Howl (Howl #1) (30 page)

“It’s a secret.”

“Why is everything in the werewolf world a secret?” Samara asked, frustrated. “I know what the Vyka’s initiation is, why can’t I know yours?”

“Well, you only know
part
of their initiation. None of our pack knows exactly what they do with the hair. Each pack’s initiation is supposed to be a secret, but someone from their pack let it slip – and let’s just say he’s no longer a part of their pack.”

“You mean they . . .
killed him?”

“Yup,” Luke answered. “So how are we going to divert their attention?” He looked at both of them expectantly.

“Oh, my God!” Samara exclaimed. “That’s it
! I figured a way out of it.”

Colby and Lu
ke both looked at her with eager
expressions. “Are you going to share?” L
uke as
ked impatiently.

“I’ll wear a wig! We have to find one that’s the same color and texture of my natural hair, but it could work. When they cut off a piece of my hair, it won’t be mine.
Then, I won’t become a Vyka.”

“Huh, that’s an interesting idea,” Colby said. As he considered it, he put a hand to his chin. “Yeah, I think that will work. We just have to hope that they don’t notice that it’s a wig. It’s our only option, though, if
we’re really going to do this.”

“So, it works. Yay!” Samara squealed, for the first
time
in her life feeling truly proud of something that she had thought of.

“When your tattoo doesn’t appear and you don’t develop your scent, Jason will know something’s up. We don’t know what he will do, but we’ll be waiting in the woods, prepared to attack if anything should go wrong. This will st
art our war with him sooner than
the Vyka intended, so you need to be absolutely sure, Sam. Do you want to be a part of our pack? Because if we go through with this plan and it fails, the Vyka will no longer be an option for you. They won’t accept you as one of their own. They’ll be out for blood.”

Samara realized the seriousness of the situation as she listened to Colby as he spoke. She thought of her brother and Declan. She didn’t want to lose them, but she didn’t want to be miserable for the rest of her life – which she knew she would be if Jason was her Alpha.

Samara closed her eyes, and made the hardest decision she ever had to make so far in her life: “I’m sure.”

Chapter 22

****

“Does this one look natural?” Samara asked Luke. She glanced in the mirror at Wigs ‘n Stuff. The wig, which was a shade of dark chocolate brown, was only a little
bit longer than her own hair.

Luke shook his head. “Only if we cut it. Plus, you never wear your hair straight. Try on the curly one,” he said, handing her the next wig in their pile to try on. Normally, Samara would have asked Emma to help her with something like this, but there was no way she could trust her to not tell Jason about it, so instead she
had asked Luke to come along.

He handed her the next wig, the only curly one they had found in the shop that matched her hair color. Samara slid it over her head and glanced into the mirror. It looked like a per
fect fit. She turned to Luke.

“I can’t even tell you’re wearing a wig,” Luke said, shrugging.
“I think this one will work.”

“Good,” Samara replied. She walked over to the cashi
er and handed the wig to her.

The cashier raised an eyebrow as she rang it up. Samara realized that it probably looked strange that she was purchasing a wig in the same color and texture as her natural hair.

Once she had paid for the wig, Samara and Luke stepped outside. Luke grabbed her hand as they began
walking back towards his car.

A red Mustang sped past them.

“Oh, shit,” Luke
said. “That was Jason’s car.”

Samara was about to ask why Luke cared, but then she realized wh
y it mattered that she and Luke
were seen together. If she was really going to become a Vyka tonight, there was no way she would be hanging out with a
n Ima. Luke would be her enemy.

“Maybe he didn’t see us,” Samara said. “It didn’t seem like he slowed down or anything. And Jason is definitely the type who would have caused a scene
over this.”

“You’re probably right,” Luke
shrugged. “I bet he didn’t.”

Feeling somewhat relieved, Samara climbed into Luke’s car. Luke got in and drove
them back to Colby’s house.

When they arrived, the whole p
ack was sitting at the Jackson
’s kitchen table. They was a wide array of burgers, hot dogs, chicken breasts, bacon, and
deli meats
on the table. It looked
like enough to feed an army.

“We gotta bulk up,” Steve said, his mouth full of hamburger. “We might need it
tonight if things turn ugly.”

“Which isn’t going to happen,” Colby pointed out, as he picked up a piece of bacon and stuffed it in h
is mouth
. “Just tell it like it is –
a wolf’s gotta eat.” He glanced up at Samara. “We ea
t like this all of the time.”

“Where do you get the money to eat like this all of the time?” Samara asked, amazed at the
amount of food on the table.

“My parents run a really successful online business. They make enough money to keep both of our packs’ stomachs full.
Here, sit down and have some.”

Samara grabbed a chair. She turned to Luke and motioned for him to sit next to her. She grabbed a piece of chicken with her fork and began eating it a little more hastily than she would have if she wer
e with a group of human guys.

Luke sat down next to her and folded his arms
on the table.

“Dude, what’s wrong?” Chris asked.
“You’re not eating anything?”

Luke shook hi
s head. “No, I’m not hungry.”

Colby raised his eyebrows. “That’s not like you. You’r
e always hungry. Are you feelin’ okay, man?”

Luke nodded. “Yeah,
I’m fin
e. Just no appetite.”

What’s wrong?
S
amara asked him in her head.

Just a little nervous. I’m afraid about tonight. I still have a really bad feeling. I just want you to be okay
.
You don’t have to do this. There’s still time to back out.

Luke, I’ll be fine. Please stop worrying
,
she told him.

As if to prove to her that he would stop worrying, Luke grabbed a hot dog and began munching on it.

*

Sometime around six o’clock, Samara had Luke drop her off at home. She didn’t want her parents to get too suspicious about her being out all day long, so she was going to pretend that she was going to bed early. Samara had even decided that she was going to stuff her blanket with pillows to hopefully trick her mom if she
did peek in her room tonight.

When she opened the front door, Seth was sitting on the couch watching a scary movie. He looked up when she came in and beamed her a wide smile. “Sam! Are you excited for tonight?”

Samara faked a smile. “Um, yeah. I’m just wondering something. Does it hurt?” She really had been wondering if it was going to be painful. Even though she wasn’t going to be doing her initiation with the Vyka tonight, she had been wondering if Colby would mind doing the ceremony for her tonight. She just wanted to be an Ima alr
eady; she didn’t want people –
and mostly Declan
–
to continue trying to change her mind. Then again, Samara wasn’t even sure if Declan would tal
k to her again after tonight.

“It didn’t hurt me,” Seth replied. He shrugged. “I heard it’s different for
everyone
though, so I do
n’t know if it will for you.”

“Lovely.” Samara decided that no matter how it felt, it was going to be worth it; being a part of a pack was probably the only way she was going to be able to live with this. “What’s going on with Lilly? Is she ever goi
ng to come back to the Vyka?”

Seth shrugged. “I don’t know. I d
on’t think she wants to
.
She still hasn’t come to terms with being a werewolf.
”

“Is there something going on between her and Jason?” Samara asked. “It seems like
she doesn’t really like him.”

“Yep
, there is something going on. I don’t really know what it is, though,” Seth began. “Something happened
–
something that only the two of them know about. I’ve seen them talk about to each other, but they won’t let anyone else in on it. Whatever it is see
ms to really piss Lilly off.”

“Hmm.” Samara w
ished she knew what it was
. She wanted to talk to Lilly again -- to let her know that she was on her side. After tonight was over, she
was going to have to find her.

“Hi, Samara,” Mr. McKinley called from the kitchen. “I feel like we have
n’t seen each other in ages.”

“Hi, Dad,” Samara said back, smiling. There was one good thing that had come from all of this. Ever since Seth found out that she was also a werewolf, he and Mr. McKinley hadn’t been fighting so much anymore. She felt relieved that she no longer had to worry so much
about them.

“So, your mom tells me that a boy is going to be eating dinner over here
Wednesday
night,” Mr. McK
inley went on. “Luke, is it?”

“Oh, yeah,” Samara replied, remembering that she was supposed to invite him over. She had gotten so caught up in everything else that was happening right now that she had nearly forgotten that Luke, her mate, w
as going to meet her parents.

“Well, I look forward to it,” Mr. McKinley said. “I think that we may have been a little bit too strict with you about dating over the past few years. You’re in high school now, and there are going to be lots of boys who will want to date you. From what your mom’s told me, at least
this one seems nice enough.”

“Luke is really nice,” Samara said. She was telling the complete and honest
truth; Luke was a gr
eat guy.

Aww, thanks babe
,
Luke’s voice said.

Okay, you need to give me a little bit of privacy sometimes
, Samara snapped back at him
, embarrassed that he had heard their conversation
.
Seriously. Stop butting in so much
.

Samara?
Th
is time it was Declan’s voice.
Why is Luke still talking to you if you’re going to become a Vyka tonight?

Because he’s a pain in the ass
,
Samara replied, blurting out the first answer that came to mind
and hoping that Luke understood why she was saying it.
N
ow, both of you, please stay out of my thoughts.

“Samara?” Mr. McKinley
asked, looking at her funny.

“Huh?” Samara realized that her dad had been talking to her the whole entire time she had been conversing with Luke and Declan
. “Sorry, I have a headache.”

“It’s okay,” Mr. McKinley replied. “I just asked if you want spaghetti
and meatballs tonight.”

“That’s fine,” Samara replied. “I’m going to my room. I’ll be back soon.”
Once
she got in her room, she closed her bedroom door and
sat
down on her bed. Samara blocked Declan out of he
r mind and spoke to Luke only.
Don’t forget to
meet me at nine.

I wouldn’t forget it for the world.
 

*

As it started getting closer to nine o’clock, Samara’s nerves began kicking in. She was beginning to feel nauseous and she was very jittery. As she paced back and forth, Samara realized that she needed to calm down so that Jason and the Vyka didn’t find it suspicious. Then again, she realized that she could use the excuse that she was just really nervous about initiation. It was a li
fe-changing event, after all.

There was a knock at her door. “Wha
t?” she called.

Seth opened the door and came into her room. “I’m going to leave now.
Do you want to go together?”

“I’ll just see you there,” Samara said, glancing down at the floor. It hurt to face her brother right now. She hated having to lie to him, but she knew that there was no way she could tell him the truth. He was far too faithful to Jason for her to trust him. Besides, this was his
pack that she was messing with.

“Okay, that’s cool,” Seth replied, a note of disappointment in his voice. He turne
d and walked out of the room.