Chapter 506: Reviving Mother
Nikolai looked back once again, Nikita’s calm breaths filling the air as he turned away. He stepped into the hallway and sighed. "Being a father feels heavy. Yet, I’m so excited..." He touched his chest and curled his lips. From the moment he felt their hearts beating and saw them inside her womb... everything became more real.
’Father asked me to meet him if I had time.’
Although he wanted to see his other wives enjoying themselves in the other room, Nikolai couldn’t put things off because he was the patriarch of an entire clan.
"Let’s go to father’s mansion."
***
The cold air wrapped around Nikolai’s skin as he walked through the darkness using his night vision. His skin tingled from the droplets of snow dancing around him.
Thoughts about Britannia and his previous fights replayed in his mind.
The faces of Brian, Ryan, Alexei and those who helped him come this far all watched him expectantly in his thoughts.
As if Nikolai had all the answers.
The mansion stood beside the main mansion like a black ship trapped in snow, its tall spires lit by only a few dim lanterns. The guards at the front gate caught his scent long before they saw him and stepped aside without a word. Nikolai slipped through the courtyard, boots crunching over thin ice, and exhaled a long white breath.
The great oak doors opened before he could knock. A servant bowed, eyes lowered, and silently gestured him inside.
"Welcome, Patriarch. The Lord is waiting."
The air inside was warm, with the faint aroma of smoke, old books, and the scent of aged wood. He followed the familiar corridor until the last door at the end creaked open.
Ivan Volkov sat alone in the study.
His father didn’t use a grand throne, just a worn leather armchair that Nikolai tossed out in the past. The one he’d used in the old apartment when Nikolai grew up poor.
A single lamp threw amber light across the desk, where old reports, maps, and half-drunk tea sat waiting. Nikolai’s father tied back his silver-streaked hair. His sharp face looked more weathered than before, but his silver eyes remained clear and steady.
"...You came." Ivan’s voice was quiet but deep and filled with pressure.
"Of course, you asked me to." Nikolai stepped inside, coughing from the dust as he waved it away. "I couldn’t let Mother wait..."
Ivan studied him for a moment, taking a deep breath.
He showed a rare smile and itched the side of his head. "You’ve grown well, Nikolai."
"Well, most of that is thanks to you and..." Nikolai’s mind filled with his wives and the children in their stomachs. "Becoming a father does that, right?"
Something softened in Ivan’s gaze. "I heard Nikita is struggling?"
"Don’t worry." Nikolai answered with a strong, resolute tone. "It’s because our children are strong, too strong for my lovely wife... at least until now. I will help her through everything."
Nikolai’s smile filled with pride. "It’s strange. I’ve killed men without blinking, but holding her hand while she struggled... I’ve never been so afraid."
Ivan was silent for a while, fingers drumming the armrest. Then he exhaled slowly. "Really, I’ve missed your growth, and now I’m getting angry about it. Haha, this old man should retire..."
"So, about Mom?"
Ivan’s expression constantly changed, and Nikolai watched him smile, frown, and just stare at him with glowing eyes.
"You know that what we are choosing to do goes against all rules and laws that might have existed since our races came to exist, right?"
It might have been the first time his father had shown such a weak side of himself. "Do you still wish to help, son?"
Nikolai didn’t hesitate to nod. The promise he made almost a year ago as a naïve, newly awakened hybrid.
To revive his mother, at whatever the cost.
Nikolai frowned. "Is this about what you asked me here for?"
"Yes." Ivan leaned forward, resting both elbows on the desk. His voice dropped lower, almost reverent. "The project... is finished."
For a moment, Nikolai remained still. His claws extended against his palm. "...Mother?"
Ivan’s eyes flickered with a flash of violent power before his usual calm returned. "Her new vessel is complete. Stronger than before, compatible with our bloodline and stable. The last barrier is the awakening. It needs a living bond: the blood of her mate... and the blood of her kin... though I thought her father or sisters would be good... Anastasia said otherwise."
Nikolai’s chest tightened; he stepped closer without meaning to. "You’re saying... we can bring her back?! It’s not just a dream, we can actually bring her back!!! Where is mother now?"
"Calm down, boy." Ivan’s jaw closed tight.
"Your mother is at the laboratory with that crazy woman; she needs to adjust the body to her soul as they perform tests."
He gripped his hand as if containing the same excitement and storm of emotions. "Remember, we must keep focused and avoid anything going wrong at ALL costs. This isn’t just some random project. She’s your mother!"
"I don’t care." Nikolai’s voice shook, not with fear but with an excitement even Ivan hadn’t seen before. "If there’s a chance she can live again... if she can meet her grandchildren..."
Ivan leaned back in his chair, fingers interlacing before his mouth. The faint hum of the heating pipes filled the silence, like distant growling.
Finally, he spoke.
"She’s pretty much adjusted. Anastasia’s done what I thought impossible, that damn sister of mine. The process is stable, but because we lacked the final ingredient."
"What’s missing?" Nikolai asked immediately.
Ivan’s eyes flicked up to him. "You."
Nikolai blinked, then frowned. "Me?"
"Your blood," his father said simply. "The last component after the mermaid’s tear, that vampire girl’s blood and finally yours. Without these, the vessel will reject the soul and collapse."
’I didn’t need this much earlier...’
"Tsk, your face looks doubtful. I’ll tell you now that scientists analysed Amphitrite and Lunaria, and you were LUCKY they managed to survive that botched job you did. If not for the bodies being pristine and you using so much blood, they both might have been lost or become monsters for eternity."
Ivan shook his head. "Well, that mermaid queen helped you quite a bit. So maybe you weren’t just lucky."
He stood, walking toward the window.
Outside, snow dusted the glass in uneven streaks. Ivan’s reflection looked older than the last time Nikolai saw him, despite being a werewolf with a long lifespan.
"When you first brought this idea up, I believed it to be stupid, foolish even. I thought we’d be cursed for even thinking to do such a thing. Ivan murmured in his gruff voice. "Resurrecting a true vampire, your mother was someone of extreme strength, and somehow it resembled what the Nosferatu bastards are trying to accomplish!" He turned back, narrowing his eyes. "If we make a single mistake, Nikolai... she won’t come back, and it will destroy her soul!"
Nikolai struggled to swallow.
For the first time in years, Nikolai saw his father hesitate.
He crossed his arms, brow furrowing. "Even if that happens, I’ll still do it. You told me yourself that you wouldn’t give up and would bring your mother back. Do you know how happy and proud I felt when I learned about your efforts?"
A faint but genuine smile grew on Ivan’s face. "You reminded me of your mother. An amazing woman who;d never stop to get what she wanted."
That quiet warmth between them lingered only a moment before Ivan moved again, picking up a small black case from the desk. He placed it before Nikolai and unlatched it. Inside, nestled in silver foam, rested two narrow glass tubes filled with glowing crimson liquid... no, there was a small piece of flesh pulsing faintly.
"This is what we’ve prepared to help." Ivan tapped the brighter vial. "Your mother’s heart... somehow it kept beating even after that night, and so I begged my father to keep it safe."
He knew his father wouldn’t have given up so easily, but it unsettled Nikolai to look at the flesh of his mother.
Nikolai stared down at them, throat tightening. "When?"
"Tomorrow night," Ivan said. "At the laboratory under the third estate. The ceremony has to coincide with the lunar rise. That’s when the energy flow peaks and vampires are weakened."
"Then I’ll be there," Nikolai said without hesitation.
Ivan studied his son quietly before he let out a short breath and smiled, hugging Nikolai tightly. "You’ve grown so much, Nikolai... I can barely recognise you now."
"That’s just because I’m surrounded by too many strong women. I don’t get to slack around anymore."
"Hah! You’re definitely my son." Ivan chuckled, the deep laugh echoing through the dusty room. The two shared this rare, warm moment.
But as quickly as it came, it faded, and his expression sobered again.
"One more thing. Do not tell the others, not yet. We cannot risk word spreading further before the ritual succeeds, if the other clans get wind of this... You know what will happen."
"I understand." Nikolai clenched his fists. "Until she opens her eyes, this stays between us."
"Good." Ivan nodded, his silver eyes bright with unspoken hope. "You’ll need rest before tomorrow. This ritual will drain you both. Make sure your blood is strong."
Nikolai turned to leave, hand already on the door handle, before pausing. "Father?"
Ivan raised his brow curiously.
"I’ll bring mother back, I promise."
His father clicked his tongue and threw a book at the door.
"Stop overthinking things and get some rest, I know you can do it."
BANG!
"Ah! Dad why’re you trying to kill me!"