BOUND TO THE ALPHA TRIPLETS

The night was hot, heavy in a way I couldn't explain. The air felt charged with electricity, as if a storm were about to break, but the sky was clear. I should have felt the warning in the air when I put on that long green dress. The silky fabric hugged my curves, but it seemed to tighten around me more than usual. I brushed my red hair over my shoulders and let out a sigh that felt like it came from the depths of my soul. Something was shifting inside me, a countdown I couldn't stop, and I felt it in every pore.

"Drink some lemonade," Reagan said, appearing at my side and holding out a sweating glass. "It has plenty of ice; it’s great!"

I watched him take a sip, his throat moving as he relaxed. Despite the party being full of alcohol and loud music, the heat was too suffocating for anything strong. Reagan looked radiant under the colored lights of the celebration. Whenever our eyes met, I saw the glint in his gaze—that silent expectation that put a knot in my stomach and made me want to run. We were best friends, partners our whole lives. But the pressure of the pack on us was like a rope around my neck.

Everyone around us whispered, waiting for nature to seal us as mates the moment the clock struck midnight. Deep down, Reagan wanted it. He wanted that pre-destined fate. Me? I was only afraid of being someone's Luna, of carrying responsibilities I never asked for, and of losing the little freedom I still had.

Suddenly, something stirred in my stomach. It wasn't cold; it was a painful agitation, a tingling that crawled up my legs and made my fingers tremble. I set the glass down on the first table I saw, kicked off my heels, and simply ran. I ignored the voices calling my name, the muffled music, and the glow of the party left behind. I needed space. I needed silence.

My skin began to burn, a heat rising from the inside out. Pain spread like fire beneath my flesh, stretching my tendons. There were only five minutes left until my eighteenth birthday, but Ariel, my wolf, was already clawing to get out, impatient and fierce. I dove into the dense bushes, cutting through and hiding my scent as I heard the distant footsteps of someone searching for me. When silence finally returned, I followed my wild instincts to the forbidden pond, the only place no one would dare to go.

There, isolated under the silvery moonlight, I couldn't take it anymore. My fingers fumbled with the zipper of my dress, and I yanked it open in a hurry, letting the fabric slide down my burning skin until it became a green heap on the ground. I stood there in only my underwear, shivering in the night chill as the first bone broke with a dry snap. The pain was hell on earth. I whimpered loudly, digging my nails into the damp earth and biting my lips until I tasted the hot, metallic tang of blood.

"You can handle this, sweetheart... just a little longer," Ariel’s voice whispered in my mind, deep and encouraging.

I made it. I felt my muscles expand, red fur sprout, and the agony transform into an overwhelming strength that surged through every fiber of my being. When I finally opened my eyes, I was no longer the scared girl from the party. I was massive. I was free. I ran along the edge of the pond, feeling the soft grass under my paws and the wind mussing my fur. Finally, I was whole.

But, when I returned to the water's edge to cool off, the scent hit me like a punch to the chest. It was intoxicating, addictive, smelling of damp earth and sandalwood. I snapped my head around and lost my breath. The Alpha Triplets were there, emerging from the shadows like ghosts: Liam, Dean, and Ryan. They surrounded me with slow, predatory steps, their golden eyes glowing in the darkness, fixed on my every move.

"Mate," they said in unison, their voices vibrating in the air.

"Mates," Ariel replied through me, a growl of recognition that made me shudder.

The transformation receded from pure shock, and I found myself human again, vulnerable and naked. Liam approached first. I cowered, trying to cover my nakedness with my hands, my heart beating in my throat.

"Don't hide from me, love," he whispered, his voice soft but loaded with a dangerous possessiveness. "You are the most beautiful thing in the world."

He cupped my face with his large, warm hands. The heat of his touch rushed through my body like a shock, making me gasp and close my eyes. Liam pulled me close, and when our mouths met, the world around us simply disappeared. But I wasn't alone with him. I felt two other pairs of hands touching me, claiming me. A warm body pressed perfectly against my back, and a hungry mouth found the sensitive spot on my neck. A hand slid firmly between my legs, pressing exactly where I throbbed with pure desire.

I writhed, letting out a muffled moan that I buried in Liam's neck. The pleasure was a giant wave drowning me, washing away any trace of sanity or fear.

"You are stunning, love," Liam whispered against my ear, his hot breath sending shivers through my entire body.

I was in paradise, lost in a whirlwind I never imagined existed.

"Can you handle us, love? All three of us?"