Chapter 42 THE HUG
NIKOLAI'S MANOR
Shadow stepped into the dimly lit manor.
The atmosphere was heavy with a tension so thick it felt like it could be cut with a blade. Alina, Damian, Leonid, and a wide-eyed, trembling Anya were already gathered, their faces etched with varying degrees of concern.
"Where’s Nikolai himself?" Shadow asked.
"We haven't seen him yet" Alina replied, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She looked restless, her eyes constantly darting toward the entrace.
Shadow turned his sharp gaze toward Damian, then back to Alina. "So what you were saying over the phone... it's true?"
"Yes, she's back in town," Alina said. "Just when I thought she was gone forever and would never appear again. Now she just shows up out of nowhere"
Anya, who had been huddled in a large chair, looked between the powerful figures in the room. Her hands were still shaking from the fire she had unleashed at the frat house, but curiosity and a strange sense of dread pushed her to speak.
"Is she a bad person?" Anya asked, her voice small. "Why are you all ganging up to talk about her like she's a monster?"
The room went silent. Damian looked at the floor, and Shadow’s expression became unreadable. It was Alina who finally looked Anya in the eye, her gaze filled with a mixture of pity and warning.
"It's complicated, Anya," Alina said. "But I will tell you this for free... she’s Nikolai’s old lover. And she isn't just anyone. She's the woman you were made to replace"
"Her name is Irina" Leonid added, his voice gravelly.
Suddenly, the entrace door of the manor creaked open. A cold wind swept through, extinguishing the candles. In the sudden darkness, a pair of glowing crimson eyes appeared at the threshold.
"Did someone mention my name?" a melodic, terrifyingly familiar voice purred.
Then, as if the shadows themselves were yielding to her presence, the chandeliers flickered back to life, casting a harsh, crystalline light over the room.
Standing at the threshold was a woman who radiated a dangerous, intoxicating aura.
"Irina?" Alina called out, her voice a mixture of shock and suppressed dread.
"Alina! I missed you!" Irina chirped. She moved with a speed that defied human sight, appearing in front of Alina in a blur. She threw her arms around her, hugging her tightly.
She pulled back, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she scanned the room. "Leonid, bro! I missed you a lot," she said, giving him a playful wink.
She turned her head slightly toward Damian. "Damian and I have met already" she scoffs.
Her gaze finally landed on Shadow. "Shadow... you've left your cat form"
Shadow’s expression remained stony, his eyes narrowing. "Obviously" he replied shortly.
Irina grinned, a flash of white fangs peeking through her lips.
Slowly, almost agonizingly, she turned her body toward the large chair.
She stopped, her head tilting to the side as she locked eyes with Anya who has been staring at her in shock of the so much resemblance.
"And there's my lookalike" Irina purred. She stepped closer, her heels clicking like a countdown on the marble floor. She reached out a pale, slender finger, tracing the air in front of Anya’s face.
"It’s like looking into a mirror of the past. Tell me, little one... does Nikolai hold you the same way he held me? Or are you just a temporary bandage for a wound that won't heal?"
"Let her be, Irina" Alina said, her voice sharp and protective as she stepped closer to Anya.
Irina pulled her hand back, a mocking pout forming on her perfect lips.
"Oh wow! You guys have completely replaced me. I thought I was everyone's favorite" she mused, her gaze sweeping across the room, taking in the defensive stances of her old friends.
"No one did," Damian cut in, "You left without saying anything. We thought you were gone forever and not coming back"
"And I have my reasons! I didn’t just leave," she snapped, her voice echoing through the high ceilings of the manor. "You think I would voluntarily leave Nikolai, who I love so much? Or even you, Alina, who’s my best friend? I was forced to stay away. I heard about Alexei's death, and it tore me apart, but I couldn't leave where I was. I was trapped"
She paced the floor. "But that doesn't matter now. Now I'm here. I'm back"
She stopped right in front of Anya again, leaning down so their faces were mere inches apart. The resemblance was uncanny... the same jawline, the same slope of the nose, but while Anya’s eyes were wide with human terror, Irina’s were ancient and bloodthirsty.
"It's nice to see you again, Irina" Leonid said.
Irina straightened up, spinning around. "Finally! Someone is happy to see me!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up dramatically.
"Irina, it's not like that..." Alina tried to intervene, her voice tight with the stress of the night's events.
Irina rolled her eyes, her gaze sliding back to Anya with a look of pure disdain. "I get it. I have been replaced by a mere human. Nikolai’s standards have certainly... dropped"
"She’s not human" Shadow interjected.
Irina paused, her eyebrows arching in genuine curiosity. "Then what is she? A doll? A puppet?"
The question hung in the air, unanswered and heavy, as the sound of measured footsteps echoed. Nikolai walked in, his hands buried deep in his pockets, his face a mask of cold indifference until he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes locked on Irina.
"Nikolai!" Irina squealed. In a blur of movement, she rushed across the marble floor and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
"I missed you," she whispered loudly over his shoulder, her voice trembling with an emotion that sounded terrifyingly real. "So, so, so much"
Nikolai’s hands moved instinctively, rising as if to hug her back, to return the embrace of the woman who had haunted his memories for years. But then, he stopped. His hands hovered in mid-air before dropping back to his sides. He gently but firmly pried her off him.
"Where have you been?" he asked, his voice devoid of the warmth she was clearly seeking.
."I will explain to you later, I swear," she said, her eyes searching his for the spark of the man she once knew. She reached out, tracing his jawline, her bottom lip trembling. "Tell me you missed me" She pouted, using the exact expression that used to bring him to his knees.
Nikolai didn't answer immediately. His gaze drifted past her, landing briefly on Anya. They both held eye contacts.
Then it happened.
Nikolai’s eyes began to swirl with a dark, suffocating madness. His breathing became ragged, and his muscles tensed as a low, guttural growl vibrated in his chest.
"Get the chains!" Shadow barked, reaching for the heavy silver restraints kept in the sideboard for these exact moments.
"No," Irina commanded, raising a hand to stop Shadow and Alina as they made to swing into action. She didn't look back at them, her eyes remained fixed on Nikolai’s darkening face. "I will take care of this. I’m here now"
Shadow and Alina hesitated, then slowly nodded, stepping back into the shadows. Before she left, Irina was the only one who could pull him back from his madness with ease.
Irina stepped into Nikolai’s personal space, ignoring the terrifying aura of violence radiating from him. She placed her cool palms on his burning cheeks.
"Look at me, Nikolai" she whispered, her voice a hypnotic melody
Slowly, the guttural growls subsided. The violent tremors racking Nikolai’s frame began to ease under her touch. Irina’s smirk returned, triumphant and possessive. She stepped back slightly, opening her arms wide, waiting for him to collapse into her embrace as he always had in the past.
But Nikolai didn’t move toward her.
His eyes, still swirling with the fading remnants of madness, didn't stay on Irina. Instead, they snapped to the side, locking on Anya in the chair.
In a move so swift it left Irina hugging the empty air, Nikolai bypassed her completely. He reached Anya in a heartbeat, his large hands reaching out to grab hers.
"Nikolai?" Irina’s voice dropped, the melody turning into a sharp, jagged edge of disbelief.
He didn't acknowledge her. He didn't acknowledge anyone in the room. Without a single word, he pulled Anya into a tight, constrictive hug.