Nikolai stood at the edge of the desk, tapping several keys in an almost random arrangement and yet his lips curved as the message sent with a soft ding.

"What’re you doin’ tapping away like that?"

Nikita hung off the side of the room’s bed, a few metres away, wrapped in a silk quilt like a little caterpillar, while kicking her little legs inside it.

"Sending a message to my dad."

"Heeeeh~ I never thought you’d think of that."

"Huh, what does that mean?" He raised his gaze from the phone and observed the strange creature lying on the bed.

"Does it matter? Come on!" Upon receiving his attention, she began rolling around like a seal. She then opened the quilt, revealing her fair skin, smiling at him. "Want a taste?"

After she got what she wanted, Nikita became so carefree.

Though he found this side of her adorable, he wanted to jump right into the sheets and keep going until he emptied the entire pack. Reality wouldn’t allow such a foolish plan. A few seconds ago, his father had given the all clear.

However, Nosferatu had shown their fangs tonight.

Nikita seemed to understand he wasn’t coming, so she quickly wrapped herself and rolled away with a long, annoying sigh.

"Hmph!"

She even huffed, pouting.

"Don’t be annoying, you can’t have forgotten what happened tonight?!"

"Eh?" She peeked from the blanket, just a pair of golden eyes glistening in the darkness where it opened. "We had sex?"

"Before that."

"We ate a great meal!"

"...what?"

He worried she might’ve hit her head while escaping, but the moment she saw his expression, her voice leaked from the quilt.

"Hehe~ I can’t help it, you fucked my brains out!"

She then rolled away and hid behind the headboard, while giggling to herself.

"Whatever."

Nikita shook his head after listening to her being stupid, returning to the phone as his father’s message came.

All the while, Nikolai couldn’t help but think about Nikita.

’Why is my wife so cute!?’

The message brought Nikolai relief, who had kept worrying that the worst had happened.

[Base is safe, enjoy a night out. Kids are sleeping!]

"Tsk, Dad, why are you so blunt? It’s so different to the stuff you send mom."

Whenever speaking with others, his father remained stoic and speechless, but if it came to his mother... He’d suddenly transform into some poet.

"Haa..."

After a long sigh, he slowly shifted his gaze back to the bed, ’Would it be alright to enjoy it?’ Though he didn’t want to become loose, the danger wasn’t over for not. Couldn’t he drown in Nikita’s scent all night without worrying about these things?

Nevertheless, he stopped himself.

He could do those things all the time, and he’d already enjoyed them earlier.

Growl~~

Suddenly, his stomach interrupted his thoughts, and he shifted from the worn desk, still discoloured from Nikita’s earlier excitement.

"This place has a nice kitchen. I should make a late-night snack?"

Nikita’s eyes instantly lit up from behind the headboard.

"Food!?"

The blanket shifted violently before she practically burst out from behind it, still wrapped like some oversized silk burrito. She scrambled across the mattress until she reached the edge closest to Nikolai, golden eyes gleaming with predatory excitement.

"What’re you making?"

"I don’t know yet."

"Booo~"

Nikolai ignored her whining and crossed the suite toward the kitchenette built into the private underground residence. The polished dark floor reflected the soft overhead recessed lighting, while quiet ventilation hummed through hidden vents in the ceiling.

Compared to the destroyed southern district, this place was heaven.

One could hardly consider it a bunker.

A clean, silent haven more luxurious than a five-star hotel.

The entire underground base had been designed by his family decades ago for emergencies. Reinforced steel walls hid beneath expensive blackwood panels, biometric locks protected every corridor, and an independent power grid kept the place fully operational even if the entire city above them collapsed.

"Well, let’s get to action. It’s been a long time."

He’d always cooked for himself late at night, his father always sick or sleeping. Though now it made sense that he didn’t eat human food. "I used to force dad so much." Nikolai chuckled, sweeping his hand across the marble island counter.

Though he wished it were a full eastern-style stove, the integrated induction stoves would do for now. He opened several refrigerators, all fully stocked with vacuum-sealed meat, vegetables, alcohol, desserts, and imported ingredients.

"Wow, this meat is something I used to dream of as a kid!"

"Hmmmm? Let me see~ Oh!?" Nikita gasped, her soft feet tapping the cold floor as she hugged him from behind, then took the premium meat portions and tossed them onto the counter.

All six of them!

"This is the meat my dad used to bring home when he fought with mom, hehehehe, so nostalgic."

"Damn, you were so lucky..."

He mumbled while scanning the fridge.

The cold white lights within them illuminated Nikolai’s face as he found another delicate item, tossing them onto the counter along with the meat.

After moving so much, their hunger exploded.

A small restaurant portion was nothing to a young, healthy werewolf.

However, Nikita held the meat up and pouted. "Nikolai, don’t you remember?"

"Remember what?"

He tilted his head, reaching for the knives stuck to the magnetic cutting board.

"Eh, what do you mean what?" She quickly scurried up to him and pushed the meat into his face. "This! I used to always bring this meat to you at night, didn’t you notice!?"

"You did?"

Though he searched his memories, and she did bring delicious food, he couldn’t quite match these thick, juicy steaks to the meat she brought.

"Tsk, what a stupid man... I cooked them so affectionately and brought them to you, knowing you’d only eat cheap off-cuts and ramen if I didn’t!" She pouted and curled her lips into a frown. But before he could reach out and explain, she’d run off to the frides.

"Nikita."

"Oohh..." she whispered dramatically while staring into the fridge. "We’re rich-rich."

"You only realised that now?"

"I thought you were normal rich." She pointed weakly toward the endless shelves of premium ingredients. "This is apocalypse villain rich."

"Heh!" He snorted proudly. "Pick one thing, and I can let you take it!"

"Everything!" She jumped on the spot.

"Not happening."

Nikita groaned, leaning against the expensive fridge, hugging it, while the blanket bunched around her hips. "Hey~ then I choose you, so it’s all mine, ehehehehe!"

His steps paused, turning to face her.

’This cheeky...’

But instead, he just smiled, "...Fair enough." It was rather lovely, and then she ran to him with some salmon and other expensive items.

"Let’s cook something together, then." Nikolai shut the fridge quietly.

"Is everyone safe?"

"Yeah."

"Did you check properly?"

"I did."

"How are the kids, my babies can’t sleep with mommy!"

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

"Apparently, Grandma is soft and comfortable, and she smells better."

She exhaled softly against his shoulder, tension finally leaving her body. He half expected her to suddenly go berserk or complain. Yet she remained calm, looking at him with a faint smile before leaning against him.

The subtle heat and scent of her sweat swept past his nose.

"...Good."

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked.

Nikita just nodded, clinging to his back, as he moved to the counter.

The induction stove flickered alive beneath his touch.

Moments later, butter melted across the pan with a rich hiss.

Nikita immediately inhaled deeply as she watched him slowly colour and flip the meat.

"Oh, my god..."

"You sound possessed."

"I think I fell in love again."

He rolled his eyes, slowly checking the firmness with his finger, before removing the large steaks onto a pure white plate.

"You said that earlier."

"Yeah, but now you’re cooking steak."

Despite himself, Nikolai laughed quietly.

"Okay, okay, but let them rest properly... the seasonings here are expensive, so don’t expect too much. I might have messed up a bit."

Nikita blinked, half a steak already hanging from her mouth as she knawed on it like a beast, the excess butter and juice from the meat leaking from her lips, leaving a greasy shine.

"Mmmm~"

"Nikita!"

She ignored his call.

"Forget it, I’ll just cook another."

He shrugged his shoulders and turned away, slowly mixing a slightly heavy peppercorn sauce, along with another sample, trying to match something he saw on the Chew Show during his lazy mornings.

So the crackle of heat leaked from the pan with the sizzle of butter, bacon and the scent of garlic and herbs.

"Waaa! It’s on fire!" Nikita, of course, hid behind the opposite counter, peeking from the top with her little wolf ears and golden eyes. She never once removed her eyes from the movements of his pan while drooling.

Ever hungry for more steak.

Outside the reinforced bunker walls, the world continued collapsing into madness.

But deep underground, surrounded by warm light, expensive silence, and Nikita clinging to him like an affectionate cat beneath her blanket cocoon, the danger from earlier suddenly felt very far away.

’Maybe, I should crush Alucard sooner, rather than later.’

All so he could enjoy this peace.