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?"

Hurt flashed in her eyes. "You don't believe me either?" She walked a few steps without speaking.

"I'm not stupid. I knew if I stopped him from going through with Monique he'd turn to you for good."

"But you also admitted you love him, and you've tried to break us up before."

"It finally got through my head how pathetic I was. He doesn't love me. He loves you. Always has and always will. It was a bitter pill, but I swallowed it."

Kylie inhaled and realized she believed the girl. "Okay, so why did you pay blood to see me again?"

"For two reasons," the were said.

"And they are?" Kylie asked.

"I hear you're good at ... giving people relationship advice."

Kylie's mouth dropped open. "You want advice on how to win Lucas back?"

Fredericka make a funny face. "No! I told you, I swallowed that pill already."

Kylie remembered what Miranda had told her. "Please tell me it's not the new teacher, Mr. Cannon."

Fredericka looked shocked. "How did you know about me and Cary?"

Cary? So they're on a first-name basis? "Rumor has it you're hot on him."

The were frowned. "I didn't think I was that ... obvious."

"Well, you thought wrong. And let me tell you, it's not a good idea. He's your teacher."

"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-"