Page 87 of Bonded By Tea and Tarot

The next couple of days pass quickly, with Siobhan and her friends attending tai chi—both of us behaving perfectly professional until after the lesson—while the alphas have to work. My other classes aren’t half as fun, and I’m almost always thinking about Siobhan, Hayden, or Jayce. We snag lunch downtown or dinner after work when we can, but it turns out the alphas have an inconsistent schedule.

Jayce’s depends on what contracts the construction company has, how big of a project it is that he’s assigned to oversee, and what the timeline looks like. Sometimes he works twelve hour days, sometimes he’s done within two. Hayden, on the other hand, has a more predictable base schedule, but they’re often called in to help cover shifts or busier weekends. It leaves me alone with Siobhan about half the time, which I don’t hate, but I also don’t love. I’d like more time all together as a pack.

I’m sure it’s harder on her though, especially with her new bond. I wonder what that feels like, to be bonded to someone and always privy to their feelings. It sounds nice. Not very private, but still nice.

As is our new habit, we all congregate at Siobhan’s house after work. I’m a little worried about how tonight is going to go. Tomorrow is the full moon, so we need to talk to her tonight about the plan Hayden and I came up with. I have a feeling springing it on her last minute tomorrow would be the worst way to go about it, so it has to be tonight.

It must have been an early day for Jayce, since his truck is in the driveway when I pull up. I knock on the door then open it without waiting. Siobhan says it’s a hassle to have to answer it every time, so she’d rather we just let ourselves in. Very Midwestern-small-town of her, and not super safe in my opinion, but she does have a doorbell camera to see who it is, at least.

I wonder if I can get her movement alerts sent to my phone… Actually, I bet Hayden has already cajoled her into sending the alerts to theirs. I make a mental note to double check and get in on that.

Bunny greets me with her usual meows, and I bend down to scoop her up, tickling her belly and sinking my fingers into her fluff. She basically lives here now, and I just bring more of her stuff over every time.

“Hey, Moonbeam.” I grin, my heart instantly lighter seeing her sitting at the kitchen counter. Bunny leaps onto a nearby chair, and I sweep Siobhan up into my arms and spin her around. Her long, lacy kimono swirls into the air around us and I nimbly step around it so I don’t get tangled. She laughs, although it might be half shriek, and flings her arms around my neck to hold on. My heart soars. I bury my nose in her hair and suck in a deep breath, then settle her back on her feet. “How was your day?”

Hayden walks in at that moment, and Siobhan presses a quick kiss to my lips before bounding over to them. I saunter after her, then lean against the end of the counter with my hands in my pockets. Did I roll my sleeves up before I got here with the express purpose of drawing their eyes to my forearms? Maybe.

Does it work as soon as Hayden walks in and sees me? Yes.

Their eyes drop and their jaw ticks, then their gaze scorches a path back up to my face. I try to keep my smile nonchalant—cool, so cool and chill and unbothered—but I’m not sure it works. Hayden keeps one arm slung around Siobhan’s waist as they stride up to me, then they grip the back of my neck with their free hand and tug my mouth to theirs.

I grin into the kiss, feeling Hayden doing the same, then they pull away and nudge Siobhan back into my arms so they can greet Jayce. The two murmur quietly together for a moment, foreheads pressed together, then Hayden turns and washes their hands.

I follow their lead as we get to work on the beans that were soaking overnight, intending to make bean and cheese burritos with avocado, pico de gallo, and corn.

“So, I interrupted earlier,” Hayden says, glancing between me and Siobhan. “How was your day, little witch?”

She flushes at the nickname and I lick my lips, wishing I could lick the blush that travels down her neck. Jayce gives me a knowing look from across the counter where he’s chopping the tomatoes.

Siobhan sighs, and all of our attention returns to her. My brows pinch as I frown. “Don’t love how that sigh sounded, Moonbeam. What’s up?”

“Ugh,” she groans. “Just Helen being Helen again.”

“What did she do this time?” Jayce almost growls, but manages to hold it in.

Siobhan proceeds to read through a series of message exchanges between herself and Helen, and it’s no surprise that the tension in the room grows with every word she says.

“She’s manipulating you,” I grind out when she finally stops. “She gaslit you into agreeing to do a ritual you’re not comfortable with.”

“I know that,” Siobhan says, clearly aggravated.

“Are you going to tell her no?” Jayce demands.

Siobhan rolls her eyes and Hayden visibly tenses next to me. “No, I’m not going to back out. I’ll deal with it.”

Jayce’s hand slips when he squeezes the tomato too hard. It shoots off the cutting board and across the counter before landing on the floor at Siobhan’s feet with a wet splat.

We all stare at it. For an eternity, there’s resounding silence.

And then Siobhan snorts.

My eyes shoot up to her face to see both hands covering her mouth, cheeks red around her fingers and eyes watering as she tries not to laugh. Bunny leaps onto the counter and settles primly next to her, then lets out a scornful sounding meow. I grin, and that seems to do her in. She giggles, and I chuckle. Then she starts laughing so hard she ends up bent over with one arm banded around her stomach. I’m cackling right along with her, while Hayden looks between the two of us with amusement.

Jayce is glowering at all five of us—me, Siobhan, Hayden, Bunny, and the tomato—from his side of the counter.

“Alright, alright,” Hayden says, snatching up the tomato and tossing it in the compost. “You two are ridiculous.”

“Us?!” Siobhan screeches and points a finger at Jayce in outrage. “What about him! He’s the one who threw a tomato at me!”