The Unwanted Wolf – Chapter 56

I met Ginger in the garden. She was sitting in the middle of a bunch of flowers with her legs crossed. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were resting on her knees. Her breath was slow and steady. As I approached, I did my best to move silently. I didn’t want to disturb her meditation.

I stopped and looked around, unsure if I should let her know I was there.

“Sit, child,” she suddenly ordered. She kept her eyes closed.

accidentally crush any flowers. I tried to mimic Ginger’s pose, placing my hands on my knees and sitting with a straight spine.

tely had some sort of clairvoyant powers. She was too knowing, even without being able to see.

you know-”

when you learn to look in other ways.”

nts Ginger asked for in my position. I let her words sink in. “So what

llow the pattern of my breath. Use your other senses to follow along.”

taking. Five seconds inhale, five seconds exhale. I slowly matched my breath to hers. It took a few tries to match her count at the same pace, but when I was insync with her, the world felt a little different. I couldn’t physically see Ginger, but her movements were clear in my head. I knew

p in temperature. I could taste the morning dew. I saw the world more clearly now than when I was walking out here with my eyes open. I was amazed at how a little breath work could open my mind so much.

y broke my concentration.

o something, just remember to com

d up and motioned for me to do the same. “The more you practice something so simple, the more naturally it will come to you. You also have achieved the desired level of concentration faster than others. You really are something special

mpliment. It was both exciting and scary. I hadn’t received many compliments like that before.

ill avoiding eye contact.

need to get that confidence of yours up. You can do more than you think, and once you accept that and let go of the words of outsiders, the more powerful you will become.” She didn’t give me a chance to respond, and moved on with the topic. “The next thing for you to practice i

me, and it just sort of was happening.”

ing when you were successful?” she as

s successful. “Mostly fear and anger.”

wer to emerge, but it can be unpredictable and dangerous. You need to learn to use emotions that are more stable.”

out my emotions recently, and none of them felt very stable. Depen

hat makes you happy,” she said when I didn’t

f blushing. He was the biggest reason I had felt true happiness recently. Before, I thought I was happy, but now I knew I was only content. Mark brought out a smile in me that I didn’t even know existed, and I could feel myself smiling thinking about him now.

ce of your powers,” Ginger coached.

g about him, but I didn’t know what to do next. “How do I use this? Fear and anger were easy for me. It didn’t take much thinking to accomplish.”

the two together if that’s what it takes. Start with trying to shift.” Ginger poi

he tree and visualized moving to it. Nothing happened. I tried imaging M

eathing,” Ginger said.

ng by the tree and moving over to him. I opened my eyes to see the result. Nothing.

not understanding what I was doing wrong. Mark made me happy. I was breathing. Why wasn’t I shifting?

our breathing right now.”

y senses started to come alive. I could feel Ginger move closer to me, so I wasn’t surprised when her voice rang in my ears.

ckoning you towards him. Imagine his arms around you, and the warmth of his body.”

ould hear the tree still in the distance, and I knew I hadn’t been successful with shifting yet.

agine Theron taking a

and Ginger was frowning from across the garden.

ft. This is going to take more work than I anticipated.”

–

e ground, trying to catch my breath. I had no idea how shifting could be so exhausting. I didn’t think it took much effort, but after doing it repeatedly, I felt sore and winded. Ginger told me that performing magic was like exercising a muscle. I had lost count of

se.

nally exhausting on top of the physical exhaustion. She cautioned me that this was not the ideal way of handling matters, but if that’s what I needed to do to stay alive, it would work.

r at least an hour or two that way, she started having me focus o

ou hungry?

w Mark standing above me.

get up on my own at that moment. “Starving.”

into his body and held me tightly. “Let’s find you something to eat then. How is training g

stly glad we went to bed early last night.” I paused, worried he would take the

top of my head. “Good. I want

on?”

complete faith in you.”

muttered into his chest.

into this fight blindly. You’re not alone. Just remember that.”

on my feet and kissed Mark’s lips soft

y legs and picked me up bridal style, completely surpri

is embarrassing.”

letting you relax for as long as possible.”

ed my arms around his neck, knowing it was useless to fight him. “At least put me

ance.”