This is just a quick little story I came up with that bloomed into a many chaptered epic project. After finishing the seventh installment in the Sisters Grimm series (loved it) I felt inspired to write this. Mr. Canis/Tobias Clay is my absolute favorite character! I adore him and I wish he was real. This takes place when Jacob and Henry were kids. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1: Adjusting.

I came down from my room early in the morning. I saw Basil sitting in the living room writing in a journal. From the look he gave me as I entered the room I could tell he still didn't trust me. He had no reason to. He had been out of town for a few days, and had returned late last night. He was investigating a possible Everafter crime in a nearby town. He had been very reluctant to leave his wife and children alone with me, but she talked him into it. Relda Grimm had a way about her that made you want to do what she wanted you to do. I bid him good morning and he responded with a grunt and a nod. Relda came out of the kitchen and greeted me with a friendly smile.

"Well good morning Mr Canis." She said to me. "Are you hungry?" Basil shot me a look from the couch. I was rather hesitant to answer her question. Mealtimes were awkward here and I assumed they would be even more so now that Basil had returned. The first day sitting at the table had been the worst. Basil did nothing but nibble on his food and stare at me silently. Relda chattered on like we were having a perfectly wonderful time. Meanwhile the children, Jacob and Henry, made sly remarks under their breath like "So, is this food even tastier than that grandmother?" I, in the meantime, had no idea how to react to any of this. After giving the boys, from what I could tell, a very loud, very threatening talking to after dinner, Relda assured me that there would be no more comments of that nature. She had had less luck with her husband.

"No, not really," I told Relda, "You needn't trouble yourself." "Nonsense. Breakfast is allready made, it's no trouble at all." I started to follow her into the kitchen, when she suddenly stopped and turned to her husband. "Basil," she said in a very stern voice. "aren't you coming?" "I'm not hungry,"he replied,"I'll just stick with coffee." Relda gave him one last dissapointed look before continuing into the kitchen. I knew what this was about. They had had a rather heated argument concerning me the previous night. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I truly didn't. But it doesn't take the hearing of The Wolf to understand the point of a conversation when the people doing the conversing are shouting, especially when they are in the next room.

"You don't need to fret about Basil," Relda told me in the kitchen, "He'll come around." "I think he is right," I told her, "I don't believe that I can be trusted. I am a.." "Stop it." She said in quite a commanding tone. "Now I want no more talk of you being untrustworthy. I havn't seen any behavior from you that hasn't been kind and polite. As far as I am conserned, you are trustworthy until you prove otherwise."

We heard the boy's sneaker-clad feet pound down the stairs. They came into the kitchen and each grabbed a banana. They seemed to avoid their mother's cooking as much as possible. Basil poked his head in. "Relda, I am going to drive the boys to school. Would you like to come along?" "No thank you," she responded rather pointedly, " I have lots of things to get done." It was Basil's turn to look dissapointed. "Fine. Hurry up boys." It was clear that he didn't relish the thought of his wife in a house with only a monster for company.

After the car had pulled out of the driveway, I approached her again. "Relda, I truly believe it would be wise to listen two your husband. I think I should leave this place." "Well I'm afraid I disagree."she would not give in.

"Relda,"I looked down at the floor in shame, "I have killed people before." "No you haven't." she said. I looked up. This comment surprised me. Truly she couldn't believe that I wasn't a murderer. I knew I was, everyone knew I was. I didn't understand what she meant. "Of course I have," I said, confused. "No, The Wolf has, you have not."she responded. "The Wolf and I are the same being." I protested. I didn't understand where this woman was going with this. It was getting very frustrating.

"You are not The Wolf. He is not you. You are two different people who share the same body. Why this is, I don't know, and neither does anyone else as far as I'm aware. But you are not a killer. He is. You are a good man Mr. Canis. You really are. Don't let him decide what you want to be. You are free to choose your own destiny."

I thought about what she said for a very long time.