2

Near one of the half-open doors, Alexey stopped and nodded towards the room:

- Come on, sit down. After a couple of hours, lunch, someone will come in and take you to the dining room, - seeing how I opened my mouth to ask a question, raised my hand and continued: - You can’t be late! You can't refuse! All questions to Maximilian. All right, I went.

The guy moved in my direction, went around me, awkwardly raised his leg, stepping over my suitcase, which I had been dragging myself all this time, and left, throwing in the end, already such a familiar, hostile look. For some reason, he constantly tried with all his might to show that he was not happy with me. She shrugged her shoulders: “I didn’t impose, they themselves offered help!”

Entering the room and looking around, I realized that I really, really, like what I saw. Finishing in light green tones, in the center there is a wide bed, on the floor there is a soft, beige carpet. Huge floor-to-ceiling windows are slightly ajar, and a fresh breeze sways the light tulle. There are two armchairs and a table in one corner, next to the door. In the other corner is a secretary and another door. So where do they lead?

She opened the first one and hung a little - a dressing room ... A whole room with hangers, drawers, shelves ... How much money do you need to fill it? I dragged a suitcase and a bag there, I’ll take it apart later, but I pulled out two ampoules and put it on the nightstand.

Here among the werewolves, I'm not likely to need injections, but they will expire in a month and I will have to ask where I can buy new ones.

As soon as the wolf woke up, I had to learn how to give myself injections: in the thigh, forearm, and in any muscle. And all just for the sake of not suddenly changing hypostasis during excitement.

“Different situations happen in life,” my mother said, “But no person should ever guess, much less learn about your second essence!”

Living among people, werewolves are forced to carefully monitor the preservation of their secrets. These injections helped. Experiencing severe pain, the body, defending itself, pushed out the human consciousness, giving power over the body to the wolf, leading to a spontaneous turnover. What if there's an accident or a beating? Yes, there are many situations where you can get injured and accidentally spread into the beast. These injections blocked circulation. Now small pills have appeared, but they are expensive, and I did not have money for such innovations.

She looked behind the second door - a toilet, a large bathtub on forged legs in the form of wolf paws, a shower cabin in the corner, a sink with a mirror next to the door.

Squeaking with joy, she rushed to her suitcase, took out her underwear and rushed back. Having undressed, she climbed into the shower cabin, looked at the shiny levers, buttons, somehow adjusted the flow of water and gladly stood under the elastic jets. Nearby on the shelves I found gels, shampoos. I once saw such beauty in films, but now I enjoy it ...

I can't even believe it! Let at least one day and night live a chic life, sleep on this beautiful, probably soft bed.

My life was spent in a shabby apartment - a closet, with faded wallpaper, a peeling sink and a kitchenette, in dimensions more suitable for gnomes. Daily ordeal at work, in the office, with twenty losers just like me. But all the same, like every normal being, there was a glimmer of hope - a small one, or rather, a tiny one, like a dried raisin - for a change in life. Who knows, maybe one day Vlad who appeared on the threshold of my rented apartment, with my mother's ring, became that small step on the stairs to my happiness?

Having finally washed away all the road dirt and dust, she wiped herself off with one of the towels that lay on the shelf next to the shower stall. She glanced at the mirror in passing, her eyes again filled with dark gold. In moments of mental turmoil, the she-wolf manifested itself, and my eyes changed color. And now the she-wolf is curious, interesting.

My mother's eyes were bright yellow. This was beautiful. And my color is dark, but according to my mother, it’s special - as if the sun’s rays are splashing in dark gold. Well, at least here you don’t need to use lenses: “Everywhere there are wolf people,” she chuckled at her thought.

I chose clothes for dinner so as not to look pathetic and strict, but also not to turn myself into a horror story. From childhood, my mother instilled, one might say, nurtured in me a sense of caution, my law of survival: do not attract attention to yourself, do not stand out. It's not easy for werewolves to live among humans.

I chose a black pleated skirt, just below the knee and a blue baggy blouse. Raven-colored hair, waist-length, twisted in a large muzzle at the back of her head. Uncomfortable, they pull back their heads, but again, they do not attract attention to themselves.

She threw a regretful look at the bed (if only she could plop down on it) and sat down in an armchair, stretching out her legs. Now, in peace and quiet, you can at least put your thoughts in order.

I remembered the look of Maximilian - heavy, evaluating. The man could not be considered handsome, and the tongue would not turn out to be called pretty, but there was something strong-willed in him. It was as if a powerful force swirled around him. Mom once said that alphas, thanks to their special strength, control the pack, today I understood what she meant. If I felt this power when he is calm, then I am even afraid to know what it is like when he is angry or subdues. Brr...

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, a very pretty young girl stood on the threshold.

- Valeria, good afternoon, I'm Anya, - she smiled openly, - let's go, I'll take you to the dining room.

- Nice to meet you, Anya, wait a second, I'll put on my shoes, - squeezing her legs into her pumps, she followed the girl.

- Do you live here?

- No, what are you! I am an au pair. I do various cleaning jobs, sometimes in the kitchen. In general, everywhere, - she chirped. I nodded.

- Generalist.

- Something like that, - she laughed, - And here is the dining room. Enjoy your meal.

She nodded, thanking Anya, and cautiously entered the small room.

Four people were sitting at the table: a bright brunette, a young girl, Alex and, as expected, Maximilian himself was at the head. The lively conversation between them was interrupted at my appearance.

- Valeria, how do you feel, rested? Max turned to me.

- Thank you, great and yes, rested.

- Sit down, - under his heavy gaze, Alex forcedly got up, pushed the chair next to him and sat back down. From his tense back, it was clear that this action did not bring him pleasure.

- Valeria, get acquainted, - Maxim continued after I sat down in silence and silence. He nodded towards the brunette: - This is Viola, our mutual friend.

The young woman nodded with such grandeur, as if I had been introduced to at least a duchess.

- And this, - alpha nodded in the direction of a dark-haired girl of about eighteen, - My sister Alina, - she smiled warmly, - Well, you already know Alex, - he didn’t even turn his head in my direction. - Ladies, I present to you Valeria, our distant relative with Alina

“It’s good that I didn’t introduce myself as a poor relative!” - flashed at me.

After introducing my persona, everyone's attention turned to the food. I took a breath and stared down at my plate. Communication at the table flowed smoothly, but because of the excitement, I did not even try to penetrate or catch the essence of the conversation. I didn’t even pay attention to what I eat and whether I eat at all. Chasing a piece of stew on a plate, I immediately noticed that they were addressing me. She shuddered in surprise, hearing almost next to her ear:

- You didn't fall asleep by any chance?

She looked questioningly at Alex and looked at Maxim.

“Valeria, you were so thoughtful that you didn’t hear me,” Alex chuckled beside him, “If you ate, I suggest you go to the office.

I nodded, got up and silently followed him.

The office was spacious and bright. The walls were lined with bookcases filled with many books and folders. Opposite the entrance, instead of a wall, there are huge floor-to-ceiling French windows, now open and deceptively giving the feeling that the office space does not end, but smoothly passes into the terrace.

But my attention was immediately drawn to the table at which Maxim now settled down. Roughly crafted, huge, as if coming from the Middle Ages. The tree is dark and it is not clear whether this is such a breed, or the wood has almost turned black from time to time.

Maxim nodded to the chair opposite the table:

- Sit down, - after a while, while I settle in a chair, he continued: - Valeria, let me start, and then, you will tell about yourself, and we will both answer each other on the questions that have arisen along the way? She nodded, "Where to start?" Do you know that your father is dead?

Frowning, she nodded. Not the most pleasant beginning and not the most pleasant character for me. He pretended not to notice my reaction:

- So, by chance, I was there at the time of his exodus. I must immediately say that he was not my friend, and I knew him very remotely. But it so happened that in his last moments he asked me to find his wife and daughter and take care of them. The search was quite difficult. Only a few in the flock knew about your existence, but even they had no idea where you lived, they did not even know your names. Accordingly, it took time. When we found your mother, she, in turn, asked for protection for you.

- Protection? From whom, if the father died?

- Hmm, even so... I don't know your relationship with your father, but that's not about that now. The thing is, you're being hunted.

She stared at him in shock.

- Who needs me?

- To be more precise, they are not hunting for you, but for an artifact.

- Artifact? - in excitement, I raised my hand to grab the cross hidden in my bosom, but caught myself in time and straightened my hair under Maxim's attentive gaze.

- Did your mother give you an artifact? - he looked at point-blank range, and I shook my head negatively, - Did you keep it with you? I shook my head negatively again.

- Maxim, please explain what kind of artifact?

- You see, this artifact belonged to the alpha of our pack and was inherited. It is tied to the blood of the alpha family, but with some exceptions, it can transfer power to a werewolf who does not belong to the Amber family.

She looked at him silently for a minute and, leaning slightly forward, said quietly:

- Do you want me to be honest?

He raised his eyebrows as he watched me carefully.

- I'm nothing. Not. Understood. - she said, chasing every word. - Is it really impossible to explain in normal human language? What strength? What werewolf? What the hell is an artifact, after all?

- Valeria, did your mother tell you about the artifact of the Amber family?

She shook her head negatively.

- Absolutely nothing.

Maxim leaned back in his chair and squinted.

- Bad, very bad.

- Why?

“Because those who are after him are sure not only that you know about his strength, the activation procedure, but also that you have him.

“Isn’t it possible to somehow inform them that I don’t know about all this at all and I would calmly go home?”

He looked at me in surprise.

- You, it seems, did not quite understand with what, or rather, with whom you are dealing and reasoning like a child.

- Maybe this is so, but, sorry, I don’t have enough information to argue differently.

- You are hunted by werewolves who are not burdened with any moral principles and they do not care about human laws.

- And what will happen if they find me?

- They want the artifact or any information about it. There are many ways to get information from a person: knock out, pull out. Well, after the "conversation" ... I want to say that they do not leave witnesses. Now think, is it worth it to go anywhere from here?

"Won't they find me here?" Something I very much doubt that for such it will be a problem. And in general, explain who "they" are?

“They” are mercenaries. Three werewolves and they don't care about you, me, or anyone. They have an order and they fulfill it.

- Who is the customer?

- Alpha Onyx, - I nodded, although I did not understand anything and there was a mess in my head from the information received.

- Why do they need this artifact, if you say that it is tied to the blood of the Ambers?

- Earth, Valeria. This is not just territory, but also resources. The Onyx pack borders our pack to the southeast, and the confrontation has been going on for quite some time. It escalates at times, but there are periods of calm too. The artifact increases the strength of the alpha, so for centuries this piece of land cannot be snatched from us. Three years ago, our territory increased, and this fact greatly worries our neighbors. In addition, there is evidence that, subject to…

- You said - three years ago the territory of the flock increased, but how?

- Due to the neighboring flock. Alpha Citrine, had information about the lack of an artifact of our kind and decided that without it our flock would not be able to fight back. So he wished to expand at our expense, but he miscalculated. At the moment, the remaining werewolves of that pack already live in the united territory that belongs to us.

- Three years ago, my father died, is this somehow connected?

- Yes, in front of the territory, many werewolves of both packs died. Your father died protecting the alpha.

- You?

He looked at me again in surprise.

- Not. I thought you knew at least something about your father's life.

I shook my head.

You could say I didn't know him. I saw it in fits and starts and under not very good circumstances, - noticing that he wanted to ask a question, she quickly continued: - I don’t want to talk about it ... So who did he protect?

- Brother. Your uncle Nicholas was the alpha of the pack. And I must say he was a very strong alpha. Alex is his son, so... he's your brother.

How much information has fallen on me today! And I don't even know if it's good or not. Okay, I'll think about it later.

- Surprised ... Well, I understood that. I would like to know: how long will I have to stay here? And where is the guarantee that they will not find me?

Maxim shrugged.

- I can’t outline the time frame - you yourself understand. Everything depends on the circumstances. They will find, yes, but on the territory of the pack you are protected and they will not come here.

- Why? - I whispered and asked louder: - Why do you need these problems with me? He would send his people to me, find out what was necessary and that's it. Why am I needed here, troublesome?

He smiled at the corner of his lips.

- I promised your father.

She shook her head and stared at the floor, "Hmm... what have I gotten myself into?!"

- Valeria, look at me, - I slowly looked up, - I repeat once again: I promised your father, I will take care of you, and I will do it! - look hard, prickly.

She broke eye contact with difficulty and lowered her eyes again.

- Okay, let's stop now so that you have time to think everything over, and after dinner we will continue the conversation. And I hope you won't go on and on about everything that's been said.

- It's in my interest.

- I'm glad you understand that. Now about your being here. You will say that you are the younger sister of Sophia, my uncle's wife. She is also of the Silver Pack, just like your mother.

Wow, but I didn’t even know which pack my mother was from, but I didn’t show it.

- What about mom?

- You know, - he sighed, - it's hard to protect someone who refuses protection and runs away. Your mom did just that. I talked to her on the phone, and she herself somehow contacted me and asked for protection for you.

Yes, as expected of a mother. I got up, about to go out, but turned around near the door and, looking at Maxim, said:

- Wally.

-What? he didn't understand.

- My name is not Valeria, but Wallia. Valeria is for people.