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

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I was in the car with Aldus, heading to the event organized by the Council, which was on a much smaller scale than the previous one I attended.

Instead of at the massive castle in the mountains, this event was held at an undisclosed location somewhere in Eastern Europe.

Aldus and I reached the private airport South of Warsaw, where a car was arranged for us by the organizer of the event.

The driver told us that it will take about one hour to reach our destination, and since Aldus was lost deep in thoughts, I used this trip to reflect on the latest events.

After collecting samples and data from Duke more than two weeks ago in Munich, Aldus was busy with all kinds of experiments and research.

I spent my weekends with Duke, and over the weekdays I was with Aldus in the lab or in the library, trying to be useful.

Duke's case was specific, and we didn't find documented cases that could help guide us through finding the solution.

We faced too many unknown things, but there was one thing we confirmed with certainty: Duke's wolf is not dead.

Without the presence of his wolf, Duke wouldn't have his strength, speed, vitality, healing, or enhanced senses.

In Munich, Duke performed various exercises and we established that his physical abilities are on par with Lazarus's.

"If your wolf awakens, there is a chance that your abilities will reach another level…", Aldus said to what Duke looked at me with excitement.

I have a feeling that Duke didn't forget our race in the forest which ended with a tie, and he wants to be the winner. He was always competitive and I love that about him, but if he thinks that I will give up without a fight, he has a big surprise coming his way.

Based on deductions, we concluded that his wolf is not dormant due to magic.

Duke was a precious existence to his parents, and they would never leave him unattended. A magic ritual would require time and a stranger lingering around a child (note that werewolves hate witches and such, so anyone close to them with access to Duke, was not a suspect), and doing it without being discovered was close to nil.

This reinforced Aldus's theory that Duke was poisoned.

Aldus had various theories, one worse than another, and the only way for Duke to get his wolf back was in the case his wolf was in a coma and we find a miracle solution to wake him up.

I wondered if maybe it's not destined for Duke to have his wolf. That will be the best for everyone, other than for Duke.

If he doesn't awaken his power, Duke won't be able to fend for himself, and he will always need to hide, or risk being captured or killed.

I knew that Duke was not willing to stay hidden for much longer. That is not in his nature, and I could see Duke's desire to make his presence known by how actively he was working on purchasing assets that used to belong to his father. He did it under a different identity, but someone will connect the dots soon.

Also, because he is with me, people will look into his past and no matter how good Sergio was in hiding their tracks if Aldus found out, others can as well.

The only solution that will work long term is to find a way to awaken Duke's wolf.

The straightforward approach is to identify what made Duke's wolf fall into slumber, but it happened so long ago that we couldn't identify any toxins in Duke's body (assuming that he was poisoned).

Aldus contemplated that we could tap into Duke's memory and see the events from his early childhood, but if the poison was mixed in his food without Duke knowing, it would be useless.

Whatever happened, it was super-secretive, otherwise, Duke's parents would know about it.

This whole research related to Duke's wolf consumed me so much and I barely acknowledged reports that Mona regularly sent me with the information on how Magda's social life is non-existent.

Since her birthday party, Magda was not seen in public. I assumed that she was ashamed of all the gossips that are still trending, but then John called with news about how Magda is stuck in some school in Sweden, and it will take her months before she can step out of that campus.

Of course, John did all that low-key while forbidding Magda to contact any of her friends, and that's why everyone believes Magda is hiding at home while waiting for the scandal to die down.

Even while punishing her, John is making sure that the shame to his family doesn't go out of control.

John is a capable man and if he is not Magda's brother, I would have a more favorable opinion of him. I can't blame him for protecting his own, but he is shielding the woman who tried to kill me (and she succeeded) and I can't get over it.

John believes that by forcing Magda to attend school, she is going to learn her lesson and change her ways, but I have a strong feeling that Magda is pickling in her hatred while coming up with vile schemes to get her hands on Duke (and probably make me suffer a slow and painful death). I'm quite confident that once Magda is out of there, she will be looking for blood.

As much as I would like to check on Magda personally and finish her off, my hands were full with more important things, and Duke and I are closer than ever. She has no chance to come between us, and if she tries to scheme against me, I will make sure it backfires into her face.

John also assured me he is taking over the Giantshade Industries. Good for him.

"We are nearly there…"

Aldus's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I noticed that we are not driving through the dense forest anymore.

We were crossing mostly clear patch land with low foliage and scarce trees, and I could feel the energies of defensive arrays prickling my left wrist as we moved toward the ancient mansion that was peeking between the trees ahead.

"Are you ready?", Aldus asked me, and I knew that he was giving me a chance to change my mind.

"I know what to do.", I assured him.

I wanted to do this. I was sick and tired of everyone protecting me from invisible enemies. I wanted to lure them out and see who dares to try harming me and my family.

If they are bold to attack me now, who knows what they will do once they find out that I'm in a relationship with Mateo Testa, son of the Supreme Alpha?

Even if Duke's wolf awakens, and he becomes super-powerful, there are creatures out there who dared to make a move against Duke's father when he was in his prime, and I had no doubts that they would try to eliminate Duke as a threat for whatever wicked plans they have.

I wanted to weed out enemies as soon as possible so that later we don't end up overwhelmed and drowning in trouble.

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