Chapter 27

I felt as though I should be more concerned about the confrontation between Brian, the brothers, and I, but I couldn’t find it within myself to care much. Something within me had changed, and I was growing more confident, more willful. I was growing into my wolf.

Today I was spending the day with Lily, and I was looking forward to a day without the overwhelming testosterone of the brothers. I arrived at Lily’s house in high spirits.

“Hi!” She greeted me with a huge smile on her face. I knew from the look that she had something in mind, but didn’t mind. “Hey! How are you today? Are we still on for movies and popcorn?”

“Well… I had another idea I wanted to run by you.” She looked a little sheepish now, hesitant to tell me what her idea was.

“What is it?” I rolled my eyes and laughed at her, thinking it probably had something to do with the triplets. Most of her crazy ideas had something to do with them, she was near obsessed with them.

“I was thinking, maybe, if you didn’t mind, that we could possibly go out tonight.” She grinned at me, hopefully and practically begging.

“Where are you wanting to go?” I couldn’t think of what was going on today that she would be so excited about.

“There’s a hockey game I was hoping we could go check out.” Her face was bright and excited. The look alone told me it was one of Nicholas’ hockey games she was wanting to go watch.

“Hmm, are you sure? I didn’t know you were that interested in hockey.” I had hoped to steer clear of the triplets today, but anything Lily wanted to do usually involved them somehow. They were idols to her.

“It’s one of the last games before the big championship. It’s going to be intense, I think, and I haven’t been able to get to one of the games this year, so, well, what do you think?” Her eyes were pleading.

I sighed, wishing I could say no to her, but how could you say no to your only real friend? “I guess we can go check it out.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you Beryl! I know you don’t always get along with them, but I hear Nicholas is amazing on the ice and I think we’ll have a great time! We can even dress up, and be hot!”

“I don’t have anything to wear, all of my clothes have gotten a bit big on me lately.” I was fine with going to the game, but I didn’t know how I felt about dressing up. I was still a bit self-conscious about my size.

“You’ve lost so much weight, I bet you can wear something of mine! You look amazing, I’m so proud of how consistent you’ve been with exercising and everything!” As obsessed with the triplets as she was, Lily was still a great, and supportive friend.

I blushed a bit at her compliment, but it made me feel good inside. “Thanks, Lily. I’ve really been trying. I’m feeling so much stronger, and it’s definitely helping with my confidence. Maybe I will try to dress up tonight.”

We began rummaging through her closet, trying on pretty much everything she owned. We finally settled on outfits, just before it was time to leave for the game.

Lily was wearing a skin tight mini skirt and a cropped sweater the colors of the hockey team. She looked perfect and petite.

She had picked out a pair of black velvet, low rise pants for me, and a black button up shirt. The pants hugged my curvaceous hips, barley covering me in the front and the back, but they were comfortable and made me feel good.

The shirt didn’t fit properly, but looked almost intentional. The size of my breasts pulled the hem of the shirt up, showing my midriff just a bit, and I couldn’t button it all the way up, so the cleavage shown was ample.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I was shocked. I had lost much more weight than I thought I had. I was proud of myself, and proud of how I was looking. I was still much bigger than most girls, but my figure was hourglass, with soft curves.

Lily had done our makeup, and we were both becoming excited about going out. On the way to the game, we were both almost giddy with anticipation, a feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time.

When we arrived at the game, a bit early, we chose seats behind Nicholas’ team. We sat chatting for a few minutes, and then the popular kids began arriving.

Anna and her cheerleader friends caught sight of us, and seemed taken aback. They just looked at us for a few minutes, whispering to one another and then took seats right below us.

Right after that, the team came in. The crowd around us stood to cheer, so Lily and I joined in, still riding the high of our excitement.

I caught sight of Nicholas and smiled at him, waving. As he looked back at me, he stumbled slightly, shock and confusion on his face. He smiled a little and waved back at me, which surprised me.

I wondered what could be going through his mind, but was too overcome with the atmosphere to think much about it.

Lily and I cheered and laughed and yelled at the referee all throughout the game, thoroughly enjoying ourselves. I was surprised at how much fun I was having. We even cheered along with the cheerleaders, who encouraged and laughed with us.

The hockey game was intense, but Nicholas and his team played wonderfully. The game ended up in overtime, and at the last minute Nicholas made the winning shot.

The arena shook with cheers, but in his excitement, I saw Nicholas looking for me. When we made eye contact, we shared a happy look, and I could feel the connection between us.

Afterwards, Lily and I went down to ice to talk to the players, and Nicholas skated up to me. “Did you see that shot?” He was smiling, which was rare for him.

I grinned up at him, realizing that I’d had more fun that I thought I would have. “Yes it was amazing. You were incredible out there. You and your team did great tonight. Congratulations!”

He beamed back at me, seeming genuinely happy with the compliment. The world around us faded away for a moment, and it was just he and I.

He looked at me for a moment, and then the same confusion that I was used to seeing came across his face. The moment between us passed, but I felt the tingle of it linger within me.

Lily laughed, running to my side, distracting us both. “Nicholas! You were amazing! I can’t wait to see you in the championship! You’re going to win for sure!”

She gushed over Nicholas for a few more minutes, and then he had to leave with his team, the same confused look on his face as he looked back at me.

I was overwhelmed with the emotions of the moment. The past few months had been hell, turning 20 so soon, and the possibility of all three of the triplets being my mate had been weighing on me heavier than I had thought.

I had been carrying so much tension and holding myself back from everything, and tonight had been exactly what I needed. “Thanks Lily. I had a blast tonight.”

“Of course! I knew you needed a night out! What are friends for?” She winked and me and we left, arm in arm.