The Black Alder Series (Books 1-3)

Ares Pov

“Sit down,” my mom commands, and I do. I can feel her anger rolling off.

“You cheated on your mate,” Mom demanded, and I hung my head in shame.

“Well, speak,” Mom says.

“You know I don’t want a mate,” I told her, meeting her eyes. I want to look away, but I have to face up to what I’ve done.

“Well, as your father says, tough shit. You were hoping that you would all get separate mates, but the Moon Goddess paired you up with someone who is probably extremely powerful enough that she has to be paired with three powerful Lycans to match her direct lineage,” I said, holding my eyes.

“Just because the moon goddess paired us up with the omega doesn’t mean I will be forced to accept her,” I say, getting annoyed, and I can feel her heat aura spread in the room, not that it affects me.

“Ever since you were a child, you have been stubborn and cut off. You don’t let anyone get close to you. You shelter yourself away, believing it will make you stronger, but it won’t. Your ignorance has put a space between you and your brothers.” She says this and then takes my face in her hands.

“You will end up alone and weak, my son. You have a sweet mate who I know loves you. Even though you won’t admit it, you love her too. Pushing her away will weaken the bond you four have established. Is this what you want? To weaken yourself and your brothers as well.” She speaks. I remain quiet. I hadn’t thought about that. She lets my face go.

“Figure this shit out and apologize before it’s too late to fix it,” she says and leaves the room, leaving me with my thoughts and, even more, my guilt. Arabella Pov

This is the fifth day in a row I’ve woken up to my friends not being here. I rarely see them during the day, as they are stuck in their office doing office work. When I go to sleep, they aren’t beside me. Sam says Kyle is doing the same. I can feel something big is going on, but when I ask them, they deflect my question. It hurts my feelings, but I’m sure, whatever it is, it’s important.

Right now, I’m walking down the main hall, and I end up in the study where King Damon assaulted me. I can feel my head start to spin as the memory fills in and the tears form. I lean against a table for support. I start to smell my mate’s smell, and I turn around only to find Ares leaning against the wall, watching me.

“What do you want?” I asked him, wiping my tears away. His face holds some sort of emotion that I can’t place.

“I felt your stress, and I came to see if you’re okay,” he says. He came to see if I was okay. I call it bullshit.

“I’m fine, thanks; you can keep doing whatever you were doing,” I told him. The memory of him hitting me in this room is still fresh in my mind. Suddenly, he is in front of me, gripping my waist with both arms, and he is breathing me in. I struggled a little to get out of his grip, but, if I’m honest, I was enjoying his touch on me. It was firm yet gentle, and I could hear Royal purr in content.

“You smell so good,” he says, still nuzzling his head in my neck in a deep voice, and I feel myself having an inner battle, trying not to cave in but wanting to. I ended up breathing him in as well, and I leaned into his shoulder, putting my arms around his waist slowly. This sudden affection from him was pushing me to the breaking point. I turned around and ran through the backdoor. The skies were dark, and it was raining hard outside. I stopped and let the rain wash over me as my tears fell too. The rain felt good on my skin. It matched my mood.

I turned back around, and Ares was right behind me. Why won’t he leave me alone?

“Don’t run from me,” he said, grabbing my arm, and I shrugged him off. I can’t deal with this anymore. I couldn’t deal with him. I back up from him, all of my emotions bubbling to the surface.

“You don’t want me,” I told him. “You don’t want a mate. You have told me countless times, over and over, that you don’t want me. Calling me a slut. You hit me. I hadn’t even done anything to you, and yet you hit me. You cheated on me. You accepted the mate bond, but then you turned around and cheated on me. I would never have done anything like that to you. You hurt me. Why did you hurt me? Never mind, it doesn’t matter. I’m just an omega to you, and right now your brothers are ignoring me too, so how about just fucking all of you?” I told him, tears rolling down my face. His expression goes back to being unreadable, and the fact that he is silent just angers me more.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

I decided I had enough, and I pushed past him, but he grabbed my arm as I walked past him and pulled me into a kiss. This caught me completely by surprise, and, because of the mate bond, I melted instantly. This kiss was animal-like, and I found myself moaning into it as he wrapped his arms around my waist and I wrapped mine across his neck, playing with his black, silky, now wet hair. We fought for dominance as our tongues danced together. He picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around him. I felt a need. A deep need and I wanted, no I needed him. I fucking needed him. I started to feel a buzz inside of me, and it was building fast. He was kissing me through my tears, and it was so perfect until he pulled back and looked around him. He let me go instantly, still looking around him.

My eyes left his face and widened in shock as I looked around us. The rain had stopped, and a circle of water was flowing in a perfect circle around us. It dropped instantly. He looked back at me.

“I can’t do this,” he muttered and shifted, running into the forest. I stood there stunned, not sure how to process what just happened. He kissed me. He fucking kissed me. I touched my lips, swollen from the kiss, and the puddle of water on the ground. I created a circle of water around us.

Royal, what happened just now?

You unlock the power yourself when you explain your feelings to Mate, causing our power to flow out of you and mix with the rainwater.

Do I have my other abilities now too?

Not yet. They will come when you are ready.

I contemplated shifting and finding Ares, but I remember what he said.”I can’t do this,” he said. He doesn’t want me, and that sh*t hurts beyond anything. I straightened myself up and headed back into the building, unaware that someone was watching me.