It felt like forever and a day before he noticed her door open again and she emerged from the darkness, graciously accepting his offer to join him. There were some more cooked deer and as promised, he didn’t mind sharing it with her as he voiced about his lineage and how strong the vaewolves were. He also kept prodding her to tell him some more about herself but she was quite up to the point where she turned to leave. “Leave? But…” He couldn’t finish his statement before she went inside and left him alone. Shrugging it off, he finished his meal and poured water onto the fire before turning in himself.

As the days passed, she would be forced to acknowledge his presence as she left her house and came back. Mostly it was trying to tell him off or punching him if he said something stupid. Which the latter happened plenty. It was early morning as he slept deeply in his tent when his nose picked up on the scent of smoke close by. But something didn’t make sense- he was sure that he put his fire out on the night prior. Half dazed, he opened his eyes and saw that his tent was set ablaze. “Crap.” He nearly leaped out of the tent and fetched some water and threw it onto the flames. Looking around, he didn’t spot anyone else and scratched his head as he knew he’d have to go back into town and get another one. But what if the same thing happened to her house?

Clearly, he wasn’t allowed in through the door but soon he thought of another idea. So he went back and got a new tent along with a shovel and went to work in her backyard. It took some time as he dug his way until he was kinda sure he was beneath her house and dug upwards with care. It took an hour or two before he struck the floor of her house and smashed it up to poke his dirty head up and smiled. “Ayla, guess what? Now you have an escape tunnel just in case your house is set on fire like my tent!", he called out as he looked up and down for any sign of her. 

Ayla was busy washing herself after a hard fight in the sparring ring. She felt content. She felt so victorious and overall it was just a good day. She hadn’t put much thought about the noise that was under her floorboards. It was an older house but something did seem off about it.

She stripped down and washed her body with the wet cloth she pulled from the bucket of water. This was normally her daily routine. That was when Ivan sprung from the floor. “IVAN!” She yelled out of shock.

Ayla noticed him googling his eyes at her and it seemed like the worst part of it all despite her being a shifter. She was used to others seeing her in her naked form but him… He wasn’t a shifter not in the typical sense. She ran over and the floorboards shook as she picked him up out of the hole by his collar. She slammed him into the wall and stared up at him with fire. “You need to leave Ivan.”

While it wasn’t his intention to see Ayla, well, in the nude, he had to admit that her form was even more gorgeous than what he had thought. It was only made worse since he couldn’t take his eyes off her and she noticed it. It wasn’t the smartest move he had ever made in his life, which soon came to his thoughts when he was pried from the tunnel and thrown against the wall by her. “Sorry, sorry, don’t kill me”, he said with hands thrown up at her. “I just made a tunnel just in case you needed to escape from a random fire. Someone lit mine up earlier…”

Despite his ploy, he wouldn’t be too surprised to learn if it had been by her hand that did the deed earlier. His eyes lingered from her body and back to her eyes, which were clearly not amused by his antics and with a defeated sigh, he moved her grip away and went back towards the tunnel. “Fine, you win for now. Besides, there’s something I have to deal with first back home.” Without a goodbye, he jumped back into the hole and soon prepared his things to depart. By the following day, he had vanished and taken the nearest port and ship back to Kurayo.

He wasn’t technically allowed back yet, but there was something he required first. And it was smart to get that permission first before he did anything. When he made it to the Volkov estate, he softly entered and looked around for Celeste. “Mama Volkov. You around here?” He carefully looked up and down, not wanting to entice the wrath of her mate. Nemesis stomached him only because of his skills, and he wasn’t about to step on his toes if he could. “Mama Volkov.”

How the hell did she only win for now? What would it take to get him to understand she didn’t want to go with him! She couldn’t stomach him! He was annoying the ever-loving shit right out of her.

So when he popped his head back into the hole Ayla stood there with her mouth gaping open. She had never met a man who was this smart and yet this stupid before in her life. He was smart and she could tell. He was playing everyone around here and making it seem like he didn’t know what was going on. It was the way he was moving his body but how his words weren’t matching.

Back at the manor, Celeste was lounging over Nemesis. Her small lithe body was so fragile compared to his. Her red eyes moved over to Ivan’s as she moved the strawberry up to Nem’s lips. “Why are you back home so soon Ivan? There must be a good reason why you would go against what Nemesis told you to do… Right?” She chewed on another strawberry and relaxed in his arms.

If anything, the annoying little vaewolf only followed the rules his family, his alphas had put onto him. Being the top alpha, Nemesis’ word was law and he had to oblige by that, even if he was Celeste’s beta. While a much warmer reception would have been welcomed, he bowed before them all the same with a smile pressed on his lips. Celeste had turned him because he was an effective killer, even Nemesis couldn’t debate that. If anything, he was only called in extreme circumstances where they didn’t want a trail at all leading back to them. It worked out with Ivan since Nemesis would only allow him back into their home a few times a year.

The master of the house was certainly not pleased as he bit into the strawberry his love provided for him. There was some restraint though because Ivan was Celeste’s favorite, for being able to kill with precision and for bringing her fruit. He noticed that there was a basket filled with such in his hand and signed. As eccentric as he was, it was very rare that he’d break the rules unless there was a good reason. “Speak”, he commanded before the younger male went on. “I know that I came back too early, but I won’t take for long. I just wanted to ask for permission…I met a woman. A fierce fighter from the savannah that I want to turn and make part of the family.”

Nemesis cocked an eyebrow at him and thought for a moment wherein normal circumstances he wouldn’t let an outsider in without being properly introduced first at least. The boy had followed the rules to the letter and never asked for anything in return, much to his recollection. But he had stated that she was from the field of shifters and her survival rate wasn’t very high. Besides, who in their right minds would want to be sired by Ivan?

Ivan drew closer and lowered down to his knees upon their feet. “Mama Volkov…Papa Volkov….I asked this of you to grant me permission please.”

“I told you to stop calling me that”, Nemesis growled slightly, annoyed by the effective nickname but regained control of his temper. “I really don’t care either way. Your alpha can decide whether she wants you to or not.” He looked to his wife as he reclined in his seat. “Sounds like he’s turning a shifter. Like I said, you can decide the outcome of this, love.”

Ivan looked at her and bowed his head before gifting her the basket. "She's strong like Boss Lady Volkov, yet I think she is a tad nicer. But I know she can make you all proud like I have."

Celeste’s eyebrow cocked about as much as Nemesis’s did. They wouldn’t ever let anyone join the family without meeting them first and yet… He didn’t bring her. Her elvish eyes were much better at seeing details that her vaewolf eyes could not even in this dimly lit room. However, she let him speak his words. She held up her hand to her lover so he didn’t tear out Ivan’s throat just yet when he said Papa Volkov.

She took the basket of durians he got her and set it down on Nemesis’s lap. “Before I give you any kind of permission you know what our laws are. No matter how much you like her if she doesn’t bend to our will she will be hunted all the same Ivan… But also.” She took Ivan’s face in her hands and looked him over. “Has… she been punching you and grabbing your neck? You have bruises that are still healing. Just who is this woman? Why would you ask this of us and not even bring her with you?”

Celeste’s red eyes were looking lovingly down at him. “We need to know more about her before we will let you turn her. Since you didn’t bring her with you… You will need to speak on her behalf. Should we allow you to turn her… You will need to bring her before us so we can judge her ourselves.” Tilting her head she looked at Nemesis and then looked back at Ivan. “She doesn’t know you’ve come here to ask this does? From the marks on you my love it looks like you’ve been trying to convince her.” There was a chuckle from her lips. “To put such marks on you means she is very strong indeed.”

It was a ridiculous request, but Ivan needed to do this and the right way. If he took it into his own hands without their approval, they would have certainly destroyed Ayla and him too.Listening to his mistress’ words, he listened attentively and agreed. “If she doesn’t, then I will destroy her”, he flatly said. There was no hesitation in his voice as he was most experienced in killing their kind- many of which had been failed creations that didn’t want to play by the rules. He would be sent to kill them and by now, it was like an art for him. As much as he liked Ayla, he owed Celeste his life.

He let her take his face and he chuckled slightly. “Yes. She’s a good fighter. Strong spirited too. She intrigues me and I’m sure that I can persuade her in wanting this.” The lad seemed delusional in the eyes of Father Volkov, but he held his tongue about it. Once Ivan got something in his head, it was difficult to persuade him otherwise. And he had little patience in playing such a game with him. “She…doesn’t know that I came here and is being stubborn about it. But if I can convince her ,then I’d like to bring her here first and of course, I know that you both need to see her before anything can happen. I just didn’t want to just bring her here without warning first.”

It didn’t matter to him how long he need to break her if he was given this chance to.

“I just…been lonely, I guess. Bored even and she makes things…not so boring. Oh and she’s pretty too.”

Celeste tilted her head as she listened to his words. Her thumbs gently caressed his cheek like a mother would do. Celeste wasn’t cruel to be cruel but she would be if she had to be. Right now she was teetering on letting him set himself up for self-destruction if this girl didn’t want to come. She held it together though as she brought herself forward and kissed his forehead.

“If you think you can convince her… and get her to come here. I will allow you to make her a Volkov. However, Ivan I want you to make sure you are absolutely sure this is the girl you want for a mate… The more you speak of her the more I can tell you want her for a companion.”

Ivan’s existence was a lonely one and she wanted to elevate that. “So you may bring this Ayla girl to us once you have convinced her to come… I just hope that it is the choice that will make you most happy in life. As long as she lives up to our expectations I have no reason to deny you. The warriors of the Savannah are honor bound and won’t defy those ahead of them. That leads me to another point… That I want you to absolutely understand.”

Her mouth went dry for a moment before she continued. “Ivan, the chance of her living through this is very slim. She might be strong but the closer she is to her shifter blood the closer she is to death by taking in our own… She sounds like she is one with her animal blood… Just be ready for her to die for what you want. I am not saying this to be cruel. I just don’t want you to suffer if she were to die.”

She hugged his closely. "Now I do love you who is like my son… So if this girl makes you happy and you are ready to tempt fate… You have our blessing to bring her here."

He was right to worry a bit about how they would take all of this into account while making their decision.Or more so, how Celeste would take it all into account. Nemesis spoke nothing more of the matter, but she had plenty to say. Ivan wanted this badly, and before he had thought of the consequences of Ayla’s blood, he listened well to his mistress. “Yes, I want to sire her, Ma’am. For me and the family.”

All it would take now was convincing her of this and then bringing her home for the alphas to judge accordingly. The smile on his face widened as she expressed approval under the right details but then it faded when he listened to an outcome he had forgotten about. Would fate be as cruel as his mother believed? Blinking, he was in a rare state of speechlessness but then gave a slow nod. “Yes, I understand. If she was to die, then it wasn’t meant to be. It will be harder to convince her, but I will still try.” If she did perish, then he would be at fault and would have to come to terms with it somehow.

He hugged Celeste back tightly. “Thank you, Mama Volkov.” He reeled back and stood up before bowing to Nemesis. “Thank you, Nemesis.” The elder was taken back slightly as Ivan left the room and shook his head. “Do you really think he can convince her? Especially if he tells her the truth?” He wasn’t so sure of it, but at least he was out of his hair for now.

It would be weeks before another tent showed up at Ayla’s grounds and Ivan was….planting crops around it, humming to himself as he awaited for a familiar greeting from the she-wolf. “Yoohoo! It’s been a while, Ayla! But I’m baaaack!”

Celeste watched Ivan leave before climbing back on her husband’s lap. Which was literally a climb with how small she was. “I think… that he is really determined and that it will be the death of her either way. We destroy the things we love when we can’t have them. We Vaewolves are linked to our emotions even if we don’t think about it. I think… that was the first time he called you Nemesis though. Perhaps she will change him for the better.”

Ayla had a few weeks of peace and quiet. However, it was one night a few weeks after everything that she noticed a plot of crops around a tent in front of her house. “Ivan…” She was dressed casual and she had a crate full of food. “What… are you doing back here?” She shook her head and looked up at him. “Nevermind I already know why.”

She went up into the house and slammed the door shut. After a little bit she came out with a club. “What do I have to do to make it so you go away?” She started to smack her hand with it and made it clear her intentions were bad if she didn’t get a good answer. “I don’t think beating the piss out of you will help because I’ve already bloody tried that.”