Not long after they finished discussing business, a contract lay on the table. It would reward Ivan with [10,000,000] a year, and he would fight in battles that benefited the Fenrir Clan for the next two years.
He couldn't discuss or tell his family or others of the deal, and in return, the Fenrir Clan would hide the truth about [Nikolai Volkov] being the first hybrid to survive to adulthood.
"Damn…you really grew in these twenty years, Dmitri."
"Really? It's quite the compliment coming from you. Have you forgotten who used to rule half of this city with just a handful of wolves?"
"Don't speak about old things…I am rusty now, and no one knows my name."
"Your boy will do the same, haha. I believe Nikita will probably drag him into this life. Will you be mad at her if she does?"
Ivan took a drag of the expensive cigar that Dmitri lit for him before he leaned back against the couch.
"How can I blame that boy? Do you know that he lived a miserable life for these twenty years? He thought I was sick, and all his money was given to pay for the house, bills and my health…He's just as kind as his mother."
"Well, I won't say Nikita didn't complain and tell me to do something a few times, haha…she thinks I hate your son now."
"Hahaha, she's just like Eva. I am sure that Nikolai won't be able to escape her grasp easily, but that Tepes girl. She seems to be dangerous. That girl is Nikolai's type."
Dmitri looked interested; he lifted his eyebrows while taking a puff of his cigar. "Oh? What do you mean?"
"He likes girls who act tough and strong, but in reality, they are soft and caring once they fall in love. Not to mention he always buys porn mags with masochistic women…Haha, I bet it would kill him if he knew I saw them!"
"…"
Ivan and Dimitri spent close to an hour discussing various things from their life as kids.
The time since they parted, and soon it became clear their friendship never vanished. Ivan just presumed it did the same for Dimitri.
"I'll probably be heading out now. I have to make some calls and make sure the apartment is tidy."
Dmitri watched as Ivan left, not even waiting for his reply, a bitter look on his face while shaking his head. He knew Ivan didn't like goodbyes and would never take too long once he did something.
So he didn't take it personally. Instead, he picked up his phone and dialled a number.
Brrr
Brrr
"Hello darling~ you're not with any filthy, thieving bitches, right?" A harsh, feminine voice sounded on the other side. This was Eva, the mother of Nikita and the shadow ruler of the Fenrir clan.
'How can a voice be so kind…gentle, and so terrifying at once!'
"My love, my honey, my baby! I just met with someone interesting! You'll never guess, but it was Ivan!"
His wife didn't respond straight away. He could hear her thinking. He imagined her cute mannerisms while feeling terrified that he might make a mistake and make her doubt him at the same time.
"Hmmm…. do you mean THAT Ivan… the one with the huge…Co—"
"Yes…but why do you women always obsess over that topic… Ahem! I am not small either!"
"Yes, yes, it's huge, and nobody compared, my lovely puppy~ come home to me. I'm a little lonely, and Nikita is being strange; it's like when she entered heat for the first time and almost ravished Ivan's poor son."
"No, well, Ivan will be fighting for us for two years in the arena! It seems he's back; something to do with Nikolai, who seems to have finally awakened!"
Dmitri expected his wife to be as shocked as him, but she just let out a slight hmmm sound. "Well, I know, Nikita told me and showed me pictures of how he's grown…He's JUST like his father… maybe the same length but even thicker. I worry my daughter is going to be broken when she mounts him for the first time."
'…My dear wife, why do you speak as if it's a done deal? I won't hand my lovely Nikita to that family of beasts!'
Defeated, Dmitri listened to his wife, who started to complain. His eyes became dull as he looked out at the distant exit where Ivan surely escaped a long time ago.
'My friend, women are truly scary.'
****
Meanwhile, standing outside the arena Ivan's face looked slightly better than when he last appeared with Nikolai. While walking towards a dark part of the slums, he takes out an oddly expensive smartphone, something he could never have afforded before.
On the dark street corner with a broken lamp, Ivan's breath was visible in the cold city evening. He began to write a message to his son but couldn't quite come up with the details. 'Let's call Vlad…That prick better not cause troubles for my son again.'
He then began to type the number he remembered while thinking of the information he learned tonight.
"My son, you are an existence that can ignore the rules of normal monsters... Don't think I don't know why you might have become a squire. I know you did it for me. You choose this path. Some may mock you. However, I am proud."
Then he finally dialled a number.
A lovely woman answered the phone, her voice fluffy and cute. It seemed a little nostalgic for Ivan as he took a deep breath, remembering his youthful days when he first met Eliza.
"Is Vlad there? It's Ivan."
"Oh, my? Ivan~ I've not spoken to you since you and Eliza got married, fufu. How are you now? Your son seems to have caught my girl's eyes, fufu, just like you caught mine before I lost to your lovely wife and realised that Vlad was quite gentle and cute, too!"
"Let's not speak about old days... if Nikolai finds out, he might think badly of his father..."
"Fufufu, it's so lovely to hear you being so serious when you used to be such a playboy. I'll let Vlad know to stop getting involved; it's about Sebastian, right? He's your fan and got too excited... but Nikolai, huh... what a lovely boy~ He really is your son. I hear that with a single attack, he scared Sebastian's face and no matter how much we tried to heal it, it won't heal~ fufufu. I wonder if my little Scarlet princess will end up falling for him. Vlad wants her to marry a vampire... but I know how AMAZING you werewolves are."
"..."
Their conversation lasted several minutes, with her taking messages and speaking about how she misses Elizabeth and Ivan himself, inviting him to their home to discuss things like marriage, engagement and the whole situation and that she would have words with Vlad to stop being jealous of Ivan.
"Fufu, make sure you don't become a stranger; I know where your son is now and can go and play with him~ hehe. Will Vlad think I'm cheating with a younger man? Oh my, that's not good, is it?"
"Haa…. take care of yourself. I have to get going, and please try to take care of Nikolai; he's lacking motherly love and affection from mature and beautiful women like you."
Beep Beep!
He cut the call
'Sorry, son…you can blame your dad all you like. But this woman doesn't stop speaking the moment she gets a thought in her mind!'
Ivan seemed embarrassed and eventually put down the phone... He started to enter Nikolai's number but wrote his feelings in a simple text.
Although Ivan loved his son more than anything, he struggled with showing it off.
[Good work, I'm proud of you]