Chapter 28
FLETCHER
Sky must’ve agreed with me, because he groaned and turned it off.
“Doesn’t this car have Bluetooth? We could play actually good music if I could attach it to my phone.
” As if to prove a point, he began scrolling through his endless Spotify playlists, then pressed play.
A moment later, My Chemical Romance’s “Teenagers” blared from his speakers.
I laughed. “Forget the teenagers! You scare the living shit out of me with your music taste, babe,” I teased him good-naturedly.
He stuck out his tongue at me, and if I hadn’t been actively driving, I might’ve kissed him.
I didn’t know what it was about Sky DuPree that got my motor rumbling, but he definitely did it for me.
He did it for Adam, too. It made me happy that finally, my Alpha saw in Sky what I’d seen from the very beginning.
A sweet, sassy soul who just needed a little tender loving care and affection, someone who needed to be touched and adored and embraced for who he was, not for who he might’ve been in the past. Together, the three of us made a pretty good team.
“Hey, isn’t this the place?” Sky asked, turning his music down.
I glanced up. He was right. The small brick hole-in-the-wall on the corner, covered with graffiti and street tags, was an occult-slash-oddities shop that I’d heard of through the grapevine. The hand-painted sign hanging above the glass shop door said “The Third Veil” in scrawling red lettering.
I pulled up alongside the curb, seeing as there really didn’t seem to be any other place to park, and killed the engine.
“Yep, this is it. The Third Veil. From what I was reading online, they’ve got crystals and incense and tarot cards, and even offer past-life regressions by appointment!
” I wiggled in my seat. “I wanted to see what all they have to offer. Ready?”
Sky shook his head, a small smile on his face. “You’re so cute when you’re excited. Let’s go in.”
A small bell chimed as we stepped inside, the sound delicate beneath the low hum of mystical music drifting from the overhead speakers. I took a deep breath, and the warm scent of sandalwood greeted me.
Sky glanced over, lifting his brows in surprise. I grinned back. This place seemed cool. We walked deeper inside and looked around.
The shop was dimly lit, illuminated mostly by strings of twinkling fairy lights and mismatched lamps tucked between crowded shelves. Thick black velvet curtains obscured the world outside, giving the shop a cozy feel.
Bookcases of varying sizes and shapes lined the walls, filled with tarot decks and occult books, knick-knacks and candles in ornate candle-holders.
Glass cases displayed silver rings and polished crystals, pendulums and divination tools, and gemstone runes.
Dreamcatchers hung from hooks, and shelves held stacks of candles in every color. Bundles of incense were assorted by scent. Somewhere in the back, chimes tinkled softly.
“Wow, this is amazing,” Sky murmured, bending over a sectioned wooden box of polished crystals and gemstones.
He held up a round piece of purple quartz.
“There are even tags telling you what properties each stone has and what they do. Did you know that amethyst can calm stress and anxiety and help with peaceful dreams? Pretty cool.”
“Let me see.” I joined him, picking through the pieces of amethyst until I found one I liked. It was small and lopsided, almost shaped like a triangle, with a band of creamy white in the center. “I want this one.”
“Oh, hey look over here. They’ve even got jewelry.”
We browsed for what felt like an hour. I picked out a “worry stone” for Adam—a small, flat stone with a divot for him to rub his thumb against when he felt anxious. I figured he could keep it in his pocket at work for when things got stressful.
Sky found a necklace he liked—a crescent moon carved of obsidian hung on a slim black chain. Obsidian claimed that it could cleanse negative energy, and it was a gorgeous piece of jewelry, so of course I bought it for him.
The woman behind the cash register was tall and willowy, wearing a violet gown with gossamer sleeves that flowed like silk.
Her dark curls were pinned back away from her face, sending them cascading down her back, and kohl liner rimmed even darker eyes.
She smiled at us as she handed me back my credit card.
“Before you go, would either of you be interested in a tarot reading, perhaps?”
The way Sky hesitated before looking at me told me he was at least a little bit curious, and honestly? So was I.
“Sure, why not?” I suggested, nudging his elbow with mine. “It might be fun.”
“Perfect,” she purred. “Come with me.”
She led us behind a velvety purple curtain to a small round table covered in crushed velvet, surrounded by four folding chairs. Gesturing for us to sit, she took her spot where a deck of cards and four white candles waited for her.
She lit the candles, and then some incense, and began.
The candles flickered, casting a glow over the deep purple table covering.
Sky sat there, his hands wrung together, watching the woman with uncertainty as she began to shuffle a deck of tarot cards lazily.
They were colorful, with a moon-and-star design on the back and shiny foil edges that caught the candlelight.
I studied the way her fingers smoothed over the cards.
The way one might fly out of the deck as if “summoned,” to which she’d smile to herself and set it face-up on the table.
The way she’d gently flip over cards and lay them down in a pattern that made no sense to me, but probably made perfect sense to her.
After a moment, she set the deck aside and looked over the spread.
She waved her hands over the cards, her palms hovering just above them, as if she could feel their energies speaking to her.
She hummed softly, tilting her head to one side as she seemed to consider something, and then laid her hands down on the table in front of her.
“I see,” she murmured.
Sky leaned in, as if he were missing something important. “I don’t.”
She giggled. “Oh, sweet boy. You aren’t aligned with the cards, so of course you don’t see.
Let me lay it out for you. Let’s see what Spirit wants you to know.
” She pursed her lips and looked skyward, holding out her hands with her palms up this time, before closing her eyes.
“I see happiness and fulfillment. Stability. Grounding. A surprise in your future…but also a dark shadow that you need to be aware of.”
Sky frowned. “A shadow? What does that mean?”
“It could be negative thought patterns, old habits, bad decisions, or it could simply be old gunk coming up from your past. It could be anything—and of course, it could change, depending on the trajectory of your life. This is not set in stone. It’s not a bad reading, I promise. Don’t look so worried, my dear.”
I squeezed Sky’s shoulder. “It’s good,” I assured him. “Think of it as guidance that you’re on the right path.”
“Your boyfriend is wise,” the woman said with a knowing twinkle in her eye, and then and only then did Sky relax. He tipped his head sideways to gaze up at me, a smile playing on his lips. He reached out and laced his fingers with mine.
“Yeah, he’s a pretty cool guy,” he mused aloud.
I couldn’t help but laugh. I squeezed his hand and tugged at it so he’d stand. When he rose to join me, we thanked the woman and headed back outside into the crisp autumn breeze.
“Don’t think too hard about it,” I murmured into his ear, already knowing where his mind would go the minute we got back in the car. He would dwell on that one little possibly-negative aspect of the tarot reading and twist it into a hundred what-ifs.
“She said it was a positive reading, so leave it at that. Whether you believe in a higher power or not, they’re simply cards and she’s simply a human being. That’s all,” I told him. “Don’t get all twisted up about it and ruin our day out.”
He sighed softly, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Yeah. You’re right. How are you so good at this?”
“At what?”
“At reading me like a book?”
I smiled. “You’re part of my family now, Sky.
You’re pack, and you share a piece of my heart.
” I sidestepped closer to him and kissed him on the cheek, then swung open the passenger-side door for him.
“Now pick us out some decent music for the ride back. What sounds good for lunch? I was thinking maybe subs?”
“Sounds good. Should we text Adam and see if he wants something?” Sky slid beneath my arm, into the passenger seat, and I shut the door behind him. I walked around the front of the car to the driver’s side, and got in.
As the engine idled, I tapped out a text to Adam in the group chat. Getting subs for lunch. Want me to pick you up something on the way home?
A 6-inch sounds great ;) followed by a thirsty-face emoji.
I giggled. Beside me, Sky laughed out loud. “Oh my god. Someone’s horny.”
Food, Adam. Think with your stomach right now and maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ll get two 6-inches tonight ;)
Another snorted laugh from Sky, but when I looked up, his face was beet red all the way to the tips of his ears. I threw my head back in laughter.
“What sounds good?” I asked him, putting the car into drive and heading deeper into the small town. Surely there had to be a sub shop here somewhere.
“I’m thinking chicken bacon ranch with tomatoes, but no lettuce,” Sky said. His phone dinged. He read it and then added, “Adam wants a Philly cheesesteak with extra chipotle sauce and jalapeno peppers. What about you, Fletch? What are you gonna order?”
I thought about it for a moment. “Mmm. I want roast beef and cheddar with steak sauce and pile on all the veggies.”
Sky wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Crunchy.”
“Delicious,” I singsonged back.
“Even jalapenos?” he asked, dubious.
It was my turn to make a face. “You know how my stomach handles spice. If Adam wants a little fun tonight, then spicy is a no-go.”
That made him laugh. “Valid.”
We found a sandwich place with a drive-thru right as we were leaving town. I pulled up to the speaker and placed an order, then went around to the window.
When I handed the purple haired twenty-something my debit card, she didn’t hide her obvious disdain for her job.
She snatched it from my hand and tapped it on the reader, then quickly handed me back the card and the receipt with a brusque, “It’ll be out in a sec,” before all but slamming the drive-thru window in my face.
I blinked in surprise. “Wow. Okay.”
Sky snorted, muttering, “Bitch,” under his breath.
“Be nice. She might just be having a bad day. We’re all entitled to those,” I told him. “For all we know, she got some bad news and isn’t handling it well.”
Sky eyed me. “Or she could just be a bitch,” he suggested, which made me smile despite myself. It must’ve been contagious, because a grin peeked out a moment late, almost sheepish. “Just saying. You’re too kind, Fletch. She just treated you like shit, but you still jump to defend her.”
“Everyone has a story,” I murmured. “We don’t know hers.”
He shrugged. “So long as she doesn’t spit in my sub, I guess it’s whatever.”
I laughed. “Agreed.”
A few minutes later, she poked her head out of the window and handed us a plastic bag. “Have a good day,” she said, like it was a catchphrase, and then slammed the window again.
I shook my head, wondering if Sky was right, and I ensured everything was accounted for. Counting three subs, I handed the bag to Sky and pulled out of the lot, glad to leave the bad juju behind.
I found a shady spot in a nearby lot and parked. Sky began unwrapping his sub, and I thought I heard the faint sound of his stomach growling. He took a big bite and groaned with happiness.
I grinned and grabbed my sandwich. I was pretty hungry too. We’d skipped breakfast because Adam opened Bixby’s this morning, and we’d decided to take this little day trip. Sure, we’d stopped and gotten coffee on our way, but coffee wasn’t food.
My first bite crunched delightfully with all the vegetables packed on, the steak sauce lending a nice zesty zing to it all. Sky shot me a look that clearly said he was disgusted by my choices. I flipped him the bird. He gave it right back, and we both laughed.
We ate in comfortable silence, and when we’d finished and stuffed the trash back in the bag with Adam’s sub—sorry, Adam—Sky picked out a playlist for us to listen to on the ride home, and we settled in for the drive.
Tummy comfortably full and my soul humming with happiness, spending time with my boyfriend, we chatted back and forth on our way back to Greymercy.
Sky launched into a spiel about a book he was reading on his phone, telling me all about the different dragons and how people rode them and the whirling romance between the main characters, when suddenly something white flashed at the corner of my eye.
“LOOK OUT!” Sky shouted, his voice filled with fear.
I turned my head to the left, in time to see a white Ram truck barreling towards us with no intention of stopping. My heart leapt into my throat as I wrenched the steering wheel to the right in a desperate attempt to avoid a collision, but it was too late.
CRASH! The impact threw me forward, the crush of metal and shattering glass falling all around us as agony shot through me, fiery hot. I heard Sky’s scream as the car rolled, felt my own scream rip raw up my throat—and everything went black.