Disclaimer: Almost everything in this book, including names and events, are purely fictional, except the names of the countries and possibly cities. Any similarities to real life people and events are strictly coincidental. This book is also protected by copyright, meaning it can't be copied in any way. If you do see a copy of my book anywhere, please feel free to let me know.
Bullying or rude comments will not be tolerated. The comment section isn't a place to spread hate but, as I've seen on multiple occasions, it is used for that purpose. Know that your comment will be deleted, you will be muted and possibly reported, which puts you at risk of losing your Wattpad account. Please, I don't want to resort to that, but I will if it's necessary.
Constructive criticism is dearly appreciated. I always want to improve and believe there's always room to do so, so I'll take your advice seriously. Criticism should be based on my book and facts, not on anything else.
Feel free to DM me with any concerns regarding the book or anything in general, really. I'm always free for a chat.
This book is still in the rough draft phase, so any errors will most likely be fixed during editing. Also, I'm not the best writer and English isn't my first language, so bare with me.
Warning: this book may contain violence and mature content.
Thank you so much for clicking on my story! I hope you enjoy the prologue.
Prologue ~ Where It All Began
It's the last day of school before fall break. Everyone is cheerful and happy, the time being so close to Halloween. The whole school is already decorated with cobwebs and fake spiders. Ah, the festivities.
Iris walks into school, still dressed in her riding clothes from earlier. Morning sessions at Redwood Production Yard are always the best, especially when Theo, the big chestnut stallion Iris has been working with, is in a good mood like he was today. No one even gives her a second glance as she hurries down the hallway, eager to get to the bathroom to change. She has a lot to tell Kanan, her best friend, which means she needs to find him before the bell rings.
The girl's bathroom is clean, like usual. Girls are spread out inside, busy with their make up and some pointless gossip. They all greet her as she makes her way to a stall.
She's done this every morning for the last year and a half with there being no time to change at home. At first, she received odd looks but everyone's used to it by now.
When she rushes back out of the bathroom, there are a lot more people in the halls. Kids are talking and laughing as they walk around. Some kids are at their lockers, preparing for the day, while others are goofing off.
She hastily makes her way to her own locker to stuff her neatly folded riding clothes inside. People greet her as she walks past them and she offers them friendly smiles in return. She needs to get to the old oak tree at the edge of the school's property. That's where she finds Kanan every morning.
When she finally approach the tree, she can't see Kanan. What she does see, surprises her. Sitting in the exact same spot where Kanan sits every morning is Warren Smith. He smiles and stands up as soon as he sees her, dusting himself off.
Warren is notorious for being the school's biggest player. Blonde hair and blue eyes, he'd be quite the catch if it wasn't for his unappealing personality. He's a first class jerk who only ever talks to anyone beside his group of jocks when he needs something.
"Good morning, Iris," Warren greets her as she comes to a halt a few feet in front of him. She eyes him suspiciously. Her last encounter with Warren ended in her suspension. She doesn't need to, or even want to, punch someone today. Besides, the principal threatened to take away her scholarship if she ends up in his office again.
"Where's Kanan?" She asks, cutting straigh to the chase, not in the mood to have a conversation with Warren. His presence and Kanan's lack of it is already making her anxious enough as it is.
"No good morning to me? I almost feel offended, sweetheart. Almost," he smirks as he leans back against the tree. She rolls her eyes. Like always, he's making their encounter unnecessarily complicated.
"Warren, where's Kanan? I know you've seen him, otherwise you wouldn't be here right now," she prompts. He looks at her with amusement, not saying a word. She sighs and turns around to leave. She doesn't have the patience to deal with his games. Not today.
"Wait, Iris. Kanan wanted me to tell you something," Warren says suddenly. She looks back at him. His expression is serious, something she's never seen with Warren. It almost makes her nervous.
"He said he's leaving. That you shouldn't look for him because you won't be able to find him. Him and his parents have already left," he says, staring at her with dead seriousness in his eyes before he swiftly walks off.
Iris stands under the tree for a few more moments, trying to process his words. Kanan left? She doesn't want to believe him. He's probably just playing tricks on her. It wouldn't be the first time. Maybe Kanan and him decided to join forces and give her a good scare before Halloween. They are, despite the lack of similarities, cousins after all.
The rest of the day is a blur of activity for everyone in the high school, especially the seniors. They're preparing for the Halloween Dance, which means everyone's busy and occupied. Iris looks for Kanan whenever she gets the time but she never finds him.
She even tries calling him a few times but it goes straight to voice mail. That's strange. Kanan never goes anywhere without his phone. He's a total tech geek. The more she tries to find him, and fails, the more she starts to believe Warren. Maybe this wasn't a prank and Kanan really left her.
Later that afternoon, she gets home in a rush. She stays right next to Kanan. Maybe he's sick in bed and she'll find him there. She hopes so. But, when she knocks on his front door, there's no response. His parents' cars are gone, too.
"Wierd," she mutters to herself as she turns around to leave. As soon as she steps foot into her own house, she gets a feeling of unease. It's eerily quiet. She can't even hear the usual bark, which she's complains about daily, of the dogs in the neighbourhood.
There's a letter on the coffee table in the living room. Iris eyes it warily, unsure of what to make of the situation. No one has access to her house except Kanan. His bedroom window is right next to hers. She never locks that window. That's the scary part, wondering how the letter got here in the first place.
Slowly, she takes the envelope in her hands. It's small and white with her name scrawled on the front in a bold letters. Nothing out of the ordinary, except the letter itself.
She opens it after a quick glance around the room to reveal a formally typed letter. It reads:
Dear Miss Knight,
The International Agency of War Refugees regret to inform you that your mother, Ms. Samantha Evelyn Knight, and your father, Mr. David Knight, have passed away.
Since your parents have passed and we now have a shortage of soldiers in Egypt, you are being deported back to your home. You have another year left before you are legally old enough to fight in the war.
You can only stay in the USA if you manage to gain citizenship.
She reads the letter over and over again, as if by reading it again would some how make the words change. Her parents can't be gone. She can't be on her way back to that hell hole they call a country. The Rebels will surely kill her as soon as they find out she's back. She didn't exactly leave on the best terms.
She puts the letter down, still in a state of shock, before stumbling mindlessly towards her back yard. She needs to go take a walk in the woods to clear her mind. She stops dead in her tracks when she sees the back door is open.
***
Somehow, Iris convinced herself to go to the ridiculous Halloween Dance. Because nothing cures depression and paranoia like a bunch of drunken teenagers. She's dressed up as an angel, the only thing she could find last minute.
She's pulled into the school hall with unnecessary force by her only other friend, Gabby. They're not really that close, but she serves as a drinking buddy when Kanan pisses her off. Like tonight.
"Iris, babe, you have to try the punch. It's a-maze-ing," she slurrs. Iris sighs, realising her friend is drunk beyond help already. It's only been half an hour. She's never been the best at handling her alcohol, but this must be a new record.
"Gabby, babe," she mocks Gabby's tone, "I think you should lay off the punch."
She smiles, her blonde hair falling into her face as she trips over something invisible. Iris catches her elbow just in time to keep her from falling. Gabby suddenly stops and pulls a face.
"I don't feel too good, Iris," she says, placing a hand over her stomach. Iris groans, tugging her by her arm to the back door of the hall, praying that her friend won't spew her guts all over the dance floor.
It's unusually cold outside. As soon as Iris closes the door behind them, Gabby bends over, emptying the alcohol she just consumed onto the plants. Poor, poor plants.
When she's finished, the two of them go to sit down on a bench. Gabby groans, dramatically placing a hand on her head, muttering something about alcohol being the devil in disguise. Iris just rolls her eyes, knowing full well that her friend will be back to drinking in a few minutes.
She's startled by something emerging from the shadows behind the school building. It's big, but not human. A bear, maybe? She feels her heart rate elevate. Why would a bear be at a high school in the middle of the night? She doesn't think there are any bears in the area at all. Whatever it is, it looks her straight in the eyes, letting out a low howl before turning and disappearing back into the darkness.
And she could swear it was a wolf.
*â¤*
"Never follow anyone else's path, unless you're in the woods and you're lost and you see a path. Then by all means, follow that path." - Ellen DeGeneres
Thank you so much for reading the first part of Royal Alpha Xavier! If you liked it please don't hesitate to vote and comment.
~Danielle
Social media:
Instagram: danielle.erasmus
Twitter: DanielleEra
Snapchat: danielle.horses