As the night was approaching, Aleksandr was trying to finish his work outside. He knew that winter nights in Tuva are extremely dangerous. Not only because of the cold, but also because of the evil lurking in the dark. The first time he heard the stories, he didn’t believe them, but something that happened 7 months after he moved there made him become more cautious.

Aleksandr woke up at the sound of a loud thud coming from outside. He turned his head towards the window but didn’t get up. He could hear whimpers and growls next to the house. When they stopped, he decided to get up and look outside. The full moon was perfectly illuminating the surroundings. In front of the forest line a few meters away from his window was a huge white wolf, looking at him with glowing red eyes. Blood was splattered all over its shiny fur. Its appearance told Aleksandr that it wasn’t a regular wolf.

The sound of a branch cracking snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked around and realized that it got dark. He gathered everything and went inside, locking the door behind him.

He threw some firewood into the fireplace and began to undress. After washing his body, he took a beer and sat in front of the fireplace. The image of that wolf came into his mind, making his heart skip a beat. Rather than the wolf’s size, there was something about its eyes that has been bothering Aleksandr ever since he saw them.

A loud crack coming from the firewood startled him. Only then did he realize that he has been spacing out. He placed the unfinished beer on the table and went to bed.

Meanwhile, a snowstorm was starting outside, bringing along a strange visitor.

-----------------------

Aleksandr saw a pair of piercing red eyes staring at him in the dark and woke up as his body jerked powerfully, shaking the bed. The wind was hitting the roof violently.

“Cold”, he whispered, feeling the cold air in the room.

He got up with a grunt and went to the fireplace. There were still embers, so he threw in some brushwood.

Aleksandr sat there, staring at the fire, while memories of his past came flooding back. He used to live in a big city, work an office job, go out to drink almost every night and sleep with anyone who would offer their body to him. But that man didn’t exist anymore. That man died 3 years ago, when he decided to move to Tuva. When he-

A loud thud filled the room, as if something hard had hit the outside wall of the house. Aleksandr instinctively looked towards the direction of the sound.

He took the flashlight and went to the door. As he was unlocking it, the image of those red eyes came to mind. “You shouldn’t go outside during the night. Especially after midnight. Leshy might take your soul.” His hand froze on the handle as a shiver went down his spine.

Someone whimpered. He gripped the handle, swinging the door open and turning the flashlight on at the same time. He looked straight to the place from where the thud came. And he couldn’t believe his eyes. There, pressed against the wall, a naked man was crawled in the cold show, fresh blood covering his pale skin. A growl made him look the other way. A few wolves were slowly approaching, ready to jump on them. He grabbed the stranger by the arm and yanked him inside, slamming the door shut behind them. The wolves howled, then everything went silent. He couldn’t hear the wind anymore, either.

Once inside, Aleksandr let out a loud sigh, releasing the air that he’s been unconsciously holding, then grabbed the man by his shoulders, pushing him away just enough to look at his face.

“Your eyes...”, he whispered.

The man whimpered.

Aleksandr pushed him away a little more and looked at him from head to toe. He had light blonde, shoulder length hair, piercing red eyes and pale skin. He was shorter than him, slender and had wounds and bruises all over his body. His left ankle was covered in blood.

He lifted the man and took him to the bed. He put more firewood on the fire and brought a bowl with warm water and a cloth. He cleaned the blood on his ankle to take a better look at the wound. It looked like the wolves bit him. After cleaning the wound with hydrogen peroxide and bandaging it, Aleksandr cleaned the rest of his body.

Everything was silent. The only sounds were the fire cracking and the water splashing.

After tending to the other wounds, Aleksandr covered the man’s body.

“Thank you!”, he said before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Aleksandr brought a chair next to the bed and sat on it, facing his intriguing guest. He crossed his arms on top of his chest and his legs at ankles, his head slightly tilted to the left.

The man was sleeping, but he could still see his red eyes. The same eyes he saw that night.

Throughout the night, Aleksandr kept falling in and out of sleep. He woke up often and each time he would fall asleep he would see weird things: the wolf with red eyes, him during his time spent in Moskov, the man curled up against the wall of his house. But the weirdest dream was about the man turning into a wolf. Unable to take it anymore, Aleksandr stretched his body grunting and stood up. He glanced at the man that was still sleeping in his bed, then went to the kitchen and came back with a cup of coffee in his hand. It was still early, and he didn’t have much to do, so he decided to watch TV.

When he saw light outside, he decided to get up and take care of the snow that had fallen the night before. He got dressed, took a shovel and went outside. The chilly air hit his face. He stood in front of the door for a few seconds, taking in the view. As he was making paths through the snow, he began to think about what happened the night before. What would have happened to that man if he didn’t help him? Maybe the wolves would’ve killed him. Or he would’ve froze to death. He took the shovel and went back inside.

The man was standing in front of the fireplace, covered with a blanket, holding a cup of coffee with both hands. He didn’t turn his head when he heard the door, nor did he move a muscle, as if he didn’t even realize Aleksandr has entered the room.

“Morning!”, Aleksandr said, approaching him.

The man didn’t react.

“Can you hear me?”, he asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

The man flinched, almost dropping the cup. He looked at him in fear, his eyes filling with tears.

Aleksandr put his hands on his shoulders. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Please don’t cry.”

The man placed the cup on top of the fireplace and hugged him. He was crying, but he wasn’t making any sounds. He only sobbed from time to time.

“I’m sorry!”, he whispered. “I’m sorry!”

He took a few sharp breaths and Aleksandr felt his body go limp in his arms. He lifted him and carried him to the bed, just like the night before.

“What are you apologizing for?”, he asked, but he didn’t receive any answer. He didn’t need an answer. ‘Not now.’, he told himself.

----------------------

It was already night when the man woke up. He sat in bed, staring at the ceiling for a few seconds, then got up, covering his body with a blanket.

Aleksandr was sitting on a chair in front of the fireplace.

“Um...” the man said, standing in the doorframe.

Aleksandr flinched and turned around. The only light in the room was that of the fire. As he was standing in the doorframe, the yellow light was barely illuminating him and his red eyes were glowing like embers. Aleksandr took a sharp breath.

“Oh, hi!”, he said as he got up and walked towards the man. “Come here!” He grabbed his hand and took him to the chair, then took another chair and placed it next to the man. “How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know.” His words came out more like a whisper. “My entire body hurts.”

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“Do you want some painkillers?”

“No...”

“Would you like some tea?”, Aleksandr asked, but he didn’t wait for an answer. He went to the little cabinet by the window and took out two cups.

“Yes...” the man whispered.

Aleksandr gave him one of the cups and sat on the chair with the other cup in his hand.

A few minutes of silence followed. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, but there was some tension in the air, and both men were feeling it.

“Don’t you want to know anything? About me, about how I got here?” the man asked, looking at the fire, gripping the cup in his hands.

“I do.”, Aleksandr said in a quiet voice.

“Then why aren’t you asking anything? A stranger appeared at your door, you took him in, but you didn’t even ask for his name.”

“You didn’t look like you’d be able to talk much. You don’t look like that now, either.” He took a deep breath. “But I would like to know your name.”

“Demyan”, the man replied, touching his nape. “But you already knew that.” He turned to look at Aleksandr. His glowing red eyes were as beautiful and scary as ever, piercing directly into his soul.

A shiver went down Aleksandr’s spine. He wanted to avert his eyes, but he couldn’t. All he could do was look back at him. A few minutes of silence followed. Aleksandr wanted to know everything and Demyan was ready to answer. But he didn’t ask anything, and the man didn’t say anything.

Aleksandr looked down at his cup, gripping it. “Indeed”, he whispered.

---------------

The next few days went on like normal. Aleksandr would wake up early and go about his day. At first, he tried to talk to Demyan and get him to eat, but it was impossible. Moreover, he didn’t allow Aleksandr to touch his wounds anymore, so he decided to give up and let Demyan do whatever he wanted.

But everything changed almost two weeks later, when Aleksandr came back from the market and found Demyan on the floor.

“Hey, Demyan, wake up! What’s wrong with you? Demyan!”, he shouted while shaking his body. But Demyan didn’t wake up.

He lifted him and laid him on the bed. His body was ice-cold. He covered him with a blanked and put more firewood on the fire. He sat on the edge of the bed, his arms resting on each side of Demyan as he stared at him.

--------------

Aleksandr woke up at the sound of someone’s heartbeat. He felt slender, cold fingers running through his hair. He lifted his head and looked up at Demyan. The man looked down at him, smiling. His teeth were showing, bright and sharp and his red eyes were glowing. Aleksandr’s heart skipped a beat, but he couldn’t look away. They looked at each other for a few seconds, but for him it felt like an eternity. He was feeling like a small animal, waiting for the predator to devour him.

He finally found the strength to get up.

“How are you feeling?” His voice came out more like a whisper.

Demyan wasn’t smiling anymore, but there was still a sparkle in his eyes. “Better. Thank you!”.

Aleksandr looked away. A sense of fear was arising in him. Who was this man? Why was he looking at him like that?

A faint growl came from outside. He looked out the window. It was already dark. He looked back at Demyan only to see that he was smiling again, and his eyes were still glowing.

Aleksandr walked towards the door. “Leshy might take your soul.” The words echoed in his head, but it felt like Demyan said them. His body froze, his hand on the handle.

He heard the bed creak, but he couldn’t turn around. A shiver went down his spine.

“Say, Aleksandr, don’t you want to know more about me? About what I am? About how I got here? Aren’t you curious? I know everything about you. I think it’s only normal for you to know at least a few things about me. Don’t you agree?”

By that point, Demyan was already behind Aleksandr. He placed a hand on his left shoulder, his head tilted to the right, mouth inches away from the curve of Aleksandr’s neck.

Aleksandr shivered. He remembered that Demyan was supposed to be smaller than him, but in that moment, it felt like he was the smaller one. “Leshy might take your soul.”. The words echoed again and his ears began to ring.

He opened his eyes, his body jerking.

“Are you ok?”, Demyan asked, tilting his head to take a better look at Aleksandr’s face.

Aleksandr lifted his torso, propping himself on his arms. He looked around, visibly confused. Demyan wasn’t smiling and his eyes weren’t glowing. There was still light outside.

Demyan placed a hand on his chin. “Did you have a bad dream? You’re burning up”.

Aleksandr lowered himself, resting his head on Demyan’s chest. “You’re back to normal”, he said, closing his eyes.

“What are you talking about?”, but his question was left unanswered.

Aleksandr kept his head on Demyan’s chest as he continued to pat him. His heart was beating faster than ever, but he couldn’t get away from the man. Or maybe he didn’t want to. His cold fingers running down his back and up to the top of his head were making him feel so strangely good.

-------------

One of the wolves howled, filling the forest with one of the most bloodcurdling sounds it ever heard.

Aleksandr jumped up from his bed, looking around puzzled. The room was barely illuminated by the few ambers that were left in the fireplace. It was empty. “It’s supposed to be empty.”, he said, laying back on the bed.

He sat there for a few minutes, listening to the noises outside. Having wolves fight next to his house was a usual occurrence, as the forest was close by. But he didn’t have to worry about it. After all, the wolves can’t break the door and come inside. And he wouldn’t be fool enough to let them in.

He froze as a wave of realisation washed over him. “Fuck! Demyan!”, he said, getting up and running to the door.

Just as that night weeks ago, the pair of red eyes came to his mind as the words echoed in his head: “You shouldn’t go outside during the night. Especially after midnight. Leshy might take your soul.” But this time, Aleksandr didn’t care. He swung the door open just as three wolves were jumping on a big, white wolf. All of them were growling, as the white wolf was trying to fight the other ones.

“Demyan!”, Aleksandr shouted.

The wolf looked at him. It shook the other wolves off it and charged at them, biting and scratching them. The place filled with the sounds of bones snapping and growls.

Aleksandr watched in fear, but he couldn’t move his body. It lasted for a few seconds, but for him it felt like hours. When all the other wolves were gone, the beast approached Aleksandr. He knew something bad was about to happen, but he couldn’t react. It was like his legs were too heavy for him to move them.

He closed his eyes, shivering in terror as the wolf was getting closer and closer. He heard a loud thud and felt something cold on his leg. He looked down only to see Demyan, naked and covered in blood. He was breathing heavily and moaning. Aleksandr picked him up and took him to the bed. There was nothing scary about the man in his arms. Like he wasn’t breaking wolf necks just a few minutes ago. And maybe he wasn’t. Maybe it was just another weird dream.

------------

When Aleksandr woke up the next morning, he noticed the bed was empty. He looked around the room, but when he didn’t see Demyan he got up and rushed to the kitchen. And there he was, sitting on a chair in front of the fireplace.

Aleksandr opened his mouth to say something, but Demyan was quicker than him.

“I made coffee. If you want some...”. His voice sounded a little hoarse.

Aleksandr saw there was already a cup of coffee on the table and a chair next to Demyan. He smiled, took the cup and sat next to the man.

“Thank you!”, he said, taking a sip. “It’s good!”

He looked at Demyan. He was covered with a blanket, but he could still see his slender limbs and pale skin.

“How are you feeling?”

“Hm?”. Demyan looked at him confused. “I’m feeling good. Why?”

“You know... Last night...”. Aleksandr looked away. He didn’t know how to bring up the subject. Did the man just forgot that he turned into a wolf and fought? Was it just a dream after all?

Demyan turned his entire body to face Aleksandr, his face a light red. “Don’t tell me...”

Now it was Aleksandr’s turn to look confused. He looked at Demyan’s body and noticed that there was no sign of fresh wounds. But he was sure he was bleeding last night. Or was he really?

He looked away. “No. I’m sorry. I think I had a weird dream last night.”

“No wonder. You had a high fever and kept moving around while whispering weird things.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Demyan turned towards the fire again and took a sip from his coffee.

Neither of them said anything. They were both looking at the fire. The sound of the firewood cracking was filling the room.

“I’ve been staying here for the past few weeks, but... for how long can I stay here?” Demyan finally said.

‘For how long...’, Aleksandr thought. It's true that things have been weird between them since the beginning, but he got used to having him around.

“Do you want to leave?”

“Do you want me to?”

“No. I’d rather you stay here. For as long as you want. No, actually, even if you want to leave, don’t. Ever.”

Demyan smiled, but he didn’t look at Aleksandr.

A few moments of silence followed.

“How can you say that when you know nothing about me?”

“I can learn everything about you while you live here. We have plenty of time.”

“You should hear me out first.”

All Aleksandr wanted was for Demyan to agree to live with him. But, if talking was important for Demyan, then he was going to listen.

“Sorry. Of course. I’m all ears.”

“Lately I’ve been wondering whether I should tell you the truth or just disappear. But no matter how many times I wanted to leave or how afraid I was of you not accepting me, the thought of leaving you frightened me more than anything. But I can’t stay by your side if I don’t tell you the truth. That's Her condition. As you’ve already found out, I'm a wolf – a White Wolf, or a Moon Child, as other creatures call us. In this life, we are allowed to protect one person from a great danger. And if we want to spend our life with that person, we have to tell them the truth and hope they will accept us. If they don’t, then we must live the rest of our lives in the Void, unable to live like a normal wolf or go back to the Moon.”

Demyan took a deep breath and looked at Aleksandr. He was staring at the fire.

When Aleksandr didn’t say anything, he continued. “A few years ago, when you moved here, you went outside during the night. You probably didn’t know it back then, but you shouldn't go out during the night, especially at midnight, otherwise Le-”

“Leshy might take my soul” Aleksandr interrupted him. “Indeed, when I came here, I didn’t know it.”

Demyan nodded. “It sends its’ wolves to hunt you every time there is a full moon. But that night when I saw you, I decided to protect you. So, each night when its’ wolves came after you, I came down to fight them for you then go back up, by the Moon’s side. That night when you saw me, I broke one of the laws and I wasn’t allowed to go back, so I became weaker and weaker. That’s why you found me in that state back then.”

Demyan paused. He waited for Aleksandr to say something. He didn’t, so Demyan continued. “Now I can’t go back by the Moon’s side no matter what. And if you don’t accept me, I will have to live the rest of my life in this Void.”

A few minutes went by and neither of them said anything.

Aleksandr sighed. “Of course I accept you. I just told you that I want you to stay here with me. Wolf, human... I couldn’t care less about what creature you are.” He paused. “And thank you for saving my life.”

Demyan smiled and got up, motioning for Aleksandr to follow him.