by J. L. Wilder
“You know what I mean,” she said. “I worry about this. If I get caught, it’ll mean trouble. But if any of you are caught, you’ll be kicked out of school. You won’t be allowed to graduate with your class. And that would be such a waste, after four whole years at Shifter U. I don’t want that for you.”
“You’re more important,” Dean said stoutly.
“Maybe,” Haley said. In truth, she also thought their pack was more important than the degree they would soon earn. “But we shouldn’t have to choose. As long as we’re careful, we can have both. We can have each other, and we can also have our degrees.”
“You really want it all,” Dean said, grinning wolfishly at her. “Three alphas and a degree. What makes you so special?”
“You tell me,” she said. “You’re the one who imprinted on me.”
He leaned in and kissed her. “Speaking of not having to choose,” he said, “I ought to get out of here before we get ourselves caught.”
“I suppose you’d better,” Haley agreed. She hated to say goodbye to him even though she knew it was the right call. She hated to say goodbye to any of them.
Only a little longer. Then school will be over and we’ll be on our own. We’ll go somewhere together, set up a home for ourselves, and begin our lives together.
And she would finally reveal to her alphas the secret she had been hiding from them. The one thing she didn’t want to confide in them until they had left this place behind.
Chapter Sixteen
TOM
“We need to talk about the Alpha Games,” Dean said.
“What we really need to talk about is what we’re going to do after graduation,” Tom countered. “We need to decide where we’re going to go.” He had never planned on having a choice in the matter. He had assumed he would be subject to an alpha who would make the decision for him. But now that Tom was an alpha himself, he found that he had opinions he had never considered.
He wanted to go north. He wanted to find a plot of land in the mountains and build a cabin somewhere up high, where they could look out over the trees.
But would his brothers be happy somewhere like that? Would Haley?
He didn’t know. There were so many people to consider now, and their happiness was so important. And then there was the matter of the cabin he was envisioning. How would they afford it? Would they have to build it? Dean thought he could probably handle building a simple structure, but he didn’t know if he would be able to build a cabin with running water or insulated walls.
“The Games,” Dean said again.
“I think we have bigger things to worry about than the Alpha Games,” Tom said, feeling irritated.
“Maybe not,” Jasper spoke up. He had taken a backseat in their conversation so far today, which was strange for him. Usually, Jasper was the leader. Tom supposed it was an adjustment for him, getting used to the fact that all three of them were alphas now.
“What do you mean?” Tom asked.
“The Alpha Games are the best way to get money,” Jasper said. “There’s a cash prize.”
Tom had not been wild about his brothers’ eagerness to enter the Games and claim the prize. But now there was Haley to think of. Our omega. He wanted to give her the best life he possibly could, and that would require money.
So maybe they should enter.
“Do you think the board would let you enter with her?” he asked Jasper. “You’re not registered as an Alpha. And the two of you aren’t on the books as mates.”
“Nothing to lose by asking,” Jasper said.
But Dean was shaking his head. “That’s not what Haley wants to do,” he said.
“What do you mean?” Tom asked. “What does she want to do?” He waited to feel the pinpricks of jealousy at the knowledge that Dean had already discussed the matter with Haley, that Dean knew what Haley wanted and he himself did not.
But there was no jealousy. There was only contentment, only gratitude. It was good that someone knew what Haley needed. It meant that, as a group, they were better equipped to provide it for her.
“She wants all of us to enter,” Dean said. “She wants us to go to the board and register the fact that we’ve all imprinted on her, and she wants us to enter the Games as a group.”
“That’s crazy,” Jasper said. “They’re not going to let us do that.”
“That’s what I said,” Dean agreed. “But she wants to try.”
“They might let us,” Tom said.
His brothers turned to face him.
“What?” Jasper said.
“You think so?” Dean asked.
“They’re going to have to accept that a lot of things have changed if they’re going to let any of us into the Games,” Tom pointed out. “Right now, they don’t even know we’re alphas. They don’t know that she’s mated. It’s a long shot, no matter how we pitch it. So we might as well go for everything.”
“Do you think that’s actually a good idea?” Jasper asked. “All of us entering? Wouldn’t that dilute our bond, make it harder for us to compete?”
“Haley thinks our bond is strongest when we’re all together,” Dean said.
Tom nodded. He thought so too. Even in the past few days, he had begun to notice an increased desire to be in the presence of his brothers. It was as if their fraternal bond had strengthened because of the imprint they all shared.
We were never close before, and now we are.
“And besides,” Dean went on, “we have different skills. Jasper, you’re the best fighter. And Tom has the most knowledge of shifter culture and lore. We don’t know what the competition is going to require, but we’ve definitely got more skill to draw on if we all work together.”
“The board isn’t going to think that’s fair,” Jasper pointed out.
“They might,” Tom said. “The Alpha Games is supposed to be a test of the bond between alpha and omega. Our bond just happens to include all three of us. It’s not like we’re setting out to game the system. It’s just the way things happen to be for us.”
“And this is really what Haley wants?” Jasper said.
“She agreed to enter with just you, if that was the only way we could do it,” Dean said. “But she wasn’t happy about that possibility. She wants it to be all four of us.”
Jasper nodded. “If that’s what she wants, that’s what we’re going to do,” he said. “I’ll go right now and talk to the board. I’ll see if an exception can be made.”
“And if it can’t?” Tom asked.
“We’ll just have to deal with that when the time comes,” Jasper said. He got to his feet and headed out the door.
JASPER
The Alpha Games board consisted of three administrators, two professors, and a handful of betas, both male and female. Jasper stood before them, trying to quiet his nerves.
I’m an alpha. I outrank all the betas in this room, even if they’re not prepared to acknowledge it.
But this would be the first time he had sought recognition of his rank from anyone besides his brothers and Haley. It seemed important that he get what he had come for.
One of the administrators looked up. “Jasper Wood?” he asked.
“That’s me,” Jasper said. “I’m here to register for the Alpha Games.”
“Registration closes today,” one of the professors said.
“Then it’s a good thing I came today,” Jasper said, but his heart dropped slightly. It sounded like they were already planning to make this difficult.
“It says here that you’re a beta,” the administrator noted, looking at a file.
“He is a beta,” one of the students in the room said. “We have classes together.”
“That’s probably one of my brothers,” Jasper said. “I don’t think you’re in any of my classes.”
“So you’re not a beta?” the administrator said.
“I was,” Jasper said. “I registered as a beta when I came to Shifter U. So did my brothers. We didn’t find out we
were alphas until—well, I guess it’s more accurate to say that we became alphas. When we imprinted, just about a week ago.”
“At the last social, I take it,” the administrator said.
It wasn’t a question, so Jasper didn’t answer.
“Who did you imprint with?” the administrator asked.
“Her name is Haley Miller,” Jasper said.
“All right,” the administrator said. “You should have come to us about this sooner, but you made it in time. We’ll put you and Haley Miller on the list for the Alpha Games.”
Well, that was easy. But of course, that was only half the battle.
“Before you add us to the list,” Jasper said, “you should be aware that Haley and I don’t want to compete just as a couple.”
The administrator frowned. “What do you mean?”
So Jasper explained the situation. He took care to detail the way each of the Wood brothers had imprinted on Haley without the knowledge of any of the others. It had been completely independent, and not something any of them could help.
The board watched as he spoke. He looked for signs of understanding, but their faces were utterly blank, and he had no idea what they thought of the things he was saying.
Finally, the story complete, he fell silent and waited for their verdict.
It was a fellow student who spoke first. “This isn’t a real thing,” she said. “He’s making it up. Three alphas can imprint on a single omega.”
“Why would I make it up?” Jasper demanded.
“You have two brothers,” the student said with a shrug. “You probably figure that if you all enter the Games as a team, you’ll stand a better chance at winning.”
Jasper remembered Dean making that very point. But that wasn’t why they all wanted to enter together. “We’re all a pack,” he said. “We’re all her alphas. She should be allowed to enter with all of us. The point of the Games is to be a proving ground for the bond between alpha and omega, isn’t it?”
“I don’t think he’s making it up,” a professor spoke up. “I’ve heard of situations like this before. It’s rare, but it does happen.”
“That doesn’t mean we can alter the structure of the Alpha Games to accommodate it,” the administrator said.
“You have to accommodate us,” Jasper said. “My brothers and I are students at this school, like anybody else.”
“You didn’t go through the alpha education program,” one of the professors pointed out. “Even if you are alphas now, you were educated as betas. It wouldn’t be right to put you in the games.”
“That puts us at a disadvantage,” Jasper said. “It’s not something that’s unfair in our favor. If we’re willing to enter even though we weren’t educated as alphas, it shouldn’t be a deal-breaker.”
“It wouldn’t be fair to the omega in question to have her enter with improperly trained alphas,” the professor shot back.
“So it’s fairer not to allow her to enter at all?” Jasper asked. He shook his head. “This is just because there are three of us. When it was just me, you were perfectly willing to put us on the list.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Wood,” the administrator said. “It’s not something we can allow. Choose one partner for your omega. We’ll give you until tomorrow morning to make your choice and come back and register. Otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll be ineligible for the games.”
DEAN
“Bullshit,” Dean muttered.
“I’m telling you, that’s what happened,” Jasper said.
“I’m not doubting you,” Dean said. “I just think it’s bullshit.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not disagreeing with you there,” Jasper said.
“So, what are we going to do about it?” Tom asked.
“Register Jasper and Haley, I guess,” Dean said.
“But you said Haley didn’t want to do that,” Tom said.
Now that they had come down to it, Dean didn’t want to do it either. He had spent too long with the thought of walking out onto the competition field next to Haley. He wanted to compete as her partner. They were mates, and they should be able to go through this right of passage as mates.
But that money. He couldn’t ignore that money. It had the potential to change all of their lives.
“Okay,” he said. “Register yourselves, then.”
“Are you okay with it?” Jasper asked. “There’s no real reason it should be me and not either one of you.”
“You’re the one who’s been wanting to do it all this time,” Dean pointed out.
“That’s not a reason, though,” Jasper said. “We didn’t know it was an option for you. Everything’s different now. Do you want it?”
“I don’t want to take it away from you,” Dean said. “I don’t want it that bad.”
“I fucking hate this,” Jasper said. “Maybe I shouldn’t register.”
“We need the money.” Dean stood up. “Just do it, okay? I’m not going to hold it against you. I’m the one who talked Haley into it.”
“Wait a minute,” Tom interjected. “Don’t go yet. Dean, sit down.”
Dean made no move toward his chair. “What?” he asked.
“I think I see a way we can all still do this,” Tom said.
“Do what?”
“Get all four of us into the Games.”
That got Dean’s attention. He pulled his chair back out, but he didn’t sit down. Not yet. “What do you mean?” he asked. “They already told us they weren’t going to let us all in.”
“Exactly,” Tom said. “They said they would let one of us in.” He looked from Dean to Jasper, obviously waiting for something.
And suddenly, it clicked. “Oh, shit,” Dean said.
“You think we should all compete under a single name,” Jasper said.
“Exactly,” Tom agreed. “We register you and Haley. That’s what they’ll be expecting us to do. We act all sullen about it, so they’ll think they’ve beaten us. And then, on competition day—”
“We switch out,” Dean said. “Each of us competes individually, and we let them think it was all Jasper.”
“Exactly.”
Dean shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re suggesting cheating,” he said. “Of all people.”
“It doesn’t feel like cheating to me,” Tom said. “It feels like they’re cheating us. They’re taking away an opportunity we ought to have. We deserve the chance to compete in the games—all of us—with our alpha. They’re the ones who are refusing to let us have that. So we have to take it, on our own terms.”
“He’s right,” Jasper said, looking at Dean. “That’s exactly what we have to do.”
Dean nodded. He hadn’t expected to find such a perfect solution, but here it was. “I can’t believe we didn’t think of it sooner,” he said.
“Well, we’ve never been the kind of triplets who played pranks on people by impersonating each other for fun,” Tom said. “In an ordinary situation, I don’t think I’d even be able to impersonate either one of you. It’s only going to work because the Alpha Games is about people watching us from a distance. If we had to carry on conversations, it would all fall apart.”
“We’ll tell Haley, right?” Dean asked. “We can’t do something like this if we’re not going to be honest with her about it.”
“Yeah, we’ll tell her,” Tom said. “I’ll go over and tell her right now.”
“You just want to go over and see her,” Dean said.
“It can be both,” Tom shot back, grinning.
“Okay,” Jasper said. “You tell Haley, Tom. I’ll go back to the board and tell them we’re registering. This is going to work.” He got to his feet and jogged out of the cafeteria.
“Tell Haley hi for me,” Dean said to Tom.
Tom nodded. “Will do,” he said and followed Jasper out the door.
Dean went to the vending machine, fished in his pocket, and found some spare change. He bought a soda. A part of him longed for a beer, but he was
an alpha now, and he had the Alpha Games to think of. He had to keep himself in fighting condition.
He turned toward the door—and stopped.
Zach Porter was standing right behind him, a feral grin on his face.
“So,” he said. “You and Haley, huh?”
Dean’s heart plummeted.
Chapter Seventeen
HALEY
The opening day of the Alpha Games dawned bright and sunny. Haley sat up in bed and stretched. She felt surprisingly calm, given what lay ahead.
“Haley?”
She turned. Margaret was sitting up in her own bed, watching her.
“You did it, didn’t you?” Margaret asked her quietly. “You met an alpha, and you’re entered in the games.”
She couldn’t lie to Margaret. This was her best friend. They had been fighting, it was true, but Haley was ready to let that go. “Yes,” she said.
“Who is it?” Margaret asked her.
Haley hesitated. Could she trust Margaret with the whole truth?
“Can you keep a secret?” she asked.
Margaret hopped out of bed and came over to Haley’s bed to sit beside her. “Yes,” she said. “I won’t tell anyone anything.”
“Not even Terrence?”
Margaret hesitated. “If Terrence orders me to tell him something, I’ll have to. You understand that.”
Haley nodded. In spite of their argument, she did trust Margaret. But she wasn’t sure if she was honestly prepared to trust Terrence, who she hardly knew. “I’m entered in the games with Jasper Wood,” she said.
It’s the truth. It just isn’t the whole truth.
It was enough, though. Margaret squealed happily and flung her arms around Haley. “I knew it!” she cried. “I knew it would happen for you! Oh, Haley, I’m so sorry we fought. I know I was so mean to you, and you just needed a friend.”
“I wasn’t exactly nice to you either,” Haley pointed out. “I’m just glad we’re making up before graduation.”
“I know,” Margaret agreed. “I would have hated it if we’d graduated still angry with each other. We might have never talked to each other again!”
