by Jody Morse
Ignoring her parents’ responses, Samara bolted from the kitchen table and looked out the living room window. Surely, there were three wolves; one on the far left of the yard and two on the far right. As she looked closer at them, she realized that they were all staring back at her, menacing looks in their eyes.
None of the three wolves had a heart-shaped patch of light brown fur. None of these gray wolves were the gray wolf that had bitten her. They weren’t her Alpha.
Samara wondered if these wolves were even on her pack. Something deep inside told her that they weren’t. The gray wolf had mentioned that there was another pack of werewolves that they were going to have to fight for territory. Were these wolves from that pack?
If these were the wolves on the opposing pack, did they know who she was? Could they pick up on her scent and know that she was a werewolf? If they could, were they planning to attack her?
Just the thought made Samara feel sick to her stomach. She wasn’t afraid of the Alpha of her own pack, but she didn’t know these other wolves. For all she knew, they could be sitting out there at that moment, plotting their attack.
Samara wasn’t even in full control of her inner wolf yet. She had no idea how to fight, but she assumed that it would be far different from beating up another person – not that she had ever done that before, either.
Feeling defenseless, Samara realized that there was nothing she could do right now, but she was going to have to prepare herself to be ready to fight when the time came.
Chapter 11
****
Samara slipped out her bedroom window, carrying a white sheet in hand. She placed it on the ground next to the shed. Running into the forest behind her house, she stopped and gazed out at Starlight Lake.
The moon’s reflection sparkled in the water. It looked pretty, but it didn’t call out to her the same way it normally did. Samara realized it was because it was no longer a full moon, so it wasn’t quite as mesmerizing.
Samara stared at the moon, waiting for the tingling feeling to overcome her body. After several minutes of nothing happening, she sighed and sat down on a rock overlooking the lake. Samara was getting used to spending her nights as a wolf. It was peaceful and relaxing compared to the rest of her day. And now, with her not being on good terms with Emma, she felt lonely. She wanted to talk to her Alpha.
As the frustration built from not being able to transform, Samara felt the tingling sensation overcome her body, like a tidal wave. Within seconds, she was in her wolf form, and she howled in satisfaction.
There, Samara thought to herself, I do have some control over my inner wolf.
Following the pineapple and peppermint scent, Samara raced through the woods until she saw the gray wolf.
It looks like you’re getting better at this, he said as she approached him. You never show up in wolf form this early in the night. Are you starting to get a better control of when you make the change?
Samara shrugged her furry white shoulders and sat on the ground beside him. I panicked earlier, so maybe that’s why it was easier for me to change earlier in the night. There were wolves in my front yard. Three of them, to be exact. They’re not from our pack, are they?
The gray wolf shook his head. No, they’re not.
Are they from the other pack? The one that we’re going to have to fight? Samara asked.
They are the other pack. You don’t have to worry about them sitting outside your house, though. They’re not going to hurt you.
Is that only because they don’t know I’m a werewolf yet?
The gray wolf moved closer, until he was sitting down in front of her. If he were a human, she would have thought that he was creepily close to her, but there was something different about physical distance when you were a wolf. It made Samara feel like she wanted to be closer to him, even though she didn’t feel any sort of sexual attraction towards him.
They’re not going to hurt you because they want you to be one of them. They want you to be a part of their pack, her Alpha replied.
Why? Samara asked. She figured that the reason must be because they wanted more female werewolves on their pack; they wanted her to be someone’s mate.
It has to do with what I can’t tell you yet, he replied. I promise you’ll find out really soon, but you need to know that you’re in demand. All of the local packs want you as a member.
Samara felt surprised. She had never been in demand for anything before. Even though most of the kids liked her at school, she was always the one who got picked last in gym class because she was a bit of a klutz and generally would be the one who couldn’t hit the ball. Now, everyone wanted her on their pack, which was sort of like a team. Samara couldn’t figure out why, though. What did she have that other werewolves didn’t have that made her so special?
And you’re right. You do need to start preparing to fight, her Alpha went on. I’ve already decided that I’m going to start giving you one-on-one lessons to help you train.
How do you know that I think I need to start preparing to fight? Samara asked confusedly. I didn’t tell you that.
Her Alpha chuckled inside his head. Ah, no, you didn’t. There’s something else that you should probably know. As Alpha, I can hear everything that the wolves in my pack think to themselves, but only in their wolf form. I can hear you as a human, but only if you want me to. It’s hard for me sometimes, with everyone’s thoughts ricocheting around in my head, but I try to mind my own business most of the time so that I don’t end up overhearing something that I don’t really want to know.
Lovely, Samara replied sarcastically, letting out a low growl. She was glad that she hadn’t thought about anything weird or anything that she didn’t want anyone to hear since she had become a werewolf. So, you can hear me, but I can’t hear you?
Not always, her Alpha responded. You will be able to communicate with all werewolves that you meet while you are in wolf form. When I am in human form, you cannot hear me unless I allow you to. If I ever need to communicate something important to you while one or both of us is in human form, you will hear me. You will be able to communicate with any werewolf who is in wolf form while you are in your human form. The only other person whose voice you will be able to hear while you’re both in human form is your mate.
Samara’s mind automatically flashed to Luke. She had heard his voice in her head loud and clear. Was he her mate? Was he even a werewolf? Is your mate always another wolf, or can it be a human, too?
It can be a human if they are destined from birth to become a werewolf, too. Most of us make the transition from human to wolf on our sixteenth birthday, though. This is also usually when we become attuned to our mates. It is very rare to find out that you have a mate who is a human, so usually your mate is another wolf.
I’m not sixteen yet, Samara said slowly. Why didn’t I make the transition on my sixteenth birthday like other werewolves?
Because I bit you.
*
She climbed back into her bedroom window sometime after two a.m.. For the first time since Samara had changed into a wolf, she had been in full control of when she had changed back.
Making the transition back into her human form wasn’t the same as changing into a wolf. Becoming a wolf gave her a pleasurable sensation, mostly because she knew that the freedom that came with it was worth even the tiniest bit of pain that she did feel when she shifted into wolf form. Even though Samara would have thought that changing back into her human form would have been as equally as pleasurable because it meant that she was normal once again, it made her feel somewhat empty inside. As her white fur disappeared, revealing her fair skin, Samara felt like she washing away a part of herself that she normally would be relieved to get rid of, but now she wasn’t so sure.
Something about being a wolf was beginning to feel . . . right. When she had questioned her Alpha about if she was destined to become a wolf, he had quickly changed the subject.
Samara didn’t know for sure, but something told h
er that she was meant for this. She was destined.
When she fell asleep that night, she had a smile on her face.
*
During first period class on Monday morning, Samara got the cold shoulder from Emma. She knew that Emma was waiting for her to apologize, but she wasn’t going to. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Besides, maybe she would be happier to not be Emma Taylor’s best friend anymore. She would finally have the opportunity to be herself again, which was something that she hadn’t been in a long time.
When Emma tapped Ethan Miller on the shoulder and showed him the new blue sapphire ring that Jason had given her, Samara knew that she was just trying to prove a point. Emma couldn’t stand Ethan or his friends. She thought they were losers, and Miss Social Butterfly wasn’t about to sacrifice her popularity by talking to people who weren’t of the same social status as her unless it was to put someone in their place.
“What do you think?” Emma squealed, waving her hand in front of him and tilting her nose up higher in the air.
“Is it real?” Ethan asked, grabbing her hand and pulling it closer to his face to examine the ring. Next to him, Mark Klein snickered.
“Yes, of course it’s real,” Emma snapped back, pulling her hand away and brushing it off, as though he had given her low social status cooties. “Why would you even ask that? I wouldn’t wear fake jewelry! Besides, Jason Masterson gave it to me. He wouldn’t dare give a girl fake jewelry.”
Ethan shrugged. “I was just asking. No need to get your panties in a knot.”
Emma scoffed and settled back into her seat. As she began text messaging away on her cell phone, Ms. Shay came into the classroom. Today, she was sporting a mustard yellow pants suit with a magenta camisole and matching scarf. Samara knew Emma was probably trying to resist offering their teacher that makeover that she so desperately wanted to give her.
“Well, I just had the most wonderful weekend! As many of you probably already know, my niece, Lilly, has returned. She won’t be coming back to school for at least a few days, but the most important thing is that she’s home, safe and sound,” Ms. Shay said, beaming a wide smile as she handed out the blank exams.
With everything else that had been going on with her own life, Samara had nearly forgotten that Lilly had came back home. She still wanted to find out what had happened, but she also wasn’t sure how likely that was. Samara also wasn’t sure why she even cared so much. It wasn’t really any of her business, and she generally didn’t like to intrude on anyone’s personal stuff.
She still felt like she had to know what happened, though.
When Samara skimmed through the questions on her test, she drew a complete blank. If she had been taking an algebra test, it would make sense for her to forget all of the formulas to do the problems, but biology was her strongest subject. Most girls Samara’s age had no idea what they wanted to do when they grew up, but she had known for years that she wanted to major in zoology or marine biology so that she could work with animals. She often felt like she could relate to them more than humans, which was ironic; now, she had just as much in common with animals as she did with humans.
Samara tried to focus on the test, but the answers just weren’t coming to her. It was like she was staring at a piece of paper with words on them that held no meaning. Deciding that there was nothing that she could do but guess, Samara ended up filling in circles to make a pretty swirly design. Grabbing her tote bag, she tossed her test face down on the teacher’s desk and hurried out of the classroom.
Her next period was gym class, and she was glad that she was a little early. Her gym teacher, Mr. King, had an emergency so their class was going to have to sit with Mrs. King, his wife and the school’s Sex Ed teacher, for the next hour.
Samara breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t really in the mood to participate in gym today, anyway. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to stop herself from whacking someone with a tennis racket if they annoyed her.
When Samara walked into Mrs. King’s classroom, her excitement about not having gym class was quickly replaced by disappointment – and nervousness. Apparently, Luke had Sex Ed this hour. He was sitting in the back of the room next to Colby. Samara wasn’t sure if he had seen her, but she turned around quickly to make it seem as though she hadn’t noticed him.
As she glanced on the other side of the classroom, she realized that Jason was also in this Sex Ed class. Jason was staring in Luke’s direction, with an angry look in his dark eyes, which made Samara wonder again what their fight at Emma’s house had been about.
Things got even worse when Emma came into the classroom. Tossing her Coach bag onto her desk, she plopped down onto her seat and glared at Samara from across the room.
Samara turned her head in the other direction, just in time to see Declan come into the classroom. He sat down next to her. “Since when are you in my class?”
“Since Mr. King couldn’t be here for gym class,” Samara shrugged.
“Well, that’s cool,” Declan replied. “I feel like we don’t get to see each other that much anymore.” He had a sad look on his face.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Samara said. “We just hung out. Are you trying to imply something?”
Declan shook his head. “Nah, I just miss you lately. That’s all.”
Mrs. King came into the classroom just then. She was wearing a red low-cut dress that Samara thought was a little inappropriate for school. Even though Samara hadn’t had Mrs. King yet, rumor had it that she was nice to the boys. A little too nice.
“Since we have some extra students, I think we’re going to do things a little bit differently today, class,” Mrs. King said, pulling a chair to the center of the room. “Move your chairs so that you’re sitting in a circle.”
As the sound of chairs being drug across the tiled floor filled the room, Samara moved her own chair. Declan bumped into her from behind, and Samara glanced at him.
“Sorry,” Declan said. “I’m such a klutz.”
Samara gave him a small smile, but ignored the weird feeling that had formed in the pit of her stomach. Something about bumping into Declan made her feel . . . good. It was almost comforting. Deciding that she was probably just imagining it because of all of the other crazy things that were going on in her life right now, Samara shrugged the thought away.
“I want us to have an open class discussion,” Mrs. King went on. “Sometimes, many of the questions and concerns that we have about sex and sexuality are ones that are shared by our peers. It can also help to know that we’re not alone. So, we’re going to go around the circle, and you’re each going to tell us something that is bothering you or something that you are curious about. Emma, we’ll start with you.”
Well, we know that she has a lot of problems. I wonder which one she’ll talk about first. Samara recognized the voice that filled her head; it was her Alpha.
She glanced around the circle. Luke was staring at her intently. He smirked.
Samara’s breath caught in the back of her throat. Luke was her Alpha. He had to be. All of the other guys in her class were looking at Emma as she began talking, or were off in their own little worlds, text messaging or making spitballs.
Samara quickly grew angry. When she had talked to her Alpha last night, he had said he wasn’t Luke. Well, he hadn’t said that he was Luke, either. He had just ignored her question altogether. Still, she felt as if she had been lied to – and she hated liars.
I hate liars, too. We have something in common.
Samara gritted her teeth, casted an angry look at Luke, and ignored him. She wasn’t going to play his games.
“Samara McKinley?” Mrs. King asked, reading her name from the clipboard. “I’d like to hear your feelings about this.”
“Huh?” Samara asked.
Mrs. King looked at her over the rim of her glasses. “I would like to hear how you feel about Emma’s problem.” When Samara didn’t say anything, Mrs. King went on. “She’s afraid that guys wil
l be . . . turned off . . . once they hear the number of people who she’s had sex with. Do you share a similar concern?”
Samara glanced over at Emma, who stared back at her. She couldn’t believe that Emma would say something like that in front of two entire classes of students, especially since Jason was in the room. “No, I don’t feel that way.”
Are you a virgin, too?
Shocked by what Luke had asked, Samara found herself coughing, choking on air. When she glanced over at him, he grinned at her. She clenched her fists.
“Samara, are you all right?” the teacher asked her, worried.
“I’m fine,” she replied, sinking lower into her seat and feeling her cheeks grow hot in embarrassment. She ignored the rest of the classes snickering.
Mind your own business, she thought.
OK, OK, I know how to take a hint.
She couldn’t believe that Luke would ask her something like that, especially when he was a jerk to her. She also felt surprised that he had said ‘too.’ She hadn’t thought that Luke was a virgin because he was a cute boy, even though she hadn’t heard any rumors about him having sex with anyone since he had arrived in Grandview.
“I’m afraid that I’ll get a disease or something if I have sex with anyone,” Declan admitted next to her, snapping Samara back to reality. “It gives me . . . anxiety whenever I’m with a girl.”
Samara bit her cheek. Sex Ed was really like a tell-all, wasn’t it? She had never known that Declan was afraid of getting STDs and, even more importantly, she didn’t know that he had ever been with a girl. For some reason, it surprised her. Why hadn’t he told her? They were supposed to be best friends.
Reminding herself that she hadn’t told Declan about everything that happened with Luke or with her becoming a werewolf, she realized that it was something else that was bugging her. It made her sort of . . . jealous to know that Declan had been with anyone else. She didn’t ever think about how she would feel if he dated someone because it hadn’t happened yet, but it just felt weird. She couldn’t picture him with anyone . . . Not that she could picture him with herself, either.