The Library

Sebastian

I knew something was wrong the second I walked into that room. Ty and I had been set up, and the realization hit me fucking hard. The meeting had gone too smoothly, the details too clean, too easy. But it wasn’t until we left that my phone vibrated in my pocket—one of the guards, and then silence. A deadly silence.

“Something’s wrong,” I muttered, my voice tight, trying to stay calm as I looked at Ty.

Ty narrowed his eyes, his hand hovering near his gun as we walked toward our motorcycles. “What do you mean?”

I didn’t need to explain. My gut was telling me what my mind refused to process: Lilith .

Within seconds, we were on our bikes, tearing through the streets at breakneck speed, the engines roaring beneath us. The minutes felt like hours, my thoughts racing faster than we could drive. The closer we got, the more the dread twisted inside me like a fucking knife. I had to remind myself to breathe, but it wasn’t working. My pulse was pounding in my ears, and the only thing I could think about was her—alone, vulnerable, without me.

When we pulled up to the house, my heart dropped.

The gates were open, the guards—my fucking guards—lay lifeless, blood pooling beneath them. Every muscle in my body tensed as I jumped off my bike, letting it slam to the ground, and sprinted toward the door, Ty right behind me, gun drawn. My vision blurred with rage, my mind going into overdrive.

I slammed through the door, shouting her name. “Lilith!” The silence inside the house was deafening, and it filled me with a terror I had never known before.

“Lilith!” I bellowed again, the walls echoing my voice back to me. Nothing. Nothing .

That’s when it hit me. They’d taken her. They fucking took her .

The rage inside me exploded. I grabbed the nearest object—a lamp-and hurled it across the room, glass shattering into a thousand pieces. But it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. My fists slammed into the wall over and over, my knuckles splitting open, blood dripping down my hands. The pain didn’t register; all I felt was fury. I was spiraling, completely lost in the darkness. I tore through the room, ripping books off the shelves, overturning the table, smashing vases and picture frames, breaking everything in sight. Chairs splintered, mirrors shattered, the sound of destruction barely piercing through the storm in my mind. Nothing survived my rage, not even me.

“, stop!” Ty’s voice cut through the storm, but I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t think. She was gone. They had taken her from me, and I had no idea where she was. Her tracking device had been cut out of her neck, pinging her location in our driveway. They fucking tossed it in the goddamn driveway when they took her.

“!” Ty’s arm locked around my neck before I could react, dragging me to the ground with force. I swung my arm wildly, aiming for his, but missed, adrenaline blinding my focus. My fist connected with Ty’s face instead, a sickening crack echoing as his nose broke beneath my knuckles.

“Fuck!” Ty cursed, blood already running down his face, but his grip only tightened like a vice, cutting off my air.

I fought against it, fury surging through me, but his hold was unrelenting. My vision blurred, my chest heaving as I struggled for breath, desperate to break free.

“Fucking breathe, goddamn it!” Ty growled in my ear, his voice raw with frustration, the pressure of his headlock increasing. I clawed at his arm, panic and rage colliding in a whirlwind, but it was useless. The world around me began to dim, the fight slowly draining from my limbs as l gasped for air.

“Calm the fuck down,” Ty hissed, giving me a rough shake, his voice low but commanding. The fight in me finally crumbled, and I slumped against him, my fury cracking open, releasing a scream that tore through me as tears poured down my face.

“… we’ll find her. But you have to keep your fucking head.”

I stood there, panting, covered in blood—my blood—my mind racing. My hands throbbed, but I didn’t care. “They took her,” I growled, my voice barely above a whisper, my entire soul shattering. “They took her, Ty.”

“I know,” he said, his voice tight, calm in a way that should have grounded me but didn’t. “And we’re going to get her back. But you need to hold it together. Now.”

I forced myself to breathe. Ty was right. I couldn’t fall apart. Not now. Not when she needed me. She needed me.

Grabbing my phone, I called the only person who could help right now. My father. The moment he picked up, I didn’t even bother with pleasantries. “They’ve taken Lilith,” I bit out, my voice cold with fury. “I need everything you’ve got. All of the Society’s resources, every man. I don’t fucking care what it takes.”

There was a pause on the other end, but I could hear the shift in his tone when he spoke. “We’ll find her, son,” he said firmly. “I’ll call in every favor we have. But keep your head, . We need to be smart about this.”

I hung up, my hands shaking. Ty was already calling in his own favors, both of us working furiously to track down any lead. Every second she was gone felt like a knife twisting deeper into my chest.

* * *

Five days. It’s been five fucking days since they took her.

Every second without her is a slow death. I can barely breathe. I grip the edge of the desk, my hands shaking with the need to break something, to destroy everything in my path until she’s back with me.

I’m nothing without her. She’s the air I breathe, the blood in my veins, and without her, I’m hollow. Dead inside.

The only thing keeping me alive is the thought that she needs me. Wherever she is, she’s waiting for me to find her. She knows I’ll come for her. I fucking have to.

I will find her. Even if it means tearing the world apart piece by piece, I’ll bring her back. I’ll burn the entire fucking earth to the ground if that’s what it takes.

I’ll destroy everything. Even myself if it comes to that.

And the bastards who took her? They’ll beg for mercy by the time I’m done, but I won’t give it. Not this time.

Not after what they’ve taken from me.

We traced every connection we had, but nothing stuck. Five days, and each day I felt more of myself slipping away. I couldn’t think, couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. All I could do was imagine her— my Lilith —hurt, scared, calling for me, and I wasn’t there.

And then we found him.

Viktor Sokolov.

His name tasted like bile in my mouth. Viktor. He had orchestrated this entire thing, pulling strings from the shadows like a goddamn puppet master. His father had been part of the Society once, years ago—a powerful man in his own right, until he crossed a line no one could come back from. My father had made an example of him, but it wasn’t just Viktor’s father who paid the ultimate price.

It was also Viktor’s oldest brother, Nikolai.

Nikolai had been the heir to the family legacy, the golden child, groomed to take over their empire. But he was reckless, dangerous, and when he tried to seize power beyond his reach, my father ordered his execution. It had been swift and brutal, a message to everyone in the Society about what happens when you betray your own. Viktor’s family had been banished, their name erased from the Society’s history.

But Viktor never forgot. He waited, planned, and now, years later, he was back. For revenge.

All of this—taking Lilith, trying to rip apart everything I hold dear—it was his twisted way of settling a score that wasn’t even his to begin with.

Viktor wanted to hurt my father, but more than that, he wanted to hurt me. His other brother, Sergei, had been the man Ty and I killed on one of our jobs. But this last job had been a setup, a way to lure us away from Lilith, to leave her vulnerable.

I would kill him for this. I would kill every fucking last man who had anything to do with her abduction.

The final lead came in, and I didn’t hesitate. I gathered every man I had—Ty, our fathers, the whole damn army we’ve built—and we stormed the building where they were keeping her.

Nothing else mattered.

The gunshots, the screams, the bodies—none of it registered. It was all background noise, a dull hum beneath the rage that consumed me. I was numb, the world around me fading to static as I searched, frantic, for her. Lilith. My beautiful Lilith.

My heart pounded in my chest, my breath coming in shallow gasps as I moved through the building, cutting down every man who stood in my way. But I didn’t just kill them—I fucking slaughtered them. There was no mercy, no hesitation. Every single person who played a role in taking her from me, in treating her like some fucking pawn to be toyed with, they all died screaming.

I made sure of it.

I shot the first man in the head, his body crumpling to the ground like the trash he was. The next tried to run, but I caught him, dragging him back and slicing his throat open with a violent precision that would’ve made my father proud. The blood sprayed across my face, warm and thick, but it only fueled the fire inside me.

They took her from me. They dared to fucking touch what’s mine. And now, they’re going to pay for it.

One by one, they fell, their screams echoing through the halls as I cut them down. Some begged for their lives, pleaded with me to spare them, but it only made me laugh. Weak, pathetic men who thought they could cross me and walk away unscathed.

I was a storm tearing through them, and no one—not even Ty—could stop me.

Every face blurred into one—an endless sea of targets, and I didn’t stop until I saw her. Until I knew she was safe. Until every single fucking person responsible for this nightmare was dead at my feet.

By the time I reached the door at the end of the hall, I had already lost count of how many bodies I’d left in my wake. But I wasn’t done. Not yet.

I kicked the door open, and there she was.

I saw her.

She was chained to the fucking wall, her body cut and bruised, her face pale, her eyes barely open. My heart stopped.

I ran to her, dropping to my knees, my hands trembling as I gathered her into my arms. Lilith . She was alive, but just barely. Her skin was cold, her body limp, but she was here. She was with me.

“Lilith,” I whisper, my voice betraying me, cracking in a way it never has before. Vulnerability, a foreign sensation, burns in my throat. “Fuck, darling, I thought—”

Her voice is so soft, barely audible, but enough to keep me from drowning in my own fear. “I’m okay,” she manages, though I can see the tremble in her lips. “I’m okay, .”

But she’s not. I know that. She’s covered in blood—my blood and her own—and the truth of what I’ve done.

“Who did you kill?” she asks, glancing down at the mess I’ve made, realization washing over her.

I feel a twisted calm in the aftermath, an acceptance of what I am. “Everyone,” I reply, like it was the only logical answer. Because it was. No one else could be left standing after what they tried to do. And there’s not a single trace of remorse in me—just cold certainty, a truth I’ve always carried.

Her eyes search mine, and I can tell she knows. She feels it too. She understands me. The blood, the violence… it’s what keeps her safe. What keeps her alive. And in that cold truth, there’s love, my love, wrapped in darkness.

I pull her closer, feeling her finally give in, her small body collapsing into me. Her warmth against my chest, her heartbeat, steadies me, and for just a moment, I let myself breathe. But I can still hear her voice from earlier—those words she screamed as I fought for her.

And I know this is far from over.

Everything froze. Time itself seemed to stop as her words echoed in my mind. Pregnant . My Lilith was pregnant. Carrying my child.

I couldn’t speak. The emotions—fear, relief, love, rage—swirled inside me, choking me. I couldn’t breathe. All I could do was hold her tighter, burying my face in her hair as I tried to hold myself together.

“I’ve got you,” I whispered again, my voice cracking. “No one will ever fucking hurt you again.”

I carried her nearly lifeless body out of that hellhole, her small body pressed tight to mine as I made a silent vow to protect her— them —with everything I had. But this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

We tracked Viktor down. Ty and I dragged him to the basement of the Library, the place where all our darkest secrets were kept. The place where he would die.

He was bloodied and bruised, hanging from chains, barely conscious as Ty and I stood over him.

“You took my wife,” I said, my voice low, deadly calm. “You really thought you could get away with that?”

Viktor coughed, blood splattering from his lips as he grinned. “You think this is over?”

I didn’t respond. My gun was already in my hand. I pulled the trigger without hesitation, the shot ringing out through the basement as Viktor’s body slumped in the chains. Blood poured from the hole in his head, along with all of the other places from my time with him. He was dead. And so was every last man who had anything to do with Lilith’s abduction.

But the weight of it—the knowledge that she was pregnant—settled heavy in my chest.

Five days. She’d been gone for five days, and she was carrying my child.

* * *

I entered the bedroom quietly, my heart still racing from the past week, my mind spinning with the weight of what had just happened. After Ty and I finished with that piece of shit Viktor, we had our guys clean up for us so I could get back here before Lilith woke up. She had been out since I brought her out of that fucking building. Part of me is glad for that. Ty had Anna meet us here, so she can be here for Lilith. Lilith may not want me when she wakes up. She may realize that she was taken and tortured because of me…this is my fault.

She’s stable now and resting in our bedroom. Valen, the Society’s doctor, had to give her IV fluids and stitch up a couple of spots where the bastards had cut her. But he had finished his exam, telling me everything I needed to hear but couldn’t quite process.

“She’s eleven weeks pregnant,” Valen had said, his expression professional but with an edge of concern. “And it’s twins, . You’re going to be a father of two.”

Twins. Twins. The word echoed in my head like a gong, reverberating over and over. I had expected news about the baby, but twins? It wasn’t that I didn’t want them—I wanted everything with Lilith—but hearing those words, knowing she had been carrying our children while she was held captive, filled me with equal parts elation and fury. I’d nearly lost her. I could have lost them all.

Valen had reassured me that she and the babies were healthy. “She’s strong, . Her body’s healing remarkably well considering the trauma, but she needs rest, time to recover.”

Time to recover. My heart clenched. She had been through so much, and yet… she had survived. I had come for her, and I hadn’t been too late. But the thought that this man, Viktor’s fucking man, had touched her, had tormented her while she carried our children—it made my blood boil. He was already dead, but I wanted to kill him a thousand times over for every second of pain he’d caused her. I definitely killed him way too quickly, letting my anger get the best of me. I should have let that mother fucker rot down there in the basement, coming back each day to give him a little more until the day he finally died. He doesn’t deserve death, he deserves worse. Death was too quick and kind for that piece of shit.

I stepped into the bedroom where Lilith lay in the bed, her face pale against the soft pillows, her dark hair spread around her like an unholy halo. She looked so fragile, and it tore me apart to see her like this. My Lilith—always so fierce, so strong, now reduced to this shell of exhaustion and pain.

I had never felt more powerless in my life.

As I approached, her eyes fluttered open, her lashes wet with unshed tears. She turned her head toward me, her gaze locking onto mine, and my heart broke at the sight of the fear, the uncertainty, the doubt swirling in those eyes.

“,” she whispered, her voice so soft it was almost lost in the quiet of the room. “I’m so sorry…”

“Shh,” I interrupted, sitting on the edge of the bed, reaching out to gently stroke her hair. “I have something to tell you.”

Her brows furrowed in confusion, the anxiety palpable in her voice. “What is it?”

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady. “Valen said you’re eleven weeks pregnant, Lilith. And it’s not just one baby… we’re having twins. They’re healthy. You’re all healthy.”

Her eyes widened, the tears that had been welling up finally spilling over as she gasped in disbelief. “Twins? We’re… we’re having twins?”

I nodded, my own emotions threatening to overwhelm me. “Yes. Two babies. You’re incredible, Lilith. You’ve been carrying them this whole time, and they’re strong. Just like you.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she let out a sob, her arms reaching up to pull me into a tight embrace. I held her close, feeling the warmth of her body against mine, her tears wetting my shoulder as I kissed her hair, whispering words of love and reassurance. But even as I comforted her, the weight of my failure burned in my chest. I hated myself for letting her get taken, for not protecting her when she needed me most. I swore, right then, that no one would ever hurt her again. No one but me—and only when she wanted it.

For a moment, it felt like everything would be okay. We were together, and we were going to have a family. But as I held her, the weight of everything she had been through settled heavily on my chest. I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in her, to claim her like I always had, to remind her how much I loved her with every touch, every kiss.

But I couldn’t. Not yet. Her body had been through too much.

I pulled back gently, my hands cradling her face as I kissed her forehead, brushing her tears away with my thumbs. “Lilith, I love you. But right now, you need to rest. You need to heal.”

Her expression shifted, confusion flickering in her eyes. “… what’s wrong? Why are you pulling away?”

I hesitated, unsure how to explain without hurting her. “I don’t want to hurt you, Lilith. You’ve been through so much. Valen said you need time—time for your body to recover.”

For a second, she looked as though I had slapped her. Her lip trembled, and more tears spilled down her cheeks as she shook her head. “You don’t want to touch me.”

“What?” I blinked, caught off guard by her words. “No, that’s not—”

“You don’t want me anymore,” she choked out, her voice breaking as she began to cry harder, her hands clutching the sheets tightly. “Because of what happened. Because of what he did to me. I understand if—”

Her lips quivered, and a tear slipped free, trailing down her cheek. “Lilith,” I interrupted, my voice firm but filled with emotion. “That’s not true. That’s not why I haven’t touched you, baby.” Her voice broke, and I saw the torment in her face, the belief that Viktor had ruined her, that he had somehow tainted the love we shared.

My chest constricted with fury—at Viktor, at myself for not getting to her sooner, for not being able to protect her from every evil in this world. But more than anything, I hated that she thought I wouldn’t want her, that I could ever stop loving her because of what that bastard had done.

“Lilith, no,” I said firmly, my voice thick with emotion. “What happened to you doesn’t change anything between us. It doesn’t change how I feel about you. It doesn’t change how much I love you. You are mine, and I will never stop wanting you.”

Her lip trembled, more tears spilling over. “But you haven’t touched me,” she whispered, her voice broken. “I thought… I thought you didn’t want me anymore. That what he did—”

I shook my head fiercely, unable to bear the pain in her voice. “The only reason I haven’t touched you is because I don’t want to hurt you, darling. Valen said you need time to heal, and I would never push you if you weren’t ready. But if you think for one second that what Viktor did makes me love you any less, you’re wrong. I love you. I’ve always loved you, and nothing, not even this, could ever take that away.”

Her breath hitched, and she gazed up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes, her hand clutching the sheets as if trying to hold onto something real, something stable. “But you won’t hurt me,” she whispered, her voice thick with need. “, I don’t need time. I need you. The only thing that will make me feel whole again is you .”

Her words broke me. She was giving herself to me, despite the trauma, despite the pain. She wanted me, needed me, and I couldn’t deny her. I couldn’t deny us.

“Lilith,” I whispered, my voice thick with emotion as I kissed her forehead, trailing soft kisses down her cheeks, wiping away her tears with my lips. “You’re so strong. So perfect. I love you so much, baby.”

Her hand reached for me, tugging me closer, and the fire that always simmered between us ignited, the air thickening with tension and desire. Her body pressed into mine, and I felt her need, her desperation to feel us again, to erase the fear and doubt that Viktor had tried to plant in her beautiful heart.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” I whispered against her neck, my hands sliding down her sides, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath the soft fabric of her nightgown.

“You won’t hurt me,” she said, her voice trembling but certain. “Please, . I need you.”

I kissed her, softly at first, my lips brushing hers with the kind of gentleness I didn’t think I was capable of. But then, the hunger took over. The raw, primal need to claim her, to remind her that she was mine and always would be. My kisses became harder, more desperate, and she responded with a soft moan, her body arching into mine.

“I love you,” I whispered again, the words spilling out between kisses as I slid my hands under her nightgown, lifting it over her head. I needed to feel her skin, needed to make sure she was real , that she was here with me.

The nightgown fell away, and I pressed my body against hers, my lips trailing down her neck, her collarbone, her breasts, before sucking her nipple into my mouth and quickly biting on it before tracing my tongue over it. Her breath hitched, and I could feel her pulse quicken beneath my lips. I wanted to take my time, to worship every inch of her body, but the need to be inside her, to claim her fully, was overwhelming.

“,” she moaned, her hands tangling in my hair, pulling me closer. “I need you. Now.”

I groaned, feeling my cock harden at her words, at the way she responded to my touch. I slid my hand between her legs, feeling how wet her cunt was, and my body nearly shook with the intensity of my desire.

“You’re so wet for me,” I whispered, my voice rough with lust as I teased her, rubbing her clit in slow, deliberate circles. “You want me to fuck you, don’t you, baby?”

“Yes,” she gasped, her hips bucking against my hand. “Please, . Fuck me.”

That was all I needed. I went and locked our bedroom door before stripping myself bare for her. I positioned myself at her entrance, her legs wrapping tightly around my waist as I thrust into her, deep and hard. Her cry of pleasure echoed through the room, and I groaned as I felt her tighten around me, her body trembling beneath mine.

I didn’t care who else was in the house, didn’t care if they heard her cry for me or moan my name. Let them. Let them all hear. I was claiming my wife, marking what was mine. Let the whole world know she was mine. Every sound, every shuddering breath she took was for me.

And I reveled in it.

For a brief moment, I considered making love to her—soft, gentle, the way a husband is supposed to. But then I remembered who we were. My wife didn’t need that from me right now. Not after everything. She had my love, every part of me belonged to her, but what she needed tonight was something darker.

“Fuck me,” she had whispered, her voice dripping with need, her eyes blazing with the same hunger that burned through my veins. That’s when I knew. She didn’t need tenderness right now. She needed me to claim her, to fuck her in a way that reminded her exactly who she was—who we were.

I gripped her hips harder, pulling her closer as I drove into her, each thrust harder than the last. She didn’t need gentle. She needed to feel that side of me, the side that owned her completely. The side of me she now loved more than anything else. The side she’d fought so hard to bring out—and won.

Her nails dug into my back, her moans filling the room, and I lost myself in her, in the raw, primal connection that only we could have. She was mine, and I was hers. Always.

As our bodies tangled together, the room filled with her cries and our bodies hitting each other as I slammed myself into her, Lilith’s breath came out in ragged gasps, her nails digging into my back. Her eyes met mine, a fierce intensity burning in them that made my heart race faster, made my cock throb deeper inside her.

Between moans, her voice came out breathless but filled with certainty. “You were right,” she gasped. “I prayed for you while I was gone. I prayed to you, . And you answered those prayers. You told me you were the only god that would ever save me.”

Her words sent a dark thrill through me, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face as I fucked her harder, my hands gripping her body possessively. My chest rumbled with laughter as I leaned down, my lips brushing against her ear.

“Lilith,” I growled, my voice thick with lust, “I will always answer your cries. And I’ll fuck you every day, make you feel like you’re in heaven.”

She moaned at my words, arching her back, giving herself to me completely.

“I love you,” I whispered against her ear as I moved inside her, my pace slow and steady at first, savoring the feeling of being inside her, of having her like this again. But as her body responded to mine, I couldn’t hold back. I began to move faster, harder, her cries only making my cock harder.

She moaned my name, her nails digging into my shoulders as I pounded into her, the bed shaking beneath us. Her body arched, her hips meeting every thrust as I pushed her closer to the edge. Tears poured out of her eyes, and I kissed them off her cheeks.

“I’ll burn this whole fucking world down for you,” I growled, my voice thick with emotion as I thrust into her harder, deeper. “I’ll give you everything you deserve, Lilith. Everything.”

Her breath hitched, her body tightening around me as she neared her release, her eyes shining with tears of pleasure.

Her body trembled beneath mine, and I knew she was close.

“Come for me, Lilith,” I whispered, my hand sliding between us to rub her clit, pushing her over the edge. “Come for me, baby.”

And she did. Her body tightened around me, her cry of pleasure filling the room as she shattered beneath me. I followed her seconds later, groaning as I came, my body shaking with the force of my release.

We lay there together, our bodies tangled, our breaths ragged. I kissed her softly, my heart pounding with love, with relief. She was mine. She had always been mine, and now, with our children growing inside her, she would be mine forever.

As I pulled her close, my heart swelled with a fierce, protective love. I would do anything for her. Anything .

“I love you, Lilith,” I whispered, brushing her hair from her face as she rested her head on my chest. “I will always love you.”

And I would. Forever.