The shifting plan
1721 Words
Triplets’ POV
There were three of us.
But we were one where she was concerned.
Savannah Cross.
Our mate.
We’d known from the moment we scented her in the school hallway, cloaked in layers of tension and defiance. She wasn’t like the others, the girls who giggled and flipped their hair and dreamed of being Luna to the future alphas. Savannah didn’t dream of power. She hated it.
She didn’t want to be seen.
So we stayed in the shadows.
At first.
After the bathroom incident after Luca had smelled her blood, after we’d carried her to the pack doctor with too many eyes watching and too many whispers following, we knew we couldn’t leave her alone. Not even for a second.
So we changed everything.
Rowan switched into her lit and chemistry classes.
Luca took History and Art.
I Jace covered PE and Biology.
At least one of us was always near. Watching. Listening. Protecting.
She hadn’t noticed at first. Or maybe she had and pretended not to care. That was her way. Mask on, eyes forward, mouth sharp.
But her scent shifted when we were close. Just slightly. Like her guard dipped not down, not off but loosened for half a breath before snapping back into place.
She was a fortress.
And damn it, we were going to find the door.
Our wolves were restless.
Pacing. Snarling. Impatient.
They could feel it coming her birthday. Her shift. The moment her wolf would awaken and the bond between us would spark into something undeniable.
It wasn’t a choice.
It was fate.
The Moon Goddess didn’t make mistakes.
But something was off.
Beneath Savannah’s strength, her fire, her wit, the way she rolled her eyes at authority like it was a game she’d already beaten, there was something else. A weight. A silence that didn’t come from shyness, but from something deeper.
Pain.
She carried it like armour.
And she never let it slip.
Not even when she looked at us.
Jace caught her in the hallway today when her sleeve slipped just an inch too far up her wrist. The faintest shadow of an old scar barely visible. But it was there. It made his wolf growl low in his chest, and she flinched before yanking her hoodie back down.
No words. Just that look.
Defensive. Closed.
But not afraid.
She wasn’t scared of us.
She was scared of what we might see.
We didn’t know what had happened to her.
Not yet.
But we would.
And when we did, we’d make sure no one ever hurt her again.
Even if that meant hurting someone ourselves.
Tomorrow, she turns eighteen.
Her wolf will rise.
And when it does… she’ll feel it.
That we are hers.
That she is ours.
Even if she doesn’t want to be. Even if she doesn’t believe she deserves it.
We’ll prove her wrong.
Because fate doesn’t get denied.
And neither do we.
Triplets’ POV Jace, Rowan, and Luca
Tomorrow, everything changes.
We feel it in our blood. Our wolves whisper it in our minds she’s almost here.
Not just Savannah. Not just the girl with the armour smile and battle-scarred heart.
Her wolf.
Her truth.
Her soul.
And we need her to know we’re waiting.
Not watching.
Not hovering.
Just… waiting.
For her.
“We need to make it right,” Rowan mutters as we walk the ridge overlooking the northern woods. “She’s going to shift alone unless we do something.”
“She won’t let us close,” I say. “Not if it feels like a trap.”
Luca’s already pulling out his phone, thumbing through the list. “Then we make it feel like safety.”
That’s how it begins preparation.
Not a party. That would spook her.
Not a pack-wide event. That would humiliate her.
This isn’t about tradition or spectacle. It’s about her.
So we find the right clearing in the woods. Private, surrounded by thick trees, soft earth, and easy water. A fire pit in the centre. Space to run, space to breathe. We spend the afternoon clearing brush, laying soft blankets, and setting lanterns in the trees for warmth.
She won’t know we’re there.
Not at first.
But we will be.
Wolves don’t shift alone.
Not ours.
Gifts come next. Not flashy. Not overbearing.
Rowan selects a silver chain with a crescent charm simple, strong, and meaningful.
Luca brings her a leather-bound journal, embossed with her name and the symbol of the moon.
I pack a box of her favourite snacks. I’d been watching her lunch tray all week. She never eats much, but when she does, it’s always strawberry liquorice and that stupid lime soda from the vending machine. So I get those. And something else lavender oil for sleep. I don’t know if she’ll use it, but she’s been waking up with shadows under her eyes. If it helps even once, it’s worth it.
We each write her a note. Not love letters. Not yet.
Just truths.
You’re not alone.
You’re safe now.
You don’t have to run.
There’s only one complication.
Commander Cross.
Her father.
He’s been gone for weeks called to the palace for business we don’t pretend to understand, but word is, he’s back. And if Savannah plans to shift at home, he’ll either have to support it or be out of the way.
We’d never met him.
Not officially.
But we’d heard things.
Steel. Brutality. Military structure carved into flesh and bone. The kind of alpha who believes affection is weakness and silence is strength. A man who raises his daughter with rules instead of hands. The kind of man who’d see us and test us before he trusted us.
Maybe even try to keep us away from her entirely.
But we’re not afraid.
We’re future alphas, too.
And Savannah is ours.
We’ll face him. We’ll earn the right to protect her.
Even if it means facing down the iron gaze of the man who made her.
Because tonight’s the last night she’s just a girl in hiding.
And tomorrow, she becomes something more.
Ours.
Commander Cross opened the door like he was expecting a war.
We weren’t sure whether to call him “sir” or just nod like equals. He was Savannah’s father but also a legendary enforcer of the Council, a man known more for battlefield victories than backyard barbeques.
Rowan took the lead. Always calm. Always diplomatic.
“Commander. Thank you for seeing us.”
Cross raised an eyebrow. “All three of you?”
Luca’s smile was crooked. “We come as a set.”
It's not the right joke.
Cross’s eyes narrowed. “I figured as much.”
We stood awkwardly on the porch while his wolf loomed just beneath his skin. Not aggressive, not yet. But alert. Curious. Measuring us like threats and mates all at once.
“Come in,” he said gruffly.
The inside of the cabin was sparse, all wood and iron and shadows. No family photos. No warmth. It's just a clean, controlled space.
Like Savannah.
He motioned for us to sit. He stayed standing.
Of course he did.
“What is this about?” he asked. “Is she in trouble?”
“No,” Jace said. “Nothing like that. We’re here to talk about Savannah’s first shift. Tomorrow.”
He tensed. Not because he was surprised but because he clearly hadn’t thought beyond the fact it was happening.
No plan. No space. No pack witnesses, but no privacy arranged either.
Just a shift. Like a clock ticking over.
“She’s… ready,” he said, though it sounded more like a guess than a truth.
“She’s not,” Luca said gently, “but that’s okay.”
That landed.
Cross's jaw flexed.
“You think I don’t know that?”
Silence stretched.
We didn’t push.
Eventually, he sat. Not across from us. Not in a position of power. Just… sat.
“She doesn’t talk to me,” he admitted. “Hasn’t in years. She used to be wild, loud, stubborn as hell, but now she’s just”
“Careful,” Rowan finished for him.
Cross blinked. Looked up. Saw us.
“Yeah.”
We explained our plan.
The private clearing. The gifts. The quiet support from a distance. No crowd. No pressure. No command.
“Just her wolf and the space to meet it,” Jace said.
Cross listened. He didn’t interrupt.
Then he asked the question we knew was coming.
“You really think all three of you are her mates?”
“Yes,” Luca said instantly.
“It’s not just a bond,” Rowan added. “It’s instinct. It’s deeper.”
Cross leaned back. “And you’re ready to share her? For life?”
Jace’s wolf bristled. “It’s not about sharing. It’s about honouring what the Goddess gave us.”
That seemed to catch him off guard.
“I thought I’d be relieved,” Cross muttered, “when she found her mate. I thought it would mean she wasn’t my responsibility anymore.”
The silence that followed felt heavy with more truth than he meant to reveal.
“But now I feel like I’ve already failed her,” he admitted. “And you three walking in here like some perfect unit, planning what I should’ve been”
“You protected her,” Rowan interrupted. “You gave her strength. She got that from you.”
“She got the armour,” Cross said bitterly. “You’re here trying to find the person inside it.”
We didn’t deny it.
But we also didn’t judge him.
“I want her safe,” he said finally. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Then let us help,” Jace said. “Not as rivals. As her pack.”
His eyes locked on ours.
Then, with a slow nod, he said, “Fine. But if she gets hurt emotionally, mentally, spiritually, whatever the hell I will rip out the three hearts you swear belong to her.”
Luca smiled. “Fair enough.”
When we left that night, there was no handshake.
But there was understanding.
And it was enough.
Because tomorrow, Savannah would shift.
And we’d be there her silent guardians, her future, her fate.
No matter how far she tried to run from it.
- Writer
