Page 18 of Wild Wolf

The programmer grinned at me. “I fed her cheese.”

As I couldn’t blame Petra for her betrayal when presented with cheese, I sighed, stretched, and discovered Nicolina at my feet. “Sorry, Nicolina.”

“I was aware of the risk of being kicked when I picked this spot. Richard told me I had to make friends with your wolf. I’m usually bad with mundanes, as I get jealous, and he wants to pet her, too. So I have to become friends with Petra so he can pet her without me trying to bite her.”

“Please don’t bite my wolf.”

Richard, who worked in my kitchen, chuckled and waved from where he guarded my stove and tended to my largest stock pot. “Desmond said you’d lasted all of five minutes after he brought you into the pack, so he put me to work cooking. He took your SEAL, the witches, and Sanders with him into Blagoveshchensk to get more supplies. Amber is armed and itching for a fight, so they’ll be fine. They should be back within an hour. He called and let us know they’ve done a good job of cleaning out several butchers. He also bought two grills.”

“He’s being excessive,” I muttered. “I have a mangal in the back.”

My mangal was handmade, although I could have gotten one for cheap in many stores. It would vex anyone who wasn’t used to working over the equivalent of a pit lit on fire.

“You needed two more grills. Proper grills.”

“Where did he even find grills here?” While Blagoveshchensk counted as a city, it lacked a lot of frills, and Russians didn’t grill, not in the way Americans did. Russians used a mangal to make shashlyk, which was far more intensive than barbecue in many ways yet somehow more relaxing and enjoyable overall.

I liked everything about shashlyk, from the marinading process, the careful selection and trimming of meat, the skewers, and working over coals rather than the standard American grills. If time and circumstances allowed, I’d show them shashlyk.

“China.”

“He went to China to get grills?”

Richard gave the contents of the pot a stir before turning to face me. “Well, he called a contact in China, who brought what he wanted to the river, and he crossed, got everything, and came back. He has the documentation from Moscow that makes the border guards look the other way, and the Chinese government gave him a passport years ago with a notation he’s not to be disturbed crossing the border. We’ve figured out why the Fenerec here are open about what they are. They have no choice. They’d starve otherwise. They do take care to avoid foreigners from noticing them, but once someone makes Blagoveshchensk their residence? They’re brought into the lifestyle. There’s just no way for them to hide it.”

“That’s bad, isn’t it?”

“Maybe. It’s only a matter of time before a whistleblower finds Blagoveshchensk and lets the world know, but it’s basically a miracle we’ve hidden it for so long. It’s getting a lot harder to convince people that we don’t exist. Cell phones play a big part in that.”

Anthony nodded from his place near the fireplace, which had been lit. To my delight, someone had rummaged through my stuff and discovered I had several cast iron pots with lids suitable for making bread in the fireplace. “There’s only so many times you can claim the picture was manipulated before people stop believing it’s a fake. And once I was told it was real, it became pretty obvious. Desmond thinks I might have even figured you out given a little more time.”

I rolled my shoulders and winced at the crack of sore joints. “How’d he get an open passport with China?”

Richard’s wife shot a glare at her husband. “One of the daughters of a prominent politician began going wild, and Father saved her. Richard has connections with the Chinese, but if he went, we’d get sucked into going to Beijing for at least a week.”

According to her tone, Nicolina wanted to go to Beijing for at least a week. “That would be a good way to get out of Russia if needed.”

Richard laughed. “I’ve already notified my Chinese contacts we’re in Blagoveshchensk, and if they don’t hear from us at set intervals, they’ll come to investigate. I told Moscow I had done this, and Moscow approved said investigation, as they are concerned about the situation. Apparently, Blagoveshchensk has not been maintaining appropriate contact with Moscow, and their behavior with you violates certain rules Moscow set in regards to the supernatural. Add in that you’re one of Desmond’s pack? Moscow was ready to launch an operation. Desmond had to assure them he could fetch you himself. Moscow would like to meet you, and any Russian identity you may want would be officiated, by the way. They don’t want to upset Desmond, and keeping Desmond happy by keeping one of Desmond’s pack happy is something they like. Moscow is aware of your status as a recent rogue who was raised outside of the Inquisition and is being integrated, and they’re surprisingly relaxed about the transition period. What’s going on here goes against how they operate, however.”

“Alevtina Petrovna Volkova seemed concerned at the mention of Moscow.”

“The Russian branch of the Inquisition does not treat those who break the rules well, and they don’t like when us randy Americans come calling because one of ours doesn’t want to be branded,” Richard replied. “They were unaware they’ve been branding Fenerec here. Branding is reserved for cattle, not for people. Desmond convinced them to let him look into the situation. Moscow’s method of removing the problem would have been immediate and violent. Desmond would prefer to rescue any victims before the violence begins. But this has created a significant problem.”

“It has? What problem has it created?”

“If there’s one city with the supernatural out in the open, it’s only a matter of time before news we exist spreads. The Inquisition is discussing its options, but the general consensus boils down to the acknowledgment we can’t hide forever. It’ll be better for all of us if we reveal ourselves before someone reveals us in a way we don’t want.”

Shit. “What will that mean for us?”

“Very little will change. We’ll have to be just as careful, but it’ll be a little easier for people to identify us unless we take steps. We have no idea how people will react to the knowledge that Fenerec and witches are real.” Richard turned back to the stove. “And Desmond thinks you might be our best visual representative.”

“Me?” I blurted.

“You don’t have to get undressed to shift, and you don’t bleed everywhere if you rush your transformation. We’ll try to dye your fur, and we’ll use camera tricks to prevent the glow from being noticeable, but if we need to reveal ourselves, you’d hide our secrets the best while proving there are men who can transform into wolves. And with your general skills, you can probably disguise your general appearance so you won’t be recognized later. Basically, you can disappear if needed. We can’t.”

I couldn’t dispute his claim, and while I was horrified over the idea of openly declaring I could become a wolf, the thought intrigued my wolf. To appease my wolf, I said, “I’ll think about it.”

“That’s the most we can ask of you. I hope you’re all right with stew. It’s the easiest to make with this many people. Once Desmond gets here with the grills, we can fire them up and do a proper dinner, but Desmond was worried you weren’t getting enough calories, though you look better than you did before.”