Hair of Gold: Just Right (Urban Fairytales Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

begging for scraps to survive, sleeping in the alleyways at night and in the church on Wolf Moons?
    There was silence for a moment then Andrei said in an encouraging tone as my tears started to flow again, “Then we will see to you little Katiana. We do not have much, but what is ours is yours.”
    I blinked tears out of my eyes as I looked around to the impossible bears that came to the aid of a child they did not know. They would take the burden of one not of their blood? I asked in disbelief, “Truly?”
    The other two looked at him then at me and nodded in assurance. Little Bear said, “Our own mother would never forgive us for turning away one in need.”
    I smiled as I looked around at my protectors, then at the little cottage that was so similar to the one my family had left behind to take this journey to Romania. I scowled and said, trying to mimic my mother's tone, “Right then. First thing we need to do is to tidy up. A cluttered home is for the slovenly.” I didn't know what slovenly meant, but it was one of mother's favorite lines.
    The brothers all laughed heartily, causing me to smile in spite of myself. I started eating again, feeling some of my panic and anxiety ebb. Then Pavel asked as he stole some bread from Vladimir and tore the crust off, “You seem not to be shocked with the impossibility that we can change into bears. Are you not afraid?”
    I paused and looked at him and shrugged. “Do not men turn to wolves three nights a month? If that is possible, and there are maidens who can turn into crows and lords that can turn into stags, then why not men into bears? And if you were going to eat me then you would have done so already, Little Bear.”
    I drank some of the water then furrowed my brow in thought and asked, “Are you bears who turn into men, or men who turn into bears?”
    Little Bear asked, “Does it matter?”
    I looked around the cottage at the disarray and mess, with clothing strewn all over every surface. I said plainly, “Well if you were bears that turned into men, it would explain this mess.”
    The men laughed long and hard at that, causing me to grin uncontrollably. The Inanovs certainly were a happy bunch.
    I furrowed my brow again and asked, “Does this mean I am an Inanov now?”
    The men all stopped laughing, and suddenly their mood was somber. Little Bear reached out from where he stood by the table and laid a hand gently on my shoulder and said in a soft tone, “If you want to be tiny kotenok.”
    I pondered that a moment. My life had ended the prior night when I lost everything I had ever known and loved. I found myself slowly nodding, refusing to let another tear fall for the death of Katiana Tvardovsky, who died with her parents that terrible night, and the start of my new life as Katiana Inanov.
    I exhaled and then stood, gathering the dishes from the table as the men watched me. I looked around and said, “Right then. Where is the basin or well? We'll start by washing your dishes and then we can tend to the rest of this mess.”
    Andrei's laughter boomed out, and the others quickly chimed in as I saw the first rays of sun filtering through the windows.

Chapter 3 – Settling In
    Later that day, I learned that my new brothers were triplets, though not identical. After the death of their mother, they had left Russia to find their fortunes when they had become adults. They wound up on the borderlands, where their skill as woodsmen kept them fed, and they had a comfortable life.
    I wanted to make sure I made myself useful, to earn my keep, or I feared that I would end up in the back alleys of Chernivtsi as I had envisioned. So I put to use the chores mother had always made sure I did. I went about washing all of the discarded clothing and folding and stacking it after it had dried. I made the men's beds and went about organizing the little household, to their vocal complaints.
    More than once I had to chastise the men, they seemed quite amused when I did. They were no