Page 23 of Bonded By Tea and Tarot

I chuckle. “Probably past due now. Bea is going to think I stole them.”

“Do you do that often?” Aury asks, an amused glint in his eyes.

I shrug. “Only the really good ones.”

Aury’s grin lights me up inside, and my omega preens under his appreciation. I want him to stay. I want to go with him. I want his hands on me at all times.

But that’s absolutely insane, and not how strong, independent women act, so I don’t say any of it.

“How about I pick you up tomorrow, then? We can return your books and run any other errands you’d like. No driving yet, okay?” he says, the last sentence stern in a way that has me wanting to tip my chin up in defiance while my core clenches at the same time.

So confusing, these omega instincts.

“That sounds great,” I say instead.

Aury opens the door and steps out, and I wait with baited breath to see if this time, he’ll finally kiss me. He hesitates, licks his lips, then drops his eyes to the ground between us and takes a slow step back. He glances back up at me, a sad-looking smile on his face.

“Let me know how it goes with Hayden?”

I can’t tell what the odd tone of his voice means, but my inner omega takes it as rejection. I nod once, forcing a smile to my lips. “Yeah, of course.”

“See you tomorrow, Moonbeam,” he murmurs. Then he turns and strides away, taking my good mood with him.

I’m stress cleaning my bookshelves and crystals when my phone buzzes on the coffee table behind me.

Hayden: Hey Siobhan, it’s Hayden. How are you feeling today?

I smile and snatch my phone up, quickly opening the message to reply.

Me: Not bad, just a small headache still. I’m feeling a lot better today than the last couple days.

Hayden: I’m really glad to hear that. Are you taking any painkillers? Other medications?

I huff. The alpha has barely met me twice and he’s already fussing.

Me: Only Tylenol sometimes, mostly before bed so I can sleep.

Hayden: Good. Hey, I wanted to ask you something.

Hayden: Or I guess let you know of something. I should have mentioned it the other night

My heart starts racing. It’s like when your parents text you ‘call me’ with no further explanation. Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong already? Does he already have an omega?

Me: What’s up?

Hayden: So, I have a pack mate. An alpha, his name is Jayce. I should have mentioned him before and I’m so sorry to you both that I didn’t. Would it be okay if I sent you his information? Or maybe made a group chat for us?

I breathe out a sigh of relief. One alpha isn’t bad. I do wish they’d told me sooner, but I guess the opportunity didn’t come up. Will he be a scent match too?

Jayce.

The name alone sends a shiver down my spine.

Me: What does he look like?

I hit send without thought, and then my eyes bug out when I realize what I just did.

“Oh, fuck,” I yell, tempted to throw my phone out the window and never look at it again. He asks if we can chat, and I act like an absolute moron, asking what the man looks like before knowing anything else about him. What the hell is wrong with me? I scramble to send another message before he replies.