When we reached the kitchen, we found Kallie sitting next to Emerald at the large dining table. Amethyst sat across from them on her knees, arms folded and lip stuck out in a pout. Emerald looked exasperated, and Eirenae was there too, standing near the table stricken with guilt. Kallie seemed unaffected by them all, going on to eat the quesadilla on the plate in front of her.

Xavier and I cross the room, "what's going on?"

"April!" Kallie beamed at me. I returned her smile before addressing Emerald again.

"Those are mine!" Amethyst grumbled, glaring daggers at Kallie. Kallie just kept on munching.

Emerald looked up from her chair at me, exhaustion obvious in her eyes. "Amethyst, she's just borrowing them!"

I looked to Eirenae, and she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought her in here, I didn't know!"

Scooping Amethyst up, I held her at an arm's length while she kicked and screamed at me, her angst directing all the energy to me. "No!" She shrieked as she flailed her tiny limbs about.

But I held her out like that until she was calm enough to hear me speaking to her. Xavier was beside me the entire time, but I think his big worry was that I wouldn't be strong enough to hold her. Needless to say I proved him wrong.

Bringing her in, I settled her against me with her legs around my torso. "Ames," I said softly and she peered up at me with tear strained crystal green eyes. "Use your words."

Her little arm pointed sloppily at Kallie. "She's wearing mine." Suddenly I understood. She was throwing a tantrum about Kallie wearing her clothes.

"Can I tell you something? Kallie doesn't have anything at all, and so she needs those clothes. Would you rather her be running around naked?"

Amethyst giggled, wiping at her eyes. "No."

"That's what I thought too," I said. "So is it okay for you to be nice and let her share your things for a little bit?"

She took a deep breath, the air shaking in her throat on its way out. "Okay."

"That's very kind of you," I said, kissing her head and then passing her off to Eirenae, who apologized.

"She missed her nap today because you were back and she wouldn't go down."

I waved her off, "it's okay. Probably time for bed anyway."

"No!" Amethyst protested, but it was half-hearted and she let Eirenae take her to the stairs anyway.

I sat down across from Emerald and Xavier followed suit. "You okay?" I asked the Luna.

She raised her eyes from watching Kallie to meet mine. "Oh yes! Thank you for that, by the way. I just didn't have the energy to deal with my own screaming toddler, I'm so sorry it ended up on you."

That didn't sound like Emerald at all. Concentrating, I inhaled long and deep until I found it. "Does anyone else know?" I asked, a smirk I tried to suppress staying on my lips.

She laughed, getting my hint immediately. "Oh yes, most do. I'm sorry, I didn't tell you the news with everything else going on!"

"I understand; I'm happy for you!" The exhaustion made much more sense now.

"I'm not even showing yet, but I think it's a girl." She lowered her head and placed a hand on her stomach.

Xavier chuckled, "my sister says most she-wolves that predict the sex immediately are usually right."

Emerald smiled at his words, seeming content that her next pup would be a girl, even after the tantrum we just watched with her last girl.

"Any name ideas?" I couldn't help asking before thinking.

She laughed, "far too soon to decide, but I'm liking the theme I have going so far. I think I'll keep it going."

My eyebrows shot up, "River will let you make all your kids gems like yours?"

"Probably. He does anything I say."

We laughed, but we all knew she wasn't kidding either. Xavier was more arrogant, more dominant of a male than River, but I knew he, too, would let me name our pups after a calendar month if I wanted to. I definitely didn't, though. I got way too much backlash for that growing up; I would never condemn my kids to that!

Xavier kissed my hairline, breathing into my ear as he stood up. "I would never."

"Yeah right," I shot, my eyes narrowing as he walked around the table and crouched next to Kallie. He whispered something to her and then the two of them took her now empty plate to the kitchen in the back.

A few seconds after they disappeared behind the door, Emerald's thoughtful eyes returned to mine. "He'll make a good father someday," she admired.

I couldn't hide the smirk. "Yeah. Might not be too far off, though."

"So, you're going to do it?"

I raised my eyebrows, "how do you-"

She grinned, leaning back in her chair. "Xavier talked to me about it while you were in the bathroom with Kallie. He wanted my advice on if it was a good idea or not."

"Do you?" I corrected, "think it's a good idea, I mean."

Her smile only widened as my mate came back through the door. In one hand he held Kallie on his hip and in the other he carried two pieces of pie. "I do. She already fits in, and you're a very good mother to her. Probably the mother she needs the most right now."

I watched him walk over to us, and I realized she was right, but I added to myself that he was already being the best father she could ever need, too. And while I treated her like a sister in the cellar, subconsciously I also treated her as a daughter. I just never put it together until she asked to stay with me, and then again when Xavier told me his idea. Everything about that warmed my heart.

He set Kallie down on the chair next to me, and then put one pie slice in front of her and then a second in front of me. Then he sat back down in his chair beside me.

"What's this for?" I asked, wanting to cry simply because I hadn't tasted anything sweet like this in so long.

"My birthday!" Kallie exclaimed, standing up on her seat in her excitement.

I laughed, "what?"

Emerald stood up and gave me a wink, her eyes skimming across the three of us. "I'll leave you guys alone."

Kallie, blissfully unaware of the whole exchange, explained herself. "Not today. But Thavier said Febwary passed and that I deserve a late birfday present."

I was frozen in shock, "you remembered your birthday?"

"Yep! Febwary twenty five!"

I wasn't sure whether to be screaming with happiness or crying on the inside. Obviously remembering her past life was a good thing, but what if she wanted to go home? I knew I'd let her, it was only the right thing to do. But I'd definitely miss her with every fiber of my being.

Stop jumping to conclusions! I scolded myself.

"That means I'm six!" She concluded by holding up six fingers, the pride evident in her eyes and smile.

"Happy birthday, kid." I grinned, motioning for her to dig into her pie. I took a bite of mine, thanking Xavier for bringing it out for us.

"What day is it anyway?" I asked him, realizing I hadn't even been told the date since I returned.

"May eighteenth."

Nearly choking, I swallowed my bite in a rush. My sister officially turned ten last week, and I had been in that cell for practically seven months! "Wow."

"I know. But don't stress about that."

I nodded, facing Kallie again, the question I really wanted to ask just slipping out. "Do you remember anything else?"

She shook her head, speaking through her current bite of pie. "Just my birfday. And what I already told you about my parents."

A thoughtful expression crossed Xavier's face, and it stayed there as he left the chair and claimed the one on the other side of Kallie; that put her in between us. "Can you tell me about your parents?"

I swallowed hard, fixing my eyes on the edge of the walnut wood table, tracing the dips and carved out designs. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the story again, and I was a little surprised she even agreed to tell him.

"Okay." She sat down and finished the last bite of her pie. "I remember calling for Mommy and Daddy but I couldn't find them. There was so many people, so many screaming."

I squeezed my eyes shut, but I didn't leave my seat.

"Then I heard Mommy scream for me. But I can't hear her voice or what she said. Daddy was on the ground next to her." Her voice dropped to a whisper, and Xavier didn't have to ask to know she meant he was dead. "Mommy came up to us but the guy had a knife."

"What guy?" Xavier asked quietly, as if afraid to.

My eyes were still closed as I tried not to picture what she was talking about. It was hard though, she was giving way more details than she had the first time I asked her.

"I dunno. I can't remember him. But I remember him pretending he was gonna kill me to get Mommy to stop. Instead, he shot her and then carried me away." I was impressed her voice hadn't done more than shake that entire time. I had tears running down my cheeks. . . again.

"I didn't say goodbye," she wailed, and I knew the tears had come now. "They took me away, but I know they both died that day. I can still see Mommy lying on the grass. There was lots of blood, Thavier!"

Opening my eyes and drying my tears, I saw she was sitting in his lap now, but her eyes were dry. Xavier's glistened, though, dangerously close to the tipping point. "And what about your pack?" He asked.

She shrugged, leaning her back into his chest and searching my face until she met my eyes. "I don't wanna know. Can't I stay here?"

Cracking my lips into a smile, I crawled across the chairs to sit in hers and be closer to them. "That's what we were going to ask you, actually."

Her brown eyes stretched open, peering up to Xavier, too. "If I want to stay?"

He grinned, his eyes dried and full of joy now. "If you would like us to be your new parents."

That's when her eyes finally welled up. But I knew she wasn't crying because her parents died, she was crying because she had been hoping we'd ask that. Her beaming smile was proof of that. "Really? I can stay with you forever?"

I giggled through my own tears. "If you want."

She squealed and the drops flowed over her lids, splashing the chair as she scooted from Xavier's lap to mine. Her flimsy arms wrapped around my neck in a squeezing embrace, her face burying into my collarbone. "Yes please," she whispered against my neck.

I kissed her hair, "happy late birthday, kid."

After we cleaned up the pie plates, we had walked out to the foyer sitting area where Emerald had mentioned my family was waiting. We walked over together, each of us grabbing one of Kallie's hands so she came with us in the middle.

Sure enough, my family were all still there, talking amongst themselves and talking with Iris-er-Isadora. Emerald and River were gone, but Jade was there. When he saw me, he jumped to his feet, running to meet me at the doorway with a hug. I let go of Kallie's hand to embrace him properly.

"Hey, buddy!"

"Hi." His dimples enhanced as the smile graced his face. I ruffled his hair.

"Where have you been?"

"I was with Grandma. And when I wasn't, Mommy said you were sleeping, or busy. So, she said I could stay awake to see you before bed."

I hugged him again. "I'm glad, I missed you a lot."

"I missed you too." He reached up and ruffled the top of my hair, giggling at the reversed actions. "I'm glad you're home."

"Me too," I laughed. Giving him a quick kiss on the head, I added, "better head upstairs before your mom loses it."

His laugh was maniacal as he gave me one last hug and ran off up the stairs.

Xavier was smiling adorably at me when I stood back up and Kallie reached for my hand again.

"What?"

"Nothing." He said, leading us into the room.

Of course, my mother was the first to stand and greet us, pulling me in for a hug that was sort of awkward because Kallie's hand wasn't let go of this time. Her hands cupped my cheeks as she scanned my eyes. What for, I wasn't sure. "How are you doing?"

I wanted to laugh, because I was sick of people asking me that, but I also was endeared they did. "I'm okay, Mom. Nothing has changed since you saw me." Except everything has, just not in a bad way.

She shifted her feet until she stood in front of Xavier. A small part was upset she skipped Kallie, but she didn't know the kid so it wasn't like she did it on purpose. My mate and my mother hugged, the sight bringing a smile to my face at how they got along. At least I knew there wouldn't be an issue of approval there.

Finally, she crouched down to Kallie, whose grip tightened on my hand enough to tell me she wasn't sure about it. Kallie was spunky with an enormous amount of spirit, but I knew she could be shy when meeting someone new like this. But she didn't flinch or shrink away when Mom spoke to her.

"What's your name?"

I wondered if no one had told her about Kallie at all, or if she only asked as a way to make the child more comfortable.

"Kalmia." She whispered, then added, "April calls me Kallie."

Mom's eyes shifted up to me, and instantly I rearranged my facial expression to one that showed I was happy they were meeting.

"It's nice to meet you, Kallie. Are you April's friend?"

Kallie's eyes looked up to me, a silent question. I nodded, hoping she understood. She did; "I think April is gonna be my new Mommy."

The two reactions I heard were from Isadora and my dad, both of whom drew in sharp breaths at the new information. Isadora jumped from her seat to grab onto my arm gently. Tears were in her eyes, and suddenly I worried she would be hurt that Kallie wouldn't want to stay with her. What if she was jealous?

"Really?" She asked, wiping the wetness from her eyes with the back of the hand not grabbing me. "Please tell me you're serious, that you're going to give that child the home she's deserved but hasn't had."

Relief washed through my blood like a wave of cold water. "Of course," I said with sincerity. "I love her."

Isadora threw her arms around my neck and squeezed tightly. "I'm not surprised." In response, I wrapped my free arm around her back. With her lips against my ear, she added, "I remembered my name: Isadora. But I also remember I often went by Isa." My arm tightened to show how happy I was she got her memory back, even if it were only pieces.

Dad had stood up and joined us. "Are you sure?" He met my eyes as I let go of Isadora. Then they shifted to Xavier's. "That's a lot of responsibility for barely knowing each other and being in a very vulnerable state right now."

I gawked at him, speechless he could say that. A low growl erupted from Xavier's throat and I didn't stop it. Recovering, we both opened our mouths to refute his claims when a little voice made everyone go still.

"You would be my grandpa." Kallie said to him, then added, "and my grandma."

My father seemed to melt at those words. He put a knee on the floor to match the kid's height. "Of course I want to be a grandpa, Honey. I'm just nervous about how fast this is all happening."

"Dad," I said sternly, bringing his attention back to me. "I understand this seems fast. But Xavier's and my relationship wasn't fast — considering we both grew up in packs — and Kallie's and my bond wasn't fast either." It wasn't like I met her and immediately said I wanted her to become my daughter.

Isa piped up, "that's true. But I've seen how much you've cared for her since the beginning." I raised my eyebrows, I hadn't realized she'd paid so close attention. "I mean, you would braid her hair through the cell bars; for Goddess sake you even started teaching her to write and spell and read by tracing your fingers on the concrete!"

That was true.

Xavier's eyes were on me as he listened to this new bout of information about our situation in the cells. His body was stiff, but his eyes were sympathetic, as if he couldn't decide whether to choose anger about the situation she described or found me bonding with Kallie that way endearing.

"I remember that." Kallie said.

Reaching down, I hooked my hands under her armpits and swung her up to settle on my left hip. "I thought of her as my sister the majority of my time there." I admitted softly. "Until she asked me if she could stay with me, implying forever. I found the love a mother has for their child, how you guys feel about me, even how Emerald has shown she cares about me."

Now that his hand was free, Xavier scooted closer to us and clasped my right hand in his left. The electricity that flowed where we connected instantly sped my heart rate but at the same time calmed my breathing. I gave him a grateful squeeze.

Mom's eyes were filled with tears yet to drop, and she pulled us into another embrace; one arm wrapped around Kallie and another around Xavier and I was squished in the middle. "I don't doubt you for a second, April. If this is what you think is best for all of you, then I'll forever stand by it."

Now my own eyes filled, slightly annoying since I had cried so much today, and when she pulled away, her eyes stared right into mine with so much pride I was overwhelmed. And I couldn't help the sob that came when she said "and I'm so proud of you."

I didn't think she knew just how badly I've needed to hear those words from her. "Thank you, Mom."