Author's note: this chapter is from Seraphina's point of view

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As we progressed through our meal, I was full of questions but mostly curious about Aldus and what he was doing during the last three days. Was his business related to immortals? Probably. I decided to see how much Aldus is willing to share with me.

"How was your trip?"

Aldus thought for a second as if he is picking the words, but then he surprised me with his blunt response: "There was a number of attacks on humans in the last month on Lazarus's territory, and that is why he called for me to investigate. We found a demolished campsite and six campers were dead. The good thing is that the site was fresh, so we were able to track down werewolves who were behind it. We tracked them and punished them."

"You punished them?", I asked, obviously asking to hear more details.

"I didn't kill them.", Aldus responded with a straight face before a small smirk appeared at the edge of his lips. "But I delivered a message that if they don't control their urges, there will be no more forgiveness."

I felt that is not right. "They killed six people and you let them off with a warning?"

"I gave them more than a verbal warning. It will take them some time to heal even with their abilities.", Aldus assured me before explaining further. "We kill non-humans only if they expose themselves on purpose or if they are repeated offenders. I know that these five werewolves were behind this attack on the campsite, but I don't have any proof that they are behind previous attacks. Other sites were too old to catch any scent and Lazarus's people cleaned up the evidence while trying to keep it so that humans don't find out about it."

"Five werewolves?", I said under my breath. With Lazarus, that makes six. The thought of six Lazarus-like guys made me nervous. Would all of them hug and sniff me?

"How many werewolves are in this area?"

Aldus shrugged. "Who knows? It could be hundreds."

I was not sure if I heard him right. "Hundreds? Is that in Italy, or in Europe? Or are we talking about the world in general?"

Aldus chuckled, my expression of horror was probably comical for him. "Don't be surprised, Serina. I told you that there are many creatures who live as humans. We learned to conceal our presence in order to preserve peace. Humans think that we either don't exist or that we are few in numbers. If we reveal ourselves, they will be in a shock of a lifetime and once they come out of it, the war would begin like no other."

I understood this point. If people know about werewolves, vampires, and other creatures I read about in the books, people would either go crazy from fear or from greed and try to become one. Or maybe they would start catching creatures and dissecting them in order to extract various abilities and create super-soldiers. I can imagine that a platoon of werewolves can cause some serious damage.

"You went to investigate and deliver punishment. Does that make you law enforcement?"

Aldus tilted his head. "You can say that."

"Do you have a boss?"

"There is a council of creatures that has a goal to maintain order and balance. I work for that council."

I paused. Aldus's work and position sound super-important. "Are you sure it's OK for me to know all this?"

"You are an immortal.", Aldus said matter-of-factly. "Every non-human should know that there is someone who is watching."

"Is someone watching you?"

Aldus smirked. "What do you think?"

"You appear to be someone important.", I shared my thoughts.

"I wouldn't say important. More like… careful not to attract attention, and wise enough to know that a position of power ensures my freedom."

I was back to the topic of werewolves. "Does the council know how many werewolves are in the area?"

Aldus shook his head. "People get turned and werewolves die. Unless someone important perishes or there is a big change that attracts attention, the council will not bother with it."

I took that as a 'no'. But is it possible that no one is monitoring creatures? "Is there no way to know how many werewolves are out there and where they are?"

"A powerful Alpha would know."

"Alpha? A leader?" I knew this one from the books. Alpha is the king of werewolves and he rules with his queen (aka Luna) by his side.

Aldus confirmed with a hum.

I waited for him to speak, but he was silent, so I had to ask: "Is there an Alpha nearby?"

With Lazarus and who knows how many other werewolves in the area, there should be an Alpha. Or so I thought.

Aldus pressed his lips into a line, and he appeared sad for a moment before he looked at me and said: "Not so long ago, there was a powerful Alpha who ruled a large pack with hundreds of werewolf warriors. Also, other packs acknowledged him as the supreme Alpha. He had under his command all werewolves that lived in Europe and Eastern Asia. The ones who didn't submit to him, respected him."

"What happened to him?", I asked, unable to contain my curiosity as I noticed that Aldus said how the Alpha was very powerful, yet he spoke about him in the past tense. Is that Alpha dead or stripped off from his powers?

"About thirty years ago, he found his mate and that was the beginning of his doom."

I was confused. Isn't finding a mate something rare and great? If they are soulmates, being together should make them stronger. How can that be his doom?

"Finding a mate should be a good thing, right?"

"Normally, yes. But he was a powerful leader of beasts, and his mate was a weak human girl."

When Aldus dismissed me or Maria as Lazarus's mates, I assumed that it's because were are not werewolves. I wanted to confirm. "Human and a werewolf? That is possible?"

Aldus confirmed. "Most of the time, mates are found within the same species, but shapeshifters are half-humans and half-beasts, and sometimes the mate is found in one of the halves."

"If it happens that a werewolf and a human are mates, do humans also feel that attraction, or is it only the werewolf?"

Aldus thought for a second. "For werewolves, when they meet their mate, it is something like an obsession where they would do anything in their power to keep their mate happy. The human mate will not have such strong feelings, but there will be an undeniable attraction, and if nurtured well it can bloom into long-lasting love. I told you that mates are like two halves of the same soul and they each desire to become complete. Werewolves react stronger to their mates compared to humans because of their beast, so their feelings are more animalistic. Werewolves have an irresistible urge to protect, cherish, and possess their mate while disregarding anything else."

I was drawn to find out more. "Can you tell me the story of that couple? Of the supreme Alpha whose mate was a human female."

Aldus leaned into his chair and started telling the story…

"Damiano Testa was very powerful, the supreme Alpha. Everyone either respected him or feared him, yet his mate was a fragile human. Factions were formed as not everyone agreed to accept a weak human as their Luna. The internal war started and to make things worse, it took them years to conceive a child. It was a boy named Mateo, and unfortunately… he took after his mother. It's not that it would make difference. Even if Mateo was a werewolf, the ones who believed in purebloods would find faults with the boy and not accept him as their next Alpha..."

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