by Morse, Jayme
“Maybe these things wouldn’t have happened to you if you had met your mate,” Samara insisted.
“No, I don’t believe that for a second,” Marnie replied, tucking a piece of light brown hair behind her ear. Her eyes filled with a look of anger. “All werewolf men are alike, Samara. It’s important for you to know this before you continue the relationship that you have with my son.”
“Mom, I don’t—” Luke started to say, but Marnie shot him a look.
“I’m just telling her the way it is, Luke. You should know better than anyone. This is why I’ve asked you to never have a relationship with a werewolf. You’re better off with a human. I don’t want you to think that it’s okay to mark someone the way your father marked me. With a human, at least, you’ll know better. You’ll understand that trying to mark her will mean killing her. This is why it’s so important to me that you never end up with a werewolf. And, even though I think you’d be better off with a human, any human would be better off without you.”
Samara glanced over at Luke, and he nodded. She understood now why it was so important to him for her to lie about being a human.
Chapter 15
“I never did get to meet your stepdad,” Samara commented, once she and Luke were back in his car. They didn’t even need to turn on the heat; their body heat was enough to defrost the car windows and windshield. She also noticed that Luke was “steaming,” as he had called it.
Luke exhaled loudly, as he backed out of the driveway. “I know. He went to the grocery store to pick something up really quick. He was supposed to be back really soon. He was actually really excited to meet you.”
He glanced over at her. “I’m sorry. You’ll get to meet him next time. I just had to cut that short. I hate it when my mom talks like that. It’s hard for me to listen to, especially because it’s not the truth for me. My father may have had a hard time controlling his jealousy issues, but not all werewolves are that. You have to know that I would never do something like that to you. I get jealous, but I love you, Samara.”
Samara stared out the window at the trees that they passed by. A few snowflakes were falling. After a long while, she said, “I know you do. But how come you never told me this about your parents? I wasn’t expecting any of that.”
“It-it’s just that I hate talking about it. My mom paints this picture of my father that makes him seem like such a villain. He wasn’t a completely bad guy, though. Sure, he had a bit of a temper, but he was still a great dad.”
Samara recalled that Luke told her that he wanted to avenge his father’s death; he’d been murdered by the adult Vyka pack Alpha when Luke was thirteen years old. “Does your mom know?”
Luke glanced over at her knowingly; he’d obviously heard her thoughts. “No, she doesn’t know, so I would appreciate it if you don’t tell her if you ever meet her again.”
“Well, I would imagine that I will meet her again, right? We’re mates. Eventually, I’m going to meet her again.” When Luke just continued to stare ahead of him and didn’t answer her, Samara sighed. “And, eventually, you’re going to need to tell her the truth about us. When I don’t die in a few hundred years, she’ll know that I’m not a human, Luke.”
“I guess you’re right.” Luke tapped the steering wheel with his thumbs. “I guess we’ll have to tell her eventually . . . but not right now, okay? We need to be living together on our own before I let her know the truth. If I tell her right now, she’ll constantly be in my space telling me that I need to end things because I’ll be putting you in danger.”
Samara always worried that she would end up with a mama’s boy, but it seemed like Luke was the opposite. He was more than willing to keep things from his mother. She wasn’t sure if it was a good thing, or a bad thing. “That reminds me . . . why did you lie to your mom about my grandfather’s nationality?”
“My mom knew your grandfather.”
“She did?” Samara squeaked. She was surprised by this revelation, but she wasn’t sure why. It seemed like everyone in the werewolf community knew her grandfather in some way or another.
Luke nodded. “It’s the other reason I don’t want her to know you’re a werewolf. She wouldn’t be happy to know that my mate is Joe McKinley’s granddaughter.”
“Why?” Most of the other werewolves she met seemed to be impressed that she was Joe McKinley’s granddaughter. It usually made them believe that she was this super powerful, bad ass werewolf . . . even though Samara wasn’t sure how true any of that was.
But maybe if Luke’s mom knew that she was Joe McKinley’s granddaughter, they wouldn’t have to hide the fact that she was a werewolf. Being his powerful granddaughter would mean that she was able to hold her own against Luke, even if he was jealous and wanted to scar her like his father had done to his mom.
Luke pulled the car into the driveway of the house that Joe McKinley had left her. His eyes flitted over to her, the emerald green shade taking on a mossy hue in the sunlight that streamed in through the car window. “Joe McKinley killed my mom’s father. He murdered my grandfather.”
“What? How come you never told me about this before?” Samara questioned. No wonder Luke didn’t want his mom to know who she was . . . Marnie might hold Samara accountable for her father’s death . . . even though it wouldn’t be fair of her.
“I didn’t want to upset you.” Luke shrugged. “It happened a really long time ago . . . before I was even born. But my mom’s still bitter over it.”
Samara did a mental recap of all the things that Luke hadn’t told her about his family. 1). His mom’s father was murdered by her grandfather. 2). His parents were never mated. 3). His dad was physically abusive to his mom. 4). His mom didn’t want him to be with another werewolf, under any circumstances.
What other secrets could he be keeping from her?
“None,” Luke whispered, meeting her eyes. There was a pained look in them; it obviously hurt him that she could even consider that he was hiding anything from her. “I never told you all those things because I didn’t think they were that important. Well, the last one is important, but I wasn’t sure how to tell you my mom didn’t want me with a werewolf. I was going to tell you eventually. The other things, though . . . They don’t affect us. You have nothing to worry about.”
“I think the fact that my grandfather killed your grandfather does affect us,” Samara replied quietly, although she wasn’t sure how it affected them. Meeting his gaze, she asked, “Do you know why he killed him?”
Luke shook his head. “No, my mom never really said. All I know is they had some sort of deal with each other, and my grandfather didn’t keep up with his end of the bargain.”
“Hmm.” She wondered what type of deal they could have had that would have made Grandpa Joe want to kill Luke’s grandfather. From what she understood, her grandfather wasn’t a bad person. It sounded like he only killed when he had to . . . when he was trying to conquer werewolves like Jason, who were power hungry.
“Come on, let’s go inside,” Luke suggested. “I arranged for the whole pack to meet us here so we could try the Ouija thing again. Maybe we can actually get some answers this time.”
Samara reluctantly followed him into the house, even though she wasn’t sure her head was really in the right place for contacting spirits. She couldn’t get everything she had just learned about Luke’s family out of her mind.
But that didn’t change the fact that they needed to do something to try to figure out who the Trusted Ones were and what they could do to help them fight against black magic.
Once they were in the house, they found Emma sprawled out on the couch. She was holding To Kill a Mockingbird in front of her, and she had her iPod ear buds plugged into each ear, bobbing her head to the music.
When Emma glanced up at them, she pulled her ear buds out and whispered, “Is it quiet now?”
Samara raised her eyebrows at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t hear anything.”
&nbs
p; “Oh, thank God,” Emma replied, breathing a sigh of relief. “Everyone has been fighting around here.”
“Who’s been fighting?” Luke asked, glancing around the house. None of their other pack members were in sight.
“Chris and Kyana, mostly. She packed her bags and left. Orkos was leaving Pennsylvania earlier that he expected, and she’s going back to Alaska with him,” Emma explained.
“Oh, no,” Samara whispered, realizing what that meant for Chris. Kyana would be going back to Alaska, and he would be staying here. Being that far away from her was going to make him miserable.
Kyana’s decision to leave wasn’t only going to affect Chris, though. The whole pack was going to suffer because it meant one less person. Rain was gone and, now, Kyana would be gone, too. Their size was quickly dwindling, which made them an easier target for the Vyka.
“Dammit, Orkos,” Luke muttered under his breath, and Samara knew he had listened in on her thoughts. It made her feel sort of disappointed in Kyana and worried about the future of their pack; Luke’s cheeks were beginning to redden in anger, though. He was really pissed that she had left.
“It’s just been crazy around here,” Emma went on. “First, they were fighting . . . and then Chris yelled at me because I gave Kyana money for a cab, and then Colby yelled at Chris for yelling at me.” Setting her book down on the coffee table, she sighed. “I think we all just need to let her go. If she wants to go back home, Chris should be okay with it. Kyana’s not a child. She should be able to make her own decisions, and who can blame her for missing her family? But I’m wrong for feeling that way. At least, according to Chris, I am.”
Rolling her eyes, Emma raised her wrist to tuck a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. The sparkly blue reflection of the sapphire ring that she was wearing on her middle finger caught Samara’s eye.
Samara smiled, and pointed to Emma’s hand. “You’re wearing the ring!”
“Oh, yeah,” she muttered, shrugging her shoulders. “I figure, there’s no point in leaving it in the box so it can just collect dust. Colby already bought it. I might as well wear it.” Emma glanced down at her finger, smiling at the sight of the gemstone, and then glancing back up at Samara. “I mean, whatever, right? It was just a gift. It’s not a big deal.”
Samara nodded and smiled. “Yeah, it was just a gift . . . from your mate! I hope this means you’re going to give him a chance now.”
Emma snorted. “No, I’m not giving Colby Jack a chance, just the ring. It looks really nice on me, doesn’t it?” she asked, admiring it again.
Rolling her eyes, Samara glanced over at Luke. “Can you find you where everyone is? Round them up so we can get this spirit show on the road. We’ll get the board set up.”
Luke nodded and dashed off in the other direction.
“Did Colby tell you yet that his dad texted his mom?” Emma asked, as they headed into the entertainment room, where they’d left the board games stacked in a big pile.
“No, Colby hasn’t said a word to me,” Samara replied.
“He texted her asking her where she is. He demanded to see her. I’m proud of his mom, though.” A smile crossed Emma’s face. “She told him to kiss her furry behind. And, then, she turned her phone off so Darren can’t use some sort of tracking device to figure out where she is.”
“Good for her!” Samara beamed, feeling proud of Linda, too.
“I think she wanted to talk to him, though,” Emma said quietly.
“Why would you think that? He wanted to have her son killed!”
Emma shrugged. “You know what it’s like to have a mate. You don’t want to be away from that person, even when things go wrong.”
Samara nodded, understanding what Emma meant . . . though she wasn’t sure how Emma would know. It sounded like she was talking from experience, but how could she be, if she wasn’t even willing to go on a date with Colby yet?
“Oh, I didn’t tell you who we bumped into the other day! When Colby and I were at the grocery store, we saw Troy.”
“Really? Did he say anything to you?”
None of their pack members had heard from Troy since they’d gone to his house to get back Joe McKinley’s talisman that they’d accidentally traded Emma for. It turned out that he didn’t have it anymore. Even though Samara normally would have thought he was lying, something about his reaction had seemed so honest that she really believed him; it was obvious that the Vyka were the ones who had stolen it from him.
“No, he just gave me dirty looks. He was with his new girlfriend, I guess.” Emma made a face. “I can’t believe I ever liked that loser.”
“You’ve liked a lot of losers,” Samara murmured, thinking of Jason.
“Tell me about it.” Emma bent down and picked up the game board. When she glanced back at Samara, she asked, “What was Colby’s first mate like?”
Samara shook her head. “I don’t really know. Jason killed her before I changed, and Colby never talks about her that much.”
“Do you think he still loves her?” Emma asked quietly, her blue eyes wide.
“I’m sure he still loves her. It’s not like their relationship ended. She died. He has that heart on his fur coat because he lost her.” Samara chose her next words carefully. “But just because there will always be a place in his heart for her doesn’t mean that he won’t be open to loving someone else again one day.”
Emma opened her mouth to say something back, but at that moment Nuka bounded into the room. Colby’s voice followed after her. “Chris needs to just chill. Kyana’s gone. He can either follow after her or stop complaining. The choice is his.”
“Colby, you’re not Alpha anymore,” Samara snapped at him, as he entered the room. “I didn’t give Chris permission to leave our pack.”
Colby gave her a confused look. “Are you saying that you wouldn’t let him leave if he wanted to?”
“I’m saying it wouldn’t be an easy decision for me to make right now. Normally, if he wanted to go, I would tell him to leave . . . but we can’t afford to lose any more pack numbers at the moment. We just lost two.”
At that moment, Chris walked into the room. “You’re not gonna let me leave?”
Samara felt her own cheeks redden with embarrassment. If she had known that Chris would be listening in on their conversation, she might not have said anything, but since he had heard, she explained, “I just can’t let you go that easily, Chris. We’ll really need you once it comes time for us to fight the Vyka. And, honestly, you’re one of our strongest fighters. It would be nearly impossible to replace you.”
“Yeah, right,” Chris muttered under his breath, unconvinced.
“You are,” Samara insisted. “You’re the most talented biter on our pack. And I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true. Don’t doubt yourself, okay?”
He shrugged and slumped onto the couch by himself. “I just feel like we’ve talked so much about fighting with the Vyka, but when it comes down to it, nothing ever happens. Every minute that we’re not out there fighting them, they’re only getting more powerful.”
Samara sighed. “I know.”
“So, then, let’s do something about it,” Chris pleaded. “The sooner we go after them, the sooner I can go to Alaska and be with Kyana.”
Emma wrinkled her nose. “Why would you chase after Kyana? You can find someone so much better. You’re one of the most popular guys in school. And that’s not to mention that it’s cold in Alaska. Like fuh-reezing!” She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered at just the thought of the cold Alaskan temperatures. “It would be so much sexier to find a werewolf girlfriend somewhere warm.”
Chris shot her a glare. “I’m going to go to Alaska because I love her. And it’s no thanks to you that I have to make that decision.”
“Hey,” Colby spoke up. “If Emma didn’t give her cab money, someone else would have. It’s not her fault Kyana wanted to leave. Don’t blame her.”
Chris crossed her shoulders in front of himself
angrily.
Samara cleared her throat. “Anyway, back to the Vyka. Hopefully, after we contact Matthias again, we’ll have a little more to go on and we can follow through with Luke’s plan of breaking into the Masterson’s house,” Samara said, trying to sound convincing, even though she wasn’t sure if it was going to work. The last time they’d had communications with Matthias, it seemed like he had stopped talking to them because he didn’t want to help them. What were the chances of him actually helping them out this time? It seemed sort of hopeless.
“Are we ready to start playing the game, then?” Luke questioned.
Samara glanced around the room; Emma and Colby were seated on the floor next to each other, Chris and Steve were both sitting on the couch, and Luke was standing by himself in the corner. “Where are Josh and Kyle?”
“Kyle said he couldn’t make it,” Steve shrugged. “I don’t know where Josh is. I think he had something to do after school, though.”
“Figures,” Samara muttered under her breath. It always felt like Josh and her cousin were absent from their pack meetings lately. She was trying really hard to be understanding, but she was having a difficult time with it . . . especially right now, when it felt like she needed them there the most.
In Josh’s case, she understood why he was absent right now. Like Colby, he was going through a rough time. He’d just learned that his father wasn’t actually his biological father at all and that Darren was. Learning this, right around the same time he’d practically had his heart broken over not being mated to Kyana and so soon after leaving his own family, had to be taking a serious emotional toll on him. He was probably absent from meetings so much lately because he was mentally absent in general right now.
But Samara couldn’t seem to come up with any excuses for Kyle being gone half the time. She knew that her cousin couldn’t be that busy . . . and even if he was, he at least owed her some sort of explanation. When she’d chosen the Ima over the Vyka, she’d sort of thought, deep down, that Kyle might be able to fill the void where Seth had once been.