Castle Griswold

Everleigh was tired, hungry, and drenched when they reached Griswold Castle. It was raining so heavily that she almost lost her way. Rujan called her in the middle of the night to pack and leave their house. She packed as fast as she could and woke up her sons.

Rafael, the eldest of her triplets, woke up and sensed something was wrong. He followed her instructions quietly and woke his other siblings. Radzim protested, but when he heard the urgency of his brother’s voice, he followed him immediately. Raiden was a sleeper, so she decided to carry him and instructed the two boys to carry the handbags to her pickup truck. She had already placed the luggage behind the car.

She traveled for two days across the border. Her three boys, all five, never complained during their journey. They just asked her if they wanted to use the restroom. They were used to this kind of setup. Rujan told her that she lost her memories because of the bad guys who were after them.

He instructed her to go to his fraternal twin brother and ask for help. He once told her that his brother was his final resort. Knowing that he instructed her to go to the man he didn’t want to see, it meant their situation was the most serious of all they encountered.

The castle, like any other castle, is situated in the hills. The road was cemented, but she drove carefully. She frowned when her reflexes knew when to turn, like she knew the way. At last, she saw the gigantic wall and the huge gate. She pressed the car horn, and two security guards holding an umbrella approached her pickup. She opened the car window. The security checked inside and saw her boys.

"I want to see Rufus Griswold; my husband told me to come here."

"Is he expecting you, ma'am? I am afraid Alpha Rufus has given us strict instructions not to disturb him," the guard said.

"Please tell him his sister-in-law is here, his brother Rujan is my husband, and these boys are his nephews," she said. The guard called someone, and she waited. Then the gate opened, and she drove inside. It took her another ten minutes to reach the castle.

Two security guards holding two umbrellas approached them and gave them the umbrella. She gave the key to one of them and helped her boys out of the car. The heavy door opened, and she closed her eyes to the sudden bright light.

When she opened her eyes, she saw two elderly men and a woman who were looking at them unbelievably. She can even hear their gasps when they see them. She smiled awkwardly and apologetically at them.

"I apologized for the inconvenience, I..." But she was immediately ushered inside, and the older woman ordered the maids to prepare food for them immediately. "Come, dear, no need to apologize; we’ve been waiting for you for so long. Alpha Rufus will be here soon," she said gently and smiled thoughtfully at the boys.

They were ushered to the soft, huge couch in the living room. Two maids brought towels for them, and her boys whispered their thanks, which made them smile. The older woman looked at them like she was going to cry and excused herself.

"Tea, sandwiches, biscuits, hot chocolate, and even her favorite beef tacos were brought in front of her. "You must eat; I know you are hungry, and with this kind of weather and time, I doubt if you bought food on the way here," the older man said.

"Thank you," she said. She took the sandwich, and the old man frowned but didn’t say a word. Rafael told his siblings to eat. The boys, like her, were all crazy over tacos, and they took the tacos and started to eat. She can see how hungry her boys are, but she has never heard them complain.

They didn’t eat because she had no money left except for gas. When Raiden took the remaining taco, he looked at her, and she nodded, smiling. Rafael took the remaining sandwich, and they ate and drank in silence. They finished the food and drinks served to them.

"Alpha Rufus will see all of you tomorrow; your rooms are already prepared. Your luggage was brought up."

"Thank you; may I know your name? Sorry, I failed to introduce myself. I am Everleigh, and my eldest son here is Rafael; my second son is Radzim; and the youngest is Raiden," she said.

"I am Lerma, and this is Whitton, our butler. The maid who will help you is Sonya, my niece," she said. To their surprise, the boys chorused, "Nice to meet you all," and they even bowed. They all smiled at them.

They were ushered into the huge and luxurious room. "This is your room, mistress; the adjoining room is the nursery," Sonya said.

"Thank you, Sonya, but just call me Eve or Leigh, and is it okay if my boys sleep with me, even for today?" she asked.

Sonya smiled and said, "Whatever you want, mis... I mean Eve. If you need anything, use this phone and dial 1," she said. Leigh nodded. The three boys took the carryall bag and pulled out their toothbrushes. They went to the bathroom and started brushing their teeth. Their luggage was still in the corner of the room. She opened it and packed the night clothes for her boys.

Their identical yellow pajamas were laid on the bed, and when the boys emerged from the bathroom, they immediately changed their clothes. Rafael gathered the dirty clothes of his siblings and put them in the laundry basket inside the walk-in closet.

She tucked them into bed and kissed them. "Mama, are we going to stay with her longer?" It seemed that they were all nice. "Unlike Mr. Barney?" Raiden asked. "I don’t know, sweetheart; let me meet the landlord first," she replied. "I hope he’s not like Mr. Barney," he said. He was referring to their landlord, who was huge, particularly in his belly, and always grumpy.

"Good night, Mama," Radzim said as he closed his eyes. "Everything will be all right, Mama," Rafael said as he took her hand into his small hand. "I love you," she said. She smiled when they chorused again, "I love you too, Mama."

Everleigh watched her boys for a few moments before she started to clean. She took a quick shower and frowned when all she could see were a man’s shampoo and bath cream. Maybe they had a male guest before who occupied this room. She decided to use the shampoo and smiled when she smelled the masculine scent on her. She dried her hair with a blow-dryer, brushed her teeth, and wore the same pajamas as her sons.

She went to the huge bed and smiled when it was so huge that it could accommodate the four of them. She lay down beside Raiden and hugged him. Even the pillow had a masculine scent—a delicious masculine scent. But she was too tired to think about it.

Everleigh didn’t know that someone was watching them through the security camera when they entered Griswold Castle. Then the man opened the door of their room and watched them sleep.