The Supreme Alpha

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

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I thought that by the time I reach my home in Genoa, I will come up with a plan on how to deal with the hunters, but I totally forgot that it takes a second (literally), and that didn't give me much time to brainstorm strategies.

Sure, I could linger in the basement after exiting the portal, but what if I take too long and they snatch Treva? No, I couldn't risk that.

Actually, I was not completely sure that was Treva. What if it was a Treva-impersonator?

Three years passed. There are no guarantees that Treva didn't talk about the time we spent together.

What if she was sent by harpies to trick me? Heck, she might be working with the hunters.

However, no matter how much I doubted the identity of the person who came to see me, it's undeniable that she is at least connected to Treva, and I decided to deal with this mess.

I knew a few things.

First, hunters claimed that they want Treva, which means they know I was in contact with harpies.

Second, they won't leave easily. If they are not confident that they will gain something, they wouldn't dare to provoke someone connected to the Mezzanotte family.

And… that didn't give me much to go with.

I was confident that no one will suspect I just appeared out of thin air. The staff is trained so they would never disclose if the masters are in, because everyone without an appointment gets a response that masters of the house can't see them.

I really wished that my father was here to deal with the situation, but since I'm still a long way from finding a cure for eternal sleep, I had to work with what I have.

I reminded myself that I need to use my head and not lose composure because I can't allow my father to wake up to see that we are at war with the Hunters Association. I was nervous.

Determined to deal with the situation, I called Clara while making my way upstairs from the basement, "Clara, have everyone escorted to the living room, and get the refreshments ready…"

Like this, they will be in my territory and there will be no chances of someone eavesdropping on what's about to happen.

…

"Serina!", Treva called desperately from the door while running toward me and I gave her a hug.

"Can I ask you something?", I spoke in a whisper only for Treva to hear.

"Sure."

"How did we meet?" I had to get a few control questions out of the way and establish her identity.

"On the day you crossed the…"

"Shh…", I interrupted Treva when I saw three men entering the living room. Those are three hunters who want to take Treva with them. They were being escorted by Ida (aka maid).

"On the last day we met, did I give you something?"

Treva nodded. "Other than an indecent image of you and Liatris, you gave me two granola bars."

Well, that was awkward. I took a mental note to tell Treva not to bring up that day in front of Duke. He will flip if he finds out that I was getting frisky with a harpy. In my defense, I was under the influence of an aphrodisiac, but I don't think Duke will care about it.

Last question. "Were those the only two granola bars I gave you?"

Treva shook her head. "No. On the day we met you gave me another one."

With these answers, I was almost certain that this is Treva.

Why did she come here? Based on her distress level, this was not a social visit. She was looking warily at the hunters while clutching my hand. Was her fear an act? It didn't look like it.

Did Archousa and Manteio allow her to come? Or did they send Treva to me? Why would they do that? What happened with Treva's gorgeous waist-long hair? I guess those questions will wait for later.

I wished that Ash was here. He could look into Treva's thoughts and tell me what's going on. I guess I will ask him to check on Treva later.

"Are you OK?", I asked, and Treva nodded.

"I don't know who they are or how they found me…", Treva said with a voice full of grievances, and I took a moment to observe three men who were standing in the living room.

They all had black suits and sunglasses that obstructed their faces, and I couldn't guess their ages. They reminded me of characters from a movie, Men in black. Do they have pen-like devices that can erase memories? That could come in handy.

"They want to take me away.", Treva said in a whisper and the way she tightened her hold on my arm told me that Treva doesn't want to go with them.

I patted her back. "Don't worry, Treva. I will not let them take you. Come, sit…" I gestured to the sofa and asked the maid to bring her ginger tea with a wedge of lemon and honey. It will help to warm her up. The poor girl was shivering either from cold or from fear. Probably both.

"Gentlemen…", I called. "I hear that you want to take my friend away."

"That's a harpy. It's our duty to detain her.", the man in the middle said sternly.

I cocked an eyebrow. "How rude. You are in my house. Shouldn't you introduce yourself before stating your demands?" I straightened my back. "Or do you think that you have the authority above Mezzanottes?"

The three men were visibly flustered. Before they could respond, I said, "Remove your glasses. I want to hear your names and positions, or you can turn around and go back the same way you came here. I don't like to repeat myself, gentlemen."

They swiftly removed their sunglasses, and I could see that two men were in their thirties, and one looked in his forties.

Father told me that officially, members of the Hunters Association are humans, and if any creature is associated with them, he (or she) is considered a traitor by others.

However, that doesn't mean there are no shady workings because the whole Hunters Association is a bunch of shady characters.

Of course, they have many creatures working for them. But the ones who don't look human are working for them secretively. However, witches and warlocks fall into the category of humans, so one can never be too cautious when dealing with hunters.

The oldest guy introduced himself, "I am Hale Vonn, and I am a second-tier hunter. These two are my associates. Alistair Moon, third-tier hunter, and Curtis West, third-class hunter."

Hearing that he brought up their tiers and classes, reminded me of different types of hunters.

The ones who fight against creatures are organized in classes, with the highest one being first class, while the spies and pencil-pushers are organized in tiers.

Based on this, I knew that Curtis is a fighter while Alistair and Hale are less dangerous. But that didn't mean they didn't have weapons. Anything is possible.

I nodded in approval and gestured toward the sofa. "Please, take your seats. I hope that the ginger tea is good for everyone."

The staff was serving tea and cookies when I asked them, "What brings you here, gentlemen?"

Hale responded, "This woman who claims to be your friend is a harpy and it's our duty to take her in. We asked her for a permission slip, yet she didn't have one which means that she came out of her realm without authorization."

I bit the inside of my cheek while suppressing laughter that bubbled in my stomach. Permission slip? What is this? High school?

But I knew better than to laugh openly.

Father told me that hunters are good with bending the rules in order to achieve their goal and it was not wise to anger them unless I plan to kill them.

I could do that easily, but I was fairly confident that a number of people knew that those three are here and if they just disappear, it might attract unwanted attention. I need to try to settle this diplomatically.

If I just keep on talking, I might find a way out of this.

I can handle twenty-something grumpy directors at Notte Pharmaceuticals, so I should be able to deal with these three also.

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