Page 5 of Wolf Bound

“No shame in being a skeptic, my dear, but I have no doubt we will be changing your mind soon.” The woman continues to smile at me, but as she cocks her head to the side and exams me from her place across the room, I notice the slight widening of her eyes.

As quickly as the surprised look appears on her face, it vanishes. “Please, come sit, my girls, and we can get started. Remington, I am pleased to hear your exams went smoothly. And I’m enjoying your new haircut. It’s flattering on you.” She pats Remi’s hand as they sit down across from each other at the table.

Remington reaches up and touches the ends of her chocolate-brown hair. She had cut a couple inches off the other day, and it now rests at her shoulders. “Thank you again for getting me in last week, Esme. I really needed some reassurance it wasallgoing to be okay.” Remi grins at the psychic, a look of trust and calmness on her face.

I suppose if Remi trusts this woman and is relaxed being here, I don’t see the harm in staying, I slowly take my seat next to Remi and across from Esme, who is now digging around in a cabinet behind her. “Are you going to read my palm or something?” I shakily laugh and wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans in case she says yes.

“No, my dear, that’s just a parlor trick people perform. We use real magic here,” Esme tells me as she places a deck of tarot cards in the middle of the table. I almost start laughing when I see the excited look on Remi’s face.

Good Lord girl.

“Let me get this straight. Palm reading is bull, but tarot cards are real magic?”

“Pruitt! Shut up and let the lady do her thing!” Remi reaches over and pinches the soft skin on the underside of my arm.

“Ouch!” I immediately rub the sore spot.

“Precisely,” Esme says with a slight laugh. I watch in fascination as she places the stack of cards in her hand and proceeds to knock and tap the top of the stack. She then places the cards on the table and shuffles them around on the purple tablecloth. She whispers something as she does this, but I can’t make out what she says. “Okay, let us begin.”

Esme places the cards facedown on the table in a pattern that doesn’t make any sense to me, but then again, none of this makes sense. I bite my lip and silently watch as she continues to chant and place the cards on the table.

It may be psychosomatic, but I suddenly feel a flash of cold air hit my back, and it causes chills to run down my spine. Esme picks up what looks to me like a totally random card and flips it over, revealing a picture of a man holding a lantern.

“The Hermit,” Esme says.

“Ha! Even the cards know you need to leave the house more!” Remi giggles from her spot beside me.

“You have been lonely for many years… isolated,” Esme explains as she traces the shape of the painted man on the card with a long finger.

I keep my face neutral, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of knowing she’s not far off. While I’ve always had Addison and I am forever grateful for her, I can’t help but feel like I’m missing something big from my life. Lately, I’ve started to think I’m missing something more than just my dead parents.

Esme nods and lifts up another card. “The High Priestess.” The card has a beautiful woman in a cloak on the front. “One of my favorites.” I don’t miss the knowing look Esme gives Remi, almost like they’re exchanging an inside joke between the two of them.

“This card is telling you that you need to listen to your inner voice. You’ve been ignoring the truth your inner self knows. You need to listen to it. It’s trying to tell you something. This may come over in the form of unexplained…vibes,if you will, or even dreams. Have you been dreaming lately, Pruitt?”

I’m perspiring now, and my heart is racing, but still, I keep it cool and shake my head. “No, I don’t dream. Haven't since the accident.”

Like before, Esme nods and moves on to the next card. I feel Remi give my hand a reassuring squeeze. Apparently, I’m not hiding how uncomfortable I am as well as I thought I was because when I look at Remi, she gives me a small smile.

The next card Esme flips over has a moon on it. On the left side of the card, a dog howls at the moon, and on the right, a wolf does the same. And this time, I can’t help but let the shock appear on my face. I swear if she says something about a wolf, I’m going to freak thefuckout.

“The Moon card. The dog represents our civilized nature while the wolf represents our animalistic one. This hints you may be fighting two sides of yourself now, or sometime soon.”

I exhale and relax. Had she said the wolf represents the wolf you’ve been dreaming of every night, I would have probably gotten up and left. But thankfully, I can’t think of a single thing in my life that would reflect this card.

“Next, we have the Four of Wands,” Esme describes, having moved on to the next card. Four wands are painted on a card with a bright yellow background. “You will learn soon, you have found your home—yourcommunity. That feeling of belonging you’ve been craving Pru is close. I promise.”

I feel hot tears stream down my face.Goddammit! I hate crying, and the fact I’m doing it over some stupid parlor trick is ridiculous, but she’s hitting way too close to home now. I’ve never belonged. I never fit in with any of the kids at school growing up. I’ve always felt unsettled and like I wasn’t in the right spot. But this sense of belonging has slowly started to creep in ever since I first got to Montana and even more after I met Remington Weylyn and her family. They welcomed me with open arms, and I have never felt more content than I do when I spend my days at their large lake house. Remington’s older twin brothers Ransom and Ranger have taken me under their wings like another sister, and it makes my heart swell. Not that I would ever admit that to them.

I quickly swipe the tears from my face and motion for Esme to keep going. The next card doesn’t need explaining, and I can’t help but read the card’s name aloud before Esme can. “The Lovers.”

“Oooh! Pruitt, do you have a secret lover you haven’t told me about?” Remi teases as she pulls the card closer to herself so she can see the artwork of Adam and Eve. “Are these all hand-painted? It looks like it. Hey, Pru, maybe that’s something you can do, paint tarot cards, and sell them online. I bet some people would pay top dollar for that shit. What do you think, Esme?” Remi rambles on as she examines the card, even going so far as to scratch at the paint with her fingernail.

Esme doesn’t answer. Remi and I both look across the table at the older woman who is staring straight at me. Her black eyes have glossed over, and I see they are darker and shinier than before.

“Holy shit. Is she okay?” I ask as I wave a hand in front of Esme’s face, but there is no response from the psychic. “Esme?”

Remi tilts her head to the side and looks at the still woman. “She’s fine. She’s just having a vision.” Remi shrugs like it’s not a big deal, and what she said was completely normal.

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