Claimed Under The Mistletoe: The Triplet Alphas' Destiny

Chapter 1

Gwen

My alarm sounded at 5:15 like every morning. I groaned loudly, not willing to leave my warm, cozy bed for training. I searched for my phone, which was lost somewhere in my comforter. I saw a text from my best friend, Jordan "Hey babe! Do you want a ride to training this morning?" I sent her a swift yes and rose from my bed. Jordan and I had been training as elite warriors since we graduated high school three years ago. I pulled on my favorite training outfit, black leggings and a black t shirt, and threw my curly red hair into a ponytail, and snuck downstairs, trying not to wake my mom. I knew my dad, Terrance, was already at the training gym. He was our pack's Beta and responsible for helping train the warriors, along with our Gamma, Todd. I saw Jordan's small blue Prius in my driveway, waiting for me. I grabbed an energy drink and two protein bars and headed out to meet her.

"What's the story, Morning Glory?" Jordan grinned at me from the driver's seat. "What's the tale, Nightengale?" I responded, chuckling at our inside joke. We grew up listening to musicals, and Bye Bye Birdie was one of our favs. "So. Huge party on Saturday for Justin's birthday. We are going." Jordan was always clued in to the pack's social scene. She was tall, blonde, leggy, and a total badass, which meant everyone wanted to be her friend...or her boyfriend. "Ug. I'm not sure. I don't really wanna watch a bunch of bimbos fawn over our future Alpha. It'll be especially bad because he's turning 21 the next day and all the girls will be hoping they're his mate." "And you're hoping it's you." Jordan wiggled her eyebrows at me suggestively. "Ew no." I rolled my eyes at her. "Come on, Gwen. Everyone knows you've had a crush on Justin for years." I gasped indignantely "No I haven't!" I blushed furiously, because I knew she was right. Justin was tall, with blonde hair and the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen. "Yea right. If you're not in love with Justin then the sky isn't blue." We climbed out of the car and I fixed her with a glare "Crush or not there is no way in hell you're convincing me to go to Justin's party." I whirled around, determined to storm off when I ran into a solid wall of muscle.

"You're not coming to my party?" a deep voice questioned. I looked up and met Justin's brilliant blue eyes, mirth hiding just below the surface. "Justin!" I squeaked, my face burning "I didn't see you there." I hated how breathless I sounded. "Why aren't you coming to my party?" He sounded almsot hurt. "Did I say I wasn't coming? I'm totally coming! Jordan and I will be there!" He flashed me a grin "Glad to hear it. See you inside, Gwen" he winked and headed into the gym. Jordan burst out laughing "What? No! I don't have a crush on Justin! That's crazy!" She mocked. I growled at her "Shut up." and walked into the gym leaving her still laughing by the car.

Gamma Todd was standing in the middle of the gym floor as we filed in. He clapped his hands to get everyone's "Alright everyone! We're sparring today. I have a sheet with your partners being passed around now. When you find your partner, go to a separate part of the gym and wait for me to tell you to start. We are staying in human form today, no shifting. We'll work on that next week."

Jordan comes bouncing up to me "Guess who's your sparring partner!" I chuckled, Gamma Todd always paired us up. "That's only because it would be unfair to the other girls here if we were paired with them. We'd kick their asses." Jordan and I had always been pretty evenly matched depsite our size difference, I was only about 5'4" while Jordan was almost 5'10". But we both came from strong families, Jordan's dad was the Beta of his old pack before we absorbed them.

We squared off, Jordan sporting a wicked grin. You ready for this? My wolf, Akira's, voice sounded in my head. I'm always ready for this. Jordan always starts with a left hook then a leg swing. I dance one my toes, circling her, waiting for her to move first. I saw her left hand twitch and dove out of the way, tucking and rolling to dodge her punch and oncoming leg. I sprang up and got back in my fighting stance, knees shoulder width apart and soft, hands up near my face. Jordan winked at me "You know my opening move. That's cheating." I took advantage of her distraction and jabbed at her torso with my right hand. She moved at the last second, my fist swinging through the air. I regained my balance and we were back to circling each other.

30 minutes later, we were the only pair still fighting. Everyone else has managed to either pin or be pinned. Jordan and I had caught each other here and there. She was sporting a black eye and I had a cut lip, but we were otherwise unharmed. I was fully focused on her, looking for any weakeness or sudden movement and I knew she was doing the same. I could feel everyone's eyes on me as we danced around. I looked up for just a second and locked eyes with Justin. Rookie mistake. Jordan saw her opening and jabbed my nose. I stumbled back, caught off guard, and she lunged, sweeping my feet out from underneath me. I tried to get back up but she trapped my legs. "Gotcha girlie!" Jordan looked down on me happily. "It was a lucky win, and you know it." I teased, flopping back down onto the ground. "Nice win, Jordan" Gamma Todd came over and helped her up. I caught my dad's eye and knew he was disappointed. I groaned internally, I was definitely going to hear about this on the ride home. "Gwen" my dad said quietly "get a drink of water then meet me at the car." I watched his receding back, his salt and pepper hair glinting under the flourescent lights. I sighed and said to Akira We're screwed. She chuckled at me It's not my fault you got distracted.

I waved goodbye to Jordan and headed out to my dad's truck. We drove in silence for a minute before he asked "What the hell happened at training? You never leave yourself open like that. I taught you better." "I know, dad, I got distracted, I didn't do it on purpose." I tried my best to keep my voice level, knowing that it would just be worse if I challenged him. "It was a child's mistake, Gwenevere. If all it takes to distract you is a boy then you are not cut out to be an elite warrior. You never, never take your eyes off your opponent. I taught you that when you were 6. I don't know what happened today but I need you to get your head out of your ass." I cringed as my dad got progressively more angry. I hated feeling like I let him down. "I'm sorry, dad" I said quietly. He just sighed in response. We pulled up in front of the house and I went to get out of the truck. "Gwen. Wait. I know it feels like I'm being harsh but this is a matter of life and death. In a real battle if you get distracted, you're dead." I nodded in response and got out, heading up towards the front door.

My phone pinged in my pocket and I glanced down and say two texts. One from Jordan, asking me out for coffee tomorrow and the other from an unknown number. Hey it's Justin, the text read, I got your number from Jordan, I hope that's ok. I grinned excitedly and quickly texted him back That's totally fine! What's up? I went into the kitchen to make myself a post workout smoothie and my phone pinged again. I wanted to see if you were in the mood to do some training tomorrow morning. I saw some things during your sparring today that I think I could help you with. I squealed out loud, unable to believe my eyes. The future Alpha wanted to help me train. Maybe he's our mate Akira said, hopefully, That could explain why he's suddenly showing interest. He's about to turn 21. I pondered what she said as I text Justin that I'd love to train with him. Luna Gwen Talbot I mused to Akira. It sounds good Akira said back. She was right, it sounded really good.