Page 130 of A Wolf in the Garden

She makes an irritated huffing sound, and I don’t even need to look to know that she’s rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses. “Yeah, lucky I fuckingcan. I know the whole ‘garden fairy’ thing is a draw, but this is a bit ridiculous, especially when we stipulated that this weekend was not for picking.”

Though not officially stated anywhere, word about Ellie’s abilities spread quickly on the island last summer, the fact that agarden fairyhad infused this place with her magic suddenly becoming one of the reasons why people choose to visit Lost Moon. Ever since, one of the things we’ve struggled with the most is the sheer number of people secretly picking a flower or taking a cutting of a plant that has been infused with ‘lucky magic.’ I have no clue where that idea came from, but it has led to us creating designated Picking Days for guests, with the knowledge that Ellie will always need to go through after and fix things up.

Her magic is also one of the key draws for the festival this weekend. Her design here is amazing, but the excitement of the festival’s committee members when they witnessed her using her magic firsthand during their private tour really cemented the fact that humans here love the cutesy idea of garden fairies. They have no idea how threatening fae magic can really be, and we’re happy to keep it that way.

Staff already went through yesterday afternoon to tidy up after day one of the annual Motuwai Garden Festival, picking up the odd piece of trash left by visitors and recovering wine glasses that were left in inconvenient places — on a rock, on the side of the boardwalk, under a tree, and a surprisingly large number by the playground, or so I’ve been told. Ellie is the only one with the skills to restore the plants, though. “Just don’t overexert yourself,” I tell her, as I sense her pulling out her magic.

“I won’t, but I’m going to have to draw on your magic, too.”

“That’s fine.”

A faint ripple of energy flows across the ground, moving quickly away from us, and every plant in its path grows even more lush. In an instant everything is back to the way it should be. The over-plucked plants have flowers once more, the vegetable beds are filled to the brim, the fruit trees are green with spring growth, and there’s colour everywhere.

“It looks perfect, baby,” I tell her, rubbing her backside appreciatively. “The garden is stunning, just like you.”

She looks beautiful, wearing her favourite green jumpsuit and herpounamu, strands of her long hair pinned back so that the delicate points of her ears are on display. There are still plenty of times Ellie wears her hair down these days, but it’s never with the intention of hiding her fae ears anymore, and I’m pleased for her that she’s finally completely comfortable in her own skin.

“You scrub up pretty well, too,” she says, her hands smoothing over my shirt to squeeze at my biceps. “Very sexy.” She grabs my left hand, lifting it to her lips, kissing my wedding ring. I don't usually wear it because I can't shift with it on or I risk losing a finger, but I wanted to wear it for her today.

I bend to kiss her, but the sound of footsteps approaching makes me pause, turning to look over my shoulder. Sure enough, it’s Ellie’s gardening club besties, Ana and Betty, walking through the olive grove towards us, each woman carrying huge totes filled with supplies. “We should go help them,” I say, and Ellie nods in agreement.

Ellie appears calm on the outside as we help Ana and Betty set up their volunteer table in front of the twopohutukawa, but I can sense her heightened stress through the bond. She felt the same yesterday morning, and I know she’ll calm down once the crowds start rolling through.

“I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since we last did this!” Ana says with a shake of her head, “And look how much has changed, eh Ellie?”

Ellie pauses, her hands full of festival pamphlets, and the smile she gives me is full of adoration. “I know,” she says quietly. “It’s gone by fast.”

“It’s been the best year,” I add, stepping closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. We may have gotten off to a rocky start with all of the fae drama, but since Ellie’s fae-based ward was put in place everything has been smooth sailing; a short engagement, a late-summer wedding here on the vineyard, and an extended honeymoon over the winter months, once the harvest was over and the vines dropped their leaves.

“It has,” Ana agrees. “You know we take full credit for you two being together — we’re the ones that broke the news a handsome wolf was in town.”

I shake my head and Ellie laughs, leaning into me. “Sure,” she says. “It’s gotnothingto do with the fact that we already loved each other years ago.”

“Oh you know she’s just being silly,” Betty chimes in. “But it’s wonderful to be here. It’s a beautiful garden, Ellie, you’ve done so well. A beautiful garden for a beautiful couple.”

Ellie’s cheeks are flushed from the praise, and I can feel the pure joy that surges through her. Part of what makes her so good at her job is the fact that she really does love it when others enjoy her garden spaces. She’s always creating them with her clients in mind, thinking of things they wouldn’t necessarily think to ask for themselves, and it’s those extra details that make her designs so sought after. The garden here is a perfect example of that; half of the things she added to the plan I didn’t ask for but immediately loved, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it now.

“I better go and check everyone is set for the day,” I murmur in Ellie’s ear, before planting a kiss on her forehead. The vineyard runs like a well-oiled machine these days, but part of that is because I regularly check in with staff, especially when we have busy events. “Once that’s done, I’ll come find you. It’s perfect, Ellie, so stop stressing, alright?”

She grabs my collar, pulling me down for a kiss, humming with amusement against my lips. “Yes, alpha.”

* * *

Three years on from the Unravelling, there’s still a few things that humans could be doing better to accommodate non-humans — like not planning the Garden Festival on the weekend directly before the full moon — but we’re getting there. It’s mid-morning, and the entire vineyard is bustling with visitors, human and non-human alike. Cam’s daughters are both visiting from Scotland, their statuesque frames standing out among the crowd in the garden, there’s an entire cohort of moth people that have been touring the festival together, and there’s plenty of wolves in attendance today, despite the timing of the event.

I’ve been waiting for two wolves in particular, and when I spot the car pulling into the designated parent park next to the garden, I send a pulse through the bond to Ellie to get her attention. She looks up from where she’s kneeling next to a small moth child, and I gesture towards the side gate. By the time I cross the garden, she’s already ahead of me — as are Lacey and Seth — Ellie’s grin wide as she spots Sophia, our newest pack member, and her newborn.

“Oh my gosh, you made it!” I can feel the way Ellie is fizzing with excitement through the bond, and stand back, watching as Sophia carefully unbuckles the baby from his capsule, cradling the tiny boy in her arms.

Seth hovers, watching curiously, a grin on his face when looks across at me. “It’s good to have another new pack member already. We’re getting there.”

Bygetting therehe means we’re now a pack of five adults and three children — and Ellie isn’t even a wolf — but he’s right, there is something special about children being born directly into our new pack.

He joined us officially at the end of last summer, and in typical Seth fashion, waited until the day before my wedding to decide, once again causing tension to flare up between my father and I. In the end it had been fine; he’s been a huge help around the vineyard, particularly in times when Ellie and I have been away, leaving Lacey in charge of running the place.

“Here, just watch his head,” Sophia says quietly, passing her son to Ellie. Ellie’s face lights up, and a huge amount of warm fuzzy feelings hit me a moment later.

Having worked on Kaito’s crew on various vineyard projects throughout the summer and into winter, it wasn’t entirely a surprise when Sophia asked me to join the pack. She was already six months pregnant at the time, newly-single, and an outsider in the pack that she had been with, as they were loyal to her ex. I couldn’t say no; shifters need the social structure of a pack, and Sophia wasn’t getting that where she was. Besides, taking her on is exactly how you build a large group — one person at a time — and Sophia has always been loyal and protective of Ellie, ever since the fae attack on the beach last year.

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