The Triplet Alphas's Christmas Gift

Chapter 30 - Lunch and an outing

Teira's POV

The dining hall was a bit noisy when we walked in, but it died down when we entered. I fidgeted a bit nervously at the attention on me, did I look that bad? Val leaned in, "Girl, hold your head high; you look hot, and they're staring because of it. Flaunt it." she whispered. I gave her a skeptical look but didn't look down. She was right, I needed to hold my head high.

We made our way over to the Alpha table where Kyle was already sitting; he smiled brightly when he saw me, "Tei, you look gorgeous." he said, hugging me. I blushed and hugged him back beaming, "I'll take your word for it. Kyle, this is Valerie, my guard." I said introducing Val as I sat down.

Val smiled and Kyle froze for a second before nodding, "Hi Valerie, I'm Kyle. Nice to meet you." he said quietly. I looked at him curiously and noticed a blush come over his face. I smirked but said nothing, about time Kyle grew interested in someone other than me. Val shook his hand firmly, "Nice to meet you, Kyle. I think I've seen you in training some. At least before I was sent out on missions. Word is, you're the new top warrior around here." she said confidently as she sat on my left.

Kyle nodded and they began to talk about various warrior trainings they had to go through as well as how the missions Val had been sent on went. She couldn't give a lot of detail as the Alpha had sworn her to secrecy but the mission had gone as well as could be expected. She hadn't failed but she hadn't completed it either. When she came back to report, the Alpha gave her leave and sent someone else out leaving her to be assigned as my guard.

I nodded at her explanation, curious about the mission but knew that if she could, she'd tell me. Val wasn't the type to hide things unless absolutely necessary.

As we finished eating, the room became silent again. I glanced towards the entrance, and the triplets were standing there, each looking at me with a different expression on their faces: shock, wonder, and awe.

We walked closer, and the triplets unfroze; grabbing me, they pulled me gently into the hall, and Val followed right behind. "Are you nuts, Val? She's not going out like that!" Matt said glaring at my guard. Val stood straight, crossing her arms across her chest, "Alpha, no disrespect but she looks gorgeous. There's nothing wrong with her going out looking that way." she said calmly in the face of three furious males.

"That's the problem! She looks too beautiful! Every unmated male and even some of the mated ones, are going to try and get with her! She'll be mobbed!" Ryan exclaimed. I looked at them incredulously, they were upset because I didn't look like my shabby self? I shook my head; anger was building up again at the sheer silliness of my new boyfriends. Were all guys like this?! I'd have to ask Kyle.

Val stared the boys down, something no one in this pack ever usually did and I wondered what the history between the triplets and Val was. "Look Alphas, she needs to go out and explore the pack. She has been kept prisoner most of her life, and she needs to act like a 16-year-old girl for once in her life; I will not apologize for making her feel good about herself before she heads out. I understand you're worried, but do you really think, for one second, that Kyle or I would allow ANY harm to come to her? Or that Teira's so incapable of taking care of herself?!" she asked.

The triplets looked at her a bit sheepishly, then turned to me; they took a step back at my glare. Val had hit the nail on the head of my feelings with the way the triplets were acting; she had managed to put words to my feelings in a way that I couldn't, and I was grateful to her. "I like the way I look. She did an amazing job, and the fact that you three are putting me down because I'm not looking like my shabby normal self is ridiculous! I'm going out with my brother and you three can stay here and try to figure out if I'll be willing to forgive you when I get back!" I said angrily as I turned and walked out the front door.

The boys tried to follow but stopped at my glare as I got into Kyle's car. Princess, we didn't mean it-

Angel, please-

Treasure-

Their voices flitted through the link but I cut them off, still too angry to deal with them. Val climbed into the SUV behind Kyle's car, and we headed out of the driveway down the road. We sat in silence for a bit, Kyle letting me sort through my anger and other feelings. "Don't get too upset, Tei," he said gently. I looked at him, tears were pooling in my eyes, and I was trying hard to keep them from spilling over; he smiled, "Guys can be stupid when it comes to the women they adore." he said, reaching over and wiping my eyes with his thumb.

I looked at him confused, "We only just started this relationship, they can't adore me already." I said shaking my head. Kyle chuckled, "Tei, I hate to break it to you, but those guys adored you the minute they were introduced to you at lunch. They couldn't stop asking me questions about you." he stated and I looked at him shocked, "They were just curious since you never told them you had a sibling." I replied, shaking my head; there was no way the triplets were into me from the start.

Kyle sighed, "Tei, you can try and fool yourself all you want but those boys love you dearly. Have from the start, their protective side comes out when it comes to you. They acted stupid just now because they want to be next to you while we're out but they can't. So they have to rely on Val and me to keep you safe, not that you can't take care of yourself," he added at my glare, "but you haven't encountered many pack members before and this will be new to you. They want to be here to see your first experience themselves, but they can't and it's making them worry and act irrational." he finished as we pulled into the parking lot.

I looked at my hands, thinking about what he said; the triplets were acting strangely. They knew I was going with Kyle today, but they still didn't want me to leave their sight; they hadn't wanted me to leave the bed this afternoon, and Tyler and Matt had fought over me earlier before I had gotten all the information they had found.

Could it be true? Did the triplets actually love me?

I shook my head as I couldn't think about this now, I unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car. Kyle followed me as Val came around the SUV. I looked up at the massive brick building before me; it was huge, at least three stories, with glass domes on top that shone in the sun. If I hadn't known any better, I would've thought it was a palace.

Val smiled at my reaction, "Come on, girlie, let's get you some clothes." she said, grabbing my hand and leading me inside with Kyle right behind me.

Shopping with Val was something else; she had a certain style that I wasn't sure would work for me, but she never insisted on anything I wasn't comfortable with. Be that as it may, she also wouldn't let me keep my shabby style either, "You've got to gain the confidence to show off." she said after she vetoed a sweater and jeans combination I had grabbed in the fifth store we went into. I admit it was just like a few of the other outfits I had picked out but I didn't really know what else to wear.

Val and Kyle would usually sit outside my dressing room and vote on the outfits I tried on. Of course, I refused to show my brother anything skimpy, that would be too weird, but normal outfits were OK. Val insisted I try on skirts, shirts with one shoulder showing, v-necks, and other clothing items I normally wouldn't try myself.

When I tried to refuse to buy all of it, saying I didn't have a lot of cash, Val scoffed, "Honey, those boys ticked you off before coming here. Let them pay for it." she said holding up a gold credit card. I gawked, when did she get that?! When I tried to ask her she just made a zipping motion over her mouth and refused to answer.

I stopped refusing after that.

Val took all of my shopping bags to the SUV so we wouldn't have to carry them everywhere while Kyle and I went to the next store; it was pink and white, and Kyle blushed at it while I absolutely refused to go in there with my brother. I turned towards a dress store instead since the pack Christmas party would be coming up soon and I needed a dress. Kyle paused for a second when we walked in and I looked at him confused, "I just remembered that I need to grab something next door. You go on, Tei. I'll be right back." he said as he left.

I looked at him suspiciously, Kyle couldn't hide stuff from me for long. And I had a suspicion he was getting me a birthday present. I normally didn't celebrate my birthday as it was Christmas Day, and I was usually expected to serve dinner that day, not get presents. Kyle was the only one who usually celebrated it with me by taking me to our clearing to make smores and spend time together. He couldn't get me anything brand new as that would raise my parent's suspicions, but he always tried to make the day special.

I looked through the racks, trying to find a dress that might at least look good on me when I heard a familiar voice at the entrance of the store.

"Ew, what is that thing doing shopping in here?!"