Paradise Pines (Shawn Mendes)

Isaac

Iris joined Dahlia in the loft, away from everyone. She examined the bruises and cuts on her friend's face, which Karen tended to. Guilt began settling in on her as she regretted not having answered Dahlia's first phone call the previous day.

"My parents can't see me like this," said Dahlia.

"You can tell them you got into a fight."

"They'd demand to know who I fought."

"Tell them you don't wanna reveal whom it was."

"My dad is a lawyer, remember? It is not easy lying to him or keeping things from him."

"It is the only alternative to telling the truth. They can't know about what's happened."

"I know."

"Speaking of what transpired, I am really sorry about all of this. Shawn warned me early on that you could be one of Rebecca's targets, and I just angered her."

"Is that what happened at the dance?" Iris nodded. "I came up with a way to kill her, and Shawn executed it. Turns out, there's a dark magic that keeps reviving her every time she's killed."

"There are witches around here?"

"She is part of a pack that has witches working for them. I would go into detail, but I really don't have the energy."

"Is that because of all the screaming this morning?"

"You heard?"

"Everyone did. What happened?"

"Again, I won't go into detail. Shawn accidentally, but not really accidentally turned me into a werewolf. I'm now a vessel for the the werewolf guardian of his old pack. Her name is Esme, and when I transform into a white wolf, she takes over my body." Dahlia's jaw slowly dropped. "I'm the key to taking down the pack Rebecca is part of."

"Wait! What? I am so confused. When did you become a part of the world of werewolves?"

"The moment I became a psychic out of nowhere, which is what lead me to discover that Shawn is a werewolf." Iris chuckled as she found herself at a loss for words. Everything she said sounded absolutely ridiculous coming out of her mouth. "Oh my, how things have changed."

"Who'd have ever thought you'd get yourself a real life Zander?" Dahlia laughed. "You did get with him, didn't you?"

"Shawn?" Iris asked with a high pitched voice, suddenly feeling awkward. "Yeah. It kind of happened out of nowhere, too."

"How long have you two been together?"

"About a day and some hours."

"So, since yesterday?"

"Yeah," Iris' voice faded. The day she got with Shawn would always be a reminder of Dahlia having been abducted and beaten, and she was too caught up in her feelings for Shawn to answer Dahlia's phone calls earlier in the day, which probably could have prevented less physical abuse.

"Oh, don't start feeling bad about it," Dahlia ordered, predicting what was going through Iris' head. "I'm happy for you both. It's about time he found interests out of his family," she laughed. Iris quickly shushed her, which reminded Dahlia that there were werewolves in the house with excellent hearing.