Anastasia Romanov |Lesbian Story| (The Sequel)

Chapter 20

~ANASTASIA~

Sitting on a horse-drawn sled with Trotsky, I could feel the freezing wind riffle through the layers of my coat. I took a gulp of whiskey from a flask handed over to me by the General. The heat from the drink burned away the coldness in my empty stomach. Lyra didn't come with me since they had a protocol for outsiders. I guessed they figured that it was for safety reason.

Beside us were a dozen hunters riding on their high horses and sleds pulled by Siberian Huskies. Several motor-skis led the way. We got out of the mountain castle and back towards the Cossack camp. Trotsky wanted to familiarize me with the lives of his army—to get both the hunters and the Cossacks to trust me, I had to be a part of them.

A few feet ahead of us were the Alpha and the Beta. I had been staring unknowingly at the latter since we left. Her hair cascaded down perfectly and her red cap fell in rich folds as the golden sunlight bounced off her white horse, making the sight even more intriguing.

On either side of the path were dark tall trees and bushes. Then we heard howling from the depth of the forest. They belonged to wolves by the sound of it. I saw Vale steered her horse away from the group. The gesture didn't seem to surprise anyone but me. I watched her galloping off to the edge of the path and took something out of her leather bag. It looked like a chunk of red meat.

A few wolves appeared from behind the trees. I sat up straight from the couch. The beast had eyes as sharp as icicles, gleaming like sapphires in the dark. But instead of the look that burned with fierce hunger, they seemed to be pleading. Some even yelped at the huntress. Vale quickly threw the meat one after another towards the savage animals. The wolves caught their treats in mid-air, tearing the meat effortlessly with their white razor-sharp fangs.

"The wolves love her," Trotsky said beside me.

"The wolves?"

"Valerina's not called 'Princess of the Wild' for nothing, Anastasia," he said. "Those wild beasts think of her as one of them."

"How could they be so tamed?" I said in amazement.

"They are only like that around her, but mind you, they're not tamed at all. I still have scars from a wolf attack many years ago," the General said and chuckled. "The day I found her and her sister in a mountain cave, still wrapped in a bundle of rags, they were guarded and fed by a Luna wolf who had several pups herself."

"So the girls were raised by wolves?" I asked surprisingly.

"I know, it's hard to believe unless it's some ancient folktales or legends, eh?" Trotsky said, "But it's true, I swear. Anyway, the girls grew up, clever and strong, they reminded me a lot of my own daughters."

I looked back at the huntress, who was now followed by the canine pack. She was smiling at them and bending over to scratch the head of a shiny, glass-like white fur wolf. The other one, the size of a polar bear, leaped over for her attention. Its gray complexion looked as sharp as steel and its clawed paws could slash and tear flesh from bones. It was hard to watch without a pang of worries. But the wolves just licked her hand in recognition. The rest of them even wagged their tails and whimpered softly. They all knew her, either by scent or by some sort of bond.

After a while, the pack moved away and went back into the forest. Valerina came to join the group again. Her cheeks blushed in happiness. Then our eyes met. I could see pools of icy blue brightened against the whiteness of the snow.

I was fascinated by the puff of her warm breaths every time she exhaled. I was immune to the cold, but I wished she would share her warmth with me. Vale pulled her red hood over her head again as if to hide her face away from my gaze.