8. Olivia

I pacedthe living room for what the hundredth time, my gaze flicking to the dark windows. No sign of Sam. He should”ve been home hours ago. My phone lay abandoned on the coffee table, its screen illuminating the silent room every time I checked it, which was about every thirty seconds.

”Sam, where are you?” I muttered, thumbing through our messages again. All sent, none read.

My legs were heavy, every muscle screamed for rest, but worry fueled me. The bar was his usual haunt, his second home almost, but he always texted. Always. With each passing minute, I spun wild scenarios, none of them good.

”His phone better be dead,” I whispered to the empty room. ”Or he better have one hell of an excuse.”

Sighing, I slumped onto the couch, the cushions cold against my skin. My body was a contradiction—exhausted yet tense, craving sleep but refusing to shut down.

”Come on, Sam.” I didn”t know who I was pleading with. The universe, maybe, or just the part of Sam that should have been next to me on this couch.

I closed my eyes, still half-hoping to hear the turn of the lock, his footsteps, his voice apologizing. But silence was a thick blanket, and despite the knot in my stomach, it pulled me under. Sleep took me, begrudgingly, into uneasy dreams.

* * *

Sunlight pried my eyes open,the false calm of morning jarring against the panic that rushed back in an instant. I grabbed my phone. No new messages from Sam. One from Hank though.

Hey Olivia, have you heard from Sam? Didn”t show up for his shift.

”Dammit, Sam.” I tossed the phone on the couch, my fingers twitching. ”Where are you?”

”Luci.” I called out, hoping my dad would appear with some divine insight or at least comfort. No such luck.

With a frustrated breath, I stormed into the kitchen. Mom was flipping pancakes, Sammie perched at the table, syrup already painting his face.

”Mom,” I said, the urgency clear in my voice. ”I can”t find Sam.”

She met my gaze, the spatula pausing mid-air. ”What do you mean?”

”He didn”t come home last night, he”s not answering texts, and now Hank says he missed his shift.”

”Did you check?—”

”No time.” I cut her off, knowing every second mattered. ”I”m going to Ava”s.”

”Be careful,” she called after me as I turned away.

A flick of my wrist and the fabric of space bent to my will. A portal blinked into existence, its edges shimmering with the promise of quick travel. I stepped through without hesitation, the familiar pull tugging at my core, and then I was standing just inside Ava”s house, heart pounding, ready to find answers.

The silence at Ava”s place was eerie. Rushing upstairs, I pounded on her bedroom door until she sleepily called out, ”Come in.”

I barged into the room where Ava and Drew were tangled in sheets. ”Sam”s missing,” I blurted out without preamble. ”He missed his shift last night and never came home.”

”Missing?” Drew asked, instantly alert as he sat up.

”Shit, Liv. Okay, give us a sec,” Ava said, throwing the covers back as they both scrambled out of bed.

I nodded and quickly shut the door behind me, giving them privacy to dress.

Downstairs, I started pacing. The living room felt too big, too empty. ”Luci!” I tried again, louder this time. No response. No mystical father figure swooping in to fix things.

”Damn it,” I muttered, continuing my restless circuit between the couch and the window, waiting for Ava and Drew to join me.

”Luci!” I shouted, my voice laced with desperation. A flash of white darted into the room, golden eyes glaring at me from beneath a fluff of fur.

”Did you really have to yell?” the cat grumbled. ”Some of us were trying to sleep.”

”Sorry, I was trying to reach Luci my dad, not, you know, you,” I said with a snicker. Served the sassy cat right.

Lucy-Fur hissed softly, her tail flicking in annoyance. ”Moron,” she muttered before turning on her heel, or rather, paw, and sauntering out.

The thud of footsteps on the staircase caught my attention, and I turned to see Ava and Drew rushing down. Ava watched Lucy”s departure.

”Lucy leaving? Oh, that reminds me. I need to check on the bat.” Ava headed toward her office, her movements quick and purposeful.

”Bat? I forgot about the bat.” She was already pushing open the door to her office. She came to an abrupt stop, her body rigid. There was a long pause before she echoed back, tinged with surprise. ”Olivia, can you come here please?”

I hurried down the hall. Peering around her, I caught sight of Sam sprawled across the desk. His arm dangled off the side, his fingers inches from the cardboard box that had once housed a bat. Papers and pens lay scattered on the floor, casualties of some nocturnal struggle.

”Sam?” I whispered, stepping closer. He didn”t stir.

Ava stepped back, letting me through. I touched his arm, shaking him gently at first, then with more urgency. ”Sam, wake up.”

His response was sluggish, just a deep sigh as if sleep still clung to him. Without thinking, I slid my wrist near his mouth. That familiar instinct kicked in, his lips parting as he latched onto me. The sensation was always strange, a mix of pain and intimacy that came with being married to a vampire.

”Okay, that”s enough,” I said after a moment, but he didn”t seem to hear. Prodding him hard in the side, I finally got a reaction. His grip loosened, and he blinked up at me, confusion etching his features.

”Where am I? How did I get here?” he asked.

”You”re at Ava”s,” I answered, helping him sit up. ”Do you remember anything?”

He shook his head slowly, rubbing his eyes as he tried to piece together his fragmented memories.

Drew”s large hands curled under Sam”s arms, hoisting him with that easy strength of his. ”Come on, buddy,” he said, helping Sam off the desk and onto his feet. Sam swayed slightly, and Drew steadied him.

”Where”s the bat?” Ava asked, scanning the room.

”Bat?” Sam croaked, his eyes wide. He looked like he”d seen a ghost, or worse.

”Little guy should be in the box,” Ava continued. ”He was last night. I checked on him right before we went to sleep.” She turned to Sam, teasing, ”Don”t tell me you ate it?”

Sam paled. ”No, I...” His voice dropped to a whisper. ”I think I was the bat.”

”What?” The word erupted from Drew, Ava, and me simultaneously, a chorus of disbelief.

Sam”s hand went to his face, dragging down as if to wipe away the absurdity of his own words. He stumbled over to the couch and collapsed into it. I followed, sitting close enough that our sides touched. My hand found his back, tracing small circles through the fabric of his shirt.

”Talk to us,” I urged softly.

”Oh, It”s all coming back to me. Last night, or yesterday, whenever it was for you.”

”Sweetheart, we understand. Your night, our day. What happened?” I encouraged, keeping my voice calm.

He shivered at the memory. ”I started feeling really weird. My whole body itched, then hurt. The itching got so bad... I thought I”d go crazy.” He blinked hard several times, each blink slower than the last. ”And then... I turned into a bat.”

Drew hunched over, his large frame almost engulfing Sam”s smaller one as he peered into his dark blue eyes. ”You”re gonna have to give us more than that,” he said.

”Nothing to explain, really,” Sam replied, avoiding Drew”s gaze. ”It was like a werewolf or shifter. I shifted, but into a little bitty bat. Not even one of the big scary ones.”

Ava chuckled. ”No, you were actually kinda cute.”

”Thanks,” Sam shot back, the word laced with a mix of sarcasm and laughter.

I leaned in closer to Sam, trying to comfort him. ”Could be your new power, you know?” I suggested. ”You know vampires get powers sometimes.”

”I thought my psychic stuff was it,” Sam muttered, looking down at his hands.

”Looks like you”ve got a two-for-one deal then,” I said with a shrug.

Ava pulled out her phone. ”Let”s see what Jax has to say.” She dialed, waiting for an answer that didn”t come. With a sigh, she left a voicemail. ”Hey, Jax, sorry. It totally slipped my mind that it was daytime. Call me when you wake up tonight, okay?”

She ended the call and looked back at us, worry all over her face. ”So. Sam”s a bat.”

Sam sighed. ”Super.”