A Wolf at War: Chapter 6

A Wolf at War

Chapter 6: A Wolf Among Lions

Less than a week after my incredible first transformation a peace treaty was signed in Moscow, effectively ending the war.  It was a bittersweet treaty though because yes we had pushed the Soviets back and Finland kept its sovereignty but it had to give up Karelia… That included the Mannerheim Line and Taipale, the area that I and so many of my comrades had fought and bled for would now be in Soviet hands.  I, along with the majority of the Finnish people were not happy with the deal but it was much better when compared to the alternative, utter destruction.  We couldn’t hold off the Soviets forever and once the advantage we had in winter was gone, they would have smashed their way through our lines and unleashed their fury upon helpless civilians.  I was angry but not too worried, the Finns were tough people and would persevere no matter what, besides I had other things to occupy my mind.

After the first transformation Magnus and I spent every night in the woods outside of the city and as the wolf said, I didn’t even need a full moon to shift.  The trick to transforming is simply picturing yourself in your mind’s eye as the wolf and best of all there was almost no pain, but the sound of snapping bones still made me kind of sick.   What the wolf never mentioned was how addicting it would be, being a werewolf was intoxicating, it was like a drug and I couldn’t get enough.  The speed, the power, the connection with the earth, all of these made those nights in the woods with Magnus some of the best of my life.  Since that night my body had been noticeably changing, my eyes were now flaked with gold, my canines were slightly longer and incredibly sharp, my hair had grown slightly longer and I was even starting to get my first real facial hairs!

My senses had increased tenfold, though they were nothing compared to what I experienced when I was in wolf form.  I had spent the better part of the week learning control on what to pay attention to and what to block out because there are two problems with having hypersensitive senses.  First, normally loud sounds are REALLY loud for me, I had to learn that the hard way.  Second, there are so many sounds and smells bombarding me at any given moment that it is like a sensory overload, but a lot of willpower and many migraines later I had trained myself to block out the majority of turmoil.  While I was exploring my abilities Magnus was hard at work trying to find us safe passage to Copenhagen.  Two days after the cease fire was called I was laying in my bed trying to pick out the different smells wafting from the kitchen down the hall when another very familiar scent reached my nose and was soon accompanied by the soft clunk of boots.  I didn’t even need to look over to know who it was.

“So what’s the news Magnus?” The footsteps continued unperturbed.  

“I’ve found us a ship.”  He said rather proudly I then heard the creek of springs as he sat on his bed.  I propped myself up on my elbow watching as he unlaced his boots.

“Really?  When do we leave?”  He glanced up at me.

“In about four hours, it’s a Swedish cargo ship bound for Malmö but I bribed them to take us onboard and make a quick stop in Copenhagen. “ He said with a grin but I then remembered something Magnus had said before ‘I ran away from home and eventually found
‘Fenrir’s Revenge’ and bribed my way onboard.’  

“Bribed? Didn’t you bribe your way onto ‘the Revenge’ as well? How much money did you bring with you?” He shrugged his shoulders and after a moment’s pause, he rummaged around in his army issue knapsack.

“When I left home I think I took about… 20,000 Kroner.” My jaw dropped as he withdrew a large wad of cash and tossed it onto the bed in front of me.  

“I spent 3,000 getting on ‘the Revenge’ and about the same for our ticket home.”  I held the money roll in awe because even though my father was a military officer my family was working class, and he had brought with him more than my father brought home in a year!  Yet Magnus just tossed it to me as if it were nothing, just how rich is his family?  I tossed the roll back to him which he caught without even looking up from his bag.

“So how long is the passage?” I asked stretching out, the itching urge shift was still very strong even as the moon waned.  Magnus chuckled.

“I know you want to transform again but you’re going to have to wait a week.” I raised my eyebrow.

“It took us a week to get from Danzig to Helsinki, Copenhagen is even further away.”  He once again shrugged his shoulders.

“Well ‘The Revenge’ was a rust bucket and was heavily loaded, not to mention we were evading not only Soviet but also German detection.  Now we are flying under a neutral flag so we can sail without any delays.”  

A few short hours later, Magnus and I had left the barracks and were making our way towards the harbor.  Before leaving we had to turn in all of our weapons and equipment, however I held onto my helmet as a souvenir and I was sure Magnus had kept his pistol.  The docks were eerily calm compared to our arrival, with only a few stray dockhands and even fewer ships, but we did not seem too out of place.  Since our uniforms were ruined the night of the attack and we had never been issued new ones we adorned our civilian clothes, though Magnus’ casual clothes were much nicer than mine.  Walking the length of the dock Magnus stopped in front of a medium sized freighter with the name ‘Vargens Tjut’ scrawled in blazing white letters across the side of the bow.

The ship was smaller and sleeker than ‘the Revenge’ and seemed to be in much better shape which probably meant it was also much faster.  The ship itself seemed deserted till we caught sight of three sailors huddled in a tight group near the bow, all three wearing standard traditional navy blue jackets and caps.  The three men were eyeing us in an unsettling way once they became aware of our presence and I had a gut feeling that these men were going to be trouble.  As we stepped onto the rough wooden deck the group moved towards us, stopping only a meter from where we stood.  The leader, an unshaven fatter man with greasy brown hair sauntered forward with a predatory leer and said, in a poisonous voice.

“Det finns en skatt att gå denna båt pojkar.”  As he drew closer his scent hit me and it was a disgusting combination of cigarettes, body odor and old fish, but I held back my disgust. I hated being left out in conversations but I knew Magnus could hold his own, he crossed his arms and replied.

“Jag har redan betalat din kapten kommer jag inte ge er något.” The man’s leer dropped as he reached into his breast pocket and withdrew a switchblade knife.  He flicked it open with a click and pointed it towards Magnus, advancing slowly and saying in an icy tone.

“Du vet, få små pojkar som inte betalar sina skatter skär!”  I hadn’t the slightest clue of what was said but it seemed as if a fight was going to be inevitable.  My wolf was clawing at the inside of my chest, I wanted nothing more than to shift right here and now and tear this disgusting man limb from limb but I had to repress the instinct or risk discovery.  I wanted to defend my friend but before I could act Magnus nonchalantly withdrew the Russian pistol he had kept from his pocket and pointed at the man who cowered away with his hands in the air. Magnus said in a rather annoyed voice.  

“Ister fyllda fegisar som du bör inte underskatta dina motståndare.”  As the wolf began to calm I couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking ‘Didn’t expect that did ya?’ Hearing me, Magnus smirked over at me, keeping his weapon trained on the man he asked.

“Hey Jakub, how long do you think this ‘fitta’ would have lasted in Taipale?”  I shrugged and replied bemusedly.

“A week, give or take.” Magnus cocked his eyebrow as the man began rambling in Swedish, no doubt begging for his life but Magnus paid him no attention.

“You are too generous Jakub, I doubt he would have lasted one battle.” Just then a voice roared from the stern of the ship.

“Vad händer här!” We whipped around to see a plump older man with a long scraggly grey beard, who wore a uniform similar to the three men but had an ornate hat which signified that he was the captain.  Magnus turned to face him but kept his pistol trained on the fat man.

“Kapten Olander var dessa män försökte pressa pengar från oss” the captain looked at the three men warily and placed one of his weathered hands on Magnus’ shoulder saying in a neutral tone.

“Kommer att ta itu med dessa skojare senare kom låt mig visa dig dina kvarter mister Hakanson.”

Magnus calmly placed his weapon back into his pocket and followed the captain towards the
stern of the ship as the man quickly scuttled away, his two cronies following suit. We followed the captain blow decks to a small, cramped room in the center of the ship. The room itself was located directly next to the engine room, making it incredibly hot and noisy, and was only large enough to fit a rusted bunk bed with little room to spare.  The captain continued to ramble on in Swedish.

“Jag vet att det är inte mycket, men det kommer att göra, kommer middagen serveras vid 06:00 skarpa och ring mig om du behöver något…” Magnus nodded and after a few more minutes of rapid Swedish the captain left us to our own devices.  Magnus plopped down on the bottom bunk and began rummaging through his bag as I slid my bag underneath the rusty bed.

“So what was all that about on deck?” I asked as I unlaced my boots and Magnus pulled out a thin white blanket that he had swiped from the hospital. He shrugged as he reclined back onto the dusty mattress.

“Those men wanted us to pay to board, common thieves and nothing else. Give them a display of force and they will run away like the cowards they are.” I nodded as I climbed into my bunk as well.

“Just like on ‘The Revenge’, eh Magnus?”  I asked as I tried to find a comfortable way to sleep.  He chuckled and I heard him throw the blanket over himself.

“Yea except this time we are headed away from battle instead of towards it.” I put my hands behind my head and stretched myself out.

“Good, I need a vacation after the last few months.”

“I agree with you there my friend.  There is plenty of land to roam and depending on how long you stay, you may come with us to our summer home in Scotland. But I’ll tell you more later, Goodnight Jakub.” I rolled over onto my side and closing my eyes.

“Goodnight, Magnus.” I muttered before drifting off into sleep.
The next few days went quickly, we mostly kept to ourselves but we ate meals with the rest of the crew.  There were ten including the captain and at first they were very weary of us but soon became pretty friendly as the days dragged on, except the three men who had tried to rob us on the first day.  They made it a point to keep their distance and limited themselves to casting us dirty looks from across the mess hall, but as Magnus had said they were cowards.  By the time our last day on the ship had come we were both itching to get off the boat… well I was anyways.  I couldn’t wait to shift back into a wolf … and to smell something other than salt.  We were to make landfall in Copenhagen harbor very early in the morning so the ship could reach Malmo by first light, meaning we had plenty of time to kill.  The sun had just set and Magnus and I were relaxing in our tiny room reading when Magnus tapped me on the shoulder.

“Yea?” I asked, folding the corner of my page down and setting the book aside.  Magnus had a mischievous look in his eye as he rummaged through his bag, while saying in a nonchalant voice.

“Well Jakub, in a few hours we reach Copenhagen so I thought we could celebrate.” He said with a grin as he pulled out two large bottles from the bag, each one was filled to the brim with a clear liquid.  He cracked the top off of the first and took a long swig from the bottle before offering me the second which I hesitantly accepted.  As soon as the first bottle was opened the scent was a dead giveaway as to what the bottles contents was… vodka.

“Vodka? Where the hell did you get this?” I asked as I opened my bottle and took a swift drink.  The burning sensation as the vodka went down my throat was rather pleasant though it did little to better the bitter taste it had left behind. I was a bit apprehensive of drinking, don’t get me wrong I was no stranger to liquor, having stolen my fair share of drinks from my father’s secret stash but I had never really had more than a few sips.   He seemed to sense my apprehension because after a particularly long swig he said.

“I got them before we left for the docks and don’t worry, our tolerance to alcohol is much greater than that of any average human so you definitely won’t have a hangover tomorrow after only this much.”  I nodded but still decided to only drink a bit, though Magnus showed no intentions of maintaining any sort of moderation.  

Many hours and a lot of drinking later Magnus and I were having a great time, talking about anything and everything that came to mind but mostly the future and what it may hold.  Magnus had once told me that in vampire society showing emotions is a sign of weakness which explained why he was so detached but now that he was intoxicated, he was chatting up a storm.  Magnus took one last swig from his bottle, draining it of its contents and letting the empty bottle clatter onto the cold steel floor near where I was sitting with more than half of my bottle still untouched.  Magnus fell sideways onto the creaky bunk bed and rested is head onto his old stained pillow, before closing his eyes for a moment and saying, very quietly and with only a slight slur.  

“I don’t think I’ve ever thanked you properly…” I looked up to meet his gaze, even in his inebriated state I could sense the sincerity in his words, but I wasn’t sure exactly what he was thankful for.

“What are you talking about Magnus?” I asked as I stood up and clambered onto my top bunk, leaving the mostly untouched bottle abandoned on the floor.  

“I never thanked you for saving my life back in the forest… I.. I just wanted to say… thanks.  Thank you for being a good friend.” I lay back on my back looking up at the latticework of pipes and thought ‘It must be the vodka talking’.

“No problem Magnus, but you’re pretty drunk so go to sleep. I’ll wake you up when we reach the port.” He mumbled something incoherent and within a matter of seconds he was asleep.  I remained awake for quite some time after Magnus had passed out just listening to the metallic drumming of the ships heart and the constant crashing of the ocean against the ship’s hull, absentmindedly playing with the wolf fang Magnus had given me.
I soon grew restless, so silently I dropped down from my bunk and silently crept to the door which I opened with a soft ‘clunk’.  Looking over my shoulder I could see that Magnus hadn’t woken up so I closed the steel door behind me as quietly as I could and proceeded to climb the nearby staircase out onto the main deck.

I leaned against the ships steel railing and gazed out over the dark ocean, the waning moon casting its beautiful pale glow over the churning waves of the inky Baltic Sea as I drifted off into thought.  

I had come to Finland blinded by rage and hell bent on revenge but what did I really get?  Did I really get revenge? Did I make my father proud? I had gotten much more than I bargained for.  In this land of ice and snow had stumbled upon a world unknown to me or the rest of the world and lost my humanity in the process but to be honest with myself…  I had never felt more alive.  Even so I missed my family, I missed our tiny apartment in Warsaw, and I even missed school! Everything had turned so wrong in such a small span of time, everything I loved had been demolished in the blitzkrieg and now the world itself seemed intent on tearing apart at the seams.  I didn’t even know when I would be able to return home or if I would ever see my family ever again, and dad… he was gone forever.  Burning sorrow welled up in my chest and before I could stop myself I threw my head back and let out a long mournful howl to the glowing crescent moon.  It felt so natural but the moment the realization of what exactly I was doing hit me, I quickly covered my mouth looking around to make sure nobody had seen.  Even as a wolf I hadn’t howled, though my thought had crossed my mind… what was getting into me?

The ship seemed deserted enough so I quickly made my way back down the stairs, turning at the bottom to find our door blocked by three hulking figures.  I froze but they were not facing me and because I was not wearing any shoes it seemed as if they had not heard me either.  ‘These bastards again’ I thought angrily as I silently bridged the short distance between us, my wolfish instincts telling me to strike while they were distracted but I was curious as to what they were doing.  The smallest of the three was slowly pulling back on the doors latch, being sure to make no noise as the other two whispered back and forth in rapid Swedish.  After a few seconds the latch opened with a small click that would have been inaudible were it not for my hyper sensitive hearing, and they slowly pulled it open.  I was about to ask them what the hell they thought they were doing when the largest man, the leader of the group who had threatened Magnus on the first day, pulled the same short knife from his pocket.  ‘He was going to slit our throats in our sleep!’ I thought enraged.  My eyes began to glow as the red haze of fury swept over me, I knew an involuntary change was inevitable but I couldn’t let that happen!  As the smaller man who opened the door side stepped to let the leader into the tiny room my vision began to blur and my body began to move of its own accord.  It was as if I was just a passenger along for the ride as I strode forward to the man in the back of the group and stepped down on the back of his knee.  He dropped down with a cry of shock but it was cut short as I caught him in the side of the head with a hard right hook that had enough force to send him crashing into the nearest wall.  The other two men were now fully aware of my presence but after seeing their comrades crumpled body on the floor, they seemed rather hesitant to attack.  The fat leader was the first to act, lunging at me with the knife at waist level but I was too quick.  I dodged sideways, grabbing his wrist as I did and bent it till I heard the satisfying crunch of shattered bones.  The man began to scream and he too collapsed to the floor, clutching his limp arm in pain as I turned to face the last man standing who reeked of fear.  An inhuman growl rumbled through my chest and the scent of fear grew stronger, my predator instinct began to kick in as my human side struggled to gain back control.  He threw his hands up and began to back away, stammering out things I could not understand but my wolf was not about to show him mercy.  He had only made it a step and a half back before I lunged forward, slamming him into the nearest wall then lifting him up by his neck till his head was brushing the ceiling.  He frantically struggled but my iron grip was not to be broken.

“So you were going to kill us huh!? I should tear your throat you sneaky bastard!” I roared in a voice not my own.  His struggles began to slow as my grip on his throat tightened like a vice and droplets of blood ran down my arm, in a weak voice he wheezed.

“Vänligen… dödar… inte.. mig…” A single tear dropped from his eye, the tear of a man who knew his end is upon him.  Seeing this sign of submission, my wolf loosened up slightly giving my human side the opening it needed to take back full control once more.   I instantly released the man who collapsed to the ground and began gulping up air in shallow uneasy breaths, shaking like a leaf.  I looked down at my blood covered hand which, to my shock had the razor sharp claws of my wolven form.  ‘I can shift parts of my body?  This could change everything!’ I thought, when a booming voice echoed through the hallway.

“Vad händer här!” I knew instantly it was the captain, I quickly envisioned my human hand and almost instantly the sharp black nails retracted back just as the captain came into the room, pistol in hand.  I raised my now normal hands as the captain raised the pistol shouting at me in Swedish, I needed to tell him what actually happened or this would turn out badly.  I looked over my shoulder to see Magnus still passed out, even after all the commotion ‘Oh great, so much for that higher tolerance to alcohol Magnus’ I thought.  After a moment of thought I held up a finger and captain went silent, his pistol still trained on my head.  I pointed to the fat leader, who had propped himself up against the wall and was crying like a child and then I pointed to the discarded knife near his feet.  I then pointed to Magnus and myself then ran my finger over my throat, after a few seconds comprehension dawned in the captain’s beady eyes and he lowered the pistol, instead training it on the fat man who was still cradling his shattered wrist.  

I took the opportunity to try to wake Magnus and slowly but surely he started to wake, by now several other crew members were awake and soon made aware of the situation by the captain.  I was pretty surprised at how quickly Magnus sobered up as I filled him in on the situation, by the time I was finished I could hardly tell he had been drinking… besides the smell of course.  He looked over my shoulder to where the three would be murders were being bound with rope and said in an almost impressed voice.
“What did you do Jakub?” I honestly didn’t know how to respond because I didn’t know what happened but the captain walked over before I could respond and spoke to Magnus who relayed that “Justice would be done once they reached Sweden”.  I sure hoped he would keep his word, I wouldn’t want any other unsuspecting sailor to fall victim to these vultures.  ‘I almost killed that guy… but why do I not feel bad?’ I thought to myself as I grabbed a piece of bed sheet and wiped the now dried blood off my forearm.  But another voice somewhere deep in my mind whispered ‘You were defending yourself, your friend, and your territory… they are lucky you let any of them live…’ I stopped cleaning myself, was that my wolf side talking? I felt like I wasn’t in control of my body back there, did it take over or was I simply acting on instincts… this is not good.

Once the three criminals were taken away we were left to our own devices, Magnus pressured me on how exactly I beat them but I didn’t want to admit I wasn’t in control because truthfully it terrified me.   One short hour later there was a knock on the steel door frame and the captain’s plump form peeked around the corner, the smell of anxiety hung heavy on his person.  Magnus and the captain exchanged some words then he left the room and Magnus got to his feet, gesturing me to do the same.  I nudged him as he threw on his jacket and said in a low voice.

“What did he say?” When he turned to answer I saw his expression, he was grinning broadly.

“It’s time to disembark, we have just docked in Copenhagen…”

Within a matter of minutes we were on shore and walking out of the dock district, the captain had seemed very happy to get rid of us because the ship started steaming for Sweden almost the second we stepped off the gangplank.  We wandered the empty city streets in silence, Magnus seemed kind of bored but I was intrigued by this sleepy city.  The scent was nothing like that of Helsinki or even Warsaw, it seemed to have more warm scent to it, that of fresh baked bread, cinnamon, and pastries… it was a relaxing peaceful smell that put me at ease.  Magnus abruptly stopped outside one of the few buildings which still had its lights on, a pub.  He told me he had to make a call and went inside, he was back shortly and we smoked a few cigarettes while we waited.  Just as the first few rays of sunlight poked over the horizon the rumbling of an automobile at the end of the street made my head turn, the vehicle rumbled towards us, its headlights blinding in the early morning darkness.  Magnus stood up as the car, no limousine ground to a halt a few meters from where we were, I quickly followed suit and gathered my things, throwing Magnus a confused glance as I did.  He didn’t seem to notice as a tall shadowy figure stepped out of the car and moved to the front of the vehicle.  The hairs on the back of my neck started to prickle, something was different about this guy his smell was… just like Magnus?  The tall figure stepped forward, silhouetting itself against the headlights and then it bowed low and said in a bored sounding voice.

“Godmorgen Master Magnus, velkommen tilbage til Danmark. Må jeg tage din poser?” My jaw dropped as Magnus handed his bag over to the man who rounded the car and opened one of the back doors for Magnus to step in.  He paused though and waved me over.

“Come on Jakub, quit dragging your feet!” I hesitantly strode towards the man and his features came into focus.  He was tall, incredibly thin and pale with short raven black hair and blood red eyes… vampire.  As we made eye contact his brow furrowed slightly and quick as lightening he shot his hand into the pocket of his suit jacket but froze the second Magnus yelled.

“Christoffer! He is a friend, take his bag… oh and speak Polish from now on, our friend here doesn’t know Danish.”  I relaxed a bit as he slowly slid the mystery object back into his pocket, his icy stare never leaving mine.

“Of course, forgive me sir I just did not expect for you to bring... one of his kind to our home.  You know your mother will not be pleased.”  He replied in a lowly voice, his thin mouth frowning slightly as he sized me up, what was this guy’s problem?

“Ugh, Christoffer I don’t care, I will explain the situation later just take his damn bag and don’t make me ask again.”  Magnus added rather harshly and without a moment’s hesitation he outstretched a gloved hand and I gave him my overstuffed knapsack, still slightly confused as to what I did to offend this man.

“Thank you Mr. Cristoffer...” I mumbled and his stony expression instantly softened slightly and was replaced by something close to confusion, vampires are hard to read sometimes.  Soon we were on our way… in a limousine… out of the city which was just beginning to come to life and into the lush surrounding countryside.  We rode in silence for the most part but close to an hour into the drive Magnus broke the silence and began to explain what I should expect.

“Ok well Mother is the patriarch of the family and she will expect to be treated with respect, oh and she doesn’t like wolves so please try to make a good impression.  My two eldest sisters Katya and Sophie are twins so they look very much alike and my other sister Sonya is a few decades older than me but she always acts like the youngest.  Christoffer is the only other person in the house but he lives in the basement so you will not see much of him unless you need something.   Besides that the grounds and lake are yours to roam free in, just be sure to keep your distance from the village, they may just think you are a stray dog but it is not worth the risk but I trust you know that.” I nodded as the limousine turned off the main dirt road and onto a gravel side road which led deep into a large evergreen forest.  After a few minutes the forest abruptly ended and turned into a sprawling green lawn with a large stone mansion in the center.  A Mansion! Magnus wasn’t kidding, the massive mansion looked like a castle with small towers and everything, it even had its own dock on a massive lake, but I just hope his family is friendly.  The limousine rumbled up the long driveway, grinding to a halt in front of a large ornate marble entryway flanking tow massive oak doors, each engraved with beautiful intricate decorations.  We were let out of the limousine by Christoffer who then gathered our bags from the trunk, the scent here was much different than that of Copenhagen.  Copenhagen smelt lively and homelike but here… here it smelt old, stagnant… dead.  It put me on edge, I didn’t feel welcomed here and my wolfish side was telling me to run but my human side won out, I was here under Magnus’ protection, nothing bad would happen to me right?

As I was fighting with myself the large double doors creaked open, I snapped out of my thoughts to see a thin woman with greying blond hair wearing a dress not of this century.  It must be his mother, I shot Magnus a sideways glance but he was already striding up the stairs like a man heading for the gallows.  Once he was before her he cleared his throat, I could smell tension radiating between them as he stuttered out.

“ H-hej mo-or…” But his next works were cut off a as his mother slapped him with a
deafening crack, I winced ‘Oh I bet that hurt’.  Magnus remained standing but just barely, her face remained emotionless as she then began speaking in rapid Danish, I couldn’t understand a word but the tone she used was scary none the less.  She abruptly stopped speaking as she noticed me standing awkwardly near the car, I knew I had to make a good impression so I smiled but the second I made eye contact her neutral expression shifted slightly.  She gave a brief glance to Magnus before she pointed to me and said in a very cold voice.

“Du bragte en køter til vores hjem? Christoffer, satte mutt ned.” I heard a metallic click to my right and looking over I was shocked to be looking down the barrel of an ancient looking flintlock pistol. ‘oh no you don’t , I survived Finland I WILL NOT die here’ I thought and time seemed to slow down as I simultaneously ducked and threw my arm up, pushing the barrel of the pistol upwards.  The antique weapon went off with a bang, the bullet missing my head by a matter of centimeters.  My ears were ringing as I sprung into the fighting stance they had taught us in Finland but before I could counter attack I felt the cold steel of a dagger press against my throat.

‘Damn vampires are quick’ I thought angrily as I waited for the final blow but Magnus was shouting something at his mother.  Everyone remained still as Magnus spoke rapidly, I didn’t dare move an inch but I saw out of my peripherals that he was keeping his eyes averted as her stony crimson eyes drilled into him.  I watched his mother’s expression carefully and a few moments after Magnus had stopped talking she waved to Christoffer who instantly removed the knife from my neck and placed it back into his waistcoat.  I let out a sigh of relief and rubbed my neck, my wolf had been screaming at me to shift but I probably would have been killed before I could fully shift.  Magnus’ mother turned to face me her expression as neutral as ever but her look was icy and said to me in Polish.

“What is a Polish dog doing so far away from home, more importantly why is a mongrel such as yourself seeks the company of vampires?” I felt a growl building low in my throat but I suppressed it, I had to make a good impression for Magnus’ sake.

“Um, it is nice to meet you mam…” I began but she cut me off, curtly saying.

“I have no time for your formalities mutt, tell me why you have come to my home.”  The vein in my temple started to throb, so badly did I want to retort but I had to control myself.  I glanced to Magnus who was looking at me imploringly, I gave him a slight nod before continuing.

“Magnus invited me here because I cannot return home…” She held up a pale hand.

“Nonsense, leave this place and return to your pack… you have no business here.” I arched my eyebrow and shook my head ‘Pack?’.

“I don’t have a pack, I’ve only been a werewolf for about a month… I was attacked by a Soviet werewolf who was hell bent on killing me, Magnus stopped him but not before I was already bitten.”  She remained silent for several seconds, seemingly sizing me up before she gave a curt nod saying.

“Fine you may stay but if you cause any trouble, Christoffer will make you into a throw rug.”   With that she spun on her heel, strode gracefully back up the stairs and through the double wooden doors leaving Magnus and I rooted to the spot and staring at each other in confusion.  Magnus was the first to move, gesturing me to follow him which I did after a moment’s hesitation ‘wasn’t exactly the welcome I was expecting’ I though more than a bit aggravated.  

The interior of the Hakanson Manor reminded me of pictures I had seen of Versailles, the entire floor was a massive fresco that portrayed what looked like multiple battle scenes all of which led to the foot of a sweeping marble staircase.  On the walls hung massive tapestries, the largest of which hung at the top of the staircase and depicted a coat of arms featuring two lions, one holding an axe and the other holding a crucifix flanking a cypress tree whose leafless branches twisted into the shape of an H.   Illuminating the spacious entrance hall was an ornate silver chandelier but my attention was drawn to the three gorgeous women dressed in red who were now making their way down the stairs towards us… Magnus’ sisters.  The two leading the trio looked identical ‘Katya and Sophie’ I thought, long silvery blonde hair spilling over their shoulders as their crimson eyes looked us over.  

“So our dearest little brother returns triumphantly from war…” ‘I guess they were told to speak Polish’ I though as they surrounded Magnus who did not seem too happy, one of them stroked the now faint scar the wolf had left on Magnus’ jaw.  

“But he has scarred his pretty face, that should have healed, what’s the matter Maggie have you not been eating well?” I snorted at the pet name, ‘Maggie? Oh he will never hear the end of that!’ but I instantly regretted my response as the twins noticed me.  They were on me in a matter of seconds, circling me like sharks and taking in every detail.

“So our dear brother has brought a house guest?”

“A werewolf none the less!”

“A cute werewolf at that!” The next thing I knew their hands were all over me, rubbing my shoulders and trying to unbutton my shirt.

“It gets lonely you know, we do not get many visitors out here in the middle of nowhere.” One of them whispered seductively in my ear, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying myself but at the same time it was pretty awkward, them being my best friends sisters … and vampires.

“Oh no our wolf is so tense!”  

“Do not worry love, we will take care of you…”  All of my senses spiked and my breath caught in my throat as I felt the cold graze of teeth on the side of my neck.  Before I could react the fangs were suddenly ripped away and I stumbled sideways clutching my neck, they had drawn blood.  I looked over to see Magnus letting go of his sister’s hair and saying angrily.  

“Katya leave him alone he is not food! He is under my protection. ” The two women gave him an irritated look before glancing longingly at me.

“You are no fun Maggie, come Sonya let’s take our leave… see you soon pet.” They added to me with a wink, I glanced over at the third sister Sonya who gave me a small smile before following her sisters out of the entrance hall. Magnus watched them leave, contempt in his gaze before he glanced over to me and said.

“Uh, sorry about that, are you alright?” I shook my head, exasperated.

“Yea I just didn’t expect to be shot at, accosted, or almost becoming dinner.” He shrugged his shoulders as we ascended the stairs, waiting till we had reached the top before saying.

“Yea sorry, werewolves and vampires really aren’t supposed to mix.  You see, the smell of a werewolf’s blood is very… appealing to us.  It is taking quite a bit of self-control not to try and feed off you right now.” I inched away from him slightly as we walked and ran a hand over the cut on my neck, it wasn’t what he had said, it was the matter of fact tone he had used which scared me.  After going up another flight of stairs we came to a long candle lit hallway lined with dozens of doors.  Towards the end of the hall Magnus abruptly stopped and opened one of the doors to reveal a large bedroom, probably larger than my family’s entire flat back in Warsaw.

“Here is your room, I’m just down the hall.  I trust you want some rest after the events of the last few days and don’t worry about my sisters… thought you might want to lock your door. ” I bade him goodnight even though it couldn’t have been past noon and after making sure the door was firmly locked, I explored my new room.  I didn’t really realize how tired I was till Magnus had mentioned it but as soon as I found the bed I plopped down and it was surprisingly comfortable and well-kept though it looked as if it hadn’t been used in ages.  A thought struck me then, a grin spread across my face as I took of my clothes which still reeked of ocean.  The moment I got the last article of clothing off I began to transform, I savored every second as bones cracked and elongated and fur overtook skin.  The moment the shift was over I padded over to the large bed and curled my large body on top of the covers falling asleep within seconds.