Page 4 of Bonded By Tea and Tarot

It strikes me that this is how he was able to take that guy down at the farm earlier this summer when Vee put out the call for help. I glance at Sage, wondering if she’s having the same thought, but she’s got a sappy smile on her face as she looks at her phone. Probably one of her pack sending her cutesy messages.

Jealousy flares, but I stamp it down. I’m happy for her; she deserves an amazing pack, and Vee, Riley, and Brooks are perfect for her. It’s just that I’ve lived here my whole life and am starting to wonder if I’ll ever have that…

I sling my bag over my shoulder and turn to wave goodbye to Aury, flushing again when I see his eyes are already on me. He smiles and I bite my lip, turning away while wishing I had the guts to go over there and talk to him. Or ask him out. Or kiss him. Or⁠—

“I think he likes you, too,” Sage murmurs as we walk down the hallway. “Neither of you could keep your eyes off each other.”

“Gah,” I scoff. “It’s not like that.”

“It totally is,” Wren pipes up, and I look at her in surprise. She’s not normally one who joins in on giving me a hard time, but she just smiles, all kindness in her gaze. “I’m glad we came, I think this will be good. I have a good feeling about it.”

I give each of them a hug and thank them for coming with me, then make my way home. I have two client readings to do this evening, then I need to plan when and where to film more content this week. Coffee shop and library videos always do well, as does outside in the park, but whether I can film there or not depends on how busy it is and if the autumn weather holds up.

I fold my silky altar cloth and place it in my bag, then add in a couple candles and some jars with dried bundles of herbs. I look over my “accents” shelf, picking up a long piece of lace and adding that to the bag. Lastly, I grab a couple decks to tuck into the front pocket. Except, when I turn around, there’s a stray card on the floor.

The Star.

Hope. Dream big. Patience.

I blink at her in surprise.

I shove the card back into its box, wary of letting that hope in. I’ve wished for so long to find the people I belong with, wanted for years to have a pack, and all but given up. If I let myself start dreaming again, who’s to say I won’t get even more hurt?

Chapter Four

Aury

The next few days pass terribly slowly. I think even Bunny, my cat, is tired of my anxious moping, and she swipes at my ankle as I pace by her for the thousandth time this morning.

Did Siobhan like my tai chi class? Has she been practicing? Is she going to come to the next one? What if she doesn’t?

What if she does?

I spend most of the next week on autopilot during my classes and when completing paperwork for the community center. My brain plays tricks on me when I keep thinking I see her from the corner of my eye, or smell a hint of her spicy tea wafting through a doorway. I check every time, but she’s never there.

When I finally make it out of the building on Friday evening, I imagine for a second that I’ll run into her. What if I change my routine, and instead of going home, I stroll down Main Street and end up finding out she gets coffee on Friday afternoons? Or perhaps she has a sweet tooth, and instead of coffee in the mornings she starts her day at the bakery.

I could do that tomorrow.

To be honest, I’m such a home-body that just about anything in public would be a deviation from my norm. I’ve wandered around the corner to the apartment I rent without thinking about it, and Bunny greets me at the door with purrs and head-butts.

“Hi, little love,” I murmur, offering my fingers for scratches. She mews and rubs her cheek against me, then twists around my ankle. “Did you do lots of people watching today? Any news from the neighbors?”

She meows back at me, telling me all about her day, and it quiets some of the chaos in my brain. I scoop some food into her dish and set it down, then turn to microwaving my own dinner, only for my thoughts to wander back to the pale-haired beauty. I’ve resisted pulling out my phone all day, but I give in to the urge now. While I know she’s a content creator, I try hard not to obsess about her online, but sometimes I can’t help it.

I would normally flip on the TV while I eat, but I spend the time watching one video of hers after another. Her blue eyes sparkle when she glances at the camera, and her smile brightens when she gets a good reading. The way she sits in a mound of pillows or criss-cross on a blanket, the drape of her boho shirt over her curves, and the sound of her raspy voice as she speaks. All of it has longing surging through my veins.

I want to hold her, to talk to her. More than that, I want know her—and be known by her.

She spreads her arms wide at the end of the video I’m watching and waves to the camera, reminding me of her flowing body during my class yesterday. We didn’t get far in the first lesson, but the way she moved shows her mind-body connection is exquisite. She had no problem following every movement, flowing unerringly with intention and grace through every stretch as well as the basic tai chi walk.

My heart skips a beat and my chest warms at the memory, a strange sense of pride suffusing me. I hope she enjoyed it. She seemed to, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to her afterwards. I was too stuck in my own head, trying to sort out my words and what to say. Before I could figure it out, she was disappearing out the door with her friends. I sigh, wishing for the millionth time that I was more brave. That I had more going for me. Maybe even that I was an alpha so I could be what she needs.

Anything to give me a chance with her.

I fall asleep to images of Siobhan’s slender arms curving above her head as she moves through a stretch, and I wake with my cock hard as a metal rod. I groan and roll to my back, the last vestiges of lust-filled blue eyes and my name being moaned by her perfect lips fading from memory as consciousness greets me.

I have got to get over this crush. It’s been two years, and if nothing has happened by now, chances are it’s not going to. Omega’s don’t tend to stay single if they don’t want to, and the fact is that Siobhan could be with whoever she wants by crooking one cute little finger at them. I don’t realize I’m stomping through the house until Bunny yowls at me, and I startle. I’m normally much more self-aware, and I shake my head at how out of sorts she has me.