I carried another box into the small house that Luka had given to Aaron. I spotted Lilith unpacking one of the boxes in the living room, she was humming to herself as she did so. I was sad for her, sad for her dad. After that brief moment of remembrance it was like he had slipped behind that block in her mind. She was nice to him, of course she was, but despite a bit of confusion on her face like she thought she should know who h. was, it went away rather quickly. However if it bothered him, he didn't let on.

I brought the box into the kitchen, setting it with the others, and Aaron looked up from where he was unpacking what looked to be dishes. "That all of the boxes?" At the almost quiet question I nodded. We had finally cleared out the trailer and I knew the Hunters would be happy to leave. While we had been busy unloading, they had done a pack wellness check with Luka. He hadn't been too impressed with that but he conceded it was better to do it now than to do it at a later date.

"Daddy, where is my stuff?" At the question I jolted and despite how Aaron's mouth quirked up slightly, he didn't really give a reaction.

"I put your boxes beside the coffee table, peanut." He called it out as he unwrapped another plate, setting it with the others.

"Thanks!" She sounded excited and after a few moments I could hear her chirp. "I'm happy!" I smiled at that as I moved over to the table, helping pull the wrapped up dishes from the box, helping unwrap them.

I honestly didn't know where to begin with talking to him. He was such a soft spoken male that it made it seem like I couldn't say much of anything out of fear I would some how upset him if I didn't say something just right. "I'm sorry you had to move from your home." I said it gently as I glanced at him and he shrugged.

"It wasn't much of a home anymore." He threw me a small smile, pushing his glasses up his nose before he gave a small sigh. "It hasn't been since Lilith was taken. She was all I had left after her mother died. When Adam took her, it took everything out of my life there." He gave me an almost brittle smile. "But I am here and away from those who took her from me, so I can't complain." I set the plate I had been unwrapping down on the stack.

"I know it must be hard... having her not really remember you." I couldn't even imagine how much it hurt him to have that. His daughter was right in front of him but she looked at him like she had no clue who he was. Yes there seemed to be tiny moments of recognition or times when she looked like she should know him but that didn't take away the pain he might have been feeling from it.

"It's not as hard as you think." He gave another shrug and I frowned, slightly confused. As if sensing the change in my mood he gave a heavier sigh and looked up at me, meeting my gaze. "You need to understand something. Lilith was taken by Alpha Adam to be his mate. I had no say in that, she had no say in it either. He took her and the next time I saw her, months later. She was empty." He gestured to the chair beside me and I sat down at the same time he did. He clasped his hand together, looking at the table top. "Alpha Adam brought her back to our pack, to show how a common female could become uplifted to a higher status. I looked at her and she was vacant. He had carved her out, emptied her, he had killed my daughter. There was nothing in that female that was the female that I had raised." His voice shook slightly as he said it and I watched as his shoulders tensed as he swallowed thickly.

"My daughter is dead, I have made peace with that. Alpha Adam killed her, he took her away from me." He gave a small gesture towards the living room where I could still hear Lilith humming. "That female in there isn't my daughter but there are pieces of who my daughter was in there all the same. I am happy to get to know her, to get to know this Lilith so we can be close like I used to be with my daughter." I blinked at him in shock. I couldn't really grasp what he was saying.

"She's still her." I didn't particularly like the thought of him not treating her like his daughter. Lilith was his child.

"No she's not." He gave a sigh. "I am not saying I do not love her because I do. It does not mean I am not happy and ecstatic to see her because I am. You didn't know Lilith before Adam, you did not get to see her grow and develop into a person. I did." He shook his head slightly. "That female isn't the Lilith I knew and that's okay. She won't ever be that female again." He looked up at me once more. "Lilith was brash and confident. She was a social butterfly and everyone loved her. She was the life of the party, talkative, and never wanted anyone to feel left out. She sought out interactions and conversations and loved making friends from complete strangers. She drew people to her like a flame and in that she was just like her mother. That is the female I knew." He clasped his hands together once more and his shoulders slumped slightly.

"The female you know is so much like me it hurts. She's broken, she's timid, she's shy, and she's happy doing her own thing without others. I love her and I will always love her but the Lilith I knew is dead and I am content and happy to get to know this one instead." At that I felt a bit of relief. I didn't know what I would have done if he would have wanted to cast Lilith away. She was trying so hard to remember things and to work through what had been done to her.

"She is trying, you know, and getting better. Maybe there will be a day when she remembers who you are completely." I wanted that for him, for Lilith to see him and fully remember who he was to her. I wanted that for her too. I wanted her to remember the happier times she had before Adam had taken her from her home. I wanted her to remember the life she had lived previously.

"Even if there isn't, I am happy with what I have. She is no longer empty, her gaze is no longer vacant. That means the world to me, more than you could ever know." He gave a fuller smile at that, those faint dimples appearing on his cheeks. "It also means the world to me to see her so happy with you. There was no love between her and Alpha Adam, he had destroyed her to possess her, there was no happiness there, but with you she is happy. So happy it hurts my heart because it's so full to see it." I didn't really know how to respond to it so I nodded slightly.

Aaron reached over and patted my hand, as if to get my attention. "I am serious, Micheal. Even from before Alpha Adam, she never smiled as brightly as she does with you. She sees you and she lights up in a way that I have never seen before. She looks at you as if you are her everything and I can see you look at her the same." He gave my hand a friendly squeeze before he stood up.

"Thank you." I honestly didn't know exactly how to respond to all of that but I figured saying thanks was a safe bet. It did make me happy to hear that I was making Lilith happy, that she lit up when around me. It made me feel like I was doing something right with her.

I got to my feet as well and we both continued unwrapping the dishes from the box. "So did the jackass help you pack?" I couldn't imagine the sexist asshole wanting to help anyone do anything but I wanted to make some conversation.

"Alpha Steve?" He shook his head, setting a cup beside the stack of plates. "He contacted the ranked members yesterday and they gathered some pack members to help make sure I was all packed by the time he arrived back to the pack. Took us most of the night to pack and load everything into the Hunters' trailer." He grabbed another thing from the box and set about unwrapping it as I set another plate down.

"That must have been stressful." I could only imagine how it felt to be accosted by ranked members telling you that you needed to pack your shit and leave the pack.

"Not really, I was quite happy to leave the pack." He set another cup down, grabbing another thing from the box before setting it down and moving the box off the table. "After Diana died and then with Lilith being taken, I didn't much want to stay. I didn't have many friends there. Diana was the outgoing one between us and when she died most of our friends kind of stopped coming around." He picked up the last cup from the box, unwrapping it before setting it with the others.

I grasped another box marked 'kitchen' and placed it on the table. "I'm sorry." Losing a mate was brutal enough, let alone losing your entire support system along with it. I had experienced it as well but I was glad he had Lilith with him after his mate had died.

"Don't be. I'm not a very social person and they were very much Diana's friends more so than mine." He gave me a soft smile. "I am not opposed to people coming over but I prefer to stay at home more than anything."

"Well you are unlucky because you will be bothered incessantly by the pack and we share most of our meals in the dining hall. People will be coming over a lot too, just to see who you are and introduce themselves." I could only imagine how much that would bother him if he was as introverted as he said. He needed to be inducted into the pack but I knew that the pack members would be curious.

"That's alright. It will probably do me good to get back into a firm pack structure." He opened up the box and pulled out some more wrapped dishes. He held one out for me and I took it. "Once Alpha Adam took over our pack, a lot of the social aspect disappeared. We weren't originally Old Way so being forced into those traditions was hard on all of us." There was a small note of sadness to his voice as he said it. I didn't blame him, that was probably horrendous to deal with, watching the pack being forced into ways that were so regressive and brutal.

I finished unwrapping the cup I had been passed and I set it by the other cups. I grabbed another item from the box. "I hope you can settle into Fortis. We are glad to have you here." New pack members were always welcome and I knew the pack would rally around Aaron to make him feel at ease with them all.

"I am happy to be here. I am also very glad to be given a place to stay. It seems a bit too much to be honest." He gestured around the kitchen and I shook my head immediately.

"The Alphas provide for the pack and we make sure to always have a place for someone to stay. If it's not in the pack house, it's a place in the village." I didn't want him to think he was indebted to the pack by having a place provided to him. We took care of our own, made sure they had all they needed to thrive. It was the bare minimum that a pack should do for their members. "We take care of our own."

"And I appreciate it greatly." He bowed his head at me before he set down another plate.

"Micheal, can I cut your hair?" At the nearly shouted question I found a smile tugging up my mouth. It never ended with her it seemed.

I shook my head slightly and when I reached out to grab another dish, Aaron gestured to the living room an almost excited look on his face. "You should let her." I frowned slightly and he gave a chuckle. "She's a trained hairdresser. I'm surprised she remembers that despite everything that has happened. You should let her do it maybe it will help her connect her old life with her new one." I was slightly shocked as I blinked at him. I hadn't thought about the reason behind her slight obsession with cutting hair but it made sense.

I hesitated for a moment before I turned my head towards the living room. "Sure, Lilith. You can cut my hair." I heard her chirp and it had a smile growing on my face as there was a bit of shuffling sound before she hurried around the living room door into the kitchen, a wrapped bundle clutched to her chest. She beamed at me as she set the bundle on the table.

"You find all of your hair cutting stuff?" Aaron gave her a warm smile as he moved everything off the table, giving her more room to work.

I put the open box onto the floor as Lilith wiggled, nearly vibrating with excitement. "Yah!" She gave another full wiggle as she unrolled the bundle quickly. It was a rather nice set of scissors and combs. She hurried from the room as her dad gave a chuckle.

"She's a little excited." He smiled at me and I watched her come back into the room with a spray bottle and a dressing cape in her hands as she set them on the table beside the opened bundle of hair cutting equipment. She looked so excited that it made my chest radiate with warmth as I watched her.

"Sit, sit!" She patted the chair I had previously vacated, clutching her hands to her chest as she beamed up at me. I nodded at her as I sat down in the chair. She pulled the cape off the table and wrapped it around my neck, letting it flutter into place.

"Do you want me to fill your spray bottle?" At the softly said question Lilith gave an excited nod as she hurried away once more. It wasn't long before she came back, a hair brush in her hand. She started brushing my hair and my wolf gave a small huff of amusement at how happy she was to groom us. We both appreciated it. This was such a small thing for us to do but it seemed to mean the world to her. "Here you are." Aaron put the full spray bottle onto the table and Lilith gave another happy chirp.

"Thanks, daddy!" At the words I watched as his expression softened as he watched her. He set about cleaning up more of the table as Lilith finished with the hair brush and grabbed the spray bottle. She picked up one of the combs and set about spraying down my hair and running the comb through it. "I'm happy!" She was wiggling, I didn't need to see it to know that she was.

Aaron gave a chuckle as he paused in grabbing the cups from the table. "Are you?"

"Yah!" Lilith chirped it out as she moved around me, getting every bit of my hair damp. There was a lightness to them both, to the entire room that made me want to pull Lilith close and hold her tight. In this moment there was no darkness of Adam hanging over her. She was bright and she was happy and it meant so much to me to see it.

Aaron picked up the plates, setting them on the counter before he turned back towards her. "Maybe you can cut my hair afterwards. It's getting a bit long." He slowly ran a hand through his greying hair.

"Not yet, daddy, you just had a hair cut. I can tell." She stiffened beside me before she blinked in confusion, setting the spray bottle down on the table. I watched as she pressed a hand to her head. "I don't know why I said that." She looked at me slightly distressed and I reached out, grasping her hand in my own.

"It's okay, Lilith. Somethings might come out now and that's okay." I squeezed her hand gently and she gave me a slow nod before reaching out and grasping a bit of my hair.

"Can I still cut your hair?" She beamed when I nodded at her, giving her my permission. She gave a happy wiggle as she pulled her hand away from my own. She continued combing my hair before she grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting my hair. I was a tiny bit apprehensive but she seemed to know what she was doing as she continued to comb and cut my hair. "I'm going to keep it slightly long, okay? It fits better with your face structure." She moved in front of me, using her fingertips to move my face up as she looked me over with a wide grin. "It will make you look handsome." She bent down and nuzzled her nose against my own.

I chuckled at that before I winked at her as she pulled back. "Am I not already handsome?" I reached out, grasping her hip as I said it. She wrinkled her nose at me playfully as she shook her head. I slid my hand up to her side and gave it a playful squeeze.

She yelped, jumping away from me before she laughed, pointing her finger at me. "Bad, Micheal. Bad. Not allowed." She shook her finger at me and I chuckled at her. "No more of that. I'm going to cut your hair." There was a slight chastisement to her voice as she said it and I nodded.

The lightness seemed to grow in the energy of the room and I couldn't help but smile at her as she came back towards me and resumed cutting my hair. She started humming and I basked in her happiness as she moved. This was such a small thing to give her and she seemed so happy about it. She was careful and attentive and it made me realize just how how far she had come since she had been in my life, since that moment I had met her in Altia.

She was trying, she was remembering, she was getting better. I didn't know what her normal was, I doubted that we would ever really get to such a point, but she was doing her best to heal. I glanced at her dad and he was watching her with a faint look of pride and relief, as if just having her around was enough to make him feel better. She was different than what he had remembered but it didn't stop him from wanting to love her, to be in her life and I appreciated that. I had a feeling that having him around would help her bridge the gaps in her memory, would allow her to remember what she had been before Adam.

I flicked my gaze back to her as she shifted on her feet, intently staring at my hair as she made sure to get the cut perfect. Each motion she made was sure and exact, as if her body remembered what it needed to do even if her mind was a little hazy about it. She moved out of my line of sight and I closed my eyes, letting her work, letting her do what she needed to make herself happy.

After a few minutes she once again touched my face and I cracked my eye open to look at her. She reached behind her and set the comb and scissors down before pulling the dressing cape off of me, setting it off to the side. I shook my head, my hair feeling less fly away, despite the dampness it had. "Am I handsome yet?" I gave her a wry grin and she nodded, sitting down on my lap as she looped her arms around my neck as she did so. I wrapped my arms around her waist before I kissed her cheek. "I love you." I nuzzled her ear and her grip on me tightened.

"I might not know much anymore but I know I love you and that's enough for me." She gave me a quick kiss, stroking my cheek with her fingers and I leaned into the touch.

She was right. It was enough for me too.