Lynsandra stretched her neck while seated behind her desk, her hand instinctively reaching for her nape.

"Hmm?"

Her brows lifted as her fingers brushed lower to where her curse mark lay.

"That’s weird," she murmured, pulling a small compact mirror from the drawer to check it.

She unzipped her turtleneck slightly and swept her hair aside, angling the mirror to see the mark. She blinked and lightly traced its edges.

"It’s... not red?" she whispered.

Normally, the edges of the mark were always inflamed — as if swollen. That was why she kept her hair down most days or wore high-necked clothing to hide it.

"It’s not as painful as it was after the full moon," she muttered. "It looks like it’s fully healed."

From a distance, it now resembled nothing more than a simple tattoo. It didn’t even emit much aura anymore.

Was it because I stepped into a new stage of my life?

She pondered that for a moment, tilting her head before accepting the thought easily enough. After all, one way to lessen her suffering was to bear an heir. Perhaps what she had done last night had eased the burden of the curse.

"Heh." She smiled, then caught herself.

Shaking her head, she was interrupted by the buzz of her phone. Her brows snapped up as she picked it up and saw a message from August.

[August: New subjects have arrived in the lab, and we’re currently testing them. If you want to see them, my doors are always open.]

"..." Lynsandra blinked at the screen. "He didn’t even send me the report."

August had promised to share his findings, especially since she had agreed to fund the research under the Royal Pack. She and Virgo had already cooperated with the special police to handle the case, but it was still necessary to understand how abnormal these engineered werewolves were.

After all, each engineered werewolf had different quirks and unique evolutionary traits.

"I see," she murmured, staring at his message. "He wants to spend time together. He should’ve just asked."

But she understood that August was likely restraining himself. Technically, they had already had a date — even if it had been work-related. He was the first, and he acknowledged it.

"Who else haven’t I taken out yet?" she wondered aloud, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, not realizing she was now seriously considering her harem schedule.

"Right." She nodded to herself. "Severin, Julian, and Evander. I haven’t gone out with them yet."

Though Severin and Julian were special cases, considering they had joined her harem for entirely different reasons. But for formality so they wouldn’t feel left out.

"Should I ask Julian to have dinner with me?" she wondered, lifting her phone.

But before she could type anything, her brows twitched at the faint aura she sensed from above.

Slowly, she tilted her head up toward the ceiling.

"What is he doing here?" she muttered, rising from her chair. "That’s strange."

Confused, Lynsandra stepped out of her top-floor office. She took the lift to another private floor where Virgo was staying, then used the emergency stairs to reach the rooftop.

The moment she stepped outside, she followed the faint aura she had sensed earlier.

There, standing near the railing with his back to her, was Severin.

His short silver hair shifted gently in the breeze, his pale skin almost luminous under the fading light. He wore a simple blouse and black trousers.

"Severin," she called, tilting her head. "What are you doing here?"

He turned slightly, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. He didn’t answer, only watched as she approached.

"Didn’t you say you hated going out?" she asked curiously. "Even if the sun’s about to set, isn’t it still too early for you?"

Her brows lifted when he reached out, lowering his lashes as his thumb brushed against her cheek. His fingers traced slow patterns along her skin before pausing.

"You weren’t home last night," he said in a low voice, lifting his gaze to hers. "And now... you smell different."

"As far as I know, I’m the one with the sharper sense of smell," she quipped, taking his hand from her cheek and holding it instead. "Do I really reek of Elias?"

Severin studied her face. Even through his tinted lenses, he could see the subtle glow about her. It wasn’t that she looked unusually happy, but the exhaustion that once lingered in her expression was gone.

A faint smile curved his lips as he curled his fingers around hers.

"Let’s go somewhere," he said.

Lynsandra blinked several times. "Now?"

"Mhm." He nodded. "I heard everyone gets to take you on dates. I haven’t had my turn."

"...Oh." She tilted her head, quietly abandoning the idea of asking Julian to dinner.

Truthfully, she hadn’t put much thought into dates with Evander, Julian, or Severin. She doubted Evander would even want a real one. As for Julian, dinner seemed sufficient.

But Severin...

She hadn’t considered it seriously. He wasn’t difficult to please, and she hadn’t imagined he cared about something like dating. In fact, she doubted he even fully understood the concept. He was old-fashioned — almost archaic — his worldview rooted in another era.

"Where are we going?" she asked softly.

He fell silent for a moment before answering. "A movie."

"..." Lynsandra blinked in surprise. "You want to watch a movie?"

"I saw this one," he said, raising a phone.

Her mouth nearly fell open.

"You have a phone?" she almost gasped. "Since when?"

A small smile tugged at his lips. "Thirty minutes ago. It was complicated at first, but surprisingly convenient. I also noticed people pretending to be vampires on large screens."

"Last Meal," he read from the screen, glancing at the poster. "That’s what it says."

Watching him, Lynsandra bit her inner lip, trying to suppress a laugh.

"Pfft—" She covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "Cute."

"Hmm?" He tilted his head, visibly puzzled. "Why?"

"Nothing." She winked at him. "Let’s watch that — Last Meal. Sounds exciting."

And so, her date with Severin began. Probably, something she thoughtfully looked forward to out of pure curiosity.