The Black Alder Series (Books 1-3)

Aiden Pov I just got back to my body. I feel a little sick, and I can tell Ethan does too, but we know it will pass. The effects of astral projection into the spirit realm. We woke up in the hallway. Someone must have moved our bodies. We go back to the room our mate is in. There are a lot of people in the room now, and it looks like the whole room was set on fire. Our mate isn’t in bed. I looked over to Ethan, and we rushed out of bed. I saw Mom coming down the hallway.

“Where is she?” Ethan and I said it together.

“She’s in another room,” Mom says. “Apparently, when she set herself on fire in the spirit realm, her actual body was lit up as well. She isn’t harmed, as we know it won’t hurt her. Serene was able to hold the fire in the room alone, which is why it’s charred. Serene put a charm on the room. She knows that will hold the fire better if it happens again. I nodded in understanding. She takes us to a bigger room than before. We can see the mystical energy around the walls and borders of the room. Our beautiful companion is lying there. It looks like her open wounds are closing up faster than before, but they will leave scars.

I linked to my brother.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

She will have scars once she heals up, I told him.

But she will still be as beautiful as ever. He links back to me.

I nod in agreement. Nothing would ever make her less beautiful. We hadn’t thought we would meet her so soon.

My twin brother Ethan and I have been waiting to meet our mate for what seemed like a long time. We even kept ourselves celibate for her. Ever since we were young, we always knew we would share a mate. We shared everything, even each other’s sentences. My brother and I were the same. Both of us stood six feet tall, looking like a replica of our father. The only difference is our eye colors, which are blue and hazel. We grew up listening to our mother, who is the reincarnated version of the moon goddess herself, about the importance of mates and all the horrible things that were done to her about the mate bond. Mother, being the reincarnated moon goddess on earth, was also the first female lycan to ever appear since her old life hundreds of years ago.

Our baby sister, Ella, took the title of being the second female Lycan. We also inherited Lycans from our mother, making us a full family of Lycans, minus our father. We inherited our mother’s power to bend energy. This was something that only someone with a direct line to the moon goddess could do. Bending the energy within ourselves allows us to do many things, such as astral projects to other realms.

At first, when we saw her, our beautiful companion, we thought she was human. Not that it would have mattered. Ethan and I would have loved her just as much. We can tell she has been through a lot, both mentally and physically. I want to kill whoever has caused this pain, though it would trigger the vampire side our mother says is hidden in our blood. If we trigger it, it’s possible our lycans will go feral, causing them to become dark lycans. Dangerous beasts that have no control over themselves. Our mother told us about unlocking hers, but she has found a way to overcome it. I pray to the goddess that this does not happen to us.

My brother and I are still in the room with our mate.

Her doctor told us to give her space after the trauma she had been through, and we would, but then she asked us to be there when she woke up. Neither I nor my brother will leave this room for anything in the world until our mate wakes up. We ask our mother to bring us two roll-in beds and some clothes, as we will sleep here until she wakes up. There is a shower here, so we will be fine.

Mom says she would probably only sleep for a day or two, but we know it may take longer. The first time Aiden and I did it, we were asleep, and we went to the moon goddess realm to play with the spirit kids. We knew who she was. We talked with her a few times, but we just wanted to play with the other kids. We were only two at the time. It took us about a week to wake up, and our mother almost lost her mind until she realized where we were.

I looked over to Kayla. She’s so beautiful and so pure. I almost stopped breathing when she set herself on fire and walked towards us. I could feel her strong power radiating from her, and it was focused on us. All we could do was stare at her. Our lycans howled at being recognized by our mate. She held us in a trance. I wanted to scoop her up. I can’t wait until she wakes up so that I may look into those beautiful green eyes again. They are my favorite shade of green, reminding me of the forest. She even smells delightful. Like freshly cut grass. My favorite smell. I can feel Ethan’s rage. I look at him and see he is looking at her scars, and my anger joins him.

I’m going to rip that alpha’s fucking head off. Enzo growls in my head.

and it’s going to feel so good. Ethan Pov It’s been two weeks since we’ve been waiting for Kayla to awaken. My brother and I are worried. The doctors say she is healing fine. The mother assures us that she is okay and may just be taking longer because of how powerful she is. Her friend Dr. Lauren woke up instantly and moved on the floor with Aunt Serene, Bonnie, and Uncle Nate. Dr. Lauren is a little weird. She started working at our hospital after dad invited her to the pack. She keeps watch over Kayla and seems way too protective.

Even more protective than us, but we let it go. It’s a good thing. Our sister visits us now and then to bring us food throughout the day. She looks just like Mom when she was little, from what mom said. We aren’t as close as we should be. I just have a better bond with Aiden. It must be our twin bond. My ears perk up as Kayla stirs.

Aiden and I are at both of her sides in an instant, but she stays asleep. We each grab her hand, feeling the tingly soul. We still don’t understand how, due to her not having a wolf.

It’s your celestial soul that recognizes her as your mate. My wolf, Jevon, tells me.

I didn’t know celestial souls could do that.

That would explain the energy I feel each time I touch her. As if she is channeling my energy too. Each time I look at her, my eyes trail over her body. I remember the scars on her body when she was first brought in, and I growled. Ethan looked at me, understanding. He knows how I’m feeling. I’m going to kill her whole pack and that deranged alpha for everything he put our mate through. Jevon howls in agreement. Lauren Pov I haven’t been getting much sleep. Ever since I came back from that place, I feel something has awakened in me. Nothing dark, but just something strange. The place felt familiar to me somehow. I have dreams of war. It feels like I have been in them, but I don’t know how that’s possible. I spend time with Kayla as much as I can to take my mind off it.

I feel as if she and I are connected somehow. I don’t know how or why. My wolf agrees, though. I feel even more protective of her, knowing she is in danger. I’ll feel better once she channels her powers and learns how to protect herself. I talked to Serene. She told me she and Maggie could help. She says I may have traces of witch blood, and she will test for it. It will definitely be something I hadn’t been expecting, but I will do my best to learn all I can since I feel the fight to come will be the most brutal one.