Falk Clan Tales - Chapter 30: Chapter 30

Joselyn looked down at her cell phone and cringed. It was her business line. The one she used for her psychic website. Customers could phone in their questions for a fee as opposed to filling out the online form and buying a package.
She offered tarot card readings, dream interpretations, clairvoyant readings, scrying and more. A lot of people thought this kind of thing was uber scammy, you know, run by con artists and criminals. But every now and then, someone was, in fact, the real deal. Joselyn Coracao was that real deal. She was a Witch. An actual, magic-wielding Witch.
All Witches have talents or gifts, and for Joselyn, that meant her psychic capabilities. Most Witches don’t receive their gifts until after they’ve reached puberty, but not her. Nope, she was reading other people’s minds and getting visions since she could speak.
Not an easy thing for a child to understand. Especially, given the number of inappropriate thoughts that went through people’s minds every second. Nowadays, Joselyn specialized in precognition and scrying. She had a gift for reading the future and locating lost or stolen items and sometimes, even lost people.
Mind reading was much more difficult for her nowadays. She assumed it had something to do with getting older and more jaded. However, Joselyn never questioned her gifts. She used them responsibly and did everything she could to maintain balance in her craft.
The thing about Witches that not everyone knew was that there was only a finite supply of magic in the universe. Each Witch had their own store of magic that they were either born with or that was left to them by someone. However, talent ran much differently. Some talents could be inherited, for example, a certain Witch family might be renowned for their potions or spellcasting, and some could come out of nowhere.
Joselyn’s talent was the latter. She was the only born psychic in her family, and she had only a small supply of magic. She always thought that was funny. The psychic Witch didn’t know where she got her gifts. Ha ha.
Ugh. Her phone rang again. It was him. Her business line had caller ID. Still, no matter what number he called from, she always knew when he was on the other line. She cursed under her breath and wished for the millionth time that she could’ve read his mind when she met him.
Then she could have avoided this whole mess. That creep was the entire reason she was back to begging for a handout from the local coven. It was also why she’d stopped dating.
Joselyn didn’t do covens. She had little to offer and wasn’t into the whole “greater good” philosophy they had. Yes, she used her powers for good, but she wasn’t about to devote every waking moment to tending the woods and gifting her limited powers to the entire coven. She’d be at their beck and call. Ugh, not again.
She clicked the end button and turned to look at her best friend and her almost sister-in-law as they took turns trying on their dresses for this weekend’s celebration. Noelle was getting married, and Joselyn couldn’t be happier for her. If only her creep of an ex would stop calling her. But that was the price she paid for being foolish and ignoring the warning bells that she’d gotten when the smooth-talking reporter discovered her psychic abilities.
Now he wouldn’t leave her alone, and she was getting worried. Normals tended to get addicted to magic. That was one of the reasons why she’d kept her talents secret. She avoided telling the normals in her life that she was anything more than a run-of-the-mill phone psychic.
Luke, her ex, knew the truth. Joselyn was a Witch, and she was clairvoyant. She was not a powerful caster, and she didn’t make the best potions, but she had magic. She often got strong psychic vibes that led to accurate and sometimes helpful visions.
Noelle interrupted her musings with a loud squeal as she lifted the confection of white silk and lace from the gift bag Joselyn had given her. Her best friend had a thing for matching lingerie which was why Joselyn had bought her the ridiculously expensive garter. It went with the rest of the underthings Noelle had ordered for her wedding night. The garter was beautiful. It was the finest silk and lace and had tiny, blue roses sewn all around it.
“Joselyn, this is beautiful. Thank you.” She hugged her friend and watched as she unzipped the dress bag to reveal the gown Joselyn would be wearing.
“Tada. You are going to look gorgeous in this color. Won’t she, Fred? It’s positively divine. And yours is going to go great with your new baby bump. I am so excited. I get to be a bride and an aunt in just a few days.” Noelle jumped up and down like a kid in a candy store as she showed her best friend and her soon to be sister-in-law the gowns she chose for her bridal party.
“Oh Noe, I’ve got months to go yet. But yes, I agree, they are perfect, I love that the colors are different.” Fred smiled at Noelle and held her navy blue gown up to her body, she was all sleek and toned except for the small, perfectly round bump where she carried hers and Callius’ first child. Joselyn looked down dubiously at the ruby red gown in her hands.
Joselyn looked back over at the pregnant bridesmaid. Winifred, or Fred, as she was known locally, was absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous. She was about the same height as Joselyn, but with multifaceted blonde hair and silver eyes. She was athletically built, as Werewolves tended to be, and had flawless, fair skin.
Her pregnancy only seemed to enhance her beauty. Joselyn knew carrying a child was difficult for Werewolves, but Fred seemed perfectly fine and as lovely as ever. She subconsciously rested a hand on her belly while Noelle went on and on about the materials and cut of the gown. Matte silk crepe, snug bodice, acres of material in the skirt, side slit…
Joselyn simply smiled. Noelle might as well have been speaking ancient Sumerian for all Joselyn knew what she was talking about. Her thoughts wandered as Noelle talked.
Her best friend was beautiful too. She was lean with fair skin, blue eyes, and long, thick brown hair. Joselyn was the exact opposite of the two of them. Not that she was unattractive to a certain guy, but there was a huge difference.
They’ll look great in their gowns, and I will look like a damn heifer in a silk sheet. She shook her head and exhaled as she stared at the perfectly smooth length of the silk.
Joselyn could be a little anxious about her size sometimes. She was blessed or cursed depending on what mood she was in, with full, rounded hips, a double-D cup size, and some mighty powerful thighs. She in no way resembled the women who made up the rest of the small bridal party.
Not that she wanted to. She wasn’t jealous of them. She loved Noelle and Fred. She just hated the idea of everyone else judging her when she stood next to them. With her curvy body, dark, tightly curled hair, and tanned skin, she most definitely stood out.
The dress was amazing though. She had to admit it. The fabric was gorgeous. Soft and smooth, yet rich and heavy, it felt warm in her hands. In truth, it was the most beautiful thing Joselyn had ever seen. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she stared at the maid of honor’s gown.
The cut was only slightly different from the bridesmaid’s dress. The bodice was fitted and cut low enough to be modest and still sexy. The most notable difference was the color. Her gown was a deep, vibrant, ruby red. Noelle had chosen it without her. Joselyn didn’t mind, she wasn’t a clothes horse and didn’t really care about fashion all that much.
She wondered if she’d need to buy some Spanx or if she could manage with what she always wore. As she caressed the dress in her arms, she forgot all her worries. She somehow knew deep down in her bones that it was going to be perfect on her.
“Nice job, Noe, thanks. I’ll see you later Joselyn too, I’m uh, going to rest a bit and then I’ll get changed for dinner,” Fred waved goodbye and left the room.
“Yeah, uh huh, get changed? You know that was Callius texting her. She’s probably meeting him upstairs. Gosh, I hope Sander still wants me like crazy after we’re married,” Noelle went on, but Joselyn didn’t hear a word she said. Her focus was on the dress.
The color was hauntingly beautiful. It would look great with the olive tone of her skin and her hazel eyes, but there was something else that was drawing her to it.
Suddenly, Joselyn felt light as air. She could feel herself smiling as the dress grew even warmer in her arms. Something somewhere was calling to her. Her fingers caressed the soft fabric and then, whoosh.
Joselyn closed her eyes and allowed herself to be swept away by the vision. She recognized the pull of her powers. She didn’t fight them, that would be counterproductive. She ignored the yell of her friend as she eagerly fell into her sight and allowed the vision to fill her mind.
It was a tad bit hazy, but she could see herself there, in the ballroom of Castle Falk. There were flowers and candles and soft music playing. She couldn’t make out the other people in the room, but there she was. She was wearing the ruby colored gown, and she was swaying. No, not swaying, wait for it, ah. She was dancing.
Large, muscular arms surrounded her. The owner of those arms caressed her back and hips as they swayed to the softly playing music. He was laughing, a deep rumble in his chest and she laughed too. She felt safe and deeply satisfied. Wanted. Sexy. She could almost feel him holding her now. She rested her head against his large chest and felt the beating of his heart, a strong and steady beat.
He was warm and smelled pleasantly of smoke and pine trees. Joselyn loved the combination. She was not alone anymore. Her heart squeezed inside her chest. He was important. Unique. She couldn’t see a face, but she could sense him. Powerful and true. Oh, my. Dragon.
Her heart squeezed inside her chest again. She gasped and felt her heart swell, though whether it was in the vision or in the present, she couldn’t tell. She only knew she felt happy and full of, of- Oh Goddess, no. She was in love.
“No way.” She yelled aloud.
There was no way Joselyn Coracao was falling in love at her best friend’s wedding. Not with everything she’d just set into motion for herself. She shook herself out of the vision that threatened to change her life. Noelle was waving a hand in front of her face, and she smiled and apologized.
“My bad, I was just, um, thinking.”
“Was that a vision? Did I just witness your witchy powers at work?” Noelle whispered excitedly.
Joselyn laughed. It wasn’t an easy adjustment for her, living out in the open, but Alexsander, Noelle’s fiancé, had outed her to his intended. She couldn’t blame the guy. He wouldn’t keep secrets from his soon-to-be wife, and that meant she had to come clean. She was grateful he’d given her the chance to do it herself.
“Um, yes. Remember I told you about my talent. I’m telepathic, well, clairvoyant really. Mostly, I get these visions-”
“OMG. Was it about me? The wedding? Sander? Ooh, the coven?” Noelle whispered the last word, even though they were alone.
“No, Noelle, it was not about you,” Joselyn had to laugh at her friend’s enthusiasm.
That didn’t always happen. Most people, even Witches, got freaked out when she told them she could see their future or hear their thoughts. Her talents were rare and kind of scary at times. No one wanted to hear when their dog was going to die or, that their girlfriend was sleeping with their best friend or, that they were going to get fired that day. At any rate, she grew up without many friends.
Joselyn had learned to hide her visions from people if she wanted to keep them as friends. It had worked. She and Noelle had been friends since high school. Noelle zipped the dress bag closed and handed it to her. Joss smiled, she still couldn’t believe Noelle and Fred just accepted her the way they did, but she was grateful for it.
She didn’t have to keep her powers secret anymore. Even better, she had someone to sort of talk to about what she was going through. A Witch without a coven was a target. Especially a psychic one. She needed protection.
It took her a whole month to get enough courage to petition the local coven again for a meeting. She’d done so once before to notify them of her presence when she’d moved there as a teenager. They wanted her to join them then, and she’d politely declined. She only hoped they didn’t rub it in her face now.
She walked over to the spare bedroom where she would be spending the weekend and hung up the tempting gown. She didn’t have time for an affair. She had to make certain she had proper protection so that she could live and work in peace.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I am sure. Go get ready for dinner.”
“Okay, then, I’m here if you need me,” Noelle squeezed her hand and left the room.
Joselyn went to the adjoining bathroom and ran cool water over her face. She gazed into the mirror and took a good, long look at herself. What the heck just happened?
Her hazel eyes flashed red, then gold, then green as she watched herself. In her lifetime, she’d been deeply impressed that the only guarantees were maybes. She’d have glimpses of futures that could be, not that would be.
There were only two constants in her life. Joselyn would always be a Witch, and she would always be alone. She didn’t want or need anything else. It was time to teach the Fates to stop meddling.