by Morse, Jayme
“Kyana, there’s a decision you need to make,” he told his daughter.
Kyana glanced over at Chris nervously. “What is it, Papa?”
“You need to decide if you want to stay here and remain an Ima, or if you want to go back to Alaska and be a Koto again,” Orkos replied.
Kyana shrugged. “Well, that’s an easy choice. I’m going to stay here.”
“Daughter, please don’t choose so hastily. I didn’t tell you all of the terms yet,” Orkos snapped at her. “If you choose to become an Ima, you are no longer welcome in Alaska. I will no longer recognize you as my daughter.”
Chapter 11
Samara stared back at Orkos, dumbfounded by what he had just told Kyana. Why hadn’t he given Samara any warning that this was the offer he was going to present to his daughter? It felt like he was being sneaky and trying to force Kyana to become a Koto. It seemed really manipulative of him.
As much as Samara wanted to be able to like Orkos since he had been such a good friend to her grandfather, or so it had seemed, the respect that she had for him was starting to fade really quickly. It almost felt like he was against her, even though it hadn’t felt that way when she’d first met him in Alaska; he had seemed to be genuinely happy to meet her because she was his best friend’s granddaughter.
Samara wondered what had changed since then. The only thing that she could think of was that he must have blamed the attack by Norm and Martin, two members of the Savia pack, on her because she was the one who had pissed them off at a nightclub. They had then tracked the Ima pack down to Orkos’ home, where they’d attacked him.
“Papa! You can’t be serious!” Kyana replied shrilly. “You can’t force me to choose between my own family and the Ima, who are now my second family.”
“Yes, I can,” Orkos replied, nodding. “It shouldn’t be such a hard decision for you to make. In my eyes, you made it once already. You chose the Ima over your own family. I’m giving you a chance now to make it right . . . or be out of our lives forever.”
Samara gaped at him, still in disbelief that Orkos was willing to sacrifice his relationship with his own daughter if she didn’t agree to go back to Alaska with him. If she were Kyana, she would feel insulted. If anything, it would make her want to stay an Ima more, just to prove to her parents that she was capable of making her own decisions.
Kyana turned to Samara; her almond-shaped eyes had a look of worry in them. “What about you? Are you offering me the same thing?”
“What do you mean?”
“If I choose to go back to the Koto, will you disown me, too?” Kyana asked quietly.
Samara shook her head. “No, I won’t. You’ll always be welcome here,” she replied. “Chris will always be welcome, too.”
“Chris? Why wouldn’t Chris be welcome here?” Orkos questioned, turning to Samara. “He’s not invited to join the Koto.”
“Papa, how could you say that?” Kyana asked shrilly, her eyes filling up with tears. “How could you tell me that you’ll disown me if I don’t go back to the Koto, but you won’t let me bring my mate with me?”
Orkos glanced over at his daughter, his nose wrinkling at the sight of Chris’s hand, which had drifted to her thigh. “Kyana, when you were just a baby, this isn’t the way I imagined your life to be. I didn’t want you to come to Pennsylvania to become an Ima. I thought you would stay a Koto—and that you would be mated with a nice boy from our own pack. One of Kristos’ sons, perhaps. I never thought, for a second, that you would be mated to a boy who lived so far away from your family . . . someone who comes from a completely different world than you do.”
“Excuse me, Sir,” Chris interrupted, “but the truth is, we’re really not all that different. We have a lot of things in common.”
Orkos let out a sarcastic chuckle, his laughter echoing through the room. “Name one thing that you and my daughter could possibly have in common.”
Chris shrugged. “We love each other . . . We’re in love with each other. Isn’t that enough?”
“Quite frankly, no, it’s not enough. You might think you love my daughter now, but are you going to be able to sustain that love until the end of time? You come from the new world—a world where werewolves live in houses instead of huts and where the choice to have children is only an option, a mere afterthought. My daughter has been born and raised to live her life the old way, the way in which material things play little significance in her life. Just looking at you, I can tell that’s not the way you’re used to living.”
Chris ran a hand through Kyana’s hair. “All I know is one thing, Sir. I love your daughter. I’m willing to live whatever type of lifestyle she wants to live. If she wants to live life the old-fashioned way, I’m not gonna lie. It’s gonna take some time for me adapt to that life, but I don’t care. I’ll do it because I love her.” He met Orkos’ gaze. “Now that I have her in my life, I don’t want to ever let her go. So, if you want her to come back to Alaska to be a part of your pack, then you need to accept me, too.”
Orkos was quiet for a long moment. Finally, he said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.” He rose from his feet. Glancing at Kyana, he said, “You have until two Sundays from now when I fly back to Alaska to make your decision. I’ll be sleeping in the woods until then.”
As Orkos left the room, Samara glanced around awkwardly, noting that Luke and none of the other pack members were anywhere nearby. They must have been in Colby’s bedroom. Glancing over at Kyana, whose eyes were glassy with tears, she walked out of the room. Chris and Kyana probably needed some privacy, anyway.
She found Luke and Colby deeply involved in a video game in the entertainment room. When she entered the room, he said, “That didn’t go well.”
Remembering that she hadn’t blocked him out of her thoughts so he had heard the conversation that she’d had with Orkos, Samara sat down on the leather couch in the room. “No, it didn’t.” She sighed. “What do you think she’s going to do?”
Luke shrugged. “If I were her, I’d probably go back home.”
“You would?” Samara questioned, feeling slightly offended and betrayed that Luke would say that he would go back home to his old pack, even if it meant leaving her behind, if he were in Kyana’s shoes. “Why?”
“It’s safer for her in Alaska. For every night that she sleeps in this house, there’s a risk that Darren might walk through that door one day,” Luke said.
“You think he’s going to find this place?”
Tearing his eyes away from the TV, Luke glanced over his shoulder at her and shrugged.
“I think he’s going to,” Colby chimed in. “All it would take is one slip on my mom’s part. I’m not saying it would be her fault if Darren does find out where we are, but if she ever forgets to block him out when she’s thinking about where the house is or when she’s driving and sees a road sign or anything like that—anything that could lead him here—there’s a pretty good chance that he’ll figure it out.”
Samara felt her stomach drop to the floor. She hadn’t even considered that Linda could make it easy for Darren to find the place if she ever forgot to block him out of her thoughts. As much as Samara wanted to think that wouldn’t happen, she knew from firsthand experience how easy it was to forget that your mate could be listening to what you were thinking at times. Knowing it was a risk made her feel uneasy.
“Anyway, don’t forget that we’re going to meet my parents tomorrow afternoon,” Luke reminded her.
“How could I forget?” Samara asked. “I’m so looking forward to it.”
*
When Luke pulled into Samara’s driveway that night, all of the lights in the house were turned off. “Hmm, that’s strange. My parents must not be home.”
“I’m not leaving, then,” Luke told her. “I don’t want you to be here all by yourself.”
She glanced over at him. “I’m fully capable of spending a night alone. Assuming they don’t come back tonight, that is. They could be home any m
inute now . . . and if they find you here, they won’t be happy.” Even though her parents mostly seemed okay about her dating Luke, she knew they wouldn’t be comfortable with him sleeping over . . . especially when they weren’t home to supervise them.
Luke shook his head. “No, not when I know that Seth and Declan are out there somewhere, probably near your house. And that means Jason is probably close behind. I don’t care what you say or what your parents say about me sleeping over tonight, but I’m not leaving you here alone. I just don’t feel comfortable with it.”
“Okay. I guess we’ll deal with my parents later.” Samara smiled. Even though Luke could be stubborn at times, there was also something so genuine about him that she loved. And the truth was, she really did feel safer knowing that he would be there with her.
She would at least have a good argument for why she had allowed Luke to sleep over when she did speak to her parents. It was mostly their fault for leaving her home alone. No, they didn’t know just how dangerous Jason was, but they also had to know that life would never be completely safe for a teenage werewolf . . . especially considering what had happened to her grandmother.
Unlocking the front door, Samara swung it open. The house was dark inside, but her nostrils instantly picked up on the musky scent that filled the air. Vyka.
Chapter 12
A wave of panic washed over her, just as Luke’s eyes flitted over to her face. I can smell it, too.
Do you think they’re still inside the house? Samara asked, holding her breath in hopes that no one would be able to hear her breathing if they were still around. The sound of her beating heart was probably enough to give her place in the house away.
I don’t know, but we’re going to find out, Luke replied. Tiptoeing across the living room floor, he put an ear against the wall that divided the kitchen from her parents’ bedroom and bathroom. When he glanced back over at her, she could tell from the pleased look in his eyes that he hadn’t heard anything.
Samara quietly peeked in the laundry room, while Luke opened the doors to the pantry and the clothing closet.
Together, they crept down the stairs and into the hallway that led to her and Seth’s bedrooms. Samara opened the door to his room and glanced inside; everything appeared to be the way she’d last seen it. It crossed her mind that maybe the reason the Vyka scent was in the house at all was because he may have come home to get clothes or something, when she heard Luke think, Holy shit!
Samara felt a knot twist in her stomach. Are they in my room?
No, but they were.
She didn’t even bother to ask him how he knew; she wanted to find out what had happened for herself. Marching across the hall, she poked her head inside. The sight of the room made her feel sick to her stomach, and she was sure she was going to puke.
DROP DEAD had been scrawled across her dresser mirror in sloppy red letters. It was only two simple words, but the sight of them sent a shiver down Samara’s spine and made goose bumps rise on her arms. It was obvious to her that it was Jason who had written this, even though she had never pegged this as his style; he’d always seemed like more of a silent attacker.
He hadn’t stopped with writing on the mirror, though. The room looked like it had been ransacked. Her sheets and pillowcases had been slashed, her drawers were pulled out of the dresser, and all of the clothes inside had been flung to the floor. All of the clutter in her closet and under the bed had also been pulled out, and her mattress was turned over onto its side, revealing the box spring beneath it.
It was obvious that Jason had been looking for something in her bedroom. But what could he have been looking for . . . besides her?
The thought made her shiver again, and she turned to Luke. “I’m so glad no one in my family was home when this happened.”
“Me, too,” he whispered, glancing around the room. “Unless your brother’s the one who did this . . . in which case, one of your family members would have been home.”
“I don’t think Seth would do this,” Samara replied. “He would know how pissed off Mom and Dad would be if they ever found out it was him.”
“Why do you constantly defend him?” Luke asked, a look of annoyance flashing through his eyes. “It’s like Seth can do nothing wrong, even though he’s not on our side.”
Surprised by Luke’s reaction, Samara shrugged. “I-I just don’t think he could do this. It would be really out of character for him.”
“Actually, that’s where I think you’re wrong. It would be perfectly in character for him. He’s not your brother anymore, Sam. And I don’t think he really cares much about what your parents think. He didn’t take their thoughts into consideration when he moved out of the house. He pretty much left without really saying goodbye, and he hasn’t been back since—not even for your parents.”
Samara sighed, unsure of what else to say.
“He’s a Vyka now, Sam,” Luke said, obviously trying to convince her. “He’s one of them now. He could be the one who did this.”
“Okay,” Samara snapped at him, feeling the anger building up inside of her.
“What’s wrong, Sam?” Luke asked.
“What do you think?” She shot him a glare before walking out of the room and into the kitchen. She knew that Luke was partly right, but she didn’t want to believe that her brother could take part in something like this . . . or anything else violent or malicious, for that matter. Deep inside, she still wanted to believe that somewhere . . . deep down . . . Seth was still the brother she had grown up with and still cared about.
Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, she dialed her mom’s phone number. After a few rings, her mom answered. “Hi, Samara.”
“Hi, Mom. Are you coming home tonight?”
“No, we went to visit Aunt Beth in Albany. We’ll be home on Saturday,” her mom replied, referring to her sister, Bethany, who Samara remembered had surgery on her knee this week. Her mom had been planning to go there for the weekend to help out.
Her mom went on. “Aunt Rae was supposed to have Kyle let you know in school today. You were supposed to spend the night at their house tonight. Didn’t he let you know?”
“No, he didn’t,” Samara replied, sighing partly out of relief, and partly because it annoyed her that her cousin hadn’t let her know. At least the reason he parents weren’t home was because they weren’t supposed to be, and not because the Vyka had gotten to them. “Okay, I just wanted to call to see where you were.”
Her mom hesitated. “Is everything okay, sweetie? It sounds like something’s bothering you.”
Geez, was she really so transparent that her mother could read her emotions over the phone?
“No, everything’s fine,” she lied. “My tutoring session went good, by the way. We don’t have another session scheduled until after winter break, but it really seemed to help.”
“That’s great! I’m so glad that you’re already responding positively to it,” her mom replied, and Samara could just hear the smile in her voice. “I know tutoring isn’t at the top of your to-do list, but as long as it helps you get better grades, that’s all that matters.”
Hesitantly, her mom added, “I know you might think that everything is different now that you’re a werewolf, but your father and I still expect you to go to college, just like you would have if you were still a human. It would be really helpful if you could get a scholarship. The cost of tuition is really high these days.”
“I know, Mom,” Samara replied. Now seemed like a really good time to tell her mom that money didn’t matter because she already had millions of dollars that Grandpa Joe had left to her name, but she didn’t say a word. She was too afraid that they might try to take control of her money or, even worse, that her father would feel betrayed that his own father had barely left him a dime, but he’d left Samara everything. It seemed easier to just not talk about it for now.
“Sweetie, we’re going to go to sleep now,” her mom said into the phone. “I’ll call you sometime t
omorrow, okay?”
“Okay,” Samara agreed. “Goodnight.”
Once she hung up the phone, she turned around to find Luke standing behind her. “So, your parents are okay then?”
She nodded, avoiding his gaze. “Yeah, they’re fine. I’m really pissed off about this break-in, though.” Actually, the more she thought about it, the angrier she felt. It was like Jason and the Vyka members who may be involved in what had happened tonight had invaded her personal space. It wasn’t just a death threat; they had crossed into her territory.
Glancing up at Luke, she told him, “I’m going to call a pack meeting.”
*
Fifteen minutes later, Samara and Luke sat around the bonfire they’d built, right in front of Starlight Lake. The half-moon shone in the water, creating a beautiful, glowing reflection. It made Samara feel wild and free, even though she knew that wasn’t really the case. She would never be free until Jason was dead.
Emma and Colby were the first of their pack members to show up, walking alongside one another, their hands almost touching.
When Emma got closer, she rolled her eyes. “Colby said I had to wear this,” she said, holding up a purple flower that Samara immediately recognized as wolfsbane, the plant that her grandfather had used to hide his scent. They’d brought some of it back from Alaska. Samara hadn’t taken hers off since they’d gotten home.
Colby had recently ordered a few more of the plants online, even though they weren’t sure how well they were going to grow in the warmer Pennsylvania climate, because the flowers they’d brought back from Alaska would probably wilt in the near future. No one actually knew if the flower’s powers would still work after they had wilted.
As much as Samara didn’t want to have to go back to Alaska to get more from her grandfather’s cabin, she knew that they might have to eventually to get more flowers. She’d thought that Orkos or Akar could mail more to them when they needed it, but she wasn’t sure that they would be on speaking terms in the near future after the deal he’d made with Kyana. It sort of made Samara sad because she really did like Orkos before he had visited Pennsylvania.