Howl (Howl #1) (31 page)

Samara sat next to the window. Once she saw him walk into the woods, she pulled her hair into a bun on top of her head. She pulled the wig over it. Glancing in the mirror, she made sure one last time that it looked compl
etely natural. It did.

She opened her window and climbed out the same way that she always did. It wasn’t going to be the same, though. Tonight was going to be different. Tonight, she was going to make enemies with people who thought they were adopting her as one of th
em.

It made her feel like shit.

But what choice did she have? If she didn’t find out the Vyka’s secret, her life would be even more at stake. Not just her life, but the lives of the Ima pack as well. She couldn’t abandon them – they needed her more than anyone.

Luke was waiting for her by the lake. The water sparkle
d with the moon’s reflection.

“
Are you ready?” Samara asked.

Luke shook his head. “No. I’m not ready. I have to tell you something.” He got down on on
e knee and grabbed her hands.

Samara gasped. She wasn’t ready to accept a marriage proposal. Sh
e was only fifteen years old!

“Samara, I just want you to know that I’m going to do all that I can to protect you tonight. I will do all that I can to keep your safe, I promise. What I can’t promise is that something out of my control won’t happen. So, I just want you to know that no matter what goes on tonight, I really care about you
–
the way I’ve never cared about anyone before. You’re my mate, and I wou
ldn’t have it any other way.”

“Me, either,” Samara whispered as he got to his feet. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her.

Luke leaned in closer and caught her lips in his. His touch made her feel warm and fiery and cold and frozen at the same time; it sent shivers down her spine and sent the butterflies that had formed in her stomac
h swirling around in circles.

For the moment, while they were entangled in each other’s arms, it felt like they were the only ones in the forest
.

Their kiss came to an abrupt stop when they heard a howl comin
g from the woods behind them.

“Ugh,” Samara said out loud. “
I’m nervous. So, so nervous.”

“I know, babe,” Luke replied sympathetically
, squeezing her hand
. “Just remember that I’ll be behind you the whole time
–
and the rest of the pack will be nearby, all within watching distance. If something does happen
to you, we have you covered.”

“I know you do,” Samara replied, turning to walk up the path. “Let’
s get this show on the road.”

When Luke stopped at his post behind a big oak tree, Samara gave him one last kiss and continued walking. Once she reached the grassy circle, she found them standing there, around the fire, in human form. Josh, Declan, Seth, Mark, and Ethan were all there. J
ason was missing, though.

“Where’s Jason?” Samara asked as she approached th
em. “Should we wait for him?”

Mark shook his head. “
Yeah, he’s just picking up a few last minute supplies for the initiation. He’ll be here. The whole pack needs to be here or it won’t work.
He told us to start getting everything ready though.” He eyed her wig. “We need a piece of your hair.”

Samara nodded. She stared at the people who stood around her, some of who she cared about and others who meant nothing to her. Feeling torn about the situation, she said, “Okay, let’s get started
then. Who’s got the scissors?”

“Me,” Declan said, walking towards her. “I’m supposed to cut your hair, but you can do it. I don’t care. I know how much you hate
people being in your bubble.”

“Thanks,” Samara smiled. She was relieved that Declan was making this a little bit easier for her. Her hair might look the same, but it definite
ly didn’t feel the same. He would
notice
the difference
if h
e were to cut it off himself.

Samara separated a few
pieces of her hair from the wig
and clipped them off with the scissors. When she was holding the hair in her hands, s
he looked at the wolves
, waiting for more instructions.

“Now throw your hair in the fire. Then
it’s our turn.” Samara jumped when she heard Jason’s voice behind her. She turned to look at him, but he was eyeing the rest of the pack.

“You idiots can’t do anything right. She wasn’t supposed to cut her own hair. It’s a Vyka tradition that you just ruined.”

Samara watched as the pack members silently stared at the ground, afraid to speak.

“Now, let’s continue on with the ceremony.” When no one moved, Jason yelled, “Now!”

Shakily, Samara tossed her hair
into the blazing fire. The flames rose for a m
oment before calming back down.

Samara handed the scissors to Josh, who was standing next to her. She watched as he cut a tiny piece of his hai
r and threw it into the fire.

The scissors were passed to each of the guys, until they had all fed the f
lames with their locks of hair.

“Now what?” Samara asked. She began twirling her hair, in an attempt to make it look like a nervous habit.
She didn’t even have to make up a pretend reason of why she was nervous anymore. Jason’s yelling had really scared her.

Jason instructed her to lie down next to the fire. He stood, looking down at her, while the other wolves took their places around the flames.

Samaras heart pounded harder in her chest as Jason spoke in a language she didn’t recognize. The rest of the pack began chanting in the same language.

Jason tossed a glass bottle into the fire. It shattered, turning the flames a bright shade of scarlet before burning out.

Jason’s chants abruptly stopped. Hushed whispers echoed throughout the darkness of the night.

“What happened?” Josh asked the question she knew they were all wondering.

Jason was silent as he struck a match and started the fire again.

They all stared at her with disbelief on their faces.

“I don’t know what happened,” Jason sighed, sitting down.

“So, am I initiated then?” Samara wondered out loud. She needed to ask Jason about his pack’s secret, but she couldn’t think of a way to slip it into the conversation.

“No. When the fire burnt out, that signaled that the pack wasn’t accepting you. I don’t understand it. We did everything right,” Jason replied.

“Unle
ss if . . .
” Josh said, his words trailing off. Samara’s gut clenched. Josh had figured it out. He was going to rat her out to the pack.

“Unless if what?” Jason snapped back impatiently.

“You said that the
whole
pack had to participate. Well, the whole pack isn’t here,” Josh said, matter-of-factly. Samara breathed a sigh of relief. They weren’t on to her.

Jason’s eyes filled with recognition as he realized what Josh was implying. “I’ll go find her,” he said, jumping up and taking off through the woods.

“No! Let me do it,” Josh shouted, a hint of fear in his voice, as he chased after his brother.

“Find who?” Samara asked.

“Lilly.
”

S
amara
, help! You have to come to Starlight Lake right now!
Luke’s voice ran in her thoughts.

What’s wrong
?
Samara asked Luke.

I can’t explain. No time. Hurry.

Taking one final look at the guys who were sitting around the fire, Samara ran down the path, ripped off her c
lothes, and changed into her wolf form.
 

Chapter 23

****

She ran down the path on all fours
, as fast as her paws could carry her
. It suddenly felt longer than it ever had before. From behind her, she could hear the Vyka shouting at her to co
me back, but Samara kept going.

As she approached the lake, she
could hear the angry growls escaping from the lungs of each wolf.
There were six of them,
fighting against a black wolf. It was Jason. This is where h
e had run off to.

Samara spotted Luke, who was standing there in wolf form, observing it all. She could tell it was him right away by the overwhelming attrac
tion that she felt for him.

What’s going on?
Samara asked.

Luke nuzzled her with his head
.
I don’t have time to talk about it right now. I don’t even understand what’s going on myself. I need to join in. I need to help my pack.

Me, too
,
Samara replied, taking a step
towards the fighting wolves.

No
, Luke commanded.
I want you to stay out of this
.

No. It’s my pack too.

Fine. But stay near the back with Lilly.

Samara watched as Luke ran towards the fighting wolves
and let out a ferocious growl.

Jason turned on him, coming at him from
behind, and biting his neck.

“
No!
” Samara screamed. She didn’t care what Luke wanted; sh
e ran towards Jason, whose teeth were
biting into her mate’s neck, and sunk her
teeth deep into his hind leg.

Jason released h
is grip on Luke and glanced back
at her; his golden eye
s flashed with immense anger.

Moments later, Samara heard the sound of other wolves from behind them, growling as the
y made their way to the lake.

Jason had called his pack.
They were closing in on them, prepared to fi
ght.

Jason took a step towards her, baring his teeth.

Samara realized at that moment that he knew; if he didn’t know, he wouldn’t be turning on her.

Just as Jason was ready to attack Samara, Luke pounced onto his back. Jason yelped as his teeth tore through his skin.

*

Samara watched as one of the gray wolves fell to the gro
und. As Jason led
his pack away, she felt a sick feeling form in her stomach. When she saw that the fallen wolf’s eyes were closed, she let out a loud howl. 
             

Look for the next book in the Howl series in March 2012.