The Black Alder Series (Books 1-3)

It’s now been a full week since I’ve been down here in the dungeon, and today is my birthday. Thankfully, my scars are healing slowly. My mom has not come back. My brother comes back now and then to hit, kick, slap, burn, or whatever he needs to do to let off his pent-up anger. The guy in the cell next to me has been nice. He listens to me when I do talk, but even then, I don’t have much to say. Instead, he allowed me to listen to him. It turns out his name is Mark, and he was captured and jailed for hiding money from the alpha to keep the money to feed his family. He told me how the alpha would bring his fated mate to the dungeon and rape her while he watched them chained up. I used to think our alpha was nice, but after what he did to me and listening to Mark’s stories, I can understand why his son David is the way he is. As soon as he told me that, many of the prison mates started telling their own stories, and I found myself getting attached to these prisoners and their sad stories.

No one asked about my story. Everyone down there heard about the girl who decapitated her father. They also heard my mother’s confession, so they all knew I was innocent. It was nice to have someone believe me, even if no one else did. Everyone was silent as they heard the alpha approaching. He stopped at my cell and stared at me, opened it, then grabbed my arm to walk me out. He was not gentle, and my legs were wobbly from not being able to walk often, so he was dragging me out. One cellmate yelled, “Be strong, my queen’. Alpha-Nate growled at him. “Kill them all.” He ordered a pack warrior, and all I could hear were the screams of pain as he continued to drag me up the stairs. I could tell we were headed to his office. He dragged me past some pack members; some had cruel smiles on their faces, some with complete disgust. My once-best friend and brother were among them. Once we reached his office, he tossed me onto the chair. He goes behind his desk to his computer. I decided to stay quiet. I could feel his alpha aura pouring off in waves, but it wasn’t doing anything to me. He paid me no attention, and we sat like that for about 10 minutes until his eyes glazed over, linking someone. A few minutes later, a servant came into the room with a gray t-shirt and gray slacks. The outfit of the servant. She gave the clothes to me. “You know what to do,” was all he said. She tugged on my clothes, telling me to go with her. I followed. As we walked through the halls on the way to the servant’s quarters, I felt a tug in my head. Like someone trying to get through. The pain in my head was searing. I saw the servant about to mind-link Alpha when I suddenly asked her not to. “Please miss,” she said. “You need a doctor, and I’m on a tight schedule,” she said.

“What’s your name?” I asked her. “I am Serene, miss,” she said. “Just give me a second, please, Serene,” I asked her with a smile.

I somehow knew that wasn’t it, though, but the pain was starting to let up as I realized I should give in to the pain, and that’s what I did. I was suddenly feeling better. Better enough to walk. The pain didn’t come back, and I just assumed it was from finally seeing a lot of light after being in the dungeons for a week. We arrived at the servant headquarters, but it seemed like we were headed further than that. “Where are we going, Serene?” I asked her. “Alpha does not want you sleeping in servants’ quarters. He has another room to be given to you.” I followed her to what looked like an empty room with a ladder that looked like it led upstairs to a secret shack. She led me into that room. It looked like some sort of small attic with cobwebs all around. It had one flatbed on the ground with a thin blanket. I guess this is going to be my new quarter until the alpha kills me. “Miss, take a shower and then get dressed. I will wait for you,” Serene said, climbing down and leaving me to it. I saw the small bathroom downstairs and decided to hurry up and shower. The shower was small, and the cubby was wooden, but that didn’t matter to me. The water seemed to wash away what felt like years of sweat and blood. I felt great when it was done. I followed Serene for the rest of the day as she showed me how to clean the bathrooms in the packhouse, make beds, cook, and scrub the walls. Even though I was in the packhouse, I was happy not to pass any of my family. Though that didn’t stop the occasional glares or the laughs when someone “tripped” me. I learned quickly, thankfully, and kept my head down. I met the other servants, some who were nice to me, some who glared at me, and some who had terrible attitudes. While serving dinner, some members thought it would be hilarious to throw some food at me. I almost retaliated, but I heard someone say no, not yet. I looked around but couldn’t pinpoint the voice. I decided to shrug it off. It didn’t make it any easier than my “mom,” Lynx, Jen, and Marcus, who were all there watching my every move. They were all laughing at me too, other than Marcus. His eyes looked like they kept switching between annoyance and pity. I’m not sure, but I decided it wasn’t wise to stay and find out, so I left and retired back to my attic. I was so tired. I slouched on my little mattress. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was better than the dungeon. Serene gave me clothes to sleep in since I had none and an alarm to keep time. Luckily, my room wasn’t too close to one, so it gave me privacy. I laid down and prepared to go to sleep. All of a sudden You have been through some sh*t lately. I got up and looked around, but no one was there. “Who are you?” I asked out loudly. I am your girl. My wolf…. Yes, my name is Snow. I tried to reach out to you, but I had a tough time getting through, almost like I had to force my way through a block. Nice to meet you, Snow. I’m Elena. Also, yes, I could feel you trying to get through. It hurt terribly. I know love. Your body is weak, but I’m here to help you heal. I saw what happened, and I am sorry. I get quiet, not sure what to say. In my mind, it all still floats in my head as if it just happened in that second, and I feel myself tearing up. Don’t cry, love. You are so strong; you have no idea. I am so happy to have been paired with you. Unbelievably, I’ve known you way longer than you think. I know Mother Moon Goddess chose well, and when she told me about you, I had to come at once. I’ve been waiting to be your wolf for a long time! You spoke to the moon goddess? Yes, my love, but we will talk about that later. For now, sleep, and tell no one about me. You don’t want to give off your strength, and trust me, we are strong. No one here is to be trusted after what happens. The only person we will wait to tell is our mate when we find him on our 18th birthday. Mate won’t want a weak thing like us, I tell her. I don’t want to get her hopes up. Our mate will want us. Have patience, my love. I will be here to talk to you every step of the way. I smiled at that. Can I see how you look, Snow? I’m hoping to see her in my head, but I am weak right now, so I know I can’t. You will see when the time comes. I promise. Now get some sleep and let me work on healing you. Thank you, Snow. I told my wolf, and I feel myself getting sleepy. You’re welcome, my love. Oh, and Elena Yes Snow Happy BirthdayUpstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g