"Okay, I'm ready," Nix grinned happily. He was clearly in his element.

"Not on your life," Brody said, holding his hand over his nose. "That stuff can't possibly help."

"Arm," Nix demanded, eyeing the wound that was starting to ooze again.

"You don't even know how to work a toaster. I'm not letting Betty Crocker go all Florence Nightingale on me."

"Who?" Nix asked and looked to Mina.

"Exactly!" Brody pointed toward Nix. "You agree with me right, Mina?"

Mina had to cover her mouth as the laughter just spilled out. Amid all the stress, these two could still make her laugh. When her giggles stopped, she finally choked out, "No, he knows what he's doing, Brody...trust me."

Brody looked at her like she'd grown horns. "No."

"Why not?" Mina frowned.

"Not until I know for sure that you'll go with me to that thing."

"Are you really going to deny being treated until you have an answer? I thought I already said yes."

"Well, technically you did, but I want to make sure you hadn't changed your mind." Brody raised one eyebrow at her and waited.

Nix watched the exchange, holding a long wooden spoon filled with the green paste up in the air. Any minute now, he would start tapping his foot.

"This has nothing to do with the date. You're just trying to delay the inevitable. Just let him treat your arm before you get rabies and die, you big baby."

"Okay," Brody said sheepishly. He held out his arm.

Nix looked relieved and started to smear the goo up and down, covering the large bite marks. Mina didn't want to draw any more unnecessary attention to it, but those wounds were made by something bigger than any dog she'd ever seen. Way bigger.

"It feels weird." Brody kept flexing his fingers. "It's getting hot."

"That means it's working." Nix grinned and went to pick up the glass jar he had found earlier. "At home in my cave, I used to keep a jar of this stuff. I never expected to find it here in your world."

Mina's eyes went wide, and Brody's head snapped to look at Nix.

"Cave? World? What in-"

"Heaven's name is going on in here!" her mother screeched as she came to a halt in her kitchen. Her face flushed red as she surveyed the mess in the kitchen, the half-naked boy sitting at the table with her daughter, and the other boy wearing her apron.

Charlie peeked around his mother and took one look at Nix in his apron and ran to him. Nix bent down and scooped the boy into his arms in a big hug. Charlie began to pull on Nix's red hair and touch his face as if he couldn't believe the difference. It took a second for Mina to realize that this was the first time her brother had seen Nix's new human body. He'd seen Nix on the Fae plane with green hair and skin. Charlie had been the one to insist that she drag him into their world. She hadn't been sure Charlie would remember.

"Hey, Li'l man." Nix chuckled, placing Charlie's feet back on the floor.

Charlie smiled and yanked on Nix's arm, pulling him out of the kitchen and pointing toward his room.

"What are you doing, Charlie?" her mom asked, evidently confused at her son's reception to a complete stranger.

"It's okay. They'll be fine," Mina spoke up. She jumped up and moved as far as she could across the room from Brody and began to clean up. "I'll have this cleaned in no time, Mom."

"That doesn't explain what you're doing and why he's"-she pointed to Brody's chest but wouldn't look at him-"not wearing a shirt. And what is that awful smell?" Brody was smart enough to move to the restroom to try and clean up.

"Mom," Mina rushed over to her and pulled her closer to the sink. "Let me explain. Look at his-"

"Mina, I don't know that I want to hear an explanation."

"He was bitten by a wolf."

"That's ridiculous. There are no wolves around here."

"No, I think it was a different kind of wolf. You know. Of the Fae variety. Although I'm not certain."

Her mom stopped talking and froze. Mina gave her credit for not immediately breaking down into hysterics. She looked over at Brody's empty chair and asked, "Is he going to be okay?"

"I think so. Nix made something, and it seems to be making it better." She gestured to the messy kitchen.

"Nix?"

"The boy with red hair, the one that's with Charlie." Her mother walked over and gingerly picked up each bottle reading the label. She looked into the cauldron and over to the teapot. "This smells familiar, this smells...Fae. Mina, what do you know about this boy?"

For starters, Mina didn't know her mother could tell just by smell what things were Fae and what weren't. Was that even possible?

"Charlie saved Nix's life when Nix was about to die on the Fae plane."

"Charlie was on the Fae plane? When? What happened?"

"I think it's best if you ask your Fae godmother Terry for those answers. Right now, I need you to trust me. We are doing what we can for Brody."

Brody stuck his head in the kitchen and held out his arm. "You won't believe this." He pulled up one end of the dry paste to reveal a bright pink patch of skin. There wasn't a single wound left. "That putrid smelling garbage works."

Chapter 8.

Thankfully, Mina's mom understood and helped her clean up the kitchen. Brody had hundreds of questions. Her mom and Nix were able to fill him in on the gist of it. It was nice to have someone else besides her to explain. When three different people agreed on the story, it was at least slightly easier to make him believe he wasn't crazy.

Convincing him the Fae really existed was tough. He got quiet a few times and had to get up and walk around the kitchen. Once, he even left the house and stood in the rain before he came back in to hear more of the impossible. The inner turmoil was evident. His mind struggled to come to grips with the reality of what happened versus the false memories implanted by the Story.

They were all careful to continue calling the Fae power Story. Trying to explain Jared's death as he became one with Teague again could be saved for a later date. A few times, her mom became visibly shaken with the retelling of certain events-especially when something didn't gel with her own memories. She toyed anxiously with the charm bracelet on her wrist until her face relaxed and she calmed down enough to continue on with the story. Then, her breathing slowed, and she would perk up.

Mina knew it was the charms that were helping her mother. Each renewed memory must send her mother into a nervous fit, but then the charm would push the memory farther back into her subconscious.

It was after midnight when they explained it enough for him to understand. Nix even came clean about his own past and the horrors of possibly turning into a Sea Witch.

Mina told him about the Fates and how it was their deal with the Grimm Brothers to break the curse and close the gates. She left out how the royal Fae were able to shape shift, and that she believed it was Teague himself that attacked Brody. She wasn't positive, after all. The dark prince could have sent any one of his followers to do the dirty work.

They did warned Brody to watch out, because there were bad Fae intent on harming Mina and all who were associated with her. But there was something different about the wolf. She'd seen the wolf. It was intent on killing Brody.

Brody grew quiet again, and she thought for sure he would drive off right then-out of her life forever. But he surprised everyone, even her mother, when he asked, "What can I do to help?"

Nix shrugged his shoulders and pointed to Mina. "You'd have to ask the Grimm." He looked at her with such confidence, such devotion and admiration. What had she done to earn this kind of loyalty? She only hoped she was worthy of it in the end.

After the hours-long conversation wrapped up, Mina was still concerned with one thing. "Can you keep my secret, Brody?" He looked like he was about to argue with her, so she added, "For now. And I swear I will try and find a way to secure your memories from being manipulated again."

Brody hesitated but nodded his head. "Okay. Since you're coming with me Friday."

"Why? What's Friday?"

"The masquerade ball at my parents' country club, of course."

"A ball?" That one word made her skin crawl and her mouth go dry. Balls were full of fairy-tale possibility. It would be a sure opportunity for the Story.

"It's that thing that you promised to attend."

"I really need to ask more questions in the future." Mina said, inwardly panicking but doing her best to appear excited.

"That would probably be a good thing."

Scarves can be a great fashion accessory if utilized right. Incorrectly used, they're a torture device for fashion-challenged teens. In Mina's case, they were more the second. After her shower the next morning, she looked at three items Nan lent her the last time she'd been over-wedged heels, scarf, and lipstick-and decided to pick one. She chose the scarf, thinking it was the least dangerous of her choices. Mina felt like the simple silk scarf was choking her, but Nan always swore by them as "the perfect accessory to any outfit."

She should have chosen the heels.

"Blech!" She glared at the chevron-patterned offensive material. This is as good as it's going to get.

This morning Mina wouldn't even give the ball a second thought. Her heart was soaring. Because someone knew. Brody knew.

Whether he would continue to believe her remained to be seen. He might change his mind and end up calling the psycho ward on her. But for the moment, she wasn't alone. Which gave her a whole new outlook.

For the first night in months, she'd had a dreamless sleep.

She headed toward the kitchen to make a sandwich for lunch and made a face at her reflection every time she passed a mirror. Her bedroom mirror received a pig face; the bathroom she shot a bucktoothed expression. She'd just passed the hallway mirror with her jaw jutted out, when she caught something strange.

Had her skin seemed a bit translucent? She leaned closer to the hall mirror, within inches of the glass, and touched her face.

A polite cough spun her around. Brody stood by her front door. "Don't worry. You look lovely." He chuckled.

Her cheeks burned red with embarrassment. He stood there in his jeans and white V-neck shirt looking relaxed and confident.

Mina's hair was wet from her shower, and she didn't have a touch of makeup on. "Don't you knock?" Mina frowned.

"Yes, and I even wait to be let in," he nodded over to Charlie. Her brother was once again hauling a chair to the hallway, appearing ready for Operation Open Suitcase again. "He opened the door."

"Well," she said. "I guess that means you can come in."

"I assumed as much."

"So why are you here?" Mina asked, feeling dumb for having to ask why his tall handsome self graced her foyer in the middle of the afternoon.

Brody looked uncomfortable and glanced at Charlie. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "To protect you from any stray... um... Fae."

"Oh!" Mina said, surprised. She wouldn't have thought it possible, but her cheeks burned even hotter.

"That is, unless your problems have all gone away?"

"Uh, no." Mina thwarted Charlie's curiosity by pushing the door closed as soon as he opened it. She locked the door and tucked the iron skeleton key into her pocket.

He grabbed the doorknob and shook it angrily.

Brody continued, "But also to see if you'd like to come over and keep me company during a planning committee for the ball. My mom's in charge of planning the event, and I know girls really get into this kind of thing."

"Um, that would be most girls. Not me."

His face fell. "Oh, if you don't think you'd like it, you don't have to come."

"No," she replied hastily. "I'd love to come. Let me just grab a jacket." Mina stepped over Charlie's mess, grabbed a light sweater, and turned to face Brody. Maybe she should tell him that party planning terrified her.

But the way Brody looked at her helped her make up her mind and had her smiling politely and going to the passenger door of his car. Underneath his worried expression, she thought she saw a bit of hope. He wanted her to come.

She slid into the seat, snapped the seatbelt, and looked over at him. He cranked the engine and pulled out of the driveway. Pop music and the hum of the vehicle soothed her frayed nerves. Were the nerves from butterflies or terror?

The car slowed and they passed through the gates, heading up the Carmichaels' driveway. Mina noted the large statues of horses and neatly trimmed hedges.

"My mom has invited a few of her friends' daughters over to help with the last minute details," Brody said softly.

"Ah," she exclaimed as they passed the garage. "That explains...nothing."

"The Ziesters and Steppes happen to be longtime friends, and our families go way back," Brody chuckled, reaching over to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Especially their daughters. There are two of them here tonight who can be a bit zealous in their pursuit. They can't take a hint, but I thought-"

"You brought me here to run interference." Mina pinched her lips trying to hide the smile. "You want me to tackle them."

Brody laughed. "That's why I like you. You get it." He pulled up to the front of the large three-story house with its terra cotta roof. As soon as the engine died, the double mahogany doors opened, and Mrs. Carmichael rushed out, phone in hand, followed by two young women. Both of the girls looked to be in their late teens, one a stunning brunette with laughing blue eyes and suntanned skin, the other a striking redhead with full, pouty lips and pale skin. They stayed on the steps, and when Mina exited the car, their faces flickered annoyance.

"Brody, you kept our guests waiting." Mrs. Carmichael turned and noticed Mina for the first time. "Oh, I'm sorry. You must forgive me. Please call me Melody. And you are?" she chimed.

"Mina," Brody cut in, standing behind her. "She's a friend from school."

The words "friend from school" cut her a little deeper than expected. Granted, he'd never verbally stated they were more than that, but hearing it still hurt.

"Mina. Let's go to the sitting room and get started." Melody didn't miss a beat.