Wolfsbane (Howl #3) (8 page)

“There’s only one
way to find out,” he replied.

She pulled the key out of the envelope. As she was about to unlock the door, she pulled her hand away and was about to tell her pack that she couldn’t do it, that it was wrong, when Luke’s voice filled her head.
You have a key fo
r a reason, Sam. Don’t worry.

I guess you’re right,
she agreed.
I just hate breaking the law.

She shoved the key inside the lock. As she suspected, it
fit. She turned the doorknob.

As soon as she swung the front door knob open, she heard a low growl. Samara braced herself for the attack that was sure to follow.

Chapter 10

A Siberian Husky bounded to the front d
oor, wagging its tail happily.

Samara felt the sick feeling that had formed in the pit of her stomach disappear. “It’s just a dog,” she whispered, relieved. She had been expecting the growl
to belong to another werewolf

“Hi, Puppy,” Colby said, as he walked into the house, patting the dog’s matted fur cautious
ly. “I wonder who lives here.”

“
Me, too,” Samara agreed. She had been thinking that the house was abandoned, but since there was a dog, it must not have been. Reaching along the wall, she found a light and turned it on, revealing the furniture inside the house. There was what looked like an authentic polar bear skin rug on the floor, along with various heads of once-living animals that ranged from
bison to turkeys on the walls.

The sight of it made Samara cringe; even though she had no choice but to eat meat now that she was a werewolf, she was still a vegetarian at heart. It made her sick to think whoever lived in this house had hunted these animals and saved the
ir heads and furs as trophies.

Trying to look past the animal trophies, Samara glanced around the house. The living room seemed mostly empty with the exception of a single sofa
. She was tempted to go into the other rooms, but it
felt like she would be invading
the privacy of whoever lived in the house
. “What do you think we’re supposed to be doing here?” she asked, tu
rning to the rest of her pack.

“I think we’re supposed to be looking,” Steve said with a shrug. “Wh
at else would we be here for?”

“You’re probably right,” Samara muttered, even though it wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear. She’d been hoping that someone would have an idea other than the obvious. With a sigh, she said, “I don’t want whoever lives here to find out what we’re doing, so let’s get this done quick. Everyone take a room, and make sure you put everything back the way you found it so nothing’s out of place. We don’t wan
t to get in trouble for this.”

Everyone agreed and scampered off in separate directions. Samara tiptoed into the bedroom, which was mostly empty except for a large dresser and a filing cabinet. She went o
ver to the filing cabinet first and was surprised to find
a key
had been left inside the lock.

Kneeling down beside it, she turned the key and braced herself. She wasn’t sure what she expected to find—another address, maybe, or another storage unit facility address. What
she found in
stead
shocked her.

The cabinet was empty, barren of
even a single sheet of paper.

Sighing, she stood up, brushing off her jeans as she went over to the dresser. She pulled the top drawer open and found that it was filled with men’s clothing. She dug through the flannel shirts, white under
shirts, and white Hanes socks, trying to ignore the fact that they belonged to someone.

She moved on
to the next drawer and searched through the clothes inside. There wa
s nothing in that one, either.

“Have you found anything yet?” Luke asked from the doorway as Samara was di
gging through the last drawer.

She s
hook her head. “No, have you?”

“Nope, the bathroom medicine cabinet was pretty boring. Only a few bottles of Advi
l and some Tums,” Luke replied.

Samara’s hand brushed against something loose at the bottom of the
drawer. “Wait
a minute. I think I found something
.” She pulled
out the box
.

The box was navy blue, and it was about the size of an earring box from a jewelry store. She glanced up at Luke, whose
eyes were fixated on the box
, too
.

“Open it,” he whispered.

She pulled off the lid and looked inside. There was a tiny packet with a picture of a purple flower on it. It took Samara a moment
to realize that it was seeds.

“Aconitum,” Samara read aloud, glanci
ng up at Luke. “What is that?”

Luke pulled out his cell phone. “How
do you spell that?”

Samara handed him the pack of seeds so that he could read from it, and after typing the information into his iPhone, he looked back up at her. “It’s better known as wolfsbane. It’s a m
ember of the buttercup family . . .
and it’s highly toxic. It’s sometimes used
as poison on hunting arrows.”

Samara felt her face fall. She’d been hoping that they’d found something, but whoever lived in this house must just be an avid hunter. Those seeds were probably hidden in the bottom of the dresser drawer because they were illegal to use in the United States or something, she figured. Sighing loudly, she went to put the seeds
back where she’d found them.

“Keep those,” Luke instr
ucted. “They could be useful.”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “Y
ou think it could kill Jason?”

Luke shook his head. “I—I don’t know. I don’t think so, actually. But . . . I just have a f
eeling about this. Keep them.”

Samara slid the box into her purse and glanced around
the room
. “Now, what?”

“I guess we should go see if anyone else found anything,” Luke shrugged, running a hand
through his short brown hair.

Samara stood up and led Luke out of the room. She found the rest of the pack crowded around the back door, looking outside into the backyard, which
was lit from the porch light.

“What’s going on, guys? Anyone
find anything?” Samara asked.

Chris glanced over his shoulder at her. “Th
ere’s a greenhouse outside.”

“It’s so interesting,” Colby added. “Who would think that someone in Alaska would have a greenhouse? But I suppose th
at’s the only way you could grow your own crops up here.”

“You make it sound like the person who lives he
re is a farmer,” Josh snorted.

Colby shrugged. “He could be.
He could also just be really economically.
”

“You’re also assuming it’s a he,” Josh pointed out.
“We don’t know that for sure.”

“I think it’s safe to assume that a guy lives here,” Samara told him. “I found men’s clothes in the bedroom, but noth
ing that a woman would wear.”

“Let’s go look inside the greenhouse,” Luke suggested. “Maybe
there’s something out there.”

“Maybe,” Samara said,
trying to hide the
doubtful
ness in her own voice
. In a way, she almost wished that whoever lived here had been home. Maybe they would have at least known what she was supposed to be looking for because, as of right now, i
t seemed completely pointless.

As Kyle opened the back door and went outside, th
e Siberian Husky followed him.

“Come on, Puppy. Come to the greenhouse with us,” Colby said cheerfully
, and the dog wagged its tail.

“It r
eally likes you,” Samara noted.

“It’s a girl,” Colby told her. “And she does like m
e. Dogs just seem to love me.”

Chris snorted. “At least someone does
, since werewolf and human girls don’t.”

Samara shot him a dirty look. “I just figured that dogs would be afraid of us or something . . . assuming that we di
dn’t want to eat them first.”

Colby’s face twisted in bewilderment. “How
could you want to eat a dog?”

“I don’t know. I almost ate a r
abbit once,” Samara admitted.

“Eating a dog would be like
. . .
like cannibalism!” Colby exclaime
d. “We don’t eat each other!”

“But, I thought you said it was possible before? You said it was normal for us to crave live game because it happened in ancient werewolf history or something,
” Samara said, thinking back.

“It’s normal to crave live animals, but it’s not normal to crave dogs. I talked to my dad about it, and he said it’s just not in our nature to want to eat other dogs or wolves or canines in general. He explained it was because of
the whole cannibalism thing.”

Samara felt a sense of relief wash over her. She had been worrying that she would want to eat the puppy that her mother was adopting. At least she didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

“Besides, dogs don’t hate us. I think they can sense that we’re part dog, too,” Colby added, just a
s they entered the greenhouse.

“I think there’s a light in here,” Josh muttered, and Samara heard a clicking sound, which was followed by a line of lights
being lit up.

The greenhouse was filled with rows and rows of drooping purple flowers. Samara recogniz
ed what they were right away.

It was wolfsbane.

Chapter 11

Samara stared at the wolfsbane with wide eyes. She couldn’t believe how much of it was growing in
the greenhouse
;
it cr
owded the room.

“What the hell,” Kyle said. “Whoever lives here must like flowers a lot.” He walked over to one and stuck his finger o
ut to feel its flower petals.

“No! Don’t touch it!” Samara screamed at him. “It’s wolfsb
ane. It’s poisonous.”

Kyle raised a coppery eyebrow at her. “How d
o you know that’s what it is?”

“We found seeds in the house,” Samara explained. “I figured they had the seeds because they hunt and wolfsbane can be used on the tips of hunting arrows, but . . . it looks like they might be growin
g it for more than just that.”
She wondered if whoever lived here sold wolfsbane, maybe on the internet or something.

“Well, guys, I hate to break it to you, but we need to leave if we’re going to get to the club and meet Kyana on time,” Josh spoke up, glancing at his watch. “It’s going to be a long
walk in the dark.”

“Okay,” Samara agreed. She was still hoping that Orkos had found the name of the Finnegan guy who’d become Alpha after Grandpa Joe, which mad
e going to the club worth it.
At least they might be finding out something productive while they were there.

“So, do we get to leave after this?” Steve asked. “You promised if this turned out t
o be nothing, we could leave.”

Luke shook his head. “No, I don’t think we’re done here. We have to come back la
ter, after we go to the club.”

“Why?” Steve asked with a confused expression on his face. “We’ve seen all there is to see, haven’t we? Just some girly
,
but poisonous
flowers
. . .
and a mostly empty house.”

“I don’t believe we have seen all there is to see,” Luke replied, shaking his head. “I t
hink we’re missing something.”

“I concur,” Colby chimed in. “I have a feeling there’s something somewhere in this house.
We just haven’t found it yet.”

“And maybe later, whoever lives here will be home to answer our ques
tions,” Samara added, hopeful.

“The house looks pretty abandoned to me,” Kyle said, shaking his head. “Do we know for sure
that someone even lives here?”

“Someone must,” Chris said, as they walked back into the house to lock the doors
behind them. “There’s a dog.”

“Oh, y
eah . . .  G
ood point,” Kyle agreed.

As Samara closed the front door behind her and slid the key back in her pocket, she turned around and looked at the house. And that’s when she got the feeling that whatever they were looking for wasn’
t in the house; it was outside.

*

The nightclub was lit up with blue and purple flashing lights when they arrived. Even as Samara inched closer to the
brick building it was housed in
, she could hear the loud music thumping from inside. It made her realize how much she hated dancing. Actually, she didn’t just hate it, she despised it. With the exception of slow dancing, Samara always felt like she was out of place when she was on a dance floor. She just felt completely aw
kward, no matter what she did.

As they walked up to the entrance, they didn’t even have to show any ID. The bouncers—who had a very distinct
,
piney werewolf scent—just nodded their heads as
they walked by.

Luke wrapped his arm around Samara’s waist as she followed the other guys onto the well-lit dance floor. She scanned the area for Kyana and her friends. At first, she didn’t see Kyana’s silky, black hair or tan skin, but then she spotted her—and quickly realized that she didn’t look like the same person S
amara had met earlier that day.

Kyana was in the middle of a circle of both girls and guys. She was wearing a pair of tight jeans, stilettos, and a lacy, somewhat see through, camisole—an outfit that Samara would never have been brave enough to wear herself. Her long silky black hair fell over her shoulders and swayed around her as she moved to the beat of the Riha
nna song that filled the room.

She didn’t even have to say anything to Chris and Josh to let them know that she had spotted Kyana because the looks on her faces told her that they’d seen her, too; they both looked
awestruck
as they watched the girl swaying to
the music on the dance floor.

Josh was the first one to say anything. “So, um, I’m go
nna go tell Kyana we’re here.”

As he walked away from them, Samara watched Chris’s face harden. His features grew even
tenser as Josh approached Kyana
and she looked up at
him with a flirtatious smile.

“Chris, can I talk to you for a sec?”
Samara asked.

He didn’t even glance in her direction
as he muttered, “Yeah, sure.”

Samara gav
e the rest of her pack a ‘look’,
and they all scampered off in
the opposite direction, leaving her and Chris alone. Samara
turned to him. “What’s going on, Chris? I thought you were in lov
e with Rain.”

“I am,” Chris replied, glancing over
his shoulder
at Samara. “Rain’s not he
re right now, though, is she?”

“Well, no, but if you love someone, you don’t just flirt with someone else,” Samara scolded.
“That
’s called cheating.”

Chris turned around and focused all of his attention on Samara. “Look, I know how this looks, and I get why it makes you feel weird, especially because you’re going to let Rain join our pack—but
even if I did explain it to you, you would never understand.”

“Try me!” Samara shouted over the
sound of the booming
music, which sounded like it ha
d just been turned up a notch.

“My parents hate Rain!
” Chris shouted back.
“
They hate her for what her grandfather did to your grandmother! They’ll never
accept her.”

“So, screw your parents!” Samara shouted back at him. “Don’t let them ruin your life. If Rain is who makes you happy, then be with
her! She might be your mate.”

“But
that’s the thing,” Chris said
, shaking his head
. “What if she’s not my mate?”

“Wel
l, I guess you’ll find out soon . . .
once we make her an Ima,” Samara replied. “But until then, don’t do anything to hurt her because if she is your mate
, you’re going to regret it.”

“I know. Kyana was mostly just a way to keep my mind off R
ain,” Chris admitted quietly.

Samara nodded. “You should let Josh have Kyana. To be honest, I can tell she likes him more than you, anyway . . . it’s good for him to meet someone. It probably helps keep
his mind off
Lilly. Deal?”

“Deal,” Chris agreed. He wasn’t reluctant or hesitant about it, so Samara knew he was telling her
the truth.

She caught Luke’s gaze and motioned for him to come back over to them. As he and the rest of the guys resumed their places next to them, Kyana scurried over, too. “Hey, Ima! Thanks so
much for coming tonight!”

Samara beamed at her. “Thanks fo
r inviting us!”

“Do you guys want
something to drink?” Josh asked, pointing his chin at the bar behind them.
“I’m going to ge
t something for me and Kyana.”

“Sure, I’l
l have a
Cherry
Coke,” Samara replied.

Kyana raised her brows at her and, for the first time, Samara noticed that
, even though Kyana had really thick, un-plucked eyebrows,
she had an eyebrow piercing. Had she been wearing it earlier that day? “Do you want rum or some
other type of liquor in that?”

“They serve alcohol here? We’re min
ors,” Colby said, dumbfounded.

Kyana laughed at him. “That’s cute. We’re not minors. We’re werewolves! Of course t
hey’ll serve us alcohol.”

“I think I’ll stick to a
Cherry Coke. N
o alcohol
for me
,” Samara told Josh.

“
Are you sure?” Kyana rai
sed her
eyebrows again.

Samara nodded firmly.

“She doesn’
t drink,” Luke informed Kyana.

“Oh, that explains it,” Kyana nodded.
Eyeing Samara, she asked,
“Are you guy
s expecting a pup already?”

“No, I just don’t drink.” Samara shot Luke a glare.
Thanks for telling her I don’t drink. Like it’s really any of her business.

I’m sorry,
Luke replied, meeting her eyes.
I didn’t know it was some big secret or something.

It’s not a secret, but you don’t
always have to speak for me,
Samara shot back at him.

I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.
Luke looked
down at the ground, guiltily.

As
after everyone had given Josh their drink orders, Josh
said, “I’m gonna need someone to go with me. This is just going to
be too much for me to carry.”

“I’ll go with you,” Luke volunteered, giving Samara one last
pleading look, hoping she would accept his
apology, as he followed
Josh over to the crowded bar.

Samara sighed
relentlessly
and told him,
I’m not mad at you.

Luke gl
anced over his
shoulder and shot her a wide grin. She smiled back. The rest of the guys followed Josh and L
uke, leaving Samara and Kyana.

“Did your dad ev
er find that guy’s last name?”
Samara asked, trying to make conversation.

Kyana shook her head,
her eyes locked on Josh, who was grabbing a glass from the bartender.
“No, he was still looking when I left.” She turned to look at Samara. “So, you and Luke really aren
’t expecting a pup yet, then?”

Samara wasn’t sure if she should be offended by the question. Glancing down at her stomach, she knew that Kyana couldn’t have mistaken her as being pregnant.
“No, we’re a little young for that,” Samara replied. “How did you know that Luke’s my mate, anyway? I don’t remember mentionin
g that to you or your father.”

Kyana shrugged. “It’s obvious that you’re not mated to Chris or Josh, or you would have been pissed that they both
seem to have a thing for
me. I didn’t sense any chemistry between you and Colby. That leaves Kyle or Luke
. . .
and I noticed you and Luke holding hands and maki
ng puppy eyes at each other.”

“Not to mention that Kyle’s my cousin,” Samara laughed. “Well,
you’re right. Luke is my mate.”

“When are you pl
anning to have a puppy?” Kyana questioned
, taking a
small
sip from a glass filled with a clear liquid that Sama
ra guessed had alcohol in it.

“I do
n’t know. I’m only fifteen. Not
until I graduate from high school, at the very least.
We’re not in a rush or anything.
I mean, we only just met not that long ago.
I’d rather go to college and
have a career
before we even consider having kids.”

“That’s such
a long time to wait,” Kyana said, offering Samara a sympathetic pout.
“I’m hoping that I’ll find my mate sometime this year so that I can have a puppy by next year. I’m the only girl in the pack who hasn’
t had at least one puppy yet.”

Samara stared back at her with wide eyes. She couldn’t imagine why Kyana would be in such a rush to have a puppy—err, baby—when she was only seventeen. “It’s not so bad to wait,
you know
. Maybe you should wait until you finish school an
d get married and everything. I mean, why rush? We have forever to have kids.” Literally, Samara thought to herself.

“It’s not like that for us,” Kyana replied. “We can’t wait. The Koto pack expects us to have at least one pup by the time we’re eighteen
—in human years—and
two by the time we’re nineteen, and three
by the time we’re twenty-one.
We’re allowed to have more later on, but we need to have three . . . at the very least.
”