Luna on a Chain

Chapter Six

Finally, they let me go home. As it turned out, my friend’s belongings had already been taken from the apartment—and, to my great surprise, quite a few of mine as well. I’d have to talk to Maya about getting them back. Mostly, they’d taken the clothes I wore most often.

The apartment felt painfully empty without her. I sat down on the couch, a wave of melancholy washing over me.

I liked her company. I’d always been afraid to let people into my life, but Maya had become my first real friend in the darkness of my existence. I would have to get used to this new reality. Besides, sooner or later she would have gotten married and moved away anyway. I wasn’t planning on marriage. Once, I’d wanted to bind my life with the bonds of an ordinary human marriage—but my family hadn’t approved of that decision, and it had ended tragically.

A phone call pulled me out of my thoughts. When I picked up, I was genuinely surprised by the caller’s voice.

“Beautiful, how could you leave without saying goodbye to me?” he said playfully.

Great. Just as I’d begun to recover, the werewolf world was invading my life again.

“Hi,” I replied uncertainly. “I think your brother was ready to get rid of me by any means necessary and wouldn’t have tolerated my presence under his roof any longer.”

A chuckle sounded on the other end.

“Yes, he’s too straightforward. It’s a family trait.” After a pause, he asked, “Are you free this evening?”

“No. I’m busy,” I answered curtly.

I knew perfectly well where such conversations usually led, so it was better to shut them down immediately.

“Strange. I thought you’d want to see your friend. After all, that was your condition.”

Damn it. I’d miscalculated.

“For my friend, I’ll find the time. When is the meeting?”

“So there wouldn’t have been time for me?” he said with exaggerated sadness. “I know my brother planned to bring Maya to the café for your meeting, but I convinced him to move today’s get-together to a restaurant. Naturally, so you don’t feel like the odd one out, I’ll be there as well.”

“No need to trouble yourself. Not many people can make me feel out of place. What time, and which restaurant?”

“You’re grumpy,” he complained. “Seven in the evening. I’ll pick you up.”

The line went dead. Just great. I didn’t even get a word in. Still, for Maya’s sake, I could endure it.

Before the evening at the restaurant, I decided to stop by work. The boss should be there—I urgently needed to sort out a serious issue. After all, I’d been absent from the café for two days.

“Viktor Ivanovich, may I come in?” I asked, knocking on his office door.

The man shot me a displeased look and pointed to a chair. He was clearly in a bad mood.

This wouldn’t be a pleasant conversation. It seemed I’d have to look for a new job.

“Verochka, in the future, please,” he began in such a roundabout way that I got chills, “if you plan to take unpaid leave, let us know in advance.”

“Unpaid leave?” I asked in surprise.

“Not only did the head chef quit, but your resignation letter on my desk this morning finished me off completely. Have mercy on me—I’m not that young anymore. When do you plan to return from your unexpected unpaid vacation? We urgently need to find a good replacement for Maya.”

I froze, completely confused about when I’d supposedly submitted a resignation letter, but I quickly realized the wolves were behind it.

“I apologize for my impulsive behavior. I’d like to return to work as soon as tomorrow.”

After saying goodbye to my boss, I felt a bit more encouraged and decided to go shopping. The wolves had stolen my favorite pajamas, so I urgently needed a new pair.

I’d always liked walking through the mall, though doing it alone had felt strange at first.

After buying a few clothes and groceries for dinner, I happily headed home to get ready for the restaurant.

Halfway there, I noticed a black car that seemed to be following me the entire time. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Not again?! I quickened my pace and slipped into a narrow path between apartment buildings—no car could get in there. Maybe the recent events had made me paranoid?

Once home, I locked the door with every lock it had.

By the appointed time, I was ready. I had to fix my manicure a bit—I’d broken a couple of nails while climbing over the fence. I kept my hairstyle simple, gathering my chestnut hair into a light bun at the back of my head and securing it with a beautiful clip. I put on a knee-length dress with a light cut in a pleasant cherry color, and to finish it all off—new black pumps with a modest heel.

Exactly at seven, the doorbell rang. I opened the door and gasped. It just happened. How much time had he spent preparing to look this dazzling?!

Maxim stood there in a dark suit that suited him perfectly. His gaze swept over me, assessing my evening look, and he smiled brilliantly.

“You look amazing. Ready?”

“Yes,” I replied.

I locked the apartment door and walked slightly ahead of him.

He opened the car door for me, seating me in the front passenger seat, then took the driver’s seat himself.

Honestly, I’d expected it to be like last time—a personal driver and two hulking bodyguards. But no. We were alone, and an awful awkwardness settled over me. I wanted to ask if he was okay after my rather unpleasant knee strike under the tail, but I didn’t dare. He clearly wasn’t planning to bring it up either. Probably for the best. Let’s pretend nothing happened.

The silence dragged on, so I decided to ask at least something.

“How is my friend?”

“You’ll ask her yourself. Maybe we could talk about something more pleasant?”

“Like what, for example?”

“About you. How long have you lived in this city? Where does your family live? Do you have a lover?”

“I thought wolves could get that kind of information themselves,” I said boldly.

“We can—but not this time. As it turns out, your documents are fake, and no one named Vera Strelnikova actually exists.”

My heart started racing. My palms grew sweaty with anxiety. Maxim noticed my state and tried to smooth things over.

“Relax,” he said. “Everyone has their secrets. Since you weren’t interesting to us, no one bothered digging deeper. Believe me, if we wanted to, we’d know everything. But no one plans to do that. So we’d rather hear this interesting story from you.”

After hearing him out, I got annoyed. Then I was surprised by the reason for my anger. Apparently, it bothered me to hear that I wasn’t particularly interesting to the wolves. How stupid! I should’ve been glad.

“I don’t want to dig into my past—let alone tell it to strangers.”

The man smiled knowingly and, glancing at me, said:

“That’s fine. Soon we’ll become closer, and then we’ll hear your story.”

“That won’t happen,” I said sharply.

I didn’t want to argue, so when the car stopped in the parking lot of a rather expensive restaurant, I sighed with relief.

Soon, I’d see my friend and finally talk to her. Last time, I’d run off so foolishly that I hadn’t said many important things.

Maxim took my arm and led me inside.