#12 The Triplets of Emerald Forest

Harlow

I felt like a zombie as I went through the tour with the brothers. Honestly, I was shocked when they agreed to the deal Clementine suggested. What kind of kidnappers negotiated? Then again, what kind of kidnappers turned into giant dogs?

I had to admit, the house that they deemed the packhouse was amazing. It was easy to see the craftsmanship and care the brothers took in building their brand new home. Everyone we passed was so nice and friendly, even the staff who seemed to enjoy working for my kidnappers. I had to admit, it says a lot about a person when their staff is happy and content. Hands down, my favorite place here was the sunroom. It was beautiful and filled with warm sunlight.

The awkwardness in the room was thick as we all settled into the comfortable furniture with a glass of tea. I looked between Godric, Gabriel, and Griffin and began noticing small differences between them. I was surprised to find that I could easily tell the difference between the three right away, even without their color coded outfits.

“So, first, I wanted to ask what you’re thinking about the whole werewolf thing?” Griffin started after a few minutes of silence.

“What I’m thinking?” I looked up at him and cocked my head to the side. Did I even know what I was thinking?

“Yes, how do you feel about it?” He clarified.

Griffin had a soft, calming look about him. From his eyes, to his smile, to his posture, he just exudes gentleness. His voice was smooth like butter and his gaze was very soothing as he looked over at me from across the sunroom.

“I feel like I’m still hallucinating but, at this point, I’m just going with it.” I shrugged. Griffin smirked at me and I heard Godric chuckle from the couch beside me.

“Fair enough. This next part might be even harder to understand.” Griffin said, suddenly looking nervous.

“Just tell me.” I sighed, tired of all the cloak and dagger.

“What did the Moon Goddess tell you about herself?” Gabriel asked and I turned to face him.

He was sitting the furthest away on a chair close to the collapsable wall.

“Nothing, really.” I said. I wondered what the big deal was about my dream?

“Well, Selene is the creator of the supernatural world.” Gabriel said,

“The supernatural world?” I squeaked.

“Everything’s real, Harlow. Vampires, fae, witches, dwarves….” Godric said, looking at me intensely like he was trying to gauge my reaction.

Godric was the most intense out of the three. He was always stiff and sitting on the edge of his seat like he was ready to jump up at any moment. He spoke in a low, gruff sounding tone of voice and always had a serious expression.

“Right.” I gulped. I heard Gabriel sigh and I looked back in his direction.

“She’s like our mother and guides us, but she never interferes. She pairs us with our wolf consciousness and our soulmate.” Gabriel said,

“Wolf consciousness?” I asked curiously.

“Our wolves are a separate consciousness living within our body, like a second soul. Wolves are immortal, when we die, they are returned to the Moon Goddess who then pairs them with another human body within a werewolf bloodline.” Gabriel spoke expertly but also passionately; something about the look in his eyes made me want to believe him.

Gabriel was the most serious of the bunch. He spoke with a purpose and barely said anything more than what was absolutely necessary. I also noticed that he was the least emotional with an expression that was nearly unchanging. But, he was incredibly passionate and fierce, that was easy enough to see.

“So, you’re not immortal?” I wondered.

“No, we age and die just like humans. We do have the ability to heal quickly and it takes a lot more to kill us.” Godric spoke matter-of-factly.

Something about the idea of them dying just didn’t sit well with me and I felt my heart rate begin to increase. I pushed the feeling down before the brothers could sense anything. I had no idea what other supernatural charms they possessed.

“There are two sacred bonds for a werewolf, the one between their human and wolf souls and the one between them and their mate.” Gabriel continued and his eyes started to darken.

I noticed that their eyes would change from a dark forest green to pitch black and I wondered if that had something to do with their wolves, too and what exactly it meant.

“Like a soulmate?” I asked and Gabriel nodded. The fire behind his eyes made it impossible for me to look away.

“Exactly like a soulmate only so much more. The Moon Goddess pairs us with a person who not only completes our soul but also challenges us, giving us exactly what we need.” Gabriel spoke purposefully.

I felt more pairs of eyes on me so I glanced around the room and noticed that the two other brothers had the same dark, fiery expression trained on my face. I locked eyes with each of them in turn, feeling some sort of unnamable force pass between us and that’s when I knew. They were talking about me. I was their soulmate.

“You….you kidnapped me because you think I’m your soulmate?” I stammered.

“We did not kidnap you.” Godric seemed to growl and I jumped in my seat, shrinking back into the cushion.

“Relax, Ric.” Gabriel snapped and I looked between the two of them.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Godric looked ashamed of himself as his body relaxed.

“But, for the record, you did kidnap me.” I clarified and this time Godric smirked.

“Okay, but, for the record, we know that you’re our mate, we don’t think.” He copied me.

“He’s right, Harlow. There’s no mistaking it, you are our mate.” Griffin’s voice called for my attention.

“All three of you can have just one?” I cocked an eyebrow.

“Identical multiples usually share one mate. As we see it, we are one soul that was split into three parts therefore we only have one mate.” Gabriel explained beautifully.

“How do you know?” I asked, surprised by how absolute they were about the whole thing.

“We’re called to our mates, us and our wolves. There’s a bond that exists right away that pulls us towards each other. We could sense your presence before we saw you and there’s this burning need to be near you. Then, there’s your scent which is unique to each of us.” Gabriel’s eyes kept switching between green and black as he spoke.

Something dawned on me then. I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together sooner.

“You were at the club.” I said and they nodded, all three of them now had the same dark expressions.

“Yes, that’s when we first saw you and knew you were our mate.” Gabriel’s jaw looked tense.

“You didn’t belong there.” Godric growled again and I saw that his eyes were the blackest they’ve ever been.

“Well excuse me for not being pedigree enough for you.” I snapped. Godric’s eyes went huge,

“That’s not what I meant.” He looked horrified at my reaction.

“He didn’t mean that, Harlow. He meant that no one should be able to see your body and gawk at you but us. Werewolves are very, very possessive of their mate.” Griffin explained, his face relaxing only slightly.

“That’s misogynistic.” I grumbled.

“Okay, yes, maybe but that’s a werewolf’s instinct.” Godric said matter-of-factly.

“You made a big commotion that night and I was escorted out.” I said, ignoring his comment.

“We sensed that you were our mate and hated the idea of all the other men gawking at you. We wanted to get you down from the stage but the werewolves we were meeting with stopped us. That was the commotion. We wanted to meet with you in the back, but you had already left.” Griffin explained.

“So, we got your file, learned your name, and found your address. That’s how we ended up at your house.” Gabriel finished.

“You realize that classifies you as a stalker, right?” I said, cocking an eyebrow. Gabriel’s eyes sparkled with laughter.

“It wouldn’t have been so stalker like if you hadn’t taken so long to come home.” He teased and I was surprised to see a playful side of him coming out.

“I went to a party afterwards and stayed with my friend. What did you mean by my scent?” I asked suddenly.

“To each of us you have a unique smell.” Gabriel said,

“Like what?”

“Well, for me, you smell like hot chocolate.” Gabriel said in a husky voice.

“It’s apple pie for me.” Godric made an odd sound from his chest that actually sounded like a purr.

“And you smell like vanilla cupcakes to me.” Griffin said, eyeing me like he was starving.

“Why do your eyes do that?” I asked, finally needing an answer for their darkening irises.

“It’s our wolves coming through. When they are close to the surface, like when our instincts are on overdrive or we’re emotional, our eyes turn black.” Griffin said with a wicked smirk.

“So, what does all of this mean?” I was almost afraid of the answer.

“You’re our mate, that’s why Waylon keeps calling you the Luna. The mate of the Alpha, or Alphas in our case, is referred to as the Luna. You are of equal rank to us in the pack which means you will have equal respect from the pack and equal duties. It also means that the pack will protect you and secure your safety at all cost. You are the embodiment of the Moon Goddess on earth, the mother to the pack.” Gabriel spoke to me sternly, almost like he was lecturing and it was starting to make me feel on edge.

“But, you don’t have to worry about any of that right now,” Griffin said, glaring at Gabriel, “All of that will come with time. Our mother will help you adjust to the position and it’ll all come with experience. Right now, that’s not what’s important.”

“Then, what’s important?” I asked, still eying Gabriel curiously and wondering why these three didn’t seem to be on the same page about anything.

“Building our relationship. As our mate, you’re incredibly important to us…” Griffin started but Godric interrupted him,

“You’re the most important thing to us.” He clarified with a stern look thrown towards Griffin.

“Right, the most important. You’re our world now, Harlow, no question about it. Right now, we just want to make you comfortable here, we want you to see this place as your home, and to earn your trust. We want to prove to you how precious you are to us and how well we will care for you.” Griffin’s vulnerable expression did something to my insides.

“We know we have a lot to make up for and a lot to prove, but we promise you, Harlow, we’ll do it.” Godric’s eyes were equally as watery and open.

I glanced towards Gabriel and noticed his expression was slightly different. I sensed the same devotion and promises coming from him, but there was something else; something less compromising and more pragmatic. He was a lot more closed off than his brothers and that put me on edge. If I was still going to make a break for it, I had to know where each of these men stood and, right now, I had no idea where Gabriel stood.

Then, I thought about what this conversation was doing to my resolve. Suddenly, I was wanting to know more about this matebond and the dreamy promise the brothers were making to me. Of course, it all sounded too good to be true and I was still a prisoner in this place that was my so-called future home. But, something about how they looked at me, how they spoke, and the words they said were pulling me in.