Then there was ... She would never get rid of the shadows if she confessed her other concerns. But to not discuss them was stupid. And Kylie wasn't stupid. "Are our security cameras set for ... shape-shifters?"

Holiday leaned forward. "I'm sure they are. Why?"

"It's probably nothing, but a couple of things happened. They could be nothing, but they didn't feel like nothing."

Holiday stopped rolling the pencil in her hands. "What kind of things?"

"When I left to go back to the cabins, I came across a rattlesnake, but I didn't see it until an eagle swooped down and snatched it up. It was freaky."

"Did it go after you?" Concern darkened her green eyes.

"No, it never got the chance. But the whole thing was just strange."

"Strange like how?"

"The eagle just swooped down." Kylie suddenly felt as if she were overreacting.

Holiday added, "Rattlesnakes are prevalent this time of year, and I admit seeing an eagle swoop down might be-"

Kylie didn't wait for Holiday to continue. "And then when I went to ... run in the woods, a deer-a big buck-came hurtling onto my path. I stopped and, not a split second later, lightning struck right past the deer. If the deer hadn't stopped me, I might have been hit."

Holiday frowned. "I don't like the sound of this."

"And the deer and the eagle, they ... looked right at me as if they were trying to tell me something."

Holiday's brow wrinkled. "You think you can communicate with animals?"

"No. I don't think that. They looked evil."

Holiday tilted her head to the side. "The deer and the eagle appeared evil?" When Kylie nodded, Holiday looked even more perplexed and worried. "With two of these strange things happening, I can't believe they are accidents. However, if I'm understanding you, both the eagle and the deer saved you from getting hurt. How could they have been evil? If anything, they were protecting you."

Kylie pulled a handful of hair over her shoulder and twisted it. "I know it doesn't make sense, but it felt that way."

Holiday set the pencil on her desk and reached for her phone. "We'd better let Burnett ... Wait." She put down her phone. "Burnett left to have a meeting with the FRU. I don't want to disturb him now, but I'll tell him about this as soon as he gets back."

Kylie heard the front door of the cabin open.

Holiday looked at her watch and frowned. "I have another meeting, but we need to talk more about this. Can you wait until I finish so we can continue this?"

"I can come back later," Kylie said, not really wanting to hang out at the office. It would make her feel like a kid sent to the principal's office. "Oh, does Burnett still need the pictures of my dad? If not, I'd like to have them back."

"He's having them tested to see if they are originals or copies. It shouldn't be more than a few days."

"Hi," came an unfamiliar female voice from behind Kylie. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you had someone in here. I can wait in the-"

"It's fine," Holiday said.

Kylie's heart did a little tumble when she recognized the brunette as the one who'd been plastered to Derek in the picture on Della's phone.

"Kylie," Holiday said, "this is Ellie Mason. She's signing up for Shadow Falls."

Showtime, Kylie thought. Time to pretend it didn't hurt. She forced a smile. "Hi."

"Are you Kylie Galen?"

Kylie nodded, unsure what to expect.

"Derek told me about you." She smiled, then tightened her brows to check out Kylie's brain pattern. "Wow. You do have an odd pattern." She made a funny face as if embarrassed.

"Yeah," Kylie said. "Everyone tells me that." Her forced smile melted.

"I'm sorry," Ellie said. "I didn't mean to be rude. Derek has nothing but great things to say about you."

"Don't believe everything he says." Kylie attempted to soften her tone because she felt like a bitch for not liking her. But how could she like Ellie when all Kylie could think about was how Ellie was most likely one of the four girls Derek had slept with? Then she wondered if a kiss was all they'd shared in Pennsylvania.

"I always believe Derek. Especially about people." Ellie took another step inside.

Kylie hated to admit it, but Ellie was pretty. Blue eyes, thick brown hair, and dimples.

Ellie's sincere smile widened. "Derek doesn't tend to exaggerate. And being half-fae, he's a good judge of character. If he likes someone, they deserve it."

Kylie wished she could have disagreed. Not so much because she didn't want to be considered deserving. But because Derek obviously cared for Ellie enough to bring her back here, which meant Ellie was a deserving person.

The being-a-bitch feeling hit again, and Kylie tried to push it back. "Maybe I caught him on an off day." She attempted to put some teasing in her voice and stood up. "I should go."

"Kylie, why don't I drop by your cabin in about half an hour?" Holiday asked, concern deepening her tone.

Kylie nodded.

"And be careful," Holiday said.

"I will." Kylie stopped when she neared Ellie. "Welcome to Shadow Falls." And she tried to mean it.

"Thank you," Ellie said.

* * *

"Is my vampire hearing off? Did you actually say, 'Welcome to Shadow Falls'?" Della asked sarcastically when Kylie got outside. "I would have bitch-slapped her."