Bound to the Triplet Alphas

ARIA POV

The alarm blared as I smashed the glass case and grabbed the keycard. Red lights flashed all around me, but I didn’t have time to be afraid.

"They know we’re here," Emma whispered, checking her watch. "We have three minutes before security arrives."

I nodded, trying to ignore the pain in my chest. After learning that my sister planned to offer my babies at the blood moon ritual, I had rushed back to the cabin to find chaos. Jaxon was lost again. The doctor had drugged him and taken him while we were busy.

"This way," Emma said, pointing down a long white hallway. "Level 3 is where they keep their test subjects."

Test subjects. The words made my blood run cold. Jaxon wasn’t just a prisoner—he was a lab experiment.

We raced through the gleaming building, hiding whenever guards rushed past. My babies kicked frantically inside me, feeling my fear and determination. I pressed a hand to my belly, quietly promising them that Uncle Jaxon would be safe soon.

"How did you get access to this place?" I asked Emma as she swiped the stolen keycard at another door.

"I used to work here before I realized what they were really doing," she admitted. "Testing on werewolves, trying to create super-soldiers."

The door slid open, showing a stairwell. As we started down, Emma stopped suddenly.

"Wait," she said. "Do you feel that?"

I did. A strange tingling feeling like static electricity in the air.

"Moon energy," I whispered. "They’re channeling Moon Goddess power somehow."

Emma looked impressed. "You can sense that?"

"I’m a Luna," I told her. "Connected to the Moon Goddess."

"Can you use that connection to find Jaxon?" she asked. "These lower levels are like a maze."

I closed my eyes, focusing on the strange power I’d found at the Ancient Grounds. As Luna of my pack, I could feel each member like a light in the darkness. But since bonding with the Moon Goddess at the stone circle, my abilities had gotten stronger.

I reached out with my mind, looking for Jaxon’s unique energy—wild and bright, like a dancing flame. At first, there was nothing. Then, faintly, I felt a flicker.

"This way," I said, eyes snapping open. "He’s below us, two more levels down."

We rushed deeper into the facility. The walls changed from clean white to cold gray concrete. The smell of cleaning and something else—something wrong—filled the air.

"The Shadow Division labs," Emma explained, her voice tight. "This is where they conduct their most secret experiments."

My connection to Jaxon got stronger as we descended. But something was wrong. His energy felt... different. Twisted somehow.

"Hurry," I urged, breaking into a run despite my big belly.

We reached a heavy metal door with various locks. Emma stopped.

"Once we go through here, there’s no turning back," she warned. "And Aria... you need to be prepared. What you see might be tough."

"He’s my mate," I said strongly. "Nothing will change that."

Emma nodded and swiped the keycard. The door opened with a heavy clank, and we slipped inside.

The room was large and circular, with glass cells lining the walls. Most were empty, but in the middle was a larger containment area. Inside it, strapped to a metal table, was Jaxon.

"Oh, Moon Goddess," I gasped, running forward.

Tubes and wires linked him to machines that beeped and hummed. His skin had a strange silver sheen to it, and his veins glowed slightly blue. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing.

"We need to get him out," I said, looking for a way to open the glass.

Emma was already at a control panel. "Working on it. These restraints are meant to hold werewolves at full strength."

While she worked, I pressed my hand against the glass. "Jaxon," I called through our link. "I’m here. We’re going to get you out."

His eyes fluttered open, but they weren’t the warm brown I remembered. They glowed a strange electric blue.

"Aria?" His voice sounded strange, echo-ing in my mind rather than my ears.

"Yes, it’s me," I said, tears filling my eyes. "Hold on, we’re getting you out."

The glass barrier slid open with a hiss. I ran inside, checking the restraints for a way to release them.

"Don’t," Jaxon said, his voice clearer now. "Don’t touch me."

I froze, looking at him in confusion. "Jaxon, it’s me. We need to leave before more guards come."

"I’m not... safe," he said, fighting with each word. "They did something to me. Changed me."

"I don’t care," I declared, working on the restraints. "You’re my mate. We’re getting you out of here."

As the first restraint came loose, Jaxon’s hand shot up and grabbed my wrist. His grip was painfully tight, his skin burning hot against mine.

"Listen to me," he said, his glowing eyes fierce. "They shot me with something called Moonfire. It’s changing my DNA, mixing it with something else. I can feel it inside me, fighting for control."

Emma ran over, checking the monitors. "This is worse than I thought. They’ve advanced the method."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means they’ve created a hybrid," she explained grimly. "Half monster, half something else. Something they shouldn’t have messed with."

"Something ancient," Jaxon whispered. "Something that’s been sleeping for centuries."

A chill ran down my spine. "The stone work from the shrine. That’s what they used, isn’t it?"

Emma nodded. "DNA from the First Pack. Pure Wolves. Mixed with current technology and Jaxon’s Alpha genes."

"Can we reverse it?" I asked, desperate for hope.

"I don’t know," Emma revealed. "But we need to get him out of here first."

Together, we released the lingering restraints. Jaxon sat up slowly, his moves stiff and careful, like he was afraid of his own body.

"I can hear them," he said suddenly, head tilting as if listening to faraway voices. "All of them. Every werewolf in the building. Every person, too."

"That’s not possible," Emma whispered.

"It is now," Jaxon answered. He looked at me, his sparkling eyes softening. "Your kids. I can hear their heartbeats. Two strong little fighters."

Before I could respond, an alarm started blaring—different from the first one, more urgent.

"We’ve been found," Emma said, already moving toward the door. "We need to go. Now."

I helped Jaxon to his feet. He swayed slightly but stayed upright.

"Can you walk?" I asked.

He nodded. "I think I can do more than that."

As we left the cell, guards burst through the main door—five of them, armed with special weapons intended to take down werewolves.

"Stop right there!" the lead guard yelled.

Emma raised her hands slowly. "We’re going with him. Stand down."

"That subject is property of the Shadow Division," the guard replied. "Put your hands up and step away from the asset."

"Asset?" I growled, anger building inside me. "He’s a person, not a thing!"

"Stand back, Aria," Jaxon said quietly.

Something in his voice made me obey. I watched in shock as he stepped forward, facing the guards.

"Last chance," the lead guard warned, raising his weapon. "On the ground now!"

Jaxon smiled—a cold, hungry smile I’d never seen before. "I don’t think so."

He raised his hand, and the impossible happened. The guards’ guns flew from their hands, clattering against the far wall. The men themselves followed, thrown backward by an unseen force.

"Jaxon?" I whispered, stunned.

He turned to me, those eerie blue eyes shining brighter. "Like I said, they changed me."

Emma was staring at him in fear and fascination. "Telekinesis. It’s not meant to be possible."

"We need to go," I said, pushing aside my shock. "More will come."

We ran through the facility, Jaxon clearing our way whenever guards appeared. He didn’t even need to shift—just a wave of his hand, and they went flying.

"The exit is up ahead," Emma said as we reached a service lift.

The ride to the surface felt like forever. Jaxon leaned against the wall, his breathing heavy.

"Are you okay?" I asked, touching his arm gently.

"No," he admitted. "Whatever they did to me, it’s still happening. Still changing me." He looked at me with desperate eyes. "I can feel it in my blood, like fire spreading through me."

"We’ll fix it," I promised. "We’ll find a way."

The elevator doors opened to show the facility’s loading dock. Freedom was just yards away.

"There’s a van waiting," Emma said, referring to a black vehicle idling nearby. "Your mates are inside."

Relief flooded through me. We were going to make it.

We had almost reached the van when Jaxon suddenly fell, crying out in pain.

"Jaxon!" I dropped to my knees beside him.

His skin was burning hot, his veins shining brighter. "Something’s wrong," he gasped. "It’s speeding up. The change."

Emma checked something on her phone, her face pale. "The moonrise. It’s causing the serum."

Kael and Lucien burst from the van, running to our side.

"Get him in the van," Kael ordered, already lifting Jaxon.

As they carried him, I felt a strange pulse through our bond—like a shockwave spreading outward. The babies inside me kicked frantically in answer.

Once inside the van, Lucien sped away from the building, tires squealing. In the back, Jaxon thrashed and moaned, the glow beneath his skin getting brighter.

"What did they do to him?" Kael demanded.

"They injected him with something called Moonfire," I explained, holding Jaxon’s hand despite the burning heat. "It’s changing him, giving him powers."

"Powers?" Lucien asked from the driver’s seat.

"He moved people and objects with his mind," I said. "Like nothing I’ve ever seen before."

Jaxon’s eyes flew open, shining brighter than ever. "The stone carving," he gasped. "I know what it is now. I can see it in my mind."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Not what—who," he said. "It’s not a carving of a wolf pup. It’s a jail. For something old and powerful."

Emma’s face went white. "The shadows in the stone. The First Enemy."

"Yes," Jaxon whispered. "And they put it inside me."

His back arched suddenly, a scream tearing from his throat. The van’s windows cracked, spiderwebs spreading across the glass.

"What’s happening?" I cried, trying to hold him down.

Jaxon’s eyes locked with mine, fear and something else—something ancient—swirling in their blue depths.

"Run," he whispered. "All of you. Run from me."

Then his body went limp, his eyes closed. For a heart-stopping moment, I thought he was dead.

Then his eyes snapped open again.

But they weren’t Jaxon’s eyes anymore.

They were solid black, like deep pits. And when he smiled, his teeth were razor sharp.

"Hello, little Luna," said a voice that wasn’t Jaxon’s. "Thank you for freeing me."