White Wolf Read-Along: Chapter Seven

He always tells the truth...except when it comes to admitting that he's in love. Oh, Nik. 

Sasha's on his way to Moscow in Chapter Seven, and he's understandably frightened. 

This is a short chapter, without much plot movement, but it does two things. One: we catch a glimpse of Philippe using a little magic on Sasha. All that drugged-out calm he feels at the start of the chapter isn't natural; Philippe can't compel with the strength of a vampire, but he's dampening Sasha's panic here. 

Sasha didn't register most of what he said, because the strangest sense of calm had come over him once the train started moving.

 

Two, and this is the most important, we see the beginning of Nik and Sasha's relationship. 

The captain's face softened. He didn't smile, but the tension in his jaw eased, and his eyes grew warmer - summer storm clouds rather than winter. "You don't need to be frightened of us. My men and me."

Sasha felt his brows go up. 

A corner of the captain's mouth twitched; Sasha thought he almost smiled. "We're just following orders. It's Monsieur Philippe who has ideas."

 

Nik's comment here about not being "a nice man," is a true one. He's done unspeakable things as a Chekist, but not because he enjoyed them. And while he certainly isn't "nice," with his prickly exterior, his cold facade conceals a very, very tender heart, as we'll come to learn as the series progresses. His grief over losing Dmitri is still raw, and he loathes the idea of subjecting a "volunteer" to Philippe's machinations already. But then he sees Sasha for the first time, and, boom, instant attraction. He's shoving his feelings down ruthlessly, especially after Dima's death, but he falls hard and fast for Sasha in the early days of their mission. He refuses to acknowledge this, even to himself, because he's frightened, and repressed, and this is the Soviet Union in the forties. It's more important that he keep Sasha safe than to indulge in finer feelings.