"Come on, there's no time to waste."

Nikolai's voice settled over the hallway like a command rather than a request.

The three women followed him without further complaint.

Selene walked at his left, her hand still resting against his arm as if she feared he might vanish the moment she let go.

Madoka trailed slightly behind them, arms crossed beneath her chest, though her ears twitched toward every distant explosion echoing from S-City. Even her usual arrogance seemed muted beneath the oppressive light bleeding through the windows.

The mansion had changed in the span of a few hours.

'How irritating.'

The Volkov estate, which had once felt more like a noble family's grand residence than a military fortress, now turned a complete shift.

Combat maids moved silently through the halls with rifles strapped across their backs. Senior guards stood beside every reinforced doorway with the usually lazy hounds that enjoyed heated floors now stalked in the shadows with their ears pinned back, waiting with fangs bared at the entrances.

There wasn't a single person who didn't notice the change.

All of them could feel it.

The blood moon was like an ever-gazing eye; it loomed above, never relenting on its pressure as its presence devoured the sky.

Nikolai's gaze narrowed as he turned another corner.

The maids were no longer present after being sent to safety with the family members. Everything suddenly became foreign and strange.

"Have the children moved to the inner wing?"

Selene nodded as she chuckled to herself, "Nikita took them, complaining about not letting anyone else see them, apparently."

"Eh, how did you know?" He was sure they hadn't met each other.

She raised her phone, shaking it. "We're all in the wifeapp group together."

"Well, it sounds like her."

There was no amusement in his voice, yet the certainty behind his words carried something denser than pride.

Nikita Volkov was not a woman who hid behind walls.

She was gentle when the house was peaceful, affectionate when surrounded by those she trusted, and shameless when teasing him in private. But when her children were threatened, there was nothing soft left in her.

'She's one of a kind.'

Madoka watched them speaking, barely raising her voice as she tried to remain close to Nikolai, clutching her abdomen.

"You okay?" He glanced back, slowing his pace to help her.

She likely didn't expect him to stop or speak, suddenly flustered. "Ah... Mm, it's okay."

"Well, if you need something, just say..."

"Nn."

Though Madoka was difficult to handle, after getting wounded, it seemed she'd calmed down a little. He did want her to get a full checkup at the medical ward, but the jealous tigress refused to leave his side.

As they neared the inner wing, the guards stationed outside the corridor straightened. Their weapons snapped to their chests as Nikolai approached, boots striking the marble floor in unison.

"Patriarch."

The two barked at him.

He raised his hand and waved at them.

"Alright, keep it short and give me your report."

The lead guard, an older werewolf with several scars across his jaw, lowered his head.

"Lady Nikita and the children are secure inside the nursery chamber. Lady Anya is with them, along with two medical maids and six Kinsmen. Though the enemy attacked, there has been no damage or breach."

Nikolai glanced toward the reinforced door at the far end of the hallway.

"I see, good work."

He then stepped past the guards.

"Open it."

The steel locks disengaged one after another. Heavy mechanisms shifted inside the walls, followed by the dull hiss of pressurised seals releasing.

When the door opened, warm air flowed into the hallway.

It smelled of milk, fur, medicine, flowers, and the unique fragrance of his wives, Nikita's sweetness and the floral fragrance of Anya's perfume.

Nikolai entered first.

Selene shook her head and scurried after him through the open door.

The chamber beyond was not a simple nursery.

It had been built like a private sanctuary, large enough to contain several rooms joined together by open archways.

Thick curtains covered every window, though crimson light still seeped through the fabric in thin, vein-like lines. Lamps burned with a soft glow, averting the horrible, bloody light leaking from outside.

"Girls?" Nikolai called out.

Children's toys lay scattered across the thick carpet.

Wooden wolves, a few painted horses with soldiers, along with small stuffed bats with red button eyes and a tiny silver crown that someone had clearly stepped on and bent out of shape.

In the centre of the room, surrounded by cushions and blankets, sat Nikita.

Her growing white hair lay tied in a braid over her shoulders like frost beneath moonlight. Her yellow eyes lifted the moment Nikolai stepped inside.

The two glanced at each other, and all sound vanished.

There were only two people in the room as she slowly smiled.

A little nervous, he smiled back.

Memories of their brief moment in the bunker down south revived as he examined her loosely clothed body.

"Nikolai!"

That's when he noticed the little angels all curled around her body.

Elizabeth sat on Nikita's right side, her white hair messy from sleep. Her chromatic eyes fluttered as she stared at him with a lovely smile. Without waiting a beat, she raised both her arms towards him and called out. "Dad. Up!"

Dhalia clung to Nikita's sleeve on the other side, almost identical to Elizabeth at first glance, with the same white hair and the same red-and-silver gaze.

Yet where Elizabeth watched silently, Dhalia's lips trembled as she seemed on the brink of tears. "Papa... are you hurt?"

He crept closer, while grabbing Elizabeth in one arm, scooping her like a dumpling, then taking Dhalia with his other arm, cuddling her tightly.

"Of course, your dad is fine, look!"

He tossed them in the air before easily catching them.

"Daddy!"

That's when a more authoritative and squeaky voice called out, no longer the same gentle and nervous tone from before.

Viktoria stood with her arms folded and pouting at him.

Unlike her sisters, she didn't show worry; instead, she pointed at him, baring her fangs slightly, her little milk teeth barely half an inch in size.

She swayed her fingers for a few seconds before stomping.

"Daddy, why did you leave? Mommy said it's dangerous outside for delicate boys like Dad!"

"...Viktoria."

His youngest daughter stiffened.

"Nn."

Though she acted strong, he never forgot their true age and always kept in mind that these girls needed to be gently guided. He glanced at Nikita from the corner of his eyes, but she just rolled her eyes while whistling.

"Then, are you going to protect Dad?"

"Of course! I am going to grow up and become the strongest wolf and keep Dad safe from all the bad guys!"

Nikolai's lips curled slightly as he lowered Elizabeth and Dhalia to the carpet.

"Is that so?"

Viktoria puffed out her small chest.

"Yes!"

"Then I am reassured."

He lowered himself to one knee and offered her his hand as if greeting a knight.

"Please protect me well, Lady Viktoria."

For a moment, her fierce golden eyes widened. Then she nodded with exaggerated seriousness and placed her tiny hand in his palm.

"Nn. Leave it to me."

"Come on now, Viktoria! Go get in the bath and wash your dirty paws." Her mother's words broke the little knight's solid front as she quickly dashed behind Nikolai.

"No! I hate baths... the bubbles sting my eyes!"

'This...'

His heart almost popped at how adorable his three daughters were, one obedient and lovely angel, the other a little mysterious but cute, and the last a pretentious coward who feared bubbles.

That warmth lasted only a few seconds.

A soft voice came from beside the covered window.

"F-Father..."

"Eh?"

The sound of a boy calling him father.

It awakened something different inside his chest. Not the protective desire, but when he turned to see how much Leonid had grown, his eyes widened, looking at a tiny blonde version of himself.

Leonid stood behind the curtains, hiding, with golden hair and faintly glowing purple eyes in a sharp, narrowed gaze like Nikolai's, staring up at him.

Selene stiffened.

"Leonid?"

"Ah... Mom!?" The cute boy panicked.

And rightly so.

Nikolai shook his head and glanced at Nikita, who continued to play stupid, while the poor boy wore a dress, hiding behind the curtains to keep it out of sight.

"...Leonid."

Nikolai tried to stay calm, but the corners of his mouth twitched.

Selene's face darkened while Nikita suddenly found the ceiling extremely interesting.

"Why is my son wearing a dress?"

"Because..." Nikita coughed, hiding her lips behind her hand. "The girls wanted to play princess rescue."

Leonid lowered his head, clutching the frilly hem with both hands.

"I was the princess..."

Viktoria immediately pointed her tiny finger at him. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"No! You were a captured princess! I was the knight!"

Elizabeth nodded seriously.

"Dhalia was a dragon."

Dhalia blinked, then raised both hands beside her cheeks.

"Rawr."

Nikolai stared at them in silence while trembling several times.

He covered his mouth, struggling to contain himself, before he burst out laughing.

All of a sudden, the worry and stress from the outside, fighting Alaric, and everything that weighed on his mind crumbled at the thought of his children playing like this.

Leonid's purple eyes watered as he rushed over and buried his face against Nikolai's leg.

"Father, don't laugh..."

"Sorry, sorry."

Nikolai lifted the boy into his arms and kissed his forehead.

"My brave princess."

"Father!"

For the first time that day, the tension inside his chest eased.