Page 11 of Zoe

“Have you noticed that this trip is very strange?” Maria said.

“Oh, yeah,” Zoe said, nodding. “Bloody big-time strange is what it is.”

“Yeah,” Maria said quietly. “Blooming big-time strange, and it's not all my fault.”

~

Duncan walked into the bar, and within seconds, he knew who was there, where they were, and what the chances of trouble would be. What surprised the hell out of him was the sight of the witch on the other side of Eileen’s counter serving customers. “Hmm,” he muttered – interested beyond the realms of normal curiosity.

While watching Heather in her element, he was headed for the other witches to find out how this happened. Eileen usually guarded behind the counter with her life, and she only allowed a select few to enter her personal space.

Zoe did a double-take as the vampire moved in on her and Maria, she nudged her friend with her elbow, and Maria followed her gaze. “Bad guy alert,” Maria said.

“Nah, he’s not so bad,” Zoe said, knowing the vampire could hear her, even over the noise of drunken chatter.

Duncan smiled as he slipped onto a stool beside her. He leaned in. “I’d hold judgement on that until you really get to know me,” he said.

“I don’t have that many decades to live,” she said, shrugging.

“Not with that attitude,” he replied, a crooked smile and a backwards nod towards Heather. “What happened?”

Zoe chuckled. “Shocked me too,” she said. “But, apparently, Eileen was slammed, and her staff were off … wolfing out,” she whispered.

Duncan frowned. “Plausible, but…”

When he didn’t finish that sentence, it left Zoe curious, but she spotted something big moving over Duncan’s shoulder and stretched up on the stool to take a look. When she recognised the shifter, she groaned to herself, but her groan made the vampire turn to see who was coming their way.

“Oh,” Duncan said, grinning. “You’ve met Billy.”

“Met him,” Maria said, snorting a wine-fuelled chuckle. “They fought over eggs.”

Duncan frowned. “Long boring story,” Zoe assured him. “But he doesn’t look too happy that Heather is behind the bar.” She grinned.

Duncan pulled back from her, eyeing her with suspicion. “Oh, you like him,” he said.

Zoe’s eyes went wide, and she stammered a non-word as Maria snorted another chuckle. “Don’t get her started,” Maria said.

Zoe slapped a hand against her chest and looked for answers. “Has everyone gone insane around here?”

“Yes,” Duncan said. “It’s what generally happens when you toss a few witches into the local wildlife.”

“You’re as bad as Heather,” Zoe hissed in a low whisper. “Pot stirring.”

Duncan grinned. “Please, I could sniff the interest in the air…”

“Nobody is sniffing anybody!” Zoe bit out and noted that Billy hesitated in his walk to the bar as he snapped a look at her and narrowed his eyes.

“You’ve got that right,” Billy said, eyeing the vampire as he placed his palms against the counter and grunted with annoyance.

“P-lease, jog on,” Zoe said. She wasn’t in the mood for another growl-fest. “Mr Moody.” She turned to Maria. “I think it’s time to go.”

Maria grinned. “I think things just got even more interesting.”

Zoe opened her mouth and stared at her friend. “You too?”

“Me three,” Duncan whispered over her shoulder to the sound of the beta rumbling a low warning growl. “Oh, there’s something new,” he said, turning a grin on the beta. “Am I stepping on your toes?”

Billy eyed Duncan like he’d just grown another head. “I don’t know what that means.”

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