#12 The Triplets of Emerald Forest

Harlow

I was standing in a brightly lit field with the warm sun shining down on me and a light breeze blowing through the colorful wildflowers. I squinted my eyes against the sunshine and noticed that I was wearing a flowy white sundress, something I would never normally wear, and my feet were bare. I squished my toes into the cool grass as I looked around, trying to name my surroundings.

“Hello, Harlow.” I jumped and spun around at the sound of an angelic voice.

Behind me was a tall woman with long golden blonde hair that was literally glowing as it blew around her in the breeze. She had pale skin like snow and beautiful, kind looking blue eyes.

“Hello?” I answered in confusion.

“My name is Selene. You don’t know about me yet, but I’m the Goddess of the moon.” She seemed to float across the grass as she moved towards me.

“Am I dead?” I asked instantly and the woman, Selene, giggled; it sounded like a thousand twinkling windchimes.

“No, dear, but I understand why you might think that. I wanted to introduce you to three of my children.”

She waved her hand and three humongous wolves trotted up from behind her. My heart fluttered with fear but I was rooted in place. I should run, I thought, but something inside me told me that I was safe. The wolves were nearly identical with matching green eyes and fur in varying shades of white and gray.

“These are Frost, Quill, and Lewy.” She named the wolves.

“Uhm….hi.” I waved at the dogs who, if I didn’t know any better, seemed to be laughing at me.

The one she called Frost crouched low on his belly and crawled towards me. He stopped a foot or so from my feet and dropped his head. Lewy and Quill followed behind him. They all looked up at me expectantly.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand.” I said, studying the wolves.

“I know you don’t, dear, but you will soon,” She smiled sympathetically, “The Emerald family has a very special place in my heart and I believe they are the future of my children. They are strong, kind, and passionate, not to mention humble and generous. They have evolved well in this new era that my children have created and I believe that they will change the views of others for the better.”

Most of what Selene just said made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

“Uhm….okay.” I mumbled and the woman laughed again.

“These three wolves belong to three human counterparts and you have met them already.” She tried to explain.

I had a sudden flashback to standing in the hallway of my apartment and seeing three identical herculean men before everything went black.

“I was kidnapped!” I squawked.

“Yes, that was a bit dramatic, I’ll admit.” she tsked.

“A bit dramatic!” I cried.

“Harlow, you are not in any danger. Quite the contrary, actually. The triplets will never allow any harm to come to you and they will protect you with their lives. Your happiness and care is now their top priority.”

Selene rested her hand on my arm comfortingly, but everything she just said was seriously freaking me out.

“They drugged me and this is all one big hallucination.” I said, coming to the only logical conclusion.

“No, dear, it’s not. The triplets and these wolves are one in the same, and they are your destiny.” Selene’s face was serious.

“I make my own destiny.” I snapped.

“Yes, your independence and strength are two of the reasons I sought to pair you with the Emerald boys,” Selene chuckled, “I have paired you with the triplets in hopes that you can soothe them but also challenge them to be all they are capable of being. You are very special in your own right, Harlow. The stronger your bond becomes with the triplets, the stronger you will become.”

Well that was ominous at all.

“You’re acting like I belong to them,” I grumbled, “And how can the men who kidnapped me be the same as those wolves?” I asked, looking between the angelic woman and the three wolves.

“They belong to you, dear. I won’t take away the privilege of explaining the truth to you from the Alphas, but, just know, that everything will be revealed in time. You must only have some patience.” She smiled but her words were making me dizzy.

“I’m going nuts.” I grumbled.

“It’s time to wake up now, Harlow.” Her voice began to sound far away and then I was falling through blackness.

“I think she’s waking up.” A different voice said through the fog. I heard myself groan and felt my eyelids begin to flutter.

“Harlow?” Another female voice called out my name.

My eyes snapped open and I looked around the unfamiliar room. It was huge, I noticed, and decorated in a very masculine style. The walls were a moody, blueish gray and all the furniture was a dark stained wood. I looked down to see that I was laying in the biggest bed I had ever seen which was also clad in gray colored fabrics and made of dark wood.

“Oh, you’re awake!” My head whipped in the direction of the voice.

Standing in the room were four women. I sat up abruptly and nearly threw up as a wave of nausea overtook me.

“Are you okay?” Another one of the ladies asked. I glared at her when she tried to approach me.

I blinked quickly, trying to clear the fogginess from my head and black dots from my vision. I threw the heavy comforter off of me and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I stood on wobbly legs and started to wonder how long I was out and what the hell they had given me to make me feel so woozy.

“Where am I?” I asked in a harsh tone as I walked towards one of the floor to ceiling windows that decorated either side of the bed’s headboard.

“You’re about 45 minutes from Stafford.” One of them replied.

“What’s going on?” I asked, inspecting the area outside of the windows.

The building I was in was surrounded by trees and fields that stretched out as far as the eye could see. Wherever I was, it was very busy. There were people, including children, running around everywhere.

“Why don’t we introduce ourselves first? I’m Annie Finley.”

I turned around to stare down the girl who introduced herself first. She stood out amongst the crowd with her bright purple hair and hazel eyes. She was short, like me, and had pale skin that was covered in freckles. She looked to be about my age.

“And I’m Mattison Finley, everyone calls me Matti. Annie and I are sister-in-laws.” A tall woman with perfect blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and flawlessly tan skin introduced herself next with a kind smile. She definitely had to be a supermodel.

“Kori Greene.” A girl who was so petite she was even shorter than me spoke up next. She had a pixie like appearance with long, soft brown hair and warm chocolate colored eyes; her skin was a milky brown color. She looked to be a bit younger than me.

“Last but not least, I’m Nova Emerald.” She also resembled a supermodel with chestnut colored hair that was long and wavy, deep blue eyes, and a flawless complexion. She had perfectly done makeup and was dressed to the nines.

Nova’s last name rang a bell and I immediately started thinking about the strange dream that I had just woken up from.

“Is this some kind of cult?” I asked and the four girls started laughing at me.

“No, we’re not a cult. My mother said the same thing.” Nova smirked, not that I had any idea who her mother was.

“You should know that you’re safe here, Harlow.” Annie slowly moved towards me like I was a wild animal getting ready to flee.

“Funny, I don’t feel too safe since I have no idea where I’m at, who you people are, or how I got here other than the fact that it was against my will.” I snapped. The girls looked at each other with worried expressions.

“I know this must all be so confusing.” Matti started to say but Annie and Kori stepped forward, cutting her off.

“Actually, we do know how you feel. We just moved here ourselves. Me about six months ago and Annie almost a year, right?” Kori looked sideways at Annie who nodded, “We were just like you, we didn’t know anything before we met our….husbands.”

“So is this like a mail order bride thing?” I eyed them cautiously.

“No, nothing like that. Once everything is explained to you, you’ll have your freedom and be able to make your own choices. The boys just needed you to be here first and they knew you’d never come on your own.” Annie said,

“For the record, I don’t condone what my idiotic brothers did.” Nova looked irritated.

“Your brothers?” I gasped.

“Yes, Godric, Gabriel, and Griffin are my older brothers.” Nova said,

“Oh, perfect.” I muttered in disgust.

“When you’re ready, they’ll come here and speak with you. They just thought you would respond better to seeing us first.” Kori explained.

“I don’t ever want to see them. I just want out of here.” I argued, looking towards the door.

“I promise you, Harlow, you’re safe and you’ll be happy here if you just give it a chance.” Matti shuffled towards me.

“Don’t come near me.” I was starting to feel claustrophobic.

“Listen, there’s a lot of us here right now. Why don’t Nova and I leave you alone with Kori and Annie since they can relate the best to you.” Matti suggested, raising her hands in surrender.

I didn’t say anything, I just watched as Nova and Matti left the room. Good, now there were only two people I had to get past to make my escape.

“Harlow, we’re like you. You’ll find out eventually that not everyone here is like us and that’ll probably scare you at first, but you don’t need to be afraid. There are so many people here who will protect you with their lives and no one will let anything bad happen to you, ever.” Annie sat on the corner of the bed while I remained close to the windows.

“The only reason I need to be protected is because I’m somewhere unfamiliar after being kidnapped by strangers. I was perfectly safe where I was. I don’t need to be promised safety, I need to be released and given back my freedom.” I said,

“We can’t let you go until you’ve heard everything.” Kori sighed, stepping closer to the bed and looking defeated.

“Then treat me like what I am, a prisoner.” I spat bitterly.

“You’re not….” Annie started to argue but Kori just shook her head.

“No, you feel like a prisoner, I understand. You can’t leave, you didn’t come here on your own free will, you don’t know the truth about anything. It feels like prison and, for a bit, it will be like a prison. Once everyone starts trusting each other and you learn the truth, it’ll be better.” Kori tried to sound comforting.

“Then just tell me the truth instead of sounding like a broken record.” I snapped in frustration.

“I can’t. The Al….the brothers have to be the ones to tell you.” Kori shook her head.

“What are they, like your leaders?” I asked.

“Essentially, yes. But, they really are amazing guys.” Annie smiled, “Kori, Matti, and I’s husbands are all best friends with the brothers. They trust them and so do we.”

“What dutiful wives you all are.” I scoffed.

“Okay.” Kori sighed, seeing that she wasn’t getting anywhere with me, “How about some dinner? Are you hungry?” She asked and that got me thinking about time.

“How long was I unconscious?” I asked, looking back outside and realizing that the sun was beginning to set.

“Uhm like ten hours.” Annie replied nervously.

“Fantastic. Do your fearless leaders realize that I’m enrolled in university?” I groaned.

“Yes, actually, and they’ve called the dean on your behalf to get you set up for online classes.” Kori looked pleased but I felt myself begin to panic.

“Online classes?” Fear began to form in my stomach.

“It’ll make things easier so you don’t fall behind. Eventually you can probably go back to college if you want to.” Annie shrugged.

I finally began to internalize my situation. I was actually kidnapped and being held captive in a room I wasn’t allowed to leave.

“Don’t freak out.” Kori’s eyes went huge like she was sensing my boiling fear, “It’s just temporary.”

“What do you like to eat? Amanda will make you anything, she’s a fabulous cook.” Annie grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

I honestly was too shocked at my situation to respond. Instead, I turned my back on the girls and stared out the window like something interesting was happening out there. I crossed my arms over my chest and refused to answer their question. I heard them sigh and then excuse themselves from the room.