THREE ALPHA MALE MATES

Luna Rivers pressed her back against the cold brick wall of the alley, her heart hammering against her ribs as footsteps echoed closer. The suppressants she'd been taking for years were failing, and her omega scent was bleeding through despite the pills she'd doubled up on this morning.

"I can smell you, little omega." The voice was rough, predatory. "No point hiding now."

She squeezed her eyes shut, cursing herself for taking the shortcut home from her night shift at the diner. Seattle's supernatural district wasn't safe for any omega after dark, let alone one whose scent was calling to every alpha within a five-mile radius.

The footsteps stopped directly in front of her hiding spot. Luna held her breath, pressing herself deeper into the shadows between two dumpsters. Her phone was dead, and screaming would only attract more unwanted attention.

"Found you."

A massive hand shot out, grabbing her wrist and yanking her from her hiding place. The alpha was huge, easily six and a half feet tall, with the kind of muscle that came from shifting regularly. His eyes glowed amber in the dim streetlight, and when he smiled, she could see his canines had already elongated.

"Please," Luna whispered, hating how small her voice sounded. "I just want to go home."

"Home?" He laughed, the sound grating against her nerves. "Sweetheart, you smell like you're going into heat. An unmated omega doesn't get to just go home when nature's calling."

His grip tightened, and Luna felt her bones grinding together. She'd always been small, barely five-foot-four, and this alpha could snap her wrist without even trying.

"Let her go."

The voice came from behind them, low and commanding. The alpha holding Luna spun around, dragging her with him. Another werewolf emerged from the opposite end of the alley, and Luna's breath caught in her throat.

This one was different. Taller than her attacker, but leaner, with dark hair that fell across his forehead and eyes the color of storm clouds. He moved with fluid grace, like violence wrapped in expensive clothes. Even from twenty feet away, his presence hit her like a physical force.

"This isn't your business, Blackwood," her captor snarled. "I found her first."

Blackwood. Luna had heard that name whispered in the diner's kitchen. The Shadow Moon Pack's alpha was notorious for his temper and his tendency to solve problems with blood.

"Everything in my territory is my business," Asher Blackwood said, taking another step forward. "And you're standing in my territory."

"The boundaries changed last month after the Council meeting. This block belongs to—"

Asher moved faster than Luna's eyes could track. One moment he was twenty feet away, the next his hand was wrapped around the other alpha's throat. The scent of dominance rolled off him in waves, so thick Luna could taste it on her tongue.

"The boundaries are what I say they are," Asher said quietly. "And I say you're trespassing."

His grip tightened, and Luna felt her bones grinding together. She'd always been small, barely five-foot-four, and this alpha could snap her wrist without even trying.

"Let her go."

The voice came from behind them, low and commanding. The alpha holding Luna spun around, dragging her with him. Another werewolf emerged from the opposite end of the alley, and Luna's breath caught in her throat.

This one was different. Taller than her attacker, but leaner, with dark hair that fell across his forehead and eyes the color of storm clouds. He moved with fluid grace, like violence wrapped in expensive clothes. Even from twenty feet away, his presence hit her like a physical force.

"This isn't your business, Blackwood," her captor snarled. "I found her first."

Blackwood. Luna had heard that name whispered in the diner's kitchen. The Shadow Moon Pack's alpha was notorious for his temper and his tendency to solve problems with blood.

"Everything in my territory is my business," Asher Blackwood said, taking another step forward. "And you're standing in my territory."

"The boundaries changed last month after the Council meeting. This block belongs to—"

Asher moved faster than Luna's eyes could track. One moment he was twenty feet away, the next his hand was wrapped around the other alpha's throat. The scent of dominance rolled off him in waves, so thick Luna could taste it on her tongue.

"The boundaries are what I say they are," Asher said quietly. "And I say you're trespassing."

The alpha released Luna's wrist, raising both hands in submission. "Fine, fine. But the omega stays here. Her scent is driving every male in the district crazy. Someone needs to claim her before she causes a war."

Asher's eyes flicked to Luna for the first time, and she felt something snap tight in her chest. The connection was instant and overwhelming, like being struck by lightning. His nostrils flared as he scented her, and his pupils dilated.

"Leave," he said to the other alpha, never breaking eye contact with Luna. "Now."

The dismissed werewolf stumbled backward, shooting Luna a look that promised this wasn't over, before disappearing into the night.

Silence stretched between them. Luna's skin felt too tight, her body responding to this alpha's presence in ways that terrified her. The suppressants weren't just failing—they were completely useless against whatever was happening between them.

"You're in heat," Asher said, his voice rougher now. "When did it start?"

Luna wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hold back the trembling that had nothing to do with the cold October air. "This morning. But I'm on suppressants, I shouldn't be—"

"Suppressants don't work on true heat." He took a step toward her, then seemed to catch himself. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

Something flickered across his face. "And you've never had a heat before now?"

She shook her head, not trusting her voice. The space between them felt charged, electric. Every instinct screamed at her to either run or submit, and she wasn't sure which impulse was stronger.

"That's impossible," he murmured, more to himself than to her. "Unless..." His eyes widened slightly. "What's your designation?"

"I don't have one officially. The testing was inconclusive when I was sixteen."

But they both knew what she was. Her scent was getting stronger by the minute, and the way every alpha in the district had been circling her building for the past week made it obvious. Omegas were supposed to be extinct, or close to it. There hadn't been a confirmed omega birth in North America in over a decade.

"You need to come with me," Asher said, pulling off his jacket and holding it out to her. "This scent will have every pack in the city hunting you within hours."

Luna stared at the offered jacket, knowing that accepting it would change everything. Once she took it, she'd be under his protection, which came with its own complications.

"I can take care of myself," she said, even as another wave of heat rolled through her body.

Asher's expression darkened. "Can you? Because from where I'm standing, you were about to be claimed by a rogue alpha in an alley behind a dumpster."

The words stung because they were true. Luna had been living in denial, thinking she could keep hiding what she was with pills and scent blockers. But her body was betraying her, advertising her fertility to every dominant male in the vicinity.

"What do you want in return?" she asked.

Something shifted in his eyes, a flash of pain so brief she might have imagined it. "Nothing you're not willing to give."

Before she could respond, another scent hit her—different from Asher's cold mountain air and pine, this one wild and untamed like a storm over the ocean. A third werewolf materialized at the mouth of the alley, and Luna's knees nearly buckled as another wave of that impossible recognition crashed over her.

This alpha was shorter than Asher but broader, with golden skin and dark hair tied back in a messy knot. His clothes were worn leather and denim, and he moved like he'd never met a rule he didn't want to break.

"Well, well," the newcomer said, his voice carrying a slight accent Luna couldn't place. "Looks like I'm not the only one who caught that scent on the wind."

Asher tensed, and Luna could feel the sudden spike in his territorial instincts. "Stormheart. You're a long way from your usual hunting grounds."

"So are you, Blackwood." Kai Stormheart's gaze settled on Luna, and she felt her breath catch. "Though I can see why you might make an exception."

The air between the two alphas crackled with barely contained aggression. Luna realized she was looking at a potential bloodbath, all because her biology had decided to betray her at the worst possible moment.

"This doesn't concern you," Asher said, stepping slightly in front of Luna.

Kai laughed, but there was no humor in it. "An unmated omega in heat concerns every alpha in the territory. Especially when she smells like she does."

Luna's face burned with humiliation. She was being discussed like a piece of meat, fought over by alphas who didn't even know her name.

"Stop," she said, her voice stronger than she felt. "Both of you, just stop."

They turned to look at her, and the weight of their combined attention made her skin prickle with awareness. She could feel her control slipping, her omega biology urging her to choose one of them, to submit and let them handle the complicated world of pack politics and territorial disputes.

But Luna Rivers had been handling complicated things her entire life. She wasn't about to stop now.

"I'm going home," she announced. "Alone."

She pushed past both alphas, determined to make it to her apartment before her heat got any worse. Behind her, she heard Asher curse under his breath.

"Luna."

The sound of her name in his voice stopped her cold. She turned back, surprised he knew what to call her.

"This won't end here," he said quietly. "You know that, right?"

She did know. The mate bond thrumming between them was too strong to ignore, and with Kai's presence adding another layer of complexity, everything was about to get much more complicated.

But for tonight, she just wanted to make it home without starting a war between two of the most dangerous alphas in the city.

She had a feeling that was going to be harder than it sounded.