"Wolf’s Path" by Dakha Taratorina, summary Automatic translate

This book is a unique Slavic fantasy, created in 2017. The plot is based on authentic village life, dark folklore legends, and a touching love story between a spirited girl and a werewolf hiding from humanity. The alternation of present-day events and memories of the past adds depth to the text, and the lively language makes it surprisingly easy to read.

Childhood and secrets of Vyselki

A girl named Euphrosinia, known to everyone as Froska, lives in the village of Vyselki. Since childhood, she was known for her willful nature, preferring to climb trees and fight with the local bullies, Petka and Grinka. Her older sister, Lyubava, on the other hand, grew up a true beauty. At thirteen, Froska climbed into the house of her stern neighbor, Glasha, to pick up apples that belonged to someone else and literally fell head over heels for a lanky, gray-haired boy. Gray, who had come from Gorodishche to visit his aunt, helped her escape punishment. From that moment on, their strong friendship was born.

The teenagers spend their days together, exploring the surrounding area. Gray teaches his friend stick fighting and protects her from the village bullies. One day, during a heavy rain, some boys attack them at a local pond. Froska falls into the icy water, and an unknown otherworldly force grabs her leg, pulling her to the bottom. Gray jumps in after her and, enraged, wrestles his friend from the swamp dweller. The young man often displays superhuman strength, and his eyes flash with golden light, but Froska stubbornly chalks it all up to coincidences.

The magical world constantly reminds us of its presence. During Marina’s night, a visiting boy, Radomir, begins to flirt with Froska. Enraged, Gray brutally beats his suitor, frightening his friend with his uncontrollable, animalistic aggression. Froska flees into the snowy forest, where she nearly freezes to death after encountering the spirit of the death goddess Mara. Froska saves herself by cutting her palm and buying her way out with her own blood. This incident forces her to take a new look at the dangers lurking in the darkness.

Several years later, Froska’s mother, Nastasya Gavrilovna, decides to arrange a marriage for her daughter. The local mayor’s son, Grinka, comes forward and is willing to pay a generous ransom. The girl flatly refuses. Seryi jokingly proposes marriage, and Froska realizes her true feelings. Enraged, Grinka climbs through the bride’s window but is confronted by a huge, snarling wolf. The disgraced hooligan flees. The girl’s mother finds Seryi naked in the barn. Realizing he’s a double-dealer, she secretly packs the lovers’ things, and they leave Vyselki.

The Long Journey to Gorodishche

Three years later, the couple is living a nomadic life. They are hunted by mercenaries of the vengeful Grinka. Once again, Gray runs into their forest refuge, wounded. The couple hurries to the capital, hoping to disappear into the crowd. Along the way, the fugitives spend the night in the abandoned village of Doedy. Froska knocks on the door of the only inhabited house, where some friendly old people live. Their idyll is shattered when she notices a human hand in a frying pan. The old men, who survived the famine, turn out to be cannibals. The girl sets fire to the pantry and, with difficulty, escapes outside to her husband.

After a terrible night, the travelers stumble upon a robber named Nadya. The man threatens them with a crooked crossbow, but Gray easily disarms the poor fellow. Froska takes pity on the hungry bandit, and they take him with them. Soon, their camp is attacked by Likhovid’s brutal gang. A bloody battle ensues. The werewolf dispatches several of the thugs with his bare hands, so as not to frighten Nadya with his bestial form. Likhovid takes Froska hostage. With a swift leap, Gray transforms into a wolf and rips out the leader’s throat. The remaining bandits perish.

The fugitives bring Nadeya to Maly Torzhok and place her at the Merry Widow inn. The innkeeper is Agrippina, Froska’s former fellow villager, and her husband, Tikhon, turns out to be an old werewolf. The girl recalls how several years ago she went to the fair with her sister, Lyubava, and how Seryy secretly tagged along, disguised as the gypsy Esmeralda. Froska mistakenly assumed Agrippina was plotting to kill her husband. The young couple guarded Tikhon all night, unaware that the innkeeper was capable of tearing any mercenary to pieces.

Tikhon warns Seryi that the capital’s mayor, Lyubor, is obsessed with exterminating double-minded people and pays handsomely for denunciations. On the way to the capital, the couple encounters a cheerful gypsy camp. A gypsy woman, Lachi, tells them a legend about women who transformed into she-wolves to protect innocent people from evil. Upon reaching Gorodishche, Seryi rents a room in a cheap, dingy tavern and forbids his wife from going outside. He himself goes off to search for the collapsed underground passages left by the former pack.

Secrets of the catacombs and the wolf’s nature

Tired of secrets, Froska breaks the ban. She goes to the market and wanders into a local tavern. There, she sits down with a drunken gate guard. The man lets slip about his past. It turns out that many years ago, Lyubor’s father raped a townswoman. The wolves guarding the streets tore the culprit to pieces. Having come to power, Lyubor declared a merciless war on werewolves. Having revealed her interest in the double-minded, Froska causes a commotion and jumps out the window. In a dark alley, she runs into Grinka, who has brought a whole squad of mercenaries.

The girl races through abandoned streets and falls into a hidden earthen passage. There, Gray catches her. The werewolf confesses that these catacombs served as the home of his pack. When the massacre began, he was able to survive only thanks to his mother, who sacrificed her life to protect the wolf cub. Gray’s father, Ratuvog, was the very wolf who punished the former mayor. Now the young man has returned to find an ancient potion for puppies. The drink suppresses the wolf’s nature. Gray obtained the jug, hoping to rid his wife of her bestial nature and give her human life.

Suddenly, Grinka and his thugs catch up with them. The precious vessel containing the elixir shatters. A fierce battle ensues in the confined space. The mercenaries press the exhausted Gray. In the heat of battle, Grinka approaches Froska and delivers a powerful blow to her stomach. Enraged, the wolf throws himself on the swords, wanting to tear his wife’s killer to pieces. At that moment, the girl realizes with surprise that the wound doesn’t cause mortal pain. Incredible physical strength fills her body. Froska leaps on Grinka and breaks his neck, saving her husband.

After the battle, the couple emerges into the night forest. Gray reveals his final truth to his wife. Three years ago, when they had just escaped from Vyselki, Grinka caught up with them and seriously wounded Froska with a knife. To bring his beloved back from the dead, the werewolf bit her, passing on the curse. All these years, he blamed himself and searched for a potion that would leave her human, dreading the moment when her bloodlust would awaken. Froska laughs heartily at her husband’s fears. She joyfully embraces her new nature. Together, they promise to forever walk the shared wolf trail.