Thea sprinted to school. She couldn’t risk running into the triplets back at the pack house. She went to the girls’ locker room to shower.

What was wrong with her? She had never gotten aroused while training before. She was always professional. She saved that for her alone time.

Yes, ever since the triplets hit puberty, they were getting more muscular, and they could actually pin her now, and yes, she secretly liked it. Keyword being secret. She wanted her future Alphas to get more powerful. She also wanted them on top of her. That was the real reason they were sometimes able to pin her. She let them. They weren’t supposed to know any of that. No one was.

She was supposed to be the next Beta. Their Beta. She couldn’t complicate that relationship by fawning over them. A Beta couldn’t be in love with her Alphas. She’d never get the position if she acted like a lovesick puppy around them or if she smelled of arousal whenever they were near. Once the triplets found their mates, the Lunas would want her replaced. That’s why most Betas were male. Well, aside from the fact that males were almost always stronger.

She had Alpha blood, though. Her father was the Beta of their pack—New Dawn, the biggest pack on the west coast—but he was the fourth son of an Alpha from the east coast. His pack didn’t need him, and he wanted to be useful, so he came out here to be Beta. Thea's mother was the daughter of an Alpha too.

Thea was strong. Tall, strong, and she trained harder than anybody.

The triplets’ father, Alpha Ulric, had included her in his sons’ training since day one. The unspoken expectation was that she would take over her father’s position just like the triplets would take over theirs.

Now that was all jeopardized. She had demonstrated why a female shouldn’t be Beta. She thought her attraction to them was under control, but something took over her body when they were all biting her. When they nipped her marking spot, that moan was as involuntary as it was embarrassing. One second she was fighting against them. The next, she was limp and wanting.

She was about to tilt her hips and grind herself against Kai when they all froze. They must have been horrified at the sound of her moan. Then they sniffed the air and smelled how turned on she was! How could she ever look at any of them again? She shouldn’t have stopped running at the school. She needed to leave town. The state. The country. Who was she kidding? The planet.

She got out of the shower and changed into some spare clothes she had there. Her life here was over. She couldn’t go to classes. She shared all but one with the triplets. She would have to leave and start a new life somewhere else. Maybe her uncle’s pack on the east coast would take her in. She would call her parents and apologize for shaming the family after she settled.

She left the locker room and ran straight into the triplets. Alaric had Thea’s backpack on his shoulder and a peach in his hand. She abruptly turned and ran in the opposite direction.

“Hey!” Kai called out.

“Thea, stop!” Conri said.

Alaric caught up to her first. He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. “Thea, what are you doing?”

“I’m running away,” she said. Conri and Kai caught up. The three of them formed a circle around her.

“Why?” Conri said.

“Why do you think? I'm humiliated.”

“Why are you embarrassed? It's okay,” Kai said.

“No, it's not, and it'll never happen again,” Thea said.

Kai’s hands trailed up her sides. He stepped closer to her, pinning her against Conri and Alaric, who each grabbed one of her arms. Kai leaned down and brushed his lips across her collar bone then up to her ear. She suppressed whatever sound was building in her throat.

“Are you saying if we kissed your neck, it wouldn't turn you on?”

They brought their noses to her neck and breathed in. Thea clenched her legs together, trying to temper the heat that was building. Kai’s hand moved down, snuck under her shirt. His fingers grazed inside the waistband of her pants.

“If I reached in and touched you, you wouldn't be wet for us?”

It took everything in her not to beg him to do just that. Best she could figure, this was some kind of test for the Beta position, and she was failing miserably. That thought sobered her quickly, and anger built inside Thea—not at Kai, but herself. She wasn't Beta material. She steeled herself, ripped her arms from Conri and Alaric, and shoved Kai.

“You’ll never find out, Kaiser Valko,” she said, using his full name. She only did that when she was angry.

She ran, waiting until she rounded the corner to wipe the tears from her eyes.

“Way to go, idiot,” Thea heard Alaric say to Kai.

“I can smell her. Why is she fighting it?” Conri said.

She made it to her locker before Alaric caught up with her. He offered her backpack to her.

“I figured you’d need this since you didn’t come back to the pack house,” he said. “I put a change of clothes in there.”

“Thanks.” She took her bag from him. He offered the peach to her.

“Figured you didn’t get breakfast either.”

She wanted to hug him. Instead, she took the peach. “Thanks,” she said. She could always count on Alaric to take care of her, make her feel better, but even he couldn’t fix this.

“I’m sorry about Kai. Are you okay?”

“I can’t stay here after that,” she said.

“What do you mean? Where would you go?”

“My uncle’s pack? Anywhere else, really.”

“Thea, you’re not going anywhere. We’ll track you down and drag you back. You’re not leaving.”

“You don’t get it.”

“Don’t let his immaturity scare you off.”

“It’s not him. He was just testing me. I failed. I’m the problem.”

“What?” Alaric said. Kai and Conri turned the corner and slowly approached.

“How can I train with you anymore? I can’t.” She grabbed her stuff, closed her locker.

“Thea, you’re not making any sense.”

“Think about it. If I can’t train, my future in the pack is over.” She wiped the tears she couldn’t stop and walked away.

Kai and Conri joined Alaric at Thea’s locker, and they watched her walk away.

“I think we messed up,” Alaric said.

School was awkward. They had all but one class together, and Thea did her best to avoid or ignore the triplets all day. Everyone could tell something was wrong. Typically, they were inseparable. Kai usually had his arm draped over her shoulders. Alaric always offered her his arm when they walked because she often didn’t pay attention to where she was going. Conri held onto the hem of her shirt to keep her close. Today, she ignored them, left each class as the bell rang, didn’t walk with them anywhere, and made sure there was plenty of space between them.

Thea was usually good-natured and happy, but she spent the day subdued. Instead of eating lunch at their usual table, she went to the library to be alone and think.

Could she be blamed for being attracted to the triplets? Everyone wanted them. They were Alphas. They exuded power and sexiness: tall, dark hair, crystal blue eyes, beautiful chiseled faces, strong jaws, defined cheekbones, broad shoulders, muscles for days. They were gorgeous among werewolves, who were already preternaturally attractive beings.

Maybe she could recover from this. If she could figure out a way to tame her libido, things could go back to normal.

Maybe she was just full of hormones because her first shift was close. What if her wolf turned out to be a horny beast, and she had to satisfy her urges constantly?

Maybe there were herbs she could take that would suppress any hormones or horniness. She could at least look into masking her scent. There had to be herbs for that.

She started looking up books that could give her insight into how to fix this. Witches could do all sorts of things, but she didn’t want to mess with them. They were enemies of werewolves. Dangerous. She’d leave the pack before she used witches.

She loved this pack, though. The people. Her family. The triplets. All she ever wanted was to be Beta and help this pack stay the most powerful, most coveted on the west coast. She didn’t want to leave. She checked out several books and put them in her backpack to take home.

After school, she dutifully went to the training field to lead training alongside the triplets. She didn’t look them in the eye, which irritated Kai and Conri. She tried to look professional, only speaking to them when necessary. She brought up other wolves to demonstrate things where they usually used each other.

After training, Thea usually stuck around and talked with the pack members. This time, she left immediately. She went to the pack house, got some food, then went to her room to read the books she checked out. She didn’t go to pack dinner.

A while later, she’d written down a list of all the herbs she wanted. She went down to the pack apothecary store in the village area of the pack lands and handed the list to the apothecary. The older gentleman gathered the items, labeled them, bundled them up, separated them into groups.

“These are most effective in tea form. You can mix them with your favorite tea or brave the bitter taste alone. These are most effective when smoked. Do you have something to smoke with?”

“No,” Thea said.

The apothecary walked away and came back with a pipe and lighter. He demonstrated how to use it, how to clean it.

“I also devised a concoction that may interest you. It’s a spray. Our warriors and trackers use it regularly to mask their scents. Would you like to try it?”

“Yes, please.”

He added it to the bundle, handed it to her. “If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.”

“Thank you.” She paid for them. “Can you make sure you have these in stock? I’ll probably be buying them regularly.”

“Of course, Miss Lyall.”

“Thea. Please call me Thea, Mr. Garrity.”

“Of course, Thea.” He smiled at her.

She went back to her room and read up on how to prepare the herbs. How much to use, how long to steep the tea, how long the effects would last. She fell asleep with her head in a book, the rest of them strewn around her on her bed.

She woke up when the bed dipped. Two strong hands pulled her against a warm body. She instantly knew it was Alaric. She always knew which triplet was which, ever since they were kids. Everyone else had trouble telling them apart since they were identical. He had cleared the books off her bed, stacked them on her desk, and put a blanket over her.

“Hey,” Alaric said softly. “I missed you at dinner. I missed you all day. How are you doing?”

“I don’t know,” Thea said.

“You’re researching something.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay. You don’t have to. Can I stay with you like old times?”

The triplets used to sneak into her room every night and sleep with her. They always slept better in her bed. They stopped a few years ago. Thea missed sleeping with them, but she would never sneak into any of their rooms. She had to accept it.

Thea nodded. Even with the lights off, they could see each other in the dark. She didn’t know if she’d ever get to sleep with him again. She didn’t expect this tonight, but being in his arms was comforting. She wrapped her arms around his waist. He adjusted, and they pulled in tight. He hooked her head under his chin. Her face against his chest, she breathed in his scent. It calmed her and made her sad at the same time. She knew he wasn’t hers. None of them were. Tears spilled over.

“Hey,” Alaric said. He rubbed her back up and down. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m afraid of losing you guys.” She sniffled.

“Never going to happen. You’re stuck with us forever.”

She wished that were true. She settled for being in Alaric’s arms tonight.

He held her, trailing his fingers over her until she fell asleep.

Alaric was still holding Thea when she woke up.

"You ready for early morning training?" Alaric's voice, rough with sleep, rumbled through her body, waking her up in the sweetest way. She wished she could wake up like this every morning. Then his words registered.

"I don't want to go today. I can't." She needed a day off. Maybe a week. A year. However long it took to figure out what was going on with her.

"Thea, you can, and there's no reason not to."

"Please don't make me—"

"Thea, you're coming. I'll see you outside in fifteen, okay?"

She knew she had to obey him.

"Yes, Alpha."

"Hey, that's not—I don't mean it like that," Alaric said. "You know you can say no to us, right? Thea, please. I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything you don't want to."

"Then why are you making me go train?"

"Because you love training. I'm not going to let you throw it away over a misunderstanding. Come on. This isn't like you. Where's my fearless Thea?"

"Back on the training field where she died of mortification?"

Alaric squeezed her into his chest and kissed the top of her head. "Let's go find her corpse and revive her then."

"Fine," she grumbled.

He got out of bed and left her room. She got ready and went to the training grounds where the triplets waited for her. She hoped her body behaved today. She didn't have time to make the tea to mask her scent.

They ran a lap around the field, and before they finished, Kai grabbed Thea from behind. Instincts kicked in. Thea sidestepped and threw him over her hip. Kai landed on the grass with a thud, rolled out of it to his feet, and faced her. Conri and Alaric caught up to them, and each grabbed one of Thea’s arms.

“Again?” she said. “Because this went so well yesterday.”

Kai walked toward her.

“Today is different,” Kai said. He put his hands on her waist. “Today, we’re not sparring.”

“What?”

Conri’s and Alaric’s grips shifted, and the three of them surrounded her, caging her in.

“Today, we’re seeing if we can turn you on,” Kai said.

He leaned in and ran his nose up and down her neck. His hands roamed over her body. She tried to ignore the sensual feelings he invoked. The more she tried to think of other things, the harder it was.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Thea said. “You already know you can. Please, don’t. Please. Please stop.”

“Why would we stop?” Kai said.

“You already proved your point. I get turned on by you guys. I’m sorry! I don’t know what’s wrong with me!”

“Nothing is wrong with you. You should get turned on by us,” Conri said.

She groaned. “I’ve never been so humiliated in my life,” she said, eyes closed and head down.

“Why are you embarrassed?” Alaric said.

“You guys have always been like my brothers. Sisters aren’t supposed to moan uncontrollably when their brothers tickle them.”

“We haven’t thought of you as a sister for a long time. Not since you grew those boobs you say are useless,” Kai said. “Should we see how useless they are?”

He watched her face as his hands traveled under her shirt and cupped her breasts. She gasped. He squeezed, and her mouth dropped open. He pulled her bra down, releasing her breasts, then found the peaks and rolled them between his fingers. She moaned and arched her back, leaning into his touch.

“Please,” she begged, not sure if she was begging him to stop or keep going. She wanted this so badly. “This isn’t fair.”

“But you like it?” Alaric said. She didn’t answer. Her breathing was getting shallow and fast. “What about this?”

Alaric pulled her chestnut hair out of the way and kissed her neck from behind. Her eyes closed, she whimpered, her head fell back against his shoulder.

“I think she likes it,” Conri said. He pressed his face into the other side of her neck and breathed in deeply. His lips trailed down, kissing her, paying extra attention to her sensitive marking spot where she couldn’t hold in her moans. Alaric found the same spot on her other side, and she moaned louder.

“No. No. Stop. Please. I’ll figure out a way to stop.”

“You’ll figure out a way to stop what?” Kai said, confused. Thea always fought until she won. Why was she giving up so easily? Begging. It wasn’t like her.

“Being turned on,” Thea said.

“Why would we want that?” Kai said.

“For so long, we thought you didn’t like us that way,” Conri said. He started sucking on that spot on her neck.

“Or maybe you weren’t ready,” Alaric said. He nibbled the spot on his side.

“I can’t tell you how happy we were to smell your arousal yesterday. Hoping we were the cause of that sweet, delicious scent,” Kai said.

They all looked at her, hopeful. She lifted her turquoise eyes and met theirs.

“You want me to be turned on by you?” she said.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” Kai said.

“I don’t understand.”

“We realize it’s not fair that we can smell your arousal, and you can’t smell ours,” Alaric said.

“But you can feel it,” Kai said. He started moving his hands down, pulling on the peaks until they popped from his fingers and back in place. “So let us make it clear how much you turn us on.”

He slid his hands around and down to her backside, squeezed, and pulled her against his front. She very clearly felt his bulge against her stomach.

“You have no idea how difficult it’s been to keep ourselves in check while training with you. How much we’ve wanted to do this.”

He leaned in, eyes daring her to stop him, and pressed his lips against hers. Her body lit on fire. Kai’s hands kneaded her cheeks. One of Alaric’s hands slid up to her breast. One of Conri’s found her other breast. She whimpered in pleasure.

After a moment, Alaric’s hands went around her waist, gripped hard, and turned her to face him. He pulled her into his front so she could feel his erection. Then he moved his hands up and gently held her face. He looked deeply into her eyes.

“We want you,” Alaric said.

He brought her into a kiss. His hands slid into her hair, and he tilted her head to deepen the kiss. Four other hands roamed her body.

“My turn,” Conri growled.

He turned her to him, one hand at the small of her back. He pressed her into his hard length. His other hand kneaded her breast. She whimpered again, her mouth fell open, and he kissed her, exploring her mouth with his tongue. Alaric and Kai pressed against her side and back, kissing and nipping her neck and shoulders. After a moment, Conri pulled back.

“You don’t need to be embarrassed, baby,” Conri said. He nuzzled her nose with his, then leaned his forehead against hers. “We want to smell you. We want to turn you on. We want you to want us. We’ve been waiting forever for this. I can’t wait to taste your arousal.”

Kai and Alaric growled. “WE can’t wait to taste your arousal,” they said together.

Breathing hard, she started to gain confidence. “You want me?”

“Yes. Do you want us?”

Thea nodded. She had been clenching her legs together to hide her smell. She relaxed and spread her legs to let the breeze bring her scent to their noses. She was soaked. The triplets groaned.

“Goddess, you smell so good,” Kai said. His hand slid under her shirt, his fingers brushing under the waistband of her pants. He paused, his mouth against her neck, under her ear. "Have you touched yourself thinking about us?"

"Yes." She had never heard her voice sound like this before—breathy, weak, practically a whimper—all because of how turned on she was. It made all three future Alphas growl. "Have you touched yourselves thinking about me?"

"Always you, only you," they said in unison.

"Oh, goddess. That's hot." Thea leaned forward and kissed Conri. She grabbed the back of Alaric's neck and guided his lips to her neck. Then she reached behind her, threaded her fingers through Kai's hair, and pulled him to the other side of her neck.

"I can't believe you were punching us in the crotch just yesterday. This is better," Alaric said. He nibbled her shoulder, breathing deeply.

"Much better," Conri said.

Thea laughed. "This is nice."

"It's very nice, darling," Kai said.

They continued, trading places, pressing against her, hands and lips roaming, until it was time to get ready for school.

"I don't want to stop," Thea said against Conri's lips. "But we should go clean up."

"We could shower together?" Conri said.

Thea looked like a deer in the highlights.

"We have to move slow, Con," Alaric said. "Don't rush her. We only just got her. Don't scare her away."

Thea leaned into Alaric and gave him a quick kiss, then pulled away, blushing. He lifted her chin to look at him.

"I like that look on you," Alaric said.