Carter exchanged looks with Hale and Knox, the implications of Trey’s words too mind-boggling to comprehend. Who the hell would steal stuff like that? And why?
“Does Samantha or her sister know if your samples were stolen?” Knox asked.
Trey shook his head. “Nothing concrete. The warehouse is a mess and the investigators from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality are going through everything box by box, checking sample tracking numbers against hundreds of shipping manifests. It could take weeks before Samantha knows anything for sure.”
“So, Samantha might be freaking for no reason at all,” Hale said. “Regardless, I think you should tell Gage. He might know some people in the environmental office who can check it out for us. Until we know more, I don’t think we should freak out. Chances are your DNA samples are lost in the pile somewhere.”
Carter hoped they got that lucky. The thought of how screwed the Pack would be if those DNA samples got into the wrong hands was something he didn’t want to consider. Hell, it could be bad for the entire supernatural world.
Before he could say as much, the door to the suite opened. A petite woman with long, straight, cobalt blue hair and lavender eyes walked in. A fit-looking guy with long brown hair and a leather jacket followed and closed the door.
Knox introduced Lydia and Kamden, explaining why Karissa wasn’t there. It wasn’t until they were all seated that Carter realized Kamden’s scent was a little off. Unique didn’t come close to what he was picking up on at the moment. Kamden smelled like a dozen different scents blended together in a bewildering mishmash that almost made Carter dizzy when he focused on it too long. He was tempted to ask why the guy’s scent was so odd but held back. That question would probably come off as rude.
“How did the appointment with the doctor go?” Knox asked.
“It went well.” Lydia glanced at Kamden. “We didn’t go see a doctor, though.”
Carter frowned. “I thought you guys were in town for some kind of medical treatment?”
“We are,” Kamden said. “But doctors can’t help with my particular problem.”
“I hesitate to ask, but what kind of problem are we talking about here?” Hale asked.
Kamden hesitated, glancing over at Lydia, who took his hand and gave him an encouraging nod.
“I’ve looked like this physically for five years and can already feel that I’m getting close to needing to change,” Kamden said, motioning to himself. “I won’t go into the gory details, but I can say that the process of changing what I look like is beyond abhorrent. More important than not wanting to go through it again is the fact that I like this body. It’s the one I met Lydia in and the one she fell in love with. I don’t want to put her through the pain of having to fall in love with the physical appearance of someone else. That’s not fair to her and I refuse to do it anymore. We’re in Dallas to meet with someone who can keep me in this body permanently so I’ll never have to skinwalk again.”
Carter didn’t realize skinwalkers could only assume someone’s appearance for a limited time. That had to suck. “Is that possible?”
“As a witch, I’d normally tell you that what Kamden is suggesting isn’t possible at all,” Lydia said. “The amount of power it would take to pull off something like this is staggering to comprehend and way beyond anything I could do. Neither could my mother. Hell, not even a coven of witches could do it. However, Kat is strong enough to do it.”
Carter couldn’t disagree with that. While Kat Davenport had been an unofficial member of the Pack for almost a year, she hadn’t officially turned into Connor Malone’s soul mate until September. In the process of dealing with a vicious warlock who wanted to make Kat into his familiar in a bloody ritual, she’d accidentally gained control of a set of ley lines that covered damn near the entire southwestern part of the country. Now, she had access to a tremendous reserve of magical power.
“Did Kat think she’d be able to help you?” Carter asked.
“She wasn’t sure,” Lydia said, clearly worried while Kamden seemed much more optimistic, if the expression on his face was any indication. “If it was simply a matter of strength, I have no doubt this would be a piece of cake for her, but no one has ever attempted anything like this. We’re asking her to remove everything that makes Kamden a skinwalker, while leaving everything else completely intact. It’s a big ask and more than a little risky.”
Beside Lydia, her boyfriend scowled. “I don’t care how risky it is. I already told you I’ll do anything to stay with you—in this body.”
Lydia frowned at her boyfriend, clearly annoyed at what she probably took to be his cavalier attitude to the danger he faced. To be honest, Carter could completely understand where Kamden was coming from. The man had a woman he loved and was willing to risk anything to be with her. On the other hand, Carter could also see her perspective as well. She wanted to be with Kamden, no matter what he looked like. It was a screwed situation.
“Has your mom come up with any more information on this guy who’s supposedly after Kamden?” Knox asked before the couple could get into what was sure to be an argument.
Lydia sighed. “No, nothing new, beyond getting confirmation that someone is definitely in Dallas to specifically hurt Kamden.”
“And we still don’t know if this is someone with a personal beef against Kamden or someone out to get any skinwalker he can find?” Trey asked. “Is it possible it’s someone out to hurt you, Lydia, by hurting your boyfriend?”
She gave Kamden a concerned look. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I hate to add to the confusion, but there is another possibility,” Carter said. “What if someone found out about what Kamden is trying to do? We could be looking at another skinwalker who’s pissed that you don’t want to be one anymore. Like you’ve offended your kind or something.”
“Regardless of who it is, from now on, Lydia and Kamden will have at least one werewolf with them at all times, no matter where they go.”
“Sounds good. I’d appreciate if you don’t need me tonight, though,” Carter said. “Hadley has a profiling interview with a serial killer at Coffield and I’d like to be available if she needs to talk to someone.”
Knox had no problem with that and within a few minutes, Carter was heading back to his apartment, hoping that Hadley did call.
CHAPTER EIGHT
