Dinner Date

<<Narrator>>

The sun had gone down when the car took a U-turn and headed to the coordinates on the unopened envelope Zoe was carrying in her bag. 

The envelope had the same seal as was carved on the wooden box from which the envelope had been taken. The mysterious intricate patterns meant nothing to Zoe or Xavier as neither had come across anything like that before.

The coordinates led them to an elite nightclub that required either a membership or some very expensive tickets. They waited in the parking lot to come up with a plan.

Zoe was confused. Why would her mother give the address of a nightclub to her little daughter? Xavier had gone to make a few calls and Zoe decided to do some research.

"We should go. Check in a hotel or something. We need more information. There is no way your mother wanted you to come to a nightclub in Kansas." Xavier said what had been going through Zoe's head already.

She pulled out of the parking lot without responding to him. She was curious about who he had been calling earlier but didn't ask as that would just show him that she still cared. 

Next, they parked in the parking lot of a local diner. 

"I thought we were going to check into a hotel," Xavier commented.

"Really? And what gave you that idea?" Zoe asked and then got out of the car without hearing his response. It wasn't his fault that her mood had worsened after reaching her destination. She had no idea what she was expecting but it wasn't an elite nightclub for humans. That was forbidden territory. According to an ancient treaty between humans and Werewolves that was still in practice by the order of the Alpha King, humans and Werewolves were supposed to stay out of each other's way. 

That is why, when Zoe and Xavier noticed that the scamming father-and-son duo in the woods were humans, they decided not to escalate the situation. Now, the club was an entirely different matter. 

Xavier sighed. He did not want to argue with Zoe. They had been arguing since the journey started.

Quietly he got out of the car as well and followed Zoe inside the diner.

They got a couple-booth beside a window and ordered dinner. Zoe turned on her laptop and started searching for everything that was to know about the club. Which to her disappointment, wasn't much. But one piece of information stood out to her.

"Check this out." She instinctively said to Xavier and turned her laptop to make it easier for him to read the article on the laptop.

Xavier leaned in and quickly went through the article that Zoe was showing, grasping at flickers of attention from her. His brows furrowed in concentration and she knew he had reached the part that she wanted to show him.

He looked at her once he was done and thought out loud, "So, the club wasn't built after your mother wrote the coordinates. It has been here for centuries." Xavier was more confused.

"You know what that means?" Zoe asked trying not to get her hopes up prematurely.

Xavier nodded, "Whatever your mother wanted you to see, know, meet, or have, is probably still in there."

Zoe nodded eagerly accepting his conclusion, "We need to find a way to get in there, fast. We've already wasted a lot of time."

Spike was happy that Zoe had subconsciously used 'we' instead of 'You and I' or just 'I'. Xavier did not comment on it either. This was progress and he didn't want to jinx it.

"Let me see how to become a member of this club," Xavier said and asked to use her laptop, she nodded eagerly as the dinner was being served.

After fifteen minutes of Zoe eating her food silently while rubbing her pinky finger as she always did due to anxiety. Xavier looked up from the laptop. His disappointment was clear on his face.

"Don't tell me you didn't find anything," Zoe said.

"Oh, I did find everything, alright." Xavier shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair which was starting to grow out from his short professional cut into an unruly style.

"Well?" Zoe urged impatiently.

"The club is human-specific. Know what that means?" Xavier asked, trying to break the bad news to her slowly.

"They know we exist." Realization dawned on Zoe. Most of the humans had forgotten that werewolves were real and they were slowly left in nothing more than legends and folktales. But apparently, some humans never forgot.

Xavier nodded gravely and added, "And they have certain measures to make sure the club stays human-specific." He had a knowing look in his eyes.

Zoe was not sure that she wanted to know what those measures were. She only learned about mixed history in school where everything was sheltered for the young kids. Zoe had always been more interested in physical activities since she had hoped to be a border patrol soldier. That was when she still had hopes of receiving her wolf.

After a while of letting the information sink in, Zoe looked up at Xavier with a mixture of desperation and determination, "We need to get in there. I don't care how. There has to be something that my mother wanted for me in there. I'm not leaving without that."

"How about we get a room and work on a plan? We can't just barge in guns blazing when we aren't even sure what we are looking for." Xavier suggested.

Zoe looked down at her plate. She had been so eager to find a connection with her mother that she had not expected it to turn into a project. She sighed. Her appetite was gone. They paid the bill and went to a hotel.

Xavier tested the waters cautiously, "How about we take one room?"

Zoe glared at him before he could say more. He raised his hands in surrender, "I just wanted to work together so we can make a plan as fast as we can. I know you won't be able to sleep tonight. So, let's work." He explained himself.

Zoe rolled her eyes and walked ahead stopping at the reception, "Hi, we'd like a double-queen room please."

Xavier smirked. Progress was still progress. From two rooms to one. He was hopeful that it would go from two beds to one as well.