The Black Alder Series (Books 1-3)

Elena POV We arrived at a 3-story building with many outside venues. We all went into the mall, and there were so many stores inside. Mia pulled us into Charlotte Ruse first, and the lady at the counter welcomed us and took my measurements. She then pointed me to a section made specifically for my size. Mia tossed many pairs of pants, shirts, and dresses my way while Serene picked through clothes for herself. I was in and out of the dressing room for over 45 minutes, but I have to admit, she has wonderful taste. All the clothes she picked outfitted me perfectly, and they all helped to bring out my newly formed curves. I asked Mia to put some stuff back, so we didn’t spend a lot of money. I don’t want my friend to get upset with me for spending too much of his money. She ignored me and paid for all those clothes anyway. We walked out with so many bags. There was a door attendant who took up our backs, and I assume they were there to put them in the trunk of the limo. Mia was dragged up to the second floor by Chanel. We tried many types of perfumes, pocketbooks, sweaters, and jewelry. She bought anything I looked at and everything she got her hands on. Serene was able to find some stuff too, and Mia paid for it. Serene just got whatever she wanted, no matter the cost. I could only hope I could convince Roland not to be upset with her, as Mia was telling us to get everything. After we went to a few more name-brand stores to get bags of clothes, jewelry, and shoes, we paused for some chick fil-a. I haven’t been to one since I was little. I couldn’t eat a lot due to my limited eating in the last pack, but I ate all I could. Mia was upset. I didn’t eat any more, but there was nothing she could do. Roland must have told her to make sure I ate a lot. My feet were killing me. I made a note to myself to get someone to train me since I will be taking Alpha Ned in 2 weeks. Mia is dragging me into stores, and now I’m getting annoyed. “Mia, we have so much stuff; I’m so tired; let’s go home now,” I complained. I know she can sense my frustration. “We have two more stores, Luna, so get your tail up and let’s go,” Mia said. She is bossy, but I know she means well, so I agree since there are only two more. We go into Victoria’s secret, and I blush instantly at all the lingerie. Serene walks around with one of the guards to pick out what she wants, and Mia gets one of the associates to fit me for my bra and pants size. Mia goes into the dressing room with me, and I’m shy about getting undressed in front of her, and she can tell, so she turns around and strips naked, trying on some stuff for herself while I try on some lingerie too. Mia turns back around each time and looks at me, adjusting my bra. “You look hot as fuck girly,” she says, and for once I agree with her. Now that Snow has healed all my wounds, I can see my body for the first time. It’s completely flawless and has so much life. My stomach is flat, and my waist is small. My new curves are beautiful and make my buttocks look good. We find a lot of lacy sets in assorted colors. She pays for them. I see Serene must have found some stuff too. “Do you also feel weird getting these sets?” I asked Serene. “Not really; Nate told me he would just end up ripping it off me anyway,” she says. We both start laughing while watching our bags being taken away. “Alright, last stop, ladies,” Mia says. We end up in front of Versace. We all go inside, and Mia starts barking commands to every associate there. I can tell they are also used to her. A lot of associates are coming our way. People are measuring both me and Serene and going to the back. “This way, ladies,” one of the associates says. We went to the back and were loaded with dresses. We are trying on dresses left and right for my ceremony tonight and future events. I look in the mirror at the dress I’m currently wearing, and I know it’s the one I need to wear tonight. Serene has already found a silver sequin dress that brings out her eyes, and it’s so cute on her. My dress is a floor-length dress that trails behind me. It’s a mix of black and royal blue, with diamonds below the waistline. It has a slit that comes up to my waist, and it’s backless. The dress has a v-cut in the front, and my boobs sit naturally up in it. This dress is beautiful, and it brings out my eyes. I can’t wait to wear it tomorrow. I only hope Roland loves it. We were walking out of the store, headed to the entrance of the mall, when I felt someone staring at me. Snow notices something too, and she is circling uneasily in my head. I looked around, but no one was there. Mia and the security guards are suddenly surrounding me and Serene, and we all walk back to the limo. I feel the feeling leave me, and it unnerves me. I got into the limo fast. As soon as we get into the limo, Serene starts to convulse. I reached out to help her but stopped midway as I realized this was a vision she was having, although this was different somehow. No one moved. Serene suddenly stops convulsing, and her eyes are glowing all white. “Elena,” she says, her gaze landing on me. “Eleanor.” Her gaze is in a faraway voice. Beware of the one who will pretend to prepare; gather your strength, or it will be your end. Despair will befall you even if you succeed. The past holds the key to the weapons you need. Serene passes out and wakes back up a few moments later. Everyone was looking at her. I grabbed her chin, checking for scars. Her voice is back to normal. “Eleanor, what’s wrong with you? Stop that,” she said. “Serene, what was that?” Mia asked her. “What was what?” she says. “Your eyes turned white, and you said some stuff that didn’t make sense, you remember?” Mia told her. “I’m half witch. I have visions,” Serene says.

“Will says someone spoke through her to give you a message, Luna. A warning: “Hank says. “Did you know you could do that?” Serene shook her head. “Being half, I have the gift of the past and present, but I’ve never tapped into a future power,” Serene says. “What did I say?”? Hank repeated the words back to her. “Well, it sounds like a prophecy to me, Elena, one we should not take lightly. I’ll talk to Roland when we get back,’ Mia stated. The ride back was silent as I pondered Serene’s words, trying to make sense of them. I hadn’t realized it was already dark. We had been in the mall for over half the day. I put my head back down to take a nap. I felt myself being picked up, and I knew it was Roland when I felt the sparks. He carried me up the stairs and into our room. “You’ve had a long day, my little one. Sleep now” was all I heard before I let the darkness take over.