Blood Awakening: The Strongest Hybrid and His Vampire Bride

Chapter 592: Mother-In-Law Vs Daughter-In-Law!?

Nikolai closed his eyes soon after his sudden meeting with Madoka, and after his words, she became a lot less aggressive.

That didn’t mean she left, though.

While he slept, trying to recover as soon as possible, the tigress sat beside him, peeling fruit left by his wives over the past few days. She sometimes peeked at him while working on her laptop, flashing a faint smile.

”Nn.”

With a sigh, he shifted in the bed, twenty hours after being rushed to the private Volkov medical building. He glanced at the nonchalant tigress typing away with a slight hum and shook his head. ’Well, it’s okay, at least I have recovered.’

Nikolai tried to recall who hadn’t been to visit him since he entered the hospital. Normally, the girls would all rush at him or bicker and yet this time they came at separate times and brought alternating dishes or items.

’Well, Nikita and Selene seemed cheerful.’

Kumiko’s clones came to visit during the late hours, cleaning his room. Risa visited after Nikita, which made sense, her being Nikita’s squire and all. As for Anya, Clara, Amphitrite and the others, he couldn’t remember well.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Knock!

Madoka’s eyes lifted, then shifted to Nikolai, before lowering, but she didn’t speak and continued to work.

”Come In.” Nikolai appreciated her calm temperament and how she didn’t cause trouble this time. He couldn’t control her like the other girls because of the explosive and external power that granted her more freedom than the other women around him.

A surprised pair of faces stepped inside.

”Yo, son!” Ivan waved, holding a basket of what seemed to be exotic fruits. Nikolai spotted a pineapple and a coconut, but luckily, his mother carried a bag of warm, still steaming doughnuts.

”Tsk.” Upon hearing his voice, Madoka clicked her tongue, but continued typing away, just harder.

”You look so thin, baby~ come, mother brought your favourites.” Elizabeth curled her lips into a smug grin as she stepped closer, placing her doughnuts onto a plate, while ruffling Nikolai’s fluffy hair.

He looked up at her energetic smile, then to his dad, whose cheeks appeared sallow and slightly exhausted.

’Well, it seems mother wants to give me a sibling!’

”Thanks, mom.”

Nikolai couldn’t remain his usual self when faced with his mother, as if she held a magical ability that returned him to a cheeky child with snot running down his nose. While to her, he probably looked no different either.

’These Bavarian and custard-filled doughnuts... I haven’t had them in years.’

Taking the soft, sugar-topped dough, he quickly bit into it and hummed. The sweet, creamy filling poured into his mouth as he wolfed the entire thing down.

”Why are you rushing? Look at you. Messy little thing!”

His mother’s scolding might usually worry him, but their relationship since bringing her back wasn’t the same. He wondered if small things like this would slowly entwine together, creating a future where he could be honest and rely on her as he did as a child.

Yet despite her tone, he could feel the warmth, which made his nose tingle. He could only look to Madoka to help adjust his mind. He wouldn’t pry about her looking at the doughnuts and then jotting something down on her notepad.

’What shady plans is her little head plotting against me now?’

”I know, Mom, sorry, it was just too delicious.”

”Hm, well.” Her gaze shifted to Madoka, then her eyes flickered with a blue glow, and then she gasped. ”N-Nikolai, did you... with her!?” Her eyes and mouth widened, revealing her huge eyes and sharp teeth.

”What’s the matter, dear?” Ivan looked between the women with a confused head tilt.

Suddenly, Elizabeth elbowed Ivan and placed a finger on her lips. ”Shhh!” Then she turned back to Madoka, who sheepishly lifted her gaze from the laptop screen. Nikolai found it cute how she flinched upon meeting his mother’s eyes. ”You should be ashamed, a woman older than me, sleeping with my son!”

The room froze.

Madoka’s fingers stopped mid-keystroke. Her ears flattened slightly, tail stiffening as she slowly closed the laptop and set it aside. For the first time since Ivan and Elizabeth entered, she straightened her posture properly and met Elizabeth’s gaze head-on.

There wasn’t any expected hostility.

Only an awkward, restrained composure, like two female beasts, they examined each other in silence.

But in the end, the daughter-in-law couldn’t defeat the mother!

”...I wasn’t sleeping with him now, where did you see me sleep with him?” Madoka replied calmly. ”And age isn’t something I chose.”

However, she still tried to hit back with a smart answer, her lips curling into a grin as she beamed at Nikolai as if asking for praise.

Elizabeth blinked.

Then blinked again.

Nikolai swallowed a bit of custard trapped in his throat, and the pressure built immediately. He couldn’t let the two fight after he finally made Madoka obedient and stop wanting to kill his other wives! ”Mom!”

Elizabeth raised a hand sharply. ”Child, you hush.”

Ivan looked about ready to take out a bag of popcorn, even lifting his thumb to his son. This cheap old man knew what had happened, but chose not to explain everything because he was sick of how his wife had always complimented Nikolai recently.

But he couldn’t keep acting stupid and scratched his cheek, eyes darting between the two women. ”So... uh... am I supposed to be angry, or confused?”

”Both!”

Elizabeth wasn’t happy; she shook her head and muttered in what seemed to be her native tongue, much like Nikita did when excited or mad.

Madoka exhaled through her nose, clearly restraining herself. ”If it helps, I didn’t plan this either. Your son is... troublesome.”

Nikolai coughed. ”Hey.”

”Whose son are you calling troublesome!? You old cow wanting to eat this tender grass!”

’Wow, Mom is super mad!’

Elizabeth stared at Madoka for a hot minute, her gaze glowing faintly again as she assessed her more carefully. The teasing edge faded, replaced by a more serious and sharp atmosphere as she peered down and then spoke to Madoka directly.

”You’re carrying his child.”

Madoka stiffened and avoided her gaze.

Then nodded once. ”Yes.”

The room fell silent, while Ivan’s jaw dropped.

Elizabeth didn’t laugh. She got up with a huff and walked closer, stopping just a step away from Madoka with a complex, almost unreadable expression. Nikolai’s heart tightened, a dull ache spreading as he was tense and ready to intervene.

Then his mother finally sighed.

”Well,” she rubbed her temple while grumbling, ”I guess this family doesn’t do things normally, how can I be so angry?”

She looked at Madoka again, more closely this time and sat on the seat beside her. For a moment, she stared at her laptop, then chuckled. ”I see.”

”Ah!?” Madoka’s cheeks flushed as she covered the screen like a high school boy watching his favourite adult movie after getting caught.

Elizabeth clicked her tongue. ”Don’t be so shy, silly girl. But you have to promise not to hurt my son or that child—”

”I won’t,” Madoka replied immediately.

Their gazes locked.

Something unspoken passed between them like the countless generations of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law before them. A single magical moment bound them all together, and that was their future grandchildren!

Elizabeth gently pulled Madoka’s shoulders back and adjusted her posture before waving her hand dismissively. ”Fine, sit and eat well. But pregnant women shouldn’t be glued to laptops and read messy things!”

Madoka paused, and her cheeks flushed slightly, listening to his mother’s little nagging and orders like a doll.

”...Thank you.”

He might have complained if Madoka’s aura hadn’t overflowed with the colours of familial love and delight when his mother began to treat her like family.

’Was my mother this traditional before?’

Nikolai could only watch in awe as the gunpowder he smelled a moment before vanished, and she suddenly became close to Madoka in a matter of minutes.

That’s when Ivan leaned over and patted Nikolai’s shoulder.

”Son, this means it’s over for you. Mother has chosen a side.”

At this moment, he felt somehow a link formed between him and his father; was this the power of the Báthory clan? Or maybe, all sons felt this strange sense of betrayal when their wives and mothers joined forces.

Elizabeth turned sharply. ”And don’t think this excuses you,” she snapped, pointing at Nikolai. ”You’re explaining everything later.”

He winced.

Yes.

Later was going to be hell.

.

.

.

Later, after his parents had left and the room settled back into quiet, Nikolai lay staring at the ceiling, listening to the steady rhythm of the machines.

Madoka stood by the window, arms folded, tail swaying lazily as city lights reflected faintly in her eyes.

However, with an unusually bright voice, she turned back to him. ”Your mother is a little strange.”

He chuckled softly. ”You get used to it, and she seems to like you. I worried it might go badly for a moment there.”

She peeked back at him, her expression unreadable, then rested a hand over her abdomen, fingers lingering there longer than necessary. ”...So am I staying?” she asked.

Nikolai hadn’t noticed, but for the past few hours, he’d been speaking so comfortably with this dangerous tigress that it shocked him. He watched her slowly shift near the window and felt a sense of peace. ”Yeah, I should never have let you leave.”

”Mm.”

Madoka’s face turned away, fluttering her long lashes as two bright red spots appeared on her cheeks and a brilliant smile on her face.

Meanwhile, the outside world had no clue about the subtle change in her mind after meeting Nikolai’s mother. It carried on, ignorant of the fact that tonight’s actions changed the fates of countless stars, many that might have faded into the quiet darkness.