Ruler (Wolves of Royal Paynes #2) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,109

at each of his packmates before ending his gaze on me. "More research?"

Research had been the only thing I'd let Storri help with this week. The twins hadn't just found Pierce. We were still going through the hard drive and paper files they'd snagged. Portal was as insidious an entity as we'd all already assumed, with labs in several other cities. The notes the twins had stolen detailed experiments so unusual, Dr. Tiff wasn't sure what it was they were working towards. We'd find out, and then we would be one step closer to taking them out, permanently.

Knox had called in the calvary, filling in the Walker County pack, as well as the biker pack we'd run into a few times on the road. We didn't trust anyone else yet.

But while we'd been preparing for war, the pack had also been preparing something special for Storri.

"Not research." Jazz burst forward and grabbed Storri's free hand. "An actual good surprise. At least?? hope."

Storri squeezed his hand, eager to comfort him despite the fact he didn't know what was going on. "I love it."

Jazz laughed. "You haven't even seen it." He marched Storri to the door of his nook. "Open it."

We crowded around behind him, the atmosphere in the hallway lighter than it had been in a while. Storri pushed the door open with a small, curious smile and stood in the doorway, scanning the room. "It??ooks the same? I do love it, though," he rushed to add.

"No." Jazz urged him forward. "The other door. This is still your nook, where you can read and rest in peace and quiet. Your surprise is in the other room."

Storri obliged, entering the room and walking to the door that joined his nook with the room next door. He twisted the knob, pulled the door toward him, and gasped.

"Go in! What do you think? Storri, go in." Jazz couldn't mask an ounce of his excitement.

Storri tiptoed through the doorway, absently patting his daughter's back as his head swiveled constantly, but slowly, taking in the walls of books.

They'd demolished the wall separating this room from the one next to it, doubling the space and bringing in a wall of natural light. There were several desks situated throughout the room and plenty of soft armchairs to sink into. In the corner by the window, they'd put together a reading area with a thick carpet and rocking chair.

Shelves lined the walls, most of them packed full already with books. There were titles we'd read, ones we had planned to read, and some others that the pack had ordered specifically to fill the hotel's new library.

"It's beautiful." He floated through the room, unable to stop exploring until he'd seen every corner and title. "You guys did this? For me?"

Knox scratched the back of his neck, and Diesel huffed uncomfortably. Neither was very comfortable with praise. "For the pack. We needed a reading area large enough for everyone," Knox muttered. "But mostly for you. I wasn't kind to you when you first came here. I'm sorry."

"This is an apology library?" Storri wondered aloud. "It's amazing, really. Thank you."

I was there for my mate as he buried his face against my chest and made my shirt wet with his tears. "He's a happy crier," I explained to the others.

"I'm just a crier," Storri blubbered. "I don't know what to say?? want to read everything right now!"

I chuckled and kissed the top of his head. "How about we choose one for the kids, and I'll read in the corner?"

Storri burst out from under my arm for the closest shelf. His fingers dragged over the titles before stopping on one and sighing like he'd met up with an old friend.

He handed me Charlotte's Web, and we gathered as a pack in the reading corner. I took the chair, and Storri dropped to the carpet in front of me, nestling into his spot. Jazz and Hallie sat on either side of him, and I angled Florence in the crook of my arms so she could see the pages as well. The others stood behind them.

When I looked out at the small crowd, Storri's eager face waiting for the first line, I thought about our story, how he'd blossomed into a proud, confident man. Our story was long from over, but that was no reason not to bask in the peace of knowing we'd survived another chapter.

"Chapter one," I read out slowly and clearly. "Before Breakfast??

The End

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