Blood Moon (Howl #2) (10 page)

No, I don’t think so. But if he’s been out this way, I’m sure he knows, too. Rocco knew because our scent has changed. You probably can’t notice the difference yet, because you’re still new, but I’m sure Rocco could smell that our scent is stronger.
It’s only a matter of time before Jason shows up, too.

Do you
think I’ll be able to intimidate either of them?
Samara asked.

If I can, anyone can,
Colby replied.

Thanks for teaching me, Colby,
Samara said, standing up. She swiftly morphed back into a human and glanced down at the sweater and jeans that she had worn to the party. It was so nice to not have to worry about leaving a spare change of clothes behind a tree or somewhere to change into. Initiation had reall
y made her life so much easier.

Colby changed, too. When he stood, in human form, next to her, she asked, “Col
bs? I have a question for you.”

Colby raised a blonde eyebrow. “Since
when do you call me Colbs?”

“I like making nicknames for people. I didn’t know what else to nickname you,” Samara explained, shrugg
ing.

Colby laughed. “Okay, I guess Colbs it is.
Anyway, what’s your question?”

“Why do you have that reddish heart on your fur? Is one of your parents a red wolf?” Samara asked. She didn’t want to tell him that the reason she was wondering was because she was trying to imagine what her own wolf babies with Luke would look like. Would they be gray wolves with white patches of fur? Or
white with gray patches of fur?

Colby looked down at the ground. “No. Both of my parents are gray wolves.” He looked up at Samara, his eyes turning glassy. “When a werewol
f’s mate dies, they get a
patch somewhere on their fur that’s
the same color that their mate was.”

Samara’s jaw dropped and she quickl
y closed it. “Your mate died?”

Colby nodded. “Yeah, her name was Meag
an. She died over the summer.”

“I’m so sorry, Colby.” Samara remembered that Colby had once told her before she even knew
he was her Alpha
that werewolves generally didn’t find a second mate, that the only way they could have a second mate was if they switched packs. She couldn’t imagine how
hard it must be
for Colby to know that he would never be mated
again
, that the only type of “mate” he might have would be one for companionship, rather than for true love. And here Samara had been upset that she had to make a decision between two mates. Really, she
should have
bee
n fortunate to have one at all.

Colby shrugged. “It still hurts, but I try no
t to think about her too much.”

“How did she die?” Samara asked, remembering that the only way a werewolf could die was if they were shot with a silver bullet in human form or if they were killed during an attack in wolf form. They couldn’t just die of natural causes like cancer
or drowning like humans could.

“She was murdered,” Colby replied, looking down at his Converse sneakers. “By the Vyka.”

Chapter 8

****

Samara chased after Jason. They were both in wolf form. She followed him until he came to a halting st
op in front of Starlight Lake.

Out of the darkness, she saw the golden eyes of her pack members as they came out of the
shadows of the
woods, cornering Jason
from all angles
. A panicked expression crossed his face as he stared blankly at the Ima, who growled
at him
, inchin
g towards
him from all sides.

A red, silky-furred wolf stepped out from behind a tree.
This is for me,
J
ason.
This is what you deserve.

Samara knew, instantly, that it was Meagan who had spoken. Colby bowed his head, making Samara wonder if he could see Meagan. Was she a ghost or a spirit? Samara wasn’t sure, but she
was
sure
that Jason could see Meagan
,
too,
just judging from the way he glared back at her.

Suddenly, Samara felt a wave of anger pass through her body. She felt angry for Colby, angry that Jason had taken away the love of his life. She felt angry at Jason
for what he had do
ne to Lilly . . . and to Josh, even though Josh was technically her enemy now. Not that she wanted him to be.

Samara leapt at Jason, sinking her teeth deep into his neck. Jason
yipped as his blood gushed out
f
rom
his flesh, filling her mouth with an iron-like taste. Soon, his yips turned into
gurgled
howls as he cried out in pain. Samara didn’t stop; she co
ntinued biting his neck until his body went limp.

Bolting upright in bed, Samara ran a hand through her hair, which was drenched in sweat. It was only just a dr
eam. Jason wasn’t really dead.

Samara wondered if she would ever be able to work up the nerve to kill him – if she would ever be powerful
enough to kill him if she ever wanted to.

I keep telling you that you’re going to be very powerful,
Luke said.
Why don’t you believe me?

Why do you always butt into my thoughts?
Samara asked him, laughing.

Sorry,
he replied. Samara could hear the smirk that had formed on his face from the tone of his v
oice.

It’s okay,
Samara said gently.
Sometimes, it makes me feel relieved to kno
w that you can hear my thoughts . . . even if I don’t always want you to.

I get what you mean,
Luke replied knowingly.
It’s like we’re closer to each other, even when we’re far away . . . right?

That’s exactly what it’s like.
Samara took a deep breath
, relieved that Luke felt the same way about mind-speak. She hated to imagine what it was like for mates who didn’t want to be up in each other’s business whenever they felt like it
.
Training with Colby went well tonight.

I know. H
e told me,
Luke said.
I’m really glad to hear that. We decided that your next training session will be with Steve.

Samara recalled that Steve’s special “talent” was that he was able to figure out who was the weakest link. This would probably be an easy lesson, considering Colby had just taught her how not to be the weakest link.
Okay. When do I get to train with you?

She heard Luke chuckle inside his mind.
I’m probably going to be the last person you train with, unless you have some other type of training in mind.

Samara laughed out loud.
No, that’s not what I meant
,
you pervert. Goodnight.
Closing her eyes, she quickly drifted back to sleep with a smile on her face. Life was good.
 

*
 

The next morning, Samara was woken up by
the sound of
her cell phone, which jangled against the wood of her nightstand. Grabbing the phone, s
he groggily answered. “Hello?”

“Where did you go last night?” Emma shrilled
, piercing Samara’s ear.

Samara sat up in bed. She had just disappeared from Emma’s party last night without any warning. In fact, Samara had nearly forgotten the reason she had left was because it had
upset
her that Ashley Everest had put her hand on Luke’s shoulder.
We need to talk, buddy,
she told Luke in her head.

Ugh, you woke me up,
Luke groaned back
groggily
.
What do we need to talk about?

I’ll tell you in a sec, I’m on the phone with Emma right now,
Samara replied, just as Emma asked, “Sam? Are you ther
e?”

“Yeah, I’m here. I’m s
orry. I wasn’t feeling good, so I just went home.” Samara sighed, hating that she had to lie to her best friend again. She hadn’t thought it was going to make her feel bad because they had become mu
ch less close over the past few months
, but it did make her feel a twinge of guilt. Trying to make up for the lie, she added, “I didn’t
even tell Luke I was leaving.”

“Well, you really missed out,” Emma w
hined. “And I have good news!”

“What?” S
amara asked, rolling her eyes.

“I met someone . . . a guy. And I thin
k he really, really likes me!”

“Wait,” Samara said. “What about Jason?” Emma had seemed so stuck on Jason over the past few weeks that Samara hadn’t even realized that she might move onto someone new
all on her own
. Then again, she should have realized that it would happen eventually. Emma always got bored of guys so quickly. She’d probably had about sixteen boyfriends – which usually turned out to be just flings – since
May. It was only October now.

“I don’t know,” Emma replied. “Things just weren’t working out between us. It was great at first, but he’s been wei
rd lately. He’s never around.
It’s like he just doesn’t care if he sees me anymore.
”

Samara knew that Emma mentioning
the fact
that Jason
was
never around was just her way of saying that she needed a guy who would give her constant attention – and Jason obviously wasn’t giving it to her. “So, who’s this new guy?” Samara asked curiously. She hoped that Emma had at least chosen someone
who was nicer
than Jason this time around.

“His name’s Troy. Troy Davis,” Emma said. “He already asked me to the Homecoming danc
e!”

“Wow, he moves quick,” Samara said sarcastically, hoping
that she didn’t sound as rude
as she felt. “But t
hat’s good. I’m happy for you.”

“Yeah, there’s just one problem, and this is why I’m calling. I need your advice. How do I break up with Jason
gracefully?”

Samara laughed. “I’m not sure that’s possible with Jason, to be honest. I don’t think you should tell him in person, though. It’s probably better to do it over the phone or through Facebook or something
.”

“Really?” Emma asked. Samara could just picture her freckled nose wrinkling at the idea. “Isn’t that what they usually say what you’re not supposed to do?”

Samara paused. “Well, yeah . . . usually. But this is Jason. I’m afraid if you break up with him in person, he might snap.”

“Snap?” E
mma asked. “What do you mean?”

Samara sighed, wishing that her best friend knew the truth about Jason. “I’m just saying that I think you need to be careful. I’ve heard . . . rumors,” she lied. “Jason can have a real temper. I wouldn’t want to see you piss him off
and get hurt in the process.”

“Okay, I’ll send him a text message then. Do you
think I should mention Troy?
I mean, that way, if things don’t work out . . . maybe he’ll get jealous and want to be with me again.
”

“No,” Samara replied quickly. “You don’t want him to know that you broke up because of someone else. It will just make him angrier
, and I wouldn’t put it past him to come after Troy if things
do
work out
. If he ever brings up Troy on his own
, you’ll want to make it seem like you didn’t even meet Troy until
after you and Jason already broke up.”

“I hate lying,” Emma said, sighing. “But I guess you’re probably right. I mean, I don’t want to make Jason feel emasculated or anything like that. I just don’t want to be with him anymore
. At least not right now
.” She paused. “And the good news is that y
ou and I can double date now!”

“Yeah, we can,” Samara said, trying to sound enthusiastic. She didn’t know what Luke and Troy could possibly have in common. How did the werewolves even get along with the
normal
teenage boys at school? Their world was so much bigger .
. . so much more complicated . . . than the stuff that typical guys were interested in, like football and video games.

“Are you guys planning to go to
the
Homecoming danc
e, too?” Emma asked hopefully.

“Umm, we haven’t talked about it,” Samara replied. “I’ll talk to h
im about it and let you know.”

“Oh, come on, Sam,” Emma squealed. “Don’t make it a joint decision! Put on the pants in your relationship, and tell him that you’re going to the dance whether he likes it or not. He should just suck it up and
take you.”