The Sorceress & The Alpha

The Promise

A small groan left Aubrey once she regained consciousness, everything around her was dark and her body felt stiff. She slowly tried to stand up when she noticed an arm around her waist pulling her close to a warm body. A thousand thoughts crossed her mind at that moment. Where was she? Was she back with Elias? Was everything a dream? She started to inhale deeply trying to calm herself and let her eyes adjust to the darkness. Elias was cold as stone, so it was impossible that the body that was sleeping soundly next to her was a vampire. She felt the sheet wrapping her body, even though they were soft, they were not Elias’ satin sheets. 

Donovan? Finally her eyes adjusted enough to see his figure next to her, his bare chest moving slowly in a rhythmical way, confirming he hasn’t woken up yet. She looked down at herself and saw that she was no longer in her maid uniform but a long night gown. Did they have s*x? Did he r***d her while she was sleeping? She was desperately trying to remember anything from last night but the last thing she could remember was… the balcony! 

“Aubrey?” Donovan was suddenly standing in front of her, she didn’t even notice when he woke up and turned on the lights. “Aubrey, what’s wrong?” Donovan got closer and grabbed her by the shoulders. She yanked herself out of his reach, crawling to the other side of the bed.

“What happened last night?” She said trembling with anger and confusion noticeable in her voice.

“You… you tried to jump from the balcony. I’m sorry, Aubrey; Lilian cast a spell to make you fall asleep and then I brought you here.”

“Did you r**e me?” her voice was now cold as ice.

“WHAT!? My Goddess, no! Of course not! Lilian told me this was going to be your room so I just brought you here. She was the one that changed your clothes, she thought you will be more comfortable in these clothes than that horrible thing Elias thought was a uniform.” 

“Then why were you sleeping next to me with barely no clothes on?”

Donovan inhaled deeply, passing his hand through his hair, “Mere instinct.” Aubrey was about to open her mouth to protest but he raised his hands to stop her, “When I put you in bed you started having a nightmare. I thought that by holding you you might calm down and it worked. I swear nothing happened last night. We just slept, ok?” He finished, his hands still up.

“Stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Hold up your hands like I’m a caged animal that needs to be tamed.” 

Donovan quickly retreated his hands, passing one through his hair again. “I’m sorry, Aubrey. You’re my mate and I’m trying my best to keep you pleased but I have to say that the conditions are not optimal.”

“You mean I’m not optimal.” Aubrey said with a deep exhale, she looked down at her hands for a moment before looking back at Donovan, “You can reject me, I know that werewolves can do that if they don’t agree with the Moon Goddess’ decision.” 

Donovan stared at her intently; he was about to approach her but a thought crossed his mind and he decided to keep his distance, “I know my options, Aubrey. And I have chosen you. I have no intentions of rejecting you.”

“What if I want to reject you?” She knew she was being defiant towards a clan leader, she was sure that she’ll get punished eventually but she has endured so much pain in her life that she hardly thought Donovan could be worse than Elias. Nevertheless, nothing prepared her for the look full of sadness that engulfed Donovan once she asked that question. Something inside of her wanted to run to his arms and say she wasn’t being serious but she stayed put in her place.

An awkward silence filled the room, Donovan didn’t want to answer her. She was free to reject him but he didn’t want to lose her, not without fighting. He has been searching for his mate for so long, and now that she was right here in front of him he felt so full. Even though they haven’t mated yet he could already feel so connected and in love with her. He couldn’t understand her yet but he was already able to read her body language; to smell when she was happy, angry, confused and even aroused. How couldn’t she feel the same? 

A knock on the door made them both break their staring contest and Lilian's voice came through the door, “Aubrey, can I come in?” 

“Come in…” Aubrey said defeated and way too exhausted of people around her. She just wanted to be alone but she couldn’t remember last time things went her way. 

Lilian stepped inside cautiously looking around the room, “Donovan? What are you doing here? Oh my… tell me you didn’t!”

“We just slept! I swear! Aubrey was having nightmares and I was trying to calm her down.”

“Oh of course you were, the poor girl is overwhelmed and you thought that her waking up next to a half naked stranger was going to make everything better!”

“Well, if you put it that way…”

Lilian rolled her eyes, “Men! Now get out! I need to talk to Aubrey!”

Donovan lifted his arms up in defeat and headed to the door, taking his shirt from a nearby chair on his way out. Once they were alone, Lilian walked towards Aubrey, Aubrey finally noticed that she had clothes in her hands.

“I think these will fit just perfectly, over there is a bathroom; please take your time cleaning yourself and once you’re done you can join us for breakfast and we can have a nice talk.” Lilian put the clothes next to Aubrey and sat at the corner of the bed. “I know we had a rough beginning last night. You’re right, we were telling you what to do and probably made it seem like we were your masters. You will have to excuse us, we’re used to telling people what to do. I have to admit that being compared to Elias was a hard wake up call.” She said with a chuckle, Aubrey was still staring at her without saying a word. Lilian reached out to her and touched her arm lightly. “I am just asking for a second chance, ok? We can talk and see what options we have.”

Aubrey nodded slightly and that was enough for Lilian. She stood up and left without saying another word. Now that she was alone she took a while to look around her, she was in a big room, maybe half the size of Elias bedroom but four times the size of her old chambers. The walls were a soft cream color, the furniture had a traditional style made of oak and upholstered in silk. Large baby pink curtains covered a full size window that covered the whole wall. She walked slowly towards it and peaked through the curtains. She was still in the same building they got last night, at least that was her conclusion based on the fact that she was so up high that everything below just looked like small lights moving. 

After admiring the view for a while, she headed towards the bathroom. The sight was even more elegant than the bedroom, everything was covered in white tiles with silver decorations. A bathtub with hydromassage was on the other side of the room with a rectangular shower head bigger than her head. Tingles of excitement runned through her body, she has never been in such a luxurious bathroom. Not one that she wasn’t cleaning, at least. She hopped in and turned the hot water on, letting her body relax. She looked around, several shampoo and body wash options were displayed in front of here. She examined the options and decided on one set with purple flowers. Once she was done she dressed in the clothes Lilian gave her: black lingerie, a simple purple princess-style dress that reached just below her knees and that  made her green eyes pop and beige flats. All the clothing had the tags still on. Did Lilian buy them for her? Or did she just have a closet full of new clothes just in case a random stranger without belongings comes to visit? 

She exited the room, seeing as she was at the end of a hall, she walked towards the other side in search of another human being that would guide her towards Lilian. Right on cue, Donovan appeared and smiled excitedly at her. “You look so beautiful.”

Aubrey smiled shyly, not used to getting compliments. “Thank you.” 

“Come, let me escort you.” Donovan waited for her to reach him and without touching her he started walking with his hands behind his back. Aubrey couldn’t help herself from peaking once in a while at her so-called ‘mate’. He was handsome, no need denying it, but his whole aura screamed power. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing at this precise moment. They soon arrived at a luxurious dining room where plates full of food were already served and Lilian was looking at her phone intently, she looked up once she heard footsteps getting closer.

“I knew purple was your color! You look so beautiful! Please serve yourself with whatever you wish, darling.” 

Aubrey nodded but stayed still, she has never had the option to decide what to eat. She stared overwhelmed at all the possibilities; trying not to be rude by taking too long, she just grabbed a plate with some fruit and sat down. Lilian looked at her with a knowing smile and started speaking, “First of all, Aubrey: Please receive our sincere apologies for our behavior yesterday. You’re right, we were just telling you what to do without asking you what you wanted. So here I am, Aubrey; asking you: what can we do for you?”

Aubrey looked at them confused, she wasn’t sure of how to answer that. No one has ever asked what she wanted in life. She wanted freedom, she was sure about that; but at the same time, what would she do with that? That’s when she saw crystal clear what she wanted.

“I want to find my family.” Lilian nodded in understanding. 

“Then I offer you a deal, Aubrey. Stay with the coven for a couple weeks, give yourself the opportunity to learn about us and about your powers; and in return, I promise you we will find your family.”

Aubrey genuinely smiled for the first time in who knows how many years, “It’s a deal.”