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

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"Why do you live here?", I asked the old man.

He exhaled and shook his head while remembering unpleasant memories. "It was chaos. Some of us managed to hide, and some were injured and left to rot, but we didn't."

I felt Duke's hand tightening around mine, and I gave him a squeeze in return. I assumed that he didn't recognize this man, but that didn't mean that the story didn't impact him.

Duke was not aware that those were werewolves, but he saw them as people who lived on this land. His friends and neighbors, even if they were strangers.

Luckily, Duke changed quite a bit in the last eleven years and Pio didn't realize that he was standing in front of Mateo.

"I assume there are more of you here.", I said.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Pio nodded.

"How many?", I asked and when he tilted his head, I quickly added, "Don't lie to me. With a snap of my fingers, I can summon my people to sweep the area. Don't make this turn hostile. How many?"

"Forty-one, with me included.", he said grumpily.

"What are you? Omegas? Warriors?"

His eyes flashed as he realized that I know he is a werewolf. "Seven warriors and the rest are Omegas."

"I assume that you were a warrior."

He responded with a nod.

I had another question. "Do you have a leader?"

He shook his head. "We are all equal."

His answer confirmed that they don't have an Alpha and the wheels in my head started turning.

I thought that this will be a good opportunity to make friends and maybe I can turn this into them guarding the area, just how Fynn and his group do for Notte Pharmaceuticals.

This land is massive, and we definitely won't use all of it. Forty werewolves can easily live here and we will never cross paths.

If Duke's wolf awakens, they will pledge loyalty to him, and then Duke can order them around.

I thought that this is a good opportunity to confirm if anyone will recognize Duke. If these forty-one werewolves don't realize that they are standing in front of Mateo Testa, there is a good chance that no one else will.

"Can you summon them?", I asked. "You said that everyone is equal, so I want to talk to everyone and notify you about the changes that will happen here."

Pio put two fingers in his mouth and released a high-pitched whistle.

I could see that he relaxed and I was not sure if that was because his backup was coming, or because he saw that we are not a threat. Maybe a bit of both.

"It must be hard living here, on your own.", I said, and Pio shrugged, indicating that it's not a big deal.

I was hoping to find out more about their situation.

"Do you hunt your food?"

He confirmed. "We take care of our needs, and we don't leave this area often. Secrecy kept us from being hunted."

"Don't worry. We won't spread the word that you are here.", I assured him before asking, "Is there a reason why you didn't join some other pack like other survivors?"

"We all pledged to live and die with the Bluemoon pack.", Pio said solemnly. "Our pack is gone, but that doesn't mean we will go elsewhere only because it's more convenient. We were born on these lands and if anyone wants to chase us away, we will resist."

I liked that he spoke as 'we', confirming that others feel the same.

Some figures started trickling in from the forest. Two guys in their early forties and one middle-aged woman. And then three more guys, and one more… and within a few minutes, I was looking at thirty-something people who were talking with Pio in murmurs.

I cleared my throat, to get their attention. "I understand that a few more people are missing, but we can start without them."

I straightened my back and made eye contact with them while announcing, "My name is Seraphina Mezzanotte, Aldus Mezzanotte is my father."

"A vampire?", a bewildered voice of a woman was heard, and I didn't catch which one was it, but it didn't matter.

"Yes. A vampire.", I confirmed. "I hope you will keep your comments and questions for the end. It won't take long, I promise."

I glanced at Duke. "This is Drago Orsini, my partner and soon-to-be my husband."

Duke squeezed my hand and I barely resisted not rolling my eyes.

His excitement was tangible and I regretted calling him the h-word, but if I just said boyfriend it would not have the same impact.

I forced myself to focus on my audience.

"The Mezzanotte family owns this land now, including the town. We are still acquiring the last few plots on the North and then we will own the whole territory that belonged to the Bluemoon pack. You are welcome to stay here and live, we won't interfere. I hope that in exchange, you can alert us if any intruders come to the area, and we will need to know where your dwellings are so that we don't accidentally disturb you. Drago and I are planning to remodel the mansion and make it our home. If we decide to do anything else, we will let you know so it doesn't come as a surprise. If you prove yourself useful, we might help you in improving your living conditions. What do you say?"

"How can we live with vampires!?", one man in his mid-thirties exclaimed with disgust.

"I don't expect you to live with me.", I snapped at him but all of them lowered their heads.

I didn't have time to think about their submissive behavior, because I was irked by the prejudice.

My conditions were extremely favorable, yet that guy was worried about our food choices. Not to mention that neither I nor Duke are vampires.

"You live in your home, and we will in ours.", I said while suppressing my irritation. "If you don't like your new neighbors who are kind enough to allow you to live on their land, you are free to move. We will not stop you."

I could see them exchanging concerned expressions.

I reached into my purse and got a business card that I gave to Pio.

"Here is the number where you can reach me in case of an emergency. Soon, the engineers will come to inspect the mansion and the construction work will start. If we encounter any problems and you don't report intruders, we will assume it was you. If you end up capturing intruders, keep them in the dungeon and we will deal with them because we will assume they are after us. Drago and I will stop by occasionally to inspect the progress of renovations, and at that time you can discuss any concerns that you might have. Do you have any questions?"

One woman raised her hand before asking, "Do you have any plans for the town?"

I glanced at Duke.

"Not at this moment.", Duke responded. "I would love to revive it, but without people, it won't work. Will you be willing to move in there? Do you have friends or family who would come?"

"You will fix the houses for us?", a question from the crowd came.

"If we come to an agreement, we can provide you with a place to live and work, and we will require you to pay some form of taxes.", Duke said immediately, like he already thought about this.

Duke took over the conversation with the ex-members of the Bluemoon pack, and I looked at him with stars in my eyes.

Duke is a natural leader, and his Alpha was showing.

At that moment, I truly wished that his wolf awakens so that he can lead these people.

With forty-one here and Fynn's group of thirty, he is looking at a pack of seventy-something members. Zoe, Luca, and Ash make three more, and I was confident that would settle all Duke's concerns about the lack of people for the Winter Solstice.

We parted ways with an understanding that we will think about future arrangements, come up with some options, and discuss possibilities next time.

For now, they will stay in their current dwellings, and not disturb the renovation of the mansion.

It was a good deal.

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