#12 The Triplets of Emerald Forest

Gabriel

She tugged at my arm and I pulled away so I could look into her wild eyes. Her lips were red and swollen, her cheeks flushed deliciously.

“How can you say that?” She gasped.

“Because I mean it. I love you more than life itself. You’re my entire world, little mate, and nothing will ever change that. One day soon, you’ll be able to say it back and feel exactly the same way.” I smirked, running my thumb across her hot cheek.

“You’re mad, Alpha Gabriel.” She giggled.

“Oh Goddess, woman, you’re going to be the death of me.” A throaty growl rose up from my chest and I groaned as Lewy thrashed against my control, “You have no idea what you do to Lewy and I. I swear, your scent is the only thing keeping me sane.”

“Is that why you keep sniffing me?” She teased as I buried myself in her neck again.

“That’s exactly why.”

“You need to bottle it.” She laughed and I shook my head,

“It would never smell as good as it does fresh from your warm skin.” I winked at her with a crooked smile.

“Alright, alright, you’re getting between me and my breakfast.” Harlow started to whine, shifting off of my lap to sit on the bench beside me.

I threw my head back and let out a hearty laugh, which earned me one more good shove. I wasn’t expecting it and I fell off the bench, hitting the ground hard. Harlow started crying with laughter and I didn’t even care that my ass was throbbing, her hysterical, snorting laugh was worth every ounce of pain.

“Ow.” I groaned, rubbing my ass as I stood up.

“Are you okay?” Harlow asked between laughing fits, drying her eyes.

“Oh, sure, you look real concerned.” I teased her, planting a kiss on the top of her head as I walked around the table.

“I am, really.” She argued, scrunching her face to try and look serious. I just shook my head at her as I sat down.

We continued eating our breakfast and I noticed that Harlow continuously fiddled with her necklace, which made me happy. I started cleaning up once we were finished and Harlow stretched out on the bench.

“I was wondering, how did you choose your Betas and Gamma?” She asked, biting her bottom lip, something that I noticed she did whenever she was unsure or nervous about something.

“Callie, Ambrose, and Cambridge’s dad was my dad’s Beta and their Mom is Dad’s sister, our Aunt Lily. So, technically, they’re our cousins and we all grew up as close friends.” I said and I saw a new question bubbling in my mate’s eyes so I paused before continuing,

“I didn’t know your dad had a sister?” She said with her eyebrow raised in curiosity.

“He did, she was his baby sister and a huge part of his life. She died giving birth to Cam. Her mate and Dad’s old Beta, Garrick, raised the kids but you could tell that was the only reason he was still alive. Once they were grown he just kind of withered away without his mate.”

I started feeling a little sad thinking about it. I didn’t get to know my Aunt Lily and I hardly knew Uncle Garrick. Our cousins were basically raised by my parents and I could tell it took a toll on my dad. Dad talked about Aunt Lily often and I wished all the time that we had gotten to meet her. I cleared my throat and smiled at Harlow who looked regretful of ever asking me about it at all.

“As for the Gamma,” I went on and she smiled, grateful for the topic change, “Waylon’s adoptive dads are Mateo and Caleb; Mateo was my dad’s Gamma. Waylon’s biological father was one of our pack’s top warriors before he died in battle, so he was a pretty obvious choice. Godric is the only member of our pack who can give Waylon a run for his money, otherwise, he’s our most elite warrior which is why we only have one Gamma.” I explained.

I walked around the table and offered Harlow a hand up. She slipped her small hand in one of my rough ones and allowed me to pull her from the bench.

“So that’s why you’re all so close.” She said and I smiled at her, loving her interest in myself and the pack.

“Alphas, Betas, and Gammas have to be close for the pack’s success, and the Luna and Gamma have to have a strong relationship as well, for her safety.”

“That’s what Waylon keeps saying.” She sighed, looking slightly annoyed.

“When we decided on Waylon as our Gamma, the most important factor was his ability to not only protect our Luna, but also to connect with her. We wanted Waylon to be able to build a strong relationship with our mate, so we’re glad that you two have gotten so close so fast; even if it doesn’t seem like it sometimes.” I chuckled, thinking back to Ric’s outburst.

“He’s a little clingy.” She said and I couldn’t help but laugh at her facial expression.

“Well, that is his job.” I shrugged, “I wanted to ask you something.” I said, pulling her away from the picnic area and towards the center of the clearing.

“Yes?” She cocked her head adorably.

“Lewy wants to spend some time with you.” I said hesitantly, “Would you be okay with that?”

Harlow sucked her lip in between her teeth and a growl formed in the back of my throat. I cupped her cheek gently and tugged her lip free with my thumb.

“You kill my self control when you do that.” I warned her and she blushed deeply.

“I would like to see Lewy.” She said, ignoring my last comment. I chuckled and pulled my hand away.

“Mate, mate, mate, mate…..” Lewy chanted in my head.

“Just give me a second. Goddess.” I grumbled at his impatience.

Harlow covered a giggle with her hand as she watched the internal conflict that was probably clear on my face.

“He’s quite excited.” I laughed and she smirked at me,

“I can tell.”

“Are you sure you’re ready?” I double checked, taking a few steps back from her. She nodded,

“What’s Lewy like?” She asked.

“He’s a good balance of Frost and Quill. He’s not quite as laid back as Frost but he has a better handle on his temper than Quill. Since we’re the oldest triplet, he has more of an Alpha aura than our brothers, so he’s a little more proud.” I tried to explain Lewy in the best way that I could.

“Shut up and just shift already.” Lewy grumbled, sounding like a grumpy old man.

“Okay, I’m ready.” She said, her eyes wide.

I started undressing and she spun around, showing me her back. I chuckled but didn’t say anything.

“I’m going to shift.” I warned her and I saw her head nod,

“Okay.”

I felt the heat begin to grow inside of me, starting from my toes and traveling up my body. My bones started snapping and cracking as they rearranged themselves to accommodate Lewy’s form. My back arched and then spots began to fill my vision. I blacked out for a second and then I was on all fours. Lewy trotted quickly up to Harlow and nudged her leg with his big, furry head.

Harlow turned around with a huge grin on her face. She immediately sat down cross legged on the ground and Lewy happily plopped his head down on her lap. She giggled and dug her hand into the top of Lewy’s head, scratching just behind his ear. Lewy’s tongue fell out of his mouth and he rolled over, his tail swishing to the side and his back leg started twitching.

“Awh, you’re just a puppy, aren’t you?” Harlow cooed and Lewy sent her a warning growl. She didn’t even flinch, she just rolled her eyes as he let out a puff of air from his snout.

“You are her puppy, you realize that, right?” I mocked him.

“I’m her Alpha, I’ll be whatever she wants me to be.” He sounded giddy.

“No judgment here, I’m just as whipped.” I said, shrugging inside his mind.

“You aren’t so scary.” Harlow mumbled as she scratched Lewy’s head.

Lewy hopped up and ran his tongue up the length of Harlow’s face, giving her a slobbery kiss.

“Ew! Lewy!” She shrieked, trying to push him away.

Lewy started to chuff as a way of laughing and nudged his head against her face. When she finally fell over, he jumped on top of her body and pinned her down by putting his large paws on her shoulder. He shoved his snout into her neck.

“God, you’re just as bad as Gabriel.” She scoffed, trying to get away from his slobber. Lewy let out another snort.

“Don’t snort at me, you know I’m right!” She chastised him and he pulled back, shooting her a pouty expression, “The puppy dog eyes aren’t fair.” She groaned.

Harlow rolled to her side and propped herself up on her elbow. Lewy pushed his head against her elbow, knocking her down so her head was now resting on his shoulder. He stretched out and curled his body protectively around his mate. Harlow snuggled against him and closed her eyes. After a minute, her body became heavier and she started to lightly snore.

An hour later, Harlow startled herself awake and smiled sleepily at Lewy.

“You’re so comfy, I just fell right to sleep.” She laughed at herself, “We better get going.” She said, but Lewy noted the disappointment in her tone.

Lewy gently stood and stretched out his stiff legs. He gave Harlow another wet kiss before trotting off and giving up control. We quickly shifted and I got dressed before helping Harlow up from the ground.

“You made Lewy so happy, little mate.” I said, ducking down to give her a quick kiss on the lips. She shuttered and smiled at me, “You ready to walk back?” I asked and she nodded.

Hand in hand, we walked back through the woods and I noticed that she was much more relaxed than the first time.

I wasn’t at all surprised to see Ric and Griff practically tripping over themselves to get to Harlow when we entered the packhouse. She giggled as they hugged her, nuzzling into her neck to get her scent and giving her kisses on the cheek and forehead. I wasn’t going to rub it in their faces that I was the first one to receive a proper kiss from our mate, but I’m sure my smug expression would give it away eventually.

“We missed you, angel.” Griff said, pressing his lips to her cheek.

“It was only a few hours.” Harlow laughed.

“Too long to be away from you, precious.” Ric groaned, kissing her forehead.

“Can I…..would it be okay if I had some alone time before lunch?” She asked hesitantly. I wrapped my arm around her waist and tugged her close to me.

“You don’t ever have to be afraid of asking us for something, little mate, and you definitely don’t have to ask for permission to have alone time. If you need anything, we’ll be in our offices.” I said before planting a quick kiss on her lips.

I heard my brothers groan and growl behind me. I smirked against her lips and gave her a sneaky little wink. She giggled before stepping out of my arms and walking off towards the elevator.

“Waylon, she’s on her way upstairs.” I mindlinked the Gamma.

“I’m already here, boss.” Waylon replied.

“Gabe?” Cambridge snuck into the room and appeared behind me.

“Goddess, Cam, why do you have to be so sneaky?” I growled at my Beta in annoyance. He rolled his eyes at me before continuing,

“The elevator guys are here.” Shit I had forgotten about them.

“Do we really still need that?” Griff looked annoyed.

“Not to keep Harlow in, but it couldn’t hurt for extra security. We’ll just give her the access code or key, whichever it is.” I said, heading towards the door to greet the elevator technicians.

I showed them the way to the elevator and they got to work on assembling a control panel with a keypad to make the elevator go. There would be separate access codes for each floor. It would only add to the security for the ranked members, so it was an added bonus anyway.

While they were working, the three of us went back to our offices and I’m sure I was about ready to get an ear full about that kiss.