by Jody Morse
Howl
© 2011 by Jody Morse and Jayme Morse
Howl is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents in this book are products of the author’s imaginations or have been used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons or locations is coincidental and not intended by the authors.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy.
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Jody Morse and Jayme Morse.
Connect with the authors at:
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Chapter 1
****
Samara McKinley stared at the blazing bonfire, illuminated by the light of the full moon. She tugged on her sweatshirt, unsure if she was hot or cold. The late June night breeze felt cold against her cheeks, but the hot chocolate she was sipping made her feel toasty warm.
“Are you sure you don’t want any vodka in your hot cocoa, Sam?” Emma asked. “It’s really good.”
Samara shook her head (for the third time) and gave her best friend a small smile. “No thanks.”
“Okay, Miss Straight Edge,” Emma laughed, elbowing Samara in the ribs. “But you have to promise me that we will go out and get drunk for your twenty-first birthday.”
Samara giggled. “My twenty-first birthday isn’t for six more years!”
“Well, five years and eight months if you want to get technical,” Emma replied. “I have it all planned out already. We’re going to go to Miami and get completely trashed en route to Cancun where we’ll spend spring break.”
Samara smiled. Ever since she had met Emma Taylor, she’d been planning both of their futures. So far, they would be having a double wedding, spending their honeymoons during the same week in Hawaii so that they could swim with the dolphins together, and one of them would have a son and the other would have a daughter so that their kids could get married.
Glancing across the fire, Samara caught Luke Davenport’s stare just as his emerald green eyes met hers. Her heart skipped a beat. Luke was the cute new guy in school, and he had been casting looks in her direction all night. Samara had been planning to say something to him, but she needed to work her nerve up first.
In the distance, Samara heard a loud howl.
“My new neighbors have the most annoying dogs,” Emma whined from next to her. “They howl all night long. Thank gosh for headphones and the new Taylor Swift CD or I’d never be able to sleep through it.” She stood up, carrying her mug. “I need a refill. Anyone else want more hot chocolate or another drink?”
“No, I’ve got enough wine to last me the whole night,” Colby Jackson replied, holding up a bottle.
From around the circle, people snickered. “Hey Colby Jack, are you drinking red wine or white wine?” Jason Masterson asked.
“Red wine,” Colby replied cheerfully. “White wine makes me nauseous.”
Jason and a few of his friends burst into laughter. Samara heard Jason mutter “freak” under his breath.
Next to her, Ashley Everest hissed, “Has he ever even been to a party before? Seriously, who brings red wine?”
Samara shrugged and gave Colby a sympathetic smile. She knew that the rest of the kids who she went to school with thought it was hilarious to pick on Colby by nicknaming him after a type of cheese and by insinuating that he was crushing on a few of the football players, but she felt bad for the poor kid. Right now, he was wearing a confused farmer’s getup: suspenders over a red flannel shirt, a black tie, and dirt-covered work boots. He obviously had no sense of style but so what if he liked red wine? It was more than Samara drank, but no one made fun of her. That was probably because everyone knew better than to make fun of Samara. She was Emma Taylor’s best friend.
Emma was one of the most popular girls at Grandview High School, so that made Samara semi-popular by association. Samara didn’t understand why Emma tried so hard to maintain her popular girl status. Samara didn’t think that most of the people who came to Emma’s parties were friendship status-worthy, anyway. Most of them seemed like they just wanted free alcohol and a discrete place to hook up with their boyfriend or girlfriend. Still, Emma continued having the parties every time her mom and stepdad were out of town – which was pretty often lately.
Samara watched as Luke whispered something into Colby’s ear, his eyes still hovering over her. Colby was Luke’s best friend, which was the only reason he ever got invited to Emma’s parties. Oddly enough, Colby was the one person that she felt the most comfortable with at parties like these. They were both the misfits out of the group, even though no one knew that Samara didn’t feel like she fit in.
She sank back into her lawn chair, wondering if Luke was talking about her to Colby. Samara quickly shook the thought away. The boys she liked never liked her. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. Even though it had seemed like Luke had been eyeing her all night, Samara realized that she was probably just imagining it – or he really just thought she was a creep because he had noticed her staring at him because she thought he was staring at her.
“Guess what,” Emma said excitedly, as she sat back down next to Samara. “You’ll never guess who told me he thinks I’m cute.”
“Who?” Samara asked, tearing her eyes away from Luke and Colby to look over at Emma.
“Jason!” Emma squealed, her lip-glossed covered lips twisting into a big smile as she tossed her blonde hair behind her shoulders.
“That’s great,” Samara smiled, trying not to sound as unenthusiastic as she felt. She glanced at the chair where Jason had been sitting minutes ago, but it was empty.
Samara had known Jason for years because his twin brother, Josh, was her cousin Kyle’s best friend. She knew that Jason was a jerk, just by the way he treated Colby and some of the other unpopular kids at school. There was something else that she didn’t like about him, though.
When she was around Jason, he gave her a really weird feeling. The way he looked at her through his nearly-black eyes sent shivers down her spine.
Emma went through boys faster than anyone else Samara knew, though. This made Samara feel relieved because, chances were, Emma would probably move onto someone else really soon.
Glancing over at Emma, Samara realized that her best friend might break a record and move on a whole lot sooner than she had even expected her to. Right now, she was staring across the fire at someone with a starry look in her eyes.
Samara followed her gaze. There were three people who she could be staring at: Colby, Luke, or Chris Priestley, one of their friends. Samara knew for sure that she wasn’t staring at Colby, and Chris really didn’t seem like Emma’s type. Emma liked tall guys, and Chris was on the shorter side.
“I’ll be right back,” Emma whispered to Samara, setting her mug down on her seat. Hot cocoa spilled over the rim of the cup and onto the blue lawn chair. Samara groaned and grabbed a napkin from the drink table, keeping her eyes on Emma the whole time.
“Hey, cutie,” Emma said flirtatiously, as she approached Luke.
“Umm, hi,” Samara heard him reply.
“Wanna go for a walk with me?” Emma asked, sitting down on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.
Samara felt the anger rise to her cheeks as she watched her best friend throw
herself at the guy who she thought she might be crushing on. She couldn’t really blame Emma. She probably had no idea what she was doing because she was completely wasted. Besides, Samara hadn’t told Emma that she thought she had a thing for Luke yet. She’d been planning to tell her later on after everyone went home, when she was sure that Luke wouldn’t hear her. It was probably too late, though. Even if he had been checking her out, Luke had probably already forgotten all about her now that he had a chance with Emma.
Samara watched as Luke firmly shook his head and pushed Emma away from him. Standing up, he walked away from the bonfire. Luke shot a look at Samara over his shoulder before he walked out of the backyard, and she felt her heart flutter. She hadn’t just been imagining it; Luke had definitely been staring at her.
Emma skipped back over towards Samara, a pouty look on her face. “Luke left.”
“I saw. Why did he have to leave?”
“I think he said he had to help his m-mom,” Emma slurred, grabbing Samara’s arm. “I miss him.”
Samara groaned. Pushing Emma away from her, she got up to take a walk. She wasn’t in the mood to listen to her drunken best friend talk about missing her crush. Well, technically, he was their crush now. Maybe. Samara didn’t ever think that she would secretly wish that Emma would develop a huge crush on Jason, but it wouldn’t seem like the worst thing that could happen right now.
Suddenly, Samara wasn’t feeling in the mood be at the party or sleepover at Emma’s house tonight anymore. She wanted to go home. Samara scanned the crowd for her brother, Seth. He was her only means of transportation, unless she wanted to walk home in the dark or call her mom, who would be furious that she was at a party where there was alcohol and no parents present. No, Seth was her only way to get home without getting in trouble. Besides, Samara knew that her brother could cheer her up. He always did.
When she didn’t spot Seth anywhere, Samara swore under her breath. Even her best friend Declan Kingsbury couldn’t drive her home right now because he was vacationing at the Jersey shore with his dad. Deciding that she was stuck here for the night, Samara grabbed herself a Mountain Dew from the cooler. She felt a tap on the back of her shoulder. When she turned around, Samara found herself staring into a pair of hazel eyes which were rimmed with long black eyelashes.
“Hi, Samara,” the girl said, seeming happy to see her. The girl had fair skin, chestnut brown hair, and delicate features. Samara realized that she looked familiar, but she couldn’t seem to put a name to her face.
“Hi,” Samara replied awkwardly, unsure of what else to say. She didn’t want to be rude and ask her who she was.
“I haven’t seen you in a while! You haven’t hung out at Kyle’s house in a long time,” the girl said and a light bulb went off in Samara’s head. The girl was Lilly Phillips – Josh Masterson’s girlfriend. Samara hadn’t seen her since her Aunt Rae’s wedding. Even though they’d hung out, Samara didn’t know Lilly all that well, only that she and Josh had been dating for a little over two years.
“Yeah, I’ve been really busy lately,” Samara replied, taking a sip of soda. She felt genuinely guilty about not spending too much time with Kyle’s family recently. When her uncle, James, had died, she’d vowed to make more time for that side of the family, but it hadn’t happened yet. “I’ll have to go over there sometime soon. So, how have you been? Are you still dating Josh?”
Lilly nodded, a wide smile flashing across her face. “Yeah, we’re still together. And very happy.”
“That’s great. I’m happy for you guys. He’s such a nice guy,” Samara said. She wasn’t lying, either. Josh was the total opposite of Jason; they might be twins, but they definitely didn’t share personalities. Jason’s dark stares freaked her out, but Josh’s eyes always looked like they were smiling. Actually, come to think of it, Josh and Jason didn’t look that much alike either. They looked like they were brothers, but Josh had a lighter shade of hair and had slightly softer features than Jason.
Samara heard a low growl from behind her. Figuring that Seth was in the backyard again and trying to scare her, she turned around, fully prepared to burst into giggles.
When she turned around, it wasn’t Seth. A gray wolf snarled back at her, baring its teeth.
Samara panicked, unsure of what to do.
“Run,” Lilly shouted at her. Samara watched as Lilly darted out of the backyard and around the side of the house.
Samara stood there, frozen, unsure of what to do. She knew that it was a bad idea to run from any wild animal, let alone a wolf. Just standing there and doing nothing didn’t seem like a good way to not get attacked either, though.
Slowly and cautiously, Samara took a small step backwards. When the wolf didn’t do anything, she took another step . . . and another. Once she reached the stairs that led to the porch, she hurriedly climbed up them and found herself overlooking the party.
Samara watched as the rest of the people at the party began to panic. Emma climbed onto the chair behind her and began waving her arms in the air.
“Emma, don’t wave your arms at it!” Samara shouted at her, feeling helpless. “You’re going to draw attention to yourself.”
“Don’t worry, Sam. My dad used to breed Huskies!” Emma yelled back at her. “Come here, boy,” she said, turning to the wolf. “Do you want to play fetch?”
The wolf let out a low growl and took a step forward. In the light of the fire, Samara realized how big the wolf was.
Everyone had climbed onto the porch now or had left the party, leaving Emma in the backyard on the chair all by herself.
Emma leaped off her chair and grabbed a stick from the ground. She waved it in front of the wolf before swinging it in the air. “Go fetch!”
The wolf let out another growl; this time, Samara couldn’t help but notice that the wolf seemed to glare at her.
“Go get the stick, boy!” Emma chirped excitedly.
“Is she an idiot?” someone whispered from behind Samara.
Taking a deep breath, Samara climbed down the porch steps and ran to Emma. She grabbed her arm. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”
Emma stood her ground. “No. I want to play with the doggie.”
“Emma, you’re drunk! It’s a wolf, not a dog. It’s going to attack you if you don’t leave it alone. Come on.”
Emma shook her head and sat on the ground, just feet in front of the wolf. Moments later, she fell backwards, in a fit of giggles. To Samara’s relief, the wolf backed a few steps away from Emma and sat down, curling its tail underneath its hind legs.
Samara looked up at the people on the porch, scanning the crowd for someone who could help her get Emma inside.
Before she had time to ask, Josh was hurrying down the steps, his hands in his pockets.
“Come on, puppy! Wanna come inside?” Emma drunkenly called to the wolf.
“Here, help me stand her up,” he told Samara. “I don’t think it’s going to do anything. If it was going to attack us, it would have already.”
Samara nodded in agreement and watched as he quickly swung Emma over his shoulder and began carrying her towards the house.
As they were approaching the stairs, the wolf lunged at them. Samara felt panicky, even as Josh climbed the stairs more quickly.
“Go inside everyone!” Josh shouted at a few of their friends who were blocking the doorway; the wolf seemed to pause long enough to listen to Josh yelling before it came closer to Samara.
Glancing over her shoulder, she watched as the wolf bared its shiny white teeth at her. Just as she was positive that it was going to attack, she heard another growl from behind the wolf.
The wolf turned around and growled back. Once she was up the stairs, Samara watched as the second wolf, which was slightly larger, pounced on the first wolf. After a moment of biting and pawing at each other, both of the wolves ran into the woods.
Samara breathed a sigh of relief. The wolves were gone. No one was hurt. They were all going to be okay.
Chapter 2
****
Five Months Later
“Excuse me, ma’am. I’m Detective Eric Scotts,” a tall guy with dirty blonde hair said, pulling out his identification and waving it in front of Edda Williams. “I’m with the Grandview County Police Department. We’re looking for a missing person. Her parents said that she was supposed to come here two days ago before she disappeared. They haven’t heard from her since. Her name’s Lilly Phillips. She’s about five foot two, one-hundred and twenty pounds.”
“You’re going to have be a bit more specific than that, Detective. I see teenagers comin’ in and out of my store all day long,” Edda replied, wiping a drop of sweat from her weathered face.
“Here’s a picture of her,” Detective Scotts said, pulling a photo out of his mahogany-colored wallet.
Samara glanced over the detective’s shoulder to examine the picture he had just pulled out and gasped. She knew the silky chestnut brown hair, delicate features, and fair skin in the yearbook photo all too well; it was Lilly Phillips, Josh Masterson’s girlfriend.
Edda’s dark brown eyes lit up with recognition, the skin around them scrunching into tiny wrinkle lines. “Why, of course! She was in here two days ago. I remember her specifically because that boyfriend of hers seemed a little bit too controllin’. I was going to say somethin’ about it, but my husband, Roy, came into the shop and gave me the you-better-not-get-involved look, so I decided that I best mind my own business.”
“Can you tell me what you mean by controlling?” Detective Scotts asked, whipping out a tiny notebook.
Edda frowned. “It’s hard to put into words, really. There was just somethin’ off about the way they acted around each other in here. He seemed really angry, almost like they had just been fightin’ before they came into the store. I remember her goin’ to grab a bag of pretzels from the rack, but he ripped them right out of her hands and put them back on the shelf.”