Chapter 505: Blood That Binds Us
Nikolai sat beside a grand bed.
After arriving, he spent hours with Selene and the other girls kissing, cuddling and telling them everything he did in the other country. He hid nothing and told the truth, to which Kumiko, Selene and Risa jumped on him, kissing him hundreds of times.
However, in this familiar room with a four-poster bed, the curtains faintly open, a small heater on either side of the bed connected to a small machine that fed minerals and vitamins into the woman who lay on the bed. He remained silent.
The beautiful girl with snow-white hair down to her hips, wide, meaty hips and a plump stomach slept peacefully with various medical tubes in her arms and nose.
He watched Nikita’s swollen breasts jiggle each time she took a deep breath.
"I’m home, Nikita."
Nikita’s eyes flickered under the closed lids, causing her lashes to flutter before, slowly, the beeping machine increased in noise until the lids slipped half open and a sleepy werewolf peered back at him.
Her lips shifted.
The faint crack in the centre looked sore, red and swollen.
"I’ve missed you so dearly, my little wolf."
His fingers slipped through her slightly sweaty hair, the musky scent of her body alluring as she watched him silently. "If I knew you’d suffer like this, I wouldn’t have left you alone."
Her eyes opened wider as did her mouth, but only a groan came out as she mumbled, and tears gathered in the corner of her eyes.
His fingers slipped through her slightly sweaty hair, the musky scent of her body alluring as she watched him silently. "If I knew you’d suffer like this, I wouldn’t have left you alone."
Her eyes opened wider as did her mouth, but only a groan came out as she mumbled, and tears gathered in the corner of her eyes.
"!!!!"
Nikolai froze with guilt because the current state was his fault. His hybrid bloodline caused a problem with Nikita once she entered the last period of her pregnancy. She became weaker, lost her voice, and the doctors almost lost her several times.
’I see...’
Although they didn’t know the exact cause, Nikolai could see with his Obsidian Eyes that the source of Nikita’s weakening was simple.
The children inside her stomach were devouring the black blood inside Nikita at a rapid pace as they grew and tried to survive. It might have been fine while he was replenishing the blood.
However, Nikita couldn’t produce the blood on her own.
"I’ll help you."
Nikita’s eyes widened as she saw him pull down his sleeve, revealing his wrist, and then, when he took a claw to his own flesh, she gasped, shifting in her bed weakly with more tears running down her cheeks.
"Don’t cry, don’t worry... the pain will be over soon." He placed his lips to the blood pouring from his wound and filled his mouth until both cheeks poked out. That’s when he gazed down at his beloved wife.
’You’ve always done so much for me without asking, now... let me help you.’
Nikolai leaned forward.
His warm breath rolled across her lips as he pressed his mouth gently to hers, forcing the thick, metallic liquid past her trembling tongue. For a second, she panicked, small hands rising weakly to his chest, and then she swallowed on instinct, her throat bobbing.
A soft whimper escaped her throat as her eyes filled with fresh tears.
"That’s it... good girl," he whispered, breaking the kiss just enough to stroke her cheek with his free hand. "Drink. Take as much as you can."
Her lips moved, silent, trying to form words, but only a cracked whisper came out. "...Nikolai..."
He brushed her cheeks while letting her swallow his blood. "It’s okay, I’m always here for you."
He opened the wound again with a careful flick of his claw, brought his wrist to her mouth this time. She hesitated only a moment before closing her lips around it and sucking.
The pull was weak like a kitten licking gently because she had no strength, but it was enough.
Nikolai’s gaze softened as he felt the faint tug and the warmth of her breath against his skin. He brushed the stray strands of white hair from her damp face and watched colour slowly begin to return. Her lashes fluttered; her breathing steadied.
"Good, that’s it. Keep drinking."
For a moment, he allowed himself to imagine an ordinary life without clan wars, no councils, no monsters. Him sitting here feeding his sick, pregnant wife until she was strong again. A home full of little feet and laughter. It was almost painful how much he wanted it.
When she finally let go, exhausted, a tiny smear of red at the corner of her mouth, she looked up at him with wet eyes.
"...hurts less..." she managed, voice only a rasp but more than before.
Relief broke across his face. "Yeah? Better?"
She gave the faintest nod.
He gritted his teeth while frustrated at himself, because when he used his Obsidian Tide to enhance his vision, he could finally rest easily, as the large amount of black blood poured into her body, spreading through her veins and organs, healing and repairing them, he noticed the changes in her body.
Nikita’s heart became a dark black colour with purple flecks, and the blood pumping from her heart contained small parts of his evil god’s blood, while the rest was purple... a perfect hybrid’s blood.
The colour of his children’s blood wasn’t black... but purple.
It appeared the children used the black blood to temper their bodies, and then their hearts produced a pure hybrid bloodline of Báthory and Fenrir blood, like his hybrid form, they would likely have both powers.
Nikolai bent down and kissed the corner of her mouth where blood stained her skin. "You scared me," he murmured against her cheek. "Don’t you dare leave me, Nikita. Not after everything. You have no idea how much you mean to me..."
He closed his eyes and continued. "I’ve been so foolish, the woman of my dreams spent a decade beside me, every day you supported and helped me get through the tough times... and I never once thought about that and avoided your feelings for so long you got hurt."
Her eyes shimmered with countless emotions, fear, gratitude, love, and more tears slid down the side of her face. She mouthed something slowly.
I love you.
"I love you more," he answered aloud, voice rougher than he meant.
One of her hands slipped from the blankets, shaking, and found his. Her fingers curled weakly around his palm.
"I won’t let you go, or worry again, Nikita."
She looked back at him, delicate and pale, and yet beautiful. Her lips moved, mouthing words that made his heart shake.
The worry in her heart, the same as his.
He wrapped his much larger hand around hers and held it to his chest, right over his heart. "Don’t worry! They’ll be fine, I promise! I’ll keep feeding you until they’re born. Every day if I have to."
A slight melancholic feeling spread until a horn sounded outside, and the cheerful voices of many clansmen echoed.
Outside the curtains, the house was alive if a party was happening. Footsteps tapping, laughter down the hallways, the scent of food and blood wine filled the air. But inside this room, there was only their breathing and the rhythmic beep of the monitor as it began to calm.
Nikolai stayed with Nikita for a long, long time. He stroked her hair while holding her hand until she drifted into a deep, painless sleep. When she finally relaxed completely, he bent and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Rest," he whispered. "I’ll keep you safe."
He stayed seated beside the bed even after she slept, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest, the subtle movements beneath the blanket where their unborn children stirred.
His expression was a strange mix of tenderness and fury.
His tenderness for her alone and fury at the idea that his blood could harm the woman who had given him so much.
’If my blood is dangerous... I’ll master it. If anyone tries to take them... I’ll kill them all. Even if the enemy is the damn god who gave me this bloodline!’
He leaned back in the chair, still holding her hand as he closed his eyes for a moment just to listen to her steady breathing. In the darkness, he could feel Nikita’s hand gently squeeze his, as if nervous he’d gone. So he smiled while squeezing back.
The sound from the other room lingered, with Selene, Risa and Kumiko all enjoying some sort of game. Their laughter and voices acted as a comfort to him as Leona and Anya sometimes joined in, and the sarcastic Lunaria and Amphitrite interjected from time to time.
Nikolai reached out, his hand hovering over Nikita’s swollen stomach, unable to believe how strong the vital energy of his three children was... the powerful beating hearts vibrating against her belly.
"I can’t believe we’re having triplets..."
"I’ll protect you, all of you."