The Triplet Alphas's Christmas Gift

Chapter 45 - Mate?!

Kyle's POV

"HANDS OFF MY MATE!!!" A roar echoed from down the hallway, startling Sarah enough to get her to back off. She had been trying to get close to me ever since I left the training hall, and the attention made me uncomfortable.

Sarah was cute. Don't get me wrong, but she wasn't my type. She was a bit too aggressive for a shewolf, and she didn't know how to take 'no' for an answer. I had tried to let her down gently several times since she started showing interest in me, even had Ryan and Tyler running interference to get her away but she seemed to see it as more of a challenge and had finally cornered me in the hall on my way to my room.

I had been about to physically shove her off me when Val's voice came from the elevator. Relief had washed over me until her words registered in my brain, Did she say Mate?! I asked more myself than my wolf. Sage, my wolf was just dancing in my head and prancing about at the words.

Val stomped towards us, her eyes black as night. She looked stunning when she was angry, but I shook my head from those distracting thoughts. Sarah glared at her as she approached, "What're you talking about, Val? You don't have a mate yet!" she said hotly as she stepped away from me. She then noticed Val's eyes, but it was a bit too late. Val roared again and swiped her claws directly at Sarah's face. Sarah dodged at the last second and headed towards the opposite wall, a terrified look on her face.

"MATE IS MINE!" Val growled in a deep voice as she bore down on Sarah again. Sarah ran down the hall, trying to avoid flying debris as Val swiped side tables and other furniture out of her way in pursuit. I heard a door open, and Ryan stepped out bewildered, followed by Tyler. Both looked at the two she-wolves running down the hall and then at me and took off without a word. I followed right behind them as it was obvious that Val's wolf was out of control.

"Val!" Tyler yelled as he and Ryan tagteamed the shewolf, tackling her to the ground to keep her from killing Sarah. Val struggled fiercely but was no match for the two Alphas combined strength, "She's not worth it." Tyler said firmly. Val's eyes hadn't turned back yet, and she glared at the Alphas, "She tried to take my mate, she must be punished!" she growled angrily. Ryan held her gently but firmly by the throat, "Val, you're the only one who knew besides us that Kyle was your mate. Remember? Sarah didn't have a clue, and neither did Kyle. You haven't claimed him yet. If you had, she probably wouldn't have gone after him." he said gently.

Sarah peeked out from behind a corner, nodding, "Val, you know I don't go after mated males. I might be a bit male crazy but I draw the line at homewrecking. If you had told me Kyle was your mate, I would've backed off." she said softly. Val's eyes started to change color slowly, and she stopped struggling so much, "You weren't trying to claim him?" she asked, her voice a half-growl from her wolf still having control. Sarah shook her head, "I told you already, I'm waiting for my fated mate. I just enjoy being around hot guys." she said, smiling. Val growled, but Sarah threw her hands up in surrender, "I'm just kidding. He's all yours. I swear on the Moon Goddess."

Val stopped growling, and Ryan and Tyler let her up now that she stopped struggling, "We're going to let you guys have some privacy. Sarah, it'd probably be best to head down to your room." Ryan said firmly. Tyler looked at him, surprised, "Dude, it was just getting good." he whined, and Ryan glared, "Go ask the cleaning staff to come up here and take care of this mess so Mom doesn't find out." he stated, pushing Tyler towards the elevator. Sarah followed quickly, not wanting to rile Val's wolf up again.

I glanced at Val. She was looking down at the floor, her face blushing scarlet. Now that her wolf was no longer in control, the reality of what happened had hit her. I smiled, she was so cute, "Are you hurt?" I asked, trying to look her over and see if there were any wounds. She shook her head, "No, Kyla made sure not to let anything hit us." she said quietly. I sighed in relief, "Well then, let's go into the rec room." I said, and she nodded, following me meekly. I frowned, I didn't like this side of Val. Where'd the confident, sexy, bada** who boldly claimed me as her mate go?"

We sat down on the couch facing each other, well, I faced her. Val kept looking down at her lap, avoiding eye contact. I sighed and placed my hand on her lap, "Val." I said quietly. She flinched but didn't look up. "Look at me." I commanded. Val lifted her face slowly, and the tear streaks were trailing from her eyes. "Is it true?" I asked. She scoffed, her face morphing from terrified to the sassy girl I knew in an instant, "You think Kyla would take over like that if it wasn't? Are you that stupid?" she asked.

I smiled, and she blushed but didn't look away, "No, but I needed some way to bring back that sass. Terrified and vulnerable don't suit you." I said, brushing my hand against her cheek. She smiled hesitantly, "You're not mad?" she asked, and I c****d my head in confusion. "Why would I be angry? You're beautiful, smart, an amazing fighter, and my sister's best friend. I feel like I hit the mate jackpot." I said earnestly.

Val blushed again but smiled, "I thought you'd be upset since I didn't tell you right away. I've known for a few months but since I didn't know you that well, I thought I'd wait to tell you when you could feel the bond and use that time to get to know you a bit better." she explained. I frowned a bit at that, "Well, that does make me a bit upset, but I understand why." I started to say. Val jumped up and began pacing, "I'm sorry, it didn't have anything to do with you, I was scared. I knew about you from the Alphas, but I hadn't interacted with you much outside of training, and of course, I didn't know your situation at home. I tried to hang out with you outside training but you always hurried home and didn't hang out with the other warriors after training so I thought you were avoiding me and that this would be best so you could feel the bond and then I could prepare-" she rambled.

I stood and placed my hands on her arms, stopping her, "Val, what are you talking about? Prepare for what?" I asked, framing her face with my hands. "Prepare for your rejection." she whispered. I stiffened, and Sage pushed forward, taking over for a brief moment, "Over my dead body, mate!" he growled. I pushed him back at Val's flinch and took a deep breath, "There is no way in h*ll I would EVER do that. Mates are sacred, and I will thank the Moon Goddess a million times over for the rest of my life for you finding me first." I stated and claimed her mouth with mine.

Her lips were soft and tasted of heaven, one taste, and I knew I would be hooked for the rest of my life. She moaned, and it sent a shiver straight to my gr**n. I felt Sage urging me to claim her now even though I couldn't feel the full bond yet, I wasn't sure if the mark would stay. Val didn't seem to care by the way her hands were moving up my chest, and my thoughts scattered again.

The sound of a door closing snapped us out of the haze our wolves had created, and we broke apart, panting hard. I listened to see if anyone was coming down the hall, but I didn't hear anything. I brushed my lips over Val's again, "Let's continue this in my room." I whispered, and she nodded as I grabbed her hand and led her from the room down the hall.

There was still debris throughout the hall, but it didn't look as bad as it had earlier. I guessed that Sarah had cleaned a bit up since she had started the fight in the first place. I looked at Val and smiled as I opened the door to my room and led her inside, making a mental note to thank Sarah for pushing Val to that point as I closed my bedroom door and proceeded to claim my mate.

~*~*~*~

I was coming out of my room a bit later, heading down the hall to the elevator. Val and I had skipped dinner, so I was going to ask for a couple of plates from the kitchen when Sarah came out of the elevator. She paused and looked at me sheepishly, "Hey Kyle, I wanted to apologize for earlier. I can be a bit much and didn't know Val was your mate." she said quietly. I nodded, "We're good Sarah, actually I wanted to thank you. If you hadn't pushed Val to claim me early, I would have had to wait a few more weeks." I said, moving my collar and showing the brand new mate mark on the side of my neck. She smiled, "I'm happy for you and Val as well, but I will tell you now, hurt her, and I'll kill you." she said fiercely.

I chuckled, "I have absolutely no plans to do that ever." I stated. "Kyle?" A sleepy voice called from down the hall, and I turned to see a wonderfully mussed Val peeking from my bedroom door. I smiled, "Hey love, I'm just heading down to the kitchen. I'll be back in a-" I started to say, but a growl erupted from her throat when she saw Sarah standing next to me.

Sarah raised her hands and backed up a step, but Val obviously felt possessive and stood in front of me, glaring at Sarah furiously. The sound pulled Ryan and Tyler from their rooms, and Tyler chuckled as I stepped between Val and Sarah, trying to keep them from tearing each other apart again.

The elevator doors opened, and Tei and Matt stepped out. Tei took one glance around and then looked at me confused, "What's going on here?" she asked. Tyler laughed and then gestured towards me and the two girls, "Perfect timing, princess. You're just about to witness your new sister-in-law tear Sarah to pieces for getting too close to her mate."