He's an Alpha

The warning

chapter two

Lisa carried her suitcase across the wooden porch and into Aunt Maureen’s living room. The house smelled of cedar and something faintly sweet, maybe cinnamon. It wasn’t large but felt solid, like it had stood against the mountain winds for decades. A braided rug covered the floor, and family pictures lined the mantle above the fireplace. The quiet pressed against the walls, so different from the noise of New York. Here, the loudest sound was the ticking of a clock on the wall and the distant cry of a crow. “This place is indeed a forest,” Lisa thought as she dropped her suitcase on the floor.

“You’ll settle in soon enough,” Aunt Maureen said, shutting the door behind her. She was tall and lean with a little broad shape, with streaks of gray running through her brown hair, but her movements were quick, sharp. She handed Lisa a mug of tea and sat across from her. “Blackwood Falls isn’t a place you forget once you’ve been here. It has a way of getting under your skin.”

Lisa took a sip of the tea and almost winced. The tea was so strong, nothing like the sweet stuff she always gets back home. “It’s… different. Quieter than I expected.” Lisa altered, still sipping her hot herbal tea.

Maureen chuckled. “That’s the mountains for you. The forest swallows sound. At night, you’ll think the whole world has gone silent. Some people love it. Others can’t stand it. I love it here too.” She leaned forward, her tone shifting. “You’ll need to adjust, Lisa. People here—well, they watch. They notice everything.”

Lisa smiled faintly. “I already felt that at the diner. Everyone stared.”

Maureen’s eyes darkened. “They were looking for one thing: whether you're in trouble. Most of them don’t like strangers. They don’t like change.” She paused, her lips pressing together as if weighing her words. “There are families here with… Ancient stories and history. Old ties. You’d do well to keep your distance.”

Lisa tilted her head. “What kind of families?”

“The Blackwoods,” Maureen said the name in a low voice, almost as if speaking it too loud might summon something. “Especially the boys.”

Lisa’s chest tightened. She thought of the tall boy from the diner, James. His gray eyes had unsettled her, very transparent, as if he could see right inside her. “What’s wrong with them?”

Maureen hesitated, then set down her tea. "The Blackwoods....well, they've been here forever. And trouble? Sometimes it circles around them.”, . People disappear. Strange accidents happen. Whenever you dig deep enough, there’s a Blackwood in the middle of it.”

Lisa frowned. “That sounds like small-town gossip.”

“It’s not gossip,” Maureen said firmly. “It’s survival. I’m telling you this because I don’t want you caught in their mess. Don’t talk to them. Don’t look for them. "Stay away from the blackwood."

Now Maureen's voice was sharp; it wasn't a suggestion or a plea, it was a warning. “Stay away!!!. Her aunt Maureen sounded serious.

Lisa nodded slowly, though her thoughts were already straying. She remembered the way James had looked at her, the brief flicker of his eyes in her direction. Something about him is not normal. He behaved strangely, even frighteningly, but she couldn’t shake it.

Later, after unpacking, Lisa stood by her bedroom window. Outside, the pines stretched high and black against the evening sky. The forest just stretched on and on like it would never end. A cold breeze slipped through the cracks, making her shiver.

She told herself it was only nerves, only exhaustion from traveling and meeting new faces. But deep down, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone—or something—was out there among the trees, watching. She felt somehow unlike before; she could tell clearly that someone was outside there, everywhere was as quiet as a graveyard, but she could also hear some distant noise, very tinny and very fading.

When she finally climbed into bed, her mind kept returning to Maureen’s words. Stay away from the Blackwoods. She repeated it like a mantra. She's too adventurous and always eager to find out new things, she's terrified but she can't leave her inner wonders unanswered. Just yet another thought slipped in right behind her “What if it’s already too late?