Howl (Howl #1)

by Jody Morse

  Mrs. McKinley raised an unkempt eyebrow. “You haven’t eaten meat for practically your whole entire life, and now you want bacon? Who are you, and what have you done with my daughter?”

  Samara forced a laugh. She wanted to tell her mom that she was wondering the same exact thing.

  Chapter 8

  ****

  “Samara, are we okay?” Emma asked over the phone.

  “Yeah, we’re fine. Why wouldn’t we be?” Samara asked, trying to make her voice sound warm and cheerful. The truth was that she felt like she and her best friend were beginning to grow apart. Emma only cared about partying and boys, while Samara had more important things to worry about lately, like whether or not she had really turned into a wolf last night.

  Emma sighed over the phone. “Well, you left last night without even telling me you were leaving. That’s not what best friends do.”

  “I’m sorry,” Samara replied, trying to make herself sound sympathetic. She wasn’t sure if it was really believable, though. “I wasn’t feeling that good, so I just went home to sleep. How was the party?”

  “It was amazing! You’ll never guess who likes me!”

  “You’re right, I’ll never guess. Who?” Samara asked.

  “Jason! We made out almost the whole entire time.”

  “Wow,” Samara replied. For some reason, she had thought that Emma was over Jason already. She’d had a crush on him over the summer for what felt like five minutes. Knowing the way Emma was, though, she’d probably move onto another guy in a week from now.

  “What do you think of him?” Emma asked. “He’s, like, gorgeous! Isn’t he?”

  Samara hesitated. She wanted to tell Emma that she thought Jason was a creep, but she knew that wouldn’t win her the-best-friend-of-the-year award. Normally, Samara would have just told Emma the way it was, but it felt like their friendship was already on thin ice. She didn’t want to stomp on it and fall through. “He’s cute.”

  Even though Jason was a creeper, Samara couldn’t deny that he was attractive. With his jet black hair, nearly-black eyes, and muscular build, most girls would consider him the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. It was just the creepiness factor that bugged Samara.

  “He’s an amazing kisser, too!” Emma went on excitedly. “He said that if I’m nice, he’ll take me to the Homecoming dance! I’m so happy and excited to be in love with the cutest boy in school.”

  “You barely know him,” Samara said. “Are you sure you’re in love?”

  “Yes, definitely,” Emma replied. “We are perfect together and –”

  Samara heard a loud thud from downstairs. A moment later, she heard her dad yell, “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Ugh, I’m sorry, Emma,” Samara cut in. “I really have to go. I’ll talk to you later.” Without giving her best friend a chance to answer, she hit the end button and tossed the phone on her bed.

  Samara went into the living room and stopped dead in her tracks at what she saw.

  Seth had her dad pinned against the wall. His fist was raised in the air as he shouted, “Leave me alone! Mind your own goddamn business!”

  “Seth, stop!” Samara said, hurrying over to them. She felt panicked. Samara had never noticed how much bigger her brother had become than her dad. He towered over him. “Don’t hurt him again!”

  Seth looked over at her with his bloodshot eyes. A look of anger crossed over his face. “Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?”

  Samara carefully put her hand on Seth’s shoulder. He flinched, but didn’t do anything to hurt her, so she left it there. “I’m your sister, and I love and care about you. Dad does, too. We can get you help for whatever it is that you’re going through. Just please don’t hurt dad, Seth.”

  Letting go of their father, Seth stared at Samara angrily. Sure that he was going to turn on her, Samara took a step back and looked around the room for something to shield herself with.

  Seth made a grunting sound and ran out the front door.

  Samara turned to their father. “Are you okay, Dad?”

  Mr. McKinley nodded, but she could tell from his quivering chest that he was really shaken up by what had just happened.

  “What happened?” Samara asked. “Why was he so angry this time?”

  “I don’t really know,” Mr. McKinley replied, running a shaky hand over his bald head. “He just came in here and started flipping out on me for no reason. He was uncontrollable. He’s always uncontrollable lately.”

  Samara sighed. “We really need to get him help.”

  “I know it, Sam. Your mom, though . . .” Mr. McKinley trailed off.

  “I think we should take a vote. It’s two against one, after all. Mom will have to give in.”

  “I hope so. I like your democratic way of thinking,” Mr. McKinley chuckled. “Because I’m not sure what else there is to do at this point. It’s like he’s a totally different person.”

  Seth and I have something in common, Samara thought to herself.

  *

  She wasn’t sure if she had fallen asleep yet or if she had been lying there so long in the darkness without thinking about anything that it had felt like she had been sleeping. Either way, she felt the urge to go outside again. Samara climbed out of bed and opened her window.

  She glanced up at the moon. It was just as full and bright as it had been the night before. Once again, she felt as though the moon was calling out to her, as though it was telling her that it was ready for her.

  Samara pinched her wrist to see if she was awake this time or if she was just dreaming. She felt her sharp nails digging into her skin. Samara might not be conscious of whatever she was doing or know why it was happening, but one thing was for sure; she was definitely awake tonight.

  As she got closer to the lake, she tore off her clothes. Samara felt the same feeling sweep over her body again. Her skin began to feel hot, and she felt like she was going to puke. This time, the feeling was so intense that Samara gasped loudly – and then she felt it happening again.

  When the feeling passed, Samara looked into the water. Sure enough, she saw a white wolf’s reflection in the lake.

  It was real. Samara hadn’t been dreaming. She was the wolf the water reflected. She was a werewolf.

  She wasn’t sure if it was a wolf’s natural instinct or if it was her human emotions taking over, but Samara looked up at the sky and howled. She howled loud and long, until she wasn’t sure if she could howl anymore.

  Stop crying, you big baby, a deep voice came from behind her. You’ll wake up all of the humans in Grandview. It’s rude.

  Samara whirled around, her ears pinning back with alertness. She found herself staring back into the eyes of a gray wolf. Glancing at its side, she noticed the light brown heart-shaped patch of fur. It was the same wolf who had bitten her.

  Unsure how she was supposed to communicate with the gray wolf, Samara bared her teeth and let out a deep growl. She felt her body tense up, unsure how much she should trust this wolf after he had attacked her.

  She heard the gray wolf chuckling. We can talk to each other through our thoughts. Instead of trying to say something out loud, say it in your head.

  Samara sat down on the ground, tucking her tail underneath her, but not letting her guard down. If the wolf came a step closer to her, she was prepared to attack him. Who are you?

  I can’t tell you that. Not yet. You’ll find out eventually, though, the gray wolf replied.

  Are we werewolves? Samara asked timidly. Even though she knew that it was necessary for her to ask the question, she really didn’t want to hear the answer. It would make it all feel too real.

  Duh, the gray wolf said back. He began walking in circles around her, staring her down with his icy blue eyes. If you’re just realizing that we’re werewolves, I must have overestimated your intelligence. I thought you were really smart.

  Samara let out a low growl. Instead of snapping at the wolf for his comment, she asked the first
question that popped into her mind: Did you bite me on purpose?

  Everything happens for a reason, the wolf replied. Don’t worry, though. You’ll get used to this. Soon, you’ll be united with your pack, and things will only get easier from then on.

  Before Samara could ask the gray wolf another question, he had already darted into the forest.

  *

  The next morning, Samara pulled herself off of the cold ground and looked around. The sun was just beginning to rise, so it seemed unlikely that anyone had seen her this time. Her parents usually slept in on Sunday mornings, and she knew that the neighbors didn’t go to church until ten or eleven o’clock.

  She scurried across the yard and grabbed the white t-shirt and blue fuzzy fleece pajama bottoms that she had thrown there last night. If Samara was going to continue changing into a wolf at night, she was going to need to figure out a better clothing system. She really didn’t want to risk her dad, Seth, or their elderly next door neighbor, Bill, finding her lying on the ground naked. It would just be too weird – and too weird to have to explain, especially because she couldn’t think of a reasonable explanation aside from sleepwalking.

  Samara climbed back into her bedroom window and closed it behind her. Pulling on her clothes, she picked up her blinking cell phone. Wondering who could be texting her so early in the morning, she opened the text message. It was from Declan. She knew that he was a bit of an insomniac, so it wasn’t unusual for him to send her text messages late at night or early in the morning. The text message read:

  What are u doing today?

  Sighing, Samara texted back: Nothing. She was sort of hoping that Declan wanted to hang out with her. She hadn’t spent as much time with him lately as they normally did. She really needed a best friend right now, though, and Emma obviously wasn’t playing the role too well at the moment.

  Samara’s cell phone chimed only seconds later. Want me to come get u?

  Is Emma going? Samara sent back. She wanted to see Declan, but she didn’t really want to see Emma.

  A second later, her phone beeped again. No. Church.

  OK, I’ll be ready in 5.

  When Samara saw Declan’s silver Jeep Wrangler pull into the driveway, she ran to his car. She had pulled on a pair of Victoria’s Secret Pink sweatpants and a hoodie. Samara didn’t really care how she looked today. It was early on a Sunday so everyone she knew was probably still sleeping, and it was just Declan. He was the one person she didn’t have to dress to impress because he accepted her however she was. Besides, he had seen her in way worse. At least she didn’t have bed head today.

  “Hey, Sam!” Declan said, smiling as she climbed into the passenger’s seat. “Guess what.”

  “What?” Samara asked.

  “It’s supposed to snow this week!” Declan replied excitedly.

  She groaned. “It’s only October. I don’t want it to snow yet.”

  “Well, I was thinking that if it snows, maybe me, you, and Emma could go snowboarding in the Poconos,” Declan replied. “It will be a great way to kick off the holiday season.”

  “You mean Halloween?” Samara asked sarcastically. She really hated snow, especially so early in the year. She sometimes felt like she was meant to live in a warmer climate, like Florida or Texas or something. “The holiday season isn’t for months. And besides, me and Emma are going through a rough patch.”

  A look of surprise crossed over Declan’s face. “What? Why?”

  Samara shrugged. “She’s just getting on my nerves lately. She’s trying too hard to stay popular, and that’s not me.” She looked over at Declan. “This is really random but . . . do you believe in werewolves?”

  Declan glanced over at her. “That is random. Why do you ask?”

  “Oh, you know . . . just freaked myself out with a scary werewolf movie last night,” Samara replied. “I just sort of wonder how all of these mythological creatures, like werewolves and unicorns and stuff, came to be so well-known. They must have existed at one point or people probably wouldn’t know about them today, right?”

  “Do you want to get breakfast?” Declan asked as they were about to drive past their favorite diner.

  “That’s fine, whatever,” Samara answered quickly, not wanting him to change the subject.

  “A lot of people in Pennsylvania believe in werewolves. I don’t know if you’ve heard about it, but there was a sighting of these crazy ape men that people thought were werewolves years ago,” Declan replied as he pulled into the parking lot. “I don’t believe that werewolves look like ape men, though. I think that if they exist, they look like real wolves – only bigger.”

  “Why do you think that?” Samara asked, trying to keep her voice under control. She wondered how Declan could possibly know what werewolves really looked like, even down to the fact that they would be bigger than normal wolves. Based on the reflection that Samara had seen in the lake, she knew that was right; she stood a lot taller and had broader shoulders than a typical gray wolf.

  Declan stared out the window for a moment before looking back at her. “I’m not supposed to talk about it, but . . . my dad claims he saw one once, when he was out hunting. It was a long time ago, and he told people about it. They all thought he had gone mad.”

  “Do you believe him?” Samara asked.

  Declan shrugged his shoulders and ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair. “Yeah, I guess I do. I mean, he really seems to believe that it was true. I have no reason to believe he was lying, and he’s the sanest person I know.”

  Declan’s father, Mr. Kingsbury, was a psychiatrist. Samara decided that if anyone had a good grasp on reality, it would definitely be him.

  Samara wanted to break down and tell Declan everything, but she knew that she couldn’t yet. She had to understand why this had happened to her first before she could tell anyone else she knew. When she did know, though, she knew that Declan would be the first person who she would share the news with.

  As she slid into the diner booth across from him, she thought back to the conversation that she had with the gray wolf the night before. He had said that he’d overestimated her intelligence. How would he have known if she was intelligent or not, though?

  Samara realized that in his human form, the werewolf had to know her. Where from, though? His voice sounded really deep, so she had assumed that he was an adult, but was there a chance that it could belong to someone she went to school with? She realized that she might never know who it was because he might try to keep it from her. Unless . . .

  An idea popped into Samara’s head. She had thought of a way to find out who the gray wolf was. It wasn’t going to be easy, but she had to do it.

  Chapter 9

  ****

  “I’m so sorry for all of the confusion that I’ve caused,” Lilly said tearfully into the camera on the television. “I must have hit my head. After that, I couldn’t remember anything. I didn’t even know that I was in front of my own home, so I just started walking. When I got to Briar Creek, someone recognized me from the news and offered to drive me back to Grandview. I’m so lucky that he recognized me, or who knows where I would be right now.”

  The news flashed back to the newscaster, who was smiling warmly. “Lilly Phillips was found on Sunday morning. Her parents are thankful that she is safe and ask that the media and public give them some time before asking any more questions.” Snowflakes began falling on the screen as the meteorologist began to talk about the predicted snowfall.

  Samara flicked the channel, unsure of how to feel. She’d known all along that Josh hadn’t killed Lilly, and she felt relieved that he wouldn’t be arrested for killing her. Something about Lilly’s disappearance just didn’t sit right with her, though.

  Maybe Edda had been right all along. Lilly may have been trying to run away from home and ended up getting caught along the way. Something in the back of Samara’s mind told her that wasn’t the case, though. Something far more complicated than that had happened. Even though she di
dn’t know Lilly all that well, Samara felt determined to find out what it was; she just wasn’t sure how.

  *

  Samara stared out her window at the full moon and waited. She wasn’t going to let herself fall asleep. Tonight, she wanted to be in complete control over her mind and body – although, in reality, she wasn’t sure how possible that really was. She still was barely conscious of the things that she did when it was nighttime. Her body just seemed to do its own thing when it turned into a wolf.

  Feeling the urge to be outside, Samara smiled. It was going to happen soon. Very soon. She could feel the changes that were about to take place running through her veins, warming her body up to the point where she could no longer resist the temptation. She tore off her clothes before she had even climbed out the window this time, tossing them over her shoulder and onto her bed.

  Samara wrapped her arms around her chest in an attempt to cover her body and raced across the backyard. If anyone ever saw her running through the woods without her clothes on, they’d think she was completely insane; to Samara, it felt completely insane to not give into this urge.

  Coming to a halt in front of the lake, she felt it happening. It started at the tip of her head and sent a tingling electric sensation down through her toes. For the first time since she had turned into a wolf, she was prepared for the change. It was no longer scary, but it still hurt, and Samara couldn’t stop herself from howling out in pain.

  As she felt her body sink to the ground, she felt herself quivering from the painful sensation that slowly faded from her body.