Cursed (Howl, #6) Read online

  Penelope sighed. “Samara, Seth told me what you said about me. It’s silly for you to think he wouldn’t tell me. We are mates, after all.”

  Samara glared at her brother. “I’m sorry I kept a secret like this from you, Penelope. I can’t help the way I was feeling, but like I told Seth, I’m going to try to be more accepting of . . . everything.”

  “Well, I certainly hope so,” Penelope said. Glancing over at Seth nervously before turning back to Samara, she added, “Because I’m going to be your sister-in-law.” She held up her hand, flashing the large solitaire diamond that was resting on her ring finger.

  “You’re getting married?” Samara asked with wide eyes. She wasn’t sure why she was shocked; it only seemed logical that eventually her brother would marry Penelope eventually. But she had been hoping it would be later on. She couldn’t ignore the feeling of dread that filled the pit of her stomach.

  Penelope nodded eagerly. “I said yes,” she squealed. Jumping up from her seat, she strolled over to Samara and wrapped her arms around her. “I’m willing to put all of the bad blood between us in the past, as long as you’re willing to be my maid of honor.”

  Samara felt her own eyes widen. She hadn’t been expecting Penelope to make her a bridesmaid, especially since she hadn’t made Penelope one. “Umm, sure, I guess.” Pausing, she asked, “Are you going to be getting married in Pennsylvania, or North Dakota?”

  “Pennsylvania,” Penelope replied, as though the answer should have been obvious. “I don’t have ties with anyone in North Dakota anymore.”

  “Why is that?” Samara found herself asking, even though she knew she was being nosy. “What happened in North Dakota that was so bad that you can’t go back?”

  “Sam—” Seth started to interrupt, but Penelope held her hand up to stop him from saying anything.

  “It’s okay, Seth. It’s a fair question.” Penelope turned back to Samara. “The reason I don’t want to go back to North Dakota is because my whole family died. They were killed in a fight with their pack. I had a few friends there, but I became withdrawn once I was orphaned. North Dakota brings back a lot of bad memories. That’s the reason I left. Well, it’s the main reason, at least.” She paused, licking her lips. “There’s something I haven’t been honest with you about, and I think it’s time for you to know the truth. Why don’t you sit down?”

  Chapter 14

  Penelope stood in front of the campfire, which illuminated her tan skin. “When I told you I didn’t have an Alpha? It’s not true. I do have an Alpha back in North Dakota. Or I did, at least. When I initiated into your pack, I believe the bond between us was broken, but he has called my cell phone a few times.”

  “Penelope what are you saying?” Seth asked, dumbfounded by what his mate was telling everyone. “I thought you didn’t have an Alpha.”

  “That’s because when I came here, my Alpha told me I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about him or about my pack back home,” Penelope explained. She glanced over at Seth, shooting him an apologetic look. “I wanted to tell you, Seth. There were so many times, I wanted to just tell you, but I wasn’t able to work up the nerve until now.” She glanced over at Samara, too. “I wanted to tell you, too, Samara. Not in the beginning, though. When I came here, it was because I was sent on a mission.”

  Samara couldn’t seem to ignore the nervous feeling that had formed in the pit of her stomach, but it made her relieved to know that she was had been right all along to be suspicious about Penelope. At least those feelings hadn’t been for nothing. “What type of mission?”

  “My Alpha told me that I had to come here. I had to find the Ima pack, and I had to act like I wanted to join them,” Penelope explained. Shooting Samara an apologetic glance, she added, “That was why I insisted on joining the Ima when I met you in the woods that day—when I told you I had to meet with your Alpha. I didn’t know you were the pack Alpha. I’m not sure if my own Alpha back home knew you were, or if it was something he kept from me.”

  “Okay, why did you need to pretend you wanted to join the Ima pack, though?” Luke questioned, reaching for Samara’s hand and giving it a tight squeeze. “What is it that you haven’t been telling us?”

  Penelope sighed. “My Alpha wanted me to come here, pretend I was going to join the Ima, get close to Samara, and then find a way to convince her to go back to North Dakota with me.” She glanced over at Samara. “He wanted you to become a part of his pack. He was going to find a way to force you to become a part of us—err, them—a part of the Marna pack, I mean,” she said, stumbling over her words.

  “So, you came here just so you could take me back to North Dakota with you. And you lied to us this whole time, about the fact that you didn’t have an Alpha,” Samara said, repeating all of the information that she was trying to absorb. It made her sick to know that this whole time, Penelope had been here on a mission—and yet Samara’s own brother hadn’t even believed that his mate could have bad intentions.

  “Yes, except when it came time to do it, I just couldn’t,” Penelope insisted. “I didn’t expect to come here and meet my mate,” she said, glancing over at Seth with a smile.

  Seth, however, wasn’t smiling. “So, are you saying the only reason you’re not going through with your original plan is because I’m your mate? Otherwise, you would have taken my sister back to North Dakota with you and carried out your Alpha’s plan?”

  Penelope shook her head, her curly caramel hair moving with it. “No, that’s not what I’m saying at all.” She turned to Samara. “My Alpha made you out to be this horrible person. He said you were selfish and that the only thing you cared about was the money that your grandfather left to you. I know that’s not true, though. I mean, you were willing to bail out one of your pack members out for two million dollars. Obviously, you’re not that money-hungry.

  “And since I’ve been here, I have seen, repeatedly, how much you care about your pack members. You put everyone else before yourself. You’re not a selfish person. I don’t know if my Alpha really believed that was what you would be like, or if it was just something he was using to try to convince me to force you to join our pack.” She shrugged. “Either way, I couldn’t go through with it, Samara. That’s why I’ m telling you. I want to remain a member of the Tala pack. I don’t want to go back to the Marna. Please don’t make me.”

  Samara hesitated. “I need some time to think about this, okay, Penelope? I appreciate the fact that you’re being honest with me now, but it doesn’t change the fact that you still initiated into our pack under false pretenses.”

  Penelope nodded understandingly. “I get it. I know this is going to be a hard decision for you, but I want you to know that I wasn’t really going to initiate into your pack. That wasn’t the plan. Not until I met Seth.” Shooting Samara a desperate, pleading look, Penelope added, “I fell in love, Samara. If you make me leave . . . I’ll understand, but it will break my heart to not be near Seth anymore.”

  “Penelope, I think we need to talk,” Seth said coolly.

  “You’re probably right. We do need to talk.” Penelope glanced around at their pack members before asking, “Do you want to go somewhere so we can talk in private?”

  Seth shook his head. “No, everything I have to say, I can say right here.” He took a deep breath. “I’m not sure that I can marry you. Not right now, at least. Not after knowing that you’ve been lying to me this whole time and what your original intentions are. How can you expect me to trust you?”

  “I see.” Penelope’s honey brown eyes filled with tears. She stepped forward and handed Seth the engagement ring. “I’ll be at my apartment. You know where to find me once you’re ready to talk about this.”

  Seth nodded, but he didn’t look at her.

  They all watched as Penelope sauntered off into the distance. Once she was out of earshot, Colby said, in a low voice, “Wow, I can’t believe that. I can’t believe she’s been lying to us the whole time.”

  Steve glan
ced over at Samara. “I’m surprised you didn’t go psycho Alpha on her ass.”

  “For real, Sam,” Emma said from next to her. “If you had gotten violent with her, she probably would have deserved it.”

  “Now, guys, violence is never the answer,” Silas said quietly. When everyone glared at him, he mumbled, “Well, it isn’t.”

  “I’ve never trusted her,” Samara admitted. “But I think she deserves a second chance. We all do things for our packs that we come to regret later on. At least, most of us do.” She couldn’t think of any good examples to give them, so she shrugged. “I’m just glad that she was finally honest with me, honestly. At least now I know what she was hiding, and it’s actually not as bad as what I was expecting.”

  Seth met Samara’s gaze. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, Sam. I should have known that I could trust my sister, who I’ve known forever, over my mate, who I’ve only known for a few months.”

  “It’s okay, Seth, but honestly? I think you should give Penelope a second chance,” Samara replied.

  Emma raised her eyebrows. “I’m surprised you’re defending the girl.”

  Samara shrugged. “She’s a part of our pack. And to tell you the truth, I really believe she wants to be a Tala. I don’t think she’s just saying all of this stuff to make us trust her when she really can’t be trusted. I think she genuinely cares about all of us—especially you, Seth. And it makes me sort of disappointed by the way I’ve been treating her.” She glanced around at all of her pack members before adding, “You’re all going to think I’m crazy, but I don’t need time to think about this. I want Penelope to remain a Tala—just as long as that’s okay with everyone else.”

  “It’s okay with me,” Kyana spoke up. “I feel bad for her. I know how hard it is to leave behind everyone you know for the person you love.” She looked up into Chris’s eyes and planted a kiss on his lips.

  “I’m cool with it, too,” Chris replied. “Whatever Kyana’s cool with, I’m cool with.”

  Samara rolled her eyes. She wondered if the two of them would keep showing such obnoxious public displays of affection or if it would eventually stop at some point. She supposed that she had an eternity to find out.

  “It’s fine with me,” Colby spoke up. “You’re our pack Alpha, so I think you should make whatever decision you feel is right for the pack.”

  “I gotta admit that Penelope used to make me uncomfortable, but she hasn’t hit on me in a long time,” Steve said, tapping his chin hesitantly. “If she does hit on me, can I bitch slap her?”

  “No, you can’t ‘bitch slap’ her! Boys shouldn’t hit girls!” Emma said, narrowing her eyes at Steve.

  “Relax, Emma. I’m joking. I’m not gonna bitch slap her. I know then I’d have Seth to deal with,” Steve said. Glancing over at Samara, he nodded his head. “I’m cool with Penelope being one of us.”

  “I like Penelope,” Silas said quietly. “My only beef with her is that she doesn’t talk enough. Maybe we could find a way to bring her out of her shell more.”

  “Says one of the quietest members of our pack!” Luke laughed. “I mean, no offense, Silas, but you’re not the most talkative person ever.”

  “I’m not?” Silas asked with wide eyes. He glanced over at Kyle. “Is he right? I’m not that talkative?”

  “Well, around the pack you’re not that talkative,” Kyle agreed. Reassuringly, he added, “Don’t worry, though. They should be thankful you’re not that talkative around them. When it’s you and me having one-on-one time, you don’t shut up.”

  Silas smiled giddily, pleased with Kyle’s answer.

  “I’m good with Penelope staying a member of our pack, too,” Kyle told Samara. “She’s cool peeps.”

  “Anyway, I think maybe we could train Penelope to be one of us,” Emma said, nodding. “I think it’s going to take a little bit of work, but . . . I do think she could fit in with the rest of us, over time. I think Silas is right, though. She needs to break out of her shell a little.”

  Samara nodded. She glanced over at Luke for his answer.

  “Whatever you think is right for the pack, babe,” Luke said, kissing her on the forehead. “I think if you’re able to forgive Penelope, we all should be able to.”

  “What about you, Seth? Are you comfortable with Penelope staying a member of the Tala?” Samara questioned, glancing over at her brother, who had been quiet this whole time.

  Seth shrugged his shoulders. “I mean . . . I guess.” He sighed. “I love Penelope. I’m in love with Penelope. I don’t want to see her leave, and the truth is, I really do want to marry her. I just broke it off because it felt like the right thing to do. I didn’t want you to be offended that I was still going to marry her, after she admitted when she did. But I still want to be engaged to her.”

  Samara nodded understandingly. “I appreciate that, Seth. It means a lot to me, to know that you would take my side if it came down to it. But I promise you I won’t be mad at you for marrying Penelope, now that I know her story. I would have been less supportive of your marriage to her if she never told me the truth and I always had to wonder what her deal was.” Smiling, she said, “You have my blessing.”

  A wide grin crossed Seth’s face. “Thanks. I think I can still patch things up with her.” Rising to his feet, he said, “I think I’ll go tell her I still want to marry her right now.”

  “Make sure you let her know that she’s still welcome to be a part of our pack,” Samara told him.

  “I will,” Seth said with a nod before disappearing into the forest.

  Chapter 15

  “So, I was right about Kyle’s watch,” Silas said the next afternoon as he sat across from Samara at the cafeteria table at Grandview High. He had transferred schools mid-semester, so that he didn’t have to be near the Shomecossee during the day at his old school. Luckily, he had the same lunch hour as Samara, Emma, and Colby—and Josh, if he was there, but no one had seen or heard from him still. “This morning, his watch changed from two to one. It’s definitely counting down the days.”

  “I still wonder what it’s counting the days down to,” Emma said, as she stuffed a piece of bagel into her mouth. “It’s so strange.” She glanced over at Samara. “Does that mean something is going to happen today? Or tomorrow?”

  “I think it depends on the exact time the hour would go off,” Samara replied with a shrug. “It could be either.”

  Colby dropped his cafeteria tray, which was piled high with two hamburgers and four servings of French fries, down onto the table next to Emma and leaned over to give her a kiss. “Hey, sweetheart.”

  Samara’s eyes widened. She had never heard Colby call Emma a sweetheart before. Not that it was bad to hear him call her best friend that—it was just a little weird.

  “Hey, munchkin,” Emma said, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Do you mind if I steal some of your fries?”

  “Of course not,” Colby replied. “What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is, well . . . yours.” He frowned, realizing that Emma wasn’t the most sharing person.

  Samara burst into laughter, and Emma glared at her.

  “You know that’s not true, Colby Jack. I always do my best to share with you,” Emma said, grabbing a handful of fries from his tray.

  Samara noticed that Emma was wearing the blue sapphire ring that Colby had given her, except it wasn’t on her middle finger, where she used to wear it. The ring was on her ring finger. “Umm, Emma. I think you’re wearing your ring on the wrong finger. And if you’re not, then you have a lot of explaining to do.”

  Emma glanced down at her ring, and her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. “I—I,” she stammered, unable to form a sentence. She quickly shoved her hand in her pocket.

  “Is there something we don’t know?” Silas asked with raised eyebrows. “You guys just announced that you started dating and you’re already . . . engaged? You move a little quickly, don’t you?”

  Emma glanced over at Colby for help, and he
nodded. “I think it’s time we tell them.”

  “Tell us what?” Samara asked, putting her hands on her hips angrily. “Is this the secret you’ve been keeping from all of us? You’re engaged?” She hadn’t known what type of secret her best friend and Colby had been keeping from their pack, but she definitely never would have guessed that it could have been that.

  “Actually, we’re not engaged,” Emma said hesitantly. “We’re married.”

  “What?! You got married without telling me?” Samara asked, louder than she meant to—so loud, in fact, that a bunch of heads turned around in her direction. They must have heard what she had said because they all started whispering to each other and pointing at Emma and Colby.

  “Well, thanks for being so loud and obnoxious, Sam,” Emma said, glaring at her. “Now the whole school knows about it!”

  “I’m sorry,” Samara mumbled. “I didn’t mean to say it that loudly, but I’m in shock.”

  “I’m in shock, too!” Silas said, as he opened his milk carton. “How come none of us were invited to your wedding?”

  “We decided to elope, so there wasn’t a wedding,” Emma said.

  “But what about the Barbie dream wedding we were planning for you!” Silas protested. He folded his arms across his chest angrily. “You can’t tell me that you’re happy with some little court wedding!”

  “Actually, we didn’t get married in a court,” Emma replied, shaking her head. “We found this chapel online. It’s in Miranda Heights, which is about an hour from here.”

  “When did this happen?” Silas questioned. “Actually, let me guess. It was in the past few days, wasn’t it? I’ve noticed that you have this glow to your skin, which you never usually have. You seem so much happier than usual.”

  Emma shook her head. “No, I think I’ve been happier because we went public about our relationship, finally.” Looking down at her tray, almost guiltily, she added, “We got married on the night of Samara and Luke’s wedding.”