Free Blood Moon (Howl #2) by Jody Morse, Jayme Morse Page B

probably be an easy lesson, considering Colby had just taught her how not to be the weakest link. Okay. When do I get to train with you?
    She heard Luke chuckle inside his mind. I’m probably going to be the last person you train with, unless you have some other type of training in mind.
    Samara laughed out loud. No, that’s not what I meant , you pervert. Goodnight.
Closing her eyes, she quickly drifted back to sleep with a smile on her face. Life was good.
 
    *
 
    The next morning, Samara was woken up by the sound of her cell phone, which jangled against the wood of her nightstand. Grabbing the phone, s he groggily answered. “Hello?”
    “Where did you go last night?” Emma shrilled , piercing Samara’s ear.
    Samara sat up in bed. She had just disappeared from Emma’s party last night without any warning. In fact, Samara had nearly forgotten the reason she had left was because it had upset her that Ashley Everest had put her hand on Luke’s shoulder. We need to talk, buddy, she told Luke in her head.
    Ugh, you woke me up, Luke groaned back groggily . What do we need to talk about?
    I’ll tell you in a sec, I’m on the phone with Emma right now, Samara replied, just as Emma asked, “Sam? Are you ther e?”
    “Yeah, I’m here. I’m s orry. I wasn’t feeling good, so I just went home.” Samara sighed, hating that she had to lie to her best friend again. She hadn’t thought it was going to make her feel bad because they had become mu ch less close over the past few months , but it did make her feel a twinge of guilt. Trying to make up for the lie, she added, “I didn’t even tell Luke I was leaving.”
    “Well, you really missed out,” Emma w hined. “And I have good news!”
    “What?” S amara asked, rolling her eyes.
    “I met someone . . . a guy. And I thin k he really, really likes me!”
    “Wait,” Samara said. “What about Jason?” Emma had seemed so stuck on Jason over the past few weeks that Samara hadn’t even realized that she might move onto someone new all on her own . Then again, she should have realized that it would happen eventually. Emma always got bored of guys so quickly. She’d probably had about sixteen boyfriends – which usually turned out to be just flings – since May. It was only October now.
    “I don’t know,” Emma replied. “Things just weren’t working out between us. It was great at first, but he’s been wei rd lately. He’s never around. It’s like he just doesn’t care if he sees me anymore. ”
    Samara knew that Emma mentioning the fact that Jason was never around was just her way of saying that she needed a guy who would give her constant attention – and Jason obviously wasn’t giving it to her. “So, who’s this new guy?” Samara asked curiously. She hoped that Emma had at least chosen someone who was nicer than Jason this time around.
    “His name’s Troy. Troy Davis,” Emma said. “He already asked me to the Homecoming danc e!”
    “Wow, he moves quick,” Samara said sarcastically, hoping that she didn’t sound as rude as she felt. “But t hat’s good. I’m happy for you.”
    “Yeah, there’s just one problem, and this is why I’m calling. I need your advice. How do I break up with Jason gracefully?”
    Samara laughed. “I’m not sure that’s possible with Jason, to be honest. I don’t think you should tell him in person, though. It’s probably better to do it over the phone or through Facebook or something .”
    “Really?” Emma asked. Samara could just picture her freckled nose wrinkling at the idea. “Isn’t that what they usually say what you’re not supposed to do?”
    Samara paused. “Well, yeah . . . usually. But this is Jason. I’m afraid if you break up with him in person, he might snap.”
    “Snap?” E mma asked. “What do you mean?”
    Samara sighed, wishing that her best friend knew the truth about Jason. “I’m just saying that I think you need to be careful. I’ve heard . . . rumors,” she lied.