Page 18 of Bonded By Tea and Tarot

He goes to answer the door and I take his place at the stove, straining my ears to listen. All I can hear is murmuring, then Aury pokes his head in.

“It’s the paramedic from your accident. Do you want me to let them in?”

The paramedic? I have a hazy memory of being in the ambulance with them, mostly it’s a feeling of how soothing and comforting their presence was. That’s the annoying thing about concussions. They affect your memory.

My heart starts racing for some reason, and I thank the Moon Goddess for giving me the good sense to put real clothes on today. “Uh, sure.” I tell Aury.

Then overwhelming Palo Santo with an undertone of rosemary hits my nose. Their alpha scent sweeps through the room and I have to grab the counter to avoid being knocked back a step.

My brain narrows to a single line.

Scent-match.

Chapter Fourteen

Hayden

Her scent is overpowering. As soon as the beta from the community center opens the door, I’m flooded with cardamom and cloves. A crisp fall evening in front of the fire. A fresh mug of hot tea, sweetened with honey. Comfort and safety and warmth.

I want to fall to my knees and worship her.

I want to beg her forgiveness for what happened. That I wasn’t there to protect her, that I hadn’t found her sooner. That I can’t heal her properly.

The beta gestures me to come in, and I nod in thanks. I kick my shoes off by the door and he leads me to the kitchen. It’s all I can do to hold steady, to not bowl her over and scoop her into my arms. Her jaw is bruised, and she has partially healed scrapes and bruises all over her arms. Her head isn’t bandaged anymore, but her temple where she got knocked out is a nasty purple-blue color with a bump the size of her fist. I swallow hard, trying to look past her injuries, but it’s nearly impossible with my alpha instincts screaming at me that my omega needs my attention and care.

“Siobhan?” I say, forcing myself to pause in the kitchen doorway. “Is it okay if I come in?”

She stares at me, bright blue eyes wide and pink lips parted. Her breathing is heavy as she sucks in long pulls of my scent. I wonder if I look as awe-struck as she does. Probably worse, I realize when I snap my mouth closed and have to clear my throat to speak again. “Are you okay?”

“Uh-huh,” she mumbles, then blinks rapidly. “I mean, yes, please come in.”

She jumps into action, attempting to clear off a section of counter in front of a bar stool, but the beta, Aury, steps in with one hand on her waist and the other snagging her fingers in his.

“Moonbeam,” he whispers. “Why don’t you sit down and let me do this?”

“Right,” she says. “Yeah no, I can hel⁠—”

He clicks his tongue and gently turns her, and she sags with a resigned look on her face. I get the sense she doesn’t like being seen as weak, although I would never suspect her of being so, regardless. She needs to be resting, and it’s with a surge of approval that I observe her acquiescing to the soft-spoken beta as he takes control of the situation.

“Here,” he says, clearing a spot for me and pulling out the stool next to hers. “Come on in, I was finishing up some dinner for us.”

I run my eyes up and down his body, taking in his relaxed but guarded posture, and wonder again what their relationship is. I take a seat with my knees angled towards Siobhan’s, trying my best not to crowd her space. Every inch of me wants to lean into her and suck on her scent gland, to lick a stripe up her delicate neck and then down her stomach. To inhale her blooming perfume straight from the source.

“Thank you for agreeing to speak with me,” I say, clearing my throat again. I practiced what to say the whole drive over here, and yet somehow every planned word has fled my mind. “I wanted to check in on you. It’s not the most ethical thing to look up your info like I did, but I had to— I wanted to⁠—”

I pause and scrub a hand through my curls, fisting it against the back of my head. This is not coming out right.

“It’s okay,” she says, leaning a few inches closer. “I’m glad you’re here.”

I let out a breath of relief as some of the anxious tension loosens my shoulders. “I have to wear scent dampeners for work,” I say, deciding to just get it out. “I knew you were my scent match, but I knew you didn’t know. So I wanted to—I don’t know. Introduce myself properly, I guess, to give you the chance to decide if you’d like to…” I trail off and vaguely gesture between us.

My cheeks heat, and I hope it’s not too visible between my brown skin and trimmed beard. The last thing I need is to make more of a fool of myself.

She blinks a few times again, then her gaze darts to Aury where he has his back turned to us, giving us an illusion of privacy.

“I don’t—” she says, then stops. “You knew?”

I nod, desperation stirring in my chest when her expression falls.