Page 6 of Taste of His Skin

I have another full-proof way to get some quick cash.

CHAPTER3

BLAME THE TRAY TABLE

Aleks says I don’t need money. That, in Muncie, his name—and the fang hanging off the chain around my neck—is as good as gold. So even if he’s not there to provide for his beloved, all I have to do is visit a supe establishment and I’ll want for nothing.

I wish I could do that. With the exception of the two years I spent in the Wolf District where we bartered for whatever we needed, I’ve spent my whole adult life finding some way to survive. The habit is ingrained in me. I can’t just stop now.

Right after I left my birth pack, I had to do things I’m not proud of for food, shelter, and money. I’ve scavenged in dumpsters, spent long stretches in my fur, and sold my body when I had no choice but to stay in my skin. I’ve gone hungry. I’ve stolen, too. I never relied on anyone else because I’ve neverhadanyone else.

And then I followed an aching belly and twitchy fingers to a human carnival where I had my fortune told by Madame Zoe, and she gave me the deck of cards that changed my life.

With these cards, some grit, a little determination, and a ton of bravado, I could make money another way. I didn’t have to sleep with males for food; I just had to con them. After what happened with Kyle and Peyton, I swore off males entirely—until I met Aleks, and even then I rejected the pull I felt toward him for more than five months.

But as much as I love Aleks—and I do, I really do—I would do anything for my tarot cards. In this world, they’re the only thing that’smine,and I proved that when I risked returning to Walker’s abandoned Alpha cabin after he lost his challenge to his daughter. I couldn’t leave the district without them if I could help it, and when I moved into Aleks’s apartment, I made sure I threw them in my duffle bag that first night.

I usually keep them stored in the bedside table Aleks bought for me. Lately, though, I’ve been carrying them around in my back pocket.

It’s the tray table’s fault.

I’m a shifter. Even if it’s safer for me to stay close to the apartment, there are times when my wolf wants out. There’s no denying her. I usually shift, then take a run around the park, but even a walk in my skin is enough to placate my other half. More often than not, Aleks joins me, but he’s not always home.

He’s not happy about it, but he understands that he can’t keep me caged inside. I need fresh air, and my wolf also needs to have a sense of her territory. The townhouse used to be mine. Now both halves of me consider the three-block radius around the apartment building as the beginning of a den for me and my mate.

It was during one of my walks around our territory that I found the table in a pile of trash thrown on the corner at the end of a block. I scavenged it, gave it a good wash, and kept it for one reason only: it was the perfect height and size to serve as a table for me to offer tarot card readings.

When I first moved to Muncie, I wondered if I’d be allowed to read fortunes here. It wasn’t long before I gave up on the idea. Fang City vamps make it clear that shifters don’t belong, and I didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I was a shifter. I’m not worried about that anymore. These days, my every movement draws a vampire’s attention, courtesy of my relationship with Aleks.

Might as well make it work for me.

It’s not about the money. While it’s nice to have some in my pocket, I respect Aleks too much to act like my fated mate can’t provide for me. Bringing Tarot to Muncie? It’s never been about the money. It’s about being Elizabeth Howell, honing my skills in case I ever need them again, and finding some way to occupy myself while Aleks is busy with the Cadre.

I’ve only done it twice since I scavenged the tray table, and both times Aleks mentioned it over dinner; as if I didn’t already know he had his patrollers keeping an eye on me, that sealed it. Turns out, he liked that I was doing something that I enjoyed, and as long as I stayed close to the apartment, he didn’t try to stop me.

Not like he really would. Even if we’re not bonded, I’m his mate, not his subordinate. So what if he’s the leader of the Cadre and that makes him the Alpha of Muncie? I’m a shifter. A lone wolf. I’ll listen to his suggestions because I care for him, but ultimately I’m going to make my own decisions.

For the most part, I choose to stay inside. But with Gretchen’s flippant comment still bouncing around my skull, I don’t think I can stand to be surrounded by Aleks’s scent without having him home with me. It was bad enough when I returned to grab the tray table, and I don’t plan on going back until Aleks is there.

I have hours to kill. Aleks rarely leaves the Cadre building before evening, and that’s only because he’s making an effort to be the type of male he thinks I deserve. He works during the day, comes home and feeds me, then lays down with me in our bed until I’m curled up, fast asleep. It’ll be some time until I expect to see him.

It’s the middle of the afternoon when I finish setting up my tray table and the hand-drawn sign I made, advertising my services. In a city as hectic and pedestrian-friendly as Muncie, plenty of lookie-loos gawk at me as they pass, curious to see what I’m doing—or maybe they’re trying to figure out what Aleksander Filan’s claimed mate is doing, setting up shop on the street corner.

When a few vampires—and a couple of humans—begin to line up in front of my table before I’m completely ready, I figure it has more to do with that than my amazing Tarot skills.

At least I’m entertaining enough to make their patronage worthwhile. After explaining how it works to the striking brunette vampire who’s first in line, I get started.

It’s not so easy to shove my worry for Aleks to the back of my mind, but I manage. Before long, I’m focused on the ever-growing line and the weight of more than a few pale-eyed stares on me. The first half an hour flies by.

Shuffling the cards, I’m just about to lay the spread for the human male up next when a shiver skitters down my spine. Almost instinctively, I take a deep breath, going still when I catch the faintest hint of fennel on the slight breeze. Add that to the whisper of a chill suddenly coming over me and I can tell exactly who is out there watching me this time.

Aleks.

I’m so attuned to him, I always seem to know when he is near. I’ve never tested how far how I can sense him, but it’s farther than I’ve ever been able to pick up on one particular aura, one particular scent. Especially in Muncie, where my delicate shifter’s nose is constantly assaulted with the meaty, bloody, icy stink of the countless vampires who live here, I have to be able to pick out the distinct licorice notes that are part of his innate scent to know it’s him.

It’s more than that, though. The little hairs on the back of my neck stand up when his powerful aura gets close enough, and my heart beats just a little faster. The emptiness that’s been inside of me fills a tiny bit more whenever his aura brushes up against mine.

The customer in front of me clears his throat.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com