Page 83 of A Wolf in the Garden

— I feel suddenly compelled to obey. There is a connection between this deer and I, and my legs move, stepping towards the sand, towards this creature.

That’s it. You belong to —

Something huge and black is streaking down the beach from the northern end, a fierce growl ripping through the air, breaking the trance I’ve been in, and I suck in a huge breath, falling backwards in the shallows, coming down hard on my hip, sharp shells digging into my flesh painfully. The deer stands frozen for a moment too long before attempting to turn and flee, but the black blur is on it. I thought it was a horse — it’s that size — but no, it’s a dog.No… awolf.I watch, frozen in horror, as sharp teeth set in a strong jaw come down on the deer’s neck. Ihearthe snap of bone under that ongoing snarling. The wolf shakes its prey, tearing at the throat, and there’s blood, so much blood…

I scream.

“Silence!”

The wolf is gone. The wolf is gone, and a man, a man I know, but someone who is somehowdifferent,is there. I can’t process this. It’s Weston Livingston,naked, but bigger, taller, bulky with muscle, with cold yellow eyes that stare down at me as if I am the worst scum. There’s blood all over his mouth, all through hissharp teeth, and I can’t make sense of this. Where is the wolf?

I look back at the broken deer at Weston’s feet and then quickly away again. I don’t want to see it. I’m frozen in place, until he takes a step towards me.

I scramble to my feet, voice caught in my throat as I run through the shallows, heedless of the shells and oyster-lined rock pools in my path.Weston was that wolf.It’s the most fucked up thought, but it’s all I can think of as I run, and I don’t want to be near this man that already seems to hate me. It’s going dark, and my feet sting and I know they’re getting cut up, but I run, run away as fast as I can, hearing him splash behind me.

There’s another figure sprinting towards me from the grassy bank. I recognise Bronte, Lacey’s mum, but she too seems different; too tall, too muscular. “Ellie!” she yells, and I can see her eyes are yellow too. “Ellie, let us help you!”

“No!” I cry in terror.This is a nightmare. This can’t be real.I try to dart away, try to swerve, but she’s too fast, catching me, and we fall to the ground together. The air is forced from my lungs with a wheeze as I hit the wet sand hard, made worse by the way Mrs Livingston crushes me. I’m winded, unable to even try to fight back, and she clamps a hand over my mouth just as Weston moves into view, looming over us both.

“I told you she was trouble. I always knew she would be. She’s not human.”

“Yes she is. Look at her!”

Westongrowls, the most terrifying sound I’ve ever heard in my life. “Remove the glamour from her. Extend your counter spell, then tell me she isn’t human.”

Bronte’s hand is still covering my mouth. She seems to hesitate, her freakish coloured eyes darting between myself and her husband, before she mutters something under her breath in a language I’ve never even heard before. She stares at me, eyes growing wide as she touches my ear with her free hand. “Impossible,” she whispers. “She doesn’t even smell of fae.”

“She’s achangeling, Bronte. It’s obvious. Surely you’ve sensed it before. She’s put us all in danger.”

This time it is Bronte’s turn to snarl. “Well you’re the one who just killed a fae, so I’d say you’ve put us in danger more than anything.” Her teeth look like his. Just as sharp. Just aswrong. This doesn’t make sense. I know these people. I’ve known these people my whole life. My heartbeat thunders in my chest, tears blurring my vision.

“I didn’t have much of a choice, now, did I? It was going to take her.” His eyes —not yellow, gold— stare down at me. “This is the one and only time I save your life. Not that you’re going to remember this.”

“Weston —”

“You need to do it. She’s too young to trust. She’s not a mate, she’s just a silly girl that has been hanging around us for far too long.”

“She’s a part of our pack!”

“I am the alpha! Since when have I ever said that she is one of us? Never!Youdecided this.”

“She is a part ofmypack. I love her like I love my own daughters. We have known her since she was atoddler, Weston. We have cared for her.Youdo not dictate me,shifter. You can fuck off with your alpha bullshit, you may be my mate, but you cannot rule me.”

I don’t understand anything they’re saying, and I’m too scared to move. I blink through the tears, trying to focus, trying tounderstand. Their eyes bothglowin the dim light, not like the deer, but like a cat’s eyes do. It’s their pupils, I realise, reflecting what light is left in the sky.Like animals.I whimper, and Bronte finally eases the pressure of her hand on my mouth. “Oh sweetie, I’m sorry. I just needed you to be quiet. We can’t let the humans know.”

Weston crouches down, snarling.Snarling like a wolf.“Bronte, listen to me. I need you to wipe her memory. If you do not, I am leaving tomorrow. I willorderthe children to come, and they will, and so you will follow, because I know you, and you will do anything for your pups. I will sell this house, and we will never return again. Erase the memory, and we can forget this ever happened, and get back to this godforsaken vacation.”

“It’s dark magic,” she snaps, and there’s a growl in her voice too. “It isforbidden. And it’s foolish, she’s going to know in the future anyway.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I had avision.”

“Ofwhat?”

“Of Evandermated to her.”

Weston Livingston has given me many cold looks over the years, but this is by far the iciest of all. “Then he is an even greater fool than I thought.”

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