Whispers at Moonrise

Miranda said. “We’ve vowed to love you anyway.”
    Kylie dropped down onto a living room chair while her two best friends stared at her with a mix of pity and leeriness. They thought she was crazy. Heck, maybe she was crazy. She thought the woods were calling her name and she believed she was a reptile. She leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
    “I’m a chameleon,” she said, hoping that saying it would bring some kind of instinctual understanding. She held her breath, waiting for an epiphany—an internal knowledge that would make her right with the world.
    Nothing came. And nothing felt right. Not her being a lizard, not seeing a ghost with the face of someone who was alive, not with her dad suggesting she would soon be making a trip into the afterworld, and especially not Derek’s confession of love.
    Nope. Nothing felt right. She moaned.
    “Get her a Diet Coke, Della,” Miranda said. “Maybe the sugar will give her some brainpower.”
    “It’s fake sugar,” Della answered.
    “I know. But haven’t you ever heard the saying fake it until you make it?”
    “Ugh, forget the soda. I’m going to bed.” Kylie popped up from the chair and went into her room, slamming the door so hard it rattled on its hinges.
    From behind the door she heard them say in unison, “Definitely werewolf.”
    *   *   *
    She hadn’t gotten to her bed when she heard a loud commotion from the living room. Had Miranda and Della finally decided to really duke it out? Feeling guilty for encouraging them, she went to stop them but stilled when she heard voices.
    “Where’s Kylie?” Burnett’s deep tenor spilled through the walls at the same time that her phone started ringing.
    She pulled her phone from her pocket and jerked open the door. Burnett stood there with his hand raised to knock. Both anger and a thread of guilt filled his expression.
    “Something wrong?” Kylie’s ringing phone hummed in her hand.
    “Are you okay?”
    “Why wouldn’t I be?” Had something else happened? At this point, nothing could surprise her.

 
    Chapter Four
    “You left without telling me.” Burnett’s mouth thinned with his reprimand.
    “I did not.” Kylie saw Della and Miranda behind Burnett, wearing concerned expressions. No doubt, it wasn’t wise to disagree with Burnett.
    “You were in the office and then you were gone,” Burnett barked. “I was supposed to be shadowing you.”
    “That was almost an hour ago,” she said. Had he just now realized she was gone?
    The ringing of her phone drew her attention and she pulled it up to see who was calling. Holiday’s name appeared on the tiny screen. Then the camp leader, phone pressed to her ear, stormed into the cabin.
    “You found her.” Relief filled Holiday’s eyes and she folded her arms over her stomach and breathed as if she’d run all the way here.
    “You shouldn’t have left without telling me,” Burnett said to Kylie.
    Holiday shut her phone off and silenced Kylie’s cell. Kylie stared at the camp leader, recalling the ghost issues that she needed to talk to her about. How could someone alive appear as a ghost?
    “I was in charge of you.” Burnett continued his tirade.
    Kylie glanced at Burnett as she set her phone down on the end table. She should probably keep her mouth shut, but her bad mood prevailed. “You can’t blame me. I told you I was leaving. Not once, but twice. You two were too busy being pissy with each other to hear me.” When her own hostile words rang in her ears, she worried maybe Della and Miranda were on to something about her being werewolf.
    Holiday stepped closer. “We weren’t arguing.”
    Really, Kylie thought, noticing that Holiday’s shirt was on inside out. Not arguing, huh? So what had they been doing that led to Holiday wearing her shirt inside out? All Kylie’s frustration lessened and she almost smiled. Almost.
    “Yes, we were arguing,” Burnett confessed, as if suddenly remembering.
    “We were just discussing things.” Holiday sent Burnett a look that said, Don’t disagree with me on this .
    “We were discussing it heatedly.” Burnett received another hard stare from the redheaded camp leader.
    “I’ll say,” Della mouthed off. “I heard you all the way in the dining room. And I’m not so sure it was my vampire hearing that caught it.”
    “Yes, it was,” Miranda piped up. “Because I didn’t get to hear a thing. Then again, I was probably talking with Perry.” She got a faraway look in her