"Wolf Blood" by Tatyana Korsakova, summary Automatic translate

The novel, created in 2009, is a mystical story in which an ancient family curse intertwines with the cold calculations of modern financial magnates. The heir to a vast business empire is forced to marry a woman from the very bottom of society to preserve his assets. This work is part of the "Signs of Fate" series, number two. The series is also known for such popular novels as "The Witch’s Treasure," "Time of the Black Moon," and "The House by the Devil’s Lake." All books share a subtle mystical backdrop.

Landfill Deal

Media mogul Vladislav Dmitrievich Zakrevsky personally arrives at the city dump. The elderly man negotiates with the leader of the homeless to purchase a young woman. His choice falls on Yaroslava Eroshina. She fiercely defends her friend Petya from armed guards. The oligarch’s entourage brutally beats Petya. The girl herself is forced into a car and driven to a country estate.

At the mansion, the guest is placed in an outbuilding with barred windows. The room is decorated to resemble a giant chessboard. Secretary Veniamin oversees the captive’s medical examination. Doctors confirm the girl’s excellent health. She receives treatment for superficial tooth decay and is given new clothes.

An oligarch offers Yaroslava a deal. She must marry his grandson. Vadim leads a life of idleness and refuses to start a family. The grandfather wants to punish his heir by marrying a homeless woman. A one-year marriage will bring Yaroslava freedom and a huge fortune. She agrees to the terms.

Pre-wedding tension

Vadim is accustomed to the attentions of socialites. Now he’s infatuated with the sophisticated violinist Lika. He plans to propose to her. His grandfather thwarts these plans and forces his grandson to marry a tramp. Disobedience threatens the loss of his entire inheritance and status. Vadim submits to circumstances.

The first meeting with Yaroslava ends in a scandal. The groom is rude to the bride, and she responds with insolence. Vadim calls the bride "snarky." Preparations for the ceremony take place in secrecy. Yaroslava is taught good manners. Stylists dramatically change her appearance.

Secretary Veniamin concocts a beautiful biography for the press. Now the girl is officially considered the daughter of a French aristocrat. The forged documents are ready. The future newlyweds travel to the Carpathians, where the Rudy Castle, restored by her grandfather, is located.

Secrets of the Rudy Castle

On the way to the mountains, the car encounters an abnormally dense fog. The driver tells a grim tale. Three hundred years ago, Count Vaclav the Fierce killed his gypsy wife and her camp. The dying girl cursed the murderer’s family. A phantom she-wolf appeared in the forest. The predators in the forest began to obey her. Suddenly, a real wolf lunges at the hood of the car. Yaroslava sees through the glass a transparent female figure with a bloody wolf’s paw.

Inside the castle, the atmosphere is tense. The restoration is being overseen by local artist Josip Litoš, who sincerely believes in the old legends. The architecture of the ancient building is terrifying, with its massive walls and narrow loopholes. At night, Yaroslava hears strange moans in the hallway.

In the darkness, she notices the pale face of a woman with black hair. The stranger grabs the girl by the shoulder. Vadim comes running, hearing the scream. He looks around the room and ridicules the bride’s fears. Vadim chalks it all up to the city dweller’s overactive imagination.

Escalation of the conflict

The unknown person continues to frighten the castle’s inhabitants. In the morning, Yaroslava discovers her wedding dress torn to shreds. Fresh wolf paw prints are imprinted on the blue velvet bedspread in the bedroom. Vadim’s grandfather is furious at what he sees. He suffers from vascular and heart problems. The old man swallows pills by the handful.

The oligarch suspects Yaroslava herself of sabotage. The celebration is postponed a day earlier. Litoš suggests replacing the ruined gown with an antique dress from the local history museum. This luxurious pearl gown once belonged to the first wife of Vaclav the Fierce.

A wedding ceremony in a village church turns disastrous. A giant wolf’s image appears in blood on the central stained-glass window. The guests are frankly terrified. Vadim secretly examines the stained-glass window. He finds hidden grooves and empty paint containers in the glass. He suspects the trick is artificial. Someone has used a remote-controlled defroster.

During the exchange of rings, Yaroslava places a strange iron ring with a wolf’s head on her husband’s finger. She had accidentally found this piece of jewelry in the ashes of the castle’s basement furnace. The blue stones on the ring glimmer ominously in the dim light.

Escape into the Fog

Yaroslava hides the truth about herself from the Zakrevskys. In reality, she’s a professional journalist. She got a job at a waste disposal site disguised as a homeless person. Petya works with her at a major weekly. They pretended to be homeless to gather sensational, incriminating information. A colleague secretly traveled to the Carpathians and broke into an old grate in the castle’s underground passage. The girl wants to escape and publish a damaging story about the oligarch’s family.

At night, Yaroslava descends into the dungeon. In the darkness, she stumbles upon the mangled body of the castle guard, Alexei, and the shot-dead predator. Terrified, the journalist makes her way into the forest. There, her faithful friend Petya awaits her. They get into a car.

Suddenly, the car plunges off the mountain road into a deep ravine. The journalist is instantly killed when he hits a sharp branch. The wounded Yaroslava struggles to escape the twisted metal. A silvery mist swirls at the bottom of the ravine. A pack of aggressive wolves encircles the journalist. A translucent she-wolf emerges from the forest thicket, her paw bleeding.

At that moment, an armed Vadim appears on the slope. He shoots at the wild animals. The predators scatter. The man climbs down and carries his wounded wife out of the ravine. The Zakrevskys’ security guards arrive at the scene of the accident and find the dead reporter’s belongings. Vadim’s grandfather learns the truth about Yaroslava’s profession. The old tycoon suffers a heart attack and is urgently airlifted by a medical helicopter.

Exposing the puppeteers

Vadim begins his own investigation. He discovers a dead woman wearing a rubber ghost mask on the top floor of the castle tower. It’s the violinist Lika. She died accidentally when she activated a mechanical trap set by the artist Litosh. A huge artificial bat frightened the supposed ghost. Lika tripped and fell onto sharp stones. Someone was skillfully directing the abandoned musician’s hatred toward Vadim and his young wife.

Soon, Litosh tricks Yaroslava into bringing her to an old ravine on his motorcycle. The artist shows her a secret Roma burial site. He confesses his origins. Litosh is a descendant of the murdered Roma woman’s surviving brother. The man sincerely awaits the fulfillment of the bloody prophecy. Vadim tracks them down and holds the artist at gunpoint.

Secretary Veniamin suddenly appears, gun in hand. He shoots Litosh in the leg. Veniamin confesses to his machinations. The secretary is a descendant of Vatslav Lyuty’s half-brother and the secret heir of the Zakrevsky family. He wanted to eliminate a competitor and take over the business. Veniamin persuaded Lika to pose as a ghost. Then he sawed off the grate of the underground passage. The secretary cold-bloodedly kills Vadim with a shot to the chest.

Removing the curse

Veniamin prepares to shoot Yaroslava. At that moment, the real ghost of Vaclav the Lyuty’s first wife materializes from the fog. The transparent woman walks toward the criminal. Veniamin backs away. The secretary dies of a broken heart and animal fear. The ghostly flock vanishes into thin air.

A gypsy woman approaches Vadim’s body. An ancient iron ring is worn on the man’s hand. The ghost takes her ring and disappears. The blood feud is complete. The souls of the dead gypsies receive their long-awaited forgiveness. The family curse is lifted forever. Old man Zakrevsky learns the good news and begins to recover.

The wounded Vadim miraculously survives. The journalist organizes a rescue operation. A helicopter takes the injured man to the hospital. For weeks, doctors fight to save his life. Yaroslava keeps vigil by her husband’s bedside. The ordeal completely changes the young couple’s relationship with each other. A sham marriage blossoms into a deep attachment.

Several months pass. Vadim successfully completes his rehabilitation course. The couple visits the ultrasound room together. The doctor tells them the good news: they are expecting a girl. For hundreds of years, the Zakrevsky family had been exclusively male. The birth of a daughter becomes the final proof that a centuries-old threat has been overcome.