A Girl and Her Wolf (Howl, #7) Read online

  Emma wasn’t going to lie. She wasn’t completely disappointed about the idea of staying at the same resort as her best friend, even if it was for her honeymoon with Colby. She’d actually always wanted to do a double honeymoon with Samara one day after they had their double wedding together. It was one of the things that she’d plotted out for the future with her best friend even before they’d both became werewolves.

  What she worried about the most was: what sort of person was she? Her whole life, she’d wanted to plan a double wedding with Samara, but she hadn’t even invited her best friend to watch her and Colby get married. She hadn’t even told her yet. Samara, Luke, and the rest of the pack still had no clue that Colby and Emma were married. And even though it sounded completely horrible, there was a part of her that wanted to keep it that way.

  Emma actually sort of liked that they had a secret between just the two of them. It made her feel closer to her mate—and now husband.

  “I’m sorry I chose the same resort as them, but I couldn’t help it. I heard your thoughts when we were planning Luke and Sam’s wedding,” Colby explained from his seat next to her on the plane. “I heard you thinking about how nice the resort we chose for them to stay at looked and how much you wished that we could go on a trip like theirs. So, that’s why I chose this place.”

  “That was actually really thoughtful of you.” She nodded, thinking about it. How could she be mad at him when he’d put so much effort into their honeymoon already—from the coconut bra and leis to making sure they were going to be spending their time at the most perfect resort in all of Hawaii.

  “The resort looks really huge, too. We probably won’t even run into each other while we’re there,” Colby went on. “Though, I, for one, am planning to spend the next few days getting my tan on poolside, whether they’re swimming in it or not.” He chuckled.

  “Colby Jack, you should know by now that you can’t get your tan on. Your skin is too fair. If you don’t smear on the sunscreen, you’re going to end up with third degree burns.”

  Colby rolled his eyes and leaned into her, so that he was whispering in her ear. “We’re not vampires, Emma, we’re werewolves. A little sunburn isn’t gonna kill us.”

  “I would still feel a lot better if you used protection,” Emma told him. As soon as she said the words, she immediately released how perverted they probably sounded, and the grin that crept across Colby’s face told her that he’d thought so, too. “I mean, I would feel a lot better if you protected your skin with sunscreen,” she corrected herself.

  Colby laughed. “If it makes you feel better, I will. Anyway, Sam and Luke are our friends. I don’t think they’re going to mind if we happen to bump into each other, do you?”

  She considered what he was saying, but after a few moments, she shook her head. “I know my best friend. She would care.” A double honeymoon was the one thing Samara had never agreed to during all of the planning of their futures that Emma had done over the years, but . . . it didn’t really matter now. It was too late. They were already on our way to the same exact resort, so Samara was just going to need to just deal with it.

  “I’m sure she won’t be too angry. And even if she is, she’ll get over it,” Colby said.

  She shrugged and glanced out the window again, but this time she felt her stomach lurch. Glancing over at Colby, she said, “So, I have a confession I need to make. You know how cats don’t like water? Well, I just found out that I really don’t like heights.”

  “I know! I can hear your stomach from all the way over here.”

  “You make it sound like we’re miles apart, Colby, but we’re only sitting a few inches away from each other.”

  “But you feel so far away over there,” he replied with a pout. He grabbed her hand and gave it a tiny squeeze. “Take deep, cleansing breaths, Em.”

  Emma tried to relax, but it didn’t help. She knew that nothing would help until they were on the ground again. She guessed it was just another one of the changes that had happened when she became a werewolf. She wondered if all dogs were afraid of heights, but one glance at Colby, who was writing in a small book, told her that it didn’t bother him at all.

  Chapter 3: Colby

  With Davenport sleeping and Emma in the bedroom reading Colby’s journal, he felt anxious about getting in some more reading time of his own. He flipped to the page he’d left off at and read what she had written.

  So, my first memory of Hawaii wasn’t quite as glamorous as I’d imagined it to be, Diary. I managed to get out of the plane before vomiting, but unfortunately, Colby happened to be standing at the wrong place at the wrong time. But don’t worry, because it all got better from there. Once I got a glimpse of the beautiful, clear blue rolling waves, the pretty cloudless sky, and the stretch of sand that lay in front of me, I knew that Hawaii was just as wonderful as I’d always imagined it to be. Experiencing it for the first time with my mate made it all the better.

  Xoxo,

  Emma

  Colby chuckled as he read Emma’s recap of their first moments together in Hawaii. He sometimes tried to block out that she’d puked on him. What better way to enjoy the first five minutes of your honeymoon than by being vomited on, right?

  Luckily, things had gone much better after that. Well, they mostly did. Emma might not have been too pleased by how quickly they’d ended up running into Samara and Luke, though . . .

  *

  “Colby Jack,” Emma whined from her place on a beach chair next to him. “I thought we agreed that you were going to wear sunblock!”

  “I meant to put some on before we left the room, but what can I say? I was just so excited to see you in a bikini that I completely forgot about my skin,” he told her with a wink. And for good reason, he thought privately to himself. Emma’s hot pink bikini clung to her curvy body in all of the right places; it left little to the imagination, but it also covered up enough so he didn’t need to feel jealous every time a guy glanced over in their direction. That was a good thing, because he would have hated to have to battle against his inner wolf while they were on the beach.

  A small smile touched Emma’s lips and Colby had a feeling she’d heard his thoughts about getting jealous. She didn’t say anything about it, though. “Well, I really think that maybe you should run back to the hotel room and get some sunscreen. Your face is already turning really red.”

  “Fine, but only if you come with me,” he told her.

  She frowned. “But I’m enjoying being on the beach. Do I have to?”

  Colby turned his lips into a pout. “Please? The idea of being that far away from you sounds awful right now. We’re on our honeymoon! Plus, maybe we could make a little noise in our hotel room.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

  Emma’s eyes widened. “Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll come with you.”

  “Yes, I do believe you will,” he told her in the most perverted tone he could muster.

  She burst into a giggle fit as she followed him up the beach. They climbed up the stairs and then went inside the building that their room was in.

  Deciding to skip the three flights of stairs, they called down one of the elevators. Its doors flew open, and they slipped inside. When the doors slid closed, Emma glanced over at him, a sultry look in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

  Colby’s body responded to her fully and completely. He pushed her up against the wall with more force than he knew he had, kissing her passionately.

  He couldn’t wait to get back to their room and make love to his mate—no, his wife—for the first time during their honeymoon. He knew they had only been there for a few hours, but he wasn’t sure how long he would be able to wait with her looking like that.

  Once the elevator stopped on the third floor and the door flew open, Emma grabbed Colby’s hand and led him out into the hallway. She stopped dead in her tracks, though, when she saw who was standing, with their backs turned, just a few feet in front of them.
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  Samara and Luke were leaving their hotel room, which just happened to be the room right next to theirs.

  Emma yanked on Colby’s hand, pulling him behind a corner as Samara and Luke passed by them. They both held their breath, hoping that their friends wouldn’t notice them.

  Luckily, they didn’t.

  Once the sound of their voices disappeared down the hallway, Emma turned to Colby. “I thought you said this was a big place so they probably wouldn’t find us, Colby Jack!”

  “It is a big place,” he agreed. “There are four buildings of hotel rooms, and they each have three floors.”

  “And we just so happened to get the room right next to theirs?” Emma crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

  “Well, it might be because I used the same credit card,” Colby realized aloud. “Maybe they thought the two hotel rooms were supposed to go together, so they arranged it that way. It would make sense.”

  “Ugh!” Emma walked down the hallway, her shoes clacking against the floor, and she slid the key in the door.

  “It’s not that big of a deal, Em,” Colby said, chasing after her. “Why don’t we just go say hi to them?”

  “I have a better idea,” Emma said, turning to face him with a sly grin. “Why don’t we make sure that we’re not noticeable? I’ll bring a magazine to hide behind, and we can put sunscreen all over your face. Oh, and you can even wear that embarrassing straw hat you bought when we first got here!”

  Colby glanced over at his mate. She seemed so excited by her ideas that he didn’t want to say no and crush them, even though he didn’t understand why it was such a big deal for them to possibly bump into their friends. “Okay, but only under one condition,” he told her.

  “What?” Emma asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Let’s still make some noise first,” he told her with a wink.

  With a chuckle, Emma shoved him onto the bed and began to strip out of her bikini.

  *

  “I can’t believe you’re actually making me wear this,” Colby whispered to Emma as they relaxed on the lounge chairs by the pool a while later.

  “It’s not a completely bad look on you. Though it is a little ridiculous-looking,” she admitted. Peering over the Cosmopolitan magazine she was using to hide behind, she said, “I think she saw me. I really think she saw me.”

  “Oh, come on, Em. Samara has no reason to think you could be here,” he told her. “I’m sure she has no clue.”

  She glanced over at him, a soft look in her blue eyes. “You’re probably right, but just to be on the safe side, I think you should add some more of that sunscreen to your nose.”

  “Are you serious?” Colby asked her with raised eyebrows. “I’m already all sun blocked out! It’s the only thing I can smell right now.”

  “I’m totally serious,” Emma replied. “The whiter you are, the less recognizable you’ll be. Though, I do have to wonder if that hat might make her notice you quicker than if you weren’t wearing one at all.”

  He ran his hands over the hat. “Do you want me to just take it off?”

  “No, I’m willing to take our chances. The hat might be less noticeable than that blonde curly hair of yours,” Emma replied. She turned her attention back to Samara. “I’m telling you, she sees us.”

  “She doesn’t see us, Emma Bear,” he said gently. “You know . . . I think a new nickname may be in order now that we’re married.”

  “Oh? What nickname might that be?” she asked, ignoring how nervous she was over their friends seeing them long enough to shoot him a sly grin.

  “Well, since I’m Colby Jack, that should make you Emma Jack,” Colby replied.

  Wrinkling her nose, she said, “Let’s stick with Emma Bear.” She glanced back over at Samara and Luke anxiously.

  Colby followed her gaze. “If you’re that nervous about them seeing us, maybe we should go down to the beach, instead,” he told her. “Then maybe you won’t be so paranoid, because they’ll still be here.”

  Emma shook her head. “No. We’re staying here.”

  “It seems to me like you want her to catch us,” he said quietly, trying to challenge her into going to the beach. He really didn’t know why she insisted on staying just feet away from their friends. “I mean, come on, Em. I wouldn’t blame you if you did. We need to tell Sam about the talisman, plus she got bit by a shark! Don’t you want to see how she’s doing?”

  “She what?!” Emma hissed at him. “And you knew that for how long before telling me?” she glared at him.

  “Oh,” Colby shrugged, giving her an apologetic grin. “Well, here’s the thing. I only found out myself a day ago and—”

  “And didn’t tell me!” Emma interrupted him.

  “No, I didn’t tell you. But only because I didn’t want you to be so worried during our honeymoon that you kept yourself from having fun, too. And see? She’s fine.” Colby nodded over in Samara’s direction.

  She followed his gaze and then glanced over at him sharply. “She...does looks fine to me. I don’t even see a bite mark on her. But you still kept it from me. She could’ve died and I wouldn’t have even known. I wouldn’t have been able to be there for her.”

  “You can be there for her now, though,” Colby insisted. “You could go over and be there for her right now.”

  “No. Nope,” she replied, shaking her head dismissively. “Maybe we should take our chances and go down to the beach. If we go down those steps where it’s more crowded, and then loop back around, they might not even notice us.”

  “Would it really bother you that much if they did?” Colby asked, beginning to grow tired of the argument. “It would be sort of cool to see Luke, anyway. We could go surfing. It would be a lot of fun.”

  “I care,” Emma replied. “I don’t want them to think that we’re copycats.”

  “You’re not being a copycat. We are the ones who picked out this resort for them to go on this honeymoon, remember? It was all our idea.” Colby sighed. “Besides, remember that you technically have an excuse for us being here. The talisman is missing.”

  Neither of them had talked about it much, mostly because it wasn’t something they really wanted to think about. But the fact of the matter was that the talisman was gone, and Samara needed to know about it.

  “Oh, that’s right,” Emma replied. “I almost forgot about that. . .”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Colby told her with a wink. She blushed, and he knew why; they’d had the absolute best sex ever only a few moments before. There was definitely something to be said about honeymoon sex.

  Emma was so lost in her thoughts, replaying it over in her mind, that she didn’t even notice Samara when she walked over to them. “Emma? Colby?”

  “Samara!” Emma lowered her sunglasses and flashed her best friend a wide smile. “We’ve been looking all over for you guys.”

  “Well, we weren’t looking for you that hard,” Colby chimed in. “We’ve been lounging by the pool for most of the day. But we were hoping to bump into you.”

  Liar! Emma told him privately through her thoughts. We were not ‘hoping’ to bump into them!

  I’m just trying to be polite, Colby replied back through mind-speak, shooting her a sideways glance.

  Samara glanced over at Luke, who had come up behind her. “I think you owe me an apology. You made me think I was nuts.”

  “You are nuts, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t right this time,” Luke replied, giving her a kiss on the forehead. Glancing over at us, he added, “We’ve been arguing for the past ten minutes over whether or not she really saw you guys.”

  “That’s funny,” Emma said, forcing a laugh. Glancing over at Colby, she thought: It’s funny we were having the same exact argument as they were. I told you they saw us!

  I know. You win, Colby told her with a sheepish grin.

  Chapter 4: Colby

  When Colby woke up early the next morning, Emma wasn’t in the room. He closed his eyes
for a moment and envisioned where she was: the family room.

  Next, he rose to his feet and checked on Davenport, but he still seemed to be sleeping—surprisingly. He’d woken up so many times during the night—a few times because he needed to be fed and a few times because he missed Samara and Declan, Colby suspected.

  As Colby stared down at Daven lying in the crib, so peaceful and precious, he couldn’t help but notice how much the baby looked like Luke. He had a few of Samara’s features—her amber eyes, for example—but his light hair and golden skin reminded Colby so much of his best friend.

  Davenport looked more like Samara when he was first born, but Colby had noticed that he seemed to look more and more like Luke by the day. It was just too much for him to handle lately. He really missed Luke, the only other best friend he’d ever really had, besides Emma.

  Opening his dresser drawer, Colby pulled his keepsake box out and began to go through its contents. He had filled it up with items that reminded him of Luke over the past few months. There were some Pokémon trading cards and pogs, which the two of them had played with when they were younger. He’d also put a Dave Matthews album in there, which was a band Luke had loved. He figured that listening to it would bring back Luke’s memory.

  Colby picked up a puka shell necklace and put it around his neck. He bought it when they’d visited the beaches in the Carolinas when they were kids.

  A single tear trickled down his cheek as he remembered everything they’d done on that trip. They’d gone jet-skiing and snorkeling, and built more than a few sandcastles. They’d both said it had been the best trip of their lives.

  As much as he tried to pretend that he was okay most of the time, Luke’s death had hit him really hard—way harder than his dad’s ever had.