Claimed Under The Mistletoe: The Triplet Alphas' Destiny

Chapter 3

Gwen

The next few days passed in a blur of training and school and before I knew it, it was Saturday night. Jordan and I had gotten ready and pregamed together, like we did for most social events. It felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest from nervousness when we pulled up outside Justin's family's cabin. "I'll be right there with you, the whole time" Jordan said, like she could sense my fear. "I know, girlie" I gave her hand a squeeze and we got out of the car.

What if he's already with someone? That thought had haunted me since I stepped out of the car, but it was too late now. The party was in full swing. Laughter floated from Justin’s porch, tangled with music, smoke, and the scent of warm bodies.

Someone had brought drinks. Someone else had started a dance line. It was the kind of carefree chaos the younger wolves lived for.

And still, all I could see was him.

Justin.

He stood near the porch rail, haloed in firelight, talking with a few packmates like he didn’t know what he did to me. His laugh curled around my spine, and when he looked up—when those blue eyes found mine—it felt like being chosen.

He tilted his head toward the trees.

My feet moved before my mind could catch up—but someone caught my wrist.

“Gwen,” Jordan whispered, eyes sharp despite the drink in her hand. “Don’t go.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You don't know he's your mate,” she said, her voice low but urgent. “You always get this look when you’re around him, and I just—don’t want you to get hurt.” My chest squeezed. “You don’t understand. I can feel it, Jordan. It's real”

Her expression faltered, worry clouding her features. “Just... be careful, okay? You’ve been saving this part of yourself. Make sure he’s worth it.”I hesitated. For a second, doubt tried to slither in. But then Justin looked back again—just a glance—and everything else fell away. “I think he is,” I said quietly. And I followed him into the woods. The woods were quieter than the party, cloaked in silver moonlight and early winter hush. I followed him until the music faded and it was just the two of us beneath the stars. He stopped near a clearing bathed in moonlight, and when he turned to me, it felt like the whole world had gone still.

“I wanted to get you alone,” he said. “You look... unreal tonight.” I swallowed hard. “You say that like you haven’t seen me before.”

“Not like this,” he murmured, brushing a curl from my cheek. “Not when I’m this sure.” My breath caught. “Sure?”

He stepped closer, lips hovering above mine. “That you’re it for me.”

The kiss started soft, cautious. But the moment his mouth touched mine, something inside me broke open. My fingers tangled in his shirt, desperate, and he deepened the kiss, groaning low in his throat. His hands explored with reverence—my back, my waist, the curve of my hips. My body responded like it had been waiting for him all my life.

He pressed me gently against a tree, the bark rough against my shoulder blades. His thigh nudged between mine, and I gasped when he rocked against me. The friction was maddening. Delicious.

He tasted like warm mead and something darker, something wild. His teeth grazed my lower lip and I moaned, my fingers fisting in his hair. I felt wanted. Desired in a way that made my skin burn and my knees shake. But Jordan's words sounded in my mind, an icy reminder of what we were about to do. What I was about to give up.

“Justin,” I whispered. “I’ve never...”

He paused, eyes wide. “You’ve waited?”

I nodded, breathless. “For my mate.”

He paused. His thumb brushed my lower lip.

“And what if that’s me?”

“I think it is,” I said, voice barely audible. “I feel it.”

His gaze softened. “Then come with me. Let me give you your first time... the way it should be. Not here. Not rushed.”

I nodded.

We walked back to his cabin in silence, the air between us humming with everything unsaid.

His room was dim, lit only by moonlight and the faint glow of embers in the hearth.

He kissed me again the moment the door closed, slower this time—purposeful. He undressed me gently, with shaking hands, like I was something sacred. My skin was flushed and trembling beneath his touch, my breath catching with every inch he bared.

“I’ll stop if you say so,” he said, voice hoarse.

“I don’t want you to stop,” I whispered. “I’m ready.”

"Goddess, Gwen. You're so beautiful" Justin groaned as he bared my breasts. He caught a n****e between his fingers and tweaked it gently, causing me to gasp. We lay back on the soft blankets. He hovered over me, eyes searching mine.

I let myself feel everything. The warmth of his mouth as he kissed down my neck. The tension between us, trembling and coiled, ready to snap. His fingers traced a path over my stomach, pausing just above the place where I ached for him. My thighs parted, shy but open. Willing.

“Are you sure?” he whispered, voice rough with restraint.

“Yes,” I breathed, and I meant it.

Justin kissed me again—deeper, longer—then settled between my legs, his body pressing against mine in a way that made my breath stutter.

When he guided himself into me, it was slow—so slow I could feel every inch as my body stretched to take him in. I gasped, half from the sudden sting, half from the shock of how much I wanted it.

“Gwen,” he groaned, burying his face in my neck, his voice ragged. “You feel like you were made for me.”

Tears burned behind my eyes.

I was, I wanted to say. I thought I was.

He stayed still for a moment, giving me time to adjust, his hands stroking my sides, his lips brushing my jaw, my collarbone. I clung to him, nails digging into his shoulders, until the pain ebbed into pressure... and then into something warmer.

He began to move, rocking into me gently, and my body welcomed him. I moaned softly, the sensation building like a slow fire in my belly.

The world blurred into moonlight and breath and skin. It was everything I’d imagined—and yet nothing like I had expected. Deeper. More consuming.

Every motion whispered you’re mine.

My hands clung to him. My body opened for him. I let go of fear and gave myself completely to this moment, to the illusion that it was right. And when we came undone together, his name left my lips like a vow. His arms locked around me, holding me close.

We stayed like that for a long time—skin to skin, heartbeats tangled.

“I can’t wait to wake up and feel the bond,” he said, lips brushing my throat.

“You really think we’ll feel it?”

He kissed my forehead. “I know we will.”

I believed him.

I had to.

Wrapped in his arms, with his scent all over me, I fell asleep smiling—believing I had finally found the mate I had waited so long for.