Trey listened as Samantha’s soft tones filled his ear, once again a little stunned at how his body reacted to the mere sound of her voice. But then he forced himself to focus on her words, a little worried when she started talking about stumbling onto something big that she needed to talk to him about. The fact that she asked him to call the minute he got a chance had his heart rate spiking.
But when he called her back, the phone ended up going to her voicemail. “I got your message, but I guess you’re busy with something.” he said after the beep, telling himself there was nothing to worry about. If Samantha had been in trouble, she would have said so in the message. “I have no idea when I’m getting done tonight, so I was thinking about heading to your apartment later. I know we talked about you coming to my place instead, but that might have to wait. Call or text me to let me know you got this and that you’re cool with me dropping by, even if it’s late.”
He almost screwed up and said the L-word right there at the end but bit his tongue in time. Samantha hadn’t said it, so he needed to chill out and let this thing develop in its own time. She might feel the soul-mate connection happening, but he couldn’t expect her to understand the feeling yet.
Shoving his phone back in his pocket, Trey turned his attention to Connor’s laptop to see a woman with long, blue hair on the screen. Okay, that wasn’t a look he expected from a covert federal organization.
“My name is Davina De Merci. I’m a consultant for STAT,” she was saying. “Sorry for the short-notice call, but we finally got a hit on the creature that has been leaving those desiccated bodies out there and thought you’d want to know right away.”
Trey almost laughed. “Having personally gotten my ass handed to me by this thing, I think I can answer for everyone when I say that yes, we’d like to know what we’re up against.”
Davina smiled. “If it helps, it was your accurate description of the creature that finally helped us identify her. If not for that, we’d still be looking.”
“Well, since I can’t help but see the creature’s face every time I close my eyes, it’s not like I’ll ever be able to forget what she looks like,” he said dryly. “So, what is this thing we’re dealing with?”
“The creature is called avita lamia, which in Latin is roughly translated as life vampire.” Davina said, leaning in closer to her laptop camera. “They’re believed to be even older than their traditional vampire cousins who survive on blood. They are also extremely rare, which is part of the reason it took me a bit to figure out what you’re dealing with. A lot of smart people out there insist the vita lamia are nothing more than fairy tales.”
When Trey and the other members of his pack stood there staring at the screen, Davina apparently figured out she was rambling and pulled up with an embarrassed expression.
“So, right…vita lamia,” she picked up again. “As the name implies, they survive on the life force of other living entities. It doesn’t necessarily have to be human life, but apparently, we taste the best and provide the most nutrients.”
“Yay for humans, I guess,” Connor said. “If these things suck the life out of their victims, why haven’t we found more desiccated corpses like these last three?”
Davina shrugged. “Well, like I mentioned, these creatures are extremely rare. There are likely no more than two or three in the entire northern hemisphere. For another, according to the material I was able to find, most vitas survive by taking tiny amounts of life force through casual contact, like a handshake, a hug, or a kiss, even a light touch on the arm is enough. It’s not dangerous, and the person being fed on never realizes it. In fact, they don’t feel anything beyond a slight bit of exhaustion.”
Trevor frowned. “If these creatures normally nibble instead of gorge themselves as a way to avoid detection, why is this one draining people dry? Is she trying to get herself noticed?”
“All I can assume is that this woman is either newly created or untrained,” Davina said. “And before you ask, I don’t know a thing about either of those subjects when it comes to a vita. It’s also possible she’s simply become addicted to the life force she consumes. This happens with regular vampires sometimes. They develop a bloodlust and can’t stop themselves anymore.”
“Okay, let’s assume we’re dealing with a vita with impulse control issues,” Trey said. “How do we take her down? When I fought her, the wounds healed almost instantly. If vitas are related to traditional vampires, does that mean they have the same weakness? Will our werewolf life force be like acid to them?”
Davina shook her head. “I have no idea. But considering how completely different vitas and traditional vampires are, I don’t think I’d wager my life on the idea that a werewolf’s life force would be toxic to this one in the same way your blood is toxic to vampires. It’s been my experience that most creatures are rather fond of their heads and their hearts. Go for those first, and if that doesn’t work, good luck. Either way, let me know how this turns out. I’d love to be able to add more details to my library on these creatures.”
It was Trey’s turn to frown. “That’s it? No other advice to give on how to deal with this creature that nearly killed me the first time it touched me?”
Davina gave him a small smile before shrugging. “If she nearly killed you the first time she touched you, then maybe next time, don’t let her touch you.”
Before Trey had a chance to say something snarky in reply, Davina reached out to turn off the connection, leaving the four of them standing there on the top level of the parking garage, feeling no better off than when they’d started.
***
“I’m sure I’ve seen the woman you’re looking for around here several times,” the cocktail waitress said while the manager and a member of the club’s security staff shuffled through endless file folders on the computer, looking for video clips from the Sunday before last. “She only comes in on the weekends, usually late in the evening, close to last call. She’s definitely a one-night stand kind of woman. I saw her dancing with Ramiro, and let me tell you, they were getting friendly real fast.”
Trey and Connor had gone back to the club with Trevor and Hale, since the one they’d been at earlier had been a complete bust. The waitress Trevor had mentioned was still there and had introduced them to her manager. While she seemed extremely confident about seeing Cordova and their soul-sucker suspect, the manager did his best to lower expectations, pointing out that the club had thirty different security cameras. Even if Trey and the others only focused on the last hour or two of the night in question, that was still going to be a lot of video footage to go through.
Once they got to the right video files, the manager and security guy gave them a quick tutorial on how to operate the equipment, leaving shortly after that. There were only three chairs available in the security room, so Trevor and Hale took the first shift, sitting down with the cocktail waitress in front of the monitor, trying to jog her memory about where exactly she might have seen their suspect to give them a place to start.
Connor motioned Trey to the far side of the small room, the expression on his friend’s face making it obvious he wanted to have some privacy. Of course, that only meant that the waitress wouldn’t be able to hear them. Trevor and Hale could hear every word.
“Did you get a chance to talk to Samantha yet about the soul-mate thing?” Connor asked softly. “I mean, since you two have finally slept together, I thought maybe you’d told her. And gotten her to agree not to out the Pack.”
Trey glanced at Trevor and Hale, who were trying way too hard to make it seem like they weren’t eavesdropping. He shrugged. “I meant to talk to her about it afterward, but then you called telling me to get my ass to the Cedar Ridge Preserve. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her since.”
“But what about earlier today?” Connor frowned. “I thought you went to her office specifically to talk to her about beingThe One?”
Trey grimaced. “That was the plan, but then her boss walked in and the moment was gone. We’re getting together later tonight, so I’m hoping it’ll be the right time then.”
Connor muttered a curse under his breath. “Are you serious? How many times have we seen this blow up in our pack mates’ faces? There’s never a right time for something like this, only the wrong time, which tends to be after everything goes to hell and Samantha is running away from you in terror or spilling everything she knows to anyone who will listen. You need to just come out and tell her the truth, Trey. Before it’s too late.”
