Suspicious

<<Narrator>>

The dinner was delicious.  Zoe quietly sipped on her mushroom soup, but Xavier looked everywhere for clues. 

He had seen many shady people in his life and this old man was very shady. A lot of things he said did not match what Xavier was seeing around the cabin. The place was too well-kept for an old man's cabin in the woods. 

"So, your son's a mechanic?" Xavier started with small talk.

"Yes." The old man gave a short answer and focused on the toasted cheesy garlic bread on his plate. 

"Why settle in the woods where rarely any car passes? Why not get a job at some workshop in the town?" Xavier pushed casually.

"The road busier than you imagine. This is our family cabin. My grandfather built it. My ancestors were gatherers. Woods worked in our favor for generations. It was only honorable to stay." The old man did not meet Xavier's eyes while answering and Xavier found that odd. Usually, liars don't look in the eyes while talking.

Xavier let Spike sniff out any suspicious scents but the cabin smelled homely. The food was nice. The fire helped warm up the whole place. The pajamas were soft and the chairs were comfortable. The chinaware and silverware seemed expensive. 

There were too many dishes and side dishes for just the three of them. They were done before they could finish everything.

Once they were done, the old man led Xavier to his son's room to sleep in for the night while Zoe took the guest room. Thankfully, the rain had softened and thunder was almost negligible. 

"You sure, you're going to be alright?" Xavier asked for the nth time.

"I'll be fine," Zoe said firmly despite Dahlia telling her that it was safer to stay by their mate's side. But Zoe needed some time alone.

Xavier paced in his room, unable to sleep because of multiple reasons. He had no contact with the rest of his pack. He had barely made any progress with his mate. Zoe's fear of thunders was new to him and he didn't understand why she would react like that. He had no way of making sure what awaited them at the coordinates that Zoe was hell-bent on following. His beta, Lucas, hadn't contacted them for months. After helping Zoe's best friend, Maisie, escape from her captivity at the Werewolf Council, they had gone dark. Xavier had no idea what his father was doing or if Councilor Peterson had found out about the Blood Cresent's involvement in his only son's death. Or if anyone knew about Zoe. On top of it all, their old host seemed suspicious for reasons that Xavier had not been able to find out.

His eyes landed on the wooden wardrobe in the room. 

If something suspicious was going on, he was sure to find it in the old man's son's things. Xavier walked over and tried to open the wardrobe but it was locked. 

Of course, why would anyone leave their stuff open for strangers to go through? Xavier tried the drawers in tables. Only one was open and it had nothing out of the ordinary. Just a stapler, a pencil sharpener, a pack of tissues, a screwdriver, an empty writing pad, a folded calendar for the ongoing month, an alarm clock, and a roll of duct tape. A strange assortment of items but not suspicious. 

He walked over and peeked outside the room. The old man was snoring slightly on the couch beside the fireplace. Zoe's room's door was closed and he couldn't hear any movement. She was probably asleep. He closed the door, sighed, and sat on the bed, disappointed.

Finally, the day's fatigue took over and he fell asleep.

The next morning, the couple woke up to delicious smells wafting through the cabin.

Xavier and Zoe opened their doors simultaneously and looked at each other confused before walking into the living area.

"Ah, you are awake. Great. The breakfast is almost ready and my son is back." The old man was cheerful.

"Where is he?" Xavier asked before Zoe could.

"He is down the road, taking a look at your car." The old man said while pouring scrambled eggs into a beautiful glass plate.

"I didn't hear anyone come in." Xavier mused his suspicions while Zoe said softly, "He should've rested a bit. He must be tired, traveling overnight."

"Don't worry dear, he can rest later. He's got all day to rest." The old man didn't respond to Xavier. Then, he smiled at them, "The bath is drawn for whoever wants to go first." He pointed at the bathroom door that they were too preoccupied last night to notice or need.

Bath? Zoe thought. Why did an old man and his son living in a cabin in the woods have a bath? She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts and said, "I'll go first." She glanced at Xavier, "If you don't mind."

"Not at all." Xavier nodded and walked over to the old man while Zoe took her clean and ironed clothes from last night and went to take the bath. She was surprised to find accessories like bath salts, oils, bath bombs, unlit candles and lighters, and even a magazine in the bathroom. She had never met any man who used such products. Shrugging all red lights blaring in her mind by Dahlia, Zoe undressed and allowed herself to indulge in a warm bubble bath. She knew she deserved it after everything she had been through lately.

"You always bake fresh bread?" Xavier asked the old man who seemed to have baked fresh bread while the two were asleep.

"Oh yes. It's such a hassle getting baked bread from the town every day and I like cooking and baking. Keeps me busy." Once again, it didn't escape Xavier's notice of how the old man refused to meet Xavier's eyes.

Xavier tried to ask a few more questions to the old man but he seemed to have practiced his responses and had answers to everything that Xavier threw at him. 

Zoe returned and Xavier went to shower. 

"Let me help with that," Zoe said and started helping the old man set the breakfast table for four.

Once Xavier had freshened up and dressed himself, they all sat at the breakfast table.

"Aren't we going to wait for your son?" Zoe asked as the old man started serving them breakfast.

"Oh, we don't know how long it will take him to fix the car. Let's eat before everything gets cold. Then, you can go ahead and take a look at the car yourself. Though you are welcome to stay as long as you like. We rarely have any guests." 

'Doubt that,' Said Dahlia and Spike to Zoe and Xavier simultaneously.

But they dug in the delicious spread of breakfast which seemed hard for one old man to have prepared by himself so early in the morning.