Let Me Find Your Omega - Ashe Moon Page 0,17

them,” I said. “Not an unexpected response to learning the alpha they were courting was actually their estranged brother. Don’t worry, they’re clean now.”

“Damn, that’s some news. Oh, here. I brought you something.”

He held out a paper bag, and I felt my chest tighten in surprise. What was this? A gift? I took the bag and looked inside. “You brought me tea,” I said, stunned.

“We literally just got the order in after you left today. Figured you’d want to try it. It’s a black tea from Adosh. Great for breakfast.”

“Thank you,” I said. “You’re too generous, Markos.”

“Nah, I still owe you. You’re helping me out.”

I gestured to the cushions and we took a seat on the floor. Markos made himself comfortable, but it was apparent he wasn’t used to sitting on floor cushions.

“Do you use your wolf form very much?” I asked, lighting a few candles.

“Not since high school,” he said. “I mean, I do occasionally stretch the legs and tail and all, but I live in the unit right above the café, so I don’t need to use the wolf run to get places. Not a lot of other reasons for me to shift. Why, is it obvious?”

“Just a little,” I said. I was thinking about what I’d seen the other day, the hazy vision that had come into mind’s eye. Markos’s fortune? “It’s good to practice shifting. Regular use helps keep your energies in balance, you know?”

“I don’t know a thing about energies,” he said. “Until Elise got into the whole divination thing, I wasn’t sure if it was real.”

“It is.”

Markos looked around at the candles. “You’re not setting up for a session, are you?”

“No. It’s a much better mood in here with candles, don’t you think? But I can give you a reading if you’d like.”

“I think I’ll pass, for now,” he said with a laugh.

I was hoping he would agree—I was so curious about what I would see.

He leaned back and looked around the room at the velvet curtains that covered every wall with their silver embroidery that was now shimmering perfectly under the candlelight. “It does feel different in here from last time when you had all the lights on.”

“The mood is essential to a proper reading,” I explained. “It has to feel just right for both the reader and the client, or else it’s difficult to come together.”

“So, you don’t just close your eyes and make it happen?”

“Not at all. First off, the subject needs to be able to open up. Their energy channels need to be ready. It goes both ways. The subject enters the reader just as much as the reader does the subject. Of course, special incense makes things easier. Forms the energy connections for people who aren’t used to it. Helps them become clear and focused, and facilitates the moment. It’s like…”

“Making love,” Markos said.

I coughed and my glasses dropped to the tip of my nose. I quickly jabbed them back in place. “Um, I was going to say a dance, but I guess you could use that analogy.”

Markos burst out in a fit of nervous laughter. “Of course, a dance makes way more sense. Wow, that’s awkward. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, nothing to be sorry about,” I said, smiling. “A reading session requires no emotional involvement nor physical pleasure, but I’m sure it can be just as intimate as intercourse.”

I immediately wished I hadn’t said that. He didn’t need to know that I was completely inexperienced in that area, but I saw his expression change—he realized what I was saying. I quickly moved the conversation forward. “So, what questions did you have?”

“Right, questions. Uhm…” He scratched his head. “Shit. My mind went blank. Sorry, sometimes this happens when I’ve got way too many thoughts going at once, and then everything just goes dark.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” I said. “Like looking at a wall full of viewscreens playing something different and they all turn to static.”

“That happens to you, too?”

I stared up at the ceiling—the stars woven into the fabric were twinkling from the candlelight. “I’ve gotten used to people telling me my head is always up in space. That’s exactly where I want to be.”

Markos laughed. “I’m lucky to have found a passion that can bring me back to earth. But it seems like you’ve found one that lets you stay in the clouds. That’s what I’m worried about for Elise. Making sure she’s able to find a way of life that works for her. She’s very similar to