The mingling was over and Dima could not wait to ask his dad about the purpose of this so-called mingling with werewolves.

Marching towards the living room where he knew his dad would be after faring goodbye to the last of guests, he plopped onto the couch there rather dramatically. Smiles were audible in the whispered conversations.

Lance emerged a few minutes later after all the sounds ceased and sat beside his son.

Peering at Lance from the corner of his eyes, Dima asked the question of the day - "So why were they here?"

"Now you want to know?" Lance said sarcastically, managing to get through to his son about how childishly he behaved.

Dima was ashamed of his conduct from earlier. "I am sorry, Dad," he apologized with a rasp full of guilt and head hung low.

Taking in the torn-up look on his son's face, Lance released a ragged breath. "It is fine Dima. I am not angry that you got angry because I understand where you were coming from. I am angry because you just took off. I taught you better than to run away from things, your emotions, and most importantly..."

"Communication," Dima was quick to whisper the word that would complete his father's sentence.

"You should have stayed and at least listened to why I called them here, why I called her here."

"I won't run away again from you, I promise. Forgive me?" Lance granted him forgiveness instantly, making Dima smile genuinely in relief. "You can fill me in about all those things now."

"Sure. A month ago, there was a raid on the werewolf pack down south. A few more assaults followed in the next two weeks. The assaults were made on a different pack each time. Everyone thought the assaulters to be rogues or hunters, but then the attacks seemed to spread among other supernatural families too. After investigating on their own, it was found that there was no trace of aggressors. Every time they seem to come out of thin air and vanish into the same. Also, there was this peculiar thing - everyone was harmed in some way or the other except the werewolf pack members. In a way, you can say that packs were breached while others were attacked. The word about these invisible attackers spread and the conclusion came out that supernatural beings are getting targeted. To find the attacker and save our kind, we all nominated to find solutions and plan strategies together as one."

To say the young Putin was bewildered was an understatement. Since their town Pentagon was home to various supernatural creatures, they rarely got any troubles. By rarely, it meant like in centuries or so.

I think 2020 is a fucked up year.

Snapping back to reality, Dimitri inquired whether there were any more remarks or observations made.

"Some say the attacker is a werewolf, some say it's a vampire. Nobody knows for sure though."

"How can they say that without any proof?"

Dimitri was fuming; he hated assumptions. The bitch had stopped others from talking to him while he was in school; it wasn't his fault that he always had a hard look on his face. He never had a hard heart.

"Well, some eyewitnesses have seen snouts and fur whereas some have seen red eyes and fast speed."

The cogs in his mind turned, a thought popped up and his mouth parted in shock. Can they be working together?

"Any casualty from our coven?"

"Just some minor wounds." Dima nodded his understanding. "And that was why so many werewolves and other creatures were here. There were mostly Alphas and other high-rank members of their packs. She is a beta, you know I had to invite her."

"I understand," Dima responded and he did understand. Business and personal life shall never be treated as one. "Anyway, I'll retire for the night."

Lance chuckled at his son's choice of words. Sometimes, he felt younger with the type of words his son used. At Dima's questioning gaze, he let on the reason for his amusement. "Sure, but please don't say the word 'retire'. You are a young man, not an old father of kids in their mid-thirties, so please act like one."

Habitual of hearing that often, he didn't react much except for rolling his eyes.

Inside his room, he tossed and turned for an hour. Sleep was going to be a far-fetched dream that night, he accepted. The root cause of his sleepless form was the woman he encountered early in the afternoon in his dad's office.

Patricia Monroe

Patricia, he detested that woman. Being Beta of a werewolf pack sometimes came with an air of snobbiness, he believed. She was one of those who let their title get to their head. She held the title of the Beta at the pack down south. It was the first pack to be ambushed by the mysterious assailant.  If Dima had not learned about others facing the onslaught as well, he would bet that she must have deceived some poor person in the past, and that person was the one to come back to seek vengeance.

Patricia was a snake, she would slither through a person's conscience and leave her venom within their heart, turning it blue. She would come at you with a sickly sweet smile and innocent eyes, only for you to discover too late what kind of a bitch she really was.

How did Dima know so much about her? Well, because he had taken the brunt of her betrayal firsthand. The bitch played him once. She posed as a human, disguised herself as one, worked along his side, lied to him countless times and smashed his now non-existent heart.

She was Dimitri's ex.