Now it was my turn to frown. “You heard that the vampires who attacked you had ties to vampires up here?” I darted my eyes to Gunner, who looked as worried as I felt.
Zoe nodded. “I don’t suppose you know of a vampire stronghold up here, do you?”
“Just one. We destroyed it two weeks ago.”
“Scout destroyed it,” Gunner corrected. “They were taking over the town, trying to turn people left and right. They went after one of my good friends. She had prior knowledge of the master and she took him down.”
“Master?” Rafael stirred. “Did he use that word or did you assign it to him?”
“His minion called him master. I met him when I was a kid, in a park down by Detroit. He tried to entice me then, but I was late getting home and I basically made fun of him and kept going. Apparently there was another young woman who he did get, and he enslaved her for a long time. We freed her when we took out the vampires.”
Zoe leaned forward, intrigued. “How many of them were there?”
I held out my hands. “I don’t know. They were in the basement. We’re not even sure how they got there without anybody knowing. There were multiple vaults and the vampires were locked away for the afternoon. I burned everything to the ground.”
“Good.” Zoe’s smile was grim. “What happened to the others, the ones they were trying to enslave?”
“They weren’t fully turned. They really didn’t want a vampire army as much as they wanted human slaves to use as shields, people who could walk around during the day.”
Zoe nodded, absorbing the news. “I don’t suppose you can show me to this house you burned down?”
“Sure. We were going to have breakfast first. Sami is starving.”
“I am.” Forlorn, Sami turned to her father. “I was stuck in the woods alone all night, under a dome. I’m so hungry I think I might be dying.”
Amusement lit Aric’s features and he flicked his gaze to his wife. “She gets that manipulative thing from you.”
“Don’t tell me you’re not hungry.” Zoe was nonchalant. “I think we could all use some breakfast, and then we’ll get to work.”
“Yay!” Sami clapped her hands. “I’ll sit next to Gunner at breakfast. He’s a wolf and you’re always saying I should learn more about our people, Dad.”
Aric rolled his eyes. “It’s going to be one boy after another for the rest of my life. I just know it.”
Zoe squeezed his wrist. “Look at it this way, at least Gunner is hundreds of years younger than her last crush.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
Six
After breakfast, we decided to break into teams.
“I want to check out the local pack,” Aric told his wife while she made a series of eye-rolling expressions that would have been better suited for her daughter’s face.
“I’m going to take him,” Gunner explained. “Things are in flux a bit because of an incident several weeks ago, but your family is respected throughout the state. If you want help, they’ll offer it.”
Aric hesitated and then nodded. “I don’t know what I expect but proper etiquette dictates I stop in.”
“Oh, well, proper etiquette,” Zoe snorted with obvious disdain. “Lord knows I want to make sure I don’t offend them.”
“Zoe.” Aric pinched the bridge of his nose and looked to the sky.
“I’m not sure what’s going on here, but the local pack is okay,” Gunner interjected. While he wasn’t the type to insert himself into the middle of a marital squabble, obviously he sensed things spiraling. “He’ll be okay, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“He will be okay,” Zoe agreed, her tone dark. “Tell your pack members that if one hair on his head is hurt, I’ll burn their entire leadership to the ground.”
“Zoe,” Aric shook his head, “you can’t constantly throw threats around like that. It makes you sound maniacal.”
“I’m fine with that.” Zoe avoided making eye contact with her husband and instead focused on me. “I want to see that house.”
I nodded without hesitation. I was looking forward to learning more about the infamous Zoe Lake-Winters. Her reputation was built on fire and death and yet she’d managed to build a happy family life on top of that. Of course I was curious.
“You’re going to have to drive unless you can handle a motorcycle,” I said. “I don’t have a car.”
Aric tossed Zoe the keys. “I’ll ride with Gunner. You can take our truck.”
“Thank you.” Zoe’s demeanor was stiff as she shoved the keys into her pocket. She refused to meet Aric’s gaze, which I found interesting.
“Zoe,” he said softly, moving closer to her. Obviously he had no intention of taking off when they weren’t on the same page. “It’s not like before. They’re not going to try to force me to agree to something that could possibly come back to bite us. This isn’t my pack. I’m just showing my respect.”
A head bob was all he got in response. I looked around them to focus on Gunner, confused as to what the problem was. Gunner didn’t appear any clearer than me.
“I’ll text you every few minutes so you know things are fine,” Aric promised. “You don’t see me asking you to go against what you know to be right, do you?”
Zoe glared. “You make sure they know I’ll kill them if something happens to you. I’m not messing around this time.”
Aric captured the finger she pointed at him and leaned close. “Duly noted.” He planted a firm kiss on her lips. “You be careful at this house on the hill. Just because it burned to the ground doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous.”
“I’m always careful.”
He snorted. “Right. That’s your middle name. Zoe Careful Winters.”
She held his gaze for an extended beat, something unsaid passing between them, and then nodded. Whatever worries she had, she was going to look past them. I figured that was a good thing.
Sensing the crisis had cooled, Sami spoke up for the first time. “I’m going
