The Vampire's Bat (6 page)

Ryker wiggled happily in his seat. “Yes. We have five
cameras now, working perfectly, around the house and garage, and Friday we
received three more cameras, which I’ve put aside to place today. Tom said he’d
help, if that’s
good
with you.”

“That’s great news, Rye. I trust your judgment. Tom’s
a good man, and I’m glad he can help. I have no problems with it,”
Alphy
answered.

Ryker’s skin darkened with his delight at the praise.
“Thank you. Also, the plans for the purchase and set-up for the communication
and jamming stations have been completed and are ready for you to look over and
approve,” Ryker added.

“Good, bring it by when you get a chance. Speaking of
Tom, most of you know that he’s our pack’s accountant. He reported to me just
this morning that some stock that he invested in is doing excellently. I have
given him an allotted amount from our pack account to use for investing. He’s
not allowed more than that, but whatever he earns from it, he’s allowed to
continue to use. He’s pretty good at investing, so I’ve allowed him to take
half of what’s in my personal account to invest it. You might want to think
about letting him invest some of yours as well.

“Nix, how are the plans for the airstrip going? Is
everything in place for the treehouse construction crews tomorrow?”

“Yes, sir.
Bronya’s
doing final measurements and things with her
parents today before they head back to Toronto.”

“Good to hear.
Now, the news
said this morning that the storm set to hit us later tonight will be a big one.
I want everyone to make sure everything is secure and emergency kits are fully
stocked.
Does anyone else have anything further to report?” With a look
around the room, Sea could see everyone shaking their heads. “
Well
then. Sea, the floor is yours.”

Seamus was sitting close to
Maysa
.
He had one arm resting on the back of her chair. With the attention now turned
on them, and knowing how difficult the story was for her to relive, he used his
other hand to reach for hers, and all-around squeezed her reassuringly. “Okay,
Maysa
, go ahead and tell them what you told me last night.”
He kept his presence supportive as she recounted to the group what had
happened. Everyone responded appropriately to the various parts of her account.

When she mentioned the name of the company involved,
Neto
sat up and asked, “
Phenocorps
?
That’s what they called the company?”

Maysa
dipped her head in the affirmative. “I know on paper it’s a bigger name, but I
really didn’t get a good look at the papers, but in conversation they called it
Phenocorps
. The only time I viewed the full name was
when the researchers came to our lab right before the abductions.”

“Do you know it,
Neto
?”
Alphy
asked.

“Maybe.
The company my father was mixed up in is called
Phenopharmatherian
.
If you shorten it, you get…”

“
Phenocorps
,” Seamus
finished. “Oh shit. I know of them. When I was in the military, our hospital
unit started getting experimental drugs to help our shifter troops. We weren’t
supposed to officially know where it came from since the company was supposed
to be secret. That isn’t suspicious for us because many paranormals have to
hide in plain sight.”

Gale piped up. “Like the investigative agency
Alphy’s
trying to put together?”

Seamus nodded.
“That’s
right. Many paranormal companies have to look the same as the humans when they
are side by side, and many of them do cater to humans as well as paranormals,
but there are some companies that cater strictly to paranormals
.
” Everyone else in the room knew, but he didn’t mind
answering her. He looked back around the room. “We were given instructions on
what kind of patients to use it on and were supposed to record the effects.
This was done with the shifter’s permission so it didn’t come across as
anything suspicious.”

Enzo looked to the bison shifter and asked, “
Neto
, you said the paperwork indicated it was an illegitimate
company?”

“Yes, but it’s been over two and a half decades since
I last saw, so they could be legit now.”

“Not likely, that is to say, if they are experimenting
on shifters against their will. There’s no way—” Seamus stopped, his words
sticking in his throat.

“What is it, Sea?”
Alphy
asked. His face was etched with concern.

Seamus found it difficult to just come right out and
say it. “What were those papers you sent with Slate, the day he got attacked in
Toronto?”

Alphy
groaned. “Fuck. That explains Councilman Daily’s involvement.”

“What papers? I don’t get it.” Gale said.

Councilman Tyler explained. “It isn’t
our
papers exactly that
we
sent that Seamus was pointing out, it
was what they were for. Whenever anyone wants to start a company, you need a license
or some kind of permit. Whenever a paranormal wants to start a company, they
need the human licenses
and
approval
from your specific council. All paranormals are governed by two councils, the
shifter council, and the vampire council. No matter what they are, they are
governed by one of those two. Since this is a mixed pack of paranormals, and is
going to employ both kinds, he had to send in paperwork to both the shifter and
the vampire councils on top of human approval. What Seamus just brought attention
to is Councilman Daily’s involvement. No council would approve of any company
that experimented on paranormal without the paranormals’ approval. I will add
that even with their approvals there are strict mandates.”

“I can’t see Councilman Daily getting away with
approving the company. It takes several signatures and inspections,” Gavin
said.

“Actually,” Tyler answered, “to get approval, you
would need the signatures of two council members, and the signature of the head
of council. I will have to confirm with our ally but…”

“That means Councilman Daily has at least one other
councilmember in his pocket in addition to the head councilman,”
Alphy
growled out.

The room was silent with heavy tension.
“So, then, just another day at the office for us, right?”
Kace
said. With his quip, the tension broke slightly.

“
Maysa
, if I showed you a
map, perhaps Google Maps, would you be able to, even roughly, show us where the
building is?”
Alphy
asked.

“I think so. I’ve been thinking really hard try to
remember as many details as I can.”

Seamus cut in. “Don’t forget about the hunter that
they sent after her.”

Alphy’s
brows rose. “That’s
right,
we didn’t get that
information yet. What can you tell us about him?”

“His name is Scott Castro. He’s horrible. At first I
thought I had a micro tracker or something in me, but there were a few times I
think I really lost him for a little bit, but no longer than a couple of days.
I heard him complain once that none of his marks had ever eluded him this long
before. He sounded irate. He vowed that he wouldn’t be bringing me back alive.
That was the last time I saw him. It was just outside of Toronto.”

“Got it.”
Ryker bounced in his seat
as he stared at the screen
of his laptop
. “He’s got a
huge
record. He’s wanted by authorities in several states for several accounts of
assault, aggravated assault, violating a restraining order, and loads of other
things including poaching.” Ryker slowly scrolled his mouse down the page.
“Yuck, he’s a sicko. He’s a pedophile, and the animals he poached he tortured
before he killed. How on Earth did he get across the border into Canada?”

“Doesn’t matter.
It just means when I kill him, no one will miss him,”
Seamus said through his clenched teeth. As soon as he said it, he immediately
worried he’d scared his beloved.
No, I
can’t call her my beloved. I don’t know if she is.
But when he looked at
her, she actually looked more relaxed or relieved.

“I’m totally right there with
ya
,
Sea.”
Kace
said. He lifted his fist halfway into the
air.

“Me, too,” Nix added.

“As
he’s
planning
her
demise, little does he
know
we
are planning
his
.
That’s karma
for
ya
.” Ryker snickered. “It always comes back
tenfold … or … uh, how many of us are there now?” Ryker looked around as if
counting.

“Don’t forget to count Stelios and Bogdan,”
Kace
added with a chuckle.

“I think we shouldn’t underestimate him, though,”
Alphy
said
grimly
. “Make
sure you are in groups of two until he can be found and eliminated.”

Tyler gently asked, “
Maysa
,
did you hear them talk about, or see any other kinds of paranormals? Do they
know about vampires or fairies?”

“Fairies?
There’s fairies
?” Gale blurted. Tyler gave her a gentle, but
pointed look. “Oh! Right, sorry, I’ll shut up.”

“No, I didn’t see or hear anything to indicate they
knew anything beyond shifters,”
Maysa
answered with
confidence.

“That might be something at least,”
Neto
said. “It sounds like maybe the councilman is willing
to sell out his own kind, but knows if he went after anything else that it
would be a nasty battle.”

“Question.”
Henry raised his hand slightly into the air. “Where does the S.I.S. come in to
this?”

“Matteo?”
Alphy
turned to him.

Matteo shook his head. “It’s tricky to investigate
without compromising paranormals. I’m still looking into it, but it’s slow. I
think I’m close to some answers though. I have friends in the CIA who are
helping. We are starting to believe the S.I.S. might not officially know about
us and that there is only one department that knows. But how far up the ladder
it goes, is still uncertain and how much they know, is uncertain.”

“Keep on it, Matteo. I want that to be your only
focus,”
Alphy
ordered.

Tyler leaned back into his chair. “I think I’m going
to head into the council today, instead of tomorrow, to see what I can come up
with. If I wait until tomorrow, I’ll be swamped with my day-to-day work. And
since I’ve been away for so long, I’m sure my assistant will be merciless.”

Alphy
turned to Slate. “Slate, I want you and Ryker’s team to work with me on
devising a break-in and out. Sorry, Tyler, but there’s no way I’m going to sit
back and wait for all the bureaucratic tape to clear before getting those
shifters out of there.”

“Nor would I expect you to. I’m with you on that,”
Tyler answered assertively.

Alphy
dismissed the men as the meeting came to an end. As the men started to head
out, Gale patted
Maysa
on the leg. “Don’t worry,
Maysa
. We’ll get your family and those others out of there.
And don’t feel guilty for leaving them. Everything worked itself out the way it
was meant to be. If you need anything, or even if you just want to talk, you
can come to me.”

Alphy
stood up. “I’ll be back in a little bit with those maps.” After having had said
that, Gale stood and let her mate lead her out the door and down the stairs.
Soon, the apartment was silent.

Seamus felt his beloved start to shake.
Damn it! I keep calling her that and I
shouldn’t
. He berated himself for letting his thoughts slip, but on
impulse, he couldn’t stop leaning his head down to run the tip of his nose over
part of the shell of her ear. A shudder quaked through her body, and Seamus
smelt her desire. His dick started to fill. He nuzzled her hairline around her
ear and let his lips graze across her ear.

Maysa’s
breathing sped up, and Seamus could sense her blood pumping fast through her
veins, and knew it was filled with the sweet taste of desire. His mouth began
to water, and his fangs ached, craving to sink into her vein so he could taste
her. Without thinking what he was doing, he gently dropped soft kisses down her
long neck until he reached the apex where her shoulder met. He pressed his
tongue against the spot he intended to drink from, letting her salty feminine
flavors fill his senses. Suddenly
Maysa
shot up and
stumbled away from him.

Alarmed and surprised, Seamus leaped up and looked around.
His eyes turned red, and he felt his nails lengthen. Looking around, he didn’t
see any threat, but when he looked back at
Maysa
, she
was on the floor against the portable x-ray machine, crying into her hands.