Page 17 of Zoe

Maria made the kind of whimper that made Kristen turn and eye her with amusement. “Are you trying to talk to dogs again?”

“No,” Maria said, pulling her head back.

“Then stop whimpering, he said they’d find her, and they will,” Kristen said. “They have to – she’s a mate, and fate wouldn’t end things like this.”

“That’s true,” Maria said, frowning. “Right?”

“Fate will have me to answer to if she did,” Kristen said, wrapping her arms around her body and staring into the trees.

Maria grimaced. This was all her fault, and she knew it. If she hadn’t asked the elf to find her friends' true love for the holidays, this wouldn’t be happening. She wondered if she should tell Kristen or keep it to herself.

“Let’s get back inside and wait it out,” Kristen said. “We don’t all need to get frostbite.”

“You think Zoe will get frostbite?” Maria asked, feeling another wave of guilt hit her. “Like lose her fingers and toes?”

Kristen walked to the fence post and lifted the empty tequila bottle. “Let’s hope the fire in this will keep her warm until her mate finds her,” she replied. But she knew, drunk and lost in the snow, was not a good omen on Zoe’s Christmas curse.

~

Billy stopped and scratched his head. They’d followed the tracks so far, and all was well, but now those same tracks were leading them all over the place. That wasn’t a good sign.

“I can no longer see where one track starts and the other ends,” Robert said, scratching his head. “She walked back on herself and then seemed to just…”

“Do a damn jig in circles for a while,” Billy said. Then he spotted a promising sign. “Over there,” he said, heading for a large tree trunk.

“Looks like she stopped and rested for a while,” Robert said.

“But look at the tracks,” Billy said, squatting to inspect the area. “Her feet were here, but there are no push-up indents – it’s like she…”

“Flew on her broomstick?” Robert muttered to himself.

“Can she do that?” Billy asked, turning to stare at his brother.

Robert’s eyebrows reach for his hairline. “I have no idea.”

“Damn it, if she’s not leaving tracks,” Billy said.

“Then we can’t follow her,” Robert said. “We’ll just have to do it the old-fashioned way – and sniff.”

“I’m not sniffing,” Billy growled, and his wolf growled back. “My wolf gets that scent, and it’s…”

“Brother, you have no damn hope to fight fate, so don’t even try,” he said. “This is your mate, now, wolf up, and sniff.”

~

Heather eyed the vampire when he flicked her a look. He lifted his hand and beckoned her with his finger. Then he slid his shot glass towards her on the bar top, and she slammed her hand on top of it to stop it from sailing by.

“Sorry you missed the last orders,” she said, shrugging.

“No, I got a last order from Eileen; I’d like another one,” he said.

Heather slowly shook her head. “What part of last order don’t you understand?”

“The part that leaves me wanting more,” Duncan said, pulling out a twenty-pound note. “Keep the change.”

“I’m not working for cold hard cash tonight,” Heather said.

“Then why are you here?” he asked.

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