Craved By The Alpha Triplets

Raine had not meant to stay in the forest that late. The light had thinned into that uncertain gray that came just before night truly settled, when the world felt suspended between safety and something older, more watchful. Shadows stretched too far across the ground, pooling between the roots of towering pines, and every sound carried farther than it should have. She knew better than to linger past dusk. Everyone who lived near the edge of Blackridge Forest did. But the restlessness had been unbearable all day. The words in her head had refused to settle, circling endlessly, pressing against her skull until it felt like something inside her needed release. When that happened, there was only one place that ever quieted the noise. The forest. Raine adjusted the strap of her satchel on her shoulder and stepped carefully over a fallen branch, boots sinking slightly into damp earth. Pine and moss filled her lungs, cool and sharp, grounding her in a way nothing else ever managed. With

Raine came back to herself in fragments. Heat. Solid arms. The steady, powerful beat of a heart that was not her own. She inhaled sharply, fingers tightening in reflex against warm skin. The sensation grounded her just enough for the world to stop spinning, though dizziness still clung stubbornly behind her eyes. “Easy,” a low voice murmured. “You’re safe. For now.” Raine stiffened instantly. Safe. The word snapped her fully awake. She pushed back against the chest she was pressed to, palms flat and urgent. Kael released her immediately, though the movement clearly cost him. Pain flickered across his face before he masked it, jaw setting as he shifted his weight carefully. Raine scrambled to her feet, heart pounding, putting distance between them until her back nearly hit a tree. “Don’t,” she said sharply. “Just—don’t touch me again.” Kael straightened as much as his injury allowed, hands raised slightly in a clear sign of surrender. Despite the situation, despite the impos

The river whispered softly under the moonlight, its silver surface reflecting the tremble of the trees. I sat on the smooth stones at its edge, shivering despite the warmth of the fire crackling nearby. My skin still carried the ghosts of their touch—their hands, their breath, the way their hunger had burned through me.Kael knelt beside me, dipping a cloth into the water. His hands were rough but careful as he ran it gently over my shoulder. The icy water bit into my skin, dragging me out of the haze I’d been floating in since… everything.“Easy,” he murmured, voice low and strained. “The water’s cold.”“I can tell,” I whispered. My throat still felt raw, as if every word might break me apart again.Lucian crouched nearby, sharpening a blade on a flat rock as if the motion steadied him. Damon leaned against a tree, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the forest beyond us. The three of them were silent, but the air around them vibrated with energy—heat, power, something ancient and animal

The forest began to thin, the trees growing taller and straighter, their roots weaving a natural path that led us deeper into the heart of the wilderness. Sunlight filtered through the canopy in sharp golden beams, cutting across the undergrowth and highlighting every movement in the woods. The air smelled different here—sharper, cleaner, carrying the faint scent of wildflowers and ancient earth.I walked between Kael and Damon, Lucian just ahead, my fingers brushing the edges of my coat as if I could cling to something familiar. My chest ached—not with fear, exactly, but with anticipation and uncertainty. The bond pulsed in my veins, a steady rhythm that matched my heartbeat, tugging me forward. It was insistent, a reminder that I could not go back, that I was no longer simply human in the way I once believed.“You’ll need to stay alert,” Kael murmured beside me, his voice low and steady, though his golden eyes scanned the shadows with predatory precision. “Even here, in what should

The morning light filtered through the tall windows of the Blackthorn sanctuary, brushing the polished stone floors with gold. I woke on a soft mat in a room that smelled faintly of cedar and firewood, the remnants of last night’s trials still pulsing in my limbs. My body ached—not in pain, but in that exquisite exhaustion that came from pushing past limits I hadn’t known I had.Kael was already awake, sitting cross-legged against the wall, golden eyes open and focused on me as though he had been watching every flicker of my dreams. Lucian lounged on a nearby bench, smirking lazily, while Damon stood near the window, arms crossed, his posture rigid and alert. Even in the quiet morning, their presence was overwhelming, a weight that made me hyper-aware of my every breath.“You’re awake,” Kael murmured, voice rough from the night’s exertion, though there was a softness beneath it I had never noticed before. “Did you sleep?”I hesitated. “I… think so. Sort of.” My fingers traced the fain