The Black Alder Series (Books 1-3)

Ares Pov

All of the alphas are filling out the hall, so we can spend the day going over the reports they have. Ash is here beside me while Adonis makes sure everything else is going great. My mind is wandering back to the little Omega servant from yesterday. I don’t know why, but when I looked at her, I felt a sense of peace. Something I’ve never felt before, and I was curious to know more about her, but by the way, today’s reports are going, and it looks like we will be here all day. She is so beautiful with her blonde hair and grayish-blue eyes. Her hair was wrapped in a bun, but I could tell it was probably long. She has such natural beauty, and I admit I would have looked at her all day, but I had business to attend to. When I looked for her, she seemed to have disappeared. I don’t know why I am taking an interest in one girl, and my Lycan Strike won’t stop pacing in my head either. I focused my attention back on the meeting at hand. I’m sure I will cross paths with her again. Arabella Pov

Today is the second day of the summit, which is great because it means I will not have to worry about seeing King Damon. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include the queen who comes bursting into Sam and I’s room, and now that King Damon is gone, I don’t have his protection.

Her little, bitchy servants are behind her. They instantly grab both of my arms and pin me against the wall. I struggle to get lost, but the queen comes up to me and punches me in the stomach.

Cassie goes into a corner in fear.

“You fucking slut.” She sneers, and it is followed by another punch. I hunch over, but the bitches lift me back up. Two of them are holding down Sam. Cassie is just standing in a corner with her head down in fear.

“Please stop; it’s not my fault,” I pleaded, but she didn’t want to hear it. The queen punches me a few more times while calling me names before a growl is heard in the doorway, causing our heads to turn. It’s one of the triplets from yesterday.

“What is going on here?” he demanded, his eyes narrowing at Queen Liza. The servants still had me pinned against the wall.

“Nothing, Alpha, just showing this little servant her place,” Liza says in a trying to be sweet voice. I can tell he is looking at me, but I keep my eyes down. I don’t want him to hit me for disrespect.

“She looks like she has had enough. Release her,” he demands. His aura is so strong that they release me at once, and I fall to the floor. They release Sam as well, who runs me instantly.

“Leave,” the man commands, and they all scatter out pretty fast. Sam helped me up and sat me on the bed.

“Thank you, Alpha, but I can take over from here,” Sam says with her head down to him.

“What is your name?” he asks.

“My name is Sam, sir; her name is Cassie; and this is my best friend, Arabella,” she says, lifting her head to look at him. He walks from the door and kneels in front of me. My head is still down, so I can’t see his head, but I can see the way his black shirt is clinging to his chest, and even through the pain, I wanted to reach out and touch his chest. I restrain myself. My heart is beating faster than usual, and Royal is doing fucking flips in my head, not making this easier.

“Look at me,” he says, gripping my face in his firm hands. His touch feels like heaven, and I look up slowly, taking in this gorgeous man’s features. He is so handsome, with tussle-jet black hair, tan skin, and hazel eyes. Oh, my goddess, this man is gorgeous.

“Arabella, my name is Adonis. I’m going to pull your shirt up a little so we can take a look at your injuries. Is that okay?” He asks. I nodded my head, still hypnotized by those beautiful hazel eyes. He pulls his hands away from my face, and I almost whimper at the loss of touch. He lifts my shirt a little, just under my breasts. He growls, and I look down at the black and blue bruises, but he doesn’t say anything. Sam runs to get her medical bag. This wasn’t my first rodeo with her. She comes back and applies some bruise ointment that helps me speed up the healing with my wolf. Cassie gets some water and warm clothes to soothe her wounds.

“Why did she hit you?” he asks, standing up. I want to tell him the truth, but he will just tell Alpha Damon, who will probably hit me again for causing a scene.

“She hits me because I am a slut. I sleep with the king as his mistress. You shouldn’t concern yourself with me, Alpha. While I am thankful you helped me, please don’t next time. I deserve what my queen does,” I told him, looking down again. I hear Sam growling at me slowly; I’m sure her face is annoyed by my lying. I can feel Adonis’s eyes burning at me, like he is trying to figure me out. After a while, he just leaves. When he gets to the door, he turns around.

“What’s your pack name?” he asks.

“Blood Moon of North Carolina,” I told him.

“Don’t forget to apply that ointment once more; it will help with the bruising,” he says, and then he closes the door.

“Why did you lie to him?” Sam demanded that she and Cassie help me lay down on the bed.

“I don’t want him to tell Alpha Damon about it,” I told her. She shakes her head and crawls in bed with me, playing through my hair. Cassie is called away to help her king. After a while, Sam falls asleep, and my thoughts drift back to the beautiful man with the hazel eyes. Adonis Pov

I’m running through the forest near the visitor’s area when I hear something strange. It’s not so much a sound, more like a distress signal I can feel inside of me. My Lycan Silas is curious as well, as it caught both of us by surprise, and we followed the sound. I changed back into human form. One of the perks of our triplet powers is the ability to retain our clothes when we shift back to human form.

It leads me to a certain room, and as I approach, I hear punching sounds, followed by a girl’s pleas for them to stop. What the fuck? I got to the door and growled, making everyone stop and look at me. I see a girl all helpless, and it is pissing me off, which is weird because I’m not easy to anger. I glare at the woman hitting her, and after she tells me her reason, I make her and everyone else who doesn’t belong leave. I want to tear that lady’s head from her body. Again, I don’t know where this anger is coming from.

The other girl explains that her name is Sam, and the beaten girl’s name is Arabella. She tries to get me to leave the room, but I don’t want to. Arabella is such a beautiful name, and Silas growls in agreement.

The other girl who was being held down helped the girl onto the bed. I get on my knees, trying to see her face, since she is keeping her head down and won’t look at me. She smells kind of funny. She smells like a regular wolf, but with something that isn’t supposed to be on her. I don’t know. I can’t explain it. I take her face in my hands, and I’m met by the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. She looks like a little angel, even if her face is in pain. I lift her shirt to see the black and blue bruises forming, and Silas and I growl. I can even see outlines of past wounds that have healed, so I can tell this isn’t the first time. I want to kill that fucking woman and the ones that held them down. The girl’s name, Sam, gets some ointment meant to speed healing. I can tell this isn’t the first time. The other girl puts a cloth on her wounds.

“Why did she hit you?” I asked Arabella.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

Arabella explains that she is a slut and a mistress of the king. Her voice is so sad, and her friend Sam growls, which leads me to believe she is lying to me, but I don’t push the issue. I decide to leave so I can learn more about her, get her pack name, and let her friend Sam know to apply the ointment again, shutting the door.

I linked my beta.

“Yes, boss,” Kyle links

“I have a secret mission for you,” I told him.

“My favorite kind, what is it?” he asks.

“I need you to get me all the information you have on the Alpha King of North Carolina and his mistress, Arabella.” I linked to him.

“On it, boss,” he says, and I close the connection. Thankfully, our beta doesn’t ask questions. I don’t know why I feel drawn to her, but I will find out why she is lying to me. Whether she likes it or not.