Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

The private chamber was dim, quiet, and a little too clean — the kind of room built for guests but never really used. Moonlight spilt in through a narrow window, casting pale light across the low table and plush seating.

Risa flopped into one of the cushions and immediately kicked her heels off.

"Okay," she exhaled. "That sucked."

Nikita leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "It was a good party."

Risa gave her a sideways look. "Someone tried to poison Selene."

"Yeah," Nikita said. "And they failed. So… good party."

Selene stood near the far corner, still holding the untouched wine glass. Her fingers were steady. Her eyes weren't.

Amphitrite sat with both legs crossed, humming to herself as she combed through her long pink hair using her fingertips. She remained quiet ever since the main banquet ended and they left the hall together.

Kumiko no longer stressed, just lay on the sofa with her eyes closed, finally relaxed, not needing to focus or protect everyone with all her clones.

The room became quiet as the door shifted and opened.

Nikolai stepped in alone.

He didn't speak right away. He just closed the door behind him and looked at each of them, one by one. His red eyes lingered slightly longer on Selene before shifting to Kumiko, then Nikita, then the rest.

"You handled it well," he said finally. "All of you."

Nobody answered, but their eyes and ears focused on his movements.

Nikolai walked to the table and wrapped his hand around Selene's frozen hand, holding the glass that almost poisoned her. Yet, without a word, he slipped it free and placed it onto the table, while using his other arm to pull Selene into his arms.

The silence hit harder than any speech.

"They're not trying to kill us," he said. "Not yet."

Risa raised an eyebrow. "That supposed to be comforting?"

"They're testing. Probing. Looking for cracks," Nikolai said calmly. "One mistake, one weak moment, and they'll swarm."

Kumiko stretched her arms. "Then we won't give them one."

He looked at her, and for a moment, the cold edge in his expression softened — just a flicker.

"I know."

Then his gaze swept the room again. "The Festival ends at sunrise. Until then, no one is your friend."

Nikita scoffed. "Including you?"

That got a rare smirk out of him.

"Especially me. I am going to be your worst enemy..."

All the women's eyes opened as they noticed his hands sliding down Selene's back, but at the same time, Selene's hands were inside his shirt, unbuttoning it.

Selene didn't say a word as Nikolai pulled her into his chest.

Her fingers slipped under the folds of his shirt with silent purpose, slowly undoing each button like she wasn't thinking, just moving. Her face pressed against the side of his neck. She didn't tremble. She didn't breathe deep. She just held on.

Nikolai let her.

"Are you alright?" He whispered.

Nikolai listened to her steady heartbeat and pressed gently against the back of her head, trying to soothe her nerves.

Everyone else watched without watching.

Risa was the first to move, flopping backwards on the cushions with a groan. "Okay. If this turns into anything that gets rated, I'm out."

Kumiko cracked an eye open, still lying flat on the sofa. "Then don't look, it's only because you're jealous of her."

"You're all so dramatic," Amphitrite said, her voice soft and smooth. "Let her have it. She almost died tonight."

Selene's hands paused on the last button.

She finally pulled back, just enough to look up into Nikolai's face.

"You knew," she said. Her voice was quiet but clear.

He nodded. "The second the tray shifted and the servant paid too much attention to your drink."

"You didn't stop it."

"You did."

She looked at him for a long moment, and her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt.

"That's unfair."

His lips touched her forehead. "That's faith."

She blinked, and something in her cracked.

Selene kissed him.

Their lips pressed together, Selene sucking on him, pulling them back softly as she sank her fangs into his soft flesh. She kissed him like he was the last thing anchoring her to the ground, like she wasn't a princess, just a woman who'd been on the edge and needed one person who wouldn't let her break.

He sat down, pulling her into his lap as her arms wrapped tighter around him.

Nikita quietly looked away, biting her lip and huffing.

Risa peeked, grinned, then rolled onto her stomach like a cat. "Kumi," she whispered, "I think he likes her more."

Kumiko yawned. "He's just comforting her, don't be upset."

Selene finally pulled back, just enough to breathe, her cheeks faintly pink, but her voice remained quiet and breathless.

"I don't want to be careful anymore."

Nikolai brushed her hair behind her ear, his tone low and certain.

"Then don't."

Selene curled up in his lap while playing with his half-unbuttoned shirt with a smile on her face. She no longer felt stressed or worried; she found a sense of peace as he stroked her cheeks affectionately.

Nikolai remained quite passive, compared to usual. He just watched Selene and pampered her with his hands.

No one interrupted.

Risa lay stretched across the cushions and propped herself up on one elbow. "Well, damn," she said, mostly to herself. "You two should flirt in private..."

"Would you rather I fake choke next time?" Amphitrite asked, gently twirling a lock of pink hair around her finger. Her eyes locked onto Nikolai, who shifted his eyes to her and chuckled to himself.

"No," Risa said immediately. "I'm fragile. Someone might believe it."

Nikita was still leaning against the wall, but her eyes hadn't left them. She didn't look angry. She didn't look amused, either. Just thoughtful.

"You're quiet," Risa said, flicking her tail once.

"Watching," Nikita said.

Risa raised an eyebrow. "Jealous?"

"No," Nikita replied. Then added, a little slower, "Not enough to bite."

That earned a soft laugh from Kumiko, who had barely shifted from the sofa. Her eyes were closed again, but she was clearly still listening.

"He loves all of us," Kumiko murmured. "But he doesn't treat us the same. None of you would want that anyway."

Risa looked over at her. "You saying she's the favourite?"

"I'm saying Selene needed it tonight," Kumiko said simply.

Selene didn't respond. Her head was tucked against Nikolai's neck again, her eyes half-shut now, like she wasn't sleeping, just... letting go.

Nikolai's hand glided up her back, not in a rush, not trying to escalate — just holding her there, solid and still.

Amphitrite tilted her head, watching with a strange sort of softness.

"She nearly died in public," she said. "Let her win this round."

Risa huffed but didn't argue.

For a moment, the room drifted back into silence — not cold, not awkward, just quiet and familiar.

Nikita finally moved from the wall and dropped into a seat beside Kumiko. She didn't say anything, just sat close. That alone was answer enough. Kumiko's clone reappeared near the door, gave a small nod, and vanished again.

Kumiko muttered something while massaging her forehead.

"They're watching us too closely," she said.

Nikolai looked up, his expression shifting just slightly back toward the ongoing party outside.

But Selene didn't move, and he didn't let her go.

The silence spread through the room after Selene and Nikolai fell still.

No one said anything, but no one left either.

Risa sat cross-legged near the wall, absently brushing her tail while pretending not to glance over every few seconds. Nikita and Amphitrite seemed to have fallen into a light slumber... snoring gently as they hugged the cushions and quilts around the room.

They'd all seen him hold one of them before.They'd all been held.

But it never stopped feeling different when it wasn't you.

Kumiko finally opened her eyes.

She sat up slowly, folding her legs under her and brushing her robe smooth. The last of her clones had vanished into mist long ago, and for the first time that evening, her body wasn't holding tension.

She glanced toward the closed door.

"I think I will retire... *Yawn* Are you coming, Risa?"

Risa blinked, clearly caught off guard. "Eh? Already?"

Kumiko stood fully now, brushing imaginary dust from her sleeves. "You've eaten enough to feed three warbands. You're starting to yawn between bites."

"I was pacing myself," Risa muttered, rising with a groan. She gave Nikolai and Selene one last glance before following Kumiko toward the door. "At least wait until I can steal a bathrobe."

Another yawn muffled Kumiko's soft laugh as she slid open the door. "We'll be in the far room, if anything happens."

"Try not to break anything before sunrise," Risa called back to the others, her voice teasing but thin around the edges.

As the door clicked shut behind them, the room dimmed again — quieter now, stiller.

Nikita shifted in her sleep, one arm flopping off her cushion. Amphitrite didn't move at all, her breathing slow and steady beneath a nest of soft blankets and silver-threaded pillows.

Selene had half-curled against Nikolai's chest again, not asleep but not quite present either.

He stroked her hair in silence, his gaze fixed on the far wall.

Then, slowly, his attention shifted — not to the girls, not to the door — but to the shadow pressed against the edge of the window frame. Just for a breath, he thought it moved when it shouldn't have.

He didn't wake anyone.

He only closed his eyes and let his fingers trail slowly down Selene's back.

Morning would come soon.

And whatever it was… it could wait until then.