Cursed (Howl, #6) (7 page)

“It’s been a long time since the Vyka has initiated a youth member into an adult pack, but I feel that we are ready to do this,” Darren w
as saying to his pack members.

Okay, so Darren is definitely a Vyka now,
Samara told Luke through mind-speak. It took her a few moments to spot them in the crowd, but she quickly noticed the faces of Alex and Melody, a werewolf couple from the adult Ima pack. When she looked closely enough, she also noticed that Steve’s mom was sitting in the crowd, too, staring at Darren intently as he spoke.
Except the Ima pack is also here. I think they combined packs, but they’re all Vyka now.

What else are they saying?
Luke pressed her for more information.

Be quiet so I can listen
, Samara replied. She struggled to hear Darren’s voice over the loud wind, which was beginning to roar all around them. Of all the times for it to start to get windy, it just had to be when she was trying to eavesdrop on an important conversation.

“I think we’re ready to do this tonight, though,” Darren went on. “It is important for us to welcome this member with open arms, as he is someone who’s close to Samara McKinley. Oh, wait, excuse me. It’s no longer Samara McKinley. It’s Samara
Davenport
now. She is now married to Lucas Davenport, grandson of James Briggs. The ironic thing is that James Briggs was murdered by Joe McKinley!” His laughter roared loudly into the night.

What’s he saying, Sam? I can hear him laughing from all the way over here,
Luke said.

Samara hesitated. She decided not to mention that Darren was making fun of the fact that her grandfather had murdered Luke’s grandfather. She knew that it would only spark an argument between them. Even though Luke had seemed excited about the possibility that Grandpa Joe might be alive—just like everyone else was—Samara knew that he had to hold a grudge against him, deep down.

He said someone who’s close to me is going to become a member of their pack
, Samara said.
I have a feeling it’s Rocco. I think Darren used me to help win Rocco’s trust, and now he’s going to use him against me.

That would make a lot of sense. I knew we shouldn’t trust Rocco. I’m sure the Shomecossee would love to become Vyka members, too, since they’re not the strongest of packs
, Luke said.

A man who was sitting in the front row raised his hand. “How do we know that we can trust this member? If he was close to Samara Davenport before, doesn’t that mean he could be a traitor now?”

“Oh, I assure you, a traitor is the very last thing this person is,” Darren replied, shaking his head vigorously. “I have been in talks with him for a while now, as we tried to come to an agreement in regards to what we should do about Samara. He has a lot of good ideas—ideas, I might add, that I might have never thought about on my own.” A smile tugged at his lips, revealing his white teeth, which gleamed in the moonlight. Darren stared over the heads of the people in his pack, as he gazed off in the direction of where Samara was perched on the ground.

She felt her heart skip a few beats, and her breath caught in the back of her throat.
Shit, I think he might have just spotted me.

Okay, we’ll go get the candles out of the car, then,
Luke told her, and she felt a sense of worry wash over him. It only intensified her own worry, which made her heart beat even quicker. 

No, wait, not yet. Don’t make any sudden movements
, Samara said, noticing Darren’s eyes drifting away from her and back to the members of his pack.
I don’t think he saw me.

Oh, good
, Luke said, and Samara heard the sigh of relief that he breathed aloud through mind-speak. Some of the worry left his body, and by default, Samara found herself feeling slightly less worried, too. It was frustrating how her emotions mimicked Luke’s because she always felt what he felt.

“So, if there are no more questions, we can get on with this pack initiation.” Darren glanced around and waited to see if anyone was going to object
. He grinned. “Splendid. I can promise you all that you won’t be disappointed about this. It will help us to get rid of Samara as quickly as possible. And remember, the sooner we can eliminate Samara, the sooner we can get our hands on that talisman.”

So, Darren and his pack weren’t the ones who had somehow gotten their hands on that talisman. Samara had wondered if it might have been them, since it obviously wasn’t her grandfather who had taken it. But who did that leave who could have taken it?

Darren glanced over to the other side of the circle, which was concealed from Samara’s view by the shadows. “Please come forward.”

Samara watched as a dark figure rose to his feet and continued through the shadows. Once he was standing at the center of the circle, next to D
arren, he took his hoodie off.

Samara’s breath caught in the back of her throat and a knot formed in her stomach when she stared into his chocolate brown eyes, which seemed to pore back into her own, although she wasn’
t actually sure if he saw her.

It was Declan.

Chapter 8

As Samara watched Declan go through the motions of
the Vyka initiation with the other members of the Vyka pack, her biggest worry was that she was going to hurl—and not just because they were all slicing their wrists open with a razor blade, but because she couldn’t believe what was happening right before her eyes. She had trusted him; she had kissed him, cheated on Luke with him, considering
being with him
, at one point—and there he was, making himself her enemy.

Samara? What’s going on?
Luke asked, trying to get her attention through mind-speak for about the fifth time, but she ignored him again. Even though she heard him talking to her, she couldn’t manage to think back to him.

The only thing Samara could seem to do was watch her best friend—her former mate—became her sworn enemy right in front of her eyes. She felt sad to be losing him, once and for all; angry to watch him turn his back on her, and disappointed in
him, more than anything else.

The worst part about watching Declan becoming a Vyka was that she knew that fate wasn’t choosing this for him; Declan was making this decision on his own accord. And while Samara might have guessed that Declan wouldn’t want to be a part of the Tala pack after she married Luke, she never would have suspected, not even for a minute, that Declan would choose to ally himself with Darren Jackson, the one—and only—werewolf in the whole
world that she wanted to kill.

And was everything that Darren had said true? Did Declan really get close to her again just so that he could help out the Vyka? Declan had been born a Vyka, but he had gone along with the Ima and the Vyka when they had merged into the Tala pack. Even though Samara knew that he wasn’t thrilled to be on a pack with Luke, she thought that he was happy to be on a pack with her. But what if it was all nothing more than just an act? What if Declan had bee
n against her this whole time?

As much as Samara wanted to believe that Darren might be lying, that this was some sort of mistake, the fact that Declan was standing there with a red cloud of smoke swirling around him as his body was morphed into its wolf form spoke for itself. Samara realized, in that moment, that Declan was nothing more than a stranger to her—a stranger who, apparently, wanted to end her life, just like Darren Jackson.

It was time for Samara to see Declan for who he really was: a traitor.

Samara? What is going on?
Luke asked more loudly through mind-speak.
I’m starting to worry about you.

I’m fine. They’re just doing their pack initiation
, Samara told him, realizing that Luke couldn’t hear her thoughts anymore, the way he had been able to before. Otherwise, he would have already known what was going on—and the fact that her heart was broken.

Well, were we right?
Luke asked her.

Samara stared at Declan’s wolf body, and even though their bond had broken, she still couldn’t help but notice how broad his shoulders looked. Shaking the thought away, she answered Luke.
About what?

Was it Rocco?
Luke questioned impatiently.
None of us can see who it is from over here.

Oh, no. It wasn’t Rocco
, Samara replied, noticing that the Vyka pack seemed to be occupied with each other, as they all were morphed into their wolf forms. It was probably a good idea for the Tala pack to leave the area before Darren noticed their cars.

She moved quickly, hoping that Declan wouldn’t see her, if he hadn’t already. Up until now, Samara didn’t think he would have done anything to draw attention to the fact that she was there. In fact, she would have thought that he would have done something to distract Darren from noticing her, the same way he had done that day when he’d seen her in Alaska when Jason was still alive. But now that Declan had willingly chosen Darren’s side in this, she wouldn’t put it past him to rat her out if he spotted her. She had to be more careful now than she’d
had to be before, and it hurt.

Once she approached her pack members, who were standing underneath the trees across the street from the field, she opened her thoughts so that they would all be able to hear her.
Come on, guys. Let’s get out of here.

They all quietly opened their car doors and climbed inside. Once they started to drive away, Samara glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Darren hadn’t spotted them. Luckily, there weren’t any cars—or any wolves—following them. They had go
tten away without being caught.

“So, who did they initiate if it wasn’t Rocco?” Luke questioned, his eyes darting over
at Samara from the front seat.

“Initiate? They initiated a new member just now?” Emma asked from the backseat, her voice low, as though she were still afraid the Vyka pack might hear her, even though they were already far away from the field at that point. “
Sam, what went on back there?”

Samara glanced over her shoulder at Emma, who had her hand on Colby’s thigh. Colby looked a little shook up, which Samara knew was probably because he’d just seen his father for the first time since he’d found out that Darren
was also Jason’s father. It had to hurt to see him again, even though he’d had time to deal with it on his own for a while.

“Darren was initiating a young person into the adult Vyka pack. This person was supposed to be somebody who was close to me, but Darren was wrong. It wasn’t someone who was close to me,” Samara lied, even though she wasn’t sure why she felt the need to lie. Actually, she did know why. She still didn’t want to admit that she had almost chosen Declan—especially now that she felt like a fool for falling for his act. But she also didn’t want Emma or any other members of their pack to feel just as hurt about Declan’s decision as she was. And she most certainly didn’t want Luke to tell her that he’d told her so. So, instead, she was going to
lie, for as long as she could.

“Did you know the person they initiated?” Luke questioned, resting his hand on her leg. For the first time since their wedding night, Samara fe
lt relaxed by his touch again.

“No, it wasn’t someone I knew,” Samara replied quietly. Technically, she was telling the truth about that part, at least. The Declan who had just initiated into the Vyka pack wasn’t the same Declan
she had known for all of these years. It wasn’t the same Declan who she’d come to love; it was a different Declan.

“Whoever it was must have lied,” Colby said. “They probably thought they could buy their way into the pack by pretending like they knew you. The funny thing is, Darren will figure out the truth, and when he does, he won’t be happy. That person is j
ust screwing themself over.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Samara mumbled, knowing that Colby was wrong. She wasn’t sure what information Declan was feeding to Darren, but it was obvious that he was te
lling him something about her.

How much did Declan know about her? Was he aware of what her weaknesses were? Shit. She didn’t even know what her weaknesses were. How could she figure out how to protect herself from the information that Declan was telling Darren if she didn’t even know what that information might be?

There was one thing that Declan definitely did know, though—and that was where the Tala pack was staying. As soon as they got back to Pennsylvania, Samara needed to get in touch with the Trusted Ones. They needed to round up as many good spirits as they could.

Yes, once they got back to Pennsylvania, the Tala pack would be prepared to fight the Vyka.

Chapter 9

“And this information just in from Grandview Prison ,” the news reporter read on the TV, which Samara flicked on once she and Luke got back to their bedroom at her parents’ house. “Officials at a federal prison in Grandview say that an inmate has escaped sometime this evening between seven o’clock and eight o’clock. It was discovered that the inmate was missing when prison guards did a head count. It is believed that the prisoner may have enlarged a window slit, removed its bars, and lowered a rope, which he later took with him, to make his escape. Authorities are wondering how this
went undetected by the guards.”

Samara watched as a mug shot picture was shown on the screen, and she gasped when she saw who the picture was, as the news reporter continued. “The escapee is identified as Joshua Masterson, seven
teen years old. Masterson was awaiting legal proceedings, but he has been accused in the killings of his girlfriend, Lilly Phillips, who died this past fall, and his twin brother, Jason Masterson, who died on Christmas Eve. His arrest was made based on information that was provided to authorities by Masterson’s family, who he was estranged from. The FBI is offering a twenty-five thousand dollar reward for information leading to his capture. He is considered dangerous and may be armed.”

Luke glanced over at her, his eyes wide with surprise. “I can’t even believe I’m
seeing this. This is unreal.”

“I know. I mean, I know he said he had a plan, but I can’t believe it was this.” Samara picked up her cell phone and sent a text to Emma, telling her to let the other members of their pack know. “I don’t know what to do. If we let him back in the house, we’re technically an accessory to a crime.”

Luke met her gaze. “That may be true, but . . . Seth is the one who committed the crime. It’s not even fair that Josh is the one who got the blame for it.”

“
So, what are you saying?” Samara asked. “You think we should protect him?”

“Damn right we should protect him,” Luke replied, his cheeks reddening with anger. “He’s a part of our pack. That’s what you do when you’re
part of a pack, Samara. You protect all of your members.”

“I guess you’re right,” Samara admitted. Sighing, she turned to him with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have even questioned that right now. I’m just not used to doing anything to break the law, you know? It scares me, but I know you’re right. We’ll protect Josh.
”

“Good,” Luke replied with a grin. Hesitantly, he asked, “I
think we might need to talk.”

Samara’s heart froze in
her chest. “Why? What is it?”

“Well, ever since you got attacked by that shark in Hawaii, I feel like you’ve been acting different towards me,” Luke said quietly, his emerald green eyes locked on hers.
“I didn’t do anything, did I?”

Samara paused. If she was going to say anything about the picture and Brad, now was probably the best time. They were being honest and open with each other . . . or, at least, Luke was trying to be. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t
bring herself to say anything.

At this point, Samara decided that it didn’t matter, either way. A tiny part of her had been clinging to the fact that if she found out Luke was the one who had killed Brad, she’d be able to go to Declan. Even if he didn’t want to be with her, he would at least
be there to console her. But now Declan was no longer an option, not as a friend or otherwise.

Luke was the one who she had married, and it was time to start acting like it. Maybe he
had
killed Brad, but he’s a werewolf. If he had done it, it was because he was jealous. She knew it could happen eventually. He had done it
for her
, even if it wasn’t the right thing to do. At the end of the day, that was the only thing that mattered. Luke loved her. And it was time for her to remember how much she loved him; she needed to remember why she had said ‘yes’ to marrying him in the first place.

Turning to him, Samara shook her head. “No, you didn’t do anything. I’m sorry. I’ve just been going through a lot, but I’m fe
eling a lot better right now.”

“I can tell you’re feeling better,” Luke said in agreement. “I can feel it . . . Your emotions aren’t so sad anymore. It f
eels like you’re happy again.”

Samara gave him a small smile. If only he knew just how wrong he was—that deep down, she was dying inside. Declan had broken her heart, and it was going to take years for it to ever go back to being the way it had been before now. But she was going to need to make the best of it and at least
try
to be strong through this.

She rested her head on Luke’s shoulder, and he wrapped
his arms around her, hugging her to him closely. Samara knew that, at the end of the day, she wasn’t going through this entirely alone. Even though she could never tell Luke about what had happened between her and Declan, she knew that Luke would always be there when she needed him the most—and that was what really mattered.

*

The next morning, Samara’s cell phone jangled from her nightstand. Sitting up in bed, she hit the ‘talk’ button. “Hello?”

“Sam! Oh my God! I just got your text message from last night. We’re in total shock,” Emma said, her voice squeaking at the other end of the day.
“Have you heard from him yet?”

“No, I haven’t,” Samara replied, speaking quietly so that Luke wouldn’t wake up next to her. “He
hasn’t come to the house yet?”

“No, we haven’t seen him—or heard from him, for that matter,” Emma replied. “We thought he may have gone to you. Maybe he hasn’t been able to escape from wherever he’s hidi
ng without people seeing him.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Samara agreed. “I bet we see him sometime tonight. Hey, when’s the last time anyone has heard from Bennett, Nadia, and
Dante?”

“I’m not sure. I think he walked in on Colby and me sometime last week,” Emma mumbled into the phone quick
ly. “Why, what makes you ask?”

“I need you guys to start trying to summon them, okay? Don’t let them leave until after our whole pack is there,” Samara told her. “Luke and I are just going to grab a quick bite to eat for breakfast, and
then we’ll be right on over.”

“Okay, that’s fine,” Emma replied. “Oh, by the way, you should know that Rocco called Colby this morning. He wanted your number, so you should be getting a call from him
sometime today.”

“Lovely,” Samara murmured, and as if on cue, her cell phone beep
ed, indicating that there was another call. “That’s probably him now, actually. We’ll see you soon.”

“
Alright, later,” Emma replied.

Samara clicked over onto the other line and asked into th
e phone, “Rocco? Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me. You’re really on your game today, aren’t you?” Rocco asked sarcastically into the phone. “
I guess Colby talked to you.” 

“Yeah, I was expecting you to call,” Samara replied. “I’m a little surprised to hear
from you. What’s up?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you tell me? What’s up with the fact that we’ve been using violet for a few weeks now, and not one of us has noticed any difference in our abilities at all?” Ro
cco questioned into the phone.

Samara’s breath caught in the back of her throat. She had been afraid that Rocco would eventually figure out the truth—that violet really wasn’t what her grandfather used to make himself and the rest of his pack stronger, but she had been hoping that it wouldn’t be for a while. Then again, she supposed that it didn’t really matter anymore whether Rocco figured the truth out or not; Declan was going to tell Darren about the Tala pack’s whereabouts, anyway. It was just a matter of time before the Vyka got the
re.

“Well?” Rocco presse
d. “Why isn’t it working yet?”

“It just takes time,” Samara replied, hoping that her voice sounded convincing enough. “I told you that before. It takes many years for violet to work, but once it does . . . it works in full force. You’ll be th
e strongest you’ve ever been.”

“I know you said that, but I’m not quite sure if I believe it,” Rocco replied, a harsh tone in his voice. “You see, if that were the case—if it takes many years—it doesn’t explain how you’ve gotten to be as strong as you’ve gotten to be so quickly. Your pack was able to kill Jason Masterson, even though he uses black magic. How did you do th
at? It doesn’t seem possible.”

“There’s more to it than you realize,” Samara replied with a sigh. “My grandfather believed that both of his grandchildren would be naturally stronger than other werewolves. As you already know, my brother is the one who killed Seth. We’re not sure if anyone else from our pack w
ould have been able to do it.”

Rocco laughed. “So, you’re telling me that your genes are the only reason you guy
s were able to conquer Jason?”

“Pretty much,” Samara replied. Sighing, she added, “Listen, I really need to get going, but maybe we can continue this
conversation at a later time?”

Rocco laughed into the phone again, but this time, Samara wasn’t sure why he was laughing. “Yeah, sure. We’ll ta
lk again soon. Bye, McKinley.”

“Actually,” Samara corrected him
, “It’s Samara Davenport now.”

“Oh, right. I forgot. Bye,
Davenport
,” Rocco corrected himself, sounding sarcastic, before hanging up the phone.

Samara felt a pair of strong hands wrap themselves around her waist, and she turned to look at Luke. “It’s really sexy when you call yourself Samara Davenpo
rt. It has a good ring to it.”

Samara grinned up at him and gave him a kis
s on the lips. “Good morning.”

“Morning. We’re heading over to see the rest of the
pack, right?” Luke questioned.

Samara nodded. “Yeah, but I’m hungry, so I want to eat something first. I fi
gured you’d want to eat, too.”

“I do,” Luke agreed. “I need to grab a shower first, though.” Lowering his voice, he added, “You should join me.” There was a hopeful look in his eyes, and Samara knew it was because he was hoping that they could consu
mmate their marriage, finally.

“Samara? Is that you?” Mrs. McK
inley called from the kitchen.

Samara shot Luke an apologetic look. “Sorry, Luke. My parents are home. Maybe some other time.” She gave him another kiss on the lips before heading to the kitchen, while he headed for the bathroom, seemingly disappointed.

It was one of the things that really sucked about living with her parents until they graduated from high school. They really had no privacy.

She found her mom in the kitchen, scrambling eggs. Bacon was sizzling in a frying pan, and her mom was wearing an apron. “There you are!” Her mom said with a warm smile. “I feel like I never see you anymore. In fact, I’ve seen Seth more lately than I’ve seen you . . . and you know how little we get to see your
brother.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Samara replied apologetically. She really did feel bad about not being around much. Her parents probably felt lonely now that she was never home and her brother had officially moved into Penelope’s apartment while she and Luke were on
their honeymoon.

“Your brother’s girlfriend seems like a lov
ely girl,” Mrs. McKinley said.

“Really? I’m not sure if I like her,” Samara admitted, even though she f
elt bad about saying it aloud.

Her mom gave her a sideways glance. “Samara! Penelope is your brother’s mate. Seth has been very accepting of Luke, so you really should try to do the same.”

“I have been trying. There’s just something about her that seems a little . . . off,” she said, choosing her words carefully, as she grabbed a blueberry muffin from a plate in the center of the table and peeling off its wrapper.

“Well, she is from North Dakota, and she doesn’t have any family—or friends—around here. Did you ever think that maybe she just doesn’t feel like
she fits in here yet?” her mom asked.

Samara sighed. “There’s more to it than that, but it’s hard to explain. It’s werewolf stuff, so you
probably wouldn’t understand.”

“I see.” Her mom didn’t say anything for a few moments, and Samara was pretty sure that she’d hurt her feelings. But she didn’t want to involve her mom in
that part of her life. It was bad enough that they lived in the same house, which put her mom at risk if Darren Jackson and the Vyka ever chose to attack Samara at home.

Changing the subject, her mom asked, “So, what have you and Luke been up to lately?”

Samara shrugged. “We’ve been trying to stay out of the house as much as possible, because I know you’re still not happy with Luke after the whole fiasco with Marnie at the wedding.” 

“Oh, we’re over that, sweetie!” Her mom said, laughing. “It was a little frustrating when it happened because we knew some of the guests felt embarrassed about having to witness it. Luckily, they didn’t make it known in front of our human guests that you guys are werewolves.” Her mom chuckled. “Anyway, it seems like Marnie might be over it, too. I bumped her into her when I was at the grocery store yesterday morning, and she asked me to tell you that she would like to speak to both of you. She wants you to come over for dinner tonight, if you can.”