The Alpha King's Claim novel Chapter 1

The Alpha King’s Claim chapter 1 by desirenovel

Serena

Paintings.

I always love them. Whenever there was an art show near Manhattan, I make it a point to go check the artworks and possibly buy one. Or two. Or three of them.

What I look for in a painting were the strokes the painter uses, the use of colors and how they blend in with the picture in general, and of course, the drawing.

I had always been a sucker for fantasy-inspired paintings. Fantastical landscapes, mythical creatures, men and women wearing weird clothing, oh yes, I collected them all. They had always reached out to a part of my soul that I had been guarding since I lost my parents. They had always called out to a part of me that I wasn’t sure what.

Maybe, my parents as painters could be the reason. They influenced my tastes after all. But deep inside me, I knew there was always something special about these types of paintings I couldn’t quite figure out.

One rainy day, I ran across an antique shop in downtown Manhattan about to be closed by the bank for bankruptcy. The different antique displays were spread all over the street in the hopes that some passers-by would still buy them.

I caught sight of a beautiful painting of a landscape. Breathtaking it was and purely, for lack of a better word, out-of-this-world. The painting showed a mountain range with its slopes covered in autumn trees. In the center of this mountain range, just nestled on top of the hill was a silver-plated castle. The details were extraordinary, magical even. I couldn’t resist its call, so in the end, I bought it. Plus, I didn’t want it to be wet with the rain. I wanted to give it a home.

The antique shop owner, an old lady probably in her late sixties, was gracious enough to give me a discount considering the painting had smudges on the edges due to its aged state. I was kind enough to refuse it. If she was in bankruptcy, at least my full payment of the painting would help her in some way.

“May the magic be with you always,” she said with a smile as we parted.

I just shrugged my shoulders never really thinking much about her words. I didn’t know then, it had meaning.