4

Returning home from work, Anika was disappointed to find that the dog was in the same place. Opening the gate, she walked towards the house with a belligerent look. Seeing her, the dog raised his head. Deciding that if she didn’t dream of anything in the morning, then she should tell this creature to get out of her yard.

“You seem to understand human language,” she said reproachfully, approaching the porch. - Why are you still here?

The dog looked at Anika so sadly that he evoked an insurmountable feeling of compassion, and it seemed as if he sighed heavily, laying his head on his paws, looking at her with the same pitiful gaze. It was difficult to resist this, but the girl tried not to fall for this trick. She had already been stupid once by letting him in.

“You’re some kind of demon, or whatever you are,” she told him. - And I'm not going to let you into the house anymore! So get lost.

The girl climbed onto the porch, carefully walking around it sideways, and slipped through the doors. The dog remained motionless in place, watching her with his eyes.

Having changed into home pants and a sweater, she went about her business. Having settled down in her room on the second floor, Anika tried not to think about the dog under the door.

Later, while preparing a dinner of eggs, bacon and potatoes, she heard persistent scratching at the door. The dog undoubtedly wanted to get into the house and decided to urgently achieve this.

- Don’t spoil my door, you pest! - Anika exclaimed, irritated by his persistence. “Otherwise I’ll definitely call animal control.”

Anika listened - the scratching stopped, but a quiet whining was heard, almost turning into a howl.

- Yes, what a punishment! - Anika exhaled, looking back at the door.

Looking at the meat in the frying pan, she realized that the dog wanted to eat. Almost a day had passed since she gave him that meat, and the huge dog was clearly hungry after such a time. Then she put a piece of bacon, a fried egg and some potatoes on a plate, went to the doors and opened them. The dog watched her closely. She carefully pushed the plate through the door and placed it on the floor.

“Eat and get out,” she said and slammed the door.

Through the glass in the door she began to spy on the dog - it stood up and sniffed the food. You could see how she swallowed, smelled the pleasant smell, and licked her lips. She carefully took a piece of bacon between her teeth and began to chew.

“Here, the bastard, he only eats meat,” Anika grumbled, drawing the curtain.

A couple of minutes later, I looked out again and saw that the dog was sitting over the plate and looking at the food, swallowing drool. Anika’s heart sank at this picture. The animal undoubtedly wanted to eat, but for some reason it did not eat. The morning meeting with the guy at the refrigerator seemed unreal, like some kind of dream. Maybe she was imagining everything?

But the dog didn’t go anywhere during the day, which means something happened. Anika was consumed by curiosity; she really wanted to find out why he pestered her and why he didn’t leave. It would have been better to call animal control, but she couldn’t do that to the poor dog she saved. She also watched him through the window: the dog was simply sitting over the plate, now looking at the food, now looking at the door.

Deciding to take a desperate step, Anika armed herself with a mop, went to the door and opened it. The dog jumped to his paws and wagged his tail.

“Come on, move away,” she waved the mop, driving him away from the plate, and took it away.

The dog, looking at her questioningly, stood in the doorway and cocked his head to the side. The girl took the plate to the kitchen and put it on the table. After which she turned to him, waiting for what he would do, but he continued to stand without moving.

“You can come in,” she nodded to the dog, “just don’t be stupid.” I'm armed.

She swung the metal mop like a battle pole. The dog ran into the kitchen with a mischievous look, turned his head and sniffed, approached the table and looked into the plate. Thanks to his height, his head was just above the table. While the dog was looking around, Anika walked around him and went to the exit.

- What, do you want to eat from the table? - the girl asked in surprise, closing the doors and not taking her eyes off the beast.

But the dog stopped at the chair on which the curtain remained lying and poked it with his nose. Thus making it clear that he wants to take advantage of her. Anika's mouth opened in surprise.

- Do you want to wrap yourself in it again? - she asked stuttering, pointing to the curtain.

In response to this question, the dog took the curtain with his teeth and threw it to the floor. It seemed like the creature in her kitchen wanted to turn back into a guy. Having scolded herself for yet another stupidity in letting him in, Anika decided that it was worth offering him something more reliable to cover herself.

- Wait! - she called out to him. - For that matter. Come on, I'll get you a towel.

The dog scratched the floor with his paw and nodded his head, indicating agreement to the proposal.

“Now,” Anika waved her hand and rushed off to the second floor.

When she returned to the kitchen with a towel, she again found a guy instead of a dog. He had already covered himself with the same curtain and was sitting on a chair, eating food from the plate with a fork.

“I asked you to wait,” Anika was indignant.

“I don’t think you would be pleased to stare at my transformation into a human,” the guy chuckled.

Anika stared at him, realizing that she had not dreamed anything this morning. It was the same blue-eyed guy who had been driven out of the doorway by a mop, after which he turned into a large dog, which she had just let into the house. And now he was sitting at her table and finishing the food on his plate.

In the morning she, not really awake and shocked, didn’t take a closer look at him, there was no time for that. Now she examined him properly. In appearance he could have been about twenty years old, but, being dark-haired and slightly unshaven, he looked older. The guy was not just handsome, but a real handsome man, and could compete with any celebrity or model. Just the look of the unusual eyes was worth it, involuntarily attracting attention. But there was also something dangerous lurking in them, forcing them to remain on their guard.

And Anika immediately, not allowing herself to be deluded by the outer shell, reminded herself that a minute ago he was a dog. This suggested certain thoughts: in front of her was either an alien, or a mutant, or God knows what kind of creature.

Approaching him cautiously, she held out a towel.

“You weren’t so afraid of me in the forest,” the guy grinned, looking into her eyes.

“I trust animals more than people,” Anika answered, moving away from him.

“Well, I’m not exactly an animal,” he said with the same smile, “but you can trust me too.”

“You still need to earn trust,” the girl muttered, without losing her vigilance.

He took the towel from her and turned around, freeing himself from the curtain and handing it to the girl.

“Throw it on the floor,” Anika waved. - I’ll pick it up later, you stained it with fur.

The guy grimaced with insult and pointedly threw back the curtain. He didn't like her words. Having changed an element of his wardrobe, he returned to the plate. While finishing his food, the strange guest glanced at the hostess of the house. Anika felt somewhat uncomfortable from this, but tried not to show her fear.

- Maybe you have some other clothes? - he asked, seeing how the girl looked at him with suspicion. - It seems that my appearance confuses you.

“Not at all,” the girl chuckled, squeezing the mop tighter, “you won’t surprise me.” It's not your appearance that confuses me, but who you are. And about the clothes...

She became thoughtful, looking at him. The guy is probably over one meter tall. And his dimensions are not small: not thin, strong and muscular, long legs, broad shoulders. With such a body, you can safely take on a live model for advertising men's underwear.

“I don’t wear men’s clothes,” Anika answered after thinking, “and my pants are unlikely to suit you.” You won't even fit into them.

Holding back an involuntary laugh, she covered herself with her hand when her imagination pictured a guy in her pants. This casual conversation made her forget about her fear of him. The guy also couldn’t help smiling at these words.

“Well, we can come up with something else,” he suggested, looking at her questioningly.

“I don’t have skirts that size either,” the girl giggled.

It seems that this option confused the guy, or was it her imagination? He lowered his head, looking somewhere to the side, and cleared his throat.

“Actually, I prefer a slightly different wardrobe,” he answered with a humiliated look.

“I could,” Anika continued to cover her mouth with her hand to suppress her laughter, “offer my robe.” But I'm afraid it will be like a shirt for you.

- Do you like to mock a person in trouble? - the guy asked reproachfully.

It seemed that he was hoping for more understanding on her part, but the girl only had more fun, teasing him.

“Not at all,” Anika tried to cope with her outburst of fun and take on a serious look. - I'm just trying to find a solution to this issue. But let's not dwell on this. You can make do with a towel, I'm not going to keep you here for long.

The guy let out an indignant, inarticulate grumble at this. Having gathered her thoughts, Anika decided that it was time to take action and interrogate him to find out what was happening.

- So, now tell me, what or who are you? - the girl demanded, holding the mop at the ready like a spear. - Why did you become attached to me? And why the hell do you become a human in my house, but a dog outside the door?

The guy glanced sideways at her, chewing and swallowing his food. Anika, feeling his gaze on her, clutched the mop tighter.

“Well, first of all, I’m not a dog, but a wolf,” the guy beamed with a smile, “if you’re so bad at understanding.”

The girl's green eyes widened in surprise. And judging by his triumphant appearance and tone, she should be delighted at the honor.

- Wolf? - she asked in amazement. - Wow, happiness has come to the house.

The guy nodded affirmatively.

“But you yourself said yesterday that you are “that” dog,” Anika remembered, frowning.

“I said that because you perceived me as a dog,” the guy was offended. He looked at the empty plate, then at the girl.

- Is there anything else to eat? - he asked with a pitiful look, looking back at the refrigerator.

She looked into pleading blue eyes, exactly like the dog's. The guy’s behavior was somewhat strange: he either showed with his entire appearance that she was insulting him, then immediately switched gears and asked for food.

“You already ate almost everything from me,” the girl complained. And she added: “Only yesterday’s pilaf remains.” What kind of voracious wolf are you?

He changed his face, became more serious, and even began to look somehow older and more dangerous.

“I admit, I eat a lot,” the guy looked carefully at the girl, watching her reaction, “because I’m a werewolf, if you haven’t realized yet.”

At his statement, Anika let out a pitiful groan and rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, almost dropping the mop. Despite all the previous fun, fear instantly shackled the mind, and everything was confused in my head. It looks like the guy was saying this in all seriousness. And, given everything that was happening, there was no other explanation. And after this statement, she decided what alarmed her about him. The way he looked was reminiscent of a predator studying its prey. Film images of bloodthirsty animals with huge fangs and claws, tearing people apart, came to mind.

“Just don’t faint, mistress,” the guy said worriedly, observing her shocked look. - I think you will be against me touching you. And it is unknown how long you remain unconscious. And I’m not eager to touch you.

He pointed his hand at her, and his tone was serious, without a hint of amusement. The thought of being touched by a werewolf made her dizzy. Anika took a deep breath, trying to keep her sanity and calm her anxiety. But this guy didn't look like the bloodthirsty beast from the movies. Quite a cute dog, or rather a wolf, with silky fur. The ideas about werewolves did not add up to the existing real picture.