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

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We spent hours on that picnic blanket on a clearing in the middle of the forest.

Duke had a million questions, and I did my best to answer them.

I was pleasantly surprised to see he took it all logically and without panic. I was not sure if he was so calm because he still needed to process the information or because what I said finally filled the gaps he had.

I struggled for days (or was it weeks?) to accept the reality that creatures live among humans, even with Aldus and Lazarus under my nose, and Duke accepted it like I just told him there is another brand of cereal in the grocery store.

Duke was hurt that all those people concealed the truth from him. That part will take time to heal.

I wondered how the relationship between Duke and Sergio will change now, or if it will change at all, but that was something I didn't want to meddle with. They are two big boys, I was sure they will manage.

Duke wanted to know more about werewolves and their abilities.

"So, you are saying that with my nose I should be able to distinguish creatures?"

"I don't know if you can smell them, or if your wolf can sense those things and tell you about it."

"My wolf…", Duke murmured, and I knew that we were back to our starting point. He looked at the paper that came out of Aldus's lab nearly two decades ago. "What can you tell me about this?"

"My father suspects that someone poisoned you when you were a child. He is not sure if the target was you, or just your wolf. The outcome of that act is that your wolf became unreachable. Normally, when you hit your early teens, you should be able to feel the presence within you, something primal that makes you act on an instinct. As time goes by, you would learn to shift into your wolf form and communicate with your wolf clearly. From that point, you and your wolf are sharing one body and two forms."

"I don't have a wolf.", Duke said dejectedly.

"My father wants to run more tests and confirm if your wolf is in some kind of a coma, or if he is completely gone. In case of a coma, there is a chance that we could make the antidote and wake him up. If you want that, of course."

Duke listened carefully to my every word. "Is that the reason why you told me about what I am, because your father wants to do tests on me?"

"That was one of the reasons.", I admitted. "The second one is that I love you and I want to be with you. Even before finding out about your identity, I was planning to tell you about the creatures. I didn't want to conceal what I am because sooner or later you would see that I'm secretive and without explanations, that would only create gaps in our trust and relationship." I let out a long breath. "I feared if you will accept me because I'm different, and now I fear if you will accept me because I'm below you."

Duke frowned. "Below me?"

"Did you forget that you are the werewolf king? Compared to that, I'm no one."

Duke snorted. "How much I understood, I can't be a king without a wolf. So, I'm just a man who is a bit faster and stronger than other humans. Don't look down on yourself, Serina. No matter what you are, and what I am, I am yours and you are stuck with me."

I was glad that he reassured me. I needed that.

Duke narrowed his eyes. "Can I assume that you randomly passing out was not a disease?"

I felt the heat building in my cheeks. "It was not random." It was after an orgasm, and he knew it!

Duke chuckled and gave me a light kiss on the lips. "I love to see you blushing." He continued in a whisper, "I saw you naked, and I touched pretty much everywhere. I wonder what made you blush. Are you thinking about me tasting your sweet nectar, or about my hard cock inside you?"

I blushed more. Every time he uses those wayward words I get all jittery inside. It's one thing when we are naked in bed, but this was in the open, and... it was too unexpected.

Duke kissed the tip of my nose before asking, "Will you tell me what the passing out was? It didn't look like an awesome superpower."

I was glad that he stopped the naughty talk. I don't think I will ever get used to it.

I looked at the half-bloomed wildflower next to the picnic blanket, and I pointed at it. "Watch this…"

Within a second, the flower bloomed completely.

"You can make flowers bloom?", Duke asked with his eyes wide open. "I take back what I said. This is awesome. If you are into gardening."

I rolled my eyes at him. "It's not just flowers. I can radiate vitality that invigorates other living creatures. Do you remember that the first few nights when we slept together, you didn't sleep?"

Duke's eyebrows shoot up. "That was you? I thought I was excited."

I stifled a laugh. "That's not completely wrong. The problem was that my ability self-triggered when I was excited."

"That doesn't explain why you passed out."

I knew that he would catch onto it. Duke was always the smart one. "In this world, everything is balanced. You can't create something out of nothing. The vitality that I project around me is mine. That's why I get exhausted and pass out."

Duke frowned. "That's dangerous."

I shook my head quickly, as I didn't want him to worry. "I am technically immortal, so I won't die. Think of it like a battery that stops working once empty, but sleep helps me recharge."

"Batteries have end of life."

"Don't worry about it. I practiced controlling the output and now I can block it. It could come in handy if I learn to direct it to a specific point. I could become a miracle doctor."

Duke's expression was full of disapproval. "Not at the cost of your safety."

I smiled. "That's what my father said also."

"So, you have the power to invigorate living things, and you drain yourself in the process."

"That's not all I can do.", I said smugly. "Didn't you see how my wound healed quickly?"

Duke grimaced. "Let's not do that again."

I burst into giggles. His expression was comical.

I didn't want to tell him about pheromones because it could backfire big time. What if he thinks that I seduced him like that? Or that I'm seducing others on purpose?

The pheromone thing will stay my secret forever. I will not use it unless it's a life-threatening emergency, and no one will know about it other than me. And Aldus. Oh, and Vesper. Damn it!

Duke looked at me with admiration, and I wanted to impress him more.

"I'm also quite confident that if we race, I will win."

"Reeeally?", he asked skeptically.

I nodded smugly. "Do you want to try?"

Duke's smile told me he was more than willing.

"Alright…", I said while getting up. "Pick a destination. We run there and back. Loser needs to fulfill winner's request."

Duke agreed and stood up. He observed the surroundings and pointed in the direction from where we came. "To the car and back."

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