“Well, that’s interesting.”
“Do you think that has something to do with you?”
Roz smiled shyly and lifted one shoulder. “Maybe. I’m learning to accept my body. I’m not learning how to dance, but Iamlearning how to take care of a sprained ankle, thanks to you.”
“Oh, nice. Now who’s being sarcastic?”
She grinned. “Never said I wasn’t.”
“Fine. I’ll just continue reading. “‘When people come to you for advice, they know they’ll get true Sagittarian honesty. Low on tact, but high on blunt information.’”
Roz laughed. “I guess you really mean it when you say you like the extra pounds I’m padded with; otherwise you’d tell me how fat my ass is.”
“You see? I’m an honest guy. Now do you believe me?”
“I guess I’ll have to. The cards don’t lie.”
“No, they’re kind of blunt and honest too.”
She sat up and wrapped her arms around him. “Don’t worry; they can’t say anything that will turn me away from you. I’m not hearing much to guide you in a career choice, though.”
“The next part might have something. It’s titled ‘What is your most important goal?’”
“Yeah, that sounds promising. Let’s hear it.”
“‘The nine of swords is an interesting goal. It is about nightmares and anxieties. It is about feeling as if you haven’t done enough. You carry some past guilt. Your goal seems to make sure that others are never in this same position. You would move heaven and earth to protect those you consider yours.’”
Konrad stopped reading aloud. This information hit too close to home, and he didn’t want to explain to Roz what it meant. He knew the truth, though.
He’d failed his pack. He allowed another Lycan to challenge him for alpha status, knowing the bastard couldn’t be trusted. He didn’t bother to dispute the lies that Petroski spread, either. He thought his pack knew him well and would never believe that crap.
So what if he did help a vampire who was about to burst into flames from the sun? Watching someone else suffer had never turned him on, unlike his nemesis, who seemed to revel in it. Sly was one of his best friends and had helped him in return, many times. Konrad would never regret their friendship, but apparently enough was said to plant seeds of doubt, and that’s all it took. He couldn’t blow off the challenge, or he’d be seen as a coward in the eyes of his pack, the very thing Petroski accused him of.
How Petroski found a female in the pack to testify that Konrad had left her vulnerable to attack, he’d never know. One of the foremost werewolf edicts was for all males to protect the pack females,especiallythose who weren’t yet mated.
Somehow Petroski got Ella to say she saw Konrad at the top of the hill that led from Newton to Waban. She claimed he ran when a rival pack began closing in. Then she said Petroski came bounding down the hill and saved her.
How could anyone believe such a load of crap? How could she tell a lie like that? He suspected some kind of bribery but couldn’t confirm it at the time. Now he knew his suspicions were well founded, because Petroski took Ella for his mate.Poor Ella.
***
“Where are you?” Roz asked.
“Huh? Oh, I uh…It’s not important.”
Not important my ass.“Well then, what was that long pause for?”
“I was…uh, just studying the card. It’s kind of creepy.”
“Let me see.”
He turned the screen toward her, and Roz saw a dark scene. It appeared to be a man weeping in bed with swords all around him.
“Ick, that is kind of macabre. Well, read the rest of it. Maybe there’s something positive to counteract the negative.”
“Not really. The only thing it says after that is ‘This indicates one who failed to protect something or someone and wants to prove to themselves that they are not a failure.’”
“What could that possibly mean?”
