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

- - -

I opened my eyes and realized that it's dark outside. I fell asleep.

The light was coming from the kitchen downstairs, and I was on my own in bed.

"Duke?", I called drowsily, and I heard his footsteps coming closer as he climbed the stairs.

"Are you awake?"

"What's the time?"

"Close to midnight.", he responded.

I yawned. "Why are you up?"

"I woke up recently and I wanted to check a few things."

"Check things? What things?"

Duke smiled mysteriously. "When you wake up, you will find out."

"I'm awake.", I stated the obvious, and he chuckled.

"You will find out when you get out of the bed.", he clarified.

I groaned and plopped back into the pillows. I was happily lazy and I didn't feel like doing anything in particular other than snuggling with Duke.

While on that topic, I realized that Duke was standing on the second step of the staircases that led down to the main level, and it didn't look like he wanted to join me.

"Why are you not next to me?" I patted the spot on the mattress next to me.

"If I come any closer, we are not coming out of that bed until morning. And we are not going to sleep."

"There is nothing wrong with that.", I said while wiggling my eyebrows, and he stifled a laugh, but didn't join me.

I understood that he planned something for this night, and it included me getting up.

Well, I was curious. "What should I wear?"

"Anything is fine."

…

I barely suppressed a squeal of delight when I realized what Duke planned for us.

The basket we brought out with us was a definite giveaway that we are going to have a picnic on the beach, at midnight.

Duke set up the blanket on top of the sand, several steps away from the castle we built earlier that afternoon.

The warm breeze caressed my cheeks and brought the salty scent from the sea that mixed with Duke's, the nearly full moon provided light that made the surface of the calm sea shimmer… How romantic!

The basket had salad, fruits, nuts, sandwiches, and wine. It was simple and perfect.

"Did you give any thoughts about how you want to remodel our home?", Duke asked, and I smiled at the words 'our home'.

"I would like to preserve its original look, how much possible.", I said honestly.

So much history was lost with the demise of the Bluemoon pack, and I hoped to save at least some of it because each of those moments was relevant to Duke and who he is now.

"Aldus knew your father, but they didn't visit each other because werewolves and vampires don't mesh well and as much as our parents were open-minded, they couldn't guarantee that everyone would be civil, so whenever they met, it was on neutral grounds. I told my father to ask around and see if anyone has photos related to the Bluemoon pack and I will start from there."

Duke's expression showed surprise and approval.

"You know, you can just ask me.", Duke said. "Or Sergio."

"I know…", I responded. "I was planning to ask you about it. You can start by telling me about your favorite spots in the house, how they looked like, what made them special…"

I could also ask Fynn and his group, but I didn't want to alert them what I'm up to. Not yet. That's why I thought how photos will be the most appropriate.

Aldus is also keeping an eye for any furniture, paintings, or other decorative items that were lost from that building after the Bluemoon pack fell apart. Making those appear in their original spots will definitely be a surprise and I couldn't wait to see Duke's reaction.

I was confident that he will approve. After all, those were his carefree childhood years, and if I can bring out at least a fraction of those feelings, I will check it off as a success.

Duke was telling me about his childhood and the time passed quickly.

After finishing the food, we tidied up the blanket by keeping most of the things back in the basket, leaving some fruits outside. We laid next to each other, holding hands and staring at the starry sky.

"You mentioned that you are not human…", Duke started a new topic. "When was the first time you noticed that something is different about you?"

On the day I died. No, I couldn't say that, it would definitely ruin the romantic mood.

"After the incident in Venice, I was unconscious for three days." Yup, this was better. "I woke up without memories and they gradually trickled in. First as my dreams and later I learned to access them through mediation. That's how I found out details of that evening in Venice, when the man attacked me." I realized that I didn't tell him everything. "The man was a werewolf. I know, because his eyes flickered golden as he was on the verge of shifting into his wolf form."

"He was getting in my face, and I tried to push him away…" I placed my hands in front like the man is right there. "He was more than twice my size, yet I managed to push him and when I looked at my hands, my fingernails were elongated, resembling claws."

"So, you are some kind of a shapeshifter…", Duke murmured and looked at me. "A werewolf?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so. When werewolves shift there is more fur. I only grew claws."

"You are fast, strong, and with a sharp sense of smell.", he said with confidence.

I thought about his words. We raced, so that's where he got the 'fast' part. From my story, he heard about me pushing the werewolf away, so that would be 'strong', even though the burst of power happened only that one time. But what about the last one? "What do you mean by, a sharp sense of smell?"

"Didn't you say that you can identify my scent among others?"

I shrugged. "It's just yours. Everything else is kind of normal so I'm not sure that counts."

Duke smiled. "Just mine. Don't you think that's a sign of how we are meant to be together, forever?"

I paused, unsure where he was going with this, but I wished that the 'forever' part is true.

Duke touched my chin, making me look at him.

"I mean it, Serina. The two of us, together. Forever. That's how it was supposed to be, from the moment we were born."

My instinct told me that those are more than just sweet words.

"What do you mean?", I asked reluctantly when my curiosity won.

Duke cupped my cheek and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips.

"I spoke to Sergio and Ash about werewolves, and they told me about the significance of having a wolf."

Duke paused, and I had to ask, "You spoke to Ash about werewolves?"

Duke understood my concern, so he explained. "I didn't tell him about my background. The story is that you told me about the creatures, and I wanted to know more about werewolves."

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