Born At Midnight(120)

Who knew what she’d missed this last month? There might have been a few STDs discovered that she didn’t know about. No doubt her mom was stockpiling them for when Kylie went home for a visit in three weeks. A visit she wasn’t looking forward to, either. Sure, she and her mom had sort of mended their not-so-good relationship since her mom had confessed about Daniel being her real dad. But the new mother/daughter bond felt so fragile.

Kylie couldn’t help but wonder if their relationship wasn’t too delicate to actual y spend more than a few hours together. What if she went home and found things real y hadn’t changed? What if the indifference with her mom stil existed? And what about things with Tom Galen, the man Kylie had believed to be her real dad al her life, the man who had walked out on her mom and her for a girl only a few years older than Kylie? Kylie was mortified at seeing him sucking face with his way-too-young assistant. So much so, she hadn’t even told him.

A late-night breeze brought the smoke from the roaring bonfire into her face. She blinked the sting from her eyes, but didn’t dare step out of the circle.

As Del a had explained, to do that would have shown a lack of respect to the vampire culture.

“Clear your mind,” Chris repeated and handed the goblet to a camper on the other side of the circle.

Closing her eyes, Kylie tried again to fol ow Chris’s directions, but then heard the sound of fal ing water. Jerking her eyes open, she looked toward the woods. Was the waterfal that close? Ever since Kylie had learned about the legend of the death angels at the fal s, she had felt driven to go there. Not that she longed to come face-to-face with any death angels. She had her hands ful dealing with ghosts. But she couldn’t kick the feeling that the fal s cal ed her.

“Are you ready?” Miranda leaned in and whispered, “It’s getting closer.”

Ready for what? was Kylie’s first thought. Then she remembered.

Was Miranda freaking kidding?

Kylie stared at the communal goblet being passed around the circle. Her breath caught when she realized it lacked only ten people from being placed in her hand. Drawing in a deep, smoke-scented gulp of air, she tried not to look disgusted.

Tried. The thought of taking a sip from a container after everyone had smacked their lips on the rim landed somewhere between gross and nauseating in her mind. But, for sure, the biggest yuck factor was the blood.

Watching Del a consume her daily nutrition had gotten easier this last month. Heck, Kylie had even donated a pint to the cause—supernaturals did that sort of thing for their vampire friends. But having to taste the life-sustaining substance was a different matter al together.

“I know it’s sickening. Just pretend it’s tomato juice,” Miranda whispered to their friend Helen, standing on the other side of her. Not that whispering helped in this crowd.

Kylie looked across the circle of supernatural campers, their faces cast in firelit shadows from the bonfire. She spotted Del a, frowning in their direction, her eyes glowing a pissed-off gold color. Her acute hearing was only one of her gifts. No doubt, Del a would cal Miranda on her “sickening” remark later.

Which basical y meant Kylie would have to convince the two of them not to murder each other. How two people could be friends and fight so much was beyond her. Playing peacemaker between the two was a ful -time job.

She watched another camper raise the goblet to her lips. Knowing how much this meant to Del a, Kylie mental y prepared herself to accept the glass and take a sip of blood without barfing. Not that it stopped Kylie’s stomach from wanting to rebel.

Gotta do this. Gotta do this. For Del a’s sake.

Maybe you’ll even like how blood tastes, Del a had said earlier. Wouldn’t it be cool if you turned out to be a vampire?



Not, Kylie had thought, but wouldn’t dare say it. She supposed being vampire wouldn’t be any worse than being werewolf or shape-shifter. Then again, she remembered Del a practical y crying when she talked about her ex-boyfriend’s repulsion to her cold body temperature. Kylie preferred to stay at her own temperature, thank you very much. And the thought of existing on a diet that mainly consisted of blood…? Wel , Kylie seldom even ate red meat, and when she did … cook that cow, please.

While Holiday, the camp leader and Kylie’s mentor, had said it was unlikely for Kylie to start exhibiting any huge metaphysical changes, Holiday had also said anything was possible. Truth was, Holiday—who was ful fairy—couldn’t tel Kylie what her future held, because Kylie was an anomaly.



Praise for Born at Midnight

“Born at Midnight is addicting. Kylie’s journey of self-discovery and friendship is so full of honesty, it’s impossible not to fall in love with her and Shadow Falls … and with two sexy males vying for her attention, the romance is scorching. Born at Midnight has me begging for more, and I love, love, love it!”