BOUND BY INSTINCT

Luna's apartment had never felt smaller. Three massive alphas filled the space, their combined presence making the air thick with tension and barely restrained power. She pressed herself against the wall, overwhelmed by the intensity of their combined scents and the way her body responded to each of them.

"This is crazy," she whispered, her voice shaking. "All of this is completely insane."

"Crazy doesn't mean wrong," River said gently, his hands still framing her face. His touch was warm, steadying, and she found herself leaning into it despite her fear.

Asher moved closer, his storm-grey eyes never leaving her face. "The mate bond doesn't lie, Luna. What you're feeling, what we're all feeling—it's real."

"Multiple mate bonds aren't possible," Luna protested weakly, even as her body betrayed her words by responding to both alphas' proximity.

Kai laughed from where he leaned against her kitchen counter, somehow managing to look perfectly at ease despite the tension crackling through the room. "Says who? The Council? They've been wrong about plenty of things."

"The research—"

"The research was done on ordinary omegas," River interrupted softly. "You're not ordinary, Luna. You're the first omega born in over a decade, and your scent signature is unlike anything in recorded history."

Luna's head spun. Everything she thought she knew about herself, about omega biology, was being turned upside down. "Dr. Thorne said I was the last unmated omega in North America."

"She was being conservative," Asher said grimly. "You're the last omega, period. The only one left."

The weight of that revelation hit her like a physical blow. Luna slumped against the wall, her legs suddenly too weak to support her. River's hands on her face were the only thing keeping her grounded.

"That's impossible," she breathed.

"The Council has been tracking omega populations for fifty years," Kai said, his usual playful demeanor replaced by something harder. "The numbers have been declining steadily. Most experts thought the omega gene would be extinct within another generation."

"And then you presented," River added, his thumb stroking gently across her cheekbone. "Twenty-two years old, unmated, and with a scent that can call to alphas from miles away."

Luna tried to process what they were telling her. She'd spent her entire adult life trying to hide what she was, taking suppressants and using scent blockers to blend in with the beta population. She'd never wanted to be special, had never asked for this kind of attention.

"So what does that make me?" she asked quietly. "Some kind of breeding stock for the species?"

The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. All three alphas went completely still, and Luna could feel their protective instincts spike.

"Don't," Asher said, his voice deadly quiet. "Don't ever say that about yourself."

"But it's true, isn't it?" Luna looked between them, searching their faces. "That's what everyone's going to want from me. That's why you're all here."

River's hands tightened on her face, gentle but insistent. "Look at me, Luna. Look at me and tell me that's what you see in my eyes."

She did look, and what she saw made her breath catch. There was desire, yes, and the fierce possessiveness she'd come to associate with alphas. But underneath that was something deeper—tenderness, protectiveness, and something that looked dangerously like love.

"We're here because you're our mate," River said simply. "Not because of what you represent to the species, but because of who you are."

"All of us," Kai added, pushing off from the counter. "I know it doesn't make sense by conventional standards, but nothing about this situation is conventional."

Asher stepped closer, close enough that Luna could feel the heat radiating from his body. "The Council will try to use you," he said bluntly. "They'll want to control your mating choices, decide which alpha would produce the strongest offspring. But they'll have to go through us first."

"All of us," River agreed, and something passed between the three alphas—some wordless understanding that made Luna's chest tight.

"You barely know me," Luna protested. "How can you be so sure?"

"The same way you can feel the bond forming despite fighting it every step of the way," Kai said, moving to her other side. "Some things don't need explanation."

Luna was trapped between them now, surrounded by alpha warmth and the intoxicating scent of potential mates. Her heat was building again despite Dr. Thorne's medication, her body responding to their proximity in ways that made thinking difficult.

"I'm scared," she admitted quietly.

"Of us?" River asked, concern flickering across his features.

"Of losing myself." Luna looked down at her hands, unable to meet their eyes. "Of becoming nothing more than what everyone expects me to be."

"That won't happen," Asher said with absolute certainty. "We won't let it happen."

"How can you promise that? You don't even know what you're getting into. Multiple mate bonds—even if they're possible, how would that even work? What alpha wants to share?"

Kai laughed, but it was surprisingly gentle. "You're thinking like someone who doesn't understand pack dynamics, omega. Alphas share territory, resources, responsibilities. Why not mates?"

"Because of jealousy. Possessiveness. Competition." Luna gestured helplessly. "Look at you three—you can barely be in the same room without sizing each other up for a fight."

"That's different," River said. "That's about establishing hierarchy, making sure you're protected. Once that's settled..."

He trailed off, and Luna looked between them with growing understanding. "You've already settled it, haven't you? You've already worked out some kind of arrangement."

"We've discussed the possibility," Asher admitted. "While you were talking to Dr. Thorne."

Luna stared at him in disbelief. "You discussed sharing me like I was a piece of property?"

"We discussed protecting you," River corrected firmly. "And making sure that whatever happens, your choices are respected."

"What choices? It sounds like you've already decided everything."

Kai moved closer, his eyes serious for once. "The only thing we've decided is that we're not walking away. What happens next is entirely up to you."

"But if you choose one of us," Asher said quietly, "the other two will step back. No contest, no challenge."

"And if you choose all of us," River added, "we'll make it work. Whatever it takes."

Luna's head was spinning. The rational part of her mind was screaming that this was all moving too fast, that she needed time to think, to plan, to figure out what she actually wanted.

But her body knew what it wanted. Her heat was building again, making her skin feel too tight, too sensitive. The scent of three powerful alphas was driving her omega instincts wild, making her want to submit, to let them take control.

"The Council," she said desperately, grasping for any excuse to slow this down. "You said they'd be coming."

"They will," Asher confirmed grimly. "But not tonight. Dr. Thorne bought us some time by not reporting your exact location yet."

"She's breaking protocol for us?"

"She's protecting patient confidentiality," River said diplomatically. "For as long as she can."

Luna laughed shakily. "So I have maybe twelve hours before my life gets completely turned upside down?"

"Maybe less," Kai said honestly. "Your scent is getting stronger. Other alphas will start circling soon, and when they do..."

He didn't need to finish the sentence. Luna had seen what happened when alphas competed for mates. It usually ended in bloodshed.

"So what do you want me to do?" she asked tiredly. "Pick one of you right now and hope for the best?"

"We want you to trust us," River said simply. "All of us. Let us help you through the heat, and worry about everything else later."

"Together?" The word came out breathier than Luna intended.

"If that's what you want," Asher said, his voice rough with barely controlled desire.

Luna looked between them, these three impossibly attractive alphas who claimed to be her mates. Asher with his dangerous beauty and protective instincts. Kai with his rebellious charm and wild energy. River with his gentle strength and healing touch.

Her body wanted them. All of them. Her heat was demanding satisfaction, and the thought of surrendering to their care was both terrifying and incredibly appealing.

"I don't know how," she whispered.

"We'll teach you," River promised, his hands still gentle on her face. "Step by step. You don't have to do anything you're not ready for."

"But you need to decide soon," Kai added pragmatically. "Your heat is getting stronger, and our control isn't infinite."

As if to prove his point, all three alphas tensed as another wave of Luna's scent filled the apartment. She could see their pupils dilate, could smell the answering spike of desire from each of them.

"Okay," Luna said quietly, the word falling from her lips before she could think better of it. "Okay, but slowly. And if I say stop—"

"We stop," all three said immediately.

"No questions asked," River added.

Luna nodded, her heart hammering against her ribs. She was about to cross a line that would change everything, but standing here surrounded by three alphas who looked at her like she was precious, protected, desired—she couldn't bring herself to care about the consequences.

"Then help me," she whispered. "Please."

The last word broke whatever restraint they'd been holding onto. River's hands tightened on her face as Asher stepped closer, and Kai's eyes flashed with predatory satisfaction.

"We've got you," River murmured against her forehead. "All of us. We've got you."

And as Luna finally stopped fighting her instincts and let herself fall into their waiting arms, she realized that for the first time in her life, she truly believed someone did.