Chapter 15

Fifteen

Once she was washed, bandaged, and clothed, we went down to the kitchen to get some food.

Caleb had returned while I was bathing her, and he smiled at her as he walked into the kitchen. "Hello, cub."

Lily looked up from where she was perched on the counter, watching me pulling cheeses and salami out. "Alpha."

He nodded. "Yes."

"Her name is Lily," I advised.

"Lily. That's a pretty name," he said. "Did you enjoy your bath?"

She nodded. "I love water!"

I set all the snacks I'd grabbed onto a tray, picked her up off the counter with one arm, and carried the tray in the other out to the living room. "Start eating and I'll get you a drink, okay?"

She grabbed a cracker and nodded.

Crooking my finger at Caleb, I had him follow me into the kitchen. He followed behind me silently. Once in the kitchen, I leaned close and whispered, "I want to adopt her."

He smiled and kissed my cheek. "I figured as much. We've already started looking for her birth certificate and other information. Unfortunately, her house was one of the ones destroyed, so she has no belongings."

Branson approached, a tablet in his hand, and slid it towards us.

I spun it so Caleb and I could see what was on it, my eyes widening when I saw an online shopping cart of girls' clothes and supplies.

"We knew as soon as we saw you with her," Branson answered my unasked question. "Caleb filled us in on the details. And we all agree wholeheartedly with your decision."

Tears filled my eyes and I sniffled as I wiped them away. "I don't deserve you four."

Caleb hugged me from behind and said, "Quite the opposite, Emmy. We don't deserve you."

Branson grabbed a cup from the cupboard and filled it with water, walking over to Lily to hand it to her. He leaned far over to hand it to her, like he didn't want to get too close.

She took it and quickly gulped it down, handing him the cup back.

"Mom said she knows of a trauma therapist some of the packs use, so we're going to make an appointment for Lily to go see them," Caleb whispered.

"You sure you're okay with this?" I asked.

He stepped to my side, turned me to face him, and said, "Yes. While I would love kids of our own, I have always envisioned myself adopting hybrids just like her, who need a family. I want to make certain she knows that although her parents are gone and we cannot replace them, we will be here for her for the rest of her life. And, I have a feeling we may end up with at least one or two more situations like this."

"Found family is some of the best family," Branson said as he returned to the kitchen to refill Lily's cup.

"I agree wholeheartedly," I said with a wide smile. "Is she really going to be okay with living with us? She's so young, will she understand?"

"She understands that I'm her alpha and staying with me is what she should do when she's separated from her parents," Caleb said with a nod.

I supposed that made sense. Pack animals sought each other out to gather together, even unconsciously.

"Order everything on your list," Caleb told Branson. "Also, find out her favorite color and order sheets and a pillowcase in that color."

"You want me to ask her what her favorite things are?" Branson asked, eyes wide.

"You're not the boogie man," I told him with a laugh. "You're large so lots of people are intimidated by that, but I don't think she is. For someone who needs protection, you might be her favorite if you let your guard down and stop distancing yourself."

He scowled, but took the tablet and went back to the living room to talk to her.

"I'm going to call Mom and let her know what's happening," Caleb said and ran a hand through his hair. "Knowing her, she's going to scream and get extremely excited as if it were our own child."

I smiled, knowing he was most likely right. Jolie was incredibly understanding and kind. I had no doubt that she would treat Lily the same as if we had our own blood related child.

"Oh, Branson should ask her favorite characters," Caleb suddenly said. "I bet she watches cartoons and we could find stuffed animals or items with those characters on them for her."

I nodded and headed towards the living room. "I'll do some recon, too."

Lily had finished her plate of food and was looking at Branson with a slightly canted head, as if confused.

"Hey, Lily," I greeted.

She turned and looked at me. "Hi."

"Was your food good? Are you still hungry?"

"Food yummy. Not hungry." She shook her head.

"What about ice cream?" Branson asked.

Her eyes sparkled, and she nodded. "Yes!"

Oh, boy. She already had the big man wrapped around her finger.

He left to the kitchen.

"Lily, do you have a favorite cartoon? Or favorite character?"

She perked up. "Alpha patrol!"

I frowned, not familiar with it. "Okay." I sent a text to the group chat so we could research later.

"Okay. Lily, can you shift forms? Are you a shifter?"

Her smile disappeared, her hands clenched the bottom of her shirt, and she looked at her lap. "Papa said no tell."

My throat tightened. After swallowing hard, I said, "I understand, but you can tell me. Remember, I'm the alpha's mate. Your queen, right?"

She pondered that a moment before she whispered, "Snake."

A snake? I hadn't even heard of elves turning into snakes before.

"Oh, okay. Do you know what type of snake?" If we could understand more about it, it would help us in raising her.

She shrugged and raised her eyes to look at me. "Lily show you?"

I nodded and smiled wide. "Yes, that would be great."

Crossing her legs, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and shifted into a beautiful albino python with white scales and red eyes. She was about three feet in size, roughly her human size.

My eyes widened and I felt a sense of fate, in my chest. She was me, but in snake form.

Branson reentered and froze when he saw her.

"It's Lily!" I shouted a bit too loudly.

Lily hissed and started to burrow in the couch.

"It's okay," I crooned softly. "I was just worried he wouldn't recognize you. You're safe, sweetheart. Please come back out."

She poked her head back out from between the cushions, her tongue darting out as she looked at us.

I held out my hands. "Come on, come into my lap, sweetheart."

"Big."

Nodding, I said, "Yes, Branson is large, but it's his size that helps him be a better protector. He would never, ever, ever, ever in a million bazillion years hurt you."

Her tongue darted out again. "Hear us now?"

I nodded again. "Yes, I can hear creatures and shifters in their animal forms."

Slowly, she slithered out of the cushions, and curled up in my lap, resting her head atop one of my arms. "Not scared?"

I gently stroked her scales. "No, sweetheart, I am not scared of your snake form." Though, I could understand some would be. I also could understand why others might. It was going to be a pain for her growing up to have others judge her for the unique form.

She shifted back into her human form, still curled up in my lap, but now resting her head on my chest. "Safe?"

I nodded and stroked her hair. "You're safe with us."

"Ice cream," Branson said and set the bowl on the table. It had chocolate sauce, whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry on top.

I pouted. "Where's mine?"

"We have to eat dinner first, ma'am, before you get dessert," he chastised playfully in a soft tone. He was clearly trying his best not to startle her.

"Ember, you should get changed for dinner," Caleb said. "Dress with flats will work."

I looked at Lily, who was eating her ice cream. "What about her?"

"She's coming," he said with a wide smile. "I would never think of leaving her so soon."

"I'll be right back," I told Lily.

She nodded, her mouth full of ice cream, and whipped cream and chocolate sauce all over her face. How had she gotten so dirty so quickly?

"I'll stay with her," Branson said. "I don't need to change."

He was already wearing slacks and a nice shirt.

My eyes narrowed in suspicion at Caleb, but he just smiled and pushed me towards the stairs.

What were these men up to? Clearly, this wasn't a normal dinner.

As fast as I could, I changed into one of my simpler, but still nice-looking dresses, brushed out my hair and put it up into a ponytail, but pulled out a few chunks to frame my face, and did my makeup. Once ready, I made my way back to the living room.

All four of the men were gathered, watching Lily who watched an animated show on the tablet.

"When do we need to leave?" I asked.

"Now," Caleb said. "Lily, we're going to go out to dinner with some family. You're going to come, but you can bring the tablet to watch your show, okay?"

She nodded. "Be quiet at restaurant and let …" her lip quivered and tears sprang to her eyes, "… Papa eat." Caleb picked her up, exhaled audibly, his breath blowing out over her face, and she visibly relaxed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"That's right, cub. You're very smart."

He had just used siren magic on her.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Can you teleport us to Mystics?" Caleb asked.

Mystics was a really nice restaurant that Leona had worked at for a while, until she was mated to Silverowl, and catered to royals and rich people in general.

"Mystics?" I asked with a scowl. "That's where we're going?"

He nodded. "Can you teleport to the sidewalk in front of it?"

Sighing, I nodded in return, set my hand on his shoulder, and smiled at Lily. "We're going to teleport again, the strange tunnel, remember?"

She frowned and put her arms around Caleb's neck.

Obviously, she wasn't a fan yet of teleportation.

Riddick and Triston ran into the room, putting a hand on me just as Branson did as well.

"Here we go," I said with a smile at Lily.