Chapter 1
Thea doesn't believe she has magical powers or a destiny to save the werewolf race. She wants to be Beta to her future Alphas, identical triplets Alaric, Conri, and Kai, but they want her as their Luna. While they wait to shift for proof they're mates, they must prepare to fight a growing evil that's wiping out werewolf packs, suspects Thea is goddess gifted, and wants to take her power. As enemies pile up, Thea must embrace her fate to protect the people she loves. * * * * * This is not a story about characters abusing and hurting each other then somehow ending up together. Rather, the main characters treat each other well and support each other, fighting enemies side by side together. * * * This is an 18+ Reverse Harem story with adult themes and situations. * * * List of books (in order) in this series:Triplet Alphas Gifted Luna Vol 1 (complete) * * * Triplet Alphas Gifted Luna Vol 2 (complete) * * * Triplet Alphas Gifted Luna Vol 3 (complete) * * * Triplet Alphas Gifted Luna Vol 4 (complete) * * * Hope and Fate - The Alpha Stoll Alpha Ledger m/m romance spin-off (complete) * * * Alpha of New Dawn (coming soon) * * *
Chapter 0001
They smelled her arousal. There was no doubt the future Alphas knew she wanted them, and that was forbidden.
Thea, the Beta's daughter, trained every morning with identical triplets Alaric, Conri, and Kai, the future Alphas of their pack, New Dawn.
This morning, Thea was about to pin Kai when Conri and Alaric grabbed her arms from behind and held her tight.
"Come on, Kai," Alaric said. "We've evened out the fight for you."
"What the hell?" Thea said. She tried to free her arms from their grasp, her ponytail of chestnut hair whipping back and forth.
"You didn't sense us behind you?" Conri said.
"I thought you were watching, not plotting." She continued to struggle against their grip. "It's not fair. Boys get strength and muscles when they hit puberty. Girls get boobs. Useless!"
Kai's crystal blue eyes went to her chest and darkened. "I don't think boobs are useless," he said.
"You three keep getting bigger and stronger." Thea's turquoise eyes raked over Kai's tall, broad, thick-muscled body, his workout clothes leaving nothing to the imagination.
"And yet you still routinely pin us," Kai said.
Her eyes flitted back to his. "You guys pin me all the time now."
"We never used to be able to pin you at all," Alaric said, his strong hands holding her steady.
"I'd say the playing field is evening out," Conri said from her other side. One of his course hands slid down her arm an inch and renewed its grip.
"By restraining me while he attacks?" Thea said.
Conri shrugged, then smiled.
Thea shook her head at him. "This reminds me of when we were kids, and Kai punched my head from behind when I was leaving the ring, thinking he could sneak in a surprise attack and beat me after the fight. Your father was so angry, but before he could punish you, I jumped up from the ground, tackled you, and punched you until you cried. Your father laughed so hard. I can still hear him. 'That's what you get for being dishonorable, son.' What would he say if he saw you now?"
Kai walked toward her, head tilted down in what everyone else would call an intimidating posture. Nobody knew it was a turn-on for Thea. His crystal blue eyes—the same color and intensity as his brothers'—peered at her from under his messy pompadour of dark hair, muscles rippling in his broad shoulders.
"Dad’s not here now,” Kai said in his deep voice. “No one will save you when I have you on your back, begging for mercy.”
Kai always egged her on, goading her until she fought him. He loved it when she exerted dominance over him. It made him feel like he belonged to her. That she wanted him. She hadn’t figured that out yet. She just got caught up in the challenge.
As soon as he was close enough, Thea used Conri’s and Alaric’s hold on her as leverage to kick and swing her legs up and over Kai’s shoulders. She squeezed them around his neck and locked them into a figure four submission hold.
“Thanks for the assist, boys,” Thea said.
Conri and Alaric let go as if she burned them. Her top half fell, and her head hit Kai’s knees, but she didn’t loosen her submission hold on him. She punched Alaric and Conri in the crotch, and they doubled over.
Conri’s long hair covered his face, but Alaric’s crew cut showed his pained expression. Kai passed out and crumpled to the ground. Thea caught herself and landed on her feet, smiling to herself.
“That wasn’t fair!” Conri said, hunched over.
“Excuse me? You want to talk about fair?” Thea put her hands on her hips.
“You hit below the belt,” Alaric said.
“You guys changed the rules in the middle of the fight. Why can’t I? If this was real life, and a group was attacking me, you better believe I’ll do what I have to. Plus, you’re wearing cups. You’re fine.”
She turned to Kai and knelt next to him on the grass. They were on the training field—a big clearing in the middle of the woods of their pack lands.
“Kai, are you okay?” She noticed Kai’s chest wasn’t moving, and she gasped. “He’s not breathing!”
She put her hands above his heart to start CPR, and suddenly Kai’s hands shot up. He flipped her, straddled her hips, and pinned her hands above her head. He leaned down and put his mouth to her ear.
“Gotcha.” His warm, hard chest brushed against hers, and her body reacted. She hoped he didn’t notice her now stiff peaks pressing against him. “Hold her down. We need to punish her.”
Alaric and Conri each grabbed an arm and held it down. Three identical, chiseled faces looked down at her. Kai started tickling her sides, and she started laughing.
“Stop!” she cried. She struggled against them, kicking her legs and laughing. Kai lifted her shirt and blew a raspberry on her belly. Alaric and Conri started biting her arms, working up to her shoulders. Kai bit the side of her waist.
She was gasping for air between laughing fits, but the bites had her feeling something entirely different. Tingles all over that sent warmth pooling low in her belly.
After her next gasp, Alaric and Conri bit a place on either side of her neck that made her panties wet and her body melt into compliance. She had never been sensitive in those areas before, but she immediately stopped struggling as her laughter transformed into moaning.
The triplets stilled.
Thea froze in horror, except for her chest, still heaving up and down from trying to catch her breath.
The triplets lifted their heads to look at her, shock on their handsome faces. They looked at each other, breathed in the air laced with her scent, then looked back at Thea, eyes dark.
She knew they smelled her arousal. Mortified, she used their moment of distraction, threw them off, and ran from the training field into the woods.
Chapter 0002
Thea sprinted to school. She couldn’t risk running into the triplets back at the pack house. She went to the girls’ locker room to shower.
What was wrong with her? She had never gotten aroused while training before. She was always professional. She saved that for her alone time.
Yes, ever since the triplets hit puberty, they were getting more muscular, and they could actually pin her now, and yes, she secretly liked it. Keyword being secret. She wanted her future Alphas to get more powerful. She also wanted them on top of her. That was the real reason they were sometimes able to pin her. She let them. They weren’t supposed to know any of that. No one was.
She was supposed to be the next Beta. Their Beta. She couldn’t complicate that relationship by fawning over them. A Beta couldn’t be in love with her Alphas. She’d never get the position if she acted like a lovesick puppy around them or if she smelled of arousal whenever they were near. Once the triplets found their mates, the Lunas would want her replaced. That’s why most Betas were male. Well, aside from the fact that males were almost always stronger.
She had Alpha blood, though. Her father was the Beta of their pack—New Dawn, the biggest pack on the west coast—but he was the fourth son of an Alpha from the east coast. His pack didn’t need him, and he wanted to be useful, so he came out here to be Beta. Thea's mother was the daughter of an Alpha too.
Thea was strong. Tall, strong, and she trained harder than anybody.
The triplets’ father, Alpha Ulric, had included her in his sons’ training since day one. The unspoken expectation was that she would take over her father’s position just like the triplets would take over theirs.
Now that was all jeopardized. She had demonstrated why a female shouldn’t be Beta. She thought her attraction to them was under control, but something took over her body when they were all biting her. When they nipped her marking spot, that moan was as involuntary as it was embarrassing. One second she was fighting against them. The next, she was limp and wanting.
She was about to tilt her hips and grind herself against Kai when they all froze. They must have been horrified at the sound of her moan. Then they sniffed the air and smelled how turned on she was! How could she ever look at any of them again? She shouldn’t have stopped running at the school. She needed to leave town. The state. The country. Who was she kidding? The planet.
She got out of the shower and changed into some spare clothes she had there. Her life here was over. She couldn’t go to classes. She shared all but one with the triplets. She would have to leave and start a new life somewhere else. Maybe her uncle’s pack on the east coast would take her in. She would call her parents and apologize for shaming the family after she settled.
She left the locker room and ran straight into the triplets. Alaric had Thea’s backpack on his shoulder and a peach in his hand. She abruptly turned and ran in the opposite direction.
“Hey!” Kai called out.
“Thea, stop!” Conri said.
Alaric caught up to her first. He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. “Thea, what are you doing?”
“I’m running away,” she said. Conri and Kai caught up. The three of them formed a circle around her.
“Why?” Conri said.
“Why do you think? I'm humiliated.”
“Why are you embarrassed? It's okay,” Kai said.
“No, it's not, and it'll never happen again,” Thea said.
Kai’s hands trailed up her sides. He stepped closer to her, pinning her against Conri and Alaric, who each grabbed one of her arms. Kai leaned down and brushed his lips across her collar bone then up to her ear. She suppressed whatever sound was building in her throat.
“Are you saying if we kissed your neck, it wouldn't turn you on?”
They brought their noses to her neck and breathed in. Thea clenched her legs together, trying to temper the heat that was building. Kai’s hand moved down, snuck under her shirt. His fingers grazed inside the waistband of her pants.
“If I reached in and touched you, you wouldn't be wet for us?”
It took everything in her not to beg him to do just that. Best she could figure, this was some kind of test for the Beta position, and she was failing miserably. That thought sobered her quickly, and anger built inside Thea—not at Kai, but herself. She wasn't Beta material. She steeled herself, ripped her arms from Conri and Alaric, and shoved Kai.
“You’ll never find out, Kaiser Valko,” she said, using his full name. She only did that when she was angry.
She ran, waiting until she rounded the corner to wipe the tears from her eyes.
“Way to go, idiot,” Thea heard Alaric say to Kai.
“I can smell her. Why is she fighting it?” Conri said.
She made it to her locker before Alaric caught up with her. He offered her backpack to her.
“I figured you’d need this since you didn’t come back to the pack house,” he said. “I put a change of clothes in there.”
“Thanks.” She took her bag from him. He offered the peach to her.
“Figured you didn’t get breakfast either.”
She wanted to hug him. Instead, she took the peach. “Thanks,” she said. She could always count on Alaric to take care of her, make her feel better, but even he couldn’t fix this.
“I’m sorry about Kai. Are you okay?”
“I can’t stay here after that,” she said.
“What do you mean? Where would you go?”
“My uncle’s pack? Anywhere else, really.”
“Thea, you’re not going anywhere. We’ll track you down and drag you back. You’re not leaving.”
“You don’t get it.”
“Don’t let his immaturity scare you off.”
“It’s not him. He was just testing me. I failed. I’m the problem.”
“What?” Alaric said. Kai and Conri turned the corner and slowly approached.
“How can I train with you anymore? I can’t.” She grabbed her stuff, closed her locker.
“Thea, you’re not making any sense.”
“Think about it. If I can’t train, my future in the pack is over.” She wiped the tears she couldn’t stop and walked away.
Kai and Conri joined Alaric at Thea’s locker, and they watched her walk away.
“I think we messed up,” Alaric said.
Chapter 0003
School was awkward. They had all but one class together, and Thea did her best to avoid or ignore the triplets all day. Everyone could tell something was wrong. Typically, they were inseparable. Kai usually had his arm draped over her shoulders. Alaric always offered her his arm when they walked because she often didn’t pay attention to where she was going. Conri held onto the hem of her shirt to keep her close. Today, she ignored them, left each class as the bell rang, didn’t walk with them anywhere, and made sure there was plenty of space between them.
Thea was usually good-natured and happy, but she spent the day subdued. Instead of eating lunch at their usual table, she went to the library to be alone and think.
Could she be blamed for being attracted to the triplets? Everyone wanted them. They were Alphas. They exuded power and sexiness: tall, dark hair, crystal blue eyes, beautiful chiseled faces, strong jaws, defined cheekbones, broad shoulders, muscles for days. They were gorgeous among werewolves, who were already preternaturally attractive beings.
Maybe she could recover from this. If she could figure out a way to tame her libido, things could go back to normal.
Maybe she was just full of hormones because her first shift was close. What if her wolf turned out to be a horny beast, and she had to satisfy her urges constantly?
Maybe there were herbs she could take that would suppress any hormones or horniness. She could at least look into masking her scent. There had to be herbs for that.
She started looking up books that could give her insight into how to fix this. Witches could do all sorts of things, but she didn’t want to mess with them. They were enemies of werewolves. Dangerous. She’d leave the pack before she used witches.
She loved this pack, though. The people. Her family. The triplets. All she ever wanted was to be Beta and help this pack stay the most powerful, most coveted on the west coast. She didn’t want to leave. She checked out several books and put them in her backpack to take home.
After school, she dutifully went to the training field to lead training alongside the triplets. She didn’t look them in the eye, which irritated Kai and Conri. She tried to look professional, only speaking to them when necessary. She brought up other wolves to demonstrate things where they usually used each other.
After training, Thea usually stuck around and talked with the pack members. This time, she left immediately. She went to the pack house, got some food, then went to her room to read the books she checked out. She didn’t go to pack dinner.
A while later, she’d written down a list of all the herbs she wanted. She went down to the pack apothecary store in the village area of the pack lands and handed the list to the apothecary. The older gentleman gathered the items, labeled them, bundled them up, separated them into groups.
“These are most effective in tea form. You can mix them with your favorite tea or brave the bitter taste alone. These are most effective when smoked. Do you have something to smoke with?”
“No,” Thea said.
The apothecary walked away and came back with a pipe and lighter. He demonstrated how to use it, how to clean it.
“I also devised a concoction that may interest you. It’s a spray. Our warriors and trackers use it regularly to mask their scents. Would you like to try it?”
“Yes, please.”
He added it to the bundle, handed it to her. “If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.”
“Thank you.” She paid for them. “Can you make sure you have these in stock? I’ll probably be buying them regularly.”
“Of course, Miss Lyall.”
“Thea. Please call me Thea, Mr. Garrity.”
“Of course, Thea.” He smiled at her.
She went back to her room and read up on how to prepare the herbs. How much to use, how long to steep the tea, how long the effects would last. She fell asleep with her head in a book, the rest of them strewn around her on her bed.
She woke up when the bed dipped. Two strong hands pulled her against a warm body. She instantly knew it was Alaric. She always knew which triplet was which, ever since they were kids. Everyone else had trouble telling them apart since they were identical. He had cleared the books off her bed, stacked them on her desk, and put a blanket over her.
“Hey,” Alaric said softly. “I missed you at dinner. I missed you all day. How are you doing?”
“I don’t know,” Thea said.
“You’re researching something.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay. You don’t have to. Can I stay with you like old times?”
The triplets used to sneak into her room every night and sleep with her. They always slept better in her bed. They stopped a few years ago. Thea missed sleeping with them, but she would never sneak into any of their rooms. She had to accept it.
Thea nodded. Even with the lights off, they could see each other in the dark. She didn’t know if she’d ever get to sleep with him again. She didn’t expect this tonight, but being in his arms was comforting. She wrapped her arms around his waist. He adjusted, and they pulled in tight. He hooked her head under his chin. Her face against his chest, she breathed in his scent. It calmed her and made her sad at the same time. She knew he wasn’t hers. None of them were. Tears spilled over.
“Hey,” Alaric said. He rubbed her back up and down. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid of losing you guys.” She sniffled.
“Never going to happen. You’re stuck with us forever.”
She wished that were true. She settled for being in Alaric’s arms tonight.
He held her, trailing his fingers over her until she fell asleep.
Chapter 0004
Alaric was still holding Thea when she woke up.
"You ready for early morning training?" Alaric's voice, rough with sleep, rumbled through her body, waking her up in the sweetest way. She wished she could wake up like this every morning. Then his words registered.
"I don't want to go today. I can't." She needed a day off. Maybe a week. A year. However long it took to figure out what was going on with her.
"Thea, you can, and there's no reason not to."
"Please don't make me—"
"Thea, you're coming. I'll see you outside in fifteen, okay?"
She knew she had to obey him.
"Yes, Alpha."
"Hey, that's not—I don't mean it like that," Alaric said. "You know you can say no to us, right? Thea, please. I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything you don't want to."
"Then why are you making me go train?"
"Because you love training. I'm not going to let you throw it away over a misunderstanding. Come on. This isn't like you. Where's my fearless Thea?"
"Back on the training field where she died of mortification?"
Alaric squeezed her into his chest and kissed the top of her head. "Let's go find her corpse and revive her then."
"Fine," she grumbled.
He got out of bed and left her room. She got ready and went to the training grounds where the triplets waited for her. She hoped her body behaved today. She didn't have time to make the tea to mask her scent.
They ran a lap around the field, and before they finished, Kai grabbed Thea from behind. Instincts kicked in. Thea sidestepped and threw him over her hip. Kai landed on the grass with a thud, rolled out of it to his feet, and faced her. Conri and Alaric caught up to them, and each grabbed one of Thea’s arms.
“Again?” she said. “Because this went so well yesterday.”
Kai walked toward her.
“Today is different,” Kai said. He put his hands on her waist. “Today, we’re not sparring.”
“What?”
Conri’s and Alaric’s grips shifted, and the three of them surrounded her, caging her in.
“Today, we’re seeing if we can turn you on,” Kai said.
He leaned in and ran his nose up and down her neck. His hands roamed over her body. She tried to ignore the sensual feelings he invoked. The more she tried to think of other things, the harder it was.
“Why are you doing this to me?” Thea said. “You already know you can. Please, don’t. Please. Please stop.”
“Why would we stop?” Kai said.
“You already proved your point. I get turned on by you guys. I’m sorry! I don’t know what’s wrong with me!”
“Nothing is wrong with you. You should get turned on by us,” Conri said.
She groaned. “I’ve never been so humiliated in my life,” she said, eyes closed and head down.
“Why are you embarrassed?” Alaric said.
“You guys have always been like my brothers. Sisters aren’t supposed to moan uncontrollably when their brothers tickle them.”
“We haven’t thought of you as a sister for a long time. Not since you grew those boobs you say are useless,” Kai said. “Should we see how useless they are?”
He watched her face as his hands traveled under her shirt and cupped her breasts. She gasped. He squeezed, and her mouth dropped open. He pulled her bra down, releasing her breasts, then found the peaks and rolled them between his fingers. She moaned and arched her back, leaning into his touch.
“Please,” she begged, not sure if she was begging him to stop or keep going. She wanted this so badly. “This isn’t fair.”
“But you like it?” Alaric said. She didn’t answer. Her breathing was getting shallow and fast. “What about this?”
Alaric pulled her chestnut hair out of the way and kissed her neck from behind. Her eyes closed, she whimpered, her head fell back against his shoulder.
“I think she likes it,” Conri said. He pressed his face into the other side of her neck and breathed in deeply. His lips trailed down, kissing her, paying extra attention to her sensitive marking spot where she couldn’t hold in her moans. Alaric found the same spot on her other side, and she moaned louder.
“No. No. Stop. Please. I’ll figure out a way to stop.”
“You’ll figure out a way to stop what?” Kai said, confused. Thea always fought until she won. Why was she giving up so easily? Begging. It wasn’t like her.
“Being turned on,” Thea said.
“Why would we want that?” Kai said.
“For so long, we thought you didn’t like us that way,” Conri said. He started sucking on that spot on her neck.
“Or maybe you weren’t ready,” Alaric said. He nibbled the spot on his side.
“I can’t tell you how happy we were to smell your arousal yesterday. Hoping we were the cause of that sweet, delicious scent,” Kai said.
They all looked at her, hopeful. She lifted her turquoise eyes and met theirs.
“You want me to be turned on by you?” she said.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” Kai said.
“I don’t understand.”
“We realize it’s not fair that we can smell your arousal, and you can’t smell ours,” Alaric said.
“But you can feel it,” Kai said. He started moving his hands down, pulling on the peaks until they popped from his fingers and back in place. “So let us make it clear how much you turn us on.”
He slid his hands around and down to her backside, squeezed, and pulled her against his front. She very clearly felt his bulge against her stomach.
“You have no idea how difficult it’s been to keep ourselves in check while training with you. How much we’ve wanted to do this.”
He leaned in, eyes daring her to stop him, and pressed his lips against hers. Her body lit on fire. Kai’s hands kneaded her cheeks. One of Alaric’s hands slid up to her breast. One of Conri’s found her other breast. She whimpered in pleasure.
After a moment, Alaric’s hands went around her waist, gripped hard, and turned her to face him. He pulled her into his front so she could feel his erection. Then he moved his hands up and gently held her face. He looked deeply into her eyes.
“We want you,” Alaric said.
He brought her into a kiss. His hands slid into her hair, and he tilted her head to deepen the kiss. Four other hands roamed her body.
“My turn,” Conri growled.
He turned her to him, one hand at the small of her back. He pressed her into his hard length. His other hand kneaded her breast. She whimpered again, her mouth fell open, and he kissed her, exploring her mouth with his tongue. Alaric and Kai pressed against her side and back, kissing and nipping her neck and shoulders. After a moment, Conri pulled back.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed, baby,” Conri said. He nuzzled her nose with his, then leaned his forehead against hers. “We want to smell you. We want to turn you on. We want you to want us. We’ve been waiting forever for this. I can’t wait to taste your arousal.”
Kai and Alaric growled. “WE can’t wait to taste your arousal,” they said together.
Breathing hard, she started to gain confidence. “You want me?”
“Yes. Do you want us?”
Thea nodded. She had been clenching her legs together to hide her smell. She relaxed and spread her legs to let the breeze bring her scent to their noses. She was soaked. The triplets groaned.
“Goddess, you smell so good,” Kai said. His hand slid under her shirt, his fingers brushing under the waistband of her pants. He paused, his mouth against her neck, under her ear. "Have you touched yourself thinking about us?"
"Yes." She had never heard her voice sound like this before—breathy, weak, practically a whimper—all because of how turned on she was. It made all three future Alphas growl. "Have you touched yourselves thinking about me?"
"Always you, only you," they said in unison.
"Oh, goddess. That's hot." Thea leaned forward and kissed Conri. She grabbed the back of Alaric's neck and guided his lips to her neck. Then she reached behind her, threaded her fingers through Kai's hair, and pulled him to the other side of her neck.
"I can't believe you were punching us in the crotch just yesterday. This is better," Alaric said. He nibbled her shoulder, breathing deeply.
"Much better," Conri said.
Thea laughed. "This is nice."
"It's very nice, darling," Kai said.
They continued, trading places, pressing against her, hands and lips roaming, until it was time to get ready for school.
"I don't want to stop," Thea said against Conri's lips. "But we should go clean up."
"We could shower together?" Conri said.
Thea looked like a deer in the highlights.
"We have to move slow, Con," Alaric said. "Don't rush her. We only just got her. Don't scare her away."
Thea leaned into Alaric and gave him a quick kiss, then pulled away, blushing. He lifted her chin to look at him.
"I like that look on you," Alaric said.
Chapter 0005
The triplets and Thea went to their rooms to shower and change.
As soon as she was alone, Thea freaked out. She wasn’t sure what had just happened. Maybe she dreamed it. It wouldn’t be the first time.
The triplets were waiting for her when she left her room. They were all showered and in fresh clothes. Thea admired the view for a moment. The way their jeans hung from their hips. The way their T-shirts stretched across their broad, muscular chests. The way their identical faces lit up when they saw her. She could always tell who was who, but their hair was the only thing most people could use to tell them apart.
With his long crew cut freshly styled, Alaric leaned in for a quick kiss. She blushed, and he took her hand. It wasn’t a dream.
Conri ran his hand through his long, bro flow hair and kissed her too. “You’re never getting rid of us now,” he said. He splayed his hand around her hip, hooking a finger into one of the belt loops on her jeans.
Kai, with his messy pompadour, leaned in for his kiss. He took her hand and brought it up to his chest, holding it against his heart. They walked down the hallway—Alaric a little ahead, Conri a little behind, and Kai right at her other side.
They passed by the Alpha’s office on the fifth floor, and Thea stopped when she heard her mother’s voice full of shock and fear.
“What could have done this?” Thea’s mother, Naomi, said behind the closed door.
“Vampires? Witches? Rogues?” Luna Ada said. Her voice also held concern.
Thea motioned for the triplets to be silent and listen with her by the door.
“Rogues couldn’t do that,” Alpha Ulric said. “I’ve never heard of witches or vampires organizing a force powerful enough to massacre an entire werewolf pack overnight.”
“Then there’s the question of why,” Naomi said. “What could that pack have done to warrant such an extreme reaction?”
“They may not have done anything,” Thea’s father, Beta Walter, said. “It’s not the first pack they’ve found desolated back east. There have been several others. They find out the pack is gone when someone goes to visit a ghost town.”
“Something is taking out werewolf packs?” Luna Ada said.
“What do we know about the packs that were targeted?” Alpha Ulric said. “Any clues left behind as to who did it or why?”
“These are the questions we need to find answers to,” Beta Walter said.
“This feels like the beginning of something big. Something that’s only going to get worse,” Naomi said.
“Let’s keep this between us for now,” Alpha Ulric said. “The boys and Thea have a few months left before they shift and graduate and then take over the pack. They’re the ones who will have to deal with this. Let’s let them enjoy these last weeks of being carefree before they have to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.”
“Agreed,” the other parents said.
They heard shuffling inside the office. Thea motioned for the triplets to go, and they quietly ran down and out of the pack house.
“I’m happy to ignore what we just heard until we’re the ones in charge,” Conri said as they walked to school. He took his place next to Thea, hand on her hip.
“We will have to deal with it,” Alaric said, slipping his hand into Thea’s. “It sounds like this thing is going to affect all werewolves everywhere.”
“Our parents will get the ball rolling,” Thea said.
“And they’ll help us even after they pass the Alpha title to us,” Kai said. He took Thea’s other hand. “We don’t have to stress about this yet.”
Everyone at school stared at them as they walked down the hallways. It wasn’t unusual to see the four of them together, but they had never held hands and kissed.
No one living had seen a polyamorous relationship. It was the stuff of myth in the werewolf community. Some people slept around, but they weren’t in committed relationships with all their conquests. Wolves eventually mated with one person. They were known for it. Wolves were notoriously possessive, jealous beasts, unable to share.
The triplets didn’t break contact with Thea the whole day except for the one class they didn’t have together. Third hour, right before lunch. The triplets walked her to her room, each kissed her, then said their goodbyes.
It was a class about omegas, the lowest-ranked pack members, what their uses could be, and their role in a pack. New Dawn didn’t designate any members as omegas, but other packs did. Some had slaves. Thea wanted to change that. She wanted to learn all she could to know what needed to change.
“That’s new,” Lizzy, her blonde-haired best friend, said when Thea sat next to her. “Since when are you kissing our future Alphas?” She had one eyebrow raised.
“Since this morning?” Thea said.
“It’s about time.”
“What?”
“I guess you didn’t need the Talent Show to get their attention after all.”
“That’s why you wanted me to wear the slutty outfit for the Talent Show tomorrow?”
“Duh. Someone needed to give you all a little push. I wonder who won the betting pool.”
“That thing went dry months ago,” Tessa, another girl in their pack, said. “No one thought it’d take this long.”
“What are you talking about?” Thea said.
“The whole school has been betting on when you all would get together,” Lizzy said. “Which of you would get together, if it’d be all three sharing you, or just one or two. If there’d be fights. If you got together with one and then mated another. All the possibilities. Everything.”
“I’m so confused,” Thea said.
“About what, girl? Those boys have been in love with you forever.”
Thea stared blankly at her best friend.
“Did you seriously not know?” Lizzy said. “They’ve never shown interest in any other girl. Never asked anyone out. Never hooked up with anyone even though plenty of girls have tried.”
Jealousy surged inside Thea, but she pushed it down. The triplets turned down the advances.
“I always looked at them as brothers,” Thea said. “I thought they saw me as a sister.”
“When did it shift?”
“I don’t know. It came on gradually.”
The bell rang, signaling the start of class. “I want to hear all about this,” Lizzy said.
“We all do,” Tessa said.
“At dress rehearsal for the Talent Show?” Lizzy said.
“Maybe,” Thea said.
After class, Thea walked to the cafeteria and found the triplets at their usual table. Conri pulled her onto his lap and rested his chin on her shoulder, breathing in her scent. Alaric pulled one of her legs over his and rubbed it up and down with his hands. Kai held her hand on the other side of Conri.
People whispered around the cafeteria.
“Did you guys know there’s a betting pool about us getting together?” Thea said quietly.
“I’ve heard rumors,” Kai said.
“No,” Conri said.
“I’ll get to the bottom of it,” Alaric said. Thea turned to him and leaned in for a quick kiss. Kai tugged on her hand until she kissed him too. Conri trailed kisses up and down her neck.
“You guys have to stop, or I’m going to be wet all day,” Thea whispered. She had to prepare those herbs to mask her scent when she got home today.
“Then let us suck you dry,” Conri whispered into her ear.
She gasped.
“Move slower, Con,” Alaric said.
The triplets took turns having Thea sit on their laps in each class, the other two holding her hands on either side. Teachers gave them looks but didn’t bother to say anything since they were future Alphas. Not even when they kissed the back of her neck or caressed any part of her they could reach.
Thea kept smiling. She would enjoy these last months before shifting and becoming Beta if this was how it would go.
Chapter 0006
After school, the triplets and Thea went out to the field to lead pack training. They split into four different groups and ran drills. When they came back together for conditioning, the triplets hugged and kissed Thea, ignoring everyone else on the field.
“Woah,” one of the junior boys said. “Is this a new part of training?” He pulled his girlfriend to him and kissed her. Other people started making comments and asking questions. “Are they finally together?” “What does this mean?”
Kai reluctantly let her go but grabbed her hand. Conri had his hand around her waist, and Alaric held her other hand.
“Thea’s ours,” the triplets said in unison. She blushed. “And we’re hers. Anything you want to add?” They looked at her. She shook her head. The triplets took a moment, and each looked every person in the eye, seeing if there were any challenges to what they just announced. No challenges. Everyone was happy for them. They expected this. They wanted it for the pack. They wanted Thea as their Luna.
“Finally!” Lizzy said with her hand on her hip. “Can’t believe it took you this long.”
“Okay, okay,” Thea said. “Conditioning time.” She led the group until everyone was lying on the grass, spent. “Great job today. Let’s go chill in the common room!”
Everyone went back to the pack house. It was a giant building, like a sprawling hotel. It had six floors above ground with event rooms, guest rooms, pool, gym, balconies, dining hall, and living quarters for most of the pack. Some pack members lived further into the pack lands in private dwellings. Below ground were the dungeons. The top floor was only for the Alpha, Beta, and their families.
The Alpha owned hotels. It's how his family made their money a few generations back. Then they invested in the stock market, and the pack hasn’t worried about money since. They had pack members go to school for financial planning to manage the pack finances and investments, and others went to business school to maintain the hotels.
While Thea and the triplets went up to the top floor where their rooms were, the rest used the communal showers on the second floor. Then they all met in one of the common rooms to hang out. There were giant TVs, couches, bean bags, pool table, ping pong table, all sorts of board games, and entertainment.
“It’s so good to see you together with the future Alphas finally,” Lizzy said.
“Are you dating all three of them?” a sophomore girl said.
“I don’t know if you can call it dating if you haven’t been on a date yet,” Thea said. “I mean, it only started this morning.”
“But all three?”
“Yes,” Thea said.
“How does that work?”
“I don’t know,” Thea said. “The four of us have always been together. I can’t explain it. It feels right. I can’t imagine not having one of them.”
“Probably because you’re mates,” a freshman girl said dreamily.
“You’ll make the best Luna,” another freshman girl said.
Everyone nodded and voiced their agreement.
Thea shook her head. “That’s, no. I’m a fighter.” She hadn’t considered that. She was going to be Beta, not Luna.
The triplets came over, peaches in their hands. They started to pull Thea over to a couch, but she insisted they mingle with everyone instead of monopolizing her. The group played games until pack dinner.
The triplets tried to get Thea to sit on one of their laps at dinner, but Thea insisted it was inappropriate with all the adults.
After dinner, they each went to their rooms. The triplets stopped at their doors and looked at each other. They went in, changed into pajamas, then went to Thea’s room. She walked out of her bathroom in a towel, and all three were lying on her bed.
“Like old times, huh?” Thea said.
“Hopefully not exactly like old times,” Conri said.
She went to her dresser, pulled out underwear and pajamas, went back to her bathroom. She put on her clothes, then came out and jumped into the pile of triplets.
Hands roamed and pulled at her, but Conri managed to get her on top of him in a liplock. He squeezed her ass and pushed his erection against her. Then he flipped her over so he was on top between her legs. He aligned his hard length with her core, and she moaned when he pushed against her.
“Wait,” she said.
What the girls said to her was weighing on her. What did it mean that they were together? They were all going to shift in two months—they shared the same birthday—and then they would all be able to find their mates. More importantly, they would find out they weren’t mates as soon as they shifted. She couldn’t be with them if they weren’t mates. When they each found their mates, she would be devastated. She didn’t want anyone else to have them. She couldn’t imagine caring about and wanting anyone else. The thought of having them and losing them was too much.
“What is it?” Conri said.
“I,” she said. “I want to go slow.”
“I can take it slow, babe,” Conri said. He started kissing her neck and rubbing against her core, painfully slowly. Alaric and Kai caressed her, sending tingles and heat throughout her body. She melted into the feelings they generated and reached for them. Her legs slid up Conri’s sides and wrapped around his hips. She never wanted this to end.
She shook her head, remembering it could and probably would end in two months.
“No. I mean, this is all happening too fast. I need to slow it down.”
“Are you okay?” Alaric said. He tucked her hair behind her ear.
“What’s going on, darling?” Kai said. He rubbed her arm.
Conri scooted down and propped himself up on his elbows. “What are you thinking?”
She chewed her lip. “Are you all okay with me being with all of you?”
“We’ve always shared you. You’re ours,” Conri said.
“You don’t want to be with anyone else?” Thea said.
“We told you this morning. Always you. Only you,” Kai said.
“What about—” she couldn’t finish.
“What?” Alaric said.
“Let’s make it like old times tonight. Just sleep.”
Chapter 0007
Morning training turned into a makeout session. They made it out to the field, but Kai took her to the ground, and they didn’t do any training after that.
“We may as well have just stayed in bed,” Thea said.
Another day at school, people still whispered. Thea loved the feeling of the triplets holding and kissing her, but she was terrified it wouldn’t last. She didn’t want to let herself fall in love with them just to have them ripped away.
After the final bell, the triplets surrounded her at her locker and tried to make out with her.
“I have to go to dress rehearsal for the Talent Show,” she said, pushing them away. They pouted. “I’ll see you later.”
She ran off before they could stop her.
Thea met up with all the senior girls from her pack. They were doing a number together. Thea always went out of her way to befriend and include everyone in her pack. She made sure no one felt left out. She always said, “these are the people who will stand next to you in war. Make sure you treat them in a way that makes them want to fight for you, not let you get taken down.”
When they first started planning the number, she got input from everyone. They decided to dance and sing to a medley of songs.
“We can each wear a different Britney Spears outfit and front a different song,” Tessa said.
“Thea, you have to wear the sluttiest outfit,” Lizzy said.
“Why?” Thea said.
“You never dress slutty. It will shock everyone! It will be the hit of the show, and everyone will talk about it for ages.”
“I think you’re being a little dramatic,” Thea said.
Lizzy gasped. “You should wear the red jumpsuit from Oops!...I Did It Again, and then tear it off to reveal the sheer rhinestone outfit she wore at the VMAs.”
“I’ve always wanted to do the Thriller dance,” Thea said. “Michael Jackson wears a red jacket in that one.”
“Not the same as the red bodysuit.”
Thea sighed.
“Please?” the girls all whined together.
“Okay. Fine.”
“Good! We can have Doris make our outfits,” Lizzy said. Doris was a gifted seamstress in their pack. She never found her mate, never had children. She lived alone in a small cottage on pack lands. She would be an omega in another pack, but not in New Dawn.
When they picked up their costumes, it became clear that Thea would have to go first because the tear-away jumpsuit wasn’t going to stay on for long.
They rehearsed, did their makeup and hair, got dressed, and went backstage to wait for their turn. When it was their turn, they stepped onstage. Thea walked out front and center in the skintight red jumpsuit. Everyone gasped and cheered. She decided to forget about her worries, get lost in the performance, and just have a good time. She was out there with her girlfriends, and they were going to have fun. She turned back and looked them all in the eyes.
“Let’s have fun, ladies.” She smiled big, and they all smiled back at her, nodding.
The music started for Oops!...I Did It Again, and the crowd cheered. They started singing and dancing to the music. At the stop break at the beginning of the second verse, Thea ripped off the tearaway jumpsuit to reveal the sheer, nude, rhinestone-covered bra and pants Britney Spears wore at the VMAs. She filled it out well. No one would have guessed since she usually dressed conservatively.
The crowd went wild, screaming, whistling, howling, but three distinct growls sounded above everything. Thea couldn’t see Conri get up, intent on carrying her off stage. Luckily, Kai and Alaric grabbed him before he could make a scene.
“Let her have her moment,” Alaric said, making him sit back down.
“I can smell arousal,” Conri said. “All over this room. From everyone.” The possessiveness of an Alpha was coming out strong. He didn’t want anyone else looking at his woman.
“She’s going home with us, no one else,” Kai said.
The music changed, and the girls rearranged positions. Even as one of the backup dancers, no one could take their eyes off Thea. She had a unique charisma. Everyone knew who she was. Her pack loved her and already looked at her as a leader.
They bowed to a roaring crowd and walked offstage after they finished their routine. The triplets found Thea backstage a minute later.
Lizzy gave Thea her signature fish hook in the eyebrow look with a hand on her hip. “Told ya,” she said and walked away, laughing.
“What are you doing back here?” Thea said.
“Taking you home,” Conri said.
“We have to stay for everyone else’s performances,” she said.
“She’s right,” Alaric said.
Kai took off his shirt and tried to put it over Thea’s head.
“What are you doing?” She batted him away.
“Covering you up. This is only for us to see.”
“I have a change of clothes, Kai. Put your shirt back on. Geez, Lizzy was right.”
“About what?”
“After we walked around school kissing and holding hands, Lizzy told me she made me wear this because it would get you three to make a move on me finally. She said she wouldn’t have bothered if she knew we would already be together.”
“Hmm. She’s probably right,” Alaric said.
“Couldn’t ignore that performance,” Kai said.
“Wouldn’t have been able to resist any longer,” Conri said.
Thea smiled, grabbed a bag, took out track pants and a T-shirt, pulled them on over the rhinestone outfit.
“Hmm, that may be fun later,” Kai said.
“Where did that jumpsuit end up?” Conri said.
“I don’t know. I threw it off stage.”
“We’re going to have to find that.”
They went back to the audience between performances. They watched the rest of the Talent Show, performances from all the different packs that attended their school. It was the biggest werewolf-only school in the country. It included kids from over two-dozen packs.
It was almost impossible for the triplets to keep their hands off Thea, but they performed their duties, clapped, cheered, congratulated performers afterward. They mingled and suppressed their possessiveness as everyone complimented Thea on her performance. Conri sniffed out the red jumpsuit, and when the guy who had it saw him coming, he threw it at him, not wanting to get torn to shreds.
Kai threw Thea over his shoulder as soon as acceptable and took her back to the pack house. They went straight to her room.