#12 The Triplets of Emerald Forest

Godric

“Well you fucked that one up big time, brother.” Gabriel sighed, shooting daggers my way.

“Yes, I realize that.”

“I told you to shut up. Why couldn’t you have just shut up?” Griffin looked like he wanted to kill me.

“She asked!” I shouted defensively.

“You could’ve just stayed silent for once in your Goddamn life.” Griff grumbled.

“Alright, I know I screwed up. I wasn’t trying to attack her, I was just stating the obvious.” I mumbled, kicking myself for screwing up with our mate, yet again.

“Sometimes saying nothing is the best policy.” Gabriel slapped me on the back of the head as he walked behind me. I swung at him but he easily avoided my fist.

“You were already on thin ice after nearly killing Waylon.” Griffin said, shoving me and Gabe apart as a brawl threatened to break out between us.

“He was touching what is ours!” I growled, Quill threatening to come out as he rose to the surface. I knew my eyes were midnight black by now.

“He was comforting her. Something we have been epically failing at doing.” Gabe said, not at all phased by my outburst.

“We’re too much.” Griffin sighed.

“What?” I snapped, struggling to reign Quill in.

“The three of us constantly going at her is too much. We said before that we needed to do single dates. Well, I think we need to start approaching her independently as well. She probably feels like we’re ganging up on her, like she’s outnumbered.” Griff said and Quill grumbled.

“You know he makes sense.” I said to Quill.

“I don’t have to admit that.” Quill huffed before retreating to the back of my mind.

“I’ll go first.” I said, moving towards the hallway.

“What?” Gabe looked surprised.

“That wasn’t exactly what I meant.” Griff said, looking like he wanted to stop me.

“I need to apologize before she hates me forever.” I grumbled, already out the door. I wasn’t about to let them stop me.

Ignoring the elevator, I took the stairs two at a time, eager to get to my mate. I hated the idea that she was mad at me as much as I hated the look of fear she gave me earlier.

The moment I stepped onto our floor I could smell the spiced apple pie aroma that waffed from my mate in delicious waves. I followed her scent to our wing and opened the door. Waylon was sitting on the couch and Harlow was wearing a path in the carpet as she paced in front of him.

Waylon jumped up when he saw me but I just waved my hand, indicating that I wasn’t upset. Harlow froze and shot me a menacing glare.

“Are you here to threaten Waylon some more or judge me?” She snapped. I sighed but didn’t complain because I knew I deserved that.

“Waylon, I’m sorry about how I reacted earlier and I appreciate you being there for Harlow. It’s important that you have a good relationship with our Luna and I’m grateful that she has someone who makes her feel comfortable.” I confessed, letting my guard down and speaking from my heart. I figured it was the only way I was going to win over my mate.

Waylon’s face physically paled like he was afraid of some hidden meaning behind my apology and Harlow looked like she was going to faint.

“I….” Waylon’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, “I think I might’ve just died.”

I heard a snort and looked over to see Harlow attempting to cover up a smile. I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face when a beautiful giggle escaped my mate’s mouth.

“I’ll be out here where things are normal.” Waylon said, wandering towards the door in a bit of a daze. I shook my head at his dramatics.

“Thank you for saying that. Did you mean it?” Harlow asked, staring me down.

“Every word, precious.” I assured her, shuffling across the room so I could be closer to my mate and her calming scent.

“Where are the others?” She asked, searching the space behind me.

“I thought I would come up alone so I could apologize to you.” I said, stuffing my hands in the pockets of my jeans.

“Oh?” She dropped her hands from where they were crossed defensively over her chest and walked towards the sofa. She plopped down and looked at me expectantly.

“Harlow,” I sighed, walking towards her and kneeling down in front of her. Her eyes watched me closely,

“I don’t ever want you to think that I’m judging you or what you’ve had to do to provide for yourself. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I don’t judge you for working at that club.”

“If I’m being honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if you did. I judge me for it.” She sighed and I grabbed her hands, holding them tightly between mine.

“Don’t ever be ashamed of doing whatever you had to do to accomplish your goals. What I meant to say downstairs was that you’ll never have to do anything you don’t want to do ever again, you’ll never know struggle again. Our job is to be completely devoted to you and providing for you makes us feel complete. Honestly, letting us care and provide for you is more about us than it’s about you, anyway. It’s selfish, really.” I smirked and I saw a smile teasing her lips.

“Oh, really?” She said in a playful tone.

“For sure. It makes us feel like we’re actually doing something right, which is a rarity.” I grinned and she shook her head at me.

“What if I wanted to keep working at the club and I wanted to provide for myself?” She asked, cocking her eyebrow at me with a mischievous twinkle in her hazel eyes. I swallowed back a growl.

“I have no problem with you wanting to work and provide for yourself if that makes you happy. But, and I know this sounds sexist and archaic and any other awful word you can think of, it is physically impossible for me to accept you working at that club. I would murder anyone who dared look at you in that state. So, I mean, really, you could go back there but you’d have all of their deaths on your hands.” I shrugged and was taken aback when she started laughing at me.

“Good to know.” She smiled.

Her face completely changed when she laughed. Her big doe eyes lit up and sparkled to life, adorable little dimples were etched into both of her cheeks, and her forehead wrinkled. I felt my heart clench and something stirred inside of me. I knew, from that moment on, I would move heaven and earth to get this woman to smile.

“Harlow,” I said, my tone husky and serious. Her eyes focused on me and I knew I could die a happy man under her gaze,

“I’m so sorry for hurting you. I never, in a million years, want you to frown because of me. From the moment I met you, I knew my purpose in life was to keep you safe and to keep you smiling.”

I reached towards her slowly and, when she didn’t flinch away, I cupped her face in my too big hands. Her lips parted in surprise but no noise came out and, when her eyes fluttered with surprise, her lashes left butterfly kisses on my fingers. I nearly lost it when she gently snuggled her face deeper into my palm.

“Godric.” She said my name and I was done for.

I leaned over her knees and pressed my forehead against hers. She gasped and I felt her begin to tremble.

“I won’t do anything you don’t ask for, my precious mate.” I promised her, speaking sweetly.

She shivered as my breath blew across her face and I smirked. Her body responded to my presence even when her heart was still unsure. I wanted her heart. I wanted her mind, body, and soul before I would go any further, but knowing that I could get this reaction from her body gave me a sense of pride.

“Will you tell me what happened earlier when we were outside?” She asked quietly.

I pulled away slightly so I could move myself to the sofa beside her, my hands still holding hers securely in my lap.

“I can’t apologize enough for that, precious. I never want you to be afraid of me, ever.” I felt a small growl escape my throat and I was worried that she would flinch away.

Instead, she looked deeply into my eyes which I knew were swirling between green and black. She reached a shaky, timid hand towards me and I froze, not wanting to scare her away. Slowly her palm pressed against my cheek and her fingers explored the space near my eye.

“Does it scare you?” I asked carefully and she shook her head, biting her bottom lip.

“Gabriel called you by a different name.” She said,

“My wolf’s name is Quill.” I replied.

“Quill.” She whispered his name and he lost it in my mind.

“Mate! Mate! Mate!” He was panting.

“Calm the fuck down.” I chastised him.

“My mate! She wants me. Let me have mate!”

“Woah.” Harlow gasped, her mouth forming a little o as her hand froze on my face. I was desperate to preserve her touch so I covered her hand with mine and pressed it firmly to my cheek.

“Quill is beside himself because you said his name.” I chuckled.

“He talks to you?” She asked with wide eyes.

“We are two halves of the same soul living together.” I tried to explain.

“Does Quill have a mate, too?” She asked.

Quill started to whimper and whine in my mind, and I momentarily lost control of him. He grabbed Harlow by her arms and pulled her to his chest,

“Mine!” He growled, making Harlow jump.

She stiffened slightly in my arms and I heard a small yelp escape her, which gave me enough strength to take control back from Quill. I pulled her back and held her face in between my hands,

“I’m sorry, precious, that was Quill. You’re his mate, too, and he doesn’t like the idea of anyone suggesting otherwise.” I ran my thumb in soothing circles across her cheek.

“He can take over like that?” She asked, her voice trembling slightly.

“It doesn’t happen often, but when I’m feeling intense emotions, it’s easier for him to take over. That’s what happened when we saw you with Waylon. It wasn’t that we had anything against Waylon, it was that he was touching what is ours.” I explained softly.

“Like I’m a possession?” Her eyes hardened and I knew I had to back track.

“No, no, that’s not right. Like me begin by saying that I’m yours, Harlow, I belong to you and I know that my brothers feel the same way. In whatever way you want me, I’m yours, completely, and I will never look at anyone else ever again.” I spoke as passionately as I could.

“Just like that?” Her eyes were wide and her voice was barely audible.

“From the very moment I saw you.” I said, pressing my forehead against hers again, “The matebond makes me possessive over you, it calls me to protect you above everything else and, to Quill and me, that means keeping you at our side and not allowing another man anywhere near you. I know that’s unrealistic and things will get better as our relationship grows.”

“But, you think that I belong to you? That’s why you kid…..took me.” She said, correcting herself before she said the word kidnapped.

I couldn’t help but smile at the fact that my mate chose a different word because she knew I would react badly. Maybe she was just trying to avoid another outburst from me, but I didn’t care, I took that as a show of affection and a win.

“When a wolf meets their mate, it’s no longer possible for them to exist without her. It would quite literally drive us mad or feral. We would become irrationally angry, inconsolable. Not to mention that being away from our mate makes us grow weaker and can kill us. So, yes, the need to keep you by our side and to have you in our home was too strong for us to ignore. We admit that we handled things wrong and there was probably a better way to do it, but all we could think of was how much safer you’d be with us in our pack.” I explained gently.

I was distracted when a strand of hair fell on my mate’s face and I tucked it back behind her ear, trailing my fingers down her face and neck. She shivered and I noticed goosebumps popping up over her skin. I grinned and dropped my hands in her lap, gathering up her hands in mine.

“And you won’t ever let me go?” She asked timidly, her voice shaking with fear.

“No, that’s not how this works. I know you were panicking earlier that you wouldn’t be allowed to leave because the pack was self-sustaining. Nova mindlinked me about your reaction….” She held up her hand, silencing me,

“Mindlink?” She cocked an eyebrow.

“Wolves can communicate telepathically with other members of their pack.” I explained.

Her eyes went wide for a second before she nodded slowly, seeming to accept the weirdness. She didn’t say anything else so I took that as my cue to continue.

“I hated the idea that you were having a panic attack at the thought of being trapped here. That’s not at all what we want. We want you to see the pack as your home, not your prison. So, no, you will not be trapped here. I promise, Harlow, once a bond has developed between the four of us things will get so much better. You’ll start to understand what we’re feeling and we’ll be able to relax enough to be okay with you leaving. You can go visit your friends, your family, go back to school….whatever you want. We just want you to come home to us.” I said,

I was surprised at how easily I was able to expose my deepest fears and desires to this petite human who was now my entire universe. It was like my heart and the floodgates to my emotions just burst open at the sight of my mate.

“I’ll start to feel the bond?” She asked in surprise.

“You will. You already do.” I said, reaching out to touch her face again, “You feel that?” I whispered and I knew that she did. She jumped back slightly at the trail of sparks my finger left down her cheek.

“What is that?” She whispered.

“That’s the matebond. That’s our connection.” I said and then I leaned forward and pressed my lips against her forehead.

The sparks became more intense and a fire formed in my belly. She gasped audibly and jumped. As if on impulse, her hands came up to grip my forearms and I felt a low growl escape my chest.

“That’s crazy.” She said in disbelief.

“Tell me that you believe me, precious? If nothing else, please, at least tell me that you believe me when I say that I only want to protect and care for you, and that we’re not a danger to you.” I begged.

“I believe you.” She whispered, biting her bottom lip.

I groaned and used my thumb to tug her lip from her teeth. A deep blush rose up on her cheeks as I ran my thumb along her bottom lip. Quill growled in my head and I knew I had to back off before he threatened to take control again.