The Black Alder Series (Books 1-3)

“Elena,” a voice came from behind me. I’m standing in the middle of the most beautiful garden, full of rose bushes and white daisies. I turned around and saw a young woman approaching me. She seems to get more beautiful with each step she takes. “Who are you, and how do you know my name?” I asked. “Mom always told me to ask these questions to strangers. “I am a friend, child,” she replies with a smile on her face. Her hair is the most beautiful color-silver and white blended together. She is dressed in a silver dress with beautiful curves, but what draws me in the most are her eyes. They are the bluest eyes I have ever seen, and I feel at peace. Her aura of power is pouring from her in waves, and suddenly, even with me being 4 years old, I know she would never harm me. “You’re beautiful, Miss,” I replied with the biggest smile on my face. “Thank you, darling,” she continued. “Child, I have come to tell you something terrible is about to happen to you.” “What do you mean?” I said I was getting scared. “What will happen?”

She sits on the ground and puts me on her lap. “Danger will come to you from all sides, my child,” she says, stroking my hair. “You must be patient and have courage.” You must never give up, even when it seems like all hope is lost, my child. “You will be tested, but you must have faith in yourself. Never lose it. She strokes my hair lightly, and I get sleepier; her voice is starting to fade. I’m struggling to keep my eyes open and remember her words. “What will happen? I asked?” as my eyes began to close. “Remember my words” is all I hear before everything fades.

I woke up with a sweat. The dream I just had seems so familiar, as if I’ve had that dream before, but in my dream, I was only 4. That was 10 years ago.Material © NôvelDrama.Org.

Is that when I first had this dream? I wondered to myself for sure, but a warning for what? And who is she? I can hear my mom and dad talking downstairs, making breakfast for me and my older brother Lynx. It is an average day here in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here, the weather is always humid, with limited chilly days. People in my pack hate the weather. I love it. By pack, yes, you guessed it. We are all werewolves here. Our pack is known as the Black Sun’s Pack, one of 15 packs in the whole state. A wolf king and queen ruled each state. Our king does not live on our parkland, though. Most of us have shifted; some of us are not like me. The shifting age isn’t until 18, but you can get your wolf conscious a little earlier than that. It’s different for everyone. A wolf consciousness is like a voice in your head that is you, just a more animalistic version of you. They feel what you feel and see what you see. When you shift, they become you, and you become the voice in their heads, but you are still one. I cannot wait for mine. I get up, make my bed, and go to the bathroom. Today is my first day at Black Sun High, and I’m anxious. Black Sun High is the high school everyone in Charlotte, North Carolina, goes to. It was filled with werewolves, shifted and unshifted, and humans. Humans don’t know about us, and we prefer to keep it that way. Humans knowing about the supernatural can get them killed very easily, so we prefer to stay by ourselves. I glance at myself in the mirror as my messy, curly brown hair falls over my face. I can’t help but think about how my body looks so much different than all the other girls. I’m 5, 5. I have medium-length curly hair and deep blue eyes. My body is underdeveloped compared to all the other girls. They are toned in the stomach; I am chubby. Where they are thin and lean, I am short and fat. I don’t look like either of my parents, but my dad says he has family members with my eyes and hair color who are special, and he believes I am too. I never worry after he tells me this. I am also plus-sized, but no one ever says anything to my face about it. Probably because my dad is the gamma of my current back, and any insults towards me are an insult to him. My dad is very overprotective of me, which is something I love very much. I am closer to my dad than my mom or brother, as he seems to be the only one who cares about me. Dad never lets me train, so all the carbs tend to stick. The only exercise I can get is walking to school. My brother is the opposite of me. He has blonde hair and green eyes, the same as my father, and they are both tall. I would say they both average around 6 and a half feet, with my dad being a bit taller. My brother and I have a strange relationship. He isn’t mean to me, but he isn’t nice either. It’s like he only tolerates me because our dad does. Sometimes he acknowledges me if he is in a rare mood. He always has this bored look on his face, other than when he is with his friends. My mother’s influence is rubbing off on him. Speaking of “mothers,”. My mom, Diane, has an olive-tone skin color with black hair and hazel eyes that always seem to narrow at me when I am around her. I do not know why, but she just seems to get annoyed with me quickly, like I did something to her. She yells at me for the smallest things when dad isn’t around. It’s always like she is trying to punish me for something, though I’ve yet to figure out what that something is. I have just learned to stay out of her way. My brother, however, is the apple of her eye. He knows how she treats me when dad is not around, but he does not say anything. She has never hit me or anything; she just yells and calls me names when I make a mistake. Dad knows something is up, though. I can sometimes hear them arguing when he catches her yelling at me when she thinks he is not looking. I know I am slowly coming between them, and I hate it.

I ran to the bathroom to wash up and get ready. I decided to go with a white-collar shirt, some skinny jeans, and white forces. It’s better to keep it casual. I climb downstairs, greeting both parents. My dad kisses my head with the daily glare from mom. “Morning, sweetie,” he says. “Ready for school?” “Yes, daddy”. I told him. I can hear mom grunting, but, as usual, I ignore her. So does Dad. “Are you ready for your birthday next week?” He speaks “Of course, silly,” I told him. I have been looking forward to my 15th birthday. I feel like this is when my wolf comes. “I’m walking with Jen today,” I let him know. As soon as I tell him this, my best friend Jen and her brother Marcus come in. Jen never knocks on the door. She always barges in, as she lives here, but my family never minds. She is our beta daughter, and we have always been close growing up. She is super sweet, but she can also be a bitch to anyone who messes with her or me. I am so happy to see her, as I have not been able to see her all summer due to her being at her grandparents over the summer, and she has changed. She used to be short and chubby like me, but over the summer, I can tell her blonde hair has gotten darker, and she wears it straight now instead of wavy. Her eyes are also blue, but more of a light sea blue. She lost a lot of weight, which tells me she has been training over the summer. Her figure has brought out her hips, and her waist is thin. I must admit, I’m a bit jealous of her. Marcus is her male twin in every way, with blonde hair and green eyes, even though he is older. I always seem flustered whenever he comes around, and he knows it, giving me a wink as they sit down. As far as I can remember, I have always had a crush on Marcus. He is always nice to me. He and I do not really talk much as he is always spending time together with my brother, but when he sees me, he gives me his lady killer smile, and I just swoon. All the girls do. He is a popular jock at Ban River High. One of the top three. My brother is also one of the top three, hence why they are best friends. “Sup, girl, are you ready?” Jen says. “Coming,” I tell her. “Take some toast with you,” my dad says. “Of course, Daddy, I love you.”. “I love you too,” he says. “My dad yells to my brother that Marcus is waiting for him. They usually carpool together, but Jen and I walk to school since it isn’t far. As I grabbed some toast off the counter, I could hear my brother coming downstairs. His blonde hair is tousled, and he is wearing all black with a leather jacket, as it’s part of his bad-boy vibe. As soon as he is downstairs, he locks eyes with Jen and growls. Marcus stands protectively in front of his sister as the whole kitchen gets tense. My dad tells him and Marcus to go to the living room. Jen and I are laughing as we are leaving.

“Wonder what that’s about?” “Is it just me, or is your brother getting hotter with each passing day?” she says. “Ewe, Jen,” I tell her. She throws her hands up. “I’m just saying he can growl at me any time,” and she twirls her hips. “Your brother can growl at me too’, I told her, thinking about her sexy brother Marcus. She knows I’ve been secretly crushing on him since we were small. We are both laughing and catching up with her as we get to school. Our high school is made of wolves from different packs in the neighborhood. 9/10 people find their mates by senior year. All the boys are taught to control their shift starting in the first year, as guys, especially alphas and betas, tend to shift as early as sophomore year. Girls must wait until they are eighteen to shift, or they shift when they find their mate. Lynx, Marcus, and the Alphas’ son David are pulling their motorcycles around the same time as we reach the school. David completes the top three. He is your typical Alpha’s son, with black hair and green eyes. He is taller than my brother by a few inches. Just like my brother, he dresses in dark jeans and leather jackets, as it is his signature look. He is overconfident and arrogant. All the ladies love him, hoping to be his mate. I would hate to be mated to someone like him. I was told he bullies and beats up random people here. They can’t fight back since he is the alpha’s son. I will be doing my best to stay out of his way. I also hear he sleeps with a different woman each day, and they just give themselves to him. He always has this bad attitude and is short-tempered, which he gets from his dad, our alpha. Thanks to my dad, I have never been allowed to be in the presence of our alpha. My dad says it is because my alpha is a nasty piece of work, and if our alpha ever disrespected me, he would most likely get himself killed. Lynx seems upset about something as they walk to the building, but Marcus just has a beautiful smile on his face as he waves our way, and I blush immediately.

“Ugh, I wish I would end up being your brother’s mate,” I tell Jen, but her gaze is not focused on me. It focused on their direction, specifically my brother. The school bell rings, signifying the start of the day. “Earth to Jen, we got to go,” I tell her, tugging on her shirt. I will ask her about what just happened later, I say to myself. I’m ready to get today over with, but somehow, I can’t shake this uneasy feeling that someone is watching me. I turn around briefly, but because I don’t see anyone watching me, I keep walking, and I enter the building. As Jen and I get our school schedule, I still feel like I am being watched, but I keep my focus on my schedule. I have no classes with Jen, as she is in a higher grade than me. I do see that I have the same lunch period with the juniors and seniors. Neat. I am looking forward to drooling over Marcus.