Dying Covenant: The Complete Series Read online

  “No, but you should’ve asked us before you brought him here,” Aric gritted out. “I cannot believe you bought her a puppy without asking us.”

  “We knew you would say no,” Helen sniffed. “We bought a gift for our granddaughter. The dog is non-refundable so … suck it up.”

  “Yeah, suck it up,” Sami echoed, hugging the dog as tightly as she could as the animal licked her cheek. “I love him, Grandma. How did you know I wanted him?”

  “Because you sent us a link to the breeder photographs and mentioned that he was located right around the corner from our house,” James answered dryly.

  “He was also on that list you sent us,” Helen said, laughing as the puppy licked Sami’s face.

  “Why don’t you take your new buddy inside and get settled,” James suggested. “I think you two are going to have a busy night.”

  “And I think your father and I want to have a talk with your grandparents,” I added.

  “Don’t let her bully you,” Sami hissed, shooting me a challenging look before skipping toward the house. “Aunt Paris! Look what Grandma and Grandpa got me for my birthday.”

  I waited until Sami was inside before unloading my fury. “How could you buy her a dog without asking us?”

  “We’re allowed to buy our granddaughter a birthday gift,” Helen said. “A girl turns twelve only once. That’s what she wanted more than anything.”

  “And you knew by just showing up with it we’d have no choice but to keep it,” Aric said. “We can’t take it away from her without being the evilest people on the planet. Nice job.”

  “I’m glad you approve, son,” James said, clapping Aric on the shoulder and moving toward the front door. “Our bags are in the back. Grab them before you come in, will you?”

  Helen and James followed the excited yips into the house and left Aric to deal with my wrath on his own.

  “I’m so sorry.” He looked pathetic when he finally found the courage to meet my gaze. “I thought they could help. I had no idea about the dog.”

  I studied him for a moment, the need to yell ultimately doused by sympathy. “You’re cleaning your own mushrooms.”

  Aric flashed me a lopsided grin. “I love you, Zoe.”

  “You’re going to be rubbing me later, too,” I said, stomping toward the house.

  “That sounds like the best offer I’ve had all day.”

  “I’M GOING TO name him Cuddles.”

  Sami sat on the floor in the living room and hugged the puppy as the rest of us settled around the dining room table for dinner.

  “You’re not naming him Cuddles,” I said. “Pick something better.”

  “Why not Cuddles?”

  “Because I’ll be the one outside calling for him – and your dad will be the one outside cleaning up all of the crap bombs he leaves behind – so you can’t name him Cuddles,” I replied. “Pick something cool … like Captain Kirk.”

  Aric barked out a laugh while his father shot me a disapproving look.

  “Not Captain Kirk,” Sami said. “He’s not the hot one. If I was going to name him after a hot guy in Star Trek it would be Spock.”

  “I’m pretty sure you’re not my kid,” I said. “Someone must’ve switched babies in the hospital.”

  “That would mean Dad knocked someone else up, because everyone says I look just like him,” Sami said. “I’m not against that, just so you know. I’m sure my real mother wouldn’t go through my things.”

  “That did it.” Aric hopped to his feet. “I think it’s time for you to go to bed.”

  “I haven’t eaten dinner yet,” Sami complained.

  “Then let go of Captain Kirk and move your butt to the table,” Aric said, taking the puppy from Sami and ignoring the hateful look she scorched him with. “Apologize to your mother, too.”

  “Not until she apologizes to me for going through my stuff,” Sami huffed, stomping to the table and settling between her grandparents. They’d strategically placed themselves so the only open spot was between them. Their coddling was going to become a problem before the night was out. I just knew it.

  “Eat some steak,” Helen said, reaching for Sami’s knife and automatically starting to cut it. “You should have some vegetables, too. You need the vitamins to become a strong wolf.”

  “I’m not a wolf,” Sami countered. “I’m a mutt.”

  “Don’t say that,” I chided, shaking my head.

  “That’s what I am,” Sami said. “I’m not a wolf and I’m not like you. What does that make me?”

  “Right now you’re annoying,” Aric said, handing the puppy the steak bone from his plate before sitting again. “Eat your dinner and then say goodnight to your grandparents because you’re going to bed early.”

  “Oh, that sounds great,” Sami muttered, viciously stabbing her fork into her meat and plopping a huge bite into her mouth. She proceeded to chew with exaggerated slowness, allowing everyone to see flashes of the masticated food.

  “So why were you going through her things again?” Helen asked. “I’ve never had a daughter, but that sounds like a gross invasion of privacy.”

  “Why don’t you shove some steak in your mouth and chew it, too, Helen,” I suggested, causing Paris to bite off a laugh and Heath to stare at his plate.

  Helen was incensed. “Excuse me?”

  “She said shut up and eat, Mom,” Aric said, draping his arm over the back of my chair. “Good grief. Can’t we have five minutes of peace?”

  “We were totally peaceful until nosy Mommy Zoe got into my stuff,” Sami grumbled.

  “Okay. I’m done.” Aric hopped up from his chair and moved around to the other side of the table. Sami balked, although I didn’t think she was worried Aric would hurt her. She was more surprised by his actions than anything else. He grabbed her around the waist with one hand, balancing her on his hip, and then grabbed her plate with the other. “Say goodnight, Sami. You’re officially in timeout. You should be proud. We haven’t had to do this since you were five.”

  “Put me down!”

  Aric ignored her vociferous complaints as he hauled her out of the room. The puppy tilted his head to the side, confused, and stared at my plate.

  “Oh, well, you’re going to be spoiled, too, huh?” I handed him a piece of my steak and ran my hand over his soft fur. He was a cute little thing. He was still going to be a lot of work.

  “Do you want to tell us what’s going on?” James asked, gripping his silverware tightly. “That display right there was … .”

  “Partially your fault,” Aric finished, striding back into the room. “She’s in there crying. I told her to put the plate outside the door when she was done, but that I didn’t want to see her for the rest of the night.”

  “That’s some solid parenting,” Helen commented. “Have you ever considered listening to her complaints and solving them as a family?”

  “No, because we don’t live in La-La Land,” I replied, tipping my plate so I could shove the rest of my mushrooms onto Aric’s half-finished plate. He spent hours collecting the mushrooms. I figured he should enjoy them. “She’s never going to be happy with my answer, so there’s nothing to talk about right now. She just needs to sleep on it and calm down.”

  “Why were you in her room, though?” Helen pressed.

  “Because Paris believes Sami was in a trance last night, not sleepwalking,” I replied. “She also believes someone was trying to control her and get her out of the house. The easiest way to do that is by enchanting an object. We were hoping to find the object and be able to track the source without freaking out Sami. That did not happen … mostly because Paris is a neat freak.”

  “I said I was sorry,” Paris groused. “Those mushrooms are gross, by the way. They taste like dirt.”

  “I like them,” Heath said, smiling. He was amiable no matter what. I was starting to think he was on uppers or something.

  “If someone is really trying to grab her, we need to be proactive,” James sa
id. “I can place a call right now and have this place surrounded by guards within the hour.”

  “Absolutely not,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Why not?” Aric asked. “I don’t think that’s such a bad idea.”

  “Because I don’t want Sami thinking she’s living in a police state,” I replied. “There are six adults in this house. We should be able to keep track of one kid. Sure, she’s a rotten kid right now, but she’s still just one kid.”

  “I think you’re playing this the wrong way, Zoe,” James argued. “Shouldn’t we do what’s best for Sami?”

  “I am doing what’s best for Sami,” I shot back. “There is something else to consider, though, and that’s the fact that whoever is trying to lure her out of the house is close enough to see what’s going on. Right now added guests look as if we’re celebrating Sami’s birthday. Guards will tip off whoever it is and he might run.

  “That means he could come back when our guard is down,” I continued. “Right now we know he’s out there and he’s not worried enough to run yet. That means we have the advantage.”

  “That’s a good point,” Aric said. “Zoe is right. No guards.” He glanced at my plate. “Baby, you need to eat.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Well, you’re eating,” Aric said, grabbing a baked potato and plopping it on my plate. “The last thing I need is a sick wife. We already have a dog we weren’t planning on. I can only take so much upheaval in one night.”

  “Speaking of that, someone will need to walk him.”

  “I nominate you,” Aric said. “There are baggies in the drawer to pick up his … you know. Don’t leave it around in case someone steps in it.”

  “I am not bagging that dog’s poop,” I said. “Don’t think for a second that’s going to happen.”

  “I’ll bag it,” Paris said, struggling to get to her feet as her large stomach bumped against the table. “We’ll take the dog for a walk together.”

  “I think Heath should go, too,” Aric said.

  I narrowed my eyes, suspicious. “Why?”

  “Because you women need watching,” Aric answered. “If something happens, Heath can get Paris back to the house while you incinerate any trespassers.”

  That sounded like a fair tradeoff. “Sold.”

  “Try not to kill the dog if that happens,” Aric added.

  “No promises if he poops big piles,” I said, smiling at the puppy’s adorable face. Crap. I was already falling in love with the thing. Of course, that shouldn’t be a surprise. I love things of the canine variety. “We won’t be gone long.”

  “Give me fifteen minutes,” Aric said. “I need a few minutes alone with my parents while you take care of our new addition.”

  Realization washed over me. What Aric wasn’t saying was that things were about to get loud in our living room.

  “Sure.” I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “Punish them by keeping the rest of the pie away from them. We can eat that in bed tonight.”

  Despite the serious nature of the conversation, Aric smiled. “I love the way your mind works.”

  “Hold that thought until after you lay down the law. Don’t cave this time.”

  “Oh, that’s not going to happen,” Aric said. “Not this time.”

  Eleven

  “Are things always that tense between you and your in-laws?”

  I picked a spot close to the deck so I wasn’t too far from the house and was so lost in my eavesdropping efforts I didn’t initially realize Paris was talking. “What?”

  Paris heaved an exasperated sigh but repeated the question.

  “Oh, no,” I replied, shaking my head. “We get along fine. I like both of them. They just have a tendency to coddle Sami, and Aric is a big wuss when they show up.”

  “Helen seemed agitated with you,” Paris pointed out.

  “Helen thinks Aric is one halo short of sainthood and she’s still disappointed we didn’t have another child,” I explained. “James is, too, although he hides his emotions better. They really wanted a boy to carry on the family name.”

  “Did you ever consider another child?” Heath asked, genuinely curious.

  “No. We both knew that keeping Sami safe would be a full-time job. Another child would’ve split our efforts. It might’ve done Sami some good to have a sibling, but we could’ve lost her by being stretched too thin.”

  “Aric doesn’t seem to care that he doesn’t have a son,” Paris pointed out. “He seems happy with your family … er, happy when Sami is being cute instead of incorrigible, that is.”

  “I worried for a long time that he was only pretending to be happy, but I don’t worry any longer,” I said. “I can crawl into his brain whenever I feel like it because we inadvertently share dreams most nights – heck, I can do it without tipping him off – and he’s happy.”

  “What about you?”

  “I think one is more than enough.”

  Paris snorted as she bent down to pet the puppy. “Well, you kind of have a second child now. I can’t believe they brought a puppy without telling you.”

  “I want to be surprised, but I’m really not,” I said. “They’re not wrong about me saying no. She’s wanted a puppy for as long as she could talk, but we always pushed it off for fear that if there was an attack the animal would be a target.”

  “I think you have a lot of fears, Zoe,” Paris said. “You handle them remarkably well, though.”

  “I think you have to say that because you’re my best friend,” I said, chuckling harshly. “I don’t think I’ve been handling anything particularly well over the past few days.”

  “Sami will get over this.”

  “She shouldn’t have to,” I said. “I did invade her privacy. It wasn’t right or fair.”

  “You still had to do it.”

  “Maybe, but … I’m starting to feel overwhelmed,” I admitted. “This is the first time I’ve felt a real threat since her birth. The other times were minor and so easy to deal with. I don’t feel in control here … and I really hate that.”

  “I remember,” Paris said dryly. “You used to exert control in really obnoxious ways when this happened back in the day.”

  “That was easy because I knew who the enemy was,” I said. “Even though I didn’t realize the depth of Blake’s evil nature, I knew something was wrong with him. I knew that he had to be watched.

  “We’re at a disadvantage here,” I continued. “We have no idea who is after us. Our old enemies are long gone. Whoever is out there now is someone new … and I’m starting to get the feeling he’s been watching us for a long time, preparing for whatever this is.”

  “And watching you is a violation of your family,” Paris surmised. “I think you’re over-identifying on a lot of different levels.”

  “Maybe,” I conceded. “I can feel something closing in on us, though. I haven’t felt this way since … .”

  “The witches?”

  “No, Mark.” I hadn’t said his name in years. I hadn’t allowed his face to enter my memory during that time either. He was long gone, our former friend-turned-enemy, who attacked at my engagement party, killing an old friend. We tracked him down, let James’ men take him into custody and then … well … I wasn’t sure how he died. Aric confirmed it was over two weeks later, but I didn’t ask for details. I hadn’t felt this worried since then. Even when the witches attacked I wasn’t afraid until they almost killed Aric. After that I was merely ticked off. What I felt now was something else. It was absolute terror.

  “It’s going to be okay, Zoe,” Paris said. “This isn’t another Mark situation. No one is going to sneak into your house and set off a bomb.”

  I forced a smile for her benefit and nodded, but I didn’t give voice to what I really felt. What if someone had already set the bomb and it was inside my daughter?

  “HOW DID things go with your parents?”

  I found Aric in the kitchen washing the dishes. Heath and Paris said their go
odnights to me in the foyer before retiring. Paris was dead on her feet. She wasn’t used to this much activity – or yelling. I didn’t blame them for wanting some time alone.

  “They’re offended by my tone.” Aric leaned against the counter and opened his arms. “I’m depressed and need a hug.”

  I couldn’t even muster the energy to roll my eyes, instead stepping into his embrace and resting my head against his chest. He stroked the back of my head as he kissed my forehead.

  “I can’t believe we have a dog.”

  It was supposed to be a moment of quiet contemplation and soothing. Instead Aric’s chest shook with silent laughter as he tightened his arms around me. “I can’t believe it either. Did you pick up his mess?”

  “No.”

  “Did Paris?”

  “She’s too fat to bend over, so Heath did it,” I replied. “We should make them move in to the basement room so he can do it for the next twelve years, which is how long we’re going to have that dog.”

  “Well, Sami will be gone by then, so it won’t be so bad.”

  It wasn’t funny, but I couldn’t help but laugh. “What are we going to do with her?”

  “I’m not ruling out giving her up for adoption.”

  “No, I’m serious.”

  “So am I.”

  I rested my chin on his chest and tilted up my face so I could study his somber eyes. “You’re as worried as I am. I can see it every time you think no one is looking. Don’t bother denying it.”

  “I am worried, Zoe,” Aric said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear as he swayed back and forth. It was almost as if we were dancing without music. “I don’t know how to alleviate that worry, though, so I’m choosing to be an optimist.”

  “Oh, that sounds fun,” I drawled. “Can I play?”

  “Of course you can,” Aric said. “It wouldn’t be a good game without you.”

  “How do we do it?”

  “Well, I start out by reminding myself that you’re the strongest person I know and you’ve never failed me,” Aric said. “Then I pity the person who would dare come near this house and mess with our kid, because he’ll be a husk of a human being by the time we’re done with him.”