His unexpected mate [the green coven series]

ASSURANCES

ALICE POV

As I stood there, surrounded by the surreal and the impossible, a whirlwind of emotions churned within me. My mind raced with questions, doubts, and fears, each one vying for attention in the chaos of my thoughts.

Val approached me with her head low, wagging her tail. In her sweet eyes, I could sense eager anticipation, acceptance, and affection. She was majestic, sleek, and elegant, at least twice the size of a German Shepherd, yet I felt no fear. When she began to rub against my legs like a cat, I relaxed, running my hand over her silky, shimmering coat. She looked at me playfully and licked my cheek. "Eww! Groos!” I chuckled. Alex clicked his tongue, and Val swiftly shifted back into her human form, dressing herself rapidly.

"Okay, so, you're werewolves, and Jacob is a powerful wizard," I stated, the situation feeling surreal, but I needed to navigate through it to understand the path forward in pursuing him.

The trio nodded in unison, and Alex, still holding my hand, asked, "Now that we're all on the same page, tell us what happened."

"First, we're not on the same page. There are a lot of questions I need to ask. Second, why do I have to tell you? Isn't there any supernatural police, court, or something?" I queried.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Alex spoke with an exasperated tone, "We don't have time for that. Do you understand? I need to know, now!"

I took a deep breath, my eyes darting between Alex and the others. I could feel the weight of the situation pressing down on me, the urgency in Alex's voice was freaking me out more if possible, could there be worst treats ahead? Could they be treats? Does supernatural mafia exist?

"Okay," I began slowly, my voice steady despite the whirlwind of thoughts and the overthinking going on in my mind. "I'll tell you what happened, but I need some assurances first."

Alex raised an eyebrow, a hint of impatience flickering across his face. "Assurances?"

"Yeah," I deadpanned, my resolve strengthening. "I need to know that I can trust you all, that you won't turn on me or do anything...unexpected, like bite me and transform me into a werewolf or use my blood for a ritual to resurrect a demon, things like that. Wait, do demons even exist?"

Val stepped forward, her expression softening. "We won't hurt you," she said reassuringly. "You have our word. And geez, you watch too many series on Netflix, girl." I rolled my eyes; "too many" was an understatement. Impatiently tapping my foot on the floor, I added, "So, assurances?"

Alex let out an exasperated sigh, groaning, "What do you want as assurance?"

I hadn't thought about it. I remained silent for a couple of minutes, pondering. "Do you believe in God?" I finally asked.

"We believe in deities, not in the Catholic God though. The Moon Goddess blesses us; she is our light in the dark," Max kindly replied.

"So, I want you to swear on the Moon Goddess that you will help me and will not bite me to turn me into a werewolf."

"No!" an angry Alex roared, his eyes glowing, his breath heavy, fists clenched. I stepped back, suddenly fearing him for the very first time. Stupid me, what was I thinking?

Sh*t sh*t sh*t

This isn't a TV show. I can't continue to push his damn buttons without expecting a bad reaction!

Val jumped and trembled, fixing her eyes on the ground in a submissive manner, exposing her neck. Max, anticipating this reaction, chuckled and grabbed Alex's shoulder. "Man, you're scaring the poor human. Keep Leo at bay," he said, trying to diffuse the tension. Alex's heavy breaths continued, his chiseled chest rising and falling, but his eyes were gradually losing their intense glow. Was that a good sign?

"Sweetheart, don't run. Trust me. He'll take it as a chase and hunt you down," Max continued, now addressing me directly. With a firm and reassuring tone, he added, "What the Alpha meant to say is that we swear on the Moon Goddess to help and protect you, no matter what, from Jacob and any other potential threat. Is that okay with you?"

I lamely nodded, trying to avoid eye contact and internally berating myself for all the wrong decisions I had made in the last two months. If I had followed my instincts, I would now be safe in my Tuscan village, clueless about the fact that fantasy books weren't just fantasy. Shame on me.

"Sweetheart, then tell us the truth, so we can help you," he urged, still firmly gripping Alex's shoulder. Alex, who was certainly calmer now but still seemed on the verge of exploding.

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, then. I'll tell you everything."

“I met Jacob at the Theta-Phi fraternity party on Monday night. We danced together, kissed a bit, but nothing more. Then the blonde bimbo spilled her drink on me, and he appeared out of nowhere, stopping me from jumping on her as I wanted to. Alex and Val, you both witnessed that scene too. I tried to avoid him for the rest of the week, realizing he wanted more than just making out, and I wasn't interested. The other night, I had been drinking and wanted to forget the past by letting go a bit. But by the next morning, I already regretted it.”

As I recounted the events, my voice trembled with the weight of the emotions I had suppressed for so long. The memory of Jacob's predatory advances sent shivers down my spine, and I couldn't help but feel a surge of fear and anger rising within me. Alex was now with a stone-face, piercing me with his glaze, as Val was moving next me, giving me the strength to go on.

I made a deep breath and continued “Anyway, last night he approached me while I was having dinner with Val and other friends. He asked me to go for a walk together. Stupidly, I saw it as an opportunity to clarify that I had made a mistake and wasn't looking for a relationship or anything else. We walked deeper into the forest, and he kissed me, and we started making out heavily. It was like I couldn't stop myself; I had never felt that way before. I wanted to kiss him without restraint, which isn't like me.”

My voice started trembling, tears escape my eyes and Val was hugging me, whispering reassuring words encouraging me to go on “when he started asking me to say that I was his and tried to undress me, I reacted. He didn't like it at all; he tried to immobilize me, holding my wrists while unbuttoning my pants. I kicked him, I don't know where I hit him exactly, maybe in the throat, and I ran away through the trees but I couldn't find the way out; it felt like I was running in circles.”

The air around me was tense, the two boys, well two werewolves, had anger building up, more than expected. Alex was trembling with rage and Max had a disgusted and bitter expression printed all over his pretty face.

“Then he found me, staring at me with fiery eyes. I was petrified, literally. I couldn't speak or move a muscle. In an instant, he reached me and started trying to force himself into my body again. Then I don't know what happened; I felt a strong energy surrounding me and invading everything, just light, I saw and felt only a warm, comforting white light like a blanket on autumn evenings, and then I passed out. That's all.”

At this point, tears streamed down my cheeks, and my loud sobs shook my body. I trembled like a leaf in the wind as shame, mixed with anger, welled up in my heart. Nobody said a word. Silence and nothing else.

Lifting my gaze, I met Alex's amber eyes, intense and piercing, conveying a myriad of emotions. Pity for me. It was clear he felt sadness and pity. But I didn't want anyone's pity. I knew I was getting into a mess bigger than me, and perhaps I shouldn't have told them anything. Alex's gaze was the final blow, as all the emotions hit me at once, the pressure became unbearable. As the tension gripped my chest, making it hard to breathe, I knew I needed to get away from them, from him, right away.

So I ran off as fast as I could. I dashed into the lush forest, seeking refuge from the overwhelming emotions, without looking back and silently praying nobody would follow me