Shards of Sanity (Book 6, Forgotten Series)

Chapter Thirty-One

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.