Bound to the Triplet Alphas

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: The Alpha Awakens

ARIA POV

Pain tore through my body as I fell to my knees. It felt like my bones were breaking, rearranging.

"What’s happening to her?" someone yelled.

The full moon shone straight overhead as chaos erupted in the clearing. My father and the Shadow Alpha circled each other, both partly shifted into monstrous forms. The triplets fought against their captors. Elder Malin watched me with hungry eyes.

But I barely noticed any of it. The change was coming—my first full shift—and I couldn’t stop it.

"She’s shifting!" Mira cried. "Everyone back away!"

I’d never shifted before. Omegas generally shifted early, around fifteen or sixteen. But I’d been different—broken, everyone thought. For years, I’d felt the pull of the moon but never answered it.

Until now.

My skin burned as fur pushed through. My face stretched into a mouth. Paws replaced hands. The pain was unbearable, but something else drove me forward—power, pure and wild, rushing through my blood.

When the change finished, I stood on four legs, panting. But something was wrong. I wasn’t small like an omega wolf should be.

I was huge.

Gasps and whispers spread through the crowd. I looked down at my paws—they were huge, covered in silvery-white fur that seemed to glow in the moonlight.

"Impossible," Elder Malin whispered. "An Alpha female—"

I raised my head and howled. The sound echoed through the forest, more strong than any howl I’d ever heard. It wasn’t a cry of pain or fear—it was a call. A call.

My father stopped his circle, his eyes wide with shock. "No," he growled. "Not yet!"

The Shadow Alpha—Darius—laughed, a terrible sound. "Too late, brother. She’s woken."

The marks on the triplets’ chests flared brighter. Kael roared, his body contorting as he broke free from those holding him. Jaxon followed, his shift happening so fast it was like watching water flow. Lucien’s change was silent but complete—in seconds, three powerful wolves stood in the circle.

Without thinking, I moved between them and the others. My wolf knew what to do even if I didn’t. I growled at my father, at Elder Malin, at everyone who had lied to me.

Kael’s dark red wolf bordered my right. Jaxon’s sleek gray form took my left. Lucien’s black wolf stood slightly ahead, guarding us all.

"Look at her eyes!" someone yelled.

My reflection shimmered in a puddle at my feet. My eyes weren’t omega brown. They glowed Alpha gold.

"Kill her!" my father ordered the pack members. "Kill her now before she bonds with all three!"

But no one moved. They were frozen, looking at me with fear and awe.

I felt strange new instincts take over. My wolf knew things I didn’t—could feel things I couldn’t in human form. Three bonds pulled at my heart, each different but equally strong.

Kael’s bond felt like steel—strong, unyielding, a guardian. Jaxon’s was like fire—wild, intense, dangerous. Lucien’s was like air—essential, gentle but capable of becoming a storm.

My animal wanted all three. Needed all three.

I howled again, and this time, the triplets joined me. Our voices blended together in perfect unison, a sound that made the trees shake and the moon itself seem brighter.

"The prophecy," Elder Malin gasped. "Three flames, one heart..."

My father growled, his form shifting further into something monstrous—neither human nor wolf, but something twisted by dark magic. "I won’t let her ruin everything!"

He lunged at me, but three wolves stopped him. The triplets charged as one, moving with perfect coordination as if they’d practiced this dance for years.

With the pack’s attention on the fight, I felt a pull toward the stone circle. My wolf walked forward, following instinct. The center stone began to glow as I approached—the same silver light that marked my hands in human form.

I put my paw on the stone. The ground shook.

"The Moon Stone," Mira whispered from somewhere nearby. "She’s found it."

A crack split the center stone. From within, a bright light poured out, bathing me in silver. Knowledge filled my mind—memories that weren’t mine, power that had been sleeping for generations.

I wasn’t just an Alpha female. I was the last of the Moon Alphas—female wolves who once led all packs before the men took over. My family hadn’t died out—it had been hidden, protected, waiting for the right moment to return.

As the light faded, I felt different. Stronger. I turned back to the battle, where my father and the Shadow Alpha were now fighting each other, their hate more powerful than their desire to stop me.

"Aria!" Mira called. "Behind you!"

I spun around to see Elder Malin coming, a silver dagger in his hand—the same one he’d used in the ritual.

"The power must be contained," he said. "One way or another."

Before he could strike, a new wolf burst into the clearing—pure white, nearly as large as me. The newcomer struck Elder Malin, knocking him down with one powerful leap.

When the white wolf turned, I recognized the eyes instantly. My mother was living.

She changed back to human form, standing tall despite her wounds. "Step away from my daughter," she ordered.

Elder Malin scrambled backward. "Lyra... you survived."

"More than survived," she said. "I remembered who I am." She turned to me. "Who we are."

My mother placed her hand on my wolf’s head, and images flashed through my mind—a lineage of female Alphas going back centuries, their power passed from mother to daughter.

"The Moon Stone doesn’t just defeat the Shadow Alpha," she explained to everyone listening. "It returns balance to the packs. Male and female Alphas, ruling together as equals."

The fighting stopped as her words sank in. The triplets returned to my side, still in wolf form, making a protective circle around me.

"Which one is her true mate?" someone asked.

My mother smiled sadly. "That’s not how it works for Moon Alphas. The old stories got it wrong."

For the first time, I understood why I felt drawn to all three twins. Why I couldn’t choose. Why the bond felt broken.

"A Moon Alpha needs three mates," my mother continued. "The Protector, the Guardian, and the Healer. Together, they balance her power."

Gasps and whispers swept through the crowd. Such a thing was unheard of in current pack law.

My father yelled, his rage shaking the trees. "I won’t allow it! The female line ends tonight!"

He charged toward us, faster than anything his size should move. The triplets braced themselves, but they wouldn’t be quick enough.

Instinctively, I howled—not just any howl, but an order filled with power from the Moon Stone. Silver light burst from my mouth, stopping my father mid-leap.

"Stand down," I growled, shocked to find I could speak in wolf form. "This ends now."

My father struggled against my order, his body shaking with effort. "You don’t understand what you’re doing," he snarled. "What you’re unleashing."

"I understand enough," I answered. "You and Darius both corrupted your Alpha power. You picked darkness over balance."

The Shadow Alpha—Darius—laughed again. "Tell her, brother. Tell her what becoming a Moon Alpha really means."

My father’s eyes locked with mine, suddenly clear despite the darkness whirling within them. "If you take the power, you’ll end more than our battle," he warned. "You’ll awaken them all."

"Awaken who?" I asked.

Before he could answer, the ground split open beneath the stone circle. The Moon Stone’s light shot upward like a beacon, striking the night sky. Somewhere in the distance, answering howls echoed—dozens, maybe hundreds, of wolves responding to a call they hadn’t heard in ages.

My father’s face twisted in fear. "The Forgotten Packs," he whispered. "You’ve called them home."