TRIPLED: THE KINGS & THEIR MOON

CHAPTER 1: THE RUN AND THE DRINK

The bell screamed at 6:00AM.

Not the normal bell. The hunting bell.

I jolted awake on my twin bed in Dorm C, the scholarship dorm. Concrete walls. One heater for 12 people. My roommate, Tayo, was already dressed and pale.

"The Mating Run," he whispered. "First day. Don’t make eye contact with anyone."

Too late.

Outside, Crescent Peak Academy looked like a castle and a prison had a baby. Snow on the towers. Wolves carved into the gates. And 400 students already in the field, barefoot.

Because wolves don’t wear shoes.

And I didn’t have a wolf.

"Scholarship kids to the back," a prefect barked. "Let the real wolves run."

Real wolves. Right.

At the top of the east hill stood Kael Drayven.

The Wolf King.

6'3. Black academy uniform. Gray cold eyes. Heir to three packs. Never smiled.

On the west hill was Riven Cole.

Beta heir. Shirt half open. Gold hair. Grinning like trouble.

And between them, in the middle of the frost, was me.

Noel Hart. 18. No last name that mattered. No wolf. No power. Just good grades and a dead mom who begged me to take this scholarship.

"Run," Headmistress Varga said. "Let your wolves choose."

200 students shifted. Bones cracked. Fur exploded. In 10 seconds the field was wolves.

I stood there. Human. Shaking.

Kael shifted. 7ft black wolf with silver scars. He didn’t look at anyone else.

He looked at me.

Mine. Alpha command slammed into my head. My knees buckled.

"No," I said out loud. To a Wolf King.

The crowd gasped.

Then Serena Voss. Queen B. walked through the snow in heels.

"Aw. The charity case. Stay away from my King, wolf-less."

Her girl Mira shoved me. I hit the ground.

A shadow fell over me. Riven. Barefoot. Shirt open.

"Tsk tsk, Serena. Bullying the help?" He crouched. "Pick me, Noel. I don’t bite... hard."

He knew my name.

Kael growled. Snow flew.

I slapped Riven’s hand away. "I’m not picking anyone."

Riven grinned wider. "Feisty. I like that."

Kael walked away. But his eyes said later.

8:00PM. Welcome Party.

I was behind the bar working.

Queen B slid up. "Working hard, Noel? Or hardly working?"

Riven appeared. "Steal the bartender for a second?"

He slid me red punch. "One sip. For courage."

I drank half. Big mistake.

10 minutes later I was burning up. Dizzy.

Kael grabbed my wrist. Ice cold. "Library. Now."

He slammed me against a bookshelf. "What did you take? Who gave it to you?"

The door locked. Riven walked in.

"Serena spiked it. For you, King. I just... switched cups."

Kael’s grip tightened. "You’re mine."

Riven laughed. "He’s not anyone’s. Not yet."

Outside: "Has anyone seen Noel?"

The library smelled like old paper and Kael’s anger.

His hand was still on my wrist. Ice cold. Bruising.

Riven leaned against the door he’d just locked, arms crossed, watching us like this was entertainment.

"You switched the cups," Kael said. Low. Dangerous. "To me."

Riven shrugged. "To anyone. Didn’t know who’d drink it first."

His eyes flicked to me. "Didn’t know it’d be him."

I was burning. Like someone lit a fire under my skin. The punch wasn’t just alcohol.

My head swam. My shirt suddenly felt 2 sizes too small.

"Antidote," Kael snapped at Riven. "Now."

"What antidote?" Riven smiled. "It’s not poison, King. It’s just... enhancement. Makes you feel everything 10x. Touch. Heat. Want."

He looked at me. "And Noel here has no wolf to burn it off."

Noel. He said my name again.

I tried to pull away. "Let me go."

Kael’s grip didn’t loosen. "You don’t understand what’s happening to you."

His gray eyes searched mine. For the first time, the cold was gone. There was worry there. "The drug speeds up your heart. If you don’t—" He cut himself off.

"If he doesn’t what?" I demanded. Voice shaky.

Riven answered for him. "If you don’t come down, you could pass out. Or worse."

He pushed off the door. "Lucky for you, you’ve got two Alphas here to help."

"Don’t touch him," Kael growled.

"Don’t tell me what to do in my own school," Riven shot back.

The air between them crackled. Two predators. One prey. And I was stuck in the middle.

Outside the door, we heard footsteps.

"Kael? Are you in there?" Serena’s voice. Sweet. Fake.

Kael cursed. He looked at me, then made a decision.

He let go of my wrist and grabbed my jaw instead. Forced me to look at him.

"Listen to me, Noel Hart. Breathe. In. Out. Don’t let it take you."

My name. Full name. Like he’d been saying it in his head.

The door handle jiggled. "It’s locked," Mira said.

"Go away," Riven called, not taking his eyes off me. "Private meeting."

"With the scholarship boy?" Serena laughed. "What are you doing to him?"

Kael stepped between me and the door. Shielding me.

I hated that I felt safe because of it.

My knees buckled. Riven caught me before I hit the floor.

"Got you," he murmured. His arms were warm. Too warm. "Shh. I know it burns."

"Don’t," I whispered. "Don’t be nice to me."

"Why not?"

"Because I don’t trust you."

Riven laughed against my hair. "Good. Don’t. Trust is boring."

Kael grabbed my other arm. Pulled me off Riven. "He’s mine."

"He’s no one’s," Riven said, but he didn’t let go. Now I was between them. Literally. Kael’s cold grip on one arm. Riven’s heat on the other.

I was shaking. Sweating. "Stop fighting over me," I bit out. "I’m not a toy."

Both of them went still.

Kael’s jaw ticked. "You’re not a toy."

"Then stop treating me like one," I snapped. Even dizzy, even drugged, I wasn’t going to beg. "I don’t have a wolf. I don’t have power. But I’m not easy. I’m not just going to fall into whoever’s hands are closest."

Silence.

Riven’s grin was slow. Real. "Damn. There he is."

Kael exhaled. Like he’d been holding his breath. "Fine."

He let go of me. Stepped back. "Then we earn it."

Riven raised a brow. "Earn it?"

"Yes," Kael said. Looking at me. Only me. "You. Not your wolf. You."

The door slammed open.

Serena. Mira. Two security guards.

Serena took one look at us. Me, flushed and leaning on a bookshelf. Kael, furious. Riven, amused.

Her smile dropped.

"What is this?" she asked.

Kael moved so fast I barely saw it. He was in front of me.

"Nothing. Noel had a reaction to the punch. Bad alcohol. We’re taking him to the infirmary."

Lie. But a good one.

Riven picked up my bag. Slung it over his shoulder. "Come on, Noel. Let’s get you out of here."

I looked at Serena. She was glaring. Jealous. Furious.

Good. Let her be mad.

We walked out. Me between the Wolf King and the Beta heir. The whole hall stared. Phones out.

In the hallway, Kael walked on one side. Silent. Riven on the other, bumping my shoulder on purpose.

"You did good," Riven said quietly. "Standing up to us like that. Most people piss themselves."

"I’m not most people," I said.

"I know," Kael said. First words he’d said to me that weren’t a command.

We reached the infirmary. Nurse checked me. "Just stress and low blood sugar," she said. "And maybe too much punch."

She gave me water and told me to rest.

Kael and Riven didn’t leave. They sat. One on each side of my bed.

"Go," I said. "Both of you."

"No," Kael said.

Riven nodded. "No."

I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head. "You’re both insane."

"Probably," Riven said. I could hear the smile.

Kael didn’t say anything. But I felt it. His presence. Heavy. Constant.

When I finally fell asleep, the last thing I heard was Riven whispering:

"Sleep, Noel. Tomorrow’s gonna be worse."

And Kael, barely audible: "I’ll make sure it isn’t."