The Triplet Alphas's Christmas Gift

Chapter 53 - The Luna's warning.

Teira's POV

When we arrived back at the packhouse, Val helped me carry my shopping bags to my room. The hallways were busy with pack members setting up Christmas decorations and preparing for the upcoming party. Several people greeted us warmly, but I could feel the curious eyes following me—the girl who'd somehow caught the attention of all three Alpha heirs.

As we stepped into the elevator, the doors were about to close when a hand shot out to stop them. Kyle slipped in beside us, looking concerned.

"Really, Val?" I muttered, shooting my friend an annoyed look. "You texted him?"

Val shrugged unapologetically. "You're meeting with the Luna. Of course I told your brother."

Kyle's expression was serious. "You sure you want to do this alone, Tei? I can come with you."

"You sure you don't want me to come with you to meet the Luna?" Val asked for the third time as we reached my floor and headed to my room.

I shook my head firmly at both of them. "I need to do this alone. Besides, if you're there, she'll just ask you to leave anyway."

Kyle ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. "Just... be careful. The Luna isn't exactly your biggest fan."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said dryly as we stashed the triplets' presents in the back of my closet.

Val gave me a quick hug. "Text us immediately if things get uncomfortable. And remember—you have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I know." But even as I said it, I felt that familiar twinge of inadequacy. Not good enough. Not pure-blooded enough. Not *pack* enough.

After they left, I changed into something more presentable—dark jeans and a soft blue sweater that Tyler once said brought out my eyes. I gathered my hair into a neat ponytail and took a deep breath. The small purple vial from Morgana went into my pocket. Something told me I shouldn't leave it unattended.

The Luna's private sitting room was on the east wing of the packhouse, overlooking the gardens. Even in winter, the view was beautiful—snow-covered trees and frozen fountains that sparkled in the afternoon sunlight. I knocked softly at the ornate wooden door.

"Enter," came the cool, controlled voice I'd known all my life.

Luna Megan sat in a high-backed chair by the window, a teacup balanced delicately in her manicured hands. At forty-five, she was still strikingly beautiful, with blonde hair streaked with elegant silver at the temples and piercing blue eyes.

"Teira," she acknowledged with a curt nod. "Sit."

It wasn't an invitation but an order. I sat across from her, back straight, hands folded in my lap.

"Tea?" she offered, gesturing to the tray between us.

"No, thank you."

She set her cup down with a sharp clink. "I understand you've been spending quite a lot of time with my sons."

Direct. No small talk. I shouldn't have expected anything else.

"Yes, Luna," I replied evenly.

"Individually and collectively," she continued, her blue eyes cold as ice. "That's going to stop."

I blinked, taken aback by her bluntness. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me perfectly well," she said, voice clipped. "My sons have responsibilities, Teira. Duties to this pack that supersede personal... distractions. They will be making formal arrangements with appropriate matches at the Christmas party."

Heat rose to my cheeks. "With all due respect, Luna, I think that's for them to decide."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Let me be clear. The Alpha's sons aren't meant for someone like you. Sarah is from a prominent family with strong political ties. The announcement of their formal arrangement will be made at the Christmas party."

"Someone like me," I repeated softly.

"Yes," she said, standing abruptly. "The daughter of a traitor and a nomad. A girl with no wolf." She moved closer, towering over me. "A girl who doesn't even know the chaos her mother brought to this pack."

I rose to my feet, refusing to be intimidated. "My mother—"

"Your mother," she spat, "was a menace. Melinda nearly destroyed everything—my family, this pack's alliances, our standing with neighboring territories."

"She was my father's true mate," I said quietly.

Luna Megan's laugh was harsh, without humor. "True mate. As if that matters when politics and power are at stake." Her eyes bored into mine. "Your father had already promised himself to Isabelle. We had arrangements with three other packs that depended on that union. And then your mother appeared, batting her eyelashes and using her... talents... to seduce him."

"What talents?" I demanded. "Everyone keeps hinting at something, but no one will tell me what."

The Luna's lip curled. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you stay away from my sons. All three of them."

I straightened my spine. "I'm sorry, Luna, but I can't do that."

Her movement was too fast for me to react. One moment, I was standing defiantly before her, the next, her hand was around my throat, pushing me back until I slammed against the wall. My feet barely touched the ground as she squeezed, her blue eyes glacial.

"Let me make myself perfectly clear," she hissed. "You will stay away from my sons, or I will make life very difficult for you and that half-brother of yours. Kyle's position in the pack is precarious enough with your father in disgrace. Would be a shame if he lost his standing entirely."

I clawed at her hand, panic rising as my airway constricted. Unlike other werewolves, I didn't have enhanced strength or a wolf to call upon for help. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision.

Something cold and dark stirred inside me. A sensation I'd never felt before—like liquid night flowing through my veins. My panic intensified as shadows seemed to gather around us, darkening the room unnaturally.

The Luna's eyes widened in shock. Her grip loosened slightly.

And then the darkness engulfed me completely. For a moment, I felt weightless, formless, as if my body had dissolved into the shadows themselves. A rushing sensation swept through me, like I was being pulled through a cold, endless void.

Then, abruptly, I was on my hands and knees, gasping for air in the snow. Trees surrounded me—I was in the forest behind the packhouse. My throat burned, and when I touched it, I winced at the tenderness.

As I struggled to my feet, I felt a sudden warmth in my mind—the pack link. The triplets were reaching out to me, their concern flooding through the connection.

*Teira! Where are you?* Ryan's voice echoed in my head.

*Forest... behind the packhouse,* I managed to project back, my mental voice as weak as my physical one.

*Stay there. We're coming.*

I started walking shakily toward the packhouse, using the trees for support. After a few minutes, I heard footsteps crunching through the snow. Ryan appeared first, his gray-blue eyes wide with alarm as he jogged toward me.

"What happened? How did you get out here?" he asked, steadying me with his hands.

Matt and Tyler reached us seconds later, both looking frantically concerned.

"We felt something strange through the link," Matt explained, his gray eyes scanning the area cautiously. "Like a sudden burst of... darkness."

Tyler dropped to his knees beside me, his hands hovering over the bruises I could feel forming on my neck. His gray-green eyes darkened with fury. "Who did this?"

I opened my mouth, but no explanation would come. How could I tell them their mother had attacked me? How could I explain how I'd escaped when I didn't understand it myself?

"Mom," Ryan said quietly, his eyes fixed on my neck. "You were meeting with her."

I nodded, tears welling up as the shock began to wear off.

Tyler growled, a deep, menacing sound. "I'll kill her."

"No," I managed to rasp. "Please, just... take me inside. I'm freezing."

Matt removed his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. "What happened, Tei? How did you get from the east wing to the forest?"

I shook my head, still struggling to process it myself. "I don't know. She was... choking me. Everything went dark, and then... I was here."

The brothers exchanged alarmed looks.

"Let's get you inside first," Ryan decided, lifting me carefully. "Then we can figure this out."

Back in my room, we found Val and Kyle waiting anxiously. Val gasped when she saw the bruises on my neck, while Kyle's expression darkened dangerously.

"What happened?" they both demanded almost in unison.

The triplets hovered protectively as Val helped me into dry clothes, and Matt made tea with honey for my throat. Kyle paced the room, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. When I was settled on the bed, wrapped in blankets with the warm mug between my hands, they all waited expectantly for an explanation.

Haltingly, I recounted my meeting with the Luna. The warnings to stay away from her sons. The threats against me and Kyle. The attack.

"And then... I don't know how to explain it," I said, voice still rough. "It was like the shadows came alive around me. And next thing I knew, I was in the forest."

"She threatened Kyle?" Val asked, eyes narrowing.

I nodded.

"She's gone too far," Ryan said, his voice dangerously controlled. "This isn't just about us anymore."

Matt was pacing, his expression thoughtful despite his anger. "The shadow thing... that's new."

"The vial," I remembered suddenly, fumbling in my pocket. When I produced the small purple container, Tyler's eyes widened.

"Where did you get that?" he demanded.

I explained about meeting Morgana at the mall, and how she'd left the vial on the display along with the note.

Tyler's face darkened further. "Morgana? The same witch I nearly arrested during our date? The one I let go after she promised she wasn't living on pack land?"

I nodded, and his expression grew thunderous.

"So she not only lied about staying away, but she managed to get close enough to leave you something without a single patrol noticing?" He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"We need to strengthen security," Matt agreed grimly.

Ryan carefully took the vial, examining it. "What did the note say again?"

"'For the Shadow's daughter when the moon fails,'" I quoted.

The brothers exchanged puzzled looks.

"Do you know something about my mother?" I asked. "About... powers she might have had?"

"We've told you everything we found when we investigated your parents' house the night we rescued you," Matt said. "That your birth mother's name was Melinda, and she came from the Crystal Lake pack."

"Crystal Lake?" The name was still strange to me, even though they'd mentioned it before.

"It's far from here," Ryan explained. "Known for being unfriendly to outsiders. We've tried to contact them, but they haven't responded."

"Powers," Tyler mused, sitting beside me on the bed. "Mom implied your mother had some kind of abilities?"

"She said something about 'talents' and 'chaos,'" I recalled. "But she didn't elaborate."

Ryan's phone buzzed. He glanced at it and grimaced. "It's Dad. He and Mom want to meet with us after dinner."

"You can't let her know what I told you," I said urgently. "Not about... whatever happened with the shadows. Not until we understand what it means."

"We won't," Matt assured me.

Tyler gently touched the bruises on my neck, his expression murderous. "But we're not letting this go either."

"She had no right to touch you," Ryan agreed, his voice tight with restrained fury.

"What am I going to do?" I whispered, suddenly overwhelmed by everything. "What's happening to me?"

Val sat on my other side, putting her arm around me. "We'll figure it out together. All of us."

I looked at the concerned faces surrounding me—Val, my best friend; Kyle, my protective half-brother; and the triplets, who had somehow become the center of my world despite every complication. For the first time since the strange incident, I felt my panic begin to subside.

Whatever was happening—whatever secrets about my past were about to be revealed—at least I wouldn't face them alone.