#12 The Triplets of Emerald Forest
Chapter 19

Harlow

I jumped and flung myself behind Waylon, shaking from head to toe. Godric was enraged as he stood in front of the girls, glaring at Waylon.

“Alpha, I was just comforting the Luna.” Waylon raised his hands in surrender but didn’t move, his body still blocking mine.

“Step. Away.” Godric growled. By now, Gabriel and Griffin had also appeared in the garden.

“Waylon, just step to the side.” Gabriel’s voice was a bit calmer. I grabbed a hold of Waylon’s arm,

“No, don’t!” I begged him. That only seemed to anger Godric more as he began to shake with rage.

“I’m sorry, Alpha, I can’t do that. My Luna is fearful and you’re causing it. My duty is to her.” Waylon replied calmly.

I couldn’t believe that Waylon was speaking out against the men he considered his leaders for my safety. I was shocked at his sense of duty towards me and it made my head spin in confusion.

“Ric, you need to calm down, you’re scaring her.” Gabriel ordered, putting his hand on Godric’s arm.

Godric snarled at him and I gasped, shocked that he would react that way towards his own brother.

“Quill. Stand down.” Gabriel’s voice sounded strange as he spoke to someone else.

“Who’s Quill?” I whispered to Waylon.

“It’s Godric’s wolf, he’s not giving up control because another male is with his mate.” Waylon whispered back.

“Harlow?” I peeked around Waylon and saw that Griffin was slowly approaching me, “Would you come to me, please?” He asked gently.

I looked up at Waylon as if asking for his opinion. He offered me a reassuring smile,

“Go ahead. They won’t hurt you, Harlie.” Waylon said,

I slowly stepped around Waylon and kept a careful eye on Griffin. I looked at Gabriel who was holding Godric back and made sure that they stayed put. I took small steps towards Griffin until I felt his hands on my arms.

“Are you okay?” He asked, ducking his head so we were eyelevel, “What happened?”

“I was afraid about never being allowed to leave.” I admitted in a small voice, “And never being allowed to go back to school.”

Griffin sighed with a small smile on his lips,

“You will be able to leave and you will most definitely be able to go back to school. It’s just about building a firm, trusting relationship between the four of us first.” He ran his hands up and down my bare arms and I shivered against the warmth his touch brought me.

“Why is he so mad?” I asked sheepishly, looking at Godric from over his shoulder.

“He saw another male comforting his mate. It’s hard for us to see that, especially since we haven’t built a strong relationship with you and you aren’t marked, yet.” Griffin explained gently. I wasn’t even about to ask what being marked meant.

“He makes me feel comfortable.” I mumbled.

I heard a strange noise coming from Griffin and a rumbling sound from his chest. I glanced up and noticed that his eyes were flashing between green and black, and I guess that meant he was fighting with his wolf.

“I’m sorry, angel, it’s difficult for me to hear you say that.” He said in a husky tone of voice. I was still stuck on him calling me angel.

“Harlow.”

I didn’t know how I knew that voice belonged to Godric, but I did. I looked around Griffin’s arm, but remained rooted in place. I noticed that Griffin didn’t move to the side, like he was using his body as a shield, protecting me from Godric for as long as I needed him.

“Harlow, I’m so sorry. Please, don’t be afraid of me.” I met Godric’s gaze and almost gasped at the emotion I saw in his eyes. They were green now, moody and passionate.

Blindly, I stepped out of Griffin’s arms and shuffled towards him. Gabriel moved off to the side, but still close enough that I could sense his protective presence. I studied Godric’s body language, he was much more relaxed now and his expression was painful. The palm of his hands were pressed firmly against his jeans like he was trying to keep them still.

“You shouldn’t get so mad.” I said, stopping a few inches from him.

“I can’t help it. I’m just so protective over you. May I?”

He reached out his hand slowly and held it between us. I sighed and accepted it with a shaky hand of my own. He pulled me towards him until there was no space between us. I gasped but allowed him to wrap one of his arms around my waist. He ducked his head and suddenly his face was in my neck. I went rigid as I heard him breath in deeply.

“What is happening?” I mumbled, mostly to myself.

“He’s using your scent to calm his wolf.” Gabriel said, standing behind Godric so I could see his face.

“Uh-huh.” I was trying not to completely freak out.

“It’s okay, just close your eyes and go with it.” Gabriel encouraged me.

I remembered my promise to keep an open mind so I sighed and did as he said, my eyes fluttering closed. I was shocked at how my body instantly responded to the loss of my visual senses. Godric’s nose ran along the soft skin of my neck and I gasped, goosebumps jumping up and running all over my skin. It was like my nerves were on fire and my skin was covered in sparks.

I felt Godric move back and then his hand was on my face. My eyes snapped open and I was staring right into his bright, excited green orbs.

“My precious little mate.” His voice was still low and husky, but it was filled with something else other than a growl, “Tell me you aren’t afraid of me.” He begged.

“I don’t know how I feel, yet.” I confessed.

“That’s okay, angel.” Griffin stepped up behind me, placing his hand on my back.

I stepped out of Godric’s grip and stayed between the brothers, Griffin’s hand on the small of my back and Godric’s arm still around my waist. Gabriel was standing in front of us. By now, all of the girls had fled, leaving just us and Waylon.

“I think you should apologize to Waylon.” I said, earning a little growl from Godric and a hearty laugh from the other brothers.

“That’s not necessary, Luna.” Waylon piped up.

“I think that it is. He was just trying to help me and make me feel safe. You can’t threaten to kill him every time that happens.” I said stubbornly.

Godric huffed in annoyance but looked back at Waylon,

“I apologize.” He grumbled. Griffin and Gabriel were just inconsolable beside me as they bent over with laughter.

“It’s….okay.” Waylon looked uncomfortable.

“Oh, Goddess, thank you for that, angel.” Griffin was literally wiping tears from his eyes.

“What?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.

“Godric never apologizes and you just handled him like a proper Luna.” Gabriel was grinning and looking at me with an emotion other than contempt.

“Alright, alright.” Godric groaned, tugging me forward, “Can we go back to the house, now?”

“Yes, we have something to talk to you about, Harlow.” Gabriel said and I nodded in agreement.

I took notice of how the brothers didn’t remove their hands from my body or give an inch as we walked back through the packgrounds. Gabriel was ahead of us, occasionally looking backwards to check on us and, I swear, he looked envious.

We finally made it back to the house and I shook myself free from the boys, needing a little space to myself. We sat down in the living room and Gabriel handed me a poster.

“Oh God.” I groaned when I noticed that it was a missing person flier and Toni’s number was listed.

“We wanted to give you the chance to maybe fix this.” Griffin said,

“Fix it?” I looked up at him.

“Maybe tell your friend that you’re not missing.” Griffin suggested with a shrug, but I could tell this was really a serious issue.

“I’m surprised you didn’t just handle it like you handled my schooling.” I grumbled in frustration.

“We didn’t want you to fall behind.” Gabriel said, looking taken aback by my tone.

“How generous.” I was becoming more and more irritated as we sat here.

“Okay, we’re navigating towards dangerous territory here. Let’s bring it back,” Griffin said, making strange motions with his hands, “We should have consulted you first, so we apologize for that. That’s why we wanted to talk to you about this instead of just doing it. We can talk about your schooling too, if you’d like.”

“I want to go to school.” I demanded.

“After the week is up we can discuss school options.” Gabriel injected and I turned my narrowed eyes on him.

“You said you wouldn’t leave for a week. That includes school. You can go online for now or take a leave of absence if you’d prefer.” Godric added in his not so subtle tone.

“Do you three have any idea how hard I’ve had to work to get into school? If even one thing goes wrong I lose my scholarship and my placement in the university. It’s not all money and rainbows and unicorns for me like it is for you.” I snapped, losing my patience.

“Harlow, you’ll get anything that you want. As our mate and Luna, you will benefit from our successes and financial security as well. You won’t have to worry about money ever again, that includes school.” Gabriel sighed.

“I can provide for myself.” I grumbled.

“Don’t say it, Ric.” Griffin said,

My head snapped in their direction. I noticed Godric’s mouth was hanging open like he was about to say something and Griffin was glaring at him, jabbing a finger at his chest.

“Say what?”

“Nothing.” Griffin snapped but I was still glaring relentlessly at Godric.

“You were pole dancing for money.”

The words spilled out of Godric’s mouth and I could practically see the mental facepalm coming from Griffin. Gabriel groaned from somewhere behind me. I stood up abruptly, the chair scraping angrily against the floor.

“Harlow…” Gabriel stood to block my way but I glared so viciously at him that he immediately moved.

“Don’t worry, I’m not making a run for it, I would never dream of ditching my captours.” I bit, shoving past Gabriel, “Bring me a phone if you want me to call off the wardogs.” I said from over my shoulder, throwing the flier in their general direction.

I didn’t bother staying behind to watch it hit the ground as I stomped back towards the elevator. Waylon was right on my heels and I wasn’t even surprised. Somehow I had already gotten used to his constant presence.