Anna's father was a little worried that she wouldn't approve of him making so many decisions for her, and was prepared for her to refuse. But the sparkle in her eyes didn't leave him in doubt for long.
"Yes, I do, Dad. I want everything I can have, and I want to be able to give it to my son too. I want to embrace this new world as if it were my own country. In fact, I never want to go back to the United States again." Anna was so excited that she didn't notice that her last sentence made her father uncomfortable. "All we need now is a crib..." said Anna, looking around. There was a large television attached to the wall and a chest of drawers just below it. She was disappointed to find nothing of a child there.
"Do you really think we weren't going to prepare a room for the baby?" Her father smiled and pointed with his chin to one of the doors in the room. There was another on the right, which she guessed was the bathroom.
Anna went to the door indicated and opened it. It was another room. It was another room. Smaller than hers, but much more luxurious. It also had a large television on the wall. As well as a closet and a crib, there were various toys and a single bed. There was also a bathroom. Andressa thought it was a bit much, but she liked it because the child would grow up and she would need privacy.
She opened the drawers and doors, and they were full of baby clothes. Anna smiled. The clothes were small and, even if she changed her son's clothes every hour, he wouldn't be able to wear them all. She closed the drawers and looked around. The room, painted blue, had a crystal chandelier in the shape of different animals. Anna thought her son's room was beautiful and very tasteful. She herself wouldn't have thought of the minute details she found there. She looked more closely at the wall where the crib was and noticed a sticker of a gray wolf next to it. She took a deep breath. She hadn't succeeded in all her efforts. Her son would be raised among werewolves.
She put Ian in his crib, where he stayed asleep.
Maxwell could easily pass for Adam's twin, but something was missing to make them unmistakable.
She called her father in a low voice and they went to Anna's room, so as not to disturb the baby's sleep.
"All right, Daddy." She said as soon as they were alone. "I'll keep calling you that, but.... Who are you?"
He smiled happily.
"It's about time you knew." He said and went over to the dressing table, took some documents out of a drawer and handed them to Anna.
She looked at them with curiosity and attention, and was surprised that she had grown up hearing about him, without dreaming that he might be a relative of hers.
For a moment, she even wished the police would catch him, but he was always slippery.
"You can't be that person. I remember hearing that name on the news and..."
"The news is different now. That man is dead, but I'm his son. And I thought that assuming his identity, under the current circumstances, would be beneficial for both of us."
"That name on my ID will give you away..."
"No. They've never seen my face. I'll have to be more careful and come out of my cocoon so that they don't associate the name with me. I could be one of his relatives." said her father quietly, shaking his shoulders.
Anna looked thoughtful and put the papers on the bed.
"Dad... I need to ask... Is Maxwell a werewolf?"
Henry laughed.
"Do you think he is?"
"Well... I don't know the difference between a werewolf and a human, but Maxwell carries a softness and elegance in all his gestures, and even in the way he speaks... He exerts a different kind of attraction, I think he has that effect on everyone. It's as if he's stolen all the family's charisma for himself. Adam's werewolves, and Adam himself, are a bit more... Rude."
"I'm proud to see that my daughter is a good observer. You'll need that to be a good lawyer too. Your impression is correct. Maxwell is not a werewolf, and none of the men who work with us could be werewolves, since Adam, being Alpha, can easily manipulate their wills."
"But they are children of the same father... I don't understand how one can be a werewolf and the other not."
"Yes. They're children of the same father, and what you need to know now is that Maxwell doesn't share the werewolf gene, he inherited what he is today from his mother."
"And what is he today?"
Henry thought for a moment before speaking.
"I don't want to keep secrets from you, Anna, and I don't want to lie either. All you need to know is that Maxwell isn't a werewolf, that he can't be manipulated by his brother and that he's a good and responsible man."
"I'm afraid of what can happen to good and responsible men..."
"I understand. I was like that once and now I live in hiding. That won't happen again with Maxwell."
Anna was worried at first, but once she saw that no one really looked at her father's name in the places where she had to present documentation, she became more relaxed and enjoyed the life she was leading there. She always forgot that her name was Alice, because everyone called her Anna, that's how she introduced herself. She only remembered Alice when a teacher called on her, and even then, Beth always had to nudge her.
Contrary to what she imagined, the college had a Welsh language course, and she picked it up very quickly. Living together helped a lot, and Beth was always around to help with her doubts and practice with her.