The Imperial Triad

Chapter Six

JANA POV

The night of our shift came quickly. I was nervous the entire day. Carter tried to coax me to sleep a few hours ago so I would be well rested, but it was no use. We decided to go down to the kitchen and make some tea. Much to my surprise, we found everyone else already doing the same. Lip handed me a cup of my favorite tea. “I was about to bring this to you,” he said with a soft smile.

“There’s something we’d like to ask you three,” Mikhailo says to the group. “We’d like to know if you will move into the packhouse after your shift.”

“Why can’t we stay here?” I asked.

“Well.. you can if you want to, but we’re needed in the packhouse. There’s no reason to hide you from the pack after you shift.” Carter answers as he runs his hand down my pack.

“What do we tell everyone?” Amelia asked. She was sitting on the counter with Mikhailo in between her legs as she sipped from her coffee cup. He leaned back and kissed her softly on the cheek.

“That you’re our mates. If you all decide to accept us, then you’ll help us lead the pack.”

Amelia nods her head. “Okay.. I guess I’m in.” Mikhailo’s face lights up and he turns and wraps his arms around her. I giggled as she tapped his shoulder so she could come up for air.

“Me too, why not?” Lip mused. Tobias wrapped an arm around his waist and a proud look spread across his face. All eyes fell to me as they waited for my response. Carter’s eyes pleaded for me to say yes as he stared down at me.

“Well, I’m not going to stay here by myself.” I chirped out.

We sat around the kitchen and finished our tea while making small talk. When 1:45 rolled around, we changed into some robes and made our way into the woods. Our mates told us to wear robes since our clothes wouldn’t be there until the morning. I was freezing and nervous as we walked through the trees. Carter wrapped an arm around me and pulled me to his side. His warmth eased me a bit but I was still terrified.

“You’re going to be okay. Your wolf will know what to do when it’s time.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do though. I know this is scary and new, but, your wolf is the second half of yourself. She’s there to protect you. You’ll be okay.”

I offered him a small smile before our lips met. We made our way into a clearing and our mates instructed us to wait in the middle. They hide behind the trees as they shift and come out in their wolf forms. A large silver wolf made its way over to me and bowed. I scratched behind his ear. A small howl rang from him.

“Hi Kassius!” I beamed. I loved my mate’s wolf. He was so soft! His silver fur glistened in the moonlight. He licked me in response. Carter told me that his wolf was very excited to meet mine. He explained that our wolves are mates to each other as well.

Amelia was the first one to cry out in pain. We all turned to look at her as she fell to her knees. Mikhailo’s large black wolf whimpered but backed up from her. My temples started to pound. It felt like I was repeatedly being kicked in the head. I let out a small scream as my knees hit the earth. I felt my teeth start to grow longer as fur started to spread down my arms. It felt like fire under my skin as it came through.

Neon lights started to form around us as Amelia let out another scream. My bones started to break apart as everything around me turned into a bright light. When I opened my eyes again, we were standing in a meadow. Amelia and Lip stood beside me as we looked around in our confusion. Tall grass flowed around us. Wildflowers were growing in patches around the open field.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“You’re in my world, dear.” A soft angelic voice says from behind us.

We all jumped and turned to look behind us. A petite woman with white hair stood before us. She is in a white dress that has blue embroidery twisting around it. She was gorgeous. I met her crystal blue eyes and felt the need to bow before her. I dropped to my knees and submitted to the woman in front of me. “Hello, my children. I’m Selene, goddess of the moon and mother of all werewolves.”

Amelia, Lip, and I peered up from the ground with wide eyes at the goddess before us.

________

Mikhailo POV

Amelia was the first to scream out in pain. I watched as my mate dropped to her knees and held her head. Thorin whimpered as he stepped away from her. As excited as he was about meeting his mate, seeing her in pain was still a difficult sight. Her bones start to seperate and reform. Fur started to sprout from under her skin when a neon pink light appeared from her mouth and eyes. Neon lights started to shine from our mates as they shifted. Amelia was producing a pink hue, while Jana and Lips were blue and green. Tobias, Carter and I had to look away as the lights grew brighter and brighter.

When I looked back, our mates were in their wolf forms suspended above the ground. The light was now shining from their eyes and mouths as they hung in the air.

What’s happening?! I screeched through our mind link.

It’s them. Tobias responded. It’s really them.

We looked back and forth between each other before looking back at our mates. They are the Imperial Triad. The prophecy is true and it’s our mates. We stared at them with mouths agape as they remained in the air. I couldn’t tell what color their wolves were because of the lights around them. Our wolves started to howl and jump around our mates with joy. They were proud to be mated to such strong beings.

_______

Amelia POV

“Moon goddess?!” I screeched. I immediately slapped a hand over my mouth at my sudden outburst. “My apologies. I can’t believe this is happening.” I added quickly.

Selene chuckled softly as she looked back at us. “My children, I’m sure you have many questions but our time is limited now. Please stand so we can talk.”

We climbed to our feet before she spoke again.

“You have all three suffered in different ways, but yet you persevered. You found each other all on your own and now you’re fated mates. If you have not yet figured it out.. You three are the Imperial Triad. You are destined to bring peace to the supernatural world.”

“Why us?” Lip asked.

“Hush now, I’m not finished.” She scolds him. I have to suppress my laugh as my friend hides his face like a child. Standing in front of a goddess was a bit unnerving, but she had such a welcoming presence about her.

“The Imperial Triad was written into existence at the beginning of all supernatural realms. If there was ever to come a time where war was raging between species, then the Imperial triad would be born. That time is now….You three are designed to bring peace to our realm. All three of your parents selflessly laid down their lives shortly after you were born. They hid you in the human world until it was time for you to face your destiny. Now that you have shifted, you will begin the first trial of the prophecy. Each of you will be tested to your limit. You will face mental, physical, and emotional turmoil to prepare you for war.”

“WAR?!” I screeched again.

“Yes child, unfortunately a war is upon us. You three will spend the next several years preparing for battle. But you are more than weapons, you are destined to lead a kingdom of all species, but first you must face the first trial.”

“What is the first trial?” Jana asked. Her face was starting to pale.

“Now I can’t give you all the answers, can I?” Selene said with a smile. “I must send you back now, but before you go, a word of advice… Lean on each other and your mates as your enemies come into view. You will need each other to succeed.”

____

Before we could ask any more questions, Selene clapped her hands together and everything went white again. When I opened up my eyes, I was staring back at two brightly colored wolves. I realized it was Lip and Jana now in their wolf forms. Lip had crystal blue fur that stood out in the moonlight. Jana had jade green fur. It almost shined compared to the dull green around us. I looked down at my hands that were now large paws on the ground. Pastel pink fur sprouted from them. I whipped around to see a tale with pink fur as well. What do you think? rang in my head. Who said that?! I asked myself and looked around frantically. Giggling sounded in my head again.

Hello Amelia I’m your wolf.

Haha! This is nuts! What’s your name?

Rhiannon

That’s beautiful!

Thank you! Now take a seat back and let me show you what we can do! I want to meet our mate!

I giggled as I stepped back in my mind and gave her complete control. She raced over to Mikhailo’s wolf, Thorin. They rubbed up against each other and, much to my surprise, I could still feel the sparks between us. Thorin was a bit larger than us, but Rhiannon said it was because he was an alpha. They played and rolled around for a while before we took off racing in the woods. We ran side by side with our mates for a while before the three of us started to pull forward.

Watch this! Rhiannon shouted

We started to race each other. Trees were zooming past us as she pushed forward. I didn’t know how fast we were going before our mates started to fade behind us. I could hear their paws scrapping the earth as they tried to keep up. Rhiannon pushed and pushed as she outran everyone. Before too long, Jana and Lip were starting to fade behind too. I started to worry about getting lost. Rhiannon must of scensed my uneasiness.

Sorry! I got carried away. I’ll circle back.

You’re so fast!

You will be in your human form now that we’ve shifted! I have waited so long to meet you, Amelia.

I can’t wait to see what all we can do Rhiannon!

_______

LIP POV

I watched as the pink blur of fur faded from my view. I stopped running and waited for Jana to catch up. Her wolf caught up with mine within a couple of minutes. I watched as she circled me, her green fur was full of life in the forest. She rubbed her snout along mine as we watched our friends disappear into the trees.

Damn she’s fast. I said to my wolf Ares

That she is. Speed is one of our powers, but she will always be the fastest.

One of our powers?

Yes, we will have many powers by the time the war is here.

Like what?

Nope, I can’t tell you that.

Will we be fast in our human form too?

Yes, now that we’ve shifted. Amelia will still be faster than us though.

I started to argue but was pushed into the back of my mind. The pink fuzz ball came back into view as she pranced toward us. Amelia's wolf greeted us and motioned to follow her. We made our way back towards the clearing. We trotted for a couple miles and finally ran into our mates.

They’re wolves sniffed and ran frantically around us for a couple minutes before they calmed down. The large black wolf let out a howl to which mine and the other responded. We started to follow him back to the area of the clearing.

What did he say?

Alpha wants us to follow him.

We were a lot further from the clearing than I realized. It took us almost 20 minutes to get back even though we were running. Once we made it to the tree line, our mates shifted behind the trees and came back out in their dressed human forms. They held our robes in our hands. I led Tobias back into the tree line before shifting back. Thankfully, shifting back was quick and painless. My wolf told me that shifting would no longer cause me pain.

Tobias’ face turned bright red as I turned to face him in my now naked form. I closed the distance between us quickly and pushed his back against a tree. My lips met his, hungry for his kiss. A small whimper escaped his lips as I nipped at them. I could feel his member growing in his pants. I ran my hand down his side and, brought it in between us, finding his hardened c**k. I rubbed him through the thin clothing as I sucked and nipped away at his lips.

I pulled away, needing to come up for air. He breathed heavily against me, still wrapped in my arms. I watched his eyes wander down my chest to my member standing at full attention.

Can I meet our mate? Ares asked. I took a step back and let him come forward. His voice was a bit rougher than mine as he spoke. “You’re so beautiful.” He said seductively to our mate. I watched from a back seat as he slid our hand under our mate's thighs and lifted him to straddle us.

He placed aggressive kisses down Tobias' neck and started to unbuckle his pants with one hand. He wiggled in our arms. A deep chuckle emanated from my chest. Once his pants were undone, I slipped a hand in between us and started to stroke him. Small moans sounded from him. I played with him as he wiggled underneath my grib.

“Lip I- …… I’m not…” He said breathlessly against me.

I took back control from Ares and stopped my assault on his c**k. I gently set him down and took a small step back. His face was bright red as he stared back at me.

“I know love. It’s okay” I said softly to him.

“I’m sorry! I just-”

“It’s okay.” I repeated and softly grabbed his face. I placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “There’s no rush.”

He nodded softly but I could still see the turmoil in his eyes. He bent down and picked up my robe that was now on the ground and handed it to me. I slipped the navy silk over my shoulders before taking his hand and leading him back to the rest of the group. I kissed his hand, trying to reassure him I was not upset.

“Finally!” Amelia yells at us. “I was about to go look for you two!”

“Looking for a show?” I snickered at her.

Her face flushed red as she rolled her eyes. Amelia accidentally admitted to me a while back that she watched gay p**n from time to time. I haven’t let her live it down since. I made jokes about it any chance I got.

“Let’s go.” She sneered at me and stormed back to the Lake house.

"What's her problem?"

"Mikhailo is mad at her for taking off without knowing where she was going," Jana responded.

"He'll get over it. He is just being overly protective," Carter defends.

______

TOBIAS POV

I could see Lip stealing glances at me from my peripheral vision. An overwhelming guilt was looming over me. I knew he was being patient with me and I was thankful for it, but I was still scared to give into him. I had run from this for so many years.

I was angry with myself. Angry with my father. I had everything I had ever dreamed of right before me and I still was hesitant to accept it. I thought I had the hard part over with. My parents had disowned me, but I still had my sister. And to make matters worse, we had a rat in our lead security team. I didn’t know who I could trust and who was more loyal to the former beta.

I was moving on autopilot at that point. I walked through the lake house and straight to my bedroom. Mikhailo and Carter tried to speak with me but I had to keep moving. I could feel my chest tightening and I knew the breakdown was coming. I made it to my bathroom and hopped in the shower before the tears started to flow.

The overwhelming emotions of the last week were demanding to be felt. I cried over losing my parents. I cried from the emotional battlefield my father put me through growing up. I cried for Teagan, who selflessly chose my side and lost her parents all in one day. I cried for my mate. I let it all out as the warm water washed over me. I didn’t realize Lip had come looking for me until he wrapped his arms around me. He held me in the shower as I sobbed under the water. He whispered softly to me as I rocked back and forth. I must have cried myself to sleep at some point because I woke up in our bed. Lip’s arms were still wrapped around me. The sun was shining brightly through the large windows and the room was starting to heat up. I tried to peel myself out of the covers but Lip tightened his grip on me.

“Don’t go.” He said in a husky voice and flipped the covers off of us.

The blast of cool air felt refreshing on my skin. I realized I was still naked from the shower and tried to cover myself back up. I wiggled in his arms as I reached for the sheets. I felt his c**k start to harden against my butt as I moved around. I immediately stopped my movements.

“You woke it up, you deal with it.” he snickered in my ear.

Chills ran down my spine at his words. I could feel my wolf purr in my head as Lip rubbed his body against mine. He turned me over to face him. Our faces were inches from each other as he peered into my eyes. He softly brushed the side of my face.

“I’m just kidding.” He said. “We can take this at whatever speed you want. There’s no rush, okay?”

“Why are you being so patient with me?” I asked.

“I was in your shoes once. That’s why I was in Seattle in the first place.”

I pushed myself away from him. My wolf growled at my actions. “What do you mean?”

“My father shipped me off to boarding school when I told him I was gay. He thought it would ‘straighten me out’. When I turned 18, I came back to the United States, to Seattle. I never told my parents I was back. I never went back home. I had the choice to escape my father. You didn’t….”

An overwhelming feeling of love filled my body. I kissed my mate with more passion and heat than I had ever done before. For the first time, I felt seen. I felt heard in my concerns and my worries. He knew on some level what I was feeling. My mate was accepting me for everything I am. If he could accept me, then I could accept him too.

Our kisses grew deeper and hotter as he sucked and nipped at my lips. I straddled his waist and twisted my fingers in his hair. Lip sat up with me in his lap and continued his assault on my lips.

A knock came from the bedroom door and I heard Jana call “Lip, we’re getting ready to leave for the packhouse!”

I pulled away from my mate. He was breathing heavily against me as our lungs fought for air. I climbed off of him and got off the bed.

“There’s something else I need to tell you…” I said. Guilt was flowing over me again. “I have a fiance.”

“WHAT?!” He roared. His eyes switched to black as he stared back at me. I forgot he was new to having a wolf. His anger would be hard to control for a while. Wolves are naturally possessive and protective of their mates.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" He screamed again.

You f*****d up… Orion states.