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

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Oh, what a bother!

Somehow, I forgot Calista's aversion toward werewolves. She is not going to make a scene, is she?

She is nice and bubbly with me, but with others, Calista shows her haughty attitude and she has no qualms about offending others.

Didn't I tell her that Sergio is a werewolf? Maybe I did but then… maybe I forgot. I was too much into this Calista-meets-Duke part that I forgot to think about anything else.

I could imagine that Calista's expression darkened because Sergio is a werewolf, and because of two women sticking to him. I'm not the one to judge, but those two appeared ready to discard their clothes right there in the booth.

Looking around the nightclub, I could see everyone was posh and dressed in good taste, yet Sergio managed to attract two of the most scarcely dressed women in here.

Way to leave a first good impression, Sergio. Dumbass.

Calista is a party-girl, but she makes sure all the wild stuff happens behind the closed door, while in public she extrudes a royal aura of elegance.

Even if Calista was not with us, Sergio should not act so wantonly when Duke and I are about to join him. If he wanted to get squeezy with women, he should pick another place, and not the booth that was reserved for all of us. Did he think that we will enjoy watching him? Or maybe that we should join in? Very inappropriate.

I didn't want to allow Duke to sit next to any of those two women, so I scooted into the booth first, followed by Duke, and Calista was next.

I noticed that Sergio stared at Calista like a demon possessed his body.

What the heck was wrong with him? What happened with the nasty attitude and snarky comments? Or maybe other than being scared of Aldus, he is scared of Calista also? I thought that Sergio and Calista didn't know each other.

"What will you drink, ladies…", Duke's question directed at me and Calista, got my attention.

I saw that the first thing Duke did was look at the tablet-like menu and change menu options to English, and then he scrolled through expensive cocktails with confidence.

Based on Duke's aloof behavior, I understood that this scene of Sergio with two women was not uncommon.

Calista responded to Duke, "I will take La Fondu Fleurir. It means Molten Blossom."

"Sounds intriguing.", I said.

Calista smiled and licked her lips. "Give it a try. Sweet fire blossoms in your mouth as it dances on your tongue…"

Sergio let out a groan and I glanced at him. His face was flushed, and he was still staring at Calista, but this time he looked like he was in pain.

"Sergio, are you OK?"

His head snapped toward me, like I broke some spell and he stood up abruptly. "Excuse me…"

Sergio literally pushed the woman who was on his left, and she stumbled out of the booth. He walked away with urgency.

I knew that he is a grownup, perfectly capable of looking after himself, but Sergio was definitely out of character. I thought that it must be some werewolf thing, and I decided to check on him.

I was unable to stand up because Duke was holding my hand.

"Where are you going?"

"To see if he is OK.", I responded honestly.

Duke grunted in disapproval. "I will do it."

Calista moved to let him pass, leaving me helplessly looking after him.

I turned to Calista. "I have no idea what happened. Sergio is usually not like this. He is…" I glanced to my left, indicating that I can't talk freely because Sergio's two companions were with us in the booth, and they had no intention of leaving.

Calista sneered at them. "Scram or I will make you."

Both women frowned, and the brunette spoke to Calista, "Why are you so greedy? We can share, no? Or are you so possessive of your man? He is not a soap to wear off."

The redhead spoke to the brunette, "She is upset we snatched that fine man from her. Why should we leave?"

I swear that a vein popped on Calista's perfect forehead. I thought she will murder them on spot, but she raised her hand. A second later, one bouncer was by her side. Calista spoke softly to him, and I observed the two women paling.

"We are sorry. We are leaving…", the brunette said while getting up.

"Too late.", the bouncer responded. "I'm here to escort you out."

He grabbed both women by forearms, pushing them toward the exit, and just like that, they were gone.

"I hope that your mute werewolf friend won't mind that he lost his bed warmers for tonight, but they were dirtying my booth and preventing us from talking openly.", Calista said calmly, like she was discussing the weather.

I waved my hand, indicating that it's not a problem. "He can always find more. Duke told me that Sergio is a player, but this was the first time for me to actually see it. I'm sorry that I didn't think about this before."

Calista smiled at me gently. "Why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong. Some dogs can't be trained."

"Are you saying that some dogs CAN be trained?"

Calista nodded earnestly. "Some can. The little ones that don't turn into humans. These big ones should just be avoided."

I'm always surprised to see Calista's lack of tolerance toward werewolves.

Aldus told me that the grudge between vampires and werewolves is as old as the time and that they have innate repulsiveness against each other.

Calista spent most of her life in Lemuria with vampires, and she was brought up with teachings of how werewolves are inferior and dirty while vampires are graceful and above all other creatures. A few times when she interacted with werewolves, they looked at her with hatred that only confirmed how her prejudice against werewolves was not unfounded, so she gave up on trying to be polite.

After all, Calista is the royal princess of vampires, and she has no need to bow her head to anyone, not even to her own kind.

Calista observed my helpless expression, and she patted my shoulder.

"Don't make such a face, Rina. You can be friends with whomever you like, and I won't interfere as long as they are not bullying you. But I truly hope you don't expect me to fake friendliness toward that werewolf."

I let out a long breath. "Thank you, Cali."

"Don't get sappy on me and focus on what's important. Did your boyfriend order those drinks, or should I?"

"I don't know if he placed an order. But we can just place another one. If it's as good as you say, it won't go to waste even if we double it."

Calista agreed with me and took over the tablet to take care of drinks.

I looked in the direction where Sergio and Duke left. I saw many heads, but not the two I was searching for.

Will Duke be able to find Sergio in this crowd? I wished that I went after Sergio instead of Duke. Even if Duke finds Sergio, what can he do? Ah, it would be so much easier if Duke knew that Sergio is a werewolf.

"What do you think about Duke?", I asked Calista.

"I am glad you found a man who makes you happy. Enjoy it while it lasts."

I knew that Calista doesn't sugarcoat her words. She always says it like it is, but her words made me uneasy. "Eh? You think it will end?"

Calista shrugged. "I haven't seen or experienced love that lasts forever."

Well, me neither, but I heard about it. "What about werewolves who are mated?"

Calista cocked an eyebrow at me. "Neither you nor Drago are werewolves. Why are you comparing yourself to dogs?"

Ah, Calista doesn't know that Duke is Mateo, or the story behind that name. Should I tell her about it? Maybe later, after Duke finds out.

"Would you like me less if I'm a werewolf?"

Calista looked at me like I asked something silly. "I took interest in you because Aldi accepted you as his daughter. And me liking you is all because of who you are. If you are a werewolf, your smell wouldn't be so great, but I don't think I would like you less."

I was happy to hear Calista's words, and I hoped that she will be so open-minded when she finds out who Duke's father was.

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