Shards of Sanity (Book 6, Forgotten Series)

Chapter Twenty-Four: Part Two

Lilith seemed a bit overwhelmed with the attention but I could see she was trying. My mum held her hand tightly as the rest of my family continued their greetings. They pressed their cheek to hers, murmuring their thanks, and hugging her tightly. My dad kissed her cheek once my cousins and my aunt and uncle let her go. "You have given us Micheal back. That is a gift that can never be repaid." He gave her another hug and Lilith glanced towards me, her eyes wide and overwhelmed and I moved towards her, holding out my hand.

She took it, moving closer to me as my mum let her go. She looked over them as she sunk closer to my side. "They are very friendly." She stage whispered it at me and they all chuckled, the amusement rippling through the small group. I

I smiled at my family as I nodded. "They are." I was happy that she had been proven wrong and that they liked her. I had been concerned a bit, Lilith was different and I knew it was difficult for people to understand her but I was so thankful that my family embraced her like they did. It made my chest and throat tight with emotions as I thought about it. They were so loving and welcoming that I was blown away. I had been away from the for so long that this reception wasn't something I had been expecting. I expected anger and resentment and there was nothing like that. It made me want to cry, I wasn't going to lie about that.

"I like the baby." Lilith whispered it to me as she stared at Janie and I smiled, letting go of her hand. I wrapped my arm around her back as I pulled her closer. I was so happy that she was so good with kids, I was happy that her time with Adam and what he had done didn't linger in her mind like the scars did on her belly.

Vince came closer with a smile as he jostled Janie in his arms. "She likes you too. Here." He held her out towards Lilith and she gave that dimpled smile as she took the toddler. Janie looked at her like she wanted to cry but Lilith grasped her hand and spun away from me abruptly, causing Janie to giggle and laugh as Lilith swayed and spun with her. "She's sweet." Vince gestured towards Lilith with his head and I nodded.

"Unbelievably sweet." There wasn't a hard bone in her body, aside from her feral wolf. Lilith was more likely to cry than to confront anyone. "It makes what he did to her that much worse." The familiar anger for Adam rose up in me and I pinched my lips together, keeping my eyes on her as she spun around with Janie. The little girl laughed, her cheeks round and pink from her enjoyment.

Vince grasped my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "The goddess will make him pay." I nodded slowly, she already was making him pay but for me it didn't seem like enough. I doubted it ever would, what he did was horrible. He had taken this sweet female and destroyed her. Utterly and totally decimated her, mind and soul.

"You guys have been driving for a while. Why don't we head inside and you can meet my Alphas and my Beta brother?" I gave them all a slightly tense smile, unable to help it with the anger that still simmered in my belly at the reminder of Adam. It was best to distract myself and introducing my blood to my chosen family was a good distraction.

Lilith spun back towards me, Janie giving hysterical little giggles as she did so. "You can meet Heidi! She would just love to play with you." She tickled Janie's tummy with a wide smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners. The little girl wiggled and screeched happily at the tickling. I smiled as I placed my hand on Lilith's lower back. I loved that despite everything she was still so happy and wanted to make others happy as well. It spoke to the core of who she was, someone sweet and kind. It was something that Adam could never take away from her no matter what he did or how hard he tried.

I stroked her back with my fingers, unable to help myself. "Let's go inside, Lilith." I bent down a bit, my voice low and she nodded happily. She turned and headed towards the front stairs with Janie, tickling the little girl's belly again as she did so. I followed close behind her, wanting to be close to her.