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

Emma glanced down at her watch for about the tenth time since she’d gotten there. It was already ten minutes after six. A part of her couldn’t help but worry that maybe her stepdad was standing her up. Maybe he’d thought more about what they’d agreed on, and he’d decided that it wasn’t a good idea anymore.

  Hell, even Emma wasn’t sure if it was the best idea in the world, but she wanted to at least give it a try. Because if there was a chance—no matter how small—that her mom might agree to become a werewolf, she was willing to take it. The truth was, she really missed her mom—and more than anything else, she wanted her mom to be there when the baby that she was probably having was born.

  Just as she was about ready to leave, she saw Gary walking towards her. Just like when he was in his wolf form, she could see that he’d lost a lot of weight. His clothes were also raggedy and his hair had grown out to a fairly long length, but it was definitely him.

  As he approached her, he said, “Are you ready to do this?”

  Emma gulped, suddenly beginning to feel nervous. “I-I don’t think so. . .”

  Gary glanced over at her sharply. “Do you mean to tell me that you talked me into doing this, but now you’re going to back out on me?”

  “I . . . No, I just have a lot of other stuff on my mind,” Emma stammered. “I’m fine.”

  “Good. Because I want you to be the one to ask her to go through with this.”

  “But I don’t wanna ask,” she protested. “Why can’t you ask?”

  “It was your crazy idea.” Gary shrugged. “Do you want her to become a werewolf or not?”

  Emma put her hands on her hips. “Do you want her to become a werewolf?” she asked in a hushed voice, hoping that the neighbors wouldn’t overhear their conversation.

  “No, I would never choose this life for her,” Gary replied, but as he said the words, a loud humming sounded in Emma’s ears. It was the same sound she always heard when someone was lying.

  She felt slightly relieved that she hadn’t convinced him into doing something he didn’t want to do, at least. “Yes, you do,” she insisted. “Just admit it, Gary. You miss my mom so much that you know you’d never be able to live happily without her.”

  A look of sadness clouded his eyes. “I can’t deny it, but we need to both remember something before we go into that house.” He paused, licking his lips nervously. “There’s always a chance that your mother will say no.”

  “I know,” Emma replied. She just hoped that wasn’t what would happen. Before she had time to give it any further thought, though, she reached out and rang the doorbell.

  “I’m coming!” her mom called from inside the house.

  Emma glanced over at Gary, noting that the nervousness she felt was mirrored in his eyes.

  When her mom pulled the door open, her eyes fell on Emma first. “Emma? What are you doing here? I don’t think this is such a good idea,” she started to say, just as she glanced over at Gary. She let out a tiny gasp when she noticed the change in his appearance. “Gary?” she squeaked.

  “Dana,” Gary said evenly. “May we come inside?”

  Emma’s mom shook her head. “No. Why should I let you inside my home? And that’s exactly what it is now—my home. You gave up any right to living here when you abandoned me.” She started to close the door in their faces, but Emma held it open.

  “Mom, I think you’ll want to hear what he has to say . . . what we both have to say,” she protested.

  Her mom stared back at her for a few moments and ran a hand through her hair, which was blonder than it used to be. Finally, she sighed. “Fine, you’re both welcome to come inside . . . but only until you explain why you’re here. I have a date in a little over an hour.”

  Gary let out a jealous growl—the type of growling sound a werewolf made when he was jealous over his mate seeing another guy.

  Emma couldn’t help but wonder if, on the off-chance her mom decided to become a wolf, she and Gary were really meant to be. Would they be mated, or would they live as companions for the rest of their lives (assuming they decided to stay together at all)?

  Her mom lead them into the living room where she smoothed out her black dress and then sat down on one of the sofas. “Okay. Why are you both here?”

  Gary glanced over at Emma. “You’re supposed to ask her, Emma.”

  She turned to her mom. “I—I mean, we—have an important question to ask you.”

  Her mom glanced from her to Gary and then back to her, waiting expectantly to hear what she had to say. “Well? What is it?”

  “Will you become a werewolf for us?” Emma managed to ask, her voice little more than a whisper.

  Her mom laughed. “You can’t be serious, Emma. The two of you didn’t come all the way here just to ask me to become a mons—”

  Emma glared at her mom, just as she stopped mid-sentence, deciding not to call them “monsters”, after all.

  “You didn’t really come here because you want me to become like one of you,” her mom tried again. She met Emma’s eyes and then Gary’s again. When she realized that they weren’t just joking or lying, her face paled. “Oh, dear. You really are here to ask me to become a . . . a werewolf, aren’t you?”

  Gary glanced over at Emma with a look in his eyes that said I told you so.

  “Think about it, Mom. The three of us could be a family again,” Emma said, a feeling of hope blooming within her. “You and I could go back to the way things were before, and Gary still wants to be with you—”

  Her mom glanced over at him sharply. “Is that true? You still want to be with me?”

  “Well, damnit, Dana. We were married for thirteen years. It hasn’t been easy for me to go through these changes and be away from you,” Gary replied.

  “Then, why have you been away from me? Why didn’t you ever come back here and tell me that you still wanted to be with me?” Emma’s mom asked, the tears rising to her eyes. She blinked them back. “All this time—all these months or years or however long it’s been—I thought the reason you left was because you didn’t love me anymore.”

  “I’m sorry, Dana. I never meant to hurt you,” Gary replied, glancing down at the ground almost guiltily. “That’s why I’ve stayed away all this time. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t hurt you. I knew that I was stronger than you, and I didn’t want there to be a chance that I could hurt you. Not until I got a handle on all of my emotions and the changes I’ve dealt with.”

  “You say you’re sorry now, but . . . why didn’t you tell me this before?” Emma’s mom shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry, but I think it’s just too late. The damage is already done.” She ran her fingertips underneath her eyes to dry any tears that had managed to slip out before rising to her feet. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to finish getting ready for my date. The two of you may let yourselves out.”

  Without another word, she walked away from them dismissively.

  Gary led Emma out the front door. Once they were standing on the front porch, staring at the sun, which was just starting to set in the evening sky, he turned to her. “I told you this was a bad idea.”

  She shook her head. “It wasn’t a bad idea. It was worth a try. Besides, I don’t think we should give up on her just yet.”

  Her stepdad glanced over at her. “Why not? She’s made it pretty clear that she wants no part of us or our lifestyle.”

  “Because I know my mom better than anyone,” Emma replied. “The key to getting her to say yes to something you want is persistence. Do you remember when I wanted that Coach umbrella? My mom thought it was stupid to spend that much on an umbrella just because it came from Coach, but I asked her every day when I got home from school. Eventually, she ended up giving in.”

  “So, what are you suggesting I do? Come back here and apologize to her every day?” Gary asked, frowning.

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” she replied with a smile. “It will work. I just know it.”

  Except, truthfully, it wasn’t an
other one of her feelings. This time, the only thing that made her cling to the idea that her mother might agree to become a werewolf was hope.

  Chapter 13: Colby

  While Emma went on another one of her walks—shutting Colby out from her thoughts, yet again—he tried to find a way to not worry too much. He hated when they kept things from each other, and it felt like that was all she was doing lately.

  Trying to occupy himself, he turned to Daven, who was playing in his bouncer on the floor. “Aunt Emma is acting odd lately, isn’t she, buddy?” he asked.

  Davenport stared up at him knowingly. Colby was about to make animal noises because it was one of the things he’d found that the baby really seemed to love, but it was obvious from Daven’s eyes, which were fluttering closed, that he was ready for naptime again.

  Emma was right. The baby was sleeping much more than normal lately. Colby wasn’t sure if he should be alarmed about it or not, though.

  After he placed Daven in his crib, he stared at him for a few moments—just long enough to watch him drift off to sleep.

  Then, Colby sat down on the bed and pulled Emma’s diary out of the top drawer of his nightstand. Except, there were even more diaries in various colors and designs. Apparently Emma had been keeping a diary for almost as long as Colby had—and more importantly, she had left them somewhere she knew he would find them. On purpose. He was glad that his mate wanted him to learn so much about her. It was odd to admit, but reading the diary was one of the only things that had comforted him in a while.

  He picked up a glittery orange one, flipped to a random page, and began to read what she had written.

  Dear Diary,

  The party at my house last night totally sucked. I’m not usually the type to get so drunk that I fall down the stairs, but that’s exactly what happened. . .

  Colby smiled, remembering exactly which party Emma was talking about. Even though they’d known each other since they were kids, it was the first time he had ever realized that he had feelings for her.

  *

  Colby still wasn’t sure why he’d agreed to let Luke drag him to the party at Emma’s house. It wasn’t long before Luke had abandoned him to talk to a bunch of girls. That left him alone, standing in the hallway, minding his own business and waiting for the bathroom to open up, when Emma Taylor came tumbling down the stairs behind him. He didn’t see it firsthand, but his best guess was that her gigantic heels had snagged on the carpet, causing her to lose her balance. It was either that, or because she was drunk as a skunk.

  “Ow,” she slurred, sitting up.

  Sometimes, Colby thought that Emma’s drunken moments were just an act to get attention from everyone. He was pretty sure that this wasn’t one of those times, though.

  “Wow, it feels like the room is spinning,” she murmured as she gazed past him. “Nice haircut.”

  Colby shook his head, rolling his eyes. “It’s a hat, Emma. I think you better lay down.”

  He expected her to fight him about it at first, but she nodded in agreement. “I think I’m going to end up falling again if I don’t lie down. Wait, I did just fall . . . right? I’m not imagining it.”

  “Yes, you fell. That’s the reason you’re on the floor,” he explained, helping her up. Glancing around to make sure that no one was watching them, he lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs to her bedroom. He settled her into her bed, wrapping the comforter around her.

  “What do you want me to tell people when they ask where you went?” Colby questioned.

  “I don’t care. Just tell them . . . tell them I went on vacation,” she murmured dreamily.

  He suppressed a smile. “I’ll just tell them you’re not feeling so great so they should all leave, okay?”

  “Okay,” Emma agreed. Just as he was about to turn off the light, she asked, “Colby Jack?”

  He glanced over his shoulder at her. She had her cover pulled up to her neck and she was staring at him. “When you’re done letting everyone know they need to go home, can you come back?”

  “Come back here?” he asked, confused.

  She nodded. “I want you to stay with me. I don’t want to be alone.”

  Colby felt his heart thump against his chest. He wasn’t supposed to feel this way about anyone besides his mate, and there was no way Emma was his mate. Aside from the fact that she wasn’t a werewolf and he couldn’t hear her thoughts, he’d already been given a mate. Now that Meagan was gone, he would never have a second mate.

  But that didn’t mean that the butterflies that filled his stomach weren’t real, either.

  “Okay,” he told her. “I’ll be back.”

  *

  The next morning, Colby woke up and found Emma’s head pressed against his bare chest and her arm wrapped around his waist. He couldn’t help but smile. It was hard to believe that the most beautiful girl in school would wake up next to him.

  Just as quickly as the idea crossed his mind, though, he realized that it was probably an accident. There was no way Emma Taylor, who had made fun of him for so many years, would knowingly sleep this way with him.

  No, she definitely had no idea that she was even touching him in her sleep and, as much as he enjoyed it, Colby didn’t want her to wake up feeling horrified, either. So, he removed her arm from his waist and got out of bed, careful not to wake her up.

  Luckily, she seemed to be a heavy sleeper.

  Pulling on his shirt, which he’d left on her computer chair the night before, he went downstairs and took in the sight of the rest of the house. When he’d made everyone else leave the night before, he hadn’t even thought about the mess they would leave behind. All he’d been able to think about was the fact that Emma wanted him to stay with her, even though she had already fallen asleep before he’d climbed into bed.

  Colby had no idea when Emma’s parents would get home, but he wanted to make sure that there was no evidence of the party, just in case. The last thing Emma needed after her drunken night was to get in trouble for having a party. So, Colby found a black trash bag in the kitchen and began to stuff all of the beer cans and bottles inside, the glass and aluminum clanking together loudly as he filled the bag up.

  About an hour later, Emma strolled into the living room, her blonde hair a disheveled mess. Her eyes were puffy and she hadn’t bothered to wash off her makeup from the night before, but she had managed to change out of the jeans and t-shirt she’d gone to sleep in and into a tank top and short shorts.

  Colby tried to force himself not to stare at her bare legs, but it was incredibly hard.

  “What are you still doing here, Colby Jack?” Emma asked, puzzled. “Everyone else went home already.”

  “You asked me to stay here with you last night? Don’t you remember?” Even as he said the words, though, a horrible sinking feeling filled his stomach.

  “I asked you to stay here with me?” The disbelief was written all over her face.

  “Yeah . . . you did.” Colby felt like a moron. She must not have meant to ask him to stay the night with her. In her drunken state, she probably had even thought he was someone else . . . although he distinctly remembered her calling him Colby Jack. Still, Emma didn’t even want to be seen talking to someone with his low social status; why would he think that she would ask him to stay with her?

  God, he was so dumb.

  Emma seemed to consider it for a moment before shrugging. “Well, if you say I did, then I guess I must have. But I think I maybe drank too much last night.” She eyed him curiously. “We didn’t have sex . . . did we?”

  Colby shook his head, not glancing over at her to see the look of relief that had surely crossed her face. “No, but you’re right. You did get really drunk. In fact, drunk is probably an understatement. You should really be careful next time, Emma. You’ve probably never considered this, but . . . alcohol poisoning can and does happen. I would hate to see anything like that happen to you.”

  Emma smiled at him sweetly. “I appreci
ate your concern, Colby Jack, but I’ll be fine.” She looked like she was about to make a snarky remark, but she covered her mouth like she was about to vomit. “Thanks for cleaning up. You can let yourself out,” she managed to mumble before making a mad dash for the bathroom.

  Colby heard the sound of her retching loudly, which made him grimace. He might have been a werewolf, but there was still nothing grosser than the sound of someone puking a room away from you. He wondered if he should stay there with Emma, but she’d made it pretty clear that she wanted him to leave. He didn’t want to push his limits, so he tied the black garbage bag and took it out the front door with him, hoping that she’d be okay.

  *

  At school on Monday morning, Colby thought about skipping his art class. He suddenly felt embarrassed about what had happened on Saturday night. Clearly, he had gotten overly excited about spending the night with someone who wanted no part of him. It made him feel foolish, and he wondered if Emma had already started spreading rumors around school about him.

  He was still wondering about it when Emma walked into the classroom. She didn’t look any better than she had on Sunday morning. In fact, Colby couldn’t help but wonder if she’d drank more after he’d left, or if it really just took her that long to shake off a hangover.

  Whatever the case was, she groaned loudly as she took a seat across from him. She slumped over, pressing her forehead against the cool surface of the art table.

  Colby blinked, trying to process it. Emma was sitting at his table . . . in front of everyone. And it didn’t even seem like it bothered her.

  He knew that it was probably just a one-time thing, though—probably because she was still drunk or hung-over, or whatever. He tried not to get his hopes up over it.

  *

  The next day, though, when Colby got to art class, he found that Emma was sitting in the same seat. His table was otherwise empty; there were no cool football players or cheerleader types that she could want to sit there for.