Free Cursed (Howl, #6) by Jody Morse, Jayme Morse Page B

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    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