Chapter 4

We studied there, in the community, but in high school I tearfully begged to be sent to a city school. I hoped things would change. I hoped that I would make friends among ordinary children, but they did not accept me here either. Our community is not something that is not loved in the city, but is considered strange. We live separately, we communicate with the city only when necessary - local authorities, shops and so on. It is believed that we have a hunting village, we live by hunting, catching poachers, taking tourists, watching the forest, etc. Such multifunctional huntsmen, only less than half are directly involved in these duties, the rest have other various duties. There is also a doctor - Mira, and a pharmacist-healer - Sarah, as well as auto mechanics, teachers, builders and other necessary specialists for the pack. Everything to limit communication with strangers as much as possible. Needless to say, the city children accepted me as that other eccentric, for them I almost lived in a sect. And then the time of deafening loneliness began.

I devoted all my time to studying and running - this was my pass from these places. Here is at least one plus in the fact that I am a half-wolf rehuman, I did not have my own animal, but I had my advantages. I was faster and more enduring than an ordinary person, not that a person could not do that, but I did not make much effort for this, I heard better and saw more sharply. So, if you see people on TV shows who look like suffocates and lift weights like bodybuilders, you know, they are more likely to be half-breeds like me.

My plan worked, I received a scholarship and, without looking back, went to the other end of the state - to the city of Laramie, to the University of Wyoming. I lived there in recent years, studying at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. But I came here straight from the Yellowstone Nature Reserve, where I spent six months researching as part of a university group. Actually, that's why I came to my aunt. And now stuck here in the most disgusting way.

I rubbed my itchy neck, the bite burned, but it didn’t burn anymore, it just didn’t let me forget about myself. I remember as a child, after reading a book about werewolves, I asked my aunt to bite me in order to become like them, so that I would be accepted into the pack. Aunt Sarah then smiled sadly and said that it was all fiction. Now I don’t feel like it anymore, having looked at life outside the pack, it seems absurd to me to live here, with their narrow-minded rules. But here's the irony - when I was able to almost get rid of this pack and cut them out of my life, they began to care about me. Like an itching wound, the thought that this mark would not turn out to be good for me did not give me rest. What the hell, Reed Cooper's beast thought I was his huangity? And I have to deal with this.

The night passed restlessly, the pain in the arm and in the neck did not let me sleep and lie down more comfortably. The morbid state flowed from half-asleep to heavy sleep. Yes, and in the ward I felt uncomfortable: non-residential walls were associated with joyless memories, besides, the cottage itself was away from the rest of the buildings - outside the window of the first floor the forest lived its own life, in four years I lost the habit of such living silence. The trees rustled, the wind howled just like the voices of wolves in the distance, the whole room seemed to be immersed in the forest rustles behind the curtained window.

I woke up from the noise behind the wall - the creak of the cabinet doors, the sound of water and the clinking of bottles said that Mira had started work. She looked into my room for a second, saying that she would soon come with a round. The strange constrained state was not only due to itchy wounds, but also inside me. I really didn't want to start the day. I knew that the conversations would continue, I was afraid that Reed would come again. I did not even know what to expect from such increased attention of those who had not even noticed me before.

But Mira was collected according to the worker, busily examined the wounds and changed the bandages. The claw marks on his arm still had an unhealthy, inflamed color.

“I don’t think it makes sense to keep you here, things will go faster in Green,” Aunt Sarah’s cottage was called “Green” here. Here all the houses were of different colors, and out of habit they were named by color, and not by belonging. Some colors were not accidental - green symbolized pharmacists, which my relatives have been for many generations in a row; Well, this one, of course, was the only white one. And some colors did not carry any additional meaning, probably, the first owners simply liked them. But according to tradition, the color of the facade did not change and was maintained by the next generations. If you want a new color, build yourself a new house. A very cheerful view of the village, tourists like it. 

The inspection of the neck satisfied Mira, she nodded contentedly during the check:

- Is it easier to swallow?

I listened to my feelings, in the morning I restrained myself out of habit, softening this process. To my delight, I almost didn't wince.

“Better,” I said hoarsely. O miracle! I'm talking again!

- Then let's do it, you wait for Sarah with breakfast, she should come soon anyway. And then we will decide on what conditions I will let you go, - she allowed herself a slight smile, as if noting her humor, and quickly left, taking the medical table with her.

Perhaps Mira also belonged to those units for whom I did not feel a burning dislike. True, I always communicated with her more within the boundaries of her clinic, but sometimes I felt that her disposition towards me was caused not only by the duty of a doctor, but also by personal sympathy. A very sad picture emerges if you build your sympathies on the basis of someone who does not despise you.

About thirty minutes later my aunt came in, holding a tray in front of her that barely contained food. It's about time! For a half-blood, I had a rather wolfish appetite.

- Good morning! How did you sleep? - Aunt hoisted her burden on my knees. What was not there! Bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, cheeses, vegetables - on campus, of course, I didn’t eat like that. And I didn’t need so many calories, because they were not spent on throwing into the beast. But here they always ate like that, only more meat. 

- Fine. Mira said that after breakfast she would let me go, - wasting no time, I ate breakfast.

- Yes, yes, it's always better at home, - and there's nothing else to occupy a single ward. After all, the entire infirmary was a reception room, a ward and a pantry. But the pantry is full: there were no medicines and equipment here. Needless to say, wolves should not get to human doctors, otherwise they will quickly be locked up in some laboratory. But Mira could not cope with all cases either, I remember a couple of times a doctor wolf from another pack came to us. Where these packs live, I do not know, werewolves do not settle close, but in such cases they interact. The packs are small, there are only twenty-seven people in this one, each with his own profile, which the alpha dictates to them, depending on the needs of the community. There is not enough engineer - you will become an engineer, there is no one to teach children - you will become a teacher. Some take on multiple areas at once. So the world has to spin. She is a multidisciplinary doctor: an ordinary therapist, and a midwife, and teeth with fangs can heal, but most often she has to perform the functions of a surgeon. After almost every conversion, someone comes back with wounds. In the body of the beast, a person almost does not rule, his consciousness is only on the edge of the wolf - dominant. And they are animals, you don't know what to expect from them. Everything is about strength.

After breakfast, my aunt helped me get ready. I need to reconsider my wardrobe - I could not pull the narrow sleeve over the bandage, so it gathered in uncomfortable folds at the elbow. But the high collar at the throat came in handy for me, I pulled it higher to hide the huge band-aid.

 It was terribly uncomfortable to leave the walls of the first-aid post, my mood was echoed by the never-ending wind, the snow flew right in my face. On the way to the house, my aunt and I enjoyed the increased attention, but the bad weather now played into my hands. I pulled the hood of my jacket even more over my head, hiding in it from the snow and prying eyes. Who openly stood near the house, who looked out of the window, a dozen eyes accompanied me all the short way. Here it is an information explosion! It is indeed an unprecedented thing for some half-breed to be marked with a mark by a strong wolf. My diffidence seemed to pass even to my aunt, she nodded politely to her neighbors, but such an interest unnerved her too.