At the moment, there are five known species of shape-shifters: wolves (Lupi), dragons (Dracones), bears (Ursi), foxes (Vulpes), and eagles (Aquilae). The terianthropologists, men of science who study shape-shifters and their culture and traditions, believe there might be more species hiding in plain sight, unwilling to get involved in politics and the never-ending feud between shifters and humans, feud which led to the War of the Factions over 100 years ago, and ended in a wobbly peace between shape-shifters and humans. After the war, the Council of the Six Factions was created, and the peace treaty was signed. However, one of the clauses stipulated that humans had to provide shifters with young brides to bear their children and ensure the perpetuation of their species.
For thousands of years, shape-shifter females have been unable to procreate, which forced their males to look for human mates. No one knows why shifter females can’t bear children, but many believe it’s a sort of evolutionary safety measure to keep the species even: the shifters’ evolution into superior half-human, half-animal beings had to be crippled to allow humans to survive. Before the war, shifters stole human females or seduced them, which caused the Human Faction to rise against them. The creation of the Council, with one representative for each faction, and the clause regarding shifter-brides, managed to calm the spirits for a while.
All over the world, special boarding schools started taking in girls from the streets and orphanages and raising them to become shifter-brides. They were first sorted into one of the five houses – House Lupi, House Dracones, House Ursi, House Vulpes, and House Aquilae – according to their personality traits, then taught everything they had to know about the shifter faction they would later join through marriage. When they turned 18, they got their own page in the catalog of their house and became eligible to be sold to the highest bidder. If a girl wasn’t bought by the time she turned 25, the boarding school would kick her out, and her only options would be to work in a shifter brothel or try to fend for herself in a society that didn’t respect her because she failed to do her part for the peace between shifters and humans. One of the best boarding schools in the world was Alma Venus, in Myrtle Valley, UK.
But that was ten years ago. Things have changed, and the boarding schools have fallen. Why? Because the Human Faction has managed to come up with a better solution: Harington Pharmaceuticals, owned by Arthur Harington, the Human Councilor, discovered cures for all five types of shifter venom. At first, the shifter representatives in the Council refused to make the use of antidotes legal. If a human is bitten by a shifter, he or she will turn in a matter of days or months, depending on the species. If the antidote is administered immediately, the human will, instead, turn into a hybrid. Hybrids gain the amazing abilities of the shifter who bit them: increased lifespan, incredible speed and physical strength, and enhanced senses. However, they will never have the ability to shift, but female hybrids will still be able to bear children. The Shifter Councilors were against these antidotes because they knew they would give humans a great advantage and make them even stronger in case a second war broke out. After a series of crazy adventures caused by four of the best shifter-brides Alma Venus Boarding School has ever given, a battle, the creation of an illegal wolf hybrid, and the discovery of a natural born hybrid, the Shifter Councilors had no choice but to admit the use of antidotes could be the real solution and the only way to ensure everlasting peace between the six factions.
Avelyn, Amelia, Delyse, and Claudia are the four shifter-brides who changed the rights of all human women in the world. After being married off to their Alphas, they used their beauty and wit to influence their husbands, get involved in politics, and support the research on cures for shifter venom. You can read their stories in the , or separately:
Avelyn’s story (married to Alpha wolf Max Blackmane) –
Amelia’s story (married to Alpha fox Blake Sylfur) –
Delyse’s story (married to Alpha dragon Eric Drekinn) –
Claudia’s story (married to Alpha wolf Karl Blackmane) –
Now, after ten years of research and studies, Harington Pharmaceuticals has created antidotes for all five types of shifter venom. The Council has voted to change the peace treaty and eliminate the clause regarding shifter-brides. Shifters will no longer buy their brides. They are free to marry anyone they like, as long as the human female agrees and is open to be turned into a hybrid. The greatest advantage of being a hybrid is that the brides will have the long lifespan of their husbands and still have the ability to bear children. Thus, shape-shifters can spend their entire life with one bride, which eliminates the need for humans to provide brides to them constantly, simply because they live between 200 and 1000 years.
Still, the need for young women to be trained to become proper shifter-brides is there. Monique Delacroix, who still owns Alma Venus, knows this. She adapted to the new system, and turned Alma Venus into an agency for mail-order brides.
How the Alma Venus Mail-Order Bride Agency works:
Any human female can marry a shape-shifter, if she wants. When a young woman decides this is the best choice for her, she contacts Alma Venus and goes to live there for a couple of months. She is sorted into the right House and learns the most important things about the shifter faction she’s going to marry into. Meanwhile, she starts corresponding with interested shifters via e-mail. Shifters don’t buy the human female they choose, anymore. Instead, when they claim their brides, they make a donation to Alma Venus. Otherwise, the agency wouldn’t be able to support itself and teach the women what they need to know.
Other interesting facts about the universe of the Alma Venus Mail-Order Brides series:
The five shifter factions:
1 - Werewolves – Also known as Lupi. This is the faction with the highest number of clans, packs, and pack members. They are powerful, intelligent, and domineering. They believe in tradition and heritage. They all have green eyes and live for about 500 years. Their culture and rituals are connected to the full moon, which has a great significance for them. Each full moon has a name and a meaning, and the mating rituals always take place during a full moon, when the union is blessed by the Elder of the pack. Many times, werewolves get tired of living for so long, and if they don’t have a mate or children to live for, they retire, isolate themselves in the wilderness, and await their death.
2 - Werebears – Also known as Ursi. They aren’t as organized as the wolves, they don’t have clans, just sleuths, and the strongest becomes the Alpha. They have always been incredibly solitary beings, and they only started to organize themselves in sleuths and accept the authority of an Alpha when the brewing war forced them to take drastic measures. They would have been an easy target if they had remained solitary. However, they are pretty numerous and incredibly strong physically. They have black eyes and live for about 500 years.
3 - Werefoxes – Also known as Vulpes. They are almost as numerous as the wolves, and they are organized in clans and earths. However, even though they have Alphas, they are more independent. Any member of the pack can take a human bride. Most males have more than one bride. They have purple eyes and live for about 200 years. The wiser a fox-shifter is, the greater number of tails he or she has. The tails show wisdom, influence, and age. It is said that, in ancient times, a very strong and influential fox Alpha could reach nine tails, but even some foxes consider it a legend now. A fox with nine tails becomes white or gold. They are connected to lightning and thunderstorms. It is said that when they rub their tails together, they can create jolts of electricity with which they can attack their enemies. However, it is very difficult for them to train this ability and grow nine tails in a lifetime. Nine-tailed foxes can be born, but no one knows under which conditions.
4 - Weredragons – Also known as Dracones. They are the most ancient faction, they are organized in clans and wings, but have very few members. They have golden eyes and they can live for thousands of years. Many believe they’re practically immortal. They are noble, they respect the rights of all shifters and humans, they never agreed to the clause regarding shifter-brides, and many abstained from buying mates. They have always been the strongest supporters of the idea of antidotes for shifter venom. Their culture and magic are connected to the solar eclipse, and because they live for so long, they often choose to hibernate for hundreds, even thousands, of years to make their immortality more bearable.
5 - Wereeagles – Also known as Aquilae. They are not organized in clans, and heritage doesn’t really make sense to them. Sometimes, they organize themselves in aeries, but only when they really need the numbers to protect themselves. Usually, they prefer to travel alone, with their mates. They, too, take human brides as they like. They are considered the artists among the shape-shifters because they’re not usually interested in running businesses. They only fought in the war because they were dragged into it and the humans attacked them. They have gray eyes, and can live up to 200 years.
The representatives in the Council of the Six Factions:
Human Councilor Arthur Harington
Wolf Councilor Dimitri Voinom
Bear Councilor Zachary Willamar
Fox Councilwoman Blake Sylfur
Dragon Councilor Calder Grimmr
Eagle Councilor Christian Kwahu
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
It is not necessary to read the Alma Venus Shifter-Brides series to enjoy the standalone books in the Alma Venus Mail-Order Brides series. The Introduction above contains all you need to know about the universe and how it evolved and changed throughout the four initial novels. However, if you want to understand these details better, and meet Avelyn, Amelia, Delyse, Claudia, as well as their Alpha mates, please feel free to read , , , and first.
I truly hope you’ll enjoy these two series just as much as I enjoyed writing them!
Love,
Cara