Black Magic (Howl #4) (9 page)

Chapter 12

A wave of panic washed over her, just as Luke’s eyes flitted over to her face.
I can smell it, too.

Do you think they’re still inside the house?
Samara asked, holding her breath in hopes that no one would be able to hear her breathing if they were still around. The sound of her beating heart was probably enough to give her place in the house away.

I don’t know, but we’re going to find out
, Luke replied. Tiptoeing across the living room floor, he put an ear against the wall that divided the kitchen from her parents’ bedroom and bathroom. When he glanced back over at her, she could tell from the pleased look in his eyes that he hadn’t heard anything.

Samara quietly peeked in the laundry room, while Luke opened the doors to the pantry and the clothing closet.

Together, they crept down the stairs and into the hallway that led to her and Seth’s bedrooms. Samara opened the door to his room and glanced inside; everything appeared to be the way she’d last seen it. It crossed her mind that maybe the reason the Vyka scent was in the house at all was because he may have come home to get clothes or something, when she heard Luke think,
Holy shit!

Samara felt a knot twist in her stomach.
Are they in my room?

No, but they were.

She didn’t even bother to ask him how he knew; she wanted to find out what had happened for herself. Marching across the hall, she poked her head inside. The sight of the room made her feel sick to her stomach, and she was sure she was going to puke.

DROP DEAD
had been scrawled across her dresser mirror in sloppy red letters. It was only two simple words, but the sight of them sent a shiver down Samara’s spine and made goose bumps rise on her arms. It was obvious to her that it was Jason who had written this, even though she had never pegged this as his style; he’d always seemed like more of a silent attacker.

He hadn’t stopped with writing on the mirror, though. The room looked like it had been ransacked. Her sheets and pillowcases had been slashed, her drawers were pulled out of the dresser, and all of the clothes inside had been flung to the floor. All of the clutter in her closet and under the bed had also been pulled out, and her mattress was turned over onto its side, revealing the box spring bene
ath it.

It was obvious that Jason had been looking for something in her bedroom. But what could he have been looking for . . . besides
her
?

The thought made her shiver again, and she turned to Luke. “I’m so glad no one in my family was home when this happened.”

“Me, too,” he whispered, glancing around the room. “Unless your brother’s the one who did this . . . in which case, one of your family members would have been home.”

“I don’t think Seth would do this,” Samara replied. “He would know how pissed off Mom and Dad would be if they ever found out it was him.”

“Why do you constantly defend him?” Luke asked, a look of annoyance flashing through his eyes. “It’s like Seth can do nothing wrong, even though he’s not on our side.”

Surprised by Luke’s reaction, Samara shrugged. “I-I just don’t think he could do this. It would be really out of character for him.”

“Actually, that’s where I think you’re wrong. It would be perfectly in character for him. He’s not your brother anymore, Sam. And I don’t think he really cares much about what your parents think. He didn’t take their thoughts into consideration when he moved out of the house. He pretty much left without really saying goodbye, and he hasn’t been back since—not even for your parents.”

Samara sighed, unsure of what else to say.

“He’s a Vyka now, Sam,” Luke said, obviously trying to convince her. “He’s one of them now. He could be the one who did this.”

“Okay,” Samara snapped at him, feeling the anger building up inside of her.

“What’s wrong, Sam?” Luke asked.

“What do you think?” She shot him a glare before walking out of the room and into the kitchen. She knew that Luke was partly right, but she didn’t want to believe that her brother could take part in something like this . . . or anything else violent or malicious, for that matter. Deep inside, she still wanted to believe that somewhere . . . deep down . . . Seth was still the brother she had grown up with and still cared about.

Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, she dialed her mom’s phone number. After a few rings, her mom answered. “Hi, Samara.”

“Hi, Mom. Are you coming home tonight?”

“No, we went to visit Aunt Beth in Albany. We’ll be home on Saturday,” her mom replied, referring to her sister, Bethany, who Samara remembered had surgery on her knee this week. Her mom had been planning to go there for the weekend to help out.

Her mom went on. “Aunt Rae was supposed to have Kyle let you know in school today. You were supposed to spend the night at their house tonight. Didn’t he let you know?”

“No, he didn’t,” Samara replied, sighing partly out of relief, and partly because it annoyed her that her cousin hadn’t let her know. At least the reason he parents weren’t home was because they weren’t supposed to be, and not because the Vyka had gotten to them. “Okay, I just wanted to call to see where you were.”

Her mom hesitated. “Is everything okay, sweetie? It sounds like something’s bothering you.”

Geez, was she really so transparent that her mother could read her emotions over the phone?

“No, everything’s fine,” she lied. “My tutoring session went good, by the way. We don’t have another session scheduled until after winter break, but it really seemed to help.”

“That’s great! I’m so glad that you’re already responding positively to it,” her mom replied, and Samara could just hear the smile in her voice. “I know tutoring isn’t at the top of your to-do list, but as long as it helps you get better grades, that’s all that matters.”

Hesitantly, her mom added, “I know you might think that everything is different now that you’re a werewolf, but your father and I still expect you to go to college, just like you would have if you were still a human. It would be really helpful if you could get a scholarship. The cost of tuition is really high these days.”

“I know, Mom,” Samara replied. Now seemed like a really good time to tell her mom that money didn’t matter because she already had millions of dollars that Grandpa Joe had left to her name, but she didn’t say a word. She was too afraid that they might try to take control of her money or, even worse, that her father would feel betrayed that his own father had barely left him a dime, but he’d left Samara everything. It seemed easier to just not talk about it for now.

“Sweetie, we’re going to go to sleep now,” her mom said into the phone. “I’ll call you sometime tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay,” Samara agreed. “Goodnight.”

Once she hung up the phone, she turned around to find Luke standing behind her. “So, your parents are okay then?”

She nodded, avoiding his gaze. “Yeah, they’re fine. I’m really pissed off about this break-in, though.” Actually, the more she thought about it, the angrier she felt. It was like Jason and the Vyka members who may be involved in what had happened tonight had invaded her personal space. It wasn’t just a death threat; they had crossed into
her
territory.

Glancing up at Luke, she told him, “I’m going to call a pack meeting.”

*

Fifteen minutes later, Samara and Luke sat around the bonfire they’d built, right in front of Starlight Lake. The half-moon shone in the water, creating a beautiful, glowing reflection. It made Samara feel wild and free, even though she knew that wasn’t really the case. She would never be free until Jason was dead.

Emma and Colby were the first of their pack members to show up, walking alongside one another, their hands almost touching.

When Emma got closer, she rolled her eyes. “Colby said I had to wear this,” she said, holding up a purple flower that Samara immediately recognized as wolfsbane, the plant that her grandfather had used to hide his scent. They’d brought some of it back from Alaska. Samara hadn’t taken hers off since they’d gotten home.

Colby had recently ordered a few more of the plants online, even though they weren’t sure how well they were going to grow in the warmer Pennsylvania climate, because the flowers they’d brought back from Alaska would probably wilt in the near future. No one actually knew if the flower’s powers would still work after they had wilted.

As much as Samara didn’t want to have to go back to Alaska to get more from her grandfather’s cabin, she knew that they might have to eventually to get more flowers. She’d thought that Orkos or Akar could mail more to them when they needed it, but she wasn’t sure that they would be on speaking terms in the near future after the deal he’d made with Kyana. It sort of made Samara sad because she really did like Orkos before he had visited Pennsylvania.

“It is a smart idea for you to wear it,” Samara agreed. “I keep mine on all the time. Plus, you might need it sometime soon. Jason . . . or one of the other Vyka . . . broke into my house tonight.”

“What?” Colby asked, a look of anger crossing over his face. “How dare they?!”

Samara watched as an angry cloud of smoke enveloped Colby, blowing wildly around his body. Once all of the smoke was gone, Colby stared back at her with his wolf eyes, which were still filled with anger.

Emma was the next to transform, the blue cloud wrapping around her delicate frame. Once the smoke evaporated into the air, Emma sat on the ground next to Colby. In her wolf form, Emma wasn’t as tall as Colby, and her shoulders much narrower than his were, but somehow, they looked alike. It reminded Samara of the theory she’d once learned in psychology—that human couples who were together for a really long time eventually started to look like one another. Emma and Colby had only been mated for a few weeks, but they were already starting to resemble each other.

Following their lead, Samara and Luke both transformed into their wolf forms, too, just as Steve and Josh approached them. They both had already changed into their wolf forms and were wide-eyed with curiosity over what the meeting could possibly be over.

What’s going on?
Steve asked.
It sounded like it was really urgent when you called us together.

One of the Vyka was at Samara’s house
, Emma explained. Her icy blue eyes darted over to each of the members of the pack who were seated around her.
That’s so weird. Did anyone else ever notice that their pack name is sort of like Viking? Like those people who were like warriors or something in Scandinavia?

Colby chuckled.
I’m surprised you know about Vikings. I didn’t think you’d ever open a history book.

Shut up, Colby Jack
, Emma snapped at him.
I’m getting an ‘A’ in history right now, so you can kiss my furry werewolf butt. Actually, don’t go getting any ideas. I take that back. I don’t want that dirty snout of yours anywhere near my butt!

Emma,
Samara scolded, meeting her best friend’s eyes with a glare.
You are right, though. Vyka does sound a lot like Vyking. I wonder if their pack members descended from Scandinavia.

I’m not sure if they did or not
, Colby replied.
Their ancient ancestors may have. I do know that the pack was named after the Vykasuta family, which later became the Vyka. Vyka from the surname Vika, which means conqueror.

Samara snorted.
How ironic. Jason wants to conquer everyone around. Where does our pack name come from? The Imachanta family, right?
She recalled from the conversation she’d had with Jason about the two different packs when he wanted her to become a Vyka.

Actually, the Imachanta family was named after the Ima pack. There’s a lot of confusion about that in the werewolf world. Some people seem to think the pack was named after the family, but the pack was named first and then the family was named. The origin of our pack name is rather interesting, considering,
Colby replied, glancing over at Emma.
Our pack was given the name Ima because the man who started this pack was in love with a girl named Ima. Ima is actually a variation of the name Emma. It means universal.

Our pack is named after me?
Emma asked excitedly.
That’s so cool!

Oh, boy
, Colby muttered.
It’s not named after you, per se. It was named after Ima Crofton, the girl who Edwin Crofton, the founder of the original Ima pack, later went on to marry.

Emma glared at him.
Whatever, Colby Jack. It’s no coincidence that my name is Emma, and I’m on a pack called the Ima, AKA Emma. This pack was practically made for me.

Samara tried not to laugh at her best friend. Only she would think an ancient werewolf pack was named for her. Out of the corner of her eye, Samara spotted Kyana and Chris walking towards them, hand in hand. Kyana met Samara’s gaze nervously before she swiftly changed into a werewolf, followed by Chris.

Once they were seated at the circle with the rest of the pack, Kyana lowered her eyes to the ground.
I know this meeting is because of me, but I just want to tell you the truth. I don’t know what decision I’m going to make. This is a really hard choice for me.