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CHAPTER 78
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Marked CHAPTER 79
Although I myself had turned into a wolf, I had never seen another wolf before, and had no idea how to react. Oddly enough, I wasn’t afraid. I was intrigued, mesmerized. In fact, as I watched them, I almost felt a strange sort of kinship.While watching, I reached over and placed a hand on Caleb, shaking him.He suddenly sat up beside me, alert. The two of us stared together as the pack came in close, only feet away, sniffing and circling.“Don’t be afraid,” Caleb said softly. “I can feel their thoughts. They are just curious. Remain still.”I sat very still, watching as their leader came up close to me, inches from my face, putting its nose right up to my cheek.Several tense moments followed, as I wondered what to do. My heart was pounding, and I felt like pushing him away. But instead, I followed Caleb’s direction and sat very still.Suddenly, he turned and walked away.As he left, the pack followed.Except for one. A small wolf, a pup, hardly bigger than a small dog, ling
Marked CHAPTER 80
{SAM’S POV}Sam woke in the strange bedroom and looked around. He tried to remember where he was. The bed was comfortable, more comfortable than any he’d slept in in a long time, but he couldn’t remember whose it was, or what he was doing here.Then it came back to him. Samantha.He turned and looked for her, but she was gone. Had this all really happened? Had it all just been a dream?He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and realized he was naked, lying on a mattress with no bedding. His clothes were strewn out on the floor. He was exhausted, but in a great way. He was a changed man. Man was the key word. He woke up feeling like a real man for the first time in his life. He never had a night like that before, and he already guessed that he never would again. She was incredible.Sam jumped to his feet, dressed, and walked around the empty house. He looked out the glass doors, and saw that the day was just breaking. That, too, was crazy. He hadn’t seen the sun rising in he didn’t know how
Marked CHAPTER 81
{SAM’S POV}“Running barefoot is better for the feet,” Samantha lied.She quickly turned and walked into the other room.Surprised at her abrupt departure, Sam wondered if she were avoiding him. Maybe she’d changed her mind. He’d probably screwed it up somehow. Figured. Whenever he found something great, he always screwed it up.Sam followed her into the living room. He needed to clear the air, talk to her.As Sam entered, she was pulling her long, red hair out of her face, tying it in a ponytail. Her cheeks were flushed, and seemed to be getting more filled with color, right in front of him. She must’ve had a really hard run, he thought.“Samantha,” he began hesitantly, “last night was amazing.”She turned and looked at him, and her features softened a bit. She walked slowly to him, placed one hand on his cheek, and kissed him, slowly.Sam’s heart welled up. She wasn’t sick of him. He hadn’t screwed it up. He started to fill with optimism again. He wanted her.But before he
Marked CHAPTER 82
As Caleb and I stood by the railing, looking out at the ocean, the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard blew its horn and began to depart. I looked down and saw the moving water, and was excited. I loved boats. I felt happy, and free. As I watched the waves rising beneath me, I realized that right now I’d probably be sitting in some stupid class, listening to a teacher drone on. I felt like an adult. Independent. The whole world was mine.I looked over at Caleb, expecting to see him also happy, and was surprised to see him looking so nervous. I had never seen him like this.He looked more pale than usual. I wondered if he didn’t like boats, or if maybe he didn’t know how to swim.I reached over and lay a reassuring hand on his. “You okay?”He nodded, and swallowed. He clutched the railing, and looked down at the water as if it were his enemy.“What is it?” I asked.He swallowed.“Water,” he said simply. He gripped the railing harder. “Our kind does not like water. Especially crossing it.
Marked CHAPTER 83
Sam sat in the passenger seat of the BMW as they raced down the interstate. He couldn’t believe it. It all felt like a dream. Here he was, in the passenger seat of a new BMW, racing down the highway, leaning back, with a hot girl by his side. And it was her car, and she was driving—stick. She was hot to begin with, but this made her really hot. He felt like he was in some kind of James Bond movie. Things like this just didn’t happen to him. Girls never even talked to him, and the few times he’d tried to pick them up, it hadn’t gone so well.And things just kept getting better. Not only did she have an awesome house, and a hot pair of wheels, but she, like him, just wanted to take off and go. They both had their windows down, and it was turning out to be a warm March day. Coldplay came on the radio, and Sam reached over and turned it up. He wondered if she’d turn it back down, or change the station. Instead, she reached over and turned it louder. He couldn’t believe it.Sam looked out
Marked CHAPTER 84
Caleb put his around me as the ferry let them off at the dock in Edgartown, a small village in the southeast corner of Martha’s Vineyard. As we walked down the ramp, I noticed that both Caleb and Rose seemed relieved to be on dry land. Rose peeked her head out, and kept it out, sniffing the air, and taking in the view with great curiosity.I held the flyer up once again and stared. I couldn’t believe our luck. It was an advertisement to explore “Historic Martha’s Vineyard,” and there, towards the end of the list of sites, it read: “The Vincent House. Built 1672.”After seeing it, we had decided to change plans, and to go to the Vincent House first, before the Aquinnah Cliffs. After all, that’s what was engraved on the key, and that was a more concrete lead than the cliffs. Maybe we wouldn’t even need to see the cliffs now. At least now we had a specific place to go. And of course, I still held the key in my pocket, holding it close. I slipped one hand into my pocket, feeling the worn
Marked CHAPTER 85
I set Rose down and allowed her to walk beside us. I was happy to see that she was well behaved, keeping pace with us and not wandering off. She ran to a small patch of grass to relieve herself, but then ran right back. I reached down and gave her another small piece of the hotdog, and she ate it happily.We passed a large, historic church, walked alongside a small, white picket fence, and then turned and entered a walkway that led through immaculately kept grounds. The grass was green and vibrant, even this time of year. To one side of us was a magnificent old whaling Church, and to the other was an enormous whaling house from the mid-19th century, with a large veranda in the back. The sign read: “The Daniel Fisher House.” It was the most beautiful house I’d ever seen. I could happily picture myself living there. Strolling through its backyard, with Caleb holding my hand and Rose by my side, it almost felt like we were home.We continued down the walkway another hundred yards or so,
Marked CHAPTER 86
The front door to the house opened, and a large, black man, 50s, stood in the doorway. He took several steps in.He stopped before Caleb and stared.Caleb stared back.“Caleb?” the man finally asked.Caleb’s expression softened.“Roger?” Caleb asked.The man broke into a smile, as did Caleb, and they both embraced in a huge hug. They held it for several seconds.Who is this? I thought.Roger began to laugh—a deep, warm, generous laugh. He held Caleb by the shoulders and looked at him. Caleb was a big man, but even so, Roger towered over him.“Son of a bitch,” Roger said. “I haven’t seen you in what…a hundred and fifty years?”“More like 200,” Caleb said.They both stared at each other, surprised. Whoever he was, this had clearly been an important man in Caleb’s life.Caleb turned, and held his hand out to me. “Excuse my manners,” he said. “Roger, may I introduce Caitlin Paine.”Roger did a half bow. “A pleasure to meet you, Caitlin.”I smiled back. “A pleasure to meet you
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