Sloth Reading A Book Novels & Stories

SASHA'S NEVER SEEN SO MANY BOOKS BEFORE The weather is great today and Sasha feels her wolf plead to be let out to run free. But what would happen if she did it? A snowflake falls from the sky and lands on her nose, melting on her skin. Sasha smiles. She doesn't have much to do. After Mary left with Margaret, she thought she could spend her time cleaning, but the whole place is impeccably clean. Behind her, sitting on the couch, her mate is reading a book. She wants to talk, but he has been so rude that Sasha is afraid to even look in his direction.

I love this book. I'm having a blast, reading my book, drinking my Coke, and eating my cheesy mushroom and sausage pizza. The wind feels lovely on my bare legs, shoulders, and face. I am so engrossed in my book that I don't see who is standing in front of me. Before I can look up, he has dropped to his knees on my blanket. I feel my panic starting to rise.

I feel like the book will answer some of my questions. "I already read the entire book," Clinton uttered, and Sabrina nodded her head. Sabrina put the thick book on the center table. She flips the cover and turns the pages. We are all silent. Only the flipping of the pages creates a sound while Sabrina reads it silently. All Sabrina saw in the book, I also saw. I just leaned my back on the sofa and closed my eyes. Every page is getting more interesting. "Look, this phrase here..." Sabrina mumbled out of the blue, and her eyebrows furrowed together like she was assessing something in her mind.

Vaulted ceilings soar overhead, shelves stretching upward like the ribs of some ancient beast. I pull books on hybrid lore from the shelves, creating a precarious stack. “Sophia—she’s got to be mentioned somewhere,” I mutter, flipping through brittle pages. Charlie settles beside me, his warm muzzle nudging my hand. “You’re a vision, you know, digging through books like a scholar-princess. Found anything yet?”

Nicoli went and let go. “Oh?” Ana looked over. She could see the pictures. But the sight didn’t hold as much interest as something else became noticeable. It’s Nicoli. Ana realized the new smell. It must have been because they were so close that she could notice. But it was intense and made her head spin. “The book’s full of them.” So Nicoli went and flipped a page. It revealed a different bear. “This one here’s a sloth bear.” And he pointed to it. “And then this over here is a sun bear. Oh, and this is-”

The ache in my heart turns to butterflies in my belly. There’s a rickety stool outside the den with a book sitting on it, a paperback that’s gotten soaked and dried at least once, opened like a fan. A bookmark made of braided grass is tucked between the pages. He reads? What is he reading? My wolf can’t read. All she can do to satisfy my curiosity is sniff the pages. They smell like they’ve been dew-dampened and baked in the sunshine many, many times. She bumps it off the chair with her enthusiasm, and Justus rescues it from the ground.

Chapter 4 The library was a sanctuary of mahogany and leather, lit only by the amber glow of a dying fire and a few strategically placed lamps. Sofia sat in a wingback chair, a book open on her lap, though she hadn't read a single word in an hour. She was wearing a sheer, emerald-green slip that clung to her skin, the thin straps barely holding the fabric up. She knew Lorenzo would be home soon. She could feel the shift in the house's energy, the way the staff moved with more urgency.

The first day of the community reading week began with rain. Not the dramatic kind that cancelled plans and emptied streets, but the steady, silver rain that softened the edges of the world and turned the lake beside Tomorrow House into a sheet of rippling glass. By seven o’clock volunteers were already carrying boxes of books beneath umbrellas while Mrs. Holt stood in the lobby insisting that everyone take a second pastry because, in her words, “reading is intellectual work and intellectual work requires proper fuel.” Daniel accepted an extra cinnamon roll with the solemn gratitude of someone receiving official equipment.

Liora Vale had always loved the quiet. At twenty-one, she worked the night shift at the old city library. Most people thought the job was boring, but Liora loved being alone with the books after midnight. The tall shelves felt like old friends. One rainy night, while sorting the rare books section, she found a strange leather book hidden behind others. It had no title. When she opened it, the pages glowed softly. Words appeared. Choose a story. Bring him to life. One night only.