#12 The Triplets of Emerald Forest

Godric

Four days. It’s been four days since we rescued our mate and brought her back to the pack’s hospital. Four days I’ve spent beside her bed, refusing to leave. She had a broken nose, jaw, and several broken ribs along with a collapsed lung, bruised liver, and a pretty severe concussion. At first, the doctors put her into a medically induced coma so they could treat her injuries. They pulled her out of it yesterday but she still hasn’t stirred.

“Ric.” Griffin put his hand on my shoulder and I growled at him in warning.

At the moment, I hated my brothers. They allowed my mate to be kidnapped under their care. I left the pack trusting my brothers to care for her and they failed. I knew it wasn’t fair, that they were in pain too and they had done everything they could possibly have done to keep her safe, but Quill was irrational and I couldn’t think straight without my mate.

Griff sighed and removed his hand, stepping back. Gabe was sitting on the other side of Harlow’s bed, his arms folded on her bed and his head buried in his arms. He barely spoke these last four days, he was riddled with shame and guilt and I wasn’t in the position to make him feel any better.

Harlow made a noise and we all rushed to her side. Gabe’s head snapped up and he grabbed her hand.

“Harlow?” Gabe’s voice was hoarse.

We watched her carefully for any signs of pain or consciousness. I ran my hand through her hair and her face instantly relaxed. I left out a hearty sigh and leaned back on the chair when she didn’t wake up.

“I can’t handle this.” I heard Griff growl as he resumed his pacing.

“If you don’t sit the fuck down I’m going to break your legs.” I snarled at him.

I felt Griff’s eyes glaring at the back of my head. He let out a puff of hair and then stomped out of the room.

“I know you’re pissed, Ric, but you need to chill out. We’re all worried about her.” Gabe tried to sound calm but his eyes were stormy. Mine hadn’t returned to their usual green since I returned home and found our mate gone.

“I’m not the one who let her get taken.” I said to him in a dangerous tone.

“I know I failed at keeping our mate safe, I don’t need you shoving it in my face every second of the day.” Gabe looked so defeated he didn’t even waste the energy it would have taken to get angry with me.

“I never should have left. She was in danger and we all should have stayed.” I blamed myself as much as I blamed my brothers.

“We had no way of knowing the extent of their resources.” Gabe said,

“I want that bastard found.” I felt Quill’s anger rising again.

Griff and Gabe had entered the cabin to get our mate, but Quill and I had been too blinded by rage to walk past Christopher. We ripped him to shreds in less time than it took his rogues to reach the porch. I knew I was in no position to see or comfort our mate, so I dove into the remaining army of rogues and ripped them into unrecognizable pieces.

Griff exited the cabin first with our beaten and bruised mate cradled in his arms, completely unconscious. I rushed to her side and saw nothing but red, I couldn’t think of anything but finding the sorry excuse for a man who did this to my beautiful mate and ripping him apart. I ran inside the cabin and saw Gabe was finishing up with the rogues. Momentarily, I was distracted by the smell of blood. My mate’s blood. When I started to focus again, Gabe had shifted and that’s when we realized that Cairo had gotten away.

“The trackers are on it. We’ll find him. There’s nowhere he can hide.” Gabriel was the most determined out of all of us to find Cairo since he blamed himself for letting him get away. In all honesty, I blamed him, too.

As if on cue, Cambridge slipped inside the hospital room.

“How’s the Luna?” He asked in a soft voice.

“The same.” I grunted.

“We have news from the trackers. They think they’ve found something.” Cam said and Gabe jumped up immediately.

“You stay here with her, I’ll handle this. Mindlink me with any changes.” He said and I nodded once in reply.

Cam and Gabe left the room, and Griff returned. I looked outside the door as it swung shut and saw Waylon standing guard. He hadn’t left his post for four days. The Luna’s Guard was taking turns patrolling the hospital, everyone was taking her protection and safety almost as seriously as me. The entire pack was taking her condition hard. There hadn’t even been an official ceremony yet, but the pack already loved and honored their Luna completely.

Griff took Gabe’s seat on the right side of Harlow’s bed and locked his gaze with mine.

“I care about her as much as you do.” He said in a warning tone.

“I know you do.” I sighed.

“I just want her to wake up.” Griff whimpered, picking up Harlow’s hand and resting his chin on her shoulder.

“I know.”

The door slowly opened again and Annie poked her head inside.

“Can we come see her for a minute?” She asked carefully, glancing behind her.

To the girls’ credit, they hadn’t dared to bother us the entire time Harlow was in here. Griff looked at me and I finally nodded. We both stood up and moved towards the back of the room so the girls could sit around her bed. Annie, Kori, Nova, Matti, and Sammy quietly entered the room and surrounded her bedside. Callie was out with the trackers working tirelessly to try and find Cairo. The girls started fussing over her, brushing back her hair and adjusting her hospital gown.

“We should wash her.” Matti said, glancing over at us, “With a wash rag and tend to her hair. She’s been still for four days.”

“If Dr. Mollie says it’s okay.” I grunted and Matti rushed off to get permission.

She returned a few minutes later with an arm full of supplies. Griff and I plastered ourselves to the back wall. We couldn’t leave our mate but we knew that she needed some privacy for the washing up. The girls treated her with the utmost care as they rubbed her skin down with a soapy washcloth and brushed out her knotty hair.

“There. That’s much better, isn’t it, babe?” Annie spoke to Harlow, smiling softly as she finished up with washing her skin.

Nova laid Harlow’s hair over her shoulders, now smooth and free of knots.

“My beautiful sister.” Nova smiled, kissing her forehead lightly.

“She’ll be awake soon.” Sammy said, covering Harlow back up with the hospital bed sheets.

“Here.” Kori pulled out a blanket from the bag she was carrying and I recognized it as one from her bed. She laid it over Harlow’s body and tucked it around her chin, “Now you can smell your friends, your mates, and your home.” She smiled.

“Thank you, girls.” I said, thankful for how much they loved and cared for my mate.

“If you need anything, let us know.” Kori said before they left the room. I saw Kori stop in front of Waylon and give him a comforting hug before they left the hospital completely.

Before I had time to sit back down, Wade waved at me from outside the door. I sighed and stepped out into the hallway to speak with him, keeping a watchful eye on Harlow through the window.

“What is it?”

“I put my FBI resources on searching for Cairo and they found something that the trackers were able to utilize. I pulled my guys out so there wouldn’t be any risk of them seeing the pack, but I just wanted you to know that they’re narrowing in on him.” Wade said,

“You got us the lead? Gabe left about 45 minutes ago with Cam.” I was surprised he had reached out to his coworkers to help with a pack issue.

“Yes, I wanted to help in the only way that I can. She is my sister now, too.” He glanced behind me and his face sagged. He hadn’t been in to see Harlow yet and now I knew why. It was too difficult for him.

“You do a lot, Wade. Thank you for getting us the lead. Where was it?” I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. I was grateful for everything my brother did, he was a valued member of this pack even without a wolf.

“Near Roanoke, about three hours from here.” Wade said,

“Why don’t you go in and see her?” I suggested and Wade’s face whitened.

“I don’t think….”

I wouldn’t let him argue. I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room. I went back to my usual spot and Wade walked to the foot of her bed.

“Hey, Wade.” Griff said with a small smile.

“Wade’s FBI buddies got us the lead to Cairo.” I informed him.

“Really? Thank you, Wade.” Griff looked as grateful as I felt, but Wade didn’t respond. He was too busy looking at Harlow.

“She’ll be alright.” I said, assuring everyone in the room, including myself.

“I need….I think that I need Sammy.” Wade gulped and slipped out of the room.

“He’s taking it hard.” I said and Griff nodded.

As if this place was freaking Grand Central Station, another visitor knocked on the door. I grumbled, starting to become annoyed with all the company, but my mood immediately improved when I saw who was there. Tulley, Maggie, and Canyon were waving from the other side of the door.

Griff got up quickly and ushered them inside. They visited everyday, begging the woman they started to see as their mother to wake up. Tulley sat down in Griff’s chair with Maggie and Canyon on her lap. Canyon placed his chubby preschool hand on Harlow’s cheek while Maggie crawled up against her side.

“Be gentle.” I reminded them. It wasn’t really necessary considering I had never seen three people handle her more gently than these kids.

“I want mommy to wake up.” Maggie said and everyone in the room froze. I sucked in a surprised gasp of air. This was the first time she had actually called Harlow mommy.

“Yes, mommy wake up!” Canyon cheered, reaching over to kiss Harlow’s nose.

Tulley stared at them with tears welling her eyes. She looked up at us and I offered her a smile.

“Are you okay?” I asked while Griff placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I don’t want them to be disappointed or to put too much pressure on you or the Luna, but, for some reason, I feel very happy at the idea of Harlie being our mom.” Tulley admitted in a small voice.

Before I could think of a reply, Harlow made another noise and her hand twitched. I snatched up her hand and gave it a squeeze, looking towards her face. She groaned and her eyes pinched together.

“Harlow, precious, are you okay? Can you wake up for us?” I begged. Her nose scrunched up adorably and I leaned forward, pressing my lips to her cheek.

“We want to see your beautiful eyes, angel.” Griff was pleading with her too, running his hand up and down her arm.

“Mommy!” Canyon cried out, reaching his arms out for her. Tulley held him back.

It was like Harlow was being pulled from the dream by Canyon’s cries because, finally, after the worst four days of my entire life, Harlow’s eyes fluttered open and locked with Canyon’s.

“Canyon? Are you okay?” She asked, worried about him, of all things.

“Mommy’s awake!” Canyon grinned and Harlow’s eyes went wide. She looked down and noticed that Maggie was curled up at her side. She ran her hand through her tiny blonde curls.

“Let’s give Harlie some space, you two.” Tulley said, “I’m glad you’re awake.” She smiled at Harlow before grabbing Maggie and Canyon and leaving the room.

“There’s my beautiful girl.” I purred once her eyes landed on me, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.

She hummed in appreciation and smiled at me before looking towards Griff. He beamed at her and kissed her cheek.

“Hello, angel.”

“Where’s Gabriel?” She croaked out, looking around the room with worried eyes.

“He’s been here the entire time that you’ve been out, he just left to deal with an issue.” I assured her.

“How long?”

“Four days, precious. Are you thirsty?” I asked when I noticed her wincing as she spoke. She nodded and I hurried out of the room to find a glass of water and a nurse.