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

- - -

​​

Sergio collected himself and he looked at me gloomily, finally resembling a werewolf instead of a deer caught in the headlights.

"Aldus Mezzanotte. What are your intentions?"

He didn't try to deny that Drago is Mateo.

I noticed his hostility, yet I couldn't make myself care about it.

I was adapting to the revelation that Serina's Duke, aka Drago Orsini, is Mateo Testa.

Since the Soul Echo in Paris, I created numerous theories about his background, yet it never occurred to me that he is the son of the Supreme Alpha, the little boy who was in my lab about twenty years ago.

It was the first time in this century that I was speechless.

From Serina's first dream, I wanted to know Drago's background and now that I knew, I was not sure what to do with this information.

Well, it's no wonder that the boy was keeping up with Lazarus. If Lazarus and Drago fought in wolf form, Lazarus would lose badly. No one can oppose the beast of the Supreme Alpha, assuming that the boy got the gene from Damiano. But if he didn't get it, he would be easily defeated by Lazarus. However, I didn't sense a werewolf when I was with him. Confusing.

I figured that Sergio left Italy with Damiano's son and since then, Sergio is protecting him. Sergio did an amazing job because the boy was still alive despite all the creatures that would pay a hefty amount for his head.

Mateo was known as the faulty heir, the son of the Supreme Alpha without his wolf, but his identity presents a danger to the current order.

It's more than a decade since Damiano's demise, but in the world of creatures, that time is not much and many still remember the Supreme Alpha.

Damiano is a figure people mention with reverence, and his son is a symbol of that might.

The Supreme Alpha is a title that represents legacy, glory, and strength that is worthy of shocking the present and molding the future.

Disposing of Damiano's son (or reeling him in) could bring a change to the existing power struggle among the werewolves, and that would resonate across the world.

I thought he was dead, yet there he was all the time, in London. With Serina. Amazing.

Just like Marius and Lazarus, I didn't sense Drago's wolf, and that only means Sergio didn't find the solution to the problem Damiano asked me to investigate about two decades ago.

Does the boy even have a wolf, or is he a hopeless case? But his astonishing vitality, speed, and strength confirm that there is hope. If his wolf is truly gone, Drago Orsini would be no more than a regular human and no amount of exercise would change that.

I realized that Sergio was still looking at me and expecting an answer. He asked me something and I spaced out.

What are my intentions? What will I do?

I glanced through the display window, and I could see in the sweetshop across the street Serina and Drago sitting at the table, holding hands, and looking at each other, both equally smitten.

There was only one thing for me to do.

"You were there when Damiano asked me to solve the problem that was plaguing his son. I thought the boy was gone, but now that I am aware of his existence, I will fulfill the promise I made to Damiano that day and do my best to diagnose his condition and awaken his wolf."

Sergio eyed me warily. "I didn't know that vampires stick to their word."

We don't.

Vampires don't believe in moral values, Gods, karma, and nonsense that others preach in order to give themselves a purpose and to make impending death bearable.

We are immortals that many consider as Gods, or maybe demons. It's the same thing to me.

Vampires live to fulfill selfish needs and desires, and there is no such thing as camaraderie, code of honor, or caring about other's opinions.

If it's just an empty promise I made to a now dead person, I wouldn't think twice before ignoring it.

At that time, I wanted to help Damiano, but not without benefits. Nothing in this world comes for free, and helping the Supreme Alpha with his predicament definitely brings a lot of benefits.

However, I can't ignore this situation because the young lady across the street is my daughter and her happiness is tied to that young man, Damiano's son.

What kind of twisted reality is this? Two people fell in love, both with powerful backgrounds, with sealed abilities, and unaware of their origins. Sounds like a plot from a cheesy movie.

"I will not expose his existence to the world.", I said, and I saw Sergio relaxing a bit, but his scrutinizing gaze was still on me. I wanted to say that Damiano was my friend, but that would be a lie. I respected his position and power, but there was no friendship involved.

Instead of trying to placate the werewolf in front of me, I decided to move to the point.

"Would you object if I run tests on the boy?"

I would do them anyway, but Sergio's cooperation would make things easier.

Sergio thought for a moment before responding, "The young master believes he is human, and he is not aware of creatures. My Alpha demanded that we keep the young master's identity a secret until his wolf emerges."

Well, that was stupid. Yes, we keep our existence a secret from humans, but that boy is not human; he is the son of the Supreme Alpha, for crying at loud.

How did they manage to keep the existence of werewolves a secret from a boy who grew up in the middle of a pack?

I didn't want to get into why Damiano did it, the point was that I thought it's ridiculous. It's one thing to keep secrets in order not to hurt someone's feelings, but in this case, the boy could really get hurt. Maybe it worked when the boy was in the Bluemoon pack, surrounded by his own kind that would protect him, but here in the open, ignorance can and will kill him.

If I was Sergio, I would tell Drago the truth the moment we arrived in London. Well, that was none of my business.

I wanted to confirm Drago's condition and maybe investigate his abilities in order to keep Serina safe.

Serina. What the hell am I supposed to tell her?

I remember her not giving any thoughts about a relationship with Lazarus because he is a werewolf, and she is not his mate.

What will Serina do when she finds out that the man she is sticking to is kind of a werewolf? And not just any werewolf, but the son of the Supreme Alpha?

I shook those thoughts away. There is no point in overthinking before I get some data. Maybe his wolf will not wake up, and without a wolf, Drago will never have a mate.

One thing is certain, and that is that Drago right now is smitten with Serina.

The Supreme Alpha's gene inside the boy explains the Soul Echo which confirms that Drago is in love with Serina. But is it a mate bond?

"He doesn't need to know anything right now.", I told Sergio. "I only need a DNA sample to run initial tests."

I don't throw anything, and I am confident that I still have Mateo's sample I took when he was a child.

First, I will run the comparison to ensure that's the same person. Part of me hoped that the boy is not Mateo, but a substitute. It would make things simpler.

"I will see to secure you a sample.", Sergio said.

"No need.", I refused him. "I will handle that myself."

"You are leaving?", Sergio couldn't hide his surprise when he saw me heading to the door.

He obviously thought that I approached him with some agenda. Actually, I did, but now it's not important. I got much more than what I hoped for.

"I have things to do." I need to check their apartment building in order to set protective arrays, and while at it, I will take some samples from Drago's apartment, or should I think of him as Mateo now?

"I assume you are here to protect him.", I told Sergio. "Keep on with your work and don't worry, I will not harm your young master. If I do that, my daughter won't forgive me."

---

If you are not reading this at 'W e b n o v e l . c o m', then the content you're reading is stolen! Please support the author by reading this novel from the original source.