Wolfsbane (Howl #3) (5 page)

Thanks,
Samara responded, smiling to herself. Knowing that she would only start pacing nervously around the house while she waited for him to get there, she flung herself down on the sofa instead and
flipped
through
the
pages of the
book that her grandfather had
left for her
.

Since she knew she wouldn’t have enough time to read the whole book before they left, she skimmed
over the words
. Certain pages had been highlighted in yellow or underlined with blue pen. Nothing looked out of place or even the slightest bit unusual about the book’s contents, though.
The book didn’t even seem special.
It looked like it was some sort of history book for werewolves, similar to the ones she’d found in the Jackson’s family library. There was a section about werewolf origins, werewolf mating rituals, and Alphas.

When she got to the back of the book, Samara found something scribbled in sloppy handwriting:

Stucci’s Self Storage

1289 Harlow Lane

Ashertown, Alaska

#402

It took her a minute to realize what the address meant, but once she did, Samara let the rest of the pack in on her thoughts.
Change of plan, guys. We’re going to Alaska.

Chapter 6

Five minutes later, all of the Ima guys were sitting in her living room
, staring at her like she was a four-headed
alien.

“It’s obvious that my grandfather wanted me
to go to this storage company,” Samara explained. “
He must have left something there for me, and that’s why there’s a number written down in the book. It’s probably the storage unit number or something.”

They all continued to stare at her, quiet, and she knew that she didn’t have them all convinced yet.

Finall
y, Josh sighed.
“I don’t doubt that your grandfather left you something. It’s a pretty well-known fact that he was going to leave the first female werewolf in his family line his belongings. I’m not sure how he knew it was going to be you, but he must have known somehow.”

Josh paused, running a hand through his brown hair, which looked pretty scruffy today. “But here’s the thing. How do we know this stuff is still there? It’s been years since your grandfather died. What if the storage company got rid of everything when no one came to claim it? If he didn’t pay the yearly storage fees, they probably just dumped it somewhere.”

Samara shook her head. “I don’t think they got rid of it. I don’t know why, but . . . I have this feeling that it’s all still there.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I just feel like we need to go with my intuition on this one. There’s something there that can help us win this battle with Jason. It’s crazy to explain, but I can just feel it.”

Colby met her gaze. “I think you should trust your gut, Sam. Let’s go do this thing.”

Before she could say anything, Luke spoke up, too. “I agree with Colby. Let’s go.”

“Really?” Samara could feel her eyes light up. She hadn’t been expecting them to agree so easily. “Are you sure?”

Luke nodded. “If you think it will help, it wouldn’t hurt for us to swing by Alaska on the way to Massachusetts.”

Samara frowned. “How are we going to get there, though?
We can’t just drive like we would to Massachusetts. We’d need to take a plane.”

“Don’t
worry . . .
I already got it covered,” Colby replied. He didn’t look up from his cell phone, which he was tapping on frantically. “My dad has connections with someone at the airport. He already ordered our tickets. We leave in two hours.” He stood up. “Come on. We have to leave now if we want to make it on time.”

Swinging her duffle bag over her shoulder, Samara climbed into Luke’s car with Colby, Josh, an
d Kyle. Steve and Chris following
close behind.

Samara picked up her cell phone and texted Emma.
How’s your stepdad doing?

Her cell phone bleeped back right away.
It’s not looking so good.

I’m so sorry, I hope he pulls through. We’re making a stop in Alaska. Are you sure you can’t come with us?

Alaska? Ur joking right?
Emma texted back right away.

No, it’s a long story, but we ha
ve some important business to take care of
there. So, are you in or not?
Samara wrote back.

A moment later, Emma texted back,
Sorry, no can do, chica. I’ll see u soon.

Okay, I understand. Just be careful while I’m gone. Jason might come back. I’m not sure if he knows you’re a wolf yet, but if he does, he might try something.
Or he might try to find out where I am. Don’t tell him
,
Samara texted back.

Got it. I’ll stay away from Jason
, Emma replied, but Samara wasn’t convinced. She just hoped that Jason would stay in Massachusetts until she
and her pack
got there. Shoving her cell phone in her pocket, she glanced over her shoulder at Colby. “Does our flight land in Ashertown?”

Colby shook his head. “No, we land in Anchorage. We’ll need to trek through Alaska to get to Ashertown. It looks like it’ll be a half hour trip on foot
, at our ultra-fast werewolf speed
.
Not too shabby, if you ask me.”

“We’re quicker than humans?” Samara asked. She knew that in werewolf form, they were pretty quick, but she didn’t notice any difference between walking by foot as a werewolf than she had as a werewolf.

Colby nodded. “Yeah, brisk walking as a werewolf is like jogging for a human in terms of speed. It just doesn’t feel like exercise because it’s what we’re meant to do.”

“Interesting.”
Glancing down at her duffel bag,
Samara sighed. “I just wish I thought to pack warmer clothes. I’m going to be freezing in Alaska.” She had never been to Alaska, but she was pretty sure it would be way colder there than it w
as in Pennsylvania in November.

“I’ll keep you warm,” Luke offered, his green eyes flitting over at her.

“Unless you can turn your body into a coat instead of a wolf, I don’t think that will wor
k the whole time we’re there.”

Luke laughed. “I’m sure
they have clothing stores
in Alaska. We could always buy you a heavier coat once we get there.”

“And fuzzy pajamas,” Colby chimed in.

Samara stifled a giggle. “Fuzzy pajamas?”

“Well, yeah. We’re going to be camping outside.”

“Oh, fun,” Samara muttered. “The perfect
place to sleep in the freezing cold.”

*

When they arrived in Alaska late
r
that night, Samara was exhausted. She convinced Colby to splurge on hotel rooms for the night, but since they wouldn’t be in Anchorage the next day, they’d be camping outside then
like he had originally planned
unless they could find
another hotel with vacancies.

When they entered the hotel, she felt relieved. She figured that she should at least enjoy one last night in a warm, cozy bed before she might be forced to live in the wilderness. Ideally, they’d be able to leave be
fore they had to camp outside.

Luke led Samara to the hotel room that they’d be sharing
; since no one had wanted to share the same room as the ‘lovebirds’
, they were all on their own. It made Samara happy that she was at least able to spend some alone time with Luke, even if it was for the night, before they went on this crazy mission that lay ahead of them.

“What do you think my grandfather left me?” Samara asked as she flopped down on the bed and pulled a pair of pajamas out of her duffle bag.

“I don’t know,” Luke shrugged. “Rumor has it that there’s his legendary talisman, but
sometimes rumors are just that . . .
rumors. I gue
ss we’ll see once we get there.”

Samara frowned. “I hope there’s nothing too fragile . . . and nothing that’s going to put my life in danger.”

“The talisman will,” Luke admitted, pulling off his shirt and climbing under the covers. He patted the blanket next to him, and Samara curled up beside him.

“What do you mean? Why will the tali
sman put me in danger?” she questione
d, even though she was pretty sure that s
he already knew the reason why.

“It’s sought after by
a
lot of wolves,” Luke replied. Hi
s answer had been what she was expecting.
“They think that having the talisman that Joe McKinley had will make them more powerful.”

Resting her head on his shoulder, which felt more muscular than usual, Samara asked, “Do you think that’s true? That it will make
whoever has it more powerful?”

Luke shrugged. “It may or may not be true. My bet is that strength has more to do with your genes than some dumb necklace
, but a lot of werewolves feel differently
.”

“But that doesn’t explain why Seth’s not powerful,” Samara pointed out.
“Strength is in his genes, too.”

Luke paused. “We don’t know that yet. He might be. He’s still just a pup. And he
could be hiding his strength.”

Samara hadn’t considered this before. Maybe her brother
really
was
powerful, but he hadn’t let it show yet. Or maybe he was still getting a hand
le on his abilities, just like she was
. Either way, she knew that s
he shouldn’t underestimate him.

“I know I feel powerful, though,” Luke said quietly, his emerald green eyes flitting over at her. “It’s not every day that someone gets to say they’re mated to
Joe McKinley’s granddaughter.”

Samara raised her eyebrows. “And why would that make
you
feel powerful?”

“Well, there’s gotta be some reason I was t
he
wolf who was chosen to be your mate
,” Luke replied.

She glanced away from him.
“I
hope that’s not the only reason you’re interested in me . . . because I’m supposed to be som
e powerful, kickass werewolf.”

“Of course not,” Luke replied, running a hand through her hair. “Your power just makes me know where I stand with you.
I know I can never piss you off
or I’
d probably get my ass kicked.”

Samara wasn’t convinced
that he wasn’t just interested in her because she was Joe McKinley’s granddaughter
. She rolled over
onto her side, away from him.

“Hey,” Luke said, pulling her closer to him. “I’m joking. I really care about you. It doesn’t ma
tter who your relatives were.”

Samara turned back towards him, her leg brushing against his. The touch of his skin against her own flesh sen
t a tingly feeling up her spine and
delightful shivers
traveled down
her body. When his skin touched hers, it was so hot that it almost felt as though it w
as burning her.

When she met Luke’s gaze, she could tell that touching her had
made him feel the same way
. His eyes poured into h
ers, so longing and desperate.

Luke’s face moved closer to hers and when his lips came down on hers, it felt like a thousand sparks had been lit up inside of her. She kissed him back, gently running her fingers dow
n his neck and over his spine.

Samara could feel a shiver wash over Luke’s body as her fingers caressed his skin. He pulled her closer to him, and a feeling of longin
g washed over her body.

But she also knew that now wasn’t the right time. She wasn’t ready yet . . . not when they had all of this other stuff to deal with. So, instead of doing what she wanted and giving into both of their desires, she pulled herself away from him, trying to ignore the look of disappointment in his eyes. She rolled over onto her si
de and whispered, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Luke replied
quietly
. A long moment of silence filled the room. Samara wasn’t positive, but she thought that she heard
Luke whisper that he loved her just a
s
she began to drift
off to sleep.

Chapter 7

The next morning, Samara was woken up by the sound of someone pounding on their hotel room door. She immediately sat up in bed with alertness, and glanced over at the clock. They had overslept, and Samara realized she had completely forgotten to set the alarm clock on her phone before they’d fallen asleep.

The banging on the door continued, as Luke stirred next to her.
He rubbed his eyes.

“Guys? Stop being lazy and get your asses up. It’s time to leave,” Chris called in a husky voice
from outside the door.

“We’ll be ready in five,” Luke called back to him,
climbing out of bed
and pulling on his clothes.

Samara grabbed her own clothes and headed into the bathroom to brush her teeth. As she glanced at herself in the mirror, she smelled something unusual. She sniffed, nearly dropping her too
thbrush on the tiled floor.

The scent was clear. There were werewo
lves from another pack nearby.

“Luke?” sh
e called. “Can you come here?”

Luke emerged from the
hotel bed
room, a hardened expression on his face. “I smell it, too,” he said, and Samara realized that he had probably sensed her
worry
or heard her thoughts.

“Do you recognize the scent?” Samara asked. She still wasn’t able to i
dentify scents from other packs; she could barely pick up on her own scent’s pack. She assumed it was because she was still so new at this that her sense of scent hadn’t had told to develop yet. 

Luke s
hook his head. “No, I don’t. I’m pretty sure I’ve never smelled it before.”

Samara breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t sure why it had even crossed her mind that it could be Jason, since he wa
s in Massachusetts, after all . . .
and if he wasn’t there, he was probably back in Pennsylvania. It was doubtful that h
e’d come all the way to Alaska.

“It’s probably the Koto pack,” Luke continued. “That’s the pack your great-grandfather was in. They’re known to rule
all of Alaska. In fact, I thin
k they’re the only pack
up
here
, but I’m not sure
.”

“If my great-grandfather was a Koto, why was my grandfather a Vyka?” Samara questioned. She still didn’t know all that much about Grandpa Joe’s werewolf family history. It had been shocking enough to learn that her grandfather had been a werewolf at all, let alone learn about his family
werewolf
ori
gins.

“From what I understand, there was some sort of falling out between your grandfather and one of his pack mates.” Luke paused, as though he were trying to remember what he had read in a history book. “Whatever happened, Joe left in search of a new pack. He didn’t just want o
ne to accept him as a pack mate . . . H
e wanted them to make him Alpha. When that didn’t happen, he went to drastic measures. He conquered the Vyka pack leader, and gave the other pack members the option to
leave if they wanted. He convinced some of his werewolf friends from back home to leave
,
and he built
the strongest and
most powerful pack he could.”

“I wonder why he let
the Vyka pack members leave
if they wanted. If he was looking for power, it would have made more sense for him to keep those pack members, and then add more of his own,” Samara commented. “I wonder what ha
ppened to the ones that left.”

Luke shrugged. “I’ve never heard anything about them. I’m not even sure who
they were. Colby might know.”

There was another knock on the door. This time, Kyle’s voice asked impatiently, “Ar
e you guys ready to leave yet?”

Samara rolled her eyes. “Yes, we’re ready,” she called back. “Le
t’s get this show on the road.”

*

There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, and it was still flurrying as they left the hotel. Samara was surprised to find that she didn’t feel cold. She didn’t feel warm, either. With a pair of denim jeans, a light sweater, and a
pea coat
on, she felt comfortable.

Maybe her body was finally b
eginning to adapt to the cold.

She followed Colby, who was leading the way. Luke was close behind her, with Chris and Steve not too far behind them
. Kyle and Josh took the rear.

“Do we even know what we’re looking for?” Samara asked Colby. “I mean, you said it’s going to take a half hour on foot, but where are we go
ing?”

He smiled at her. “Don’t worry about it. We’re going to find the place. I know the general direction, but if we don’t find it, the GPS o
n my phone works pretty good.”

Samara nodded. She felt relieved that Colby had once been the Alpha of their pack; he was much better at leading them than she was. When they got back home, she knew that she was going to
have to ask him for pointers . . .
and she still wanted to give him that makeover.
The highlighter yellow hoodie that he was sporting
today was just too distracting,
especially for Alaska. On the bright side, no cars
would miss them in the dark.

Once they were about half a mile down the road, she felt like the snow was
starting to get
heavier as it fell, splattering against her nose and cheeks. Even her hair wa
s beginning to feel wet.

As they turned a corner, she checked her cell phone for the first time that morning. There was
a new text message from Emma.

Samara felt her heart skip a beat. Had Jason gotten to her best friend already? When she opened and read the text message, she felt herself relaxing again. Emma had written:
So, u weren’t joking about this sleepwalking stuff. I changed into a wolf last night and woke up this
morning without any clothes on.

Told you!
Samara wrote back, stuffing the phone back in her pocket. At least Emma definitely believed her about the whole werewolf thing now. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders;
even though her best friend had seemed pretty convinced so far, Samara had still worried that she was going to doubt her.

As they approached an old clothing shop, Luke asked, “Do you want to stop and
get something warmer to wear?”

Samara shook her head. “No, I’m fine now. But thanks for thinking about me,” she said, reaching over and squeezing
his hand. Luke smiled at her.

Colby
came to an abrupt halt in front of them
. “Do you smell that?”

They all
froze in their places behind him
, and she heard her pack mates sniffing the air. No one answered him, but she knew that they were all t
hinking the same thing she was;
there was definitely another werewolf nearb
y.

“I say we change,” Chris whispered. “We’ll be quicker and more intimidating if we
come across this other wolf.”

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Samara agreed, wondering why she hadn’t thought of it herself. They all cut across the road and began walking into the woods. Once they were completely concealed by the trees, they changed to their wolf forms at the same time, the blue cloud of smoke filling the woods and drifting through the trees.

Let’s keep moving along
, Colby instructed, leading the way through the woods.
We gotta pick up the pace if we want to get there soon.

They raced
through the woods, on all fours, until they reached a snow-covered mound. Samara was about to lead her pack members up when she saw it, and the smell became even clearer. A wolf stepped out from behi
nd a tree and approached them.

The wolf stood taller a
nd had broader shoulders than an ordinary
wolf that would normally be found in the wilderness.
It was definitely a werewolf.

Halt, who goes there?
the werewolf’s high-pitched, girly voice aske
d.

Even in wolf form, Samara could hear Kyle laughing.
Halt, who
goes there? What are we . . .  in
the eighteenth century or something?

Kyle
, Samara said, shooting her cousin a glare. She really didn’t want him to piss off this werewolf. Not while they were i
n Koto territory.
She turned to the wolf.
I’m Samara, and this is Kyle, Luke, Colby, Chris, Josh, and Steve
, she said, introducing al
l of the members of the pack.

I’m Kyana
, the wolf said, sitting down on the ground contently.
What pack are you from?

Ima
, Samara replied. She didn’t even ask Kyana what pack she was from; she already knew the answer.
We’re from Pennsylvania.

I know where you’re from
, Kyana replied, meeting Samara’s eyes. Even through the dark Alaskan day, she could see that Kyana had vivid orange eyes. She had never
seen anything like it before.
Although the color seemed like it would be haunting on any other wolf, there was something friendly about Kyana’s eyes. Samara automatically found herself trusting her.

How do you know where we’re from?
Josh asked. Samara noted a sense
of defensiveness in his voice.

I just know things
, Kyana replied, and Samara could have sworn
she saw her roll her
eyes.
What I don’t know is why you’re in our territory.

Samara wondered if she should be honest with Kyana. She glanced over at Luke. He nodde
d, encouraging her to explain.

My grandfather, Joe McKinley, left
something for me here.
I’ve come to reclaim it
, Samara replied, deciding not to go
into much detail.

It didn’t matter, though. Kyana’s orange eyes lit up at just the mention of Grandpa Joe’s name.
Joe McKinley, you
say? He was your grandfather?

Yes
, Samara answered, nodding her head. One of her furry, white ears flopped over and cover
ed her eye.

My papa will want to speak to you. Come with me
, Kyana instructed.

Samara glanced over her shoulder at Luke. His golden eyes mirrored what she felt: worry. Kyana didn’t seem all that bad herself, but what was her father going to be like . . . and why did he want to speak
to her?
The whole situation seemed rather strange.

Even though Samara’s gut told her to turn around, to tell her pack tha
t coming to Alaska had been a hu
g
e
mistake, she didn’t. She followed Kyana across the snow-covered ground and through a dark
forest.

She was about to ask how far they had to travel when a low growl came from behind the bushes. It sent Samara’s hair straight up. When she saw the large wolf that emerged from t
he bushes, she began to panic.

Akar, it’s okay. There’s no reason to be so defensive.
I asked these wolves to come spea
k to Papa
, Kyana explained. Samara
quickly realized that Akar must have been
Kyana’s brother; they had the same orange eyes, and the same silky white fur, which
closely resembled her own fur.

Akar narrowed his eyes at Samara and the rest of the Ima before grunting loudly. Samara took it
as a sign of his
approval because Kyana continued to walk. She led them into a narrow opening inside a rock structure. It reminde
d Samara of a human-made cave.

This is our den
, Kyana explained.

You live in a den?
Colby asked.

Kyana turned to look at him, baring her teeth and prepared to snarl.
Yes, we live in a den. We stick to old werewolf traditions here. Don’t judge.

I’m not judging. I find it very fascinating
, Colby commented as they approached what looked like a tiny room with blankets and pillow
s on the dirt-covered ground.

Do all Alaskan natives live in dens?
Samara questioned. She’d never been to Alaska before, but she was truly curious about her ancestors’ upbringing. All of her ancestors couldn’t have been werewolves, though, so she wondered if they had all lived in dens like Kyana and her family.

No, they live like ordinary people. It’s just a werewolf thing to live in dens
, Kyana replied. She glanced around the den.
My father isn’t here. I’ll go find him
.