Dimitri should have learned to keep his mouth shut but he never did. If he did, he would not be experiencing the feeling of extreme regret. The moment the Alpha wolf's name slipped out of his mouth, he realized his mistake. He kept his eyes shut tight, not wanting to see the smug expression that must be on Chris' face.

"I wasn't serious about the stalking but I guess you were," Chris teased and laughed freely.

Dimitri was admittedly a tad jealous of his laughter as it was a pleasant sound. Even 'pleasant' was an understatement. Appealing would have been a better word choice.

"I don't want to talk to you. Leave."

"Careful there sweetheart, people might mistake our banter for a lover's quarrel. Also, I remember it was you who started this conversation back at the club."

This psychopath is so cocky. I swear he is proof that werewolves being conceited is not a mere stereotype. "What do you want?" An exhale escaped Dimitri as he asked the painful question; the werewolf drained him out.

"You," Chris replied with decisiveness, displaying a full-teeth smile. He didn't stop there, going as far as to add "With chocolate and caramel" to his sentence.

Kinky fucker.

Dimitri opened his eyes and looked at the pest in front of him with an uninterested look.

Eventually, Chris cracked under his stare and let his wishes be known with a bothersome grin. "First of all, I want you to come down from that bar and stand in front of me like a normal person. Honestly, seeing you in this upside-down position turns me on."

Teasing Dimitri was turning out to be more interesting with their every meeting. The vampire's reactions - both emotional and physical - were entertaining. His reluctance to indulge in a physical fight gave Chris a peek of maturity and restraint, yet his eagerness to indulge in a verbal fight showed his petty and childish side. Only a few people manage to keep both the child and the adult alive. Their opinions often collide. Chris believed Dimitri had found the balance between them. It was impressive.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! Do you have no filter?" Dimitri sputtered his response, getting down nonetheless. Any chances could not be taken with Chris.

"No, I don't have a filter, but I do have many other things. Do you wanna see?"

The vampire scoffed. "And secondly?"

"There is no 'secondly'. I just wanted to have a chat with you. Come on, let's hang out."

"We are not friends. You are out of your mind if you think I am going to spend time with a mutt like you willingly," Dimitri said coolly.

The reason for his attitude toward wolves was hard to comprehend for Chris. "Why do you not like werewolves?" He questioned the vampire, genuinely curious.

"You are not trustworthy. To your pack, you might be devoted, but no matter what there will always be a cold war between vampires and mutts."

"You are being petty like a three-year-old kid whose crayons got stolen." Dimitri shrugged at Chris's mean yet credible words. Not getting a better response, Chris gave up. "Whatever. Move your ass and take a break. Let's sit there"

Dima's eyes followed the direction Chris's finger was pointing towards; there was a bench a few meters away. "I don't want to."

"I'll tell you about my mate."

Dimitri never understood his obsession with mates. It was a topic that had always been intriguing to the vampire. Despite his hard exterior, he was soft inside. Wanting someone for himself till eternity never got old for him. And werewolves? They had that. They had it all. They could recognize their soulmates with their smell, by looking into their eyes or by touching them, how beautiful is that? Therefore, Chris talking about his mate always caught his undivided attention. In the end, he let himself be dragged to the bench. Both men sat down side by side.

"Tell me, go on."

"There is nothing much to tell, I don't have a mate."

"I am leaving. You are wasting my time."

Getting up, Dimitri was keen to abandon the wolf but Chris' hand curtailed his activity.

"I am serious. I don't have a mate."

The vampire contemplated leaving but settled down again. After eyeing the wolf for a few seconds, he gave in to his desires and blurted out the question that was hanging on the tip of his tongue - "Why?"

"What do you mean by why? I just don't have a mate, it's that simple. I don't even understand why you were so excited about it in the first place," Chris mused, looking at the vampire's strange behavior apprehensively.

"You didn't find your mate, I get it." Dimitri felt a bit of bewilderment because of what his dad had told him earlier.

"You don't; you are looking nonplussed. Anyway, it's good that I don't have a mate, I don't believe in them."

He doesn't believe in mates. The vampire had never heard about a werewolf who doesn't believe in soulmates. The concept was unusual and he schemed on using it to his advantage to piss the wolf off because as Dimitri was not engrossed in the conversation anymore, it was getting unbearable to be civil with a rival.

"What would you do when you find your mate?" Dimitri interrogated to irk Chris. The faster he gets irritated, the faster he'll stop tormenting me.

"Oh, I know this one!" Chris exclaimed, inclining his head a little to the left. A sadistic smirk festooned his face as he spoke his next words - "I'll kill them."