Paradise Pines (Shawn Mendes)

Rolling Through the 6 with My Wolves

The sky turned a crimson red as the sun dove into the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, but Marissa's snoring in the back of the car interrupted the mood. Iris checked the GPS on Shawn's phone to see how much longer it would take to get to their destination, the seer's home. "Thank God," she said quietly after seeing that they would arrive in under a minute.

Once they reached the house, Shawn parked on the side of the street and awakened Marissa. The group got out of the car and walked up to the old, eerie, rickety house. Marissa took the lead and opened the rusty front gate. "I know the house is intimidating, but I swear she's not," she informed them about the seer, Bethany. They walked down the cracked, concrete path towered by severely overgrown grass to the front door. Marissa put her hand up to knock, but wasn't even given the chance. "Ah! Every time," she exclaimed as the door opened, revealing a chubby, pale, grizzle haired, old woman in a muumuu dress. 'Took you long enough. Come inside," Bethany invited the group. They walked in, greeting her one by one.

All of the lights were off, and in there place were numerous lit, white candles that added warmth to what the heaters were already producing. "She's kind of old-fashioned," Marissa explained. Bethany sat them down at an outmoded, wooden roundtable in the dining room, and on it was a stack of tarot cards. The group took their seats and Bethany handed the deck to Shawn. "Shuffle them," she ordered. In a rush, he wasted no time and did as she wanted. "Iris ask three questions and pick out 3 cards from Shawn's hands."

"You know our names?" Iris queried.

"If that's one of your questions, you don't need the cards for an answer." Marissa giggled at her remark. Ignoring them, Iris asked her first question, "Why is Esme dormant?" She picked out a card and laid it on the table. "Choose another," said Bethany.

"Will we win our war against Yalda?" She picked a second card. "How do I become stronger?" She placed the last card on the table. Bethany pulled the first one Iris selected closer to her. The image was of a woman dressed in black and in shackles. "She is not dormant, you are." She pulled the second card down, a scale. "The future is in your favor, but that can change with ease if you don't do what you must." She brought the third card, a baby in a cot, closer to her. Your entire life has prepared you for this moment, now it is up to you to take the reigns. Do you follow?"

"Not exactly."

Bethany reviewed the cards once more. "The messages are getting clearer." She shut her eyes as if she were focusing on a sound, but the room was silent. The only thing the three werewolves could hear were the flickering fires from the candles. Bethany reopened her eyes, laughing. "You could have spoken to Esme yourself and gotten the answers you seek."

"And how would I do that?"

"You are connected to her, it's not hard. Just talk to her in your head. She'll hear you and respond if she wants."

"If?"

"While you're fighting your battles in the mortal world, she's busy fighting her battles in the spirit world. She cannot dedicate all of her time to you."

"But, she's the white wolf."

"And now, as are you. She chose you, because she knew that you can eventually have the strength and power she built up."

"How does she know that? Are people like me rare? Why am I like this?"

"Who knows? That's just how the universe works: randomly. I don't know why I have my gift, but I embrace it wholeheartedly, and use it to help others. All Esme did was unlock the white wolf within you. You're supposed to do all the rest. Deep down, I believe you know that, but you're too afraid to go it alone. The thing is, you see, you're not alone. You have an entire pack behind you, therefore you have nothing to be afraid of."