The Black Alder Series (Books 1-3)

Arabella Pov

I’m hurt. Watching that pack slut wrap her arms around Ares and kiss him just broke me. Why was she even there? Suddenly, I felt like the slut he had been calling me all this time. I can hear him pounding on the door to come in, but I can’t. I just can’t. Once I look at him, all the pain he has caused me will come facing me head-on, and if I have to keep the door closed to block the wave off, I will. Suddenly, I hear rattling, and two people come in. My two other mates.

They don’t even know what to say, so they crawl into bed and just hold me while I cry.

“He is a dick.” I sniffled through my tears, and I could hear Ash’s silent chuckle.

“I wouldn’t normally do this, but in his defense, Bella, he pushed her away. I don’t think he knew she was coming. She has an annoying habit of showing up in places she is not wanted,” Ash states.

“Why?” I ask.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

I can feel both of them tense up and look at each other. I wipe my eyes and turn to face them. They look guilty.

“Why?” I asked them, looking between both of them.

“She thinks we are going to make her our chosen mate and Luna,” Adonis says, his head still hanging down.

“And why does she think that?” I asked. I can feel my anger building.

“In the past. We may have. Slept with her together,” Ash says, looking equally guilty. I can feel my blood boil at this revelation, but I can see the regret on their faces, and I can’t judge them for something they did in the past.

“And do you plan on doing that?” I asked calmly.

“Hell no!” they shouted almost in unison.

“We are for you, Bella. We have no desire to mark or mate with her. We know that Ares has still been sleeping with her, but even he does not want to mark or mate her. Since you haven’t felt any pain lately, I don’t believe he has slept with her since he cheated on you.” Adonis explains.

It does make sense, but I’m not ready to face Ares yet. I will face him later, though, so we can sort our shit out. I wipe my face. I could feel myself sort of feeling a bit better.

“Speaking of which, did you have fun with our annoying brother last night?” Ash asks with a cheesy smile on his face. I felt my face heat up with a blush, and I punched him in the shoulder softly.

“That wasn’t what shocked me. What shocked me was his banging on the door, all mad. The princess opens the door. Please. Please. ” Adonis taunts me, and now I’m in tears again, but only from laughing so hard.

“You’re full of surprises, Bella,” Ares says, kissing me on the head. Adonis spaces out in a mindlink.

“The lady who is doing your training is here. Wash up and get dressed,” Adonis says.

After breakfast, I go outside. Adonis and Ash are speaking to a woman who I assume is my trainer. This woman is unlike anyone I’ve ever seen before. Her hair was braided into a single braid that hung long down her back. She was dressed in a warrior’s outfit. Her tan skin was beautiful, as the sun seemed to bounce off her. Her eyes were cat-like, and they darted towards me quickly as I approached. Ares was nowhere in sight.

Adonis and Ash came to my side, and both kissed my head.

“Bella, this is Camilla. She is an Amazonian from one of our international packs,” Adonis says. I reached out to shake her hand. Her hands are rough, yet not so rough as to feel manly.

“Camilla, this is our Luna and mate Arabella,” Ash introduced me. As I’m shaking her hand, I feel strange. I feel like someone is tugging on my mind. I try to pull my hand back, but she pulls me closer to her.

“She has a block on her powers, yet I sense her water abilities are unlocked,” Camilla says in a thick accent. I nodded, trying to get my head under control. Ash and Adonis get called away on Alpha duties, leaving me with Camilla.

“Come, Arabella,” she said, and we ended up on the training grounds. Luckily, no one was there. She stood in front of a huge basin of water.

“Elemental energy is all around us, whether you know it or not. Your element flows as your emotions do. Some royals are only able to channel at most two elements, but I sense all four of them inside of you. Since you have unlocked water first, that is the first emotion we will practice. Bending water comes from feeling a sense of peace. Now, try to get the water out of the bin and into the air.” She speaks

“How do I do that by feeling peace?” I asked her.

“Precisely. You must concentrate on moving your emotions through you and out of your fingers. Concentrate on the water. How are flows? The ripples. Think about a puddle of water from inside your head running through each vein you have. Let it calm you.” She explains, and I nod.

I look at the water and close my eyes, trying to picture the water moving and trying to feel at peace, but nothing happens. Keep trying, she says, and I do. Adonis and Ash find us a little later, with me still trying to move the water. Camilla says. Lifting the water into the air is all I need to do before we conclude our lesson today, but I can’t seem to move it.

“You can do this, Bella,” Ash says, kissing my forehead and moving back to my side to talk with Adonis and Camilla. I shift my focus to the water, but I end up looking past it. I see Ares standing in the forest, talking with the pack slut. I try to keep my focus on them, but she keeps grabbing his arm, and I get pissed. He pushed her away, seeming upset with her, and was yelling at her, but she wasn’t listening.

“Take the hint, bitch.” I growled slowly. I feel the wind blow, picking up speed as I watch them. Adonis and Ash look at me and follow my gaze towards them and back to me. Suddenly, Ares is walking away from her, and she pulls him back and kisses him. All of my anger, all the resentment, and all the hate I felt came pouring from me. My body started to heat up and started creating a fireball that soared through the air and slammed her into a tree. The tree limbs are wrapping around her like a snake. She struggles, but she can’t get out. Using my wolf speed, I am in front of her quickly, grabbing her by the neck, my emotions boiling.

“Take the hint, bitch; he doesn’t want you,” I said through my teeth. I can feel a burning heat journey from inside of me.

“Fucking bitch, he will always want me.” She spat at me. I raise my hand, and I feel the heat rush out of me, forming a ball in my hands. I was literally controlling fire, and yet that was the least concerning thing at that moment: I was going to kill this bitch. On each side of the tree, two huge rocks are lifted. I can’t decide whether to burn her or crush her.

Suddenly, Ares is in front of me.

“Stop, princess,” he says, grabbing my shoulders and trying to get my attention away.

“Taking up for your whore now?” I asked him, still holding a branch rope around the slut.

“She means nothing to me. That’s what I was telling her. I don’t want her. I want you, princess,” he says, gripping my face in his hand and looking me in the eye, causing the rope to break and Briana to drop to the ground. The rocks also drop.

“I only want you,” he says again, and I tear up.

“You’re just going to break my heart again,” I told him.

“I won’t. I told myself for the longest time that I would keep you away because it would make me weak, but I felt incredibly strong with you last night. It made my wolf stronger. I was wrong, princess, and I’m sorry. The truth is, I can’t keep fighting how I feel,” he says.

“How do you feel?” I asked him, tears forming. My fire dies out.

I love you,” he said, and with that, he smashed his lips on mine, causing my tears to pour out. The pain poured out. The pain of being unwanted pours out. Briana ran off to the packhouse, but I wasn’t interested in her. I was interested in my mate, finally admitting his feelings for me, and not only that, he said he loved me. He fucking loves me. I poured my feelings into our kiss, and we pulled away from each other. I looked up to see that the same water in the basin had made its way over here and was now circling us. This was peace. He was my peace. All three of them were.

“I love you too,” I whispered, and he smiled-that incredible smile I love so much.

“Well, about fucking time,” a voice says from behind me. I turn and see Ash, Adonis, and Camilla standing there with smiles on their faces.

“That concludes the lessons for today. Not only did you tap into your water abilities, but you have managed to tap into the rest as well. We will pick them up tomorrow,” Camilla says, and she jumps into the tree limbs, disappearing into the forest.

“Where did she go?” I asked, using my wolf eyes, but was unable to find her.

“Amazonians live in the trees. We offered her to stay in the packhouse, but she decided the forest was more comfortable,” Adonis says, and I nod.

Ares pulls me into his chest, breathing me in. I felt incredibly calm. I hadn’t realized how much emotion I had pent up.

“So, you love me, hunh,” I said, pulling back from him. He smirks and looks down at me.

“Don’t push it, Omega,” he says, nuzzling his head in my neck. I pull away and wipe my face.

“I knew you would come around eventually,” Adonis says, hitting Ares on the shoulder playfully.

“I’m sorry about threatening to kill you,” Ash tells Ares.

“Don’t be; I would have said the same,” Ares tells him, and I feel our mate bond has strengthened tremendously. I end up crying again, but I’m really happy, and I pull them all into a hug as they look at me like I’m crazy.

“I’m glad you are all back together,” I said through my tears, and they smothered me with kisses.

“And we’re all yours,” Ash says, wiping the last bit of tears from my face.