Page 39 of Zodiac Beasts

A single, strong stroke of my wings put me in the air above him. He didn’t watch me leave. His eyes remained fixed straight ahead, and he remained still.

Truly such a shame.

The Gamble of the Gemini

Chapter 20

Another week, another match. I made my best effort to sabotage yet another potential relationship, then I returned to the shop to get back to work on our summer inventory. This was one of the biggest sale seasons of the year, and it was a waste of time to spend it on dates that had no chance of going anywhere.

Fortunately, the sheer number of dates I was faking my way through each week was keeping Mother off my back for now, but for how much longer, I didn’t know. Eventually she would become suspicious. She might even want to supervise.

I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

I sat down at my sewing machine, and the hum of the needle instantly brought me back to my most zen state.

Sundresses, shorts, sleeveless shirts: I lost myself to creation as I mechanically produced each garment in each needed size. I had my hands full keeping up with demand before inventory night this month. The long, overnight shift always coincided with the full moon, assuring I had an excuse to remain behind the wards in the shop at my most vulnerable time of the month.

Though with my wonderful luck lately, for this June, Purnima just so happened to overlapped with my birthday.

I was fond of neither event.

Spending my birthday at work was the one and only kindness my overcritical parents had learned to allow me. It was legitimately surprising that they’d come to the conclusion that I deserved one, single day of peace and security all on their own. I only had to be traumatized a few times before they’d figured it out, but that was minor compared to the emotional damage they inflicted on me themselves.

I sighed and started on another dress. It wasn’t the first time I’d been swamped by finals and the summer work load all at once, but somehow this year felt more overwhelming than usual. My head was all over the place lately, and I was starting to feel crushed by the sheer number of stressors in my day to day.

Lila was the only thing that was consistently relaxing, but then again, she brought with her the baggage that was Marcus Emery and who knew who and what else. Her pleasant disposition and getting absorbed in her mystery were the only things currently keeping me sane, while subsequently being the most volatile time bombs in my life.

Maybe she would be willing to help me with inventory this month. It would be nice to spend my birthday with someone whose company I enjoyed.

No, that’s ridiculous. I couldn’t expect her to do that. Spending my birthday with me was entirely too personal and sentimental, especially considering she was mated to the vampire. That was asking for trouble.

I’ll just spend the night alone.

The thought made my stomach drop, and I couldn’t figure out why I’d had such a visceral reaction to something I’d done for my entire adult life. I was turning twenty-five. I didn’t need some kind of party. That was childish. Working on my birthday was what an Arya was supposed to do.

But a single friend would be nice. Having Lila here would help pass the time, and we would get more done if we worked together. An Arya was also supposed to be efficient, after all.

That could be my opportunity to see her shifted. See what she looked like, and try to determine what her genetic makeup might be. I suspected it would be difficult to get a full read on her prior to the month of the Virgo, but I would likely be able to discern small features.

I wondered if she might have some sort of serpentine blood in her. There had to be a reason she drew me in so intensely, while also drawing in a vampire. I had no clue what her other Alpha scent belonged to, but there could be something to all of it. Like shifters sought like shifters, so maybe like hybrids were drawn to the blood of like hybrids.

I might know one demon who would qualify, depending on what kind of hybrid the Capricorn mark on her lip belonged to. She did seem to have some sort of sexual tractor beam to her. Imagine if she’d roped in a cupid or an incubus. There was only one demon I could think of that shared all three of those traits at once, but her mixture with Zodiac blood meant it was impossible to make too many assumptions.

Hmmm…

Would she agree to a full moon away from her mates?

No, not for me. I wasn’t that important to her. Nor should I expect to be. We were simply coworkers and classmates who pleasantly spent time together.

I sighed aloud, frustrated by my own overthinking.

These thoughts continued to plague my mind, day after day, through class, work, dates, and studying.

I was sick of my own brain when I entered the library, hoping to clear my head with the inviting scent of leather bound books.

I had studying to do with finals coming up, though I wasn’t terribly stressed on my understanding of the material. I’d never failed a test, and I didn’t suspect I would start now. At this point, I was here more out of a desperate bid to think about literally anything other than the full moon and my obligations.

I took a seat at my usual table, and I pulled some books from my bag.