Saraunyia was crying in the crib. Samira picked her up and enveloped her gently in her arms. She was a beautiful baby, just like her mother, though a bit more gentle natured.

Samira said the personality is the father's and so is her little nose. Dasha recalled the photo of Dahiru, that Samira had shown her some time ago. He was so handsome, she stared at the photo for minutes, more than what was considered polite but Dasha had never been very concerned with politeness. Samira likely knew what a knock-out her man was. Too bad he was dead. Too bad.

Besides all that, Dasha was quite confused. Now that the baby was here and Samira's attention was entirely captured, she notices how much she missed her family. She missed Mila that was spirited away by Kiril somewhere and she missed a purpose and a place to be. Now she was only a peculiar and not so welcome guest in the magical wolf realm.

That was not her place, as enticing as it might be and Kiril was not her lover, as much as she might have looked forward to that kind of happy ending.

It was her decision to help Mila but now Mila was as safe as she could be and she had to move on. But oh how she dreaded returning to real life. The money issues, the lonelyness, the feeling that every guy wanted to get with her but didn't actually care about her in the slightest. She looked pretty and shallow and that was seemingly what she was attracting, but she never learned how to show something else than that carefully constructed façade.

"Poetry? That's... Surprising."

"Why? It's beautiful and you like it." He wasn't asking, yet it was straight to the point. The fleeting scene from her liaison with Kiril flashed through her mind.

Now she understood why he said that, knew that... But he looked, because for a change a guy was actually interested in her thoughts.

Dasha, snap out of it. You need to get away from all this madness. You need a plan, bitch. Kiril could at least spare me some cash for keeping his crush safe. Ok, it was my choice but now I don't even have a penny to my name and I am very much fired. How long till Samira will kick me out?

Samira was well off and they were friendly but from that to living off her...

Dasha stretched out on the couch and started googling hospitals in the area. Since she didn't know when Kiril had brought Mila, she could as well stay where she was.

The biggest hospital in the area was the one Mila had been in. Dasha remember the cute doctor that treated her. He seemed indeed very nice. Maybe she could ask him for a vacancy. Maybe she could ask him for more... Dasha smiled to herself. It sounded like a good plan, so she put some dress pants on that were a little too tight and a blouse that was a tiny bit translucent, just enough to guess the shapes beneath and made her way to the hospital.

"Hello miss. How can I help you?" said a brown skinned lady in her fifties from behind a high reception desk.

"Where can I find Dr. Cunningham?" asked Dasha confidently.

"Do you have an appointment? What's your name, miss?"

"Daria Kasatkina."

The woman typed something on her computer.

"Are you sure the appointment is now, miss?"

"Yes," answered Dasha again without hesitation.

"Sure, sure?" asked the woman again, looking at her over the rims of her glasses. "Today and right now?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Because there is no Daria appointed for today and Dr. Cunningham is now in his lunch break, says his calendar."

Dasha tried to suppress a smile.

"Well that's my appointment. Lunch. I just thought I would surprise David and pick him up here."

"Now that's news. Dr. Cunningham never leaves his office for lunch. This would be new. Are you his new girlfriend? Jane told me something about a personal visit for him the other day."

"I am indeed. Now can you be a darling and point me to his office?"

The woman eyed her up and down.

"Room?" Dasha raises an eyebrow expectantly.

"First to the right, but next time make sure he comes to the front desk to pick you up. I am technically not allowed to let you in for a personal visit but David is such a nice lad, I don't want to ruin this for him."

Dasha smiled, winked and whispered a cheeky "thank you". Now came phase two.

She took a deep breath in front of the door, put on her best smiled and knocked. Then she opened the door without waiting for and answer.

Dr. David Cunningham looked up from his half eaten salad bowl and raised both eyebrows in surprise.

"Can I help you, miss? I don't remember your name but you are the friend of Milena, right? You were here with the party of people that came to pick her up."

"Good memory doctor. And yes you can help me." Dasha gave him her most dashing smile. "My name is Daria, Dasha for most people."

"If you need an appointment you can ask the lady at the front desk for my availability. I am ... Uh..." His cheeks borrowed a bit of the color of his curls.

Dasha bit her lip. He was a cute boy and a doctor. Boy only by the shy air he had about him because med school was long, which meant he was at least twenty six, about her age. That was very acceptable by social standards but judging by her last crushes, severely underage.

It was overdue to leave mythical, emotionally unavailable men behind.

"That's not the sort of help I need, David. I can call you David, right?"

He looked at her flabbergasted and blushed deeply. It made Dasha notice that his eyes were a deep, beautiful turquoise.

He is quite cute. Not... Assertive or, charming or particularly manly... But cute.

"I... I prefer you not to. It's... Unprofessional. And this is a very strange discussion. Miss you likely know you are very attractive and slightly unsettling, not sure why... I" He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "I kindly ask you to get out of my office and set up an appointment at the front desk unless it's something very acute. Then please tell me what that is."

Dasha was to some extent taken off guard. Most men wanted to please her, while this one seemed to be... Afraid of her?

Ok, let's take s step back.

"I need..." She was somehow in lack of words when her usual approach wasn't working.

"Yes... Are you alright, miss? I don't mean to be rude but my lunch break is almost over."

"I need a job. I am a nurse and I thought you can help me. You see... Where I come from, to get a job you usually need to know someone but... I came to this country and now I find myself all alone again and I don't know... This is silly... I..." Dasha felt the crushing burdin of sudden vulnerability crashing down on her and tears rolled surprisingly down her cheeks. That was so unlike her, she was taken off guard by her own feelings.

"Oh, but please don't cry." He put his white, slightly freckled hand over hers and it felt like a sudden, little shock. "I know how it feels to be alone in an unfamiliar environment. I empathize, miss Daria. I also admire the courage you have to do this. And you see, we actually are in dire need of qualified nurses. If you want, I can walk you to our HR department and you can have a talk with Rose."

"You are... So nice." No guy was nice to her without a reason, so he must have one too. "Do you want to go out with me?"

The boy doctor was again caught off guard.

"Or what do you want in exchange?"

"Nothing really. You look in need of help that I can easily provide. Nothing backhanded here, I just like helping people. Part of the reason why I became a doctor."

"Don't you find me pretty?" Dasha felt a hint of irritation because he was so blatantly resistent to her charms.

"Oh I find you extremely attractive."

"Then why don't you want to go out with me?"

"It might be slightly unethical."

"Why? I don't work here yet and even if I would, it shouldn't matter. I can separate really well. So coffee this Sunday?"

He blushed again deep burgundy. Dasha found herself smiling. He was precious. Maybe going for her classic type was what was making her love life miserable to begin with.

"I... Uh... Okay!"

"Marvelous, now show me to HR, Dr. Cunningham."

Two hours later, Dasha marched out of the hospital triumphant with a job and a date.

I still got it.

With the very tedious chapter of finding a place to live she decided to wait a bit and gather some cash while it was still possible to live rent free with Samira. Samira was also hosting Ju and Angel so there was no reason to feel bad about it.

Now I am going to ask Samira if she heard from Mila and if she wants to go to the mall or something.

Dasha strolled carelessly into their newly rented house, that was again quite far outside any town.

"Samira? Wanna go to the..." He mouth gapped open. Samira was staying in the middle of the living room showing the baby to... Her deceased husband?!

The man was tall, dark and very muscular, with striking eyes and a prominent scar, crossing the right side of his face and neck.

His hair was textured and shorn short, and his lips invitingly sensual. He was most definitely very, very handsome and most likely fucking dead and rissen again.

"Fucking hell!" His eyes opened in horror, his hand went protectively over nose and mouth and he jumped back a few meters. "What happened here?! Who in the name of the seven hells is she?! Stay away from me, demon!" 

He showed instantly claws and fangs and Dasha stepped back in horror.

"Samira?! Please don't kill me. I won't..."

"Yes, that is what should happen to your kind. I should have killed the first one when I encountered her, then nothing of all this tragedy would have happened. Now I see it's fucking more of you?! Back to hell, demon witch?!"

"Samira, I don't care if you raised your husband from the dead, but please tell him not to kill me, I beg you!"

The man's eyes started shining, he jumped and pinned her to the wall.

"Stop!" screamed Samira.

"That fucking smell!" screamed the man and his claws dug into Dasha's shoulders.

"Akin, contain yourself! You only smell Mila on her. Leave the poor girl alone! Dasha, get out of here. Akin is a bit traumatized."

"I..." It hurt. In the last months she had been confronted with many dangerous situations but this was an act of physical violence of exceptional savagery that frightened her to new extents.

This man could sweeze and break her shoulder bones in an instant.

"Akin! Let go!" screamed Samira and the madman finally released her and stormed out.

"I am sorry! I am so very sorry! I didn't know you will arrive just now and him... I didn't even know he was alive till not long ago. Let's get you cleaned up."

"Who the fuck was this caveman?! I understand, not your husband after all."

"No. His brother. I thought he is dead, that the people that rebelled against me in the pack killed him. They tried but he fought them and went rogue and now he managed to find me."

"What the fuck is wrong with him?! Now I might get scars. If it comes to that, I find the most expensive plastic surgeon and make him pay for it. Why did he do that? He didn't even see me before."

"Well... You smell like Mila, which means you smell like the one he belied to be his mate and didn't want him."

"Well boohoo. He should get some therapy..."

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This took forever but I wrote something. Finally!