Chapter 3

Without even waiting for the umbrella as per protocol, Logan, Mason, and Julian rushed out of the vehicle at the same time and towards Emilia's unconscious form.

“My princess,” Logan exclaimed as his feet moved with such agility it was hard to believe he was already sixty years old.

As Mason carried Emilia's unconscious body up in his arms, Julian's eyes drifted to the second female laying on the floor, who also looked unconscious. “Mason, Dad, look, she's wearing the crystal,” Julian said as he crouched closer to Harper's body.

And for a minute, the three mean we're puzzled. The globe had pointed out where they would find the lost princess, but there were two women who fit the description, except that one had the crystal necklace, which is a Gray family heirloom, and one doesn't

“They both need medical attention. Let's get them to a doctor first, then we can figure out who the real princess is later,” Logan decided.

***

“Ahhh!” Emilia jolted awake with an almost silent scream and a racing heart. “My baby? Is my baby okay?” she gasped the question as her hands flew to her belly, and tears she did realise had formed, dropped down her cheeks.

“It's okay. You're okay, and the baby is fine,” Mason, who had been glued to her bedside since they brought her in, said gently. His tone was so soothing that for a moment, Emilia breathed a deep sigh of relief.

“Where…who are you people?” Emilia asked as her eyes moved slowly around the room she was in and slowly to the three faces staring at her.

“I'm Logan Gray, the Lycan King,” Logan said with his eyes never leaving hers. “This is Mason,” he tapped Mason's shoulder beside him, “and Julian,” he finished, gesturing to a younger version of himself, who had been standing at the door with the same look on his face.

“What am I doing here?” Emilia asked slowly with furrowed brows as her gaze moved from one man to the other.

“Why don't we give you space to freshen up and have some food for the baby and then come out when you're through, then we'll let you know all that,” Logan said softly.

At first, Emilia stared at them. She knew she ought to be scared or at least concerned, waking up in a strange place. Where she was didn't look like a hospital and the three men who looked at her like she was something important were sure as hell, not doctors. But for some reason, she couldn't explain, she felt at peace, she felt safe, so she nodded her head in agreement.

An hour later dressed in a new attire that was actually fit for a princess, which confused her the more, Emilia walked out of the room she had been in down to the study, led by a staff.

As she walked in, her gaze swept the room, Logan, Mason, and Julian stood huddled together while another young lady sat timidly on one of the chairs by the fireplace a few feet from them. As all three men saw her, smiles spread across their faces, which startled her at first.

It wasn't the sneers passed off as smiles that Emilia often received from werewolves who saw her as nothing but a mere slave, these were real, genuine smiles, it was as if they were truly happy to see her, truly happy she was there.

“May we know your name, young lady?” Mason asked, turning to look at the lady who Emilia met there.

“My name is Emilia,” Harper replied, her small voice carrying around the now quiet room.

‘Emilia?’ The name echoed in Emilia's mind as she wondered if her name was truly that common. Throughout her twenty-two years of living, she had never met another person bearing her name.

“How did you come about that necklace on your neck?” Mason asked again.

Before Harper could answer, Emilia's eyes zeroed in on the necklace Mason asked about. “Wait, that necklace looks just like mine,” Emilia cut in as her hands moved automatically to her neck, “That is my necklace, I've had that for as long as I can remember. It's the only thing I had on when I arrived at the orphanage,” she added.

“You can't say that,” Harper replied, her voice rising a bit, “I have had this necklace since I was a child. My adopted mother told me that this was the only thing she found on me when she first saw me as a child.”

“I am very sure that this particular necklace on your neck is mine. It must have fallen off my neck when I fell to the floor in front of Alpha Alexander's office building,” Emilia replied.

“It's okay,” Mason said gently, looking at Emilia with a smile, “Surely if you own something, you should be able to know it inside out. Tell us something only you know about the necklace," he asked Harper.

They all turned towards Harper at that moment, who looked like she had been caught in a web. And for a few seconds, they waited for her to say something.

“Yes, you're right,” Emilia replied when her namesake had nothing to say. “If you look on the inside of the crystal necklace, at the top left corner, there is a little scratch. Check it out. It will prove that the necklace is mine. That is the only scratch on the necklace,” Emilia said confidently. Since she had already had her husband stolen from her, she's never going to allow anything else to get stolen from her, she promised herself.

Harper's eyes widened slightly as she swore in her head. She had been so in a hurry that she didn't check the necklace for things like scratches. With all eyes on her, she had no choice but to unclasp the necklace on her neck and hand it over to Julian.

“Yes, there is really a scratch here,” Julian replied with a smile.

With their attention fixated on the necklace, neither of them noticed that slight wiggle of Harper's fingers.

“Wait, there are two scratches,” Julian exclaimed, while Harper smiled smugly but discreetly.

“That can't be right. Let me see,” Emilia said, gently taking the necklace from Julian, “when I woke up this morning, this second scratch on top of the crystal wasn't there,” she continued, her tone sad. “Wait,” she said as her eyes moved from Julian's neck to Mason's and then to Logan’s. On their necks, sat identical crystal necklaces exactly like the one in her hand, “you three have identical necklaces,” she pointed out, her brows furrowing in confusion.

“Yes, Emilia. This crystal necklace is a family heirloom, and each of us has one. This one right here belonged to our mother,” Julian replied with a small smile on his face, pointing to the one in her hand.

“Does that mean I am your sister and you are my family?” Harper asked excitedly, before Emilia could say anything. “Brothers, Father," Harper said again, testing the words on her tongue.

Emilia's eyes widened a bit, not at what the girl bearing her name had just said, but because of the realization that she might indeed have a family of her own. For the longest of times, that has been what she really wanted–to have a family she can be a part of.

Despite the smile plastered on her face, Harper's anger grew, ‘they are ignoring me. All of them are ignoring me,’ she said to herself, ‘and it's all because of that wench.’ With the smile still plastered on her face, she moved her right hand behind her and wriggled her fingers more forcefully this time.

“Ahhh!” Emilia exclaimed in pain as a sharp corner of the crystal cut into her forefinger, drawing blood. As her blood touched the front part of the crystal, the crystal sizzled, emitting smoke.

With a frightened gasp, Emilia let go of the necklace, and it dropped to the floor with a soft clank. And in the twinkle of an eye, a fiery phoenix figure emerged from the crystal, stunning Emilia and even Harper that had had her mouth hung open even before Emilia dropped the necklace.

“Let me reintroduce myself, my darling,” Logan said, with a smile, totally unfazed by the appearance of the phoenix, “I am Logan Gray, the Lycan King. I am your father.”

“My father?” Emilia asked, still dazed by the phoenix figure that had now dissipated into thin air.

“Yes. And I am Mason Gray, the crowned Prince and your eldest brother,” Mason said with affection in his eyes. “This one million tons of gold is my gift to you, little sister,” he added, gesturing to the array of boxes by one corner of the room, filled with gold bars that Emilia was just noticing.

“And last but not least, I am Julian Gray, your second older brother. You are our little sister and the lycan princess,” Julia said with a smile, “I own a billion-dollar company and these documents, which contain half the shares of my company, are my gift to you,” he added, handing her a folder.

“I am the lycan princess?” Emilia repeated, unable to comprehend all that was going on at the moment.

“Yes, little sister,” Mason replied, “You see, we knew from the moment we saw you that you were the one we were looking for. The Lycan blood is very unique, and one can tell even without the necklace,” He said, turning to look at Harper, who had now begun fidgeting.

“Yes,”Julian continued, turning to face Harper, “all these back and forth we've been indulging in, was arranged for you to tell us what you are really doing here. Because, first off, we know you are not Emilia, and secondly, the CCTV cameras caught you stealing this necklace close to our sister's unconscious form.”