The Triplet Alphas's Christmas Gift

Chapter 9 - Secrets part 2

Ryan's POV

Kyle didn't say anything at first; he just kept his head down. His grip on the steering wheel was so tight his knuckles were white.

I gripped his shoulder gently, trying not to push, "We can't help if we don't know what's going on." I said gently and he scoffed, "I don't know if you can help at all. The Luna has you attend that training camp for future Alphas almost all year long so you haven't been at school much. The only reason you're there this semester is due to the attacks. And when you were there, she wasn't. I just managed to convince Mom and Dad to send her to school again." he said sarcastically.

I flinched; it was true Mom didn't like us to attend public school in the pack, so she sent us to an elite training school for future Alphas about an hour away from the territory. Funnily enough, it was very close to her old pack, Moon Valley. We knew she wanted us to find our mate from the girls of her old pack; Mom never really liked Darkmoon. But the recent attacks close to our borders, where patrol members were going missing and then ending up being found dead a day later, made her rethink sending us away again this semester.

That and we got Dad on our side, saying we needed to spend time getting to know the pack members we were going to be in charge of. He agreed and managed to talk Mom down from her tantrum when we told her we weren't going back this year. She reluctantly agreed but stated that we had to be back during the summer which we agreed to.

He was right but there was no reason we couldn't try.

Tyler huffed, "You're stalling, dude. We need to know what's going on." he said and Kyle growled but sighed, "Fine."

"Our parents saw Tei as a burden ever since it was found out she was a girl, not a boy. Dad prides himself on 'passing the family name and legacy.' so he had been disappointed when Tei was born. But they perked up a bit when Mom brought up marrying her off to another pack, maybe someone with rank to increase our standing. They taught her to cook, clean, keep house, that sort of thing. Saying girls were more useful to their husbands if they learn how to serve rather than be educated." he began.

Kyle then explained about the incident when Teira was five when Dad came for dinner, and their parents acted like she was a wandering urchin from the woods who only came by when she was hungry. "Dad was furious after the Alpha left, he dragged Tei down to the basement and locked her up for a week. It was the first time he beat her. I tried to get to her, begging them to let me out of my room, but when he came to my room later, he lectured me about educating the riff-raff. I was then told that I couldn't teach her anymore or talk to her. They didn't tell me how they managed it, but Tei's not allowed to link anyone for more than a few seconds."

I clenched my fists, Matt growled, Tyler's eyes turned dark. We couldn't believe this, how could they treat their own daughter this way?! Tyler took some deep breaths, managing to calm his wolf enough that his eyes went back to their normal gray but he was still p*ssed.

"What happened after that? What changed their minds about her?" Matt asked. Kyle leaned his head back quietly, "She didn't get her wolf." he murmured. We looked at him in shock, Teira didn't have a wolf? How was that possible? She had the senses and instincts of one!

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts; that didn't matter to me. Werewolves got their wolf spirit any time after the age of 10. With their first shift occurring a few months later, she was probably just a late bloomer. "So what, your parents decided she was useless to them after her wolf didn't show up when she was 10?!" Tyler said hotly.

Kyle nodded, "They think she makes a better servant for the family than a daughter, any time I try to correct them, she gets punished for getting me involved. So, I learned to stay silent; she can't heal as quickly as the rest of us if the wounds are deep, so I started fixing her up in secret or waiting until we got to school. But she doesn't like drawing attention to herself; the other pack members see her as a weak Omega or wolfless. You saw what nearly happened to her today from just sitting with us at lunch!" he said his voice rising.

I sighed, "We could talk to Dad, let him know what's going on. He could at least look into your parents." I said quietly, but Kyle shook his head, "It would only make things worse for Tei here at home, and we don't have anywhere else to go at the moment." Matt shrugged, "Then we change the pack's perspective. Teach her to fight back, show them she'll be a great member to have." he said.

Kyle looked at him confused, "I've been teaching Tei a bit when I can. She knows a few moves she can use against bullies without a wolf, but how do we teach her to go against a wolf without shifting?" he asked. I scoffed, "We train her ourselves." I said calmly. Kyle glared, "Thanks for that, Alpha Obvious, I didn't think of that. I meant, our parents will never go for her learning how to fight and if she doesn't have dinner ready before Dad gets home, she gets punished again." he said sarcastically.

Tyler growled, "We need to get her out of this house." I held up my hand, "That'll have to wait; for now, we have Kyle bring her to the gym an hour after training. We'll teach her a few moves, then get her home quickly so she can have dinner ready before your parents get back. But speaking of what happened at school, we still need answers." I said calmly and Kyle nodded.

He opened the door and got out, motioning us to follow, "Follow me; Tei and I come out here to talk openly sometimes where our parents can't hear. There's a clearing with a campfire in the woods a ways in, though if she knows you're there, she probably won't come down. Best to stay in the woods in wolf form before she gets here." he said as he grabbed a flashlight and some firewood from the trunk of the car.

We followed him curiously, smelling the area around the clearing to make sure it was safe. The house wasn't near the border but we didn't want to take any chances. Tyler helped Kyle sweep the area while I made the fire and Matt broke some sticks off some dead branches. Kyle grabbed a bag of marshmallows from his pocket and smiled, "Always good to have a snack. I'll go let Tei know it's safe to come down. You guys hide in the woods." he said and we nodded.

Shifting we blended into the trees, huddling down and trying not to get restless. Tyler really wanted to see her, and I didn't blame him; after hearing how she was treated at home, I didn't want to leave her here either.

We heard crunching in the woods and saw her small figure enter the clearing, wearing the shabby coat from this morning. Doesn't she have something warmer? Matt growled through the link and I shook my head. Her parents would probably take anything new and give it to Kyle, but at least he helps her. I replied as we tried to listen to what they were talking about.

Tyler snorted; Enough of this; I want to make sure she's OK. He growled and stepped out from behind the trees. A twig snapped, causing Teira to stiffen, and it looked like she was about to bolt when Kyle wrapped his arm around her, "It's OK, Tei. They just wanted to make sure you are OK after what happened today, and we need to talk." he said soothingly.

We shifted, changing back into our clothes quickly as Teira turned around embarrassed. Tyler complained about the cold and used it as an excuse to sit close to Teira which Kyle promptly rejected by tossing him to the other side of the fire, making Teira giggle.

Matt and I slid in while Kyle wasn't looking, Matt on her other side and me behind her with my legs spread, not touching her but enough to where she could sense us. Kyle frowned but didn't say anything. We needed answers, and she wasn't going to give it willingly unless she felt safe.

I growled when she called herself the school nobody. "No one is to call you that! Not even yourself!" I said hotly and she flinched a bit. I rubbed my hands up and down her arms soothingly, "Sorry, Tei, but you aren't the school nobody. Anyone who thinks that just doesn't know the real you." Kyle said calmly and I nodded.

Teira scoffed, "You three don't know the real me, but you're still giving me all this attention. What makes me so special?" she asked tearfully. Matt sighed, "You're beautiful, kind, gentle."

"Brave, courageous," I continued.

"And hot." Tyler piped up, which caused us all to groan, and Teira giggled.

"Anyway, we think you are worth knowing and that's what makes you special to us." Matt finished calmly squeezing her hand.

Teira smiled gently, "I don't know how much I can tell you; there were three boys who looked like football players and several different girls. The girls egged the boys on and made nasty remarks but it's nothing I hadn't heard before. Though one did say that 'she wanted me to be taught a lesson.'So someone put them up to it. But that's all I really remember right now." she murmured.

I tensed so badly, wanting to hug her; another girl set this up? Because we invited Teira to sit with us at lunch?! Matt and Tyler both looked at me with the same determination I knew was in my own eyes.

We were going to find this girl and make her pay...