Page 7 of Bonded By Tea and Tarot

His grin is slow, sublime, as it spreads across his face, and it seems to light up every nerve ending his fingers are touching.

“I would love nothing more than to take you out on a date, Siobhan,” he says. “Now, can I walk you out to your car while we sort the details?”

I nod, dazed and a little overwhelmed by the roller coaster ride we just took, but I turn and his hands fall from me, and I’m only a little sad about it.

“How are you liking the class?” Aury asks, turning to close the door behind us as we exit.

“I love it,” I say. “I’ve been practicing what I can, but it’s hard to remember it all.”

We’re already pushing through the front doors, the chill evening breeze of early autumn kissing my sweaty skin, and I don’t want this to end. I turn back to look at him, seeing him a couple steps behind me as he was holding the door open for someone to walk inside.

“Can I give you my num— Ah!” I shriek, flailing my arms when I miss the top step.

The cement stairs rush up to meet me, and pain flares through my wrist, then my legs and ribs and head as I tumble down the flight of concrete steps.

“Siobhan!”

I barely register the panicked shout, my body screaming at me on the inside. Or maybe that’s me screaming on the outside.

The last thing I see is Aury’s horrified face as he bends over me, his mouth moving frantically but his words not making it past the ringing in my ears. Pain slams through my body, pounding through my head, and then blackness overtakes me.

Chapter Six

Hayden

We don’t get a ton of true emergency calls; our town is pretty quiet for the most part. So when dispatch informs us of an omega who fell down a set of concrete stairs and knocked herself out, we jump to it.

“Fuck,” Chris says. “This could be bad.”

He’s a paramedic and an alpha, like me, and we’ve worked together for years now. I hop into the driver’s seat, only waiting a moment for him to close himself in the back. Then I flick on the siren and we’re flying through the streets.

Dispatch fills us in with reports of blood and twisted limbs, stating the omega hasn’t regained consciousness, but is reportedly breathing fine. My heart pounds and the blood whooshes in my ears. Breathing fine and steady pulse are good signs, but there could be internal bleeding or worse, especially if she’s unconscious.

I make it there in record time, and Chris shoots a sideways look at me. Normally I’m calm and collected under pressure, as you have to be if you’re going to make it as a first responder. I have no idea why this call is hitting me, but my gut is telling me to go. So I ignore his concerned glances, pull up to the curb, and leap out. I grab the emergency bag while leaving him to get the gurney, and I stride over to where an Asian man is kneeling over the omega, holding her hand and stroking the hair from her face.

“Do you know her name?” I snap a pair of gloves on and reach out to check her airway, breathing, circulation, and alertness, glancing up when the man doesn’t immediately answer.

He looks tortured, distraught, and I wonder at their relationship. Which is entirely unlike me, extremely unprofessional, and does not matter at all right now.

“Siobhan. Her name’s Siobhan.”

A pretty name. One that slots into my brain like it’s supposed to be there. I immediately call her name, but she doesn’t respond, as expected. Neither does she react when I check her other responses.

“Stable but unresponsive,” I call to Chris, then pull out gauze for her head wound.

“I was a step too far away to catch her. I tried, but it all happened so fast.”

A flare of anger at the beta for not preventing this, for not protecting her, surprises me. My emotions are all over the place today, and now is not the time for it. I clench my jaw and refocus, noticing the beta’s breathing is speeding up. I jerk my chin at him while making eye contact with Chris to take care of it. I can’t get myself to step away from the hurt omega; she needs me.

“Hey,” Chris says, pulling the beta to the side. “Take a breath. You did great. Her vitals are steady, we’ll take it from here. Can I get your name and number in case we need more information?”

I turn back to the omega, taking in the blood seeping from the side of her head and her limbs laying askew. I do a quick head-to-toe check for any other obvious trauma. At the very least she’s going to have a sprain, maybe even a broken wrist or elbow, depending how she landed. She’s covered in scrapes and there are already hints of bruises forming along her jaw. She’ll need X-rays and a CT scan at minimum, but my bigger worry is her spinal cord.

I vaguely register the beta giving Chris her information while I apply a C-collar, then we slide her onto a backboard and lift her onto a stretcher, which I wheel towards the ambulance.

We get her loaded into the back and the beta runs up, asking to come with us.

“No,” I bark, startling both the beta and Chris. They gape at me, but I climb into the back with Siobhan and start hooking her up to the monitor. Chris steps forward as though to help me down, as he’s normally the one riding in back with patients while I prefer to drive, but this time I shock all three of us when a growl ricochets up my chest.