Page 28 of A Wolf in the Garden

“The fae are the real reason why the Unravelling occurred. Or at least, that’s what everyone is saying. It’s definitely what my mother believes.”

Ellie sets her wineglass down. “So the whole‘the human population got too big and we just couldn’t keep up the glamour’thing isn’t true?”

“Yeah, that’s complete bullshit.” She shakes her head as I continue. “Think about it this way; the size of the human population had no impact on glamour, because the glamour didn’t change humans, it changedus. It didn’t change how humans perceived our bodies, itchanged our bodies. It transformed everyone who stepped into this realm. My dick didn’t have a knot!” She covers her smile with a hand. “It’s true.”

“I know it’s true; I remember your penis from before. It was very nice, but I’m not gonna lie, I quite like this new version.” A blush spreads across her cheeks.

I flash her a grin. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“So, what you’re saying is that the glamour concentrated on the non-humans in this realm. It had nothing to do with humans.”

“Yes. It had nothing to do with humans in terms of how it functioned, other than the fact that its sole purpose was to hide us from them.”

“But then… you just said that these legends were based off true encounters, and if the glamour changed everyone’s bodies… how does that work?” I go to answer, but she jumps in with another question. “Were you human, back then? As in, could you transform into a wolf? Could you see in the dark? Or was that glamour all-encompassing?”

“It wasn’t quite all-encompassing. I couldn’t see in the dark back then, not like the way I can now, because the reflective lens in my eyes that enables that process is avisiblething — you’ll see it when the sun has set, if you haven’t seen a wolf in the dark before. It makes my eyes appear to glow, when a source of light hits them.”

“Like a cat.”

I grimace. It’s a common thing, I’ve found in the past two years, for humans to compare us wolves to theirpets, because it’s what they know — it’s the only frame of reference many humans have when discussing animalistic features. I understand it, but it doesn’t mean I like it. “Like awolf,” I say to her, and she blushes further, looking sheepish. I clear my throat, continuing on. “So the glamour took that reflective lens away… it gave us human eyes, and the shitty eyesight that came along with it. No offence.”

“None taken.” Her mouth twitches, holding in a laugh.

“I could smell just as well as I can now, though. My hearing was just as good as it is now. My wolves were there with me, in me.” She frowns at this, and I make a mental note to explainthatto her later. “I could transform,ifa counter-spell was used — specifically one that removed the glamour on me for a certain period of time. Mom is an expert in that sort of thing, so she often put one in place whenever there were no humans around. Then I could shift, or turn into a werewolf under the full moon, and in my regular form I looked likethis. There’s a reason why, at the time, my almost-billionaire father chose a quiet Northland town surrounded by forests and the ocean for his vacations down-under, rather than one of the hotspots for the wealthy.”

“Oh my god, and then I showed up almost every fucking day, every year. Were you guys meant to be doing wolf-things the whole time?”

“Not the whole time.”

She groans, dropping her forehead to the counter. “No wonder he hated me.”

I growl, and her head snaps up at the sound, our eyes meeting. “I don’t know what his fucking problem was, Ellie, but you never deserved the shit that you put up with from him.” I still haven’t told her about the orders he gave, nine years ago.

“I was intruding.”

“You were our guest. And we loved having you there. For us kids, seeing you was the best part of every vacation in New Zealand. My mom would say the same, I’m sure. And we still took off the glamour plenty; you probably never realised that we never once saw you on the days surrounding the full moon.”

She is silent for a moment, mouth open, tongue darting out to lick her lips. Out of nowhere, she jabs my arm with her finger.

“Hey!”

“You told me I was crazy, when I told you I’d heardhowlingin the night. That was you!”

“That wasLacey,being an idiot.” Lacey had wanted Ellie toknowthat last summer, but I’d stalled, afraid that telling her would scare her off. I should have known better.

Ellie pouts. “To think, I could have seen werewolves. Bloody hell. IknewI heard something.”

“So this is how local legends used to start, about cryptids. People like us would use a counter-spell, someone would let loose a little too much, next thing you know there’s a sighting, or someone hears something odd in the night.”

She shakes her head. “Crazy. There used to be sightings of a black panther in Southland, I think…”

“Werecats.”

“Werecats.” Her eyes are round as she processes this information. “That’s insane.”

“Hm.” I have a feeling that there are many, many more things she’s going to find insane in the next few days, and it makes my stomach twist with worry that it will be too much, that at some point she’s going to run screaming for the hills.

Her fingers drum against the marble countertop. “So back to me… you say you think I’m fae, which is a fairy. With wings?”

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