by Jody Morse
The reason Luke’s mom, Marnie, didn’t want him to be with his werewolf mate—or any other werewolf, for that matter—was because his father had physically abused her. He’d intentionally put scars on her body so that other werewolves would understand that she was already taken, since they didn’t share a mark because they were only companions, not mates. Marnie was afraid that Luke would inflict the same type of pain on another werewolf if he was to fall in love with one, but she thought that everything would be okay if he were to be with a human because the risk of killing her would deter him from hurting her.
As much as Samara understood, though, she hated lying. It was bad enough that she had kept the truth from her own parents when she had first become a werewolf, but somehow, keeping a secret from Luke’s mom felt even worse.
She wanted Marnie to be accepting of her. They were both immortals, so they would know each other for all of eternity. When Marnie found out that Samara had lied about being a human, she had a feeling that Marnie would never forgive her.
“I think I have a good idea,” Luke told her. “All we have to do is keep it a secret until our wedding day. Once we get married, we can tell her you’re really a werewolf. Once we’re married, there’s not that much she can really do about it. Getting divorced would be a dishonor to the pack unless it was over something really serious, and my mom knows that. She might not like it, but she’ll have to get over it.”
Samara glanced over at him, piecing together what his reasoning would mean. “So, what you’re saying is we should wait to tell her after we’re married because then your mom has no choice but to accept it?”
Luke nodded. “Yeah, it’s the only way I can think of.”
Samara hesitated. She wasn’t sure how she felt about his idea, but she knew that she didn’t have much of a choice. Marnie was Luke’s mother, after all. It was ultimately up to him to tell her the truth; he was the one who wanted to keep it from her. As much as Samara hated it, she knew that she had no other choice than to go along with it . . . at least, for now.
“Okay,” she agreed, turning to Luke. “We’ll do that. We’ll tell her the truth after the wedding.”
Luke grinned, and he looked relieved. “Thanks, Sam. You’ll see we’re doing the right thing. Now, come on. Let’s go break the news to my parents.”
Samara forced a small smile, knowing that there was nothing else she could do about the secrets they were keeping for now, as she followed Luke out of the car. He pulled his key out of his pocket to unlock the front door, but his mom swung it open before he had a chance to unlock it.
“Where have you been, Luke?” Marnie questioned. “You were supposed to wash the dishes this morning, You left them all piled up for Joel to do.”
“I know, Mom. I’m sorry. I just got distracted,” Luke replied. Glancing around the house, he asked, “Is Joel home now?”
Carefully tucking a piece of light brown hair behind her ear, Marnie nodded. “Yeah, he’s outside cutting wood for the fireplace. Why?”
“There’s something I—we—want to tell both of you,” Luke said.
Tiny wrinkles formed in Marnie’s forehead, and a look of curiosity flashed through her eyes. “What is it?”
“I want to tell both of you at the same time. I’ll go ask him to come inside.”
As Luke headed out the back door, Marnie sat down on one of the couches and glanced up at Samara, taking her in for the first time since they’d arrived. “Hello, Samara.”
“Hi,” Samara replied, awkwardly. She sat down on the loveseat, hoping that Luke wouldn’t take too long outside. It made her nervous to be alone in the room with Luke’s mother; she wasn’t sure if it was the fact that she was keeping such a huge secret from the woman, or if it was the way his mom looked at her—her eyes poring through her—that unnerved her the most.
Wait, Luke, Samara protested through mind-speak. I just thought about something. What are we going to do if your mom puts two and two together? My last name is McKinley, just like my grandfather’s. She’ll know what my last name is at the wedding.
Don’t worry. I’ve already thought about that, Luke replied. I told my mom you aren’t related to Joe McKinley. McKinley is a common last name, so she bought it.
“Please tell me you’re not going to tell me what I think you’re going to tell me,” Marnie said, eyeing Samara curiously and interrupting her mental conversation with Luke. From the look in Marnie’s eyes, it was obvious that Luke wasn’t entirely right; his mom might claim to believe that Samara wasn’t a McKinley, but it was obvious that she still had her doubts.
"I . . .” Samara started to say, but before she could get any words out, the back door to the log cabin opened and Luke entered the room, followed by a man who was shorter and less muscular than him with darker features.
"Samara, this is my stepdad, Joel," Luke said, motioning to the man. "Joel, this is Samara, the love of my life.”
Samara wasn't certain, but she thought, from the corner of her eye, she saw Marnie roll her eyes at Luke's words.
"It's nice to meet you," Joel said, extending his hand to her.
Samara shook his hand back, noticing how cold his skin felt against her own. She knew it was because he was human, and she was a werewolf, but it still shocked her. She wondered if he noticed it. "It's nice to meet you, too."
"So, like I told Mom already, I have something really important to tell both of you," Luke told Joel. Luke sat down on the loveseat next to Samara, and Joel sat on the couch next to Marnie.
"Well, don't keep us waiting any longer, Lucas. The anticipation is killing me," Marnie said impatiently. "What's going on?"
"Samara and I are getting married." Luke glanced from Marnie to Joel and back to Marnie, studying their faces for a reaction.
"That's great, son. I couldn't be happier for you. Congratulations." Joel had a genuine-looking smile on his face as he said the words. “And congratulations to you, too, Samara.”
Marnie scoffed and turned to her husband. "Happy for him? How could you be happy for him? He's only sixteen years old!"
Joel shrugged. "Age is just a number, Marnie. Everyone deserves to find true love. And besides, I think Luke is a lot more mature and responsible than most guys his age."
Marnie laughed. "I don't see how. He doesn't even do his own dishes." She turned to Samara. "Have you told your parents about this silly idea my son probably came up with all on his own?"
Samara felt her cheeks beginning to redden in anger. It felt like Marnie was trying to find out whose idea it had been to get married, but Samara decided to ignore it. "Yes, my parents know about our engagement. They gave Luke their blessing when he asked for permission before he proposed to me."
"And your parents are okay with you getting married at sixteen years old?" Marnie questioned. Her face was full of disbelief.
Samara nodded. "Yes, they're accepting of it." It had actually surprised her how cool her parents were being about the engagement. They said they didn't care if Samara got married, but her mom had insisted that she wait until her sixteenth birthday, at the very least, in following with Pennsylvania state law.
"Why?" Marnie didn't seem too convinced. Or maybe she thought that there was something seriously wrong with Samara's parents to agree to allow their sixteen year old daughter to date. If only she knew that before all of this happened-before they had found out that Samara was a werewolf and that she had a mate-they hadn't even wanted her to date until she turned eighteen.
Samara searched her head for a way to explain why her parents had agreed to let her get married, aside from the truth . . . which was that they didn't think there was a reason to not allow it when she was already mated to Luke. Her life couldn't get much crazier than it already was, married or not.
But Samara couldn't tell that to Marnie. Admitting the truth to Marnie would mean telling her that she really was a werewolf, and she couldn’t do that until Luke was ready to admit the truth to her. She had to keep quiet about it until after
they got married.
"Samara's parents agreed to let her marry me because they think she's old enough to make her own decisions," Luke spoke up, making up an excuse to appease his mother. "Her parents didn't want to be the reason things don't work out for us. They didn't want Samara to hate them later in life for not letting this happen."
"I see." Marnie paused for a moment, seeming to absorb all of the information that she had just learned. "So, when is this wedding taking place?" She said ‘wedding’ like it was a dirty word.
"We haven't set an exact date yet, but it will be sometime in March," Samara said.
"March? Why March?" Marnie questioned. "I'm no expert when it comes to weddings, but March seems like a dreadful time of the year to get married."
"We have to wait until after my sixteenth birthday to get married," Samara replied.
“Please tell me the reason you’re getting married isn’t because you’re pregnant,” Marnie said, a disgusted look on her face at the idea. “The last thing we need is a were-child running around.”
Annoyed by Marnie’s question, Samara shook her head. “No, I’m not pregnant.” She didn’t say that, in the future, there could be a werewolf child running around. It probably wouldn’t be for many years, but they would most likely have children one day . . . and when that day came, she hoped that Marnie would be more enthusiastic about the idea.
"And your living arrangements? Where will you live after you've tied the knot?" Marnie asked, less than enthusiastically.
"Um," Samara stuttered. Their future living arrangements were something that she had wanted to talk to Luke about. On the one hand, she wanted them to live in the house that Grandpa Joe had left behind for them, the house that most of the Ima pack had been living in.
But Samara's parents seemed to think that she and Luke were going to live at home with them until they went to college and got an apartment together. Samara wasn't sure if she was ready to tell her parents about the house and money she'd inherited from Grandpa Joe. Even though they had been to the house, they thought it belonged to the Jackson's, and Samara wasn't ready to tell them otherwise just yet.
"I think you're both making a very big mistake," Marnie said. "You're so young. Now’s the time for you to be a kid. Be young and wild and free. And, to be honest, I'm not sure why you would want to marry a werewolf, anyway, Samara. Maybe if you wait until college, you'll find a nice human boy and forget about this silly little romance. If you do that, I guarantee you that one day you’ll come back and thank me for it.”
Samara felt the anger rise to her cheeks. Even though she understood why Marnie didn’t want her to be with Luke, she didn’t like being told what to do—or not do.
"Mom, we appreciate your advice, but your opinion isn't really necessary," Luke said, intertwining his fingers with Samara's. "We're getting married whether you like it or not."
Marnie pursed her lips. "Well, then."
"Why don't we eat?" Joel suggested. "We already planned dinner for the two of you. This disagreement isn't any reason to let good food go to waste."
Samara could tell from the look on Marnie's face that she no longer wanted to be a hostess and would have preferred for them to leave. Turning to Joel with a smile, Samara said, "Sure. That sounds great. I'm starving."
Chapter 3
“Well, that went well,” Samara said sarcastically once they were back in the car and leaving Luke’s parents’ house.
“I think my stepdad likes you,” Luke said, keeping his eyes on the road. “He did ask us to come over again really soon.”
“And your mom?” Samara was actually sort of confused about Marnie’s feelings towards her. The first time they’d met, Marnie had been really warm and friendly. It had even seemed like she approved of Samara. Today, she hadn’t been warm and friendly at all. Although she had put on a smile during dinner, it was obvious to Samara that Marnie was still annoyed about their engagement, but what she couldn’t figure out was why.
“I think she’s just confused by you,” Luke said, choosing his words carefully.
Samara glanced over at him. “What do mean she’s confused by me?”
“I mean, here you are, this human in her eyes, and you want to marry her werewolf son, who she thought was never capable of loving someone else . . . and who was never capable of being loved, either,” Luke said, quietly.
He didn’t look at her, and Samara knew it was because Luke was bothered by what his mother said.
“It does bother me,” Luke murmured, responding to Samara’s thoughts. “I hate that I can’t just be honest with my mom. I guess I have my dad to thank for that, but still.”
Samara nodded, knowing that Luke didn’t really blame his dad that much. Even though Luke’s dad was abusive towards his mother, he still thought he was a great dad. There was another secret that Luke was keeping from his mother—a secret that only Samara knew about. One of Luke’s goals in life was to avenge his father’s death . . .
“Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about what you were thinking when we were visiting my parents,” Luke said, changing the subject. “You want to live with your parents for a while? Am I understanding this right?”
“Well, it’s not that I want to,” Samara replied, shaking her head. “I want us to have our own space away from my parents—”
“And from Seth,” Luke interjected, reminding her that her brother was living at home again now, too.
“And from Seth. It’s just that I don’t want to tell them about the inheritance yet,” Samara explained. She knew she didn’t have to go into the reasons why; Luke already knew she didn’t want to tell them because she was afraid they would try to take control of the money and house that Grandpa Joe left her, and that scared her. Even though she didn’t know why, she had a feeling that her grandfather had left the house to her for a reason. Samara also worried that if her father knew the truth, he would be hurt by the fact that Grandpa Joe hadn’t left him a penny and had given everything to Samara instead.
“Well, if you want to do that—live at home with them for a while so they don’t find out the truth—we can,” Luke said. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “You’re doing the same for me by not telling my mom about you not being human.”
Samara glanced over at him and smiled. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. And it might not be fun to not have our own space, but I’m sure we’ll spend a lot of time with the pack so we’re not at my family’s house all the time.”
“Speaking of which, we better head back over there now. Seth sent me a text message saying that he needed to talk to you,” Luke said, turning onto the street that led to the pack’s house.
Samara raised her eyebrows, surprised that her brother had contacted Luke instead of her. “Why didn’t he just text me?”
Luke shrugged. “I don’t know, but I guess I can’t complain. Hopefully it means that he doesn’t mind that we’re going to be brother-in-laws.”
Samara smiled. “Well, he doesn’t have much of a choice but to accept you, now does he?”
Luke’s forehead wrinkled. “Gee, thanks.”
Samara laughed. “I’m just kidding. Of course my brother will love you. What’s not to love?”
“Well, when you put it that way,” Luke joked, as he pulled into the round driveway.
As Samara opened her door and began to climb out of the car, Seth darted towards them. “Don’t get out of the car,” he called. “We have somewhere to go.”
“Where?” Luke questioned.
“I know where Declan is,” Seth explained, as he pulled the car door open and climbed into the backseat. “We have to go get him.”
Samara glanced over her shoulder at him. “How do you know where he is?”
“He accidentally let me into his thoughts,” Seth said. “I don’t want to tell you guys everything because I feel like some of those thoughts should be left private unless he chooses to tell you himself, but . . . I’m concerned. I’m afraid Declan might try to hurt him
self if we don’t go to him.”
“Well, where is he?” Luke asked, glancing into the rearview mirror. His voice remained at an even level, and Samara couldn’t tell from the stony expression on his face what he was feeling. Luke also didn’t let her into his thoughts. Then again, she rarely heard his thoughts or felt his emotions. She wasn’t sure if it was because he blocked her out the majority of the time or if it was because she just didn’t pay attention to what he was thinking, the way he did with her.
“He’s on Worcester Ave,” Seth replied. “At that old playground.”
Samara immediately knew what playground Seth was talking about. It was the same playground that she and Declan used to hang out at when they were kids. Once they got a little bit older, Declan had insisted on not going there anymore. When Samara asked why, he said that his dad wanted him to play closer to home. They hadn’t gone there together since.
Luke nodded and pulled out of the driveway. They drove to the playground in silence. When they arrived, Samara turned to Luke and Seth. “I’m going to go talk to Declan. You guys stay right here.”
“Okay,” Seth agreed.
Luke didn’t say anything, and his face still didn’t give anything away. Samara decided that she didn’t have time to worry about how Luke felt right now. She had to get to Declan—and she had a feeling she knew where he would be.
She found Declan just where she thought she would—at the top of the jungle gym in the old tunnel slide.
“Hey,” Samara said quietly, sitting down on the jungle gym floor next to him. She blocked Luke from her thoughts; the last thing she needed was for Declan to say the wrong thing—or for her to think the wrong thing—and upset Luke.
Declan glanced up at her, the sun’s reflection catching the golden specks in his brown eyes. “Hi.”
“Can I come in?” Samara asked. When they were kids, they both always went inside the tunnel. They’d lay on the slippery slide for as long as they could—usually until a line of kids formed outside the slide, insisting that they go down, or until the plastic started to become uncomfortable against their skin.
