The Triplet Alphas' Forbidden Temptation

Yuki’s fists clenched at her sides. Of all the people she could have been matched against, fate had chosen Eloise.

A satisfied smirk curved Eloise’s lips as she folded her arms across her chest. ”Scared?” she taunted, amusement dancing in her hazel eyes.

Yuki forced herself to meet her gaze despite the knot tightening in her stomach. ”Why should I be?” she retorted.

”Because I’m going to beat the shit out of you,” Eloise replied with complete confidence. Before Yuki could answer, a firm female voice interrupted them.

”Are both contestants ready?” A tall woman approached the mat carrying a tablet in one hand and a digital pen in the other. She looked to be in her late thirties. Her beauty had never been delicate; it was carved by years of battle, discipline, and command. Faint scars peeked from beneath the sleeves of her training uniform—quiet reminders of a lifetime spent protecting the pack.

Professor Yasmine had once served among the Alpha Guards as one of their highest-ranking officers before retiring after finding her fated mate in her mid-thirties. She had chosen a quieter life to raise her pups, but retirement had done nothing to soften her reputation. Every student knew she tolerated neither excuses nor carelessness.

Most of the auditorium was focused on their own matches, leaving very few people paying attention to the tension building between Yuki and Eloise.

”Almost,” Yuki answered, rolling her shoulders to loosen the stiffness creeping into them.

Yasmine gave a brief nod. There was a trace of respect in her eyes. News of yesterday’s trial had clearly reached the faculty.

”Take your positions.” Both women stepped onto opposite ends of the wrestling mat.

”The rules are simple,” Yasmine announced, her voice carrying across the mat. ”Force your opponent to surrender or push them outside the boundary. The first to do either wins.”

Eloise lowered herself into a fighting stance. Brown wolf ears pushed through her hair while a long tail appeared behind her, swaying from side to side. Her pupils narrowed, every muscle in her body tightening as the strength of her wolf merged with her human form.

Yuki’s stomach twisted. Eloise had clearly mastered the half-shift. Yuki closed her eyes and reached inward, searching for her own wolf. Panic only made it harder. Before she could find any rhythm, Yasmine’s voice rang out.

”Ready... Begin!”

Eloise exploded forward. The burst of speed caught Yuki completely off guard.

A fist slammed into her ribs before she could react, sending her stumbling backward. Pain tore through her side as her heels skidded across the mat.

Eloise gave her no chance to recover. She closed the distance again, claws slicing toward Yuki’s face.

Yuki barely managed to lean away. The claws missed by inches, close enough for her to feel the rush of air brush against her skin.

She forced herself upright and threw a punch. Eloise slipped past it effortlessly before driving her knee into Yuki’s stomach.

The air rushed from Yuki’s lungs.

She doubled over as another kick crashed into her shoulder, knocking her onto one knee. The taste of iron spread across her tongue. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth before dripping onto the mat.

Across the auditorium, Kaden was supervising another match. His grip tightened around the tablet in his hand. The pain hit him without warning.

Every blow that landed on Yuki echoed through the incomplete bond and struck him like a phantom wound. His fingers tightened until the edge of the tablet creaked beneath the pressure.

His wolf growled. *’Look at her.’*

Kaden refused.

On the mat, Yuki struggled to breathe. One hand pressed against her aching stomach while she fought to stay upright.

Eloise looked down at her and laughed. ”This is pathetic.” She extended her claws and pointed them at Yuki’s throat.

”Accept defeat and end this. You aren’t even worth my time.” Her smile turned cruel. ”And someone like you actually thought you were worthy of carrying their pups?”

Yuki lifted her head. Blood stained her lips, yet she still smiled. ”Beating me won’t change anything,” she replied quietly. ”The Moon Goddess already made her choice.”

The words landed exactly where she intended. Eloise’s eyes flashed crimson. ”You bastard!”

With an enraged scream, she lunged forward, her leg swinging toward Yuki’s chest with enough force to launch her off the mat.

Yuki closed her eyes. The instant before the kick connected, her pupils flashed brilliant gold.

Kaden froze. His head snapped toward the fourth mat. He felt it—the incomplete mate bond had triggered. She was drawing on his strength, and his wolf had answered her.

Time seemed to slow. Yuki’s body moved before her mind understood what was happening.

She slipped beneath Eloise’s kick with impossible precision. Every movement felt unfamiliar, yet strangely natural, as though another instinct had taken control of her body.

Eloise’s eyes widened. She had completely lost sight of her. Yuki appeared at her side.

A sharp elbow crashed into Eloise’s ribs. Before Eloise could recover, a spinning kick slammed into her shoulder. The rhythm of the fight changed in an instant.

Yuki still had not entered a half-shift. Yet every movement carried flawless timing. Every dodge, every counter, and every strike flowed together as though she had practised them for years.

It was a style every combat student at Dravenhall recognised. Xavier shot to his feet. His eyes widened with disbelief as he watched Yuki move across the mat.

”No...” he whispered. ”That’s impossible...”

It was Kaden’s style.

Around him, students stopped watching their own matches. Professors turned one after another as the commotion spread through the auditorium.

Every eye settled on the fourth mat. Eloise attacked again. Yuki stepped inside her guard, twisted around her shoulder, and drove a powerful kick into Eloise’s side.

The impact lifted Eloise completely off the mat. Gasps echoed throughout the auditorium. Eloise flew backwards toward the concrete wall.

Before she could crash into it, a figure blurred across the arena. Kaden caught her effortlessly in both arms. Silence swallowed the auditorium.

One of the lecturers leaned toward the Head of the Combat Department, unable to hide the disbelief in his voice.

”Wasn’t that Lord Kaden’s combat style?”

The retired general kept his eyes fixed on Yuki.

”I’ve taught that style for years,” he murmured. ”I’ve never seen anyone reproduce it after seeing it only once.”

Eloise lay in Kaden’s arms, breathing heavily. Bruises were already forming across her body, and her uniform was torn in several places.

She stared at Yuki in utter disbelief. Yuki looked down at her own trembling hands. The unfamiliar strength disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving her limbs feeling heavy.

”What just happened?” she whispered.

Inside her mind, her wolf answered softly. ’Kaden’s wolf helped us.’

Yuki blinked in disbelief. ’How is that even possible?’

’I don’t know,’ her wolf admitted. ’But it seems his wolf couldn’t bear watching its mate get hurt... even if it was by the woman he loves.’