Cursed Alley

"W-why don't you both come sit inside? Jane darling, come on." My dad runs towards us and holds me, helping me walk into the house as my mom does the same to Jane.

"Boy what have you done..." I furrow my eyebrows and shake my head, the blurriness in my eyes annoying me greatly.

"W-what did I do?" I ask my father who completely dodges my question and follows my mother to help her in the kitchen with the medicines. It was like a slap on my face, an indirect one. Right on the first day I've discovered my mate, I've dragged us both, or probably everyone I love and care about, into this mess.

Have I just been a little more specific about the spot, all this...mess would've been saved.

I watch as Jane spits out the medicine she was drinking and chokes on it.

"It's just licorice root tea sweetie." My mom encourages her to drink, and my dad passes me the same drink. I've been drinking this tea for awhile now, because I get drained from my energy pretty quick whilst saving the world from destruction.

"Papa." I hold his hand, restricting him from walking away from me. He needs to answer me, and I want the answers right now.

"Not now, Ronald."

"It is now or never, papa. Please tell me. What are both of you hiding from us anyway? What is so different about that alley? Please tell us. We need to know." I say, stumbling and rolling over my own words while still maintaining the grip on papa's hand.

"Alright." he looks into my eyes, and it's enough assurance for me that he was going to answer me. I loosen the grip on his hand and he retracts his hand to himself, standing straight back up.

He takes a deep breath and looks over to my mother who seems to be fiddling with her fingers, a gesture she uses when she is anxious about something.

"Someone...someone opened a portal into the underworld in that alley, son. That'd all you both have to know about it. And no one, I'm telling you this, absolutely no one will hear anything about the CURSED ALLEY from you both. Is that understood?"

"Yes papa. Our lips are sealed. You can trust us." I say, standing up and squeezing his shoulder for reassurance from my side. Jane stays silent all through the conversation, her eyes wandering about in the room or looking at us as we talked.

And it's beginning to make me wonder somehow.

Does she already know about this.

"Jane?"

Her eyes widen naturally, her aura shifting from calm and collected to slightly anticipated. Now I begin to think about the doubts I had in my mind and frame them into a logical question for her.

"You must be knowing about this, am I right Jane? You are the HIDDEN princess of our pack, and the werewolf species on the whole. You must've known about this." I didn't meet to sound too harsh because she might be innocent but who knows what is actually lying below all that facade?

Mate or not, you cannot trust anyone at any cost.

"I-"

"Knew it!" I click my fingers and scoff, but calm my hyperactive self down and listen to her. Thank god mates cannot hear each other's thoughts before the mating ritual has been completed.

"No, Ron, don't take it in the wrong way but, all the people in the palace know about this dark secret lying inside of our pack. Even the workers, the gardeners and everyone in between, they have to know the truth about the Cursed Alley, Ron. And...it's not just that there was a portal opened to the underworld but..." Jane hesitates to continue but our silence comforts her to resume her thoughts and speak out loud.

"...Creatures from the underworld lurk in there, Ron. You remember the menacingly loud howling from the top of some building?" Jane looks at me and I nod. I vaguely remember the howl, though I even doubted that it was a wolf's howl.

"That was a Gridge Ron..."