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

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Leaving London (and Duke) was extremely difficult as every fiber of my body protested against it.

I told myself that we will see each other in a couple of days in Paris, but it didn't ease my heartache.

To make things worse, Duke came with me to the airport, looking like an abandoned puppy. He was holding my hand and kissing it desperately, and then he would pull me into a tight hug, and we were both a mess.

I was not a bad guy.

It's normal for couples to be apart for some time. It's only for a few days!

Besides… just staying locked up and isolated (and naked) can't be healthy. We need this time apart so that I can get myself together.

Yes, I love him, and yes, I want to be with him, but do we need to go at it all the time, like rabbits?

No matter how much I reasoned that parting from Duke was normal, I couldn't deny that an important piece of me was left behind and I was sure that was my heart.

The loss of Duke's touch was instant and it gnawed my insides, urging me to go back into his embrace.

During the flight, in order to distract myself, I checked the commotion online that was created thanks to Magda's birthday party.

That was only two days ago, yet it seemed like forever.

Between sessions of lovemaking, Duke and I cuddled and skimmed through the trending topics, and I was pleased with the outcome, but now I took the time to read the articles and the comments sections.

I praised Mona and her resourcefulness.

Most of the articles didn't mention me, and those few that did, portrayed me as an innocent bystander. Duke was also kept out of that drama.

The focus was on the Thompson trio.

Based on the articles, after Duke and I left, Magda threw a big screaming fit while destroying the flowers that her father brought for me. It was a big scandal that brought shade to the Thompson family.

Titles spoke about an unreasonable CEO, his hysterical daughter, and a son that was trying to defuse the situation.

I felt sorry for John.

Somehow, I believed that he is one of the good guys and that Magda and his father are dragging him down. Unfortunately for John, he probably won't be able to cut ties with them which means that John will always be in danger of sinking because of his family.

I had no animosity toward Richard (other than thinking that he is an old-fashioned sexist), but Magda was a different story.

I could imagine the society buzzing about Magda as psychotic and spoiled, and I wondered what John will do.

There were also several emails from Mona where she reported what was done. The media influencers she hired picked the sauciest articles and turned them into hot topics.

The peculiar thing was that Mona said how there was close to no one minimized damage for the Thompson family members, and that most of the articles had my name removed before she did anything.

Her report was summarized with, "The Thompson family is good in keeping themselves clean in the eyes of the public, and this means that either their damage-controlling team was on a vacation, or they left it like this on purpose."

I could assume that the old guy and Magda are taking the back seat in this and that John is in charge of handling the media and the image of their family.

Why would John remove my name, yet leave Magda to be bashed like this?

Magda's reputation is ruined and thanks to the media influencers, people won't forget about this incident any time soon.

I saw in the comments section a number of people talking about other unreasonable things Magda did. I didn't know if those were true, and I didn't care, but that definitely added oil to the fire.

In the aftermath of all that mess, I was proud of myself. Not because of the party and what happened there, but because I faced my bully and didn't falter. It made me feel that I can do anything.

Of course, Duke's presence and Aldus's support gave me strength also, but I did it myself.

One more thing I noticed was that Adele, Ruby, and Willow were not present at the party. Considering all the scheming they did with Magda, I thought that they will be invited, but it seems that Magda doesn't socialize (at least not openly) with her henchmen.

…

Aldus welcomed me home with a smile, and he said that he will be waiting for me in his study because there are some things we should talk about.

I went to my room to freshen up and get fresh clothes, convinced that Aldus wanted to talk about Magda's birthday party and its media coverage.

My curiosity was piqued when I noticed Aldus's serious expression.

I was confused. The situation with Magda was handled well, and I assumed that he will be in a mood to celebrate, but what was this?

Ah, he also went to collect necessary data so that we can create protective arrays in Duke's apartment building. Did that go wrong?

"You said that we should talk about something.", I said while taking a seat on the chair opposite Aldus, his executive desk separating us.

Aldus nodded. "It's about Drago Orsini."

At that moment, I remembered that Aldus accompanied me to the sweet shop, and he met Duke in person. I thought Aldus approved of Duke, did I get that wrong?

I told myself not to panic. Ask questions first, Serina. "What about him?"

"There is no easy way to say this, so I will get to the point."

"You are making me nervous."

Aldus raised his hand, indicating for me to be patient.

"I've met Sergio.", Aldus said. "The werewolf who works as Drago's assistant."

I nodded and he continued.

"The thing is that I know him from before. Sergio was the shaman in the Bluemoon pack, and as much as I didn't go into their territory, I met Sergio about two decades ago. He came to me with Damiano Testa and his son. Damiano Testa was the Alpha of the Bluemoon pack."

Aldus paused, giving me time to process this information.

It took me only a second to remember the story.

"Damiano Testa, the Supreme Alpha. His son was human with the healing, speed, and strength of a werewolf. You suspected that his wolf was poisoned, but the boy was too young for tests, and he didn't come again. Did I miss anything?"

Aldus pursed his lips while thinking. "Did I tell you the boy's name?"

I confirmed. "Mateo."

Aldus gave me a knowing look and I blinked. Why is he looking at me like he gave me an important clue?

He is not thinking that my Duke is the Mateo from the story about the Supreme Alpha, right?

No way.

That boy from the story had the Supreme Alpha for a father and a human for a mother. He had healing abilities, and speed, and strength, and he was like a werewolf without a beast, so he couldn't shift, and they raised him like a human, and… my mind went blank.

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