Mated to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 12: Little Tease

“Can I help you?” I muttered, looking up at the stranger blocking my view—a tall, gangly guy who looked to be about my age.

He grinned at me, stained brown teeth flashing before my eyes. “Yes, you can. Let’s start with you telling me your name, sweet pea?” He said.

“Hazel,” I answered impatiently. I tried to peek around him again but I couldn’t see a thing. I gave him an impatient look. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

He smirked. “No, but I’d certainly like to know you better.” His eyes roved up and down my body suggestively.

Bile rose in my stomach. “Sorry, I don’t want to get to know you,” I said quickly, turning away from him. I picked up my fork again, making a show of focusing on my food.

Suddenly, a hand clamped on mine. I dropped my fork with a loud yelp. “What do you think you are doing? Let go of me!” I exclaimed, trying to yank my hand out of his grasp.

“Now. Now. Is that a good way to treat a new friend?” He drawled, holding my hand securely.

I dragged my hand out of his grasp. He leaned closer to me—so close our noses were practically touching. I squealed and jerked back, my chair scraping against the floor.

“What the hell?” I cried, my heart hammering in my chest. I looked around the restaurant for help but most people were focused on their own plates. I tried to signal to the triplets but he was still blocking my view of them.

“S-Sir, please leave!” I exclaimed. I tried to make my voice as threatening as possible but it came out as a squeak.

He smirked. “Leave? When I haven’t even introduced myself? That would be very rude of me,” he said. “I’m Timothy.” He waited as if expecting me to say something.

My brain went blank. Oh god, what did he want from me? “N-Nice to meet you,” I squeaked finally, sending up a silent prayer for him to just leave me alone.

He traced his finger down the side of my face. I shuddered, pressing myself against the back of my chair. “You’re a very pretty girl,” he whispered, his breath hot against my skin. It sent a shudder down my spine.

“Please, stop!” I cried, trying to get up. If I could just get away from him, I would run into the ladies’ room until he left or the triplets returned. Whichever came first.

I jumped to my feet. He stepped forward quickly, trapping me between his body and the table. He crowded into me, barely leaving an inch between us.

His eyes ran down my body slowly. He licked his lips, making ugly smacking sounds. My stomach rolled in disgust.

“Wow, now that I can see your whole body, you’re even sexier than I thought. We can get out of here, and head back to my hotel room. What do you think?”

“Sir! I’m not a—a prostitute!” I cried with indignation, my voice rising a little. I tried to shove him away from me but he wouldn’t budge. I was really starting to get scared now. “Please let me go!” I pleaded.

“Oh, don’t be a tease! I know you want this. I saw you making eyes at me from across the restaurant. I had to come over and see the little shawty checking me out. Don’t try to be coy now,” he said, grabbing my waist.

“I did not make eyes at you! I’ve never even seen you before. Please let me go!” I cried.

“You heard the lady. Let. Her. Go,” a dark voice thundered behind us.

We whirled around. Lucas, Levi and Liam stood before us, identical looks of fury on their handsome faces. It was Lucas who spoke.

“Y-You’re the Emberfang Alphas!” The man gasped. “W-What are you doing here?”

“I’m going to give you one second to get your hands off her or you’ll lose that arm,” Lucas spat darkly.

This guy yelped, yanking his hands off my waist. “A-Alphas, this is not what it looks like. She was the one who started flirting with me first. She—”

I gasped. No. No. I shook my head emphatically. They couldn’t believe him! They just couldn’t!

Levi stormed forward. He grabbed him by the shirt, hauling him off his feet. “Think twice before you complete that lie,” he warned.

“Our mate would never flirt with anyone, talk less of you,” Liam spat, looking over with a look of pure disdain.

His mouth slammed shut. My heart soared. They believed me! I didn’t even have to defend myself to them. They just knew that I would have never done that. A feeling of peace washed over me. I sighed in relief.

“M-Mate!?” He gasped. His eyes darted to me. “Oh my god! I had no idea. Please. Please, spare me,” he cried. He was shaking so badly that I was scared his bones would rattle right out of his body. “If only I knew she was your mate, I would—”

“Would have what!?” Lucas snapped.

He gulped. He didn’t dare finish that sentence. His eyes jumped to me, giving me a pleading look.

“Don’t even look at her!” Levi snarled. “If it were left to me, I’d kill you right now. But your life is not worth that much.” He pushed the guy away from him. “Leave now. Before I change my mind.”

He scampered out of there faster than you could say ‘run’. I turned to the guys, feeling a rush of relief and gratitude.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

Now that the threat was gone, my eyes wandered back to the window. Melanie, Kira and Annie were gone, disappeared without a trace. The same feeling of uneasiness from earlier filled my stomach. I tried to hide it.

Liam saw the look flash across my face. He took my hand. “You don’t have to thank us, Hazel. It’s our fault for leaving you in the first place. If we didn’t leave you, he wouldn’t have dared to approach you.”

“Please don’t be worried about Melanie and the girls. They have been insisting on talking to us. We were avoiding it but when they showed up here...” Levi trailed off.

Lucas picked up the sentence. “We didn’t want them to make a scene and ruin your day. That’s the only reason we went to talk to them. Don’t ever think that we have anything left with them.”

Levi nodded, grinning. “You’re the only girl we want. Now and forever.”

My cheeks turned red. I didn’t know what to say to that. Thankfully, they weren’t waiting for a response.

They let me back to the table. Liam pulled back the chair for me. I sat gratefully.

“I can’t believe those girls interrupted our dessert,” Levi muttered angrily, immediately digging into his cake. We murmured in agreement, following suit.

“Speaking of cake,” Liam said suddenly. I paused mid-bite to listen to him. “I just realized that Hazel didn’t get to celebrate her birthday.”

I blushed. “It’s nothing. It’s not like I celebrated any of the previous ones,” I muttered.

“No, that’s not good enough. You should get to celebrate your special day just like everyone else,” Lucas countered.

“I have an idea,” Levi announced with a grin.

I groaned. What now? All their plans usually involved throwing tons of money around.

A smirk sprung to his lips. “Why don’t we go on a short getaway?”