Neve (Silver Skates #3) - Helen Scott Page 0,56

They represented the chance to be seen and told me that I was enough the way I was, that I could be loved the way I was, and that I didn’t need to hide part of myself or change myself for that to happen.

As the five of us huddled together, I knew that I would never give them up. I’d happily give up the Astor name and the large chunk of money that came with it, if it meant having this kind of love in my life.

“Are you okay?” Rory asked after a long while as each of them detached themselves from me slowly. I didn’t want them to go, didn’t want to lose the physical and emotional warmth of their embraces, but I knew it must have been getting uncomfortable sitting in weird positions so they could all hug me.

“I will be,” I whispered back, my throat too hoarse from crying to allow me to be much louder. I paused before I added, “I’m not going back. If you don’t want me, now’s the time to speak up, because if you don’t, you’re going to be stuck with me.”

I couldn’t even look up. I couldn’t bear seeing the rejection that could possibly be in their eyes. If they told me to go back to my father, it would break something inside me, I just knew it, just like I knew that whatever they broke could never be repaired.

A hand slipped under my chin, gently forcing my bowed head upward so I could see them. Colden stood directly in front of me, his voice a gentle rumble that was so full of affection, it made me tear up all over again. “I think I can safely speak for all of us when I say if you were to leave, we would just follow you. Not in a creepy way, but because we love you and want you to be happy, and I don’t know about the others, but I don’t believe you could ever be truly happy if you go back to your family. If your father wants you to be human, when you very much aren’t, then you’ll never be good enough or human enough for him. You’ll just end up sad and alone like your dad. I don’t want that for you, and not just because it would break my heart to see you that way, but because I genuinely want you to be happy, with or without me.”

Niklaus was standing next to him, and he ran a hand over my head. “Remember what I said about puck bunnies? It still holds true. You are my mate, Neve. I want to please you and pleasure you as much as I can for the rest of my life.”

Rory was on Colden’s other side, and he jumped in as soon as Niklaus was finished. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ve already told my family that I’m not returning home, that I found my mate elsewhere. I would love to take you to visit though, if you ever want to go. If that day never comes though, that’s okay. I may go and see my family by myself, but I will always return to you. No matter how far apart we are or for how long, my heart will always be yours and will always bring me back to you.”

Seren’s arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me back against him. I wasn’t sure when he’d moved behind me, but now that he was there, with my entire body pressed against his, I didn’t want him anywhere else, not even so I could look in my eyes as he spoke. His lips brushed against the shell of my ear, and his voice rumbled through his chest into my back as he said, “You think I’d just walk away after all this? You may have annoyed me at first, but that was only because I didn’t know who you were. Now that I know you, now that I love you, I will follow you to the ends of the earth if you want me to. I will prove my love to you every day if that’s what you need. There is nothing that can keep us apart, except you deciding you want it that way. You’re mine, Neve. I might only be a snowshoe hare, but I still protect and cherish what is mine.”

Tears had started falling again at some point while the guys were all talking, and though I wanted to wipe them