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members to be angry with Declan by filling them in on the real truth. She made up the first excuse that came to her mind. “He’s just going through some family stuff, and his great-aunt”—she started to say that his great-aunt had died, but then she realized that her pack members might send him their condolences, so she quickly changed it to—“decided to move to Boston, so he’s helping her out with the move.” She hoped that no one in the pack would say anything about that. The truth was, she didn’t even know if Declan had a great-aunt.
    “I hope everything’s okay otherwise,” Seth murmured, and Samara knew that what she had said worried her brother. Seth had gotten close to both Declan and his father while he had lived at their house when he was a part of the Vyka pack and Samara had chosen to be an Ima, which had forbade them fr om living under the same roof.
    “Everything’s going to be fine,” Samara replied. She was beginning to feel guilty about lying to her pack, so she quickly changed the subject. “So, the decision has been made. We’re going to let Josh stay in jail, at least for a little while longer. Not all of us agree with this decision, but it’s what he said he wants. Now, let’s move on to the next important matter of business. We’re going to the Catskills to find the coroner who did my grandfather’s autopsy, just like we talked about last night. We need answers, and we’re going to get them.”
    Kyana’s almond-shaped brown eyes widened with c uriosity. “When are we going?”
    “Right now,” Samara replied. “Let’s go.”

     
     
     
     
    Chapter 5
     
    The drive to the Catskills was long and boring. Samara spent most of the time listening to the Katy Perry CD that she had brought along for the ride—all the while trying not to remind herself that Declan was the one who had bought it for her birthday present. She also tried not to think about the fact that the diamond-encrusted star pendant, which she wore underneath her sweatshirt, had also been a gift from Declan—a private gift, which he hadn’t wanted Luke to see. Even though it felt wrong for her to wear it in a way—wrong because she knew that Luke wouldn’t be happy if he knew where it had come from—Samara recalled that Declan had wanted her to wear it, even after he was gone. He’d said that he wanted to give her something speci al for her to remember him by.
    She would wear it forever, but she would hope that Luke would never find out where it had come from. As horrible as she felt about keeping it a secret from him, she also knew that it was easier that way. Luke would be hurt if he knew the truth, an d she didn’t want to hurt him.
    “Twenty-two . . . twenty-three . . . twenty-four,” Emma counted aloud from the backseat of the car.
    “What are you counting? And aren’t you hot in that outfit?” Samara asked, glancing over her shoulder at Emma, who was donning a hot pink puff coat with a furry grey hood, cheetah print UGG boots, and a lime green scarf. Considering werewolves had elevated body temperatures, there was really no need f or those clothing items at all.
    “Pain is beauty, Sam,” Emma replied with an eye roll. “You should try it sometime. It might things a little less . . . boring,” she said, eyeing Samara’s ensemble, which was nothing more than a maroon sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers. “And I’m counting the number of deer I’ve seen since we’ve been in the Catskills. There’s nothing else for me to do back here. Colby’s been snoring most of the way.”
    “I have not!” Colby insisted, as he sat up with awareness. Samara was pretty sure that she had, in fact, heard him snoring only moments before. Colby glanced out the window and said, “You know a lot of wolves I’ve talked to have claimed that they’ve seen m ountain lions up here before.”
    “Yeah, I’ve heard that about Pennsylvania before, too, but I’ve personally never seen one,” Luke chimed in from