Page 47 of Bonded By Tea and Tarot

I purse my lips and pretend to glare at my deck for being so sneaky. Then I immediately relent and pet it in apology, whispering what a pretty and clever deck she is.

Lastly, Jayce: Six of Cups. Another six, though this one is much less ambiguous. This card tells me Jayce is safety. He is comfort and calm, creating a loving space for his pack. I let my eyes unfocus as I stare at the blue and pink card, picturing what I know of Jayce and rearranging it to fit this piece in. I can see it; his quiet strength and the thoughtful—though sometimes misguided—attemps to show affection.

I bite my lips, trying to quell my smile. I slowly gather the three cards, taking one last look at them before dropping them back into the deck and putting it away. I sigh and relax back into my couch. There’s a blanket draped over the back and I fling it over me, then hug a throw pillow to my chest while I let my mind wander. First to the alphas and beta who are courting me, then to other things. What other dates I might like to go on with them. A new deck I’ve been eyeing. The book I’m reading.

Inevitably, it wanders to social media. To work, and what content I can make next. How much I have scheduled, and when I’ll need to do more filming. Probably this week, if I’m honest with myself. I twist my lips to the side and pull out my phone.

I’m tagged in a new video. I frown, clicking to open it, only to see Hels Spells has tagged me in her newest post. She starts the video by wishing me well and saying how sad she is that I can’t do a collab with her. That it would be “just so freaking cool” to combine her spells with my tarot and crystal work. Then she starts mixing ingredients.

I thought you were supposed to cleanse everything first, but maybe she already did that. Pink salt and chamomile, dried basil, garlic powder, rosemary (which has me bristling because that’s the scent of my alpha), black salt, sand, coffee grounds, lavender with white flour, honey, and finally some dried rose petals. I narrow my eyes as she closes the spell jar, wishing healing upon me. She says the flour is for binding, and salt is purifying and for protection, but I thought you weren’t supposed to mix those. She also added sand, which she says is to help release the energy, but to my knowledge adding sand can break everything down too fast, so you’re only meant to add it in certain situations. And the lavender for calming, plus coffee grounds for speed and energy?

That one is definitely contradictory.

I shake my head. It doesn’t feel right. I scroll through my contacts, debating, then finally cave and message another creator I chat with every so often. She’s an earth witch, much more knowledgeable about spells and their ingredients than I am. I send her the video, then ask about her opinion on the ingredients, trying to keep it vague and unoffensive.

I’m probably wrong.

I take a deep breath and try to let go of it. I’m a tarot witch, and I’ll stick to my specialty. I’ll pick up a few extra black tourmaline and smoky quartz for protection this weekend, maybe some kyanite or citrine as well. On that note, I scour every room of my house, collecting my protection crystals, and then I carefully bury them in a bowl of sea salt before setting it outside for the moon to cleanse over night. I’ll place them around the house again in the morning, and hopefully that will be enough to keep me safe from whatever Helen is up to.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jayce

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I slap my hands together to dust off my gloves before tugging them off. I had to call the crew in on a Sunday to get this job finished on time, and none of us are happy about it.

Pretty Siobhan: Is this from you?

A photo of a bouquet of flowers pops up along with a typed card that says, ‘For you, pretty omega’.

Me: Yep.

Siobhan: Thank you, they’re gorgeous.

Three dots pop up and then disappear, and I frown. Was the flower bouquet a bad idea? I had it custom made; I picked each flower based on its meaning. Or at least, based on what this ‘Language of Flowers’ book said the meanings were. I’m typing a ‘you’re welcome’ reply when another message comes in.

Siobhan: Not to read too much into it, but as it’s quite a unique bouquet… Did you pick these flowers out?

Butterflies light in my stomach. She noticed.

Me: I did. I got a book about their meanings, thought you might like it.

Siobhan: Jayce [happy tears emoji] that’s seriously so sweet. I love them. Can I borrow that book?

Me: Sure, no problem.

Siobhan: I know you’re working, so I’ll let you get back to it. Just want you to know this is the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received.

The butterflies have fluttered up to my heart making it skip a beat, and I grin down at my phone.

“Hey boss, you gonna help us out here or keep staring at your phone like a lovesick douchebag?”

I glare at the younger alpha, but he simply laughs. “Just wait,” I say, tugging my gloves back on and stomping over. “You’ll be eating your words one day.”

When we’re finally done, I’ve driven home, and I’m clean from the shower, I walk into the kitchen to see Hayden tapping away on their phone.

“Hey,” I say, sliding into the seat next to them.

They set their phone down and look up at me. “How was work? Get it all finished?”