Chapter 489: Silver Clan Mansion - Black Bear’s Patron
Nikolai glanced at Leona from the sofa. She tilted her head at the sink, water sliding down her throat. Her neck flexed with each swallow, pale skin gleaming in the kitchen light. His gaze drifted across her nude figure, unable to look away.
"Leona—"
Her eyes flicked towards him. She swallowed, lips curling into a devilish smile as she turned. Her hips swayed, water dripping from her skin, footsteps leaving her mark on the floor. She winked. "How about a drink, babe?"
His throat tightened, leaning half out of his seat, a croak slipping out instead of words.
"You’re relentless..."
DING DONG!
"Damn it! Those worthless dogs are too fast." Leona huffed, hands on her hips.
"What?"
"Hm? Nothing, darling. I suppose you’ll be going out tonight?"
"Yeah, I’ll be back soon."
He stood from the sofa, stretching his arms wide, before her fruity scent filled his nose, and she hugged him tight. "Don’t do anything dangerous, Nikolai."
"I won’t."
His fingers slipped through the silky fur of her tail, squeezing it gently to hear the intense, hot breath coming from her mouth, down his neck. The smooth sensation vanished as she stepped on her tiptoes, placing her soft lips against his.
"Mm... I love you, I mean it." Her sparkling eyes vanished under fluttering eyelashes, always able to seduce him with subtle movements.
"Stop, I won’t be able to leave at this rate, Leo. You’re too irresistible."
"That makes me happy, then I will let you off this time, just don’t make me wait too long."
"I won’t, I love you."
Nikolai pulled away, his fingers reaching for hers before he turned away, rushing to the door with quick steps, almost jogging. "I’ll be home soon!"
Click!
Leona hugged her chest, watching the door.
The resounding thump of her chest lingered, just like his gentle touch.
"How did I become so crazy about you...?" She chewed on her lower lip, the heat still throbbing inside her womb after their intense passion. "Ah, it’s dripping..." She spun and scurried to her bedroom.
And as silence returned to the apartment, she whispered.
"I won’t let this happiness go."
***
A black limo idled at the curb, rain sliding in streams down its polished surface. The tinted window lowered just enough for the driver’s pale face to appear. "Lord Volkov. I’m your escort."
Nikolai looked back at the apartment above before reluctantly turning away. He ducked into the leather cabin, sliding across the seats. He stretched across the back seat with both arms, closing his eyes. The air smelled of tobacco, leather and faint metal polish, a heavy but strangely pleasing scent.
His reflection glimmered in the smoked glass, pale silver eyes, damp silver hair and Leona’s kiss marks all over his neck, like a trophy.
"She really ’marked’ her territory. Haha."
Click.
The door behind him shifted. A thump jolted the frame as the car bounced with a creak.
"...Hn?"
Anya slipped inside with the most arrogant grin, as if she were the passenger. Her hand gripped Clara’s wrist, dragging the fairy after her. Clara’s wings vanished outside, with droplets of rain clinging to her silky black hair as she stumbled into the seat.
"You were supposed to stay behind." Nikolai’s deep voice reverberated inside the small cabin, his eyes narrowed.
A sharp throb in his temple.
Anya smiled at him, fangs flashing faintly. Rebellious. "And you’re supposed to be smarter. Yet here we are."
Clara’s gaze darted between them, guilt plain across her pale face. "S-she said she’d run off alone and monopolise you if I didn’t follow..."
The door slammed shut as Ryan slid in last, beside him with a moody expression, hands pressed against his knees.
"Nikolai, it was a reckless idea even for you. To go alone, what a fool."
"Well, I guess you’re all coming now." He squeezed his forehead, the ache growing as the driver glared back at him. "Just leave, before another one joins." His lips curled as he glanced at the orange hair in the windows above.
"Hmph! I told you Ryan, this fool would fight the world if we let him off his leash!"
Nikolai’s eyes lingered on Anya’s figure, lips twitching at her nasty words and temperament. Despite her disruption, he smiled.
The limo pulled away from the curb. Rain streaked the windows, the city’s neon blurring into ribbons of colour. The cabin filled with silence, only the hum of the engine and the creak of leather between breaths.
Nikolai leaned his head back, eyes closing for a moment.
Trouble came to find him, but with the group in the car, somehow the heavy weight on his shoulders became lighter, as if each of them held a corner and held it up.
***
The ride stretched in silence, the hum of tyres against wet road echoing through the car. Rain gave way to mist as the limo slipped beyond the city walls, deeper into the countryside.
When the tinted window slid down, the air changed.
A village sprawled beneath the hills, shadowed by crooked pines and fog. Old stone cottages lined the narrow street, their chimneys coughing smoke into the damp morning. Yet it wasn’t quaint but unnerving. Every shutter cracked open as they passed, pale eyes glimmering behind the glass. Wolves in human skin.
Clara pressed closer to the window, her wings twitching nervously.
"They’re all watching us..."
Nikolai’s gaze lingered on a butcher’s shop where a cleaver clanged against bone. The man behind the counter never looked down, never looked away from the passing limo.
A village owned entirely by the Silver Clan.
The road widened into a gravel path lined with statues of wolves, their jaws parted in eternal howls. Mist curled at their paws like leashed spirits. At the end of the path, the mansion loomed.
Not a grand gothic symbol, something worse. The walls were pale, almost white, like bleached bone. Spires stabbed the sky, each iron fence tipped with jagged silver thorns. Lanterns burned with blue flames, casting the courtyard in a cold glow.
The limo halted with a harsh brake.
The heavy gate creaked open, the sound long and slow, like something reluctant to welcome them. Inside the courtyard, rows of retainers waited. Men and women in grey suits, eyes sharp, shoulders stiff.
None of them bowed or smiled.
It wasn’t a welcoming atmosphere.
Ryan looked pale, while Anya hummed with a smile, using her fangs as a deterrent, but Nikolai raised his hand before she could speak. He hooked Clara’s waist while scanning the Silver clan servants for their expressions and the disdain that clung to them like smoke.
When the door opened, he stepped out first. His boots cracked against the gravel. The mansion doors parted.
Black Bear.
"...!"
Nikolai watched as the huge bear in a butler’s outfit walked towards them. The scars across his arms glimmered faintly, the same monster Nikolai met in the arena and its current champion, standing tall behind the silver-haired youth at the head of the family.
A chill stung the back of Nikolai’s neck.
It wasn’t a welcome.
"Volkov." Black Bear’s gravelly voice rolled across the courtyard like thunder. His lip curled, half-snarling. "The Silver Clan accepts your presence... for now."
Anya pulled back, hugging Nikolai’s arm, hissing at the huge bear, but Nikolai’s side glance silenced her.
"I don’t care what hired help has to say." Nikolai ignored Black Bear’s warning. His eyes locked on the silver-haired heir who stood frozen at his glare. "I came to take back something that is mine, and you called me. Don’t forget that!"
The youth’s pale eyes flickered with something unreadable. Black Bear stepped forward, shoulders broad enough to block the doorframe.
"Then mind yourself," he growled, low and deliberate. "Because one step out of line, and I’ll rip you apart myself."
The retainers shifted subtly, like wolves leaning forward on the hunt.
Nikolai’s smirk sharpened, his fangs on display. "Haha, then we’ll see if you can still stand when that time comes."
His frustrated growl revealed Black Bear couldn’t act on his words just yet.
"Follow me."
The mist rolled into the courtyard silently.
Clara shifted behind Nikolai, her hand brushing the small of his back. Anya stood to his left, lips drawn in a thin, hostile line, eyes never leaving Black Bear’s hulking frame. Ryan lingered a step behind, observing everything with his sharp gaze.
Every retainer in grey stared at them, no movement, no blink. Only the steady rasp of breath, the air charged with the promise of violence.
Nikolai inhaled slowly, a black aura simmering faintly in the cold air. He wasn’t here for them. Not for the posturing or warnings. He was here for Sulley.
And yet... the tension made his blood sing.
Black Bear’s grin widened faintly, catching the faint twitch of Nikolai’s claws. "Good," he muttered, low enough only those closest could hear. "Don’t let down your guard, Ivan’s pup... this place isn’t safe for you."
The mansion doors spread wider, spilling pale light across the stone steps.
From within, a voice called out, calm and deliberate.
"Bring him inside."