ALPHA'S WİTCH (Midnight Oath)

I suppose both were true for me. My grandmother and I had left this cursed town years ago. Because this town had taken my mother and father from me. Even the cause of their deaths had been kept secret like some dark mystery. They'd only said "a fire."

That it was a witch hunt unfortunately, I would learn that much later...

On the day of the funeral in that cursed town:

Snow blanketed the earth, thick and merciless. I stood alone at the edge of the old cemetery, clutching the small wooden box that was all that remained of the woman who'd been my only family. The priest had refused to come. The townspeople had refused as well. Only a handful of crows were there, as if they'd come to witness a ceremony, watching intently.

I didn't cry. Not yet.

On Christmas Eve, dozing over my mulled wine, I'd planned this ceremony... My grandmother had made me promise, as if she'd known it would be her last Christmas. Now I was struggling alone to fulfill that wish. But I couldn't have predicted what was coming.

Three days later, I was driving along the icy road toward Blackthorn Ridge... There I was. Twenty-five years old, the last of the Rose bloodline... returning to a place where people looked at me as if they wanted me dead.

As my red pickup climbed the hill, the wind filled my ears with an ominous howl. My only goal was to reach the mountain house as quickly as possible. Shortly after, I spotted a dark shape amid the pristine white snow covering the ground. As I drew closer, it became clear it was a vehicle.

"Looks like it broke down..." I thought when I saw him. A man examining the car with the hood open. Despite this bone-chilling cold, he wore nothing but a t-shirt, as if he wasn't cold at all.

The townspeople's hostility had rubbed off on me too. I considered just driving past without caring. But damn it! I couldn't be as savage as the people in this town. I stopped.

I reached for my coat on the passenger seat and put it on. The moment I stepped out of the car, I started shivering from the cold. Okay, I'm someone who gets cold even on summer days... But these cursed lands are really putting on a show with their climate!

I walked a bit closer and called out: "Hello, looks like you're stranded?"

The man lifted his eyes from the engine and looked at me. His gaze made an even deeper cold settle inside me. He was breathtaking... Dark silver eyes, chiseled features, muscular build, and those piercing eyes.

Yes, I was impressed. But just a little! Don't exaggerate, ladies...

He smiled with a sly, flirtatious look in his eyes. "Yes, you could say I'm stranded," he said, closing the hood.

I was shocked by what I saw then. There was a huge log embedded in the front windshield of the car. Seriously embedded... Wasn't this man seeing this sight? Did he seriously think the problem was the engine right now?

"Wow! It's like a giant came and stuck this tree in your windshield like a toothpick. How can it stand so perfectly?" I said. The astonishment on my face was obvious.

He suddenly burst out laughing. "Ohh... I think giants are extinct." Then his eyes focused on me with a suggestive look. "This town's past is remembered for its wolves and witches," he murmured.

"Hmm... Thank you for that interesting local history lesson. But I don't think I can find you a witch or a wolf right now..." I said, then smiled. "I have a vehicle. If you want, I can drop you off in town."

He looked at me with the deep dimples that appeared when he smiled. For a moment, I could swear I saw a silver gleam swirling in his eyes.

"I'd be grateful, if I'm not bothering you," he said.

Laughing, I headed toward the vehicle, and when I reached the door, I called out to him: "As long as you don't complain about me listening to Elwes in the car, you won't bother me," I said as I got in.

With a deep smile on his face, he grabbed his leather jacket from his car and came over. The moment he got in, his expression changed. It might have been my heater blasting him like desert heat.

"I think you were a bit cold," he said.

"I'm always cold," I said with a smile.

His gaze had been on me since the journey began. Under normal circumstances, being watched by such a handsome man might have been flattering, but the people in this town were so strange that I wasn't sure this was a good thing.

"Hey, could you stop that already?" I said, briefly turning my gaze to him before focusing back on the road.

He ran his fingers through his hair and smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, you're just so different. I couldn't take my eyes off you," he said.

"Everyone in this town keeps making me feel so different. I'm starting to think I have 'I'm a stranger' written on my forehead," I said, scrunching up my face.

"Are you always this sarcastic?" he asked with a laugh.

In that moment, I inexplicably wanted to be honest with him, and the words just tumbled out of my mouth. "Let's call it my way of camouflaging pain. I buried my grandmother yesterday," I said, looking at his face. There was neither surprise nor any other expression on it. As if he already knew. But no one had attended my grandmother's funeral except the gravedigger who'd buried her.

A few seconds later, he asked, "I'm sorry. Did you love her very much?"

"Yes, she was my only family. I loved her more than anything," I said. I couldn't make sense of the anger in my eyes. What was I even angry about? That she'd left me?

"I understand. So why are you still here?" he asked.

Normally, I would have answered all of this politely, but I didn't like being interrogated. Especially a phrase like "why haven't you left" was extremely irritating.

I turned toward him and, raising my eyebrows with a sarcastic expression, said, "For Christmas... I'm just going to celebrate Christmas."

We'd finally arrived at the town center. I stopped the car. He got out and approached the window. There was a warm smile on his face.

"My name is Joe," he said.

I extended my hand. "Eva... Eva Rose," I said.

"Pleased to meet you," he said. His facial expression had changed. I could see the sly grin on his face. "Well then, Merry Christmas, Rose's daughter," he said.

In that moment, my brows furrowed. The day I'd come to town for the funeral arrangements, everyone had used that phrase. What was this whole "Rose's daughter" thing, for God's sake? Every person I met called me Rose's daughter with a look of disgust.

Just then, an old man who ran the town's market, sitting on a wooden chair on the sidewalk, suddenly rushed over and pointed his finger, shouting, "Don't talk to her, Joe! Have you lost your mind? She brings bad luck!"

After hearing this, I'd reached the end of Rose's politeness. I stuck my head out of the car window and pointed my finger at the man. "I'm not cursed! I'm not carrying a contagious disease. Moreover, I haven't killed anyone yet! I don't even know you. Stop talking about me, you senile old fool!"

Angrily, I hit the gas and drove away. In the rearview mirror, I could see the man's face, red with rage. And Joe, doubled over with laughter...

I suppose it was time for this stubborn town to witness the determination of the Rose women!