Chapter 583
It was well past noon when the quiet finally broke.
Ivan had not moved for hours. He lay sunk into the pillows, pale in that elegant, infuriating way that made even exhaustion look deliberate. His curls were in complete disarray, his arm draped loosely across the sheets as though the world itself had offended him into stillness.
Peace, at last.
Then the first cry came.
Sharp. Offended. Immediate.
The second followed without hesitation—louder, more demanding, as if answering the first in challenge.
Kaelan’s eyes opened instantly.
He didn’t even sigh. He simply moved.
“Alright, alright—”
He crossed the room quickly, already reaching for the cribs as the cries grew more insistent. Ivanna was kicking with remarkable determination for someone so small, her displeasure clear and uncompromising. Lana, by contrast, stared upward with quiet intensity, as though she had already judged the situation and found it lacking.
Kaelan lifted them both, one in each arm, steady despite their protests.
“I’m here,” he murmured, voice low and warm, instinct taking over without thought. “No one is being neglected. I promise.”
He reached for the bottles that had been prepared earlier—milk for Ivanna, warm blood for Lana—and settled them carefully.
Ivanna latched immediately, still grumbling between gulps.
Lana accepted hers with far more composure, though no less intent.
Kaelan adjusted his hold, drawing them closer against his chest, rocking them gently as the noise softened into small, content sounds.
“There we go,” he said quietly. “That’s better.”
He glanced toward the bed.
Ivan hadn’t moved.
Good.
Kaelan’s voice dropped further, almost a whisper now, softened by something he hadn’t quite named yet.
“Try not to wake your father,” he murmured. “He believes he has suffered enough for one lifetime.”
Behind him, the sheets shifted.
“I heard that.”
Kaelan stilled, then turned.
Ivan was awake.
Barely.
One eye half-open, the other stubbornly closed, his expression somewhere between regal disdain and complete physical defeat.
“You were supposed to be asleep,” Kaelan said.
“I was,” Ivan replied, his voice hoarse but still carrying that precise, aristocratic irritation. “Until your daughters decided to announce themselves to the entire kingdom.”
Ivanna made a small noise, as if agreeing with the accusation.
Ivan narrowed his eyes at her.
“Do not look at me like that. I have already done enough.”
Kaelan almost smiled.
“They’re just hungry.”
Ivan shifted slightly against the pillows, wincing despite himself before smoothing the reaction away like it had never happened.
“Of course they are,” he said dryly. “Why wouldn’t they be. They’ve had an exhausting morning doing absolutely nothing.”
A pause.
Then, more quietly, though no less imperious—
“Give me one.”
Kaelan didn’t hesitate.
“No.”
Ivan opened both eyes now.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
“I beg your pardon.”
"You’re still recovering.”
“I am a vampire,” Ivan replied, as if that alone settled every possible argument.
Kaelan adjusted Ivanna against his shoulder as she finished, patting her back with steady ease.
“You are a male vampire who carried two children and delivered them less than a day ago.”
Ivan stared at him.
Long enough for the weight of that statement to settle.
“…That is an unnecessary level of detail.”
“It’s an accurate level of detail.”
Ivan extended his hand anyway, palm up, expectant.
“Give me one.”
Kaelan shifted just slightly out of reach.
“No.”
Ivan’s expression tightened.
Not loud anger.
Something sharper.
Refined annoyance.
“You are being unreasonable.”
“I’m being careful.”
“You are being possessive,” Ivan corrected.
Kaelan raised a brow.
“I learned from you.”
Ivan looked personally offended by that.
“…I am not possessive.”
Kaelan said nothing.
Ivan held his gaze.
Then, with quiet dignity—
“…I am selectively attentive.”
Ivanna let out a satisfied little sound.
Lana remained perfectly composed.
Kaelan huffed a soft laugh under his breath.
Ivan watched them both now, his expression slowly changing. The irritation didn’t disappear—it never did—but something else slipped in beneath it.
Something quieter.
He studied the way Kaelan held them, the ease of it, the steadiness, the instinct.
“…They are loud,” Ivan said after a moment.
“They’re alive,” Kaelan answered.
Ivan’s gaze lingered.
On the babies.
On Kaelan.
On the space that now existed between all three of them.
He exhaled slowly and let his head fall back against the pillows again, eyes half-closing.
“…Fine.”
A pause.
“You may continue holding them.”
Kaelan smiled faintly.
“How generous.”
Ivan ignored that.
“…If you drop them,” he added, voice weaker now but no less serious, “I will leave you.”
“Noted.”
Another small silence settled.
Not empty.
Not quiet.
Just… full.
Ivan shifted slightly, eyes drifting closed again, though his attention remained stubbornly anchored to the soft sounds across the room.
“…Kaelan.”
“Yes.”
A beat.
“…They are not entirely unpleasant.”
Kaelan looked at him.
“That’s high praise.”
Ivan didn’t open his eyes.
“It is generous,” he corrected.
A pause.
Then—
“…The quieter one is acceptable.”
Lana.
Of course.
Ivanna made a small protesting sound, as if offended by the assessment.
Ivan frowned faintly.
“Yes, I heard you,” he muttered. “You will have to improve.”
Kaelan laughed softly.
Ivan opened one eye just enough to glare at him.
“Do not encourage her.”
“She’s a day old.”
“And already difficult.”
A beat.
Then quieter—
“…She takes after you.”
Kaelan smiled.
“I was going to say the same about you.”
Ivan scoffed.
“Impossible.”
Then, the door opened.
Both of them, at once.
Varelisse first.
Mara right behind her.
Ivan’s eyes snapped open.
“…Did either of you consider knocking?”
Varelisse didn’t even slow her step.
“No.”
Mara added, already walking in—
“We heard the babies.”
Ivan pushed himself slightly higher into the pillows, offended.
“That is not an invitation.”
“It is if they’re crying,” Mara replied easily.
Ivan narrowed his eyes.
“They are not orphans.”
“No one said they were.”
“They have parents.”
“Yes, we can see one of them is barely functioning,” Mara said, glancing at him.
Ivan stared at her.
“I delivered two children.”
“And survived,” she said. “Congratulations.”
Varelisse was already beside Kaelan.
“Let me see.”
Kaelan shifted automatically, allowing her closer.
Ivan pointed weakly from the bed.
“You’re both ignoring me.”
“Yes,” Varelisse said calmly.
Mara leaned in on the other side.
Ivanna kicked.
Mara smiled.
“There she is.”
“Of course she kicks,” Ivan muttered. “She has no sense of restraint.”
Varelisse adjusted Lana’s blanket slightly.
“Still composed.”
“Obviously,” Ivan said.
Mara glanced between them.
“They’re fine.”
“They were already fine,” Ivan replied.
“And now they’re confirmed fine.”
Ivan made a quiet, deeply offended sound.
“They woke up,” Mara continued, unconcerned. “We came.”
“You invaded.”
“We checked.”
“You interfered.”
“We improved.”
Ivan stared at the ceiling.
“…I regret all of you.”
No one reacted.
Kaelan remained where he was, holding both babies.
Varelisse stepped back slightly.
Mara adjusted the blanket one last time.
Routine complete.
On the bed—
Ivan shifted again, still pouting.
“…Next time, knock.”
Mara glanced at him.
“No.”
Varelisse added, already turning toward the door—
“We won’t.”
Ivan closed his eyes again.
Resigned.
Defeated.
Still muttering—
“…Uncivilized.”