissed if this new teacher gives you even a second glance."
"Why don't you let me worry about Burnett and Cary's boys and you just tell me how to ... to make it happen for us the way you did for the others."
Kylie sighed. "Why does everyone keep saying that I'm good at offering relationship advice? Can't you see what a disaster my own relationships are? If I was good at that, do you think I'd be in the mess I'm in right now?"
Fredericka shrugged. "But everyone who went to you with problems says you fixed things. Perry and that little witch friend of yours. Helen and Jonathon. Burnett and Holiday."
"How do you know they wouldn't have worked things out on their own?"
Fredericka frowned. "They all sing your praises."
Kylie shook her head. "Look, I don't think you and the teacher is a good idea.""So you won't help me?" Fredericka said. "Even after I set you straight on Lucas and saved him from having to spend his life with someone he doesn't love?"
Kylie exhaled. "Okay, here's my advice. Go talk to Holiday, tell her about your feelings and-"
"She'll say hell no. She doesn't even like me."
"Oh yes, she does. With all the trouble you've caused, she'd have kicked your ass out a long time ago if she didn't. And if you're worried about her completely disagreeing, why don't you start by telling her you have a thing for someone who's only two years older and see what she says before you tell her who it is.
Get her to say it's not such a bad thing and then drop the bomb about him being a teacher."
"You really think she'll listen to me?"
"Listen, yes. Whether or not she'll tell you not to do it is another matter. But she's the fairest person I know."
"Okay." Fredericka seemed to be thinking. "Now what about Cary? How do I get him to...?"
"Notice you?"
"Not notice. He's already noticed me. I know he's attracted to me, he's just putting up roadblocks, probably for the same reason you said. He's a teacher and I'm his student."
"Then why don't you go to him and tell him that you understand that this is hard, but you really like him, and would at least like to be friends until-"
"I don't want to be just friends."
"Fine, but you start by being friends, and when you get the green light from Holiday, then you two can ... go run off in the woods and do the wild thing, or do whatever you want to do. You're not going to be in school but for nine more months. So the worst-case scenario, you two build a friendship, then take it to the next level when school's out."
She started nodding as if she agreed with Kylie. "Hell, I've waited for two years for Lucas, I could easily wait for nine months for Cary-if I had to." She smiled. "See, you are good at this. Thank you,"
Fredericka said with sincerity.
"Good, are we finished? I think Perry's getting impatient."
"No, there's the other thing."
"What thing?" Kylie asked.
"The thing about you needing to forgive Lucas."
"Look, you asked for my advice, I didn't ask for yours." She started moving faster down the path that led to her cabin. A nice, quick run.
Fredericka matched her pace, footfall for footfall. "He loves you. Don't you get why he walked away from getting engaged? He gave up so much for you. Maybe even his own pack."
Kylie came to an abrupt stop and faced the she-wolf. "Why did you tell me? Why didn't you just let him go through with it? Damn it! He shouldn't have done it!" And right then Kylie accepted that this was part of her angst over Lucas. She hadn't wanted to admit it. She hadn't even allowed herself to really let it soak in. But it was there, the truth right under all the betrayal she felt. Lucas had lost everything for her.
His dreams. His quests. Even if she did forgive him, sooner or later, he was going to hate her for this.
"Why?" Fredericka threw the question back at her. "Because, you fool, if he'd gone through with it, he'd have lost you. And whether you believe it or not, you are more important to him than getting on the Council. It's you that matters most to him."* * * Kylie walked in a bit late to her first period class with Perry right behind her. She plopped down in the empty seat right in front of Della. Sitting her book on the desktop, she opened it and pretended to read.
She felt Lucas's eyes on her. She ignored him. Or tried to. Her heart started breaking all over again the second she felt his gaze fall on her.
She had a lot of thinking to do. But damn, she was still so confused.
Still so damn mad at him.
Still so much in love with him that she could hardly breathe.
"Miss Galen, it's so good to have you back with us," Miss Cane said.
Miss Galen? Kylie glanced up, but didn't speak. A nod of appreciation was all the lady was going to get. She hoped she'd be happy with it. Refocusing on the page in her English book, she didn't want to look anyone in the eye. Like Derek, who sat three seats away from her and was studying her with a shitload of worry because he could read her emotional state.
Then she felt Della lean in behind her.
"What's wrong?" the vampire whispered. "Do I need to bite some she-wolf's ass after class?"
"No."
"Your face is all splotchy. And that means you've been crying. What's up?"
"Allergies," Kylie muttered, and wished she'd skipped class. Was it too late? Too late to just get up and walk out?
"You'd think you'd know better than to try to lie to me," Della whispered.
Kylie clenched her jaw and whispered back, "And you'd think you'd stop asking questions that would put me in a position to have to lie!"