Let Me Find Your Omega - Ashe Moon Page 0,53

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I got out my appointment notebook and found today’s date. I had Ms. Lizzy Pembertail next. Forty-three, and wanting to know whether or not her partner had plans to make a mating proposal.

Deep breaths, I thought, trying to slow my heart. This one should be easy. Maybe I was just a little off. Romance readings were my specialty, and figuring out a mating proposal would be a great way to get back on track. I was just a bit out of sync, my energies out of sorts because of all the new excitement in my life. That had to be it.

But no matter how hard I tried to quell the anxiety, it continued to pound in the back of my head and my chest, filling my veins with a constant rush of uneasiness. Not even my meditations were working. I was in wolf form, balancing on my head when the front door pushed open, ringing the brass bell I had hanging above it. I shifted as I fell over, and stumbled to my feet to go greet Ms. Pembertail.

“Welcome, welcome,” I said, fumbling with the paperwork. “If you could please fill these forms out and give me one moment. Please, thank you. Thank you.” I remembered that I hadn’t set up any of the divination charms and hurried into the chamber.

I told myself to focus, but my head was all over the place. I quickly wrapped a smudge stick of incense and then stopped when I realized I’d chosen the wrong components. I was feeling like a student again, unsure of what I was doing. Finally, I managed to get everything together and all the glyphs drawn and then brought Ms. Pembertail into the room.

She was a tall, willowy woman with a nervous tic and large, watery eyes like she was always on the verge of crying.

“Mr. Shadowborn, thank you so much for seeing me,” she said, rubbing her hands together. “I’ve been thinking about this for so long. I just don’t know what Pete is thinking. He said he’d propose when the time is right, but we’ve been seeing each other for almost five years, and every year he gives an excuse. I’m just worried it will never happen.”

“I’ll do my best to get to the bottom of it,” I said, lighting the candles and incense before settling at my desk.

This is your specialty, I told myself. Relax and do what you do best.

I closed my eyes and began the process, diving straight into the spectral realm. But just like before, when I found her constellation, I was unable to move inside of it. It was like I had a rope tied around my waist preventing me from moving any further. I felt a wash of panic and got up to dig out extra divination crystals to place around the room. Then I shifted and made a second attempt to start the reading.

Nothing. I couldn’t do it. Something was holding me back, and there was only one reason I could think of.

After refunding Ms. Pembertail’s credits, I canceled the rest of my appointments and locked the front door, and then retreated to the dark of the divination chamber to meditate. I didn’t know what else to do. I must have severed some connection. My feelings for Markos had gone beyond what was acceptable, and I’d managed to convince myself otherwise. But what was acceptable? I didn’t even know. I was completely in the dark, following a vow I’d made when I was just a child. I’d had no training for this.

I had to try and reverse the effects, and there was only one way I could think to do that.

14 Markos

“More hot water for your tea?” I asked the last customer in the store.

“Nope, I’m good. Just finishing up.”

I hummed as I wiped down the counters and flipped the chairs on top of the tables, and then finally locked the door after they left. Jillian and Ivan came out from the kitchen to help me close up the front.

“Good day today,” Jillian said, counting the credits in the register.

“Busy days usually fly by,” I said. “But not today. I’ve been staring at the clock all damn day.”

“Things going well with Kole?” Ivan asked.

I tried to keep my smile from getting too big. “I think it’s going okay. I don’t know. I’m starting to think that maybe there might be something there. Shit, I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”

“Hell yeah, Markos,” Ivan said. “I could see it between