Blood Moon (Howl #2) (21 page)

Samara sighed. The last thing she really wanted to do was go on a double-date, with everything else there was to worry about. She knew that Emma would get offended if she didn’t agree to go though, and as much as Emma had been on her nerves lately, Samara also didn’t want her to start questioning why she had been acting different lately.
“Yeah, we can go. What time?”

“Seven o’clock,” Emma replied. “I figured that, after the movie, we could get cappuccinos or something. I feel like we haven’t talked much lately, and it will give Troy and Luke a chan
ce to get to know each other.”

“Okay, sounds good to me,” Samara said. “See you then.”
When she hung up the phone, Luke stared back at her through his light green eyes
. “We’re going out with them?”

“Yeah,” Samara replied. “We might as well get this double-date thing over with, or she’s going
to start bugging me about it.”

Luke laughed. “I guess you’re right. Not that going on a double-date is going to be all that bad. I mean, isn’t it what we do if we were just norm
al teenagers who were dating?”

“I guess,” Samara shrugged. Luke was the first guy who she had ever dated, so she didn’t really know what they would have done if they were, as he put it, normal. He would know, though. Luke had been with a lot of girls. Just thinking about the fact that he had been with so many made Samara feel a bit of resentment – even though she knew she shouldn’t because he had been wi
th them before he had met her.

“And you make me feel like I’m the only one who gets jealous,
” Luke said, shaking his head.

“I told you I got jealous that night at the party,” Samara said quietly. It sort of embarrassed her to admit that she had gotten jealous. She wasn’t naturally a jealous person. Then again, she wasn’t a person now, so tha
t didn’t really apply anymore.

Luke shrugged and wrapped his arm around her. “Neither of
us
should get jealous,” he whispered. “We’re ma
tes.”

Samara smiled. Knowing that she was mated made her happy for some reason.

*
 

A few minutes after seven o’clock, Samara and Luke were standing in line at the movi
e theater to buy their tickets.

“Samara! You’re here!” Emma called from down the hall
.

Samara turned around. Emma was wearing a pair of tight skinny jeans, a low-cut t
op, and a cropped jean jacket.

“Aren’t you cold?” Samara blurted out. It was November, and Emma looked like she w
as dressed for spring or fall.

“Beauty is pain,” Emma shrugged. “Who cares if I’m cold? Maybe it will be more of an incentive for Troy to keep me warm. Hi, Luke,” Emma said to Luke, who was now next in line to buy movie tickets.

“Hey,” Luke replied. “So, where is t
his Troy person I keep hearing about?”

Emma sighed. “He said he’s running late, so we’re just going to start watching the movie without him. He’ll be here before it’s over, though. And we’ll definitely all ge
t coffee afterwards for sure.”

Samara wondered what Troy was going to be like. What type of guy didn’t even show up on time for a movie? It made her wonder if Emma had chosen yet another winner – but anyone she dated now had to be better than Jason. At least Troy was a human
and not
a deranged werewolf.

When they went into the theater, they chose three seats towards the back. Emma put her purse in a fourth seat to reserve it for Troy. “So, what’s new? What’s this about your brother li
ving with Declan?” Emma asked.

“How do you know he’s living with Declan?” Samara shot back, trying not to sound too accus
ing. 

“Declan and I hung out recently,” Emma replied, shrugging her bare shoulders. “When I rang the doorbell, Seth answered . . . and Declan told me that he’s been crashing there. I didn’t even know
Declan and Seth were friends.”

“They used to be,” Samara murmured, remembering that when her brother had been normal and had less of an anger problem, he and Declan had gotten along fine. Then again, Samara and Declan had got
ten along fine back then, too.

“I know, but why’s he living there?” Emma asked,
popping
a gummy bear in
to her mouth.

“He just wanted to move out,” Samara said, shrugging. “I don’t really know.” She had known that she was going to have to deal with questions related to her brother leaving eventually, but it made it worse that he was living with her former best friend – even though she was glad that Seth wasn’
t living with the Masterson’s.

“And why aren’t you and Decla
n friends anymore?” Emma asked.

Samara glanced over at Luke before saying, “He liked me and couldn’t accept that me and Luke were together.” She paused. “Declan said if he couldn’t be with me, he’d
rather not be friends at all.”

“Day-um,” Emma said. “No wonder he wouldn’t tell me why you’re not friends anymore! How embarrassing that must be for him to admit. I never really would have pegged him for the jealous type, bu
t I always knew he liked you.”

Samara could feel Luke stiffen next to her.
Stop being jealous,
Samara told him.
It doesn’t matter if he always liked me. I chose
you. That’s what matters most.

When the theater grew darker, Samara whispered, “I have to go the bathroom.” She went into the ladies room and found an empty stall. Closing the door, which felt like a protective barrier, Samara pulled her cell phone out of her purse. She thought about how she didn’t want Luke to be able to get into her mind and opened
a new text message to Declan.

Samara typed:
Everyone’s asking why we’re not friends anymore. I’m telling them that it’s because you were just jealous that I’m with Luke. Just so you know
.

As she went to send the text message, Samara’s heart began beating faster. She felt really nervous. What if someone from the Vyka pack found out that Samara was texting Declan? Would they try to come after her? Not that it really mattered – they were planning to come after her
no matter what.

What was Declan going to say? Would he be mad that she was telling people that he liked
her (even though it was true)?

Deciding that Declan needed to know what she was telling people, no matter what his response would be, Samara hit “send”.

Her phone beeped back right away. Afraid to read what Declan had to say, Samara took a deep breat
h and opened the text message.

Message could not be sent.

Samara opened her cell phone address book and scrolled down to Declan’s cell phone number. This time, she hit the “call” button and put the receiver to her ear. A female operator’s voice came from the other end. “We’re sorry, but the number you have
dialed is no longer in service.”

Shakily, Samara slid the phone back in her purse and tried to blink back the tears that built up behind her eyes. Had Declan changed his cell phone number just so that Samara wouldn’t be able to contact him? Even though Samara knew Declan wasn’t allowed to talk to her, she also had to wonder if he didn’t want to talk to her either. Did he hold a grudge because she had cho
sen Luke and the Ima over him?

Samara could just imagine Declan and Seth hanging out and talking about her – how selfish she was, how she didn’t care about them, how she had been blinded by being mated with the new popular guy in school. It made Sa
mara feel sick to her stomach.

Just as Samara was about to open the bathroom door, it opened. Emma stared back at her with an annoyed expression on his face. “He’s not coming to the movies,” Emma said breathlessly. “He
says
that he’ll still meet us for coffee, but I guess we’
ll see if he
shows up.
”

“I’m sorry,” Samara said, trying to sound sympathet
ic. “I’m sure he’ll be there.”

“I’m not so sure,” Emma replied, glancing in the mirror at herself. She tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. “He seemed like such a nice guy when I met him, but I d
on’t know if he’s dependable.”

“You couldn’t see that Jason was a jerk, but you’re picking up on this guy pretty quick,” Samara said aloud. When she saw the expression on Emma’s face after she said it, Samara wish she could have taken it back. Her best friend had a pained expression; it was obvious that sh
e still wasn’t over Jason yet.

“It’s whatever,” Emma replied.
“Maybe I’m learning how to read guys better.”
She grabbed a napkin from the dispenser, and Samara noticed the blue s
parkly gemstone on her finger.

“You didn’t give Jason the ring back yet?” Samara asked, point
ing her chin at Emma’s finger.

“Nope,” Emma replied. “I decided that I’m not going to. It was a gift. By Pennsylvania state law, I don
’t have to give it back.”

“Why would you even want
to keep it?” Samara whispered.

“It’s pretty.” Emma shrugged. “It’s one of the nicest gifts I’ve ever been given by anyone. And the sapphire is legit. Do you know how much this ring is probably worth?”
Samara nodded. “Probably a lot, which is
exactly
why you should give it back to Jason.” She was beginning to worry about Emma; what if Jason was really mad that Emma hadn’t given the ring back? He had killed his own brother’s mate. Who was to say that he wouldn’t try to kill Emma
,
too
,
i
f he didn’t get the ring back?

“Don’t worry about it,” Emma said, waving her hand at Samara. “He hasn’t even asked for the ring back yet. If he does, I m
ight consider giving it back.”

From behind her back, Samara crossed her fingers, hoping that her best friend wasn’t really as dumb as she acted sometimes.

Chapter 17

****

After the movie ended, Samara and Luke gave Emma a ride to the coffee shop that Tr
oy had agreed to meet them at.

“I always wonder why this coffee shop is called Mr. Steam’s,” Emma said
as she climbed out of the car. “I wonder if it’s the owner’s name, like Wendy’s.”

“It’s b
ecause coffee steams,” Luke murmured. Looking at Samara, he asked,
How do you pu
t up with her dumb blondeness?

Samara
shrugged.
You get used to it.

As long as it doesn’t rub off on us,
Luke replied with a smile. Samara smiled back as she followed Emma into the coffee shop. Samara’s nostrils filled with the scent of glazed donuts, biscotti, a
nd caffeine of all varieties. 

“You’re here!” Emma chirped excitedly, strolling over to a dark-haired guy wh
o was sitting at one of the tall
tables.
“I didn’t know if you’d come!”

“Of course I did,” the guy replied with
a smile. “I told you I would.”

Emma turned to Samara and Luke. “I want you to meet Sam, my BFF for life,” Emma said, turning to
Samara.

“Hello,” Samara said smiling at Troy. Even
she
had to admit that the guy was really cute. Not that she ever really thought that the guys who Emma dated were ugly. After all, Emma had once had a major crush on Luke and had even been jealous when Samara began dating him. And as much as Jason freaked Samara out, it’s not like he was an ugly guy
– just a really messed up one.

There was something different about Troy, though. He looked much friendlier than any of the other guys who Emma had dated. Troy had a round face and hazel eyes that felt warm. Unlike some of the other guys who Emma had been interested in who had only worn designer clothing and matched everything, Troy just wore a brown hooded sweatshirt and a pair of jeans.
Samara completely understood
why Emma was attracted to him.

“And this is Sam’s boyfriend, Luke,” Emma said, cont
inuing with the introductions.

“I know,” Troy interjected. “
We’ve already been acquainted.

“Good to see you again,” Luke muttered. Samara glanced over at Luke and noted that he lo
oked tense . . . really tense.

“Umm, I think we’re going to get our coffee,” Samara told Emma. She noticed that Troy had already bought Emma’s cappuccino for her. “We’ll be back.”
As Samara was waiting for her latte and Luke’s hot chocolate, she whispered, “What was that
about? How do you know Troy?”

Luke met her eyes.
He’s a wolf, too.

What?
Samara asked, turning back to look at Troy. He looked like a normal teenager. She never would have pegged him for a werewolf. Then again, she wouldn’t have pegged Luke or Colby as werew
olves before she had learned the truth about them.