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

- - -

​​

I watched the scene unfolding in front of me in disbelief. Three teenage shifters were pledging their allegiance to Serina.

For creatures that follow the strong one, them looking at Serina instead of Lazarus is unprecedented.

She is not even a werewolf!

My mind churned with her memory from when she was murdered. Serina was changing her form, so she was definitely a shifter. What kind of shifter? I really need to figure out the mystery behind it!

"We promise to follow you.", the girl spoke to Serina pleadingly.

"You will be our Luna.", one of the boys said.

Serina's eyes snapped at me, obviously expecting guidance.

I didn't know what to say. I was flabbergasted, just like she was.

What's with Serina and animals?

But I couldn't say that she is on her own. After all, I am her father. I decided to ask some questions.

I stood in front of the kneeling youngsters. "Do all of you want to follow her?"

They nodded.

"Why?"

"We are not treated well…", the boy on the left started talking, and the girl cut him off, "Because we want her to be our Luna."

They were talking in sync, which was a giveaway they were using a mental link to communicate and that meant they belong to the same pack. Definitely not rogues.

Lazarus snorted. Other than disliking these youngsters for causing trouble on his territory, it was obvious that his ego took a hit because they were currying favor from Serina while ignoring him. For a prideful guy like Lazarus, that's a big deal.

"Do you even know what Luna is?", Lazarus asked condescendingly.

The blonde boy responded, "We have Luna in our pack."

"Why do you need another one? Do you want your Alpha to have two wives?", Lazarus continued in the same tone but this time laced with irritability.

"It's not another one, she will be the only one.", the boy ended by gesturing toward Serina.

The girl slapped the blonde boy's shoulder. "Show respect. How can you address Luna as 'she'?"

"I don't know her name.", he defended himself.

Serina's eyes were so wide, that they almost formed perfect circles and I could see invisible question marks hovering around her.

She shook her head and composed herself. On the outside, at least.

"My name is Seraphina.", Serina said to the kids while gesturing for them to stand up.

I didn't care about pleasantries as I needed to clarify a few things.

"She can't marry your Alpha."

The girl shook her head vigorously. "Not marry him. We will join her pack."

"You want to leave your pack and follow Serina as your Luna?"

Three youngsters nodded.

"Is that possible?", Serina asked while her eyes darted between me and Lazarus.

"Yes.", Lazarus responded. "There is a ritual we can do and…", he glanced at me before speaking to Aldus. "How can she be a Luna? Seraphina has no Alpha, and she is not a werewolf. They want to join her pack? Seraphina does not have one."

"We don't care. We will be her pack.", the girl said. She paused when she realized that Luna is the wife of an Alpha. "There is no rule that Alpha needs to be male."

The blonde boy nodded in agreement. "Seraphina will be our Alpha."

"What are your names?", Serina asked.

The girl responded. "I'm Zoe, Alpha. This is Ash…", she gestured toward the boy on her left, before pointing at the other one, "And this is Luca."

"Please, call me Serina.", Serina insisted before observing the youngsters with sadness flickering in her eyes. Was she comparing their state with her depressing childhood stories? Probably.

"How old are you?", Serina asked.

"I'm fourteen, Ash and Luca are thirteen, Alpha."

"I will be fourteen next month.", the boy named Ash said.

Serina looked at them pitifully and then her gaze found me again.

Is she planning to adopt them?

If I knew it will come to this, I would let her take that small puppy we found in the alley at the fair in Genoa. This… these are three teenage werewolves!

"Let's clean up this place first. Everyone could use a good meal and a shower, and then we can talk.", I said, before Serina suggests we take them home with us.

The kids were looking at her pleadingly, and I knew that is her weakness. It was only a matter of time before she says that we should take them and I was not sure if I will be able to say 'no' to Serina.

"I assume we can spend the night at your place?", I asked Lazarus to what he reluctantly agreed.

It was not much of a difference to head to my villa, but that would be one step closer to adopting these teenagers, and I wanted to postpone that as long as possible.

I was curious to find out more about the reason why the youngsters (and Lazarus) froze. Was it because of Serina's shout for them to stop fighting?

It was not wise to investigate it in front of Lazarus because if that was due to Serina's power, he should not know about it. Kids might buy it as something Luna can do, but Lazarus would see through that story because he is one of the few who will not submit, no matter who issues the command, yet he froze when Serina shouted to stop. Intriguing…

- - -

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

- - -

I wanted to help with cleaning up the place, but everyone around me could lift things ten times my weight like it's nothing. They were stronger and faster, the skinny teenagers included, so Aldus told me to sit this one out because I was getting in the way.

I sat on the side and tried to ignore the bodies and stench of blood around me while thinking about Zoe, Luca, and Ash and their request for me to be their Luna (or is it Alpha?).

I was flattered that they see me as a role model, but I am not a leader material. I can't take care of myself, adding three teenagers is out of the question. But if I refuse them, what will happen? Lazarus already declared his stance that he is not interested in taking them in, and Aldus is not that type either.

I assume there are no orphanages or sanctuaries for werewolves so… what will happen to them if I reject to take them in?

They added more logs to the campfire and used its flames to burn the corpses as well as anything else that didn't belong in the forest.

I observed Zoe, Ash, and Luca. All three of them followed instructions without complaints. They seemed relieved that four older werewolves were gone, and they didn't show any emotions about their friend who was murdered in front of their eyes.

I was an odd one, shaken up by nine murders, five that happened only a few steps away from me. Others acted as nothing unusual happened.

I wondered, how come it's possible that the teens are not shaken up by the death of their friend? Later, I found out that the third boy was from another pack. They knew him as Costa, and that he was a loner, and that's it.

It didn't take long to clean up the place and we were ready to leave.

"Before we go…", Lazarus spoke to Zoe, Luca, and Ash. "I need you all to denounce your pack. Since you will join Seraphina's pack, you need to leave yours."

I glanced at Aldus, and his expression told me not to meddle.

"How do we do that?", Luca asked Lazarus anxiously.

"Say your full name, and that you are leaving the Dark Walkers pack."

Zoe was the first one. "I, Zoe Accardi, am leaving the Dark Walkers pack."

A second later she grimaced and clutched her chest.

"Don't worry. That is normal and it will pass in a few seconds.", Lazarus assured Zoe.

Luca was next. "I, Luca Accardi…"

I noticed that they have the same last name.

"Are you cousins?", I asked Zoe, my assumption was based on the last name and that they are so close in age.

"Luca is my half-brother. Same father.", Zoe said with a stiff expression and I guessed that's the topic she doesn't want to talk about.

After Ash denounced his pack, we started walking back toward the helicopter.

"What happened with my chest when I denounced my pack?", Luca asked Lazarus.

"The bond was broken. Your Alpha felt it as well."

Three teens exchanged nervous glances.

"What if he comes after us?", Ash asked nervously.

"Now that the bond is broken, he can't track you even if you try to communicate with him.", Lazarus said with a smirk and I had a feeling that was the reason why he made them leave their pack before we left that bloodied clearing.

I noticed the teens exchanging confused expressions. "Is something wrong?"

"Our mental link is not working.", Luca responded.

"Only members of the same pack can share a link.", Lazarus said with a chuckle. "You are officially rogues."

The kids were visibly nervous.

"We are in Seraphina's pack.", Zoe said with urgency.

"She still didn't accept you.", Lazarus said with malice in his voice. What's his problem?

I exhaled in frustration. "Let's not talk about it until we all shower and eat. OK?"

I needed to talk to Aldus and figure out this mess. I had no idea what I was supposed to do, but I knew that I couldn't leave these youngsters to fend for themselves.

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