Page 45 of A Wolf in the Garden

“What happened to their study?” I can hear the concern in Ellie’s voice, and take a peek through the round window set in the doors, watching the way Ellie plays with thepounamuaround her neck, something she’s started doing when she’s deep in thought. “How many people were affected?”

There’s no one else in the room apart from the woman Ellie is talking to, a small, older lady in her sixties, her demeanour relaxed as if she’s talking to an old friend. I smile to myself; Ellie seems to have a knack for making those in the older generations adore her.

“Oh, across the university? Fifty, maybe? Fifty gargoyles, that is, which isn’t many in the grand total of the student populace, but that’sstillfifty individuals,” the woman answers. “They all had their study paused while the university tried to find a solution, and for most courses that was manageable — recorded lectures online, online learning and examinations at 8pm in winter, 9.30pm in the October exams — but this islandscape design. Everything we do is set around daylight hours. So our particular student…” The lecturer shrugs her shoulders, shaking her head defeatedly. “This young man couldn’t complete the course.”

“There wasn’t any way to accommodate him?”

“Not back then.Now, maybe? I mean, we’d have to find a way for him to, since they put through that latest law about non-human access to education, but since then we haven’t had any gargoyles attempting to enrol in this course anyway, no vampires either, and he hasn’t come back. It’s a shame, he had a real passion for the subject, the same as you.”

“That’s really sad.” Ellie’s voice is forlorn. Itissad. It’s sad and disappointing, because I’m sure there were things that could have been done for that young gargoyle, but it’s a story I’ve heard time and time again since the glamour fell away two years ago.

“I know. Life was certainly less complicated, pre-Unravelling,” the woman says with a shrug. “Hey, it’s been lovely seeing you again Ellie. My parking is only paid until five so I have to go, but I’m really glad you were able to make it in for us, the students really enjoyed it and we’re all thrilled you’re doing so well with your own business.”

“Oh, thank you. It was lovely seeing you too.”

“Take care.”

I step back out of the way as the woman exits the door. She looks at me curiously, the kind of glance over I’m used to getting from humans these days as they register thatno, I’mnotlike them, her eyes widening and then darting away as soon as we make eye contact. I doubt she’d be walking so fast down the empty corridor if I were human, but it’s not something I’m going to waste my time on contemplating.

“Life was certainly less complicated, pre-Unravelling.”Yes, it was, and that’s the comment I’ve heard time and time again, often used as an excuse, a reason why things aren’t set up to allow for certain species to participate in activities or aspects of society.

And itismore complicated than that. I’ve got plenty of privilege, and a lot of other non-humans do too. Non-humans that are wealthy or magically powerful enough to travel between the two realms hold far more power than humans do — the humans just don’t know it yet, or at least, they like to pretend they still hold the power. Humans are a very small minority within the First Realm, and non-humans as a whole have generally managed to control the flow of information that humans receive. Physically, most non-human species are stronger in some way, whether that’s through the use of magic or sheer strength, our senses are sharper, and many, including wolves, have longer lifespans. There’s plenty of non-humans in positions of power in this realm, and although no one ever says so, I have an inkling that at least a few made their way to the top in preparation for the Unravelling, funded by wealth transferred by the old Houses in the First.

With my wealth fuelling my ability to make my life perfectly comfortable and meet all my wolfish needs, I don’t really feel likeIpersonally have the right to cry foul every time a human gives me a wary look, particularly when there’s plenty ofhumanminority groups that still face discrimination today, and still deal with the after-effects of racist or homophobic policies that once existed. Then I hear stories about kids like that gargoyle — about non-humans that may have been trapped in this realm for generations without a way to access the First Real, that may not have any money behind them, that may have lost their livelihood or been unable to continue their studies when the Unravelling happened unexpectedly — and that doesn’t sit right with me. It’s not that gargoyle kid’s fault that he suddenly started turning to stone during the day. Like so many, he probably assumed he would live and die in a human-like body, living in this realm for his entire life.

So when a human in a position of relative power compared to the non-human — a lecturer compared to their student — shrugs it off as just another consequence of the Unravelling and then goes about their day without a care in the world, it makes me feel a little sick.That’sthe privilege that many humans currently have — the privilege to not care. It doesn’t affect them personally, so to them, it doesn’t matter.

The Unravellinghasmade things messy and complicated. Weareall still trying to find our new normal. I still think those two facts are used as an excuse for bad behaviour a little too often, and I don’t know how long we’re going to keep telling ourselves it’s just because we’re in the transitional phase.

But there’s plenty of beings in the First Realm who wouldn’t think twice about harming humans.

I roll my shoulders at the thought, as if that action can dispel the uncomfortable feeling I get whenever I think about it. That fact has always existed. Some humans have, unfortunately, always fallen victim to those willing to prey on innocent victims. The Unravelling hasn’t made any difference to that, and I’ve been guilty of turning a blind eye to it all until now.Until it affected me personally. Until Ellie was in danger.

It’s complicated.

I don’t have the answers to any of this. I don’t know if I ever will, and at the end of the day, what I care about the most is that my mate, my pack, and my family are safe. I know I’m not perfect. I don’t always get it right when it comes to my own privilege. I struggle to find the balance between what I should feel responsible for, but I try to take care of the people around me, try to do right by my employees, and I donate to a bunch of non-human support charities.

I hope that gargoyle kid finds something else he can do.

I can tell by the way Ellie stares off into the distance, a furrow between her brows, that she’s probably thinking about the same things. I step back into the room, smiling at her, comforted by the knowledge that at least she has never looked at me in fear, her expression morphing as she turns towards me.

“Hey,” she says, her shoulders relaxing, her smile tired but happy.

“You did so well,” I tell her, opening my arms, and she steps into my embrace immediately.

“Thank you. Thanks for coming along.”

“Of course, baby.” I kiss the top of her head, relishing the scent of her, soft and sweet. She sighs as she leans into me, brushing her lips over the fabric of my shirt. I hesitate for a moment, before deciding to ask, “Do you want to talk about what she just said?”

“Do you?”

I’ll take that as a no.“No. I hear enough of those stories, I don’t need to rehash another version of how the world is still adjusting two years later.”

“Yeah, same,” she mumbles, her voice muffled by my chest. “Now that it’s over, I’m starving.”

I smile against her hair. “I am too. What do you want to do? We could find a hotel room, stay here in the city tonight, go to a restaurant for dinner if you like. Or we could go home, grab a snack on the ferry, and find something decent to eat on the island.”

Ellie looks up at me with those beautiful brown eyes of hers. “It seems like a waste to be here and just want to go home, but honestly, after that talk I feel like I stink from sweating,” she admits, screwing her nose up. “I didn’t bring a change of clothes over with me, and something low-key like fish and chips on the beach sounds amazing right now. But maybe staying in the city could be fun…”

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