The werewolf was so shocked he didn't think about going through the change. "Where the f**k did you come from?" he hissed at me instead. That hiss would have done any vampire proud.
"I was mist," I said. "But that's not important right now. There's a predator out there, and we need to find it. Don't you find it interesting that at first single individuals were disappearing, and now they're disappearing by twos?"
"What the hell are you?" The werewolf demanded. He had red in his dark-brown hair, which curled crisply around his collar. His light-brown eyes and finely shaped mouth frowned at me—he was still trying to determine what I was. I'd guess he was a russet colored wolf when he changed.
"Somebody who knows what you are and that you undoubtedly scented the stench around the vehicle. Do they still have the paranormal division of the FBI, or are you completely undercover?" I asked.
"They still have it and how the hell do you know about that?" I had his curiosity raised, I could tell.
"I knew the guy who started it," I shrugged.
"That was a while back," he huffed and then turned to face me, shock in his eyes. "Tell me what you are," he demanded.
"Something you may never see again," I said. "I'm a Vampire Queen. What does that tell you?"
"I heard that was next to impossible," he turned away from me and stared out the tinted window of his vehicle. "I can't get a scent off you. Why is that?"
"No idea, but ever since I came back from the dead, some people seem to have a problem with that."
"Why do you think two are disappearing now, instead of one?" He was back to a previous question, and I could see he was worried about the increase in victims, just as I was.
"I think that whatever is preying on these people—and cattle—is getting hungrier, somehow." The werewolf growled softly as he jerked his head in a quick nod at my words. He suspected, as did I that all these people were dead— that they'd been consumed in some way.
"It's not a vampire," he muttered, staring through the windshield at the ocean beyond.
"Yeah. I get that too," I said.
"Did the Council send you? I didn't hear anything from our vamp agents."
"The Council sort of sent me—they asked for my help," I replied. "I'm different from other vamps; that's why we're having this conversation in daylight."
"I already figured that out," he said, sarcasm coming through in his voice. I deserved that, so I didn't say anything. "So, what now?" he asked when I remained silent. Light-brown eyes assessed me, determining whether I might be a help or hindrance to him.
"After lunch and a nap since I was up late last night, I may travel up the coast and see what else I can find."
"Take this," he handed a card to me. "Call me if you find anything, all right?"
"Are you going to report me to anybody?" I asked, flipping the thin, plastic card in my fingers. It held a name and phone number only.
"Not yet. Don't give me any reason."
"Oh, don't you worry about that," I said and misted away.
The restaurant near the water had great clam chowder. The bowl was almost empty when I pulled the werewolf's card from my pocket. Joshua Billings was his name, and he was listed as a special agent for the FBI. I tucked the card into my jacket pocket again and paid for my meal. The temperature outside was in the low sixties with heavy cloud cover coming in over the course of the afternoon, whereas the morning had been bright and sunny. After misting from the ladies' restroom to the safe house, I turned on the latest version of what passed for television and watched a national news program until I fell asleep on the sofa.
* * *
Gavin stood over the little Queen, thinking it would only take a quick swipe with his claws and she'd be ash. He breathed a frustrated sigh and moved into the kitchen, pulling a bottle of blood substitute from the pantry. He twisted the cap off and drank, waiting for Anthony to finish showering.
* * *
The sound of a bottle cap hitting the bottom of a wastebasket woke me from a deeper sleep than I'd intended. "Geez, what time is it?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes as I sat up on the sofa. I hadn't made my trip up the coast as planned—I'd slept the afternoon away instead.
"After eight," Gavin growled. His temper hadn't improved any with his sleep.
"The cattle disappearances are connected to the people disappearances, Gavin," I said. "And two more are gone; two teenagers as of this morning. They were taken in daylight, so if it's a vampire, it's not any vampire I ever imagined; the stench is unbelievable."
"Hey, Lissa," Tony came out of the bathroom freshly showered and smelling nice. He didn't quite come up to Gavin, but he still smelled good.
"Tony," I nodded to him.
"What's on the agenda for tonight?" Tony asked, getting a bottle of something from the pantry and unscrewing the top.
"What is that stuff?" I asked.
"Blood substitute," Tony said, holding the bottle out to me. I got up and went to sniff it. I can't say I liked the scent, but if it fed them, then I didn't have a problem with that.
"How does it taste?" I asked.
"Not so good, but it's food," Tony said. I nodded my understanding.
"Hurry up, Anthony, I wish to question relatives of the missing," Gavin grumbled. I didn't think that was going to help us out in the least, but I didn't say anything.
We went to see the two women who'd lost their husband and son. "They just went surfing," one of the woman wept as Gavin questioned her. "They left right after lunch on Saturday and never came back. They were only supposed to be gone four or five hours." I handed her extra tissues; she wasn't in any shape to be answering questions like this.
"Did the police find anything—clothing or such?" Gavin asked.
"Their wetsuits were still in the car," the woman wiped away more tears. She looked to be in her early forties to me, and stress and loss had made her normally pretty face haggard. I knew that feeling, all right.
"Were the suits wet or dry?" Gavin asked. That was the question I had so we were on the same wavelength about that, anyway.
"Still dry—they never made it into the water." That told me they were taken in daylight. Gavin knew it, too. He thanked the woman for her time and we left quickly. Gavin was on some sort of communicator as soon as we were inside our rental; the communicator looked like a tiny cell phone and Charles was on the other end in seconds.