The Red-haired wolf!

From the very morning, I have had an unpleasant discomfort in my lower abdomen, as happens before menstruation. It’s just that my red days ended a week ago, so I can’t attribute the pain to the monthly cycle of pain.

“What’s wrong with you, Danika?” Dalila asks, sitting across from me. “Is the first estrus finally arrived?”

We are five at the table. This time, my sister’s mother—a purebred, is also present. My uncle’s mistress of many years, from her side, he has five daughters, the youngest of whom now unpleasantly teases me. By the pack law, men cannot have mistresses, even temporary ones, to wolves, so the very fact that Uncle Elion has kept her with him for so many years is strange. But everyone is used to it. He is not the only one in the city.

“You are too rude, Dalila. Apologize to your sister,” the soft voice of her mother, Sandra, runs like a balm through my wounded heart. “We live in the house of her father, your uncle Rehan. Be kind to behave properly.”

“Okay, mother,” my sister forces a smile, but it does not meet her eyes. “I’m sorry, Danika, I shouldn’t have said that at the table. Bon Appetit everyone!”

And after these words, she pricks a piece of meat on her fork and clogs her mouth with it.

“Really, Dani, are you feeling uncomfortable? Maybe take some pills?” my aunt asks kindly, to which I just shake my head.

“It’s a cycle, no signs of an est….” I stop, I’m ashamed to say this in front of men, but this feeling has no place among our families. “Just the usual ailments.”

“Take her to the doctor, Sandra,” my uncle immediately encouraged, even putting his fork aside. Then he looks at my frowning father. “You know the law, Rehan. If this is the first heat, then mating is obligatory. Deegon’s offer is very generous; why don’t we discuss...”

There is a loud thump of a fist on the table. My father has lost his patience. Even I wince.

“You completely lost your sense of smell; there is no heat!” growls the head of our little family.

I lower my eyes, and my hand with the fork is trembling. I have lost my appetite completely because of this scene.

“She’s already twenty-one, Rehan. It’s about time she was artificially induced; there are already gossips about you in the city that you don’t honor our traditions,” Elion still does not let go, pursing his lips, showing dissatisfaction.

“I don’t care about gossip. My daughter is my responsibility. And if you bring this topic up again, you can pack your things and get out of my house. I said everything!” Dad puts an end to the dispute and angrily gets up from the table. “Come on, Danika. I have a request for you.”

With relief, I jump up and follow my dad while feeling the looks burning my back.

“Not for long….” I hear my uncle’s ominous voice, but I’m so absorbed in my thoughts that I attribute it to my imagination.

Estrus in she-wolves and half-breeds is a three-day period of insanity in which the probability of conception is high. At this time, females most of all want sex and a male. And according to the law of faiths, the first estrus of mating must take place with a purebred male, who will pay five hundred gold coins to the treasury of the city. It didn’t make any sense, but in this way, our city replenished the budget. But everything was covered by physiology; it was believed that otherwise, it could lead to a woman’s infertility. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but that was the day I feared the most.

“Don’t worry, daughter,” Dad says as soon as we are in his room. “I arranged everything with Mrs. Herman’s son, Clayton. No marriage, only heat, he promises not to claim you.”

My father’s words give me relief because Clayton is a good wolf, kind and understanding, and works for our family’s firm. In general, half-breeds go into heat (Estrus) around the age of Twenty, so I’m not surprised by my father’s decision since that’s time when he introduced me to him, thanking that estrus would come at the proper time. However, it’s been a year now, and it’s not come.

“Do you think the time has come?” I sob and look up at my father with eyes full of tears.

His expression softens, and he opens his arms, into which I immediately fall. I don’t want to become an adult, but in our society, there is no choice. There’s nothing to hide, nothing to keep silent because the scent is our blessing and curse in one bottle.

“You’re twenty-one, daughter, and I’m so glad we had at least this reprieve,” Dad whispers, stroking my head fatherly.

And he’s right. Many parents artificially induce estrus as soon as the girl reaches the age of nineteen. Usually, the first sale of daughters occurs on their birthday. I’m the only one lucky enough to have had my father for a long time.

“I will give you a letter to give to Aunt Herman. You have to hurry to them, dear. Nobody has to guess, especially Elion. Deegon has his eye on you, so he can use the right of The King and recapture you from a weaker opponent.”

I nod, wiping my tears with my sleeve, again feeling a new wave of discomfort between my legs. This right is rarely used. But the Alpha and Beta packs could covet any girl at her first estrus. The only period when the desire of the father was not always taken into account. And the opinion of a half-breed girl was never taken into account.

But this right had one limitation. It could only be used when a man wanted to have offspring. No other way.

Half-breeds have one feature that has been valued from time immemorial by purebreds. Inability to discard the fetus. If a purebred she-wolf, capable of full-fledged breeding, does not wish to have puppies from a particular wolf, she can get rid of his spermatozoa without effort at the initial stage. But half-breeds, who are not allowed to turn into she-wolves, have no such choice. In most cases, we are like people: just as weak, defenseless and attractive to stronger individuals—males. And Mr. Deegon yesterday showed his main desire—readiness to have children. So, my father’s fears plant a seed of fear in me.

“As you say, dad,” I agree and take up the envelope in my hands.

The father coughs into a handkerchief and then hides it behind his back. That’s just because I have time to notice the blood on the fabric. God…

“Go on, daughter,” he waves his hand towards the exit, and I obey his will.

I run down the stairs without meeting anyone. I hurry as quickly as possible to the house of Aunt Herman and her son Clayton, who live at the end of the street. And for the first time, I am grateful to fate for such good luck because I find myself near the desired door, safe and sound. For some reason, it’s just open. Not seeing any threat in this, I push it and go inside.

“Clayton,” I call my friend by name, but no one answers.

At this moment, a new wave of pain and heat passes along my body, reverberating in my lower abdomen. I lean against the door and slide down, my legs completely no longer holding me.

“Oh, Oh, Oh,” a strange male baritone voice unfamiliar to me, “What kind of sweet gift is sliding at the threshold? No wonder I came to this provincial town for nothing.”

I raise my head and twitch in fear. In front of me is not Clayton but another man. Red-haired, tall, with broad shoulders and narrow hips. And he looks at me obscenely, licking his lips carnivorously at the same time. He does not even hide his animal lust, responding with the fact that he begins to exude his pheromones and vibes. God, what smells so good?