Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Chapter 738: Only the Beginning

Alucard was far stronger than anyone could have anticipated, especially Nikolai, who quietly observed his wife shouting at her father like usual. He couldn’t help but wonder how Nikita could remain so bright and full of energy after the previous night.

’Am I the only one who noticed...? No. That could never happen...’

Dimitri dropped onto the stretcher with a heavy grunt, though the two medics still placed their hands against his shoulders in case he tried standing again.

Nikita crouched beside his injured leg and examined the metal supports holding it straight. Her fingers pressed around the swollen flesh, checking whether his earlier stupidity had shifted the bone.

Dimitri stared over her head towards Nikolai.

"Control your wife."

Nikolai wrapped an arm around Selene’s waist, then, with a smirk on his face, replied. "No thanks, I value my life."

"Coward."

Nikita squeezed her father’s broken leg. "Dad! Don’t you threaten or insult my man!"

"Arghhh! You little shit!"

Crack!

There was a clear sound of bone breaking, as Nikita’s tail slapped against the metal bed.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Nothing, dearest daughter..."

Satisfied, Nikita rose and returned to Nikolai’s side, slipping beneath his free arm as if she had never left. Selene glanced at her but made no attempt to move, leaving Nikolai trapped between the warmth of both women.

He didn’t mind.

The scent of his wives was calming, like a lavender and vanilla aroma. Thanks to them, he could ignore the murky stench of the outpost, still full of the stench of blood and gunpowder.

"We should go inside," Selene said.

Nikolai glanced towards the damaged command building.

Several officers had already gathered near the entrance, waiting for him while engineers continued reinforcing the cracked walls.

He kissed Nikita’s forehead before releasing both women.

"Stay with your father."

"I’m coming with you."

"Kita."

"I won’t interrupt." She tightened her arms around his waist. "I’ll just sit beside you."

Dimitri snorted from the stretcher.

"She never stays silent."

’I wonder where she gets it from?’ Nikolai mused before stepping towards the meeting room with the two women. He glanced back before rubbing the bridge of his nose with a deep sigh. "Bring him too. Otherwise, he’ll just complain and make noise."

The medics lifted Dimitri’s stretcher while Nikita followed beside them. Selene remained close to Nikolai as they crossed the courtyard and entered the surviving section of the building.

The inside smelled of wet plaster and scorched wires.

Broken glass crunched beneath their boots as an officer guided them through a narrow corridor. Several rooms had collapsed during Alucard’s attack, leaving the western command chamber as the only space large enough for everyone.

Ivan sat at the head of the damaged table.

Fresh bandages covered his chest beneath a loose shirt, though dark stains had already spread through the fabric. His face remained pale, but his silver eyes moved across the maps with their usual focus.

Vladimir sat opposite him with one arm strapped against his body.

The shoulder injured by Alucard’s spear had been wrapped beneath several layers of cloth, leaving him unable to move it without tearing the damaged muscle apart.

Nikolai took the nearest chair.

"You should both be resting."

"So should you, son... look at those bruises." Ivan glanced at Nikolai before turning away.

Vladimir didn’t speak at first, but he followed Ivan’s gaze and snorted upon seeing the dark circles beneath Nikolai, Selene and Nikita’s faces.

"For once I agree with your father."

Nikita pulled a chair beside Nikolai and sat close enough for their legs to touch. Selene remained behind him, one hand resting lightly upon his shoulder.

Dimitri’s stretcher was placed along the side of the table.

"This is humiliating," he muttered.

However, nobody spoke or seemed to care about his shame.

An officer closed the damaged door before spreading several photographs across the table.

The images showed the ruined watchtower, southern barracks and large sections of the defensive wall lying across the ground.

"We finished the first structural assessment," the officer said. "More than half the outpost is no longer usable. The main armoury was destroyed, along with most of our long-range communication equipment."

"How much ammunition remains?" Nikolai asked.

"Less than half of our maximum reserves... and not enough to complete the original mission."

Ivan placed one finger upon the centre of the map.

"We won’t be fighting here again."

Nikolai looked towards him.

"You want to abandon the outpost?"

"That’s your call, but right now we cannot defend all the outposts and the main compound..."

The answer came without hesitation.

Nikolai’s gaze shifted towards the cracked windows. Beyond them, he could still see part of the courtyard and the rows of covered bodies waiting to be transported. There was a slight weight upon his chest whenever he saw those corpses...

’So we abandon the place they died to protect...’

Nikolai hated this negative thinking and yet couldn’t stop.

His father’s expression twisted for a moment before he shook his head with a sigh. "Nikolai, we do not have to abandon it forever... But this place cannot be used as our defensive outpost. It cannot resist them."

His father was right.

Alucard knew the entire layout, the condition of their forces and the abilities of everyone strong enough to resist him. If the Nosferatu returned before the walls were repaired, the wounded would have nowhere to escape.

"When do the transports arrive?"

"The first convoy left the main estate before sunrise," the officer answered. "They should reach us within two hours."

"Move the critical patients first," Nikolai said. "Then everyone unable to fight."

The officer hesitated.

"And the dead?"

"They leave with us."

"Patriarch, transporting the bodies will reduce the space available for the wounded."

"We can make additional journeys. If needs be, I will wait until the end to leave!"

"B-But Patriarch, the roads might not remain secure."

Nikolai understood.

His claws sank deeper into his thighs, pressing his palms beneath the table, determined to keep this little solace.

"This is final—I am not leaving anyone behind."

The officer lowered his head.

"Understood."

Silence returned to the room.

Nikolai looked across the damaged leaders seated around the table, but nobody spoke up at first. Even his father remained silent, only staring back at him with a strange expression.

"Oh! The kids got guts, heh, fine, I vouch for the same." Dimitri disturbed the silence with his amused tone.

"Very well, Patriarch Volkov."

"If that’s what you want, son, I will follow your orders."

Soon, Vladimir’s voice followed, and even Ivan begrudgingly accepted it.

The conversation eventually turned to the main topic: Alucard and his eerie strength.

Alucard had achieved all of that while controlling the blood walls, reviving the dead and commanding the rest of the battlefield.

"He came to test us," Nikolai said.

Ivan’s silver eyes shifted towards him.

"Yeah, I don’t doubt that..."

"He watched what everyone could do, separated us and left once he’d seen enough."

Dimitri folded his arms over his chest.

"He also lost most of the forces he brought."

"And didn’t care a single bit about losing them. What if they were just the low-level pawns?" Nikolai replied.

Nobody argued.

The Nosferatu soldiers had been tools.

Even their corpses became weapons once Alucard raised them again.

Nikolai looked down at the map.

"He said I wasn’t a threat he needed to worry about."

"He wanted to provoke you," Ivan said.

"Maybe, but if he truly believed that... isn’t this a good thing?"

Nikolai remembered the old vampire’s smile through the blood wall, along with the confidence in his eyes when he dismissed him.

"True, I don’t think he was lying," Vladimir added. "But... would you risk everything just to face certain death, Young Patriarch?"

Nikolai stared his father-in-law in the eyes, trying to discern his thoughts but failed; all he saw was the cold garnet eyes that watched him without emotion.

’I can’t get a read of Selene’s dad... he’s so weird.’

"I will risk everything, because I believe we can win."

Nikita’s hand slipped beneath the table and gripped his thigh. He placed his palm over hers and gently squeezed.

He understood that Alucard had learned something during the battle.

Whether it was their weakness, limits or power... it spelt doom for the Volkov clan if they didn’t act fast enough to break the enemy’s pace.

Ivan leaned back in his chair, one hand pressing against the bandages covering his chest.

"We evacuate first. Once everyone reaches the main estate, we gather the clans and determine what comes next."

Nikolai stared at the Volkov estate marked on the northern edge of the map.

The main compound remained untouched, yet the distance between it and the ruined outpost suddenly felt meaningless. If Alucard could penetrate this deeply into their territory, then nowhere under the Volkov banner was truly safe.

"We consolidate our remaining forces," Nikolai said. "Abandon the smaller outposts and bring everyone home. I don’t want another group isolated and slaughtered."

Ivan nodded.

"The other families might see that as weakness."

"Let them."

Nikolai’s fingers pressed against the estate marker.

"Last night proved we cannot afford to protect our pride more than our people."

Vladimir and Dimitri remained silent, but neither disagreed.

The coming battle would demand more than powerful bloodlines or several strong fighters. They needed soldiers, allies and enough preparation to counter Alucard’s control over the battlefield.

Nikolai rose from his chair.

"I don’t believe we will be able to win this war without taking an aggressive stance, Father. I want you to meet my knights and prepare a new offensive strategy. No matter the cost, we must win... before Alucard can set foot in the Volkov Compound."

His father’s eyes shone bright as he nodded.

"Ensure the wounded are prioritised, and nobody... not even the corpses are left behind! Let’s move as quickly as possible. Dismissed."

Nikita’s hand slipped into his as Selene stepped closer behind him. The warmth of both women steadied his breathing.

Alucard believed Nikolai was no longer a threat, and for now, Nikolai would allow him to keep believing it.

Last night had not ended their war.

It had only revealed how far they still had to climb.