Page 94 of Wicked Revenge

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The library has been a good distraction since breakfast. I couldn’t just sit around and wait for Snow to arrive anymore, so I showered and got dressed, then wandered back in here.

Ella and Alek followed me– now the books have been sorted by genre and organized alphabetically. I was surprised to find a lot of children's books but even more surprised to find out that all three men have books in this library.

It is hard to imagine any of them sitting down to read anything, especially some of the dark romance books I found that belong to Alek.

El even assured me that she has looked after Grams’ cottage all these years, and all of my books are still there. Once we got everything settled, she offered to help me bring them over. I have a lot of work to do if I want to fill these shelves up in my lifetime.

Alek brought me up to the reading nook a little bit ago when Ella found her a book and curled up on the couch. He plopped down in the middle of a giant bean bag, pulling me into his lap and cocooning us both in the fluff.

“You know, we originally built this library for Em,” he tells me, stroking my hair with soothing, gentle touches. “We wanted her to have her own little escape. She loves fairy tales. Even at her young age, she would drag out books the nanny would bring her, crawl into our laps, and sit for hours while we read them over and over again.”

Tears well in my eyes, but I don’t speak. I never got to read her a story, but warmth spreads throughout my chest knowing that these incredible men were able to give her that time. At the very least, she has known unconditional love for at least some of the time she has been away from me. It wasn’t all fear.

“We love that little girl, more than life itself. I want you to know that. We will do whatever it takes to bring her back to you. We will kill for her. We will die for her. She might not be our sister, but your blood is our blood. She is ours, Baby Girl,” he tells me, swiping at my tears as they streak down my cheeks.

He leans over me, pressing his lips to mine in a sweet kiss that has me melting even further into the softness beneath us. Before we can take it any further, his phone dings in his pocket.

Pulling it out, he looks up at me with a smile so bright it’s almost blinding.

“They’re here, baby,” he says, still grinning as he uses his unnatural strength to get us both out of the beanbag with me still attached to him. He carries me down the stairs and starts to head out of the library.

Ella’s head snaps up from her book when she sees us pass her.

“Come on, El. I want you to meet my friends,” I yell as Alek's long legs eat up the distance to the French doors. She jumps up, chasing after us as we stride into the living room and into the foyer.

Royal and Maddox are already there opening the door, both of them freshly showered and dressed since they spent their time in the basement gym after breakfast.

My heart pounds in my chest when Snow, Ronan, Jasper, and Dax step inside. Their eyes widen comically when they land on me, still clinging to Alek. .

“Red, blink twice if this big hunk of man-muscle is holding you against your will,” Jasper says, winking at me as his lips twitch into a smirk.

“For fucks sake. Put her down, ‘Big Daddy’. Let her hug her friends,” Ella says, rolling her eyes, but I see the smile creeping up.

My feet barely have time to hit the floor before I’m immediately pulled into a group hug from all four of them.

“You should have called us sooner, Red. I’ve been worried sick about you, and you weren’t answering the phone,” Snow says as she squeezes me tightly.

“I know, I’m sorry. Everything happened so quickly and I thought I could do this on my own,” I tell her, feeling slightly defeated as I pull back to look at her.

“I know you can do this on your own. The point is, you don’t have to. We are your family, Red. Family means we come together when one of us needs help. There is no shame in leaning on the people you love,” she tells me, squeezing my shoulders in reassurance.

I nod back at her, unable to put into words what that means to me. I swallow past the lump of emotion clogging my throat before attempting to speak.

“Thank you for coming all this way,” I say, shimmying out of the middle of them. “Come in. I’d like you to meet some friends.”

“This is Ella, my childhood best friend,” I say. Ella steps up beside me, immediately embraced by Snow.

“Sorry, I’m a big hugger. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Aspen Snow, but my friends call me Snow. Any friend of Red’s is a friend of ours,” Snow says, smiling warmly at her.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Ella smiles back at her. “Thank you for taking care of her when she needed you. I thought I’d lost her forever.”

“Okay. Stop before you make me cry,” I say, my throat still bogged down with emotions.

“This is Royal, Alek, and Maddox,” I say, gesturing to each of them. They step up beside me, nodding to them respectfully. “Guys, this is Ronan, Jasper, and Dax. Huntsman– meet the Shadows.”

Ronan’s eyes look like they're going to pop out of his head while the other two just smirk at each other. Snow steps up to them first. “I’ve heard about you. I respect what you’re trying to do in Shadow Forest. King needs to be put down. He has ruled this territory with fear and control for too long. Anything we can do to help, just ask.”

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