Page 92 of Bonded By Tea and Tarot

The difference is palpable. It’s like a heavy presence lifts from not only our shoulders, but the forest and trees, plants and animals alike. Suddenly I can hear the crickets singing, the burble of a stream nearby, and the wind as it caresses the trees around us.

I slump into Aury’s hold with a gasp.

Hayden spins around and darts over to me. “Siobhan. Are you okay?”

“‘Mm fine,” I say, attempting to wave them off, except my hand doesn’t work right. It’s sluggish, feeling far too heavy and taking ages to lift. And when I finally get it up in the air, it’s shaking.

“Adrenaline crash,” they murmur. “Aury, bring her over here. Let’s get her sitting down somewhere away from all that negative energy.”

“Stream,” I mumble.

Hayden takes a moment to eye me, then nods. “Okay, it’s not far.”

We make it to the stream in one blink, and Aury sinks down into the grass with his back against a boulder. I shiver in the chilly night air, and Jayce shrugs out of his jacket and tucks it around me. I snuggle into it and Aury, sucking in deep breaths of their scents. I still have everything in my altar cloth clutched against my chest, and I think my arms are cramping in this position.

I whimper and my bottom lip trembles. I hate feeling helpless and overwhelmed.

“Shh,” Aury says, whispering into my ear so the others don’t hear. I’m glad they didn’t hear my pathetic whimper either. “You’re okay. We’re right here with you. It’ll all be okay, Moonbeam. Deep breath.”

I follow his breathing, letting his rising and falling chest guide me. Hayden swings by to cup my cheek gently, then drop a kiss on the top of my head. They trail their hand through Aury’s hair, then disappear again.

“Where are they going?”

“Just taking care of everything back there,” Aury says. He doesn’t mention anything specifically. No names or items, and I’m grateful for it.

“I don’t want it in our truck. Jayce’s truck, I mean.” My voice quivers and I hate it.

“Our truck, pretty omega,” Jayce rumbles, and I jump, not realizing he was so close. “And don’t worry, we’re not taking any of it with us. Only your things.”

“Okay.” I relax back into Aury, letting him surround me. It feels nice to be comforted and taken care of. There’s one tiny voice that says I shouldn’t rely on them, that everyone who is supposed to love me disappears, that they’ll let me down—but its hold on me is fading. I don’t think I believe that voice anymore.

Not when it comes to my pack, anyways.

I want to bond them.

The thought spears through me, taking my breath away. I bonded Jayce in a fit of heat madness, but to voluntarily have this desire is shocking. I’ve never consciously thought it before. There’s always been that part of me that yearns for a pack, for belonging, but never have I had such clarity like this.

I glance up at Aury. His jaw is tight, but his dark eyes are soft. Jayce and Hayden are nowhere in sight. My lips twist, and I realize I don’t want this night associated with that anyways. I’ll wait to tell them. It needs to be perfect.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Hayden

My heart is still pounding from the moment that virus—I refuse to call her a witch—put her hand on my omega. Then when she threw the bowl of ritual ingredients at her… It was like I became a different person. My vision went a hazy red and all I knew was protect.

Now that she’s gone and my omega is tucked safely away with my beta, I can finally take a breath. I glance at them one more time, reassuring myself and my alpha that they’re okay, then I stalk back through the trees to the clearing. Jayce is hot on my heels, his breathing shallow and muscles bunched with aggression.

“Don’t touch anything you don’t have to,” I direct. “Let’s gather Siobhan’s things. I’ll call into the forest service tomorrow to report the table and whatever else is left behind.”

Jayce grunts in acknowledgement and stomps over to Siobhan’s ring light, beginning to dismantle it. Her phone is lit up on the ground and I scoop it up, then realize it’s still open to the live stream.

“Oh.” I switch the camera around and address the tens of thousands of people watching. Holy shit, that’s a big number. “Hey everyone,” I say, trying not to sound like I’m ready to punch someone in the throat. “Not sure what all you saw, but we’re taking care of Siobhan. Helen left without further incident, but she left all her things here, so we’re cleaning up what we can. Siobhan is shaken up but fine. She’ll probably need a few days away from socials after that, I hope you all understand. Thanks for being here to support her.”

I ignore the comments and questions streaming in, click the red end button, then tuck her phone into my pocket. When I look back up and take in the scattered herbs and the bowl that’s rolled away from the table, fury slams through me. I clench my jaw and every muscle in my body tenses as I stare at it. There are crushed herbs strewn in the dirt, crystals that are tipped over or thrown from the table.

The red haze starts to descend again, and I force it back. Never have I felt such seething rage. I want to hunt that virus down. I know how to save a life, which means I also know how to take one. Which veins to nick, where to put too much pressure. I stomp on the ritual bowl to break it, then kick the pieces under the table. I don’t want to touch anything, but I also know these are mostly Siobhan’s crystals. I whip off my shirt, then use it as both a basket and to protect my hands while I collect the crystals from the table and surrounding dirt.

My heart pounds in my chest, slow and steady but so fucking loud it’s all I can hear. Murderous is a new emotion for me, one I didn’t think I was capable of until now. I’ve never considered harm instead of healing, but I’ve also never seen someone I love threatened like that before.