She pushed the door open, and the swinging wolf-head bells on a rope announced her arrival. She stomped on the outside snow mat, trying to remove the worst of the mess on her boots while she caught her breath. It was difficult to adjust to the heat after the brisk cold of the night.
She had been inside the Wolf’s Retreat hundreds of times, yet this time it felt different. This time it was different. Her breath caught in her throat, and she glanced toward the stairs leading to the rooms Kendal and Odessa rented out. Her hand crept protectively to her throat. Already she could feel the invasion. A scent reached her first. Something wild. Completely feral. Not wolf. She was used to wolf. Something even wilder. Further back than wolf. They had tigers in Siberia. No, she shook her head. Not tigers. Something even more dangerous.
She tried not to inhale, but she couldn’t help herself. It wouldn’t have mattered. She was being surrounded. Enfolded. More scents invaded, but this time through her pores. Branding her. Cedar. Birch. Spring water. If she crossed the threshold, she felt as if her world would instantly be changed, and there would be no going back.
She wanted to turn and run into the night, but she knew if she did, whatever had settled around her, slowly invading through her pores, going deep—bone deep—she would take with her. She forced herself forward and held on to her smile because she was no coward, and she had been waiting all her life for this night. It was just that dreaming of it and the reality of it were two very different things.
“Vasilisa.” Odessa broke into a huge smile. “I should have known you would be in tonight. It’s that kind of night. Full of surprises.”
Vasilisa ignored the men who were seated around the curved bar and had turned to face her as she walked all the way into the room, pulling off the white gloves covering her hands. She pushed the gloves into the deep pockets of her coat. “Surprises? You’ve had surprises tonight, Odessa? I didn’t think there were many surprises in our village anymore.”
Odessa put tea service on a tray. “Ordinarily, I would agree with you. Skyler and Dimitri have been coming around. You know Dimitri. He’s been around for years. He avoids people, much preferring wolves. Now he’s got himself a wife. She’s young, too. I think Skyler’s too young for him, but who am I to say? She does all those wolf experiments with him, or whatever it is he does.”
“He set up a wolf sanctuary to make certain the wolves have a safe place to go as the forest shrinks in other places,” Vasilisa explained patiently, as she’d done so many times before.
Dimitri Tirunul was a prime example of how mistrustful the locals were. Dimitri had been coming there for years. He’d helped them countless times, but he was still regarded as an outsider, and he wasn’t trusted in the least. He had a residence there. Vasilisa had met him often in the forest. He had skills that rivaled her brothers’, and that was saying something, because few could match her brothers’ skills. Of course she knew Dimitri was married.
“That’s the surprising news? That Dimitri has a young wife?”
“No.” Odessa laughed merrily as she added to the tray. “We had strangers come to the inn. That’s the surprise. Four men. They looked very dangerous.” She lowered her voice, although the room was packed and the strangers were either out of the inn or upstairs. The noise level was loud. “They came asking for Dimitri.”
A chill went down Vasilisa’s spine. Dimitri may not have been born in their village, but as far as she was concerned, he was one of them. He protected the wolves, the same as they did. “What did you tell them?”
“I certainly didn’t know where Dimitri would be. He goes wherever he wants.” Odessa gestured toward the forest. “It’s a big place out there, and he runs with the wolves. Let them try to find him.”
Vasilisa tried not to openly wince. Even that last little bit might have been too much to say. She had to warn Dimitri. Often Dimitri and Skyler would stay out in the woods for weeks on end, and no one would see him or his new wife.
There had been a terrible incident that had nearly taken Dimitri’s life. Rumors swirled about it, and she knew the truth was far worse than the locals even realized. He had been a very handsome man. He had scars now, although they were faded to thin white lines dissecting his face, neck, arms and hands. She hadn’t asked him about the scars or rumors. She hadn’t wanted to bring up anything unpleasant, but her family had been briefed on the entire disturbing and horrifying event. It had made all of their people look bad.
Dimitri had always stayed away from others, but since that incident, even after marrying, he avoided everyone even more. She couldn’t blame him. She was well aware that the two people he had saved from certain death had betrayed him and then had him tortured and hung up in front of others to die a slow, painful death. Young Skyler had saved his life.
Vasilisa didn’t understand people. Maybe she never would. She didn’t think she wanted to go out into the busy world where so many of the younger crowd wanted to go. She wouldn’t fit in. Even at twenty-eight she retained the old-fashioned values and ethics her mother had instilled in her.
“I think I’m a dinosaur, Odessa. I don’t fit in anywhere.”
“You fit in just fine right here, Vasilisa,” Odessa assured her. She leaned over the counter, looked both ways again and nearly whispered, “There’s more. I was hoping you would come in. It made me happy that your friend was here to see you. You always seem to show up when we need you the most.”
Vasilisa frowned. She could tell that Odessa wasn’t being dramatic. She was concerned. “What is it?”
“Government men. They’re pretending not to be, but they are. I can smell them a mile away. I’ve seen too many of their kind. They’re here to cause trouble for us.”
Vasilisa’s stomach instantly knotted. That was the worst possible news. The one thing the villagers tried to do was stay under the radar. Most of the time, the government ignored their existence. They were up too high in the wilderness. They lived off land no one else really wanted. They kept to themselves and didn’t cause trouble.
“Did they ask for Dimitri, too?” She hoped not, but it wouldn’t surprise her. Dimitri was a man who went his own way. He had to work with the government to get permits for the protection of his wolves and the lands he wanted to safeguard.
“No, but they were asking about your brothers, Andros in particular.”
Vasilisa’s breath caught in her throat. “Thank you, Odessa.” She didn’t have to ask if Odessa or Kendal had spoken to the government agents about her brothers. They never would, nor would any of the villagers. No one would ever betray the monarchy.
Odessa pulled back a little and put a smile on her face. “There now, I don’t want to ruin your time with your friend. She doesn’t come to see you often. She’s waiting in her usual spot in the corner. You know how difficult it is to see her when she doesn’t want to be seen. Have a lovely time with her, Vasilisa.”