Page 3 of Wolf's Mark

“Sedona.”

“Powerful yet innocent.”

“And yours?” I could almost feel Mattie breathing down my neck. She was way too excited with this while I was ready for a nap.

“Lucia.”

“Beautiful name.”

Her eyes flicked up to mine and it felt as if she was able to look straight into my soul.

As she selected one card, Strength, explaining something about kindness and tolerance being needed to guide my chariot, I almost nodded off. I must have reacted badly because Mattie punched me in the arm.

The second card was a little happier. Lovers. Yeah. Maybe Mattie would get her wish after all. She’d been bugging me for weeks to find a hunky older man and have sweaty, rough, and filthy sex.

Not in this girl’s lifetime.

The next one was Justice and Lucia seemed perplexed. She even used the term retribution more than once. I slowly glanced over my shoulder at Mattie who shrugged.

When the Devil card was followed by Mr. Death himself, I’d had enough. “Oh, come on. This is fixed.”

The girl shook her head and I could swear she was shaking.

“Not fixed. True.”

I started to get up and Mattie’s hard shove almost made me show her that anger she said she adored via my middle finger.

“Stay,” she hissed.

“I do not think we should go on,” Lucia said.

“Oh, go for it,” I chided her. I wasn’t irritated with her, just with my soon to be ex best friend for dragging me into this shit.

Lucia was clearly out of sorts, her entire mouth twisting like she was an extra in a horror movie, the one where the victims always suffered a horrible death.

My, wasn’t my imagination working overtime?

Lucia finally swallowed and pulled another card. She was clearly despondent now. While she was a damn good facial actress in showing fake horror, there was also confusion in her eyes.

“What is it?” Mattie asked.

“The Wolf.”

“O-kay. What does Wolfie boy mean?”

Lucia continuously shook her head and she was pale as sin. Was the girl going to pass out too?

“It’s not supposed to be here. Not this deck.”

“They were accidentally mixed together.” Mattie’s suggestion was decent enough, but the girl wasn’t buying it.

“A dangerous man is going to change your future. Be careful. Be very careful.” She gathered the cards and immediately jerked up from the table.

She walked off, which was a clear indication we were finished.

“Was it something I said?” I asked.

“Clearly it was. But you were a good girl.”

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