Twilight Requiem

Him Growing Up

After Camilla and Liam explained everything to Ivan, his young mind was confused at first, but he gradually understood it as he explored and observed everyone in their little community.

He also understood that his grandma, Camilla, is not a normal grandma but a Queen who rules people. He also realized that his mother is a princess, and being her son made him a prince. His cousins helped him understand things as well. Ivan grew more attached to Zander as he was the one who was always with him.

Despite having a lot of questions for his mother, he maintained his distance as everyone told him that she was not well, especially when his Uncle Creon had to step in and give her medical help. Despite all of that, Ivan misses his mother so much that he would sit and guard outside her door.

While his mother was recovering, Ivan continued to observe everyone. At the same time, he found out something about himself. It wasn’t that long before he realized why he could hear better than the kids in his old school; now he also realized that he could hear animals. Ivan was stoked when he realized that he could communicate with animals, and because of that, he was surrounded by animals all the time, whether it was wild animals or pets of the people around him.

Aside from the ability to talk to animals, Ivan also gained the gift of moving objects with his mind, just like everyone in the family. The boy was also thrilled about that ability as he could make his toys fly, making it more entertaining.

Soon, Calie went back to work, and then she found out about her son’s newly found gift. She asked her family to evaluate her son and help him harness his gift. During this time, Calie would take a couple of breaks from her missions and focus on helping Ivan with his gifts.

Years have passed, and Ivan got another gift when he was ten. He got the gift of controlling the wind just like his mother. Calie was delighted about it and personally trained Ivan in using that gift; at the same time, Ivan began his training in combat.

Being a royal didn’t change Ivan; he was still the same down-to-earth boy who grew up in the suburbs of Seattle. He was smart and obedient, but he speaks his mind and is not fond of being referred to as Prince Ivan. He likes it when he is being treated like everyone else, just Ivan. He figured that his cousins could have that limelight as focuses more on his training.

Ivan was about sixteen when he went through his first ascension, or when his vampire side began to awaken. Calie was there with him to guide and help him control his thirst. When they thought Ivan could focus on his vampire training, on the night of his birthday, he shifted into his Lycan for the first time. Just like the rest of his family, his Lycan’s fur was white as snow, and he towered over other wolves with his size.

Calie was there with him, and she shifted into her Lycan to join him on his first run. Ivan’s Lycan Casper was a scared little pup, and he was fortunate that Calie’s Lycan Cassandra was there with him to guide him. The rest of the royals present shifted to their Lycans as well, and they welcomed Casper as a member of their family.

Ivan grew up to be a perfect gentleman, smart and a total prince charming, after years had passed since his first shift. At eighteen, he graduated from high school and chose to pursue veterinary medicine at UCLA.

Before Ivan left for college, he and Calie went to visit Ian’s grave in Seattle. Ever since Ian passed away, Calie and Ivan have never set foot in Seattle again, and they have never dared to visit Ian’s grave until now. Calie has gathered all the strength she can muster to see her mate’s grave finally.

Calie put the bouquet of white lilies they bought on top of Ian’s headstone before she crouched down and traced Ian’s name with her fingertips.

“Baby, I am here,” Calie spoke.

“I finally had the courage to visit you. I am so sorry for abandoning you for years, not visiting you even once. I was so heartbroken, and until now, I am still grieving losing you.”

Ivan put her hand on his mother’s shoulder, and then Calie smiled.

“You know, Ivan grew up to be a handsome young man, just like you when I first met you. He’s also smart and a perfect gentleman, and he’s going to college now.”

Calie paused and sighed.

“I just wish you were here to see him off,” Calie continued, and then tears brimmed in her eyes and began to roll down her cheeks.

“Baby, you have no idea how much I miss you every single day that you are not beside me. It took me so long to come back here because I don’t have the courage. I fear that I will break down once I come here…”

Calie paused as she cupped her mouth with her hand, silencing her sobs. Ivan then crouched down next to her, pressing his cheek against his mother’s arm.

“You muster the courage to come here, and I am pretty sure Papa understood, and he loves you nonetheless. Stop crying, mama. Papa doesn’t like seeing you cry, and you’ll get wrinkles,” Ivan told her, wiping her cheeks with his hand.

Calie cried more, but there was a faint smile behind it. Then she looked at Ian’s headstone.

“See that? Our boy is just a perfect young man; a charmer and an ass all rolled into one.” Calie said, chuckling.

Ivan chuckled as well, and then he sighed as he looked at his father’s headstone.

“Papa, I’m off to college now. I want to be a vet and help animals since I can speak to them. Then after getting a degree…” Ivan trailed as he stood up with his head still hanging low.

“I also wanted to travel the world, and then I’ll try to be a teacher,” Ivan continued.

Calie whipped her head towards her son and stood up after she heard what he said.

“What are you talking about? What travel? What teacher? Why am I hearing those things now? Are you planning to leave me for a very long time?” Calie spat questions.

Ivan looked at his mother with a small smile on his lips. Then he held his mother by her shoulders at arm's length.

“Please understand that I want to explore the world, Mama. All my life, I have been in Seattle and Stone Castle, and I wish to see the world outside the walls of the kingdom. Also, I want to have my own identity. I want to be myself, not Prince Ivan.” Ivan told her.

Calie stared at her son as she saw herself in him at that moment. She remembered longing to see what was behind the walls of their castle, the places beyond their territory. She sneaked out several times despite her parents’ warnings.

Calie looked at Ivan as if she were looking back at what she was in the past. Her son also wanted to explore and step out of the shadow of her royal family. Calie then let out a sigh of defeat and looked down, tears once again welled up in her eyes.

“If you leave, I will miss you.”

Calie cried, and then Ivan smiled softly at her before pulling her in a hug.

“I will miss you too, Mama. Just remember that I am doing this for myself,” he said.

Calie nodded her head as she hugged her son back. Calie closed her eyes, dreading the day that her only son leaves her side to chase his dreams. While hugging Ivan, she glanced at her mate’s headstone, thinking and hoping that Ian would watch over their son wherever he is.

When Calie pulled away from that hug, she wiped her cheeks and smiled at Ivan. She was about to speak when they heard a soft whimper. They both looked around, searching for where the whimpers were coming from. Then a German shepherd puppy suddenly came out behind the headstone.

Both mother and son were surprised to see the puppy. When it sat in front of Calie with its tongue out, Ivan looked at it intently.

‘I love you,’

Ivan was taken aback when he heard the puppy. He kept hearing it say I love you while looking at his mother. Ivan figured that the puppy had imprinted on his mother. He then looked at his mother.

“He likes you, Mama,” Ivan said, and Calie looked at him.

“What?”

“The puppy seemed to have imprinted on you. You have to take him home,” he told her.

Calie was baffled by it, and then she looked at the puppy. The little golden retriever pup was so cute, with its adorable face, that Calie couldn’t help but fall in love with it. Calie sighed and crouched down in front of the pup. She then began stroking its head, and the puppy started wagging its tail. The puppy looked really happy when it jumped into Calie’s arms and started licking her face.

Calie giggled as she picked up the puppy.

“Oh, my goddess, that’s ticklish,”

Ivan crossed his arms over his chest as he watched his mother and the puppy.

“See? I told you, he likes you,” he told her, smiling.

After that visit to Seattle, they went home with the puppy they soon called Jackie. Since they found him near Ian’s grave, they named it Jackie, a nod to Ian’s surname, Jackson.

Ivan then soon left for college, where he diligently studied and lived like a normal human being. Ivan felt like he was living the life he once lived in Seattle with his parents, where he didn’t know that he was half supernatural.

Since he did well in certain subjects in high school, it was easy for him to get into a bachelor's degree in animal or biological science. During his stay at the university, he met several people, some humans that he grew close to and considered friends.

He would occasionally go out and have fun with them, but most of the time, Ivan just stays in his dorm and studies.

Studying to be a vet is both difficult and easy for him. Difficult in the sense that he had to learn and memorize theories and procedures, but easy when it comes to dealing with animals, as he can speak to them.

It took Ivan about six years until he got his license, and when he did, he came home to Stone Castle, only to surprise his family that he would now study to become a teacher.

“What?”

“Aren't you tired of studying?”

“Are you going to study different courses all your life?”

His cousins asked.

Ivan just smiled at them.

“I kind of like studying,” he answered, and his cousins once again bombarded him with question after question.

Camilla and Liam looked at Ivan as he responded to his cousin’s questions before looking at Calie, who was calmly eating her food. Calie knew about her son’s decision, and she had already come to terms with it. She already accepted that her son cannot be tied to their home and do business like the others; he has a free spirit that wants knowledge and to see the world.

“Are you really okay with this, Calina?” Zab asked her sister.

Calie looked at her and then at Ivan, before looking back at Zab and smiling.

“Yeah. I don’t want to be a controlling mother who hinders her son’s dream,” she answered.

Ivan smiled at his mother.

‘Thanks, Mom,’ Ivan told his mother through their mind link.

Camilla let out a sigh and smiled.

“If that is what Ivan wanted, then who are we to stop him?” she said and motioned for everyone to keep eating.

Ivan stayed in Stone Castle for a quick vacation before he started his new journey. During his stay, the odd feeling Ivan has been feeling for years has grown worse than before.

That feeling started when he was halfway through his vet studies. He noticed that his thirst for blood had increased, more than how he felt before when he was growing up. He dismissed it, thinking that it was all because of the stress from all the studying. He just ordered more of his blood supply.

Since he ascended, he has never tasted fresh human blood, as Calie and the rest of the family trained him to drink the modified blood substitute made up of a small amount of human blood, animal blood, and a lot of artificial plasma.

It was during his finals when he first experienced the intense bloodlust that he passed out in his dorm and woke up the next day in an alley with two dead bodies next to him, and he was drenched in blood. In surprise and fear for his situation, he suddenly developed another gift, teleportation.

His acquired gift has transported him to his dorm room, where he feels safe. Ivan was confused about what had happened to her the night before. He couldn’t understand, and he was scared.

He thought that incident wouldn’t happen again, but he was wrong. It happened several times again, and Ivan kept it for himself. But when, during his cousin Zander’s visit, it happened again. When he teleported back to his dorm the next day, all bloody, Zander was there waiting for him.

Zander was horrified to see his youngest cousin covered in blood, eyes wide in fear. That day, Ivan finally told Zander about his condition. Zander urged Ivan to tell the family and seek help, but Ivan stubbornly refused. Zander pressed on the matter until they finally reached a compromise that he would tell everyone once he came home after finishing his studies.

Zander, not wanting to add to Ivan’s stress, agreed on the condition that he would call him if the incident happened again. So far, after that day, it never happened again, so Ivan thought what happened to him was just a phase.

But now that he is home, in his own room, he has started feeling the same odd feeling. Ivan clutched his head as he began to feel dizzy, accompanied by a splitting headache. Ivan gritted his teeth as he walked towards his door, but before he could reach for the doorknob, his vision blurred, and the next thing he knew, he felt lightheaded, and everything went dark.