Page 91 of Bonded By Tea and Tarot

“Right,” she says, turning away. “Whatever. Do it your way.”

I flip the second card—mine—which is Six of Wands. Again, I hold it up for the camera before moving onto the last one.

The third card—chosen by the deck, universe, Moon Goddess, whoever—is Judgement.

“Hmmm.” I glance up through my lashes at the camera, trying to up the drama. “Interesting,” I murmur.

“What do they mean?” Helen asks, clearly trying to hide her impatience.

“Well, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Your card indicates an ending or defeat of some kind. Misfortune, something not working out. Normally, I’d say it would be related to work, but…” I trail off, glancing at her, then the camera, then Aury.

Helen’s barely-serene expression falls and she clenches her jaw, glaring at me, before hissing through her teeth. “Are you trying to tell me I’m a failure?”

I shake my head with a shrug, throwing an apologetic look at the camera again. “I wouldn’t say failure, but it’s definitely not good. The Ten of Swords normally hints at an ending, and not a good one. Since I was focused on our content and the ritual…” I trail off again and raise my hands in a ‘what can you do’ type of gesture.

She grinds her teeth together, and I decide to move on before she completely loses it. Although when she hears what mine means, she might anyways.

I run my fingers along the edge of the second card. “Six of Wands indicates a—” I stop myself before saying success. I glance at Helen again, nerves making me hesitate. I clear my throat. “A job well done. It could hint at a reward coming, or some sort of career recognition.

“The third card,” I quickly say, figuring speed is the best option right now if Helen’s icy glare is any indication, “Judgement, says we’re approaching a significant point in our lives, probably in our career since, again, that’s what we’re focused on here. Judgement encourages us to pay attention to how our actions are impacting others.” I swallow hard, realizing this reading is hitting pretty close to home. “It might indicate awakening or self-reflection, finding purpose or improvement through change, and taking responsibility for conflicts.”

Helen is shaking her head, and I turn to look at her. She has her hands fisted on top of the table, leaning on them heavily. “Give me a different one,” she demands.

“You want me to pull another for you?” I ask, frowning. Perhaps she wants some clarity on the Ten of Swords—which, can’t blame her, to be honest. I would too—it’s not a good omen.

“Yes,” she whispers vehemently. “Do mine again.”

“Okay,” I say, gathering my cards and shuffling them quickly. “Tell me when to stop.”

“Stop,” she snaps, and I draw the top card. I would normally have someone pull their own card, but there’s no way I’m letting her vile energy any closer to my deck than it already is.

I flip the card over and gasp, not quite stifling it in time.

“What!” Helen says, grabbing my shoulder and spinning me towards her. Two alpha growls and a third rumble that sounds remarkably close to an alpha growl surround us. Helen blinks in surprise and releases me, raising her hands in surrender.

I slowly turn the card around so she can see it, keeping my eyes locked on her. “The Devil,” I whisper.

Helen screams.

My mouth falls open as my eyes bug out of my head. The Devil isn’t always a bad card, although if she’s not familiar with tarot I can see how she might think⁠—

She snatches up her bowl of ritual ingredients, shrieks as she raises her arms over her head, and then throws the entire thing at me, bowl included. Dirt and sticks, crushed herbs and pebbles, even a decent sized crystal rain down on me while the bowl bounces off my shoulder, only narrowly missing my face.

I try to duck, but it’s too late. She’s already doused me in whatever awful spell she was doing. Her chest heaves as she glares at me, chaos and rage filling her gaze. Ice drips down my spine and my lungs constrict. She sneers, then swings her arm across the ritual table, flinging everything on one side to the ground.

Now it’s my turn to shriek. I dive at the table, desperate to save my tarot deck and crystals, but before I can reach them, I’m surrounded. My pack is here, menacing growls filling the air around us.

As a beta, Helen isn’t as affected by their growls as an omega would be, but they’re putting out enough hostile energy that she cowers away anyways. I duck under Aury’s arm and quickly wrap up my alter cloth with the cards and crystals inside. I hope none of them get damaged, but better safe and slightly damaged than irreparably harmed.

I clutch the bundle to my chest and back up, only stopping when I hit a warm wall. Aury’s arms circle around me, and I lean back into his lithe strength.

“You have two minutes to get out of my sight,” Jayce growls, the words barely understandable.

“You can’t—” Helen yells, but the alphas only up their volume and take a step towards her, cutting her off.

“Get. Out. Of my. Sight.” Jayce’s voice is so threatening it makes me cringe into Aury’s hold. He must sense my reaction through the bond, because he glances back at me, then rolls his shoulders and forces his growl down a notch.

Helen scrambles away, tripping in her haste. She grabs her camera and tripod, but leaves everything else. The ritual table, her ingredients and spell jars, her ring light and decorations. All of it gets left behind. We see headlights through the trees a few minutes later, and then she’s gone.