Текст книги "Fable of Happiness book three"

Автор книги: Pepper winters

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Текущая страница: 24 (всего у книги 24 страниц)

I removed my grip from Quell and Gem, raking my fingers through my hair. I was shaking and wrung out. I couldn’t stop the avalanche of history and hurt even though I still burned with joy from marrying my soul mate.

My past had revisited me on the best day of my life, and I didn’t know how to feel when that panic faded beneath the past years worth of healing. The therapy sessions, the many walks with Fang, and the occasional pill when the nightmares grew too bad.

Thanks to Gem and our steady, safe life, I had improved.

I just hadn’t understood how much until I could stand here, staring at my lost sister, and not drown beneath absolute bloodlust. Not to go running off with the need to slaughter every man who’d touched her, every woman who’d used her, and do my best to be that hero she’d carved into her arm.

“Kas...” Quell—Isabella, you idiot—murmured.

My attention snapped to her. “Yeah?”

She shifted on the spot, glancing at Gem and then her dad. “I, eh...I came today because I didn’t want to miss you anymore. I want...I want to be close again. I’m ready to be close again. I know it will be hard...for both of us. But I think I’m healed enough that our relationship can be a good thing instead of bad. I...I’ve missed you, Kas. Every day. I’ve missed my big brother—”

I snatched her into my arms, noticing the slimness of her compared to the power and strength of Gem. My arms lashed out again, grabbing my wife, pulling her into the hug too.

Common sense told me I shouldn’t grab Quell as fast as I did. I shouldn’t force her to be so close to Gem after everything she’d endured.

I did to her what Tony had done to me at the gala.

But I couldn’t help myself.

I was fucking overwhelmed.

Drowning on emotion and gratefulness.

Fang barked and danced around our legs, his body heat pressing close.

“It’s okay, boy.” And I meant it. I actually fucking meant it and that allowed me to breathe heavily and accept everything. To accept what happened to Quell when I wasn’t there to save her. To accept that our lives had forked but had finally reunited.

We were both standing. Both surviving. We were the winners, not them.

Finally, I let the two women go and inhaled hard. “I’d like to be close again, too.” I smiled at Tony, then at Quell. “I’ll do whatever you need to help you find happiness like I have.” I caught Gem’s stare, tripping into even deeper love with her. “You’ve already unofficially met my wife, but let me make the proper introduction.”

My breath caught at the way Gem watched me with an unconditional, everlasting love. She made me burn from the inside out. For all the things that’d been done to me and Quell, I’d done bad things to Gem too. I’d trapped her, used her, made her fear and cry.

Yet she’d forgiven me.

She’d fallen in love with me.

She was my savior...in every sense of the word.

Never taking my eyes off her, I murmured, “This is the woman who saved my life. Gemma Sands.”

Quell—Goddammit Isabella—nodded at my wife. “I’ve been watching your videos online.” She smiled shyly at us both. “I’ve watched both channels actually. Climbing and survival techniques and, of course...your Survivors of Monsters.” She wrung her fingers together before stopping herself and bracing her shoulders. “Your videos helped me, Kas. You helped...just by sharing your story. I never knew how bad it was for you. You never let us see how much pain you were in.” She flinched. “Your nightmares told us that you weren’t coping, but when you were awake, you never once complained. You always took our place, even when you could barely stand.”

I shrugged, the back of my neck prickling with her misplaced praise. “I did what I could.”

“And not a day went by that we weren’t grateful.”

“And me,” Tony murmured. “I still can’t be near you without fighting the urge to hug you in thanks.”

I cracked a smile. “I’d say it was my pleasure, but that would be lying. But I would do it all over again for those I love.” I looked at Gem and took her hand, then glanced at Quell. “And I love you. Both of you. I love you, Gemma, for bringing me back to life and agreeing to spend the rest of your days with me. And I love you, Isabella, for giving me a reason to keep living...so I could one day know that life isn’t all darkness and pain. You gave me purpose. All of you. And it’s time that we find the rest of our family, so they can learn that too.”

Quell flinched and reached into the pocket of her baggy dress. The light blue material suited her complexion, but the size completely swamped her. I didn’t need her to tell me that she’d worn an oversize dress deliberately to hide her figure, still not comfortable with strangers’ eyes on a body that’d once belonged to so many.

“Here.” She passed me an envelope. “It appeared in our letterbox a few days ago. It was one of the reasons I agreed to come today.” She smiled at Gem. “First, to offer my congratulations to you both and secondly...on behalf of him.”

“Him?” I studied the heavy scrawl on the envelope, my heart instantly pounding.

Jareth.

His scribble was recognizable from all the graffiti he’d done on the dormitory walls. The lines of profanity he’d write describing Storymaker and the guests before scratching them out before he could be caught.

Gem touched my arm as Fang leaped up and sniffed the envelope with a soft growl. “Go into the house. Read it. Then come back to us.”

I scrunched the letter into my palm and grabbed her in a savage kiss.

My need for her overflowed, once again tangling with gratefulness, grief, and all-consuming love. “Forever, Gem. I love you forever.”

She smiled and kissed me back. “I know. Isabella and I will be out here waiting.” She smiled at my Fable sister. “We’ll even treat ourselves to the first piece of wedding cake...I’m sure you don’t mind sharing.”

I smiled. “I don’t mind at all. We’re all family, after all.”

Tony patted my shoulder as he nodded. “I’ll look after them until you return, Kas.”

“Thank you.” I shook his hand, squeezing his fingers hard, no longer struggling with contact. He was a good man. A great father. And he would protect the two women of my heart while I read Jareth’s note.

Staring at my gorgeous wife one last time, I gave Isabella a slight nod, then strode toward the house with Fang at my heels.

In a few moments, I would return to them.

We would talk, laugh, and heal.

Our future would unfold with family gatherings and all the things that had been taken from us, rich with good memories that so many people took for granted. Gem and I would help Quell live a full life. Fang would keep me in line. Josh would remind me that I wasn’t just a Fable kid but a man with friends and a following online that gave me validation that sharing pieces of myself had helped patch up parts of them.

If only I could find the rest of my scattered siblings, then life couldn’t be more fucking perfect.

Fang’s claws sounded on the hardwood floors as we cut through the back entrance, through the large communal living room where bean bags, books, and board games waited to be used, and headed into the small conservatory.

Sitting in a rattan chair with the sun streaming in through the glass roof, I tore open the envelope, all while Fang sniffed the letter and licked my fingers. Giving him a scratch to remain centered in the present, I read.

Dear Brother,

I’ve sent you one sister, but there are more to go.

I’ve kept an eye on you, and while I can’t say I’d be sharing my story the way you have, I’m glad that you can. I’m glad that you’ve been able to walk into the light while I still live in the dark. But you know what...I like it in the shadows. It’s where I belong, just like you belong out there in the sun. Together, we are helping. We’re repairing all the shit that they did wrong.

It’s taken me a long time to track down the next faction. They’ve been extra careful since I murdered fifteen of them when I rescued Quell. (By the way, her name is Isabella...who knew, right?) How did she even remember that? I know I don’t remember my real name, and I know you don’t.

Anyway, I digress.

I’ve enclosed a lock of something for you.

A piece of white beard from a guy I know you were acquainted with.

He gave me a graphic rendition of how he enjoyed kicking you in the head, leaving you for dead only a month or so after we were all recaptured and taken from the valley. Apparently, he got in trouble for that. He’d been tasked to catch any stragglers, but he decided to play a little doctor death instead. Guess it all worked out in the end.

Not for him, though.

I don’t know what the fuck he hoped to achieve by telling me what he did to you, but if it was to make me spare him...he failed.

I made him suffer.

I made him apologize for what he did to you.

Let’s just say he was very, very regretful by the time I was done with him.

You’re welcome.

Oh, and I hope you’ve finally jerked off, brother. If you haven’t, you and I are having a serious chat next time I drop off a sibling.

But for now, look after the sister I’ve sent home.

Be ready because I’ll send the rest of our family soon.

My blood to your blood.

Until we meet again.

Jareth.

Thank you so much for reading!

If you love Dark Romance, please try my other books! If you enjoyed the Fables World and want to read Jareth’s story, keep an eye out for Fable of Monsters. No date for release yet but subscribe to my newsletter for instant updates!

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Also, if you’re in the mood for a Dark Romance High Fantasy, get ready for Souls of Sand & Smoke...coming soon!

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OTHER WORK BY PEPPER WINTERS

Pepper currently has over thirty books released in nine languages. She’s hit best-seller lists (USA Today, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal) almost forty times. She dabbles in multiple genres, ranging from Dark Romance to Coming of Age. She lives on a farm with six horses, one rabbit, and one very obliging husband.

For more information, please visit: www.pepperwinters.com

Or go straight to her Amazon page for all the books below:

Pepper Winters AMAZON PAGE

DARK ROMANCE

Goddess Isles Series – 5 x USA Today Bestseller

First book, Once a Myth, is free.

Monsters in the Dark Trilogy – New York Times Bestseller

First book, Tears of Tess, is free.

Indebted Series – New York Times Bestseller

First book, Debt Inheritance, is free.

Dollar Series – 6 x USA Today Bestseller

First book, Pennies, is free.

SEXY ROMANCE

The Master of Trickery Duet

Truth & Lies Duet – 4 x USA Today Bestseller

COMING OF AGE ROMANCE

The Ribbon Duet – USA Today Bestseller

Standalone Spinoff

The Son & His Hope

STANDALONES

Destroyed – USA Today Bestseller. Grey Romance

Unseen Messages – USA Today Bestseller. Survival Romance

MOTORCYCLE CLUB ROMANCE

Pure Corruption Duet – 2 x USA Today Bestseller

ROMANTIC COMEDY written as TESS HUNTER

Can’t Touch This

UPCOMING RELEASES

Souls of Sand and Smoke

Dark Romance, High Fantasy.

Add to GOODREADS

Too bad he waited too long to end her.

Too bad he preferred her in his bed than in the ground.

Too bad a simple mistake ensures a different destiny.

For both of them.

For 2021, 2022 titles please visit www.pepperwinters.com

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I’m ever so grateful to all of you for reading!

Thanks to Danielle, Cyn, Heather, Melissa, Selena, Vickie, Tamicka, Rochelle, Nicole, and Effie for being in my corner and oh, so wonderful.

Thanks to Tor and Charley for the flawless audio.

Thanks to Ari for such a gorgeous cover.

Thanks to Selena for running Pepper’s Playground.

Thanks to Valentine PR for all their amazing promo help and support.

Thanks to Mo, the rabbit, for being my fluffy muse.

Thanks to hubby for keeping me fed while I play in my imagination, supporting my dreams, and being everything I could ever want in a partner, husband, and best friend.

Thanks to every reader, blogger, and reviewer for taking the time to read Fable of Happiness.

I’m insanely grateful for every minute you spend in my worlds.

Pepper

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