1 Chapter 1: Visions

Amethyst

"Three of Swords—Sorrow. Usually indicating heartbreak," Amethyst told the other vendor she was reading for. The woman blinked in surprise, but then Amethyst had known she'd come to get a reading on a lark, not because she believed in it. It was always sad when the vision was harsh in situations like this. A lot of people never came back when they found readings to be true this way.

Olivia McDougal, better known by her chosen name of Amethyst, had just finished clearing the spiritual space of her lilac-colored canvas tent with sage. She'd been offering up a short prayer to the four directions for help in keeping her vision strong, when one of the other vendors had poked her head in and asked for a reading. Her name was Hannah.

Hannah chose the New Star deck for the reading.

Amethyst had cringed inside. She called that her "b*tch slap" deck..

"H-How did you know that?" Hannah wheezed.

Because she'd seen Hannah crying in her mind's eye, and she was coming off a bad breakup, though she hadn't told Amethyst outright. In times like these, it was just easier to do what she usually did. Amethyst gestured to the cards. "It's in the cards."

Hannah nodded mutely. She sat closer to the table, taking the reading more seriously. "Will he come back?"

Not a snowball's chance in Hades. Amethyst had seen Hannah alone in her vision. But, she dutifully turned over the next card. "Eight of Cups—Indolence. No, I'm afraid he's not coming back. You see how the land is barren and the cups are empty? It tends to indicate there is no feeling there anymore."

Hannah stood up from the table and threw down twenty-five dollars. "I don't have to listen to this. The cards are wrong. He's coming back."

Amethyst sighed inwardly but took the money without another word as Hannah stomped off. As a new-to-Tarot client, Amethyst could have put on the velvet gloves and tried to cushion the blow, or given her the hope she was looking for. It meant she might have come back for another reading.

But that wasn't Amethyst's way. Sure, money was nice, but Amethyst's goal was always to be true to the vision. True to those she read for.

Amethyst tugged at her sleeves. The inside of the tent was a little stifling—it was summer in Wisconsin, after all—so she had the tent flaps up to let in the air. A soft breeze fluttered the black velvet cloth she had over her table. She was wearing a white shirt with sleeves that flared at the elbow, with a mauve dress over it that laced at the front.

Since it was not yet 10:00 AM, when the faire opened, Amethyst decided to read a bit for herself. It would help recenter her and clear the bad energy from the previous reading. She pulled out her Tarot of Transformation deck, her favorite of her reading decks. Amethyst shuffled the cards in her hands, setting the intention that the cards tell her what she needed to know.

A single card dropped from the deck. Amethyst set the rest of the deck aside. "Jumpers" were always important. When she flipped over the green card, she smiled to herself. The Tarot of Transformation was a beautiful deck, and this card was no different. "Instinctual Wisdom," it said at the top. The picture was of a pack of wolves. Amethyst initially got the sense she was to trust her inner wisdom. But then, her eyes went unfocused, and she saw an image in her mind of a large, black wolf with gray eyes. It startled her.

Amethyst hoped the wolf was not a harbinger of a reappearance of Finn, her ex-boyfriend, and the man she'd been on the run from for years.

But, for some reason, the wolf had a comforting feel about it, not malicious.

Amethyst frowned. What could it mean?

*****

Sean

Sean Byrne hauled a cedar hope chest out of the trailer he'd been pulling behind the black RV. The RV, and the hope chest, actually belonged to Kiernan, a packmate who was expecting his first pup any day now.

Kenosha, Wisconsin, where the fair was being held, was a little over five hours away from the pack, so Sean had still decided to stay in the RV. He was officially Gamma of the Crescent Moon Pack, but he hadn't been home for any length of time in a long while. He'd been traveling the country with the pack's Luna.

Now that she and Alec, their Alpha, had made up, however, it was just Sean.

Sean rested the hope chest next to a desk in front of the tent he'd been filling with furniture. As usual, there was so much furniture that the beautiful works spilled out onto the grass. He wiped the furniture with an oil cloth, polishing them to a shine. Then he sniffed the air, hoping to catch the scent of turkey leg. He loved turkey leg.

He smelled turkey leg, but there was something else much more overpowering.

MATE.

Sean had to brace himself back on the desk as the scent he'd begun to fear he'd never smell invaded his nose and then suffused to every cell of his being.

MATE.

Furniture forgotten, Sean made his way down the path, out of his area near the Gaming Glen and down past the Castle Keep to Guild Hall Row. There his senses honed in on a purple tent.

MATE.

Sean was so focused on his goal that he didn't even realize the fair had opened. An anxious middle-aged woman in plain clothes pushed past his frozen form and ducked her head into the tent.

"Are you free for a reading?" the woman asked.

The most melodious voice Sean had ever heard replied. "I'm free."

"Oh, thank God." Sean heard the woman rustle into a chair. "I rushed right over here as soon as the doors opened. I need to know what the cards say about..."

Sean quickly tuned her out. He knew from his experience at other fairs that listening in on a reading was extremely impolite. At first, he'd thought psychic readers were complete charlatans, so he hadn't thought anything of listening in. But after hearing the tears and hopefulness and hopelessness of the querants, he realized they were providing a real service and was ashamed of himself for eavesdropping on such private moments.

Instead, Sean waited impatiently for the woman to finish. It seemed to take forever.

Finally, she exited, and just as Sean was about to step forward, a little girl hurried in. Her mother winced apologetically at Sean, but Sean smiled and gave her a wave. He'd waited almost 15 years for his mate. Even though his wolf was prowling the premises, Sean decided he could wait a few minutes more.

Once the little girl was done, it was Sean's turn. He went into the tent, bowing low and almost having to sidle his big frame in to get through the entrance.

His mate was dressed in lighter fair garb, which made Sean happy. He would have worried about her if she'd been dressed in one of the heavier brocaded gowns in this heat. She was curvy, almost bordering on pleasantly plump, and Sean licked his lips. He couldn't wait to get a handful of every part of her, from her long brown hair to what he assumed was a nicely rounded backside.

MATE.

"Hi," Sean said. "I'm Sean. I was hoping I could... get a reading."

His mate looked up.

And promptly dropped her cards.

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