Five months later

I wiped the sweat from my eyes and dodged the next pointed attack. Steam curled off of my opponent like I knew it did for me. The courtyard was a mess, our feet scraping against the cold ground, the snow melting against our bodies. Grime coated the ones who had allowed themselves to hit the dirt.

I dodged his next attack before grabbing the back of his neck and shoving him to the ground. He struggled for a moment as I pinned his arm before he submitted. I let him go and helped him to his feet, pounding on his back to let him know he had fought well.

He bent over with a smile despite how heavy he was breathing. I rolled my shoulders and my neck, feeling the muscles pull. There was a stinging nip to the back of my arm and when I lifted it Lace gave me an innocent look that held heated eyes.

"You taste like sin... and sex." Her mouth tugged up into a smirk and I grabbed the back of her head and gave her a searing kiss, bending over her possessively. She wasn't one for public displays of affection but the teasing pokes from her claws weren't warning me away. I gave a low growl as I pulled back, the adrenaline and triumph made me want to drag her off to the nearest out of sight place and take full advantage of what she was offering.

"You taste like trouble." I tugged her close and nipped at her mark, leaving a patch of irritated skin that I soothed with my tongue. "Where are the kids?" I had to ask because Nina had learned to walk and if we weren't careful she wandered off. She found great joy from doing so, giggling when we caught her and then immediately trying to do it again.

"Playing in the snow." She pulled away from me and pointed to snow hill where Aiden and Caeda were overseeing nearly a dozen children playing on it. It did me good to see that they were having fun as Caeda threw a handful of snow at her twin. She was getting better, still wasn't a hundred percent and I doubted she would be but she was getting there.

It was also nice to see all of my children playing. Caden had a full recovery despite the scars it had left on him. He didn't seem to notice them unless the weather changed and then he curled up with us in the bed and we rubbed at them, trying to take away the ache he felt from them. He had his fifth birthday shortly after he had been taken off bed rest. Lander's and Graham's birthdays hadn't been long afterwards. They had all been spring and summer babies.

The thought made me smile. Lace had attempted to bake each of them a cake but she couldn't seem to get it right and burned each one. I let her despite knowing they would burn, because it made her happy to try and she needed all the happiness she could get. I glanced at her as we both moved towards the snow pile. She had made a lot of progress. True, she was still brutal and unable to play well with others but she was able to somewhat smile at others, small ones that put others at ease and made her fan club grow.

Her story of the bear had done as I knew it would. It became legend on this mountain and the others next to it. Rumors had come back to me that I hadn't mated to a shifter at all, that my mate was a mountain spirit given a corporeal form. I did nothing to dispel them, if they were willing to believe that I had conquered the very mountain and taken her spirit as my mate they could. However I knew it was much harder to win the hand of Lace than the hand of a mere mountain spirit.

We are nearly here. Mason's voice entered into my head and I felt a bit of nervous excitement fill me as I pulled on my shirt, it was a bit too cold to be shirtless without training.

Okay. Let me know when you get in. I had found Lace's family. It had taken me over four months. I had searched on my own but I hadn't known her parent's names or what pack she had come from. After I searched for nearly two months without success in even finding her brothers, I had placed a bounty on finding them, letting the Hunters use their resources to do it for me.

A month ago I had a call from a rather irate man who demanded to know who the hell I was.

The phone rang and I picked it up quickly. There had been numerous dead ends so far but the Hunter in charge of my case had said he had found a promising lead and he would contact me if it worked out. That had been a few days ago so I was feeling a fair bit of anxiety about the situation that I had to continue to explain away to Lace.

"Alpha Thorn." I kept my tone formal and neutral like I always did with direct calls to the office.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" The voice was gruff and trembling with anger and I stiffened, frowning slightly. "Where do you get off?" I was a bit taken aback by the male's rather aggressive nature.

"Pardon me?" I had learned not to get upset at disrespect but my wolf didn't particularly like his tone.

"Why the hell are you looking for us?" it was a heavy accusation and realization flooded me. I shifted in my chair, clearing my throat.

"Are you the par-"

"Parents of Lace Owens? Yes. Now you need to fuck off." There was a heavy snarl to his voice that had me confused.

"I'm sorry, there seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding." I wondered if there had been a communication error. If he hadn't been actually told why I was searching for him.

"You bet your ass there is! My daughter is dead. There is no reason for anyone to be looking for us using her name! Leave the dead lie!" There was a heavy emotion to his voice and there was a deep growl that came from his end of the line.

"Lace isn't dead, she's mated to me." At the words he gave a heavy and deadly snarl.

"If I ever find you, I will kill you." He slammed the phone down with a harsh sound that had me wincing and staring at the phone in disbelief.

Needless to say that conversation had not gone well. The Hunter had phoned me less than ten minutes later to let me know that he believed he had found the right people but Lace's supposed father, Abraham, had been belligerent and highly aggressive to any sort of questioning and his mate, Gwenyth, had simply ignored him.

I truly believed I had gotten the right family and had thanked the Hunter and sent my payment in and set about attempting to gain contact with him again. It had taken three weeks before he had called me back.

I frowned when I realized the phone was ringing in my office. I moved through the hall towards it. It was four in the morning and I had no clue who it was that was calling the direct line this late at night. I quickly picked it up and sat down at my desk.

"Alpha Thorn." My tone was slightly gruff but it was too late to be polite. Eli had a nightmare and I had let Lace sleep to go and take care of him. I just wanted to go back to bed with my mate.

"Yah. I know." The male's voice was tight with agitation and I rubbed at my eyes.

"May I help you? Or enquire as to why you are calling me at four in the morning?" It was a very odd time for someone to call a person and give them attitude.

"I could ask you why you are up at four in the morning to receive calls." He snapped it out and I raised an eyebrow.

"My son was having a nightmare, I just finished settling him back down. There. Now why are you calling?" I allowed an edge to come into my voice as well and the man let out a heavy sigh.

"You said you were mated to a Lace Owens." The words seemed to weight heavily on him as they came out and I nodded, realizing who it was that was calling.

"I am." Quite happily mated to her as well.

"You need to understand my anger. My daughter died eleven years ago due to complications of a miscarriage. Then you told me you were mated to her." He let out another sigh and I could almost hear him gritting his teeth. "You can understand why I would find that a little hard to swallow." I understood his positioning but I had to get him to understand that I wasn't lying.

"She has two brothers. Byron and Robert." I tried to hit all the points of knowledge that no one else would know. "You used to tell her a poem about an old hero warrior before bed, even when she told you to stop. She was an early bloomer and at sixteen she was mated to Milo Damascus, Alpha of the Trebax pack. She miscarried their baby at five months." I could hear him take as sharp inhale.

"How do you know all that?" His voice had a sharp edge of aggression and I rubbed at my forehead. I needed him to realize that I wasn't lying.

"Because she didn't die, Abraham." I said it softly as I could. I knew it was difficult for him. He had been lied too for years and now I was exposing them. Sometimes it was easier to hold onto the lies.

"Milo-"

"Gave her to the Sol Warriors."

"What?" It was a choked word and I covered my eyes. I hadn't wanted to drop it on him like that but sometimes it was needed.

"She spent eight years in one of their science compounds. I don't know all of what she went through but I do know it was brutal." If her nightmares that seeped into my mind were anything to go by. There hadn't been a single reprieve from the pain and torture in the eight years she had been there. "My mate's name is Lace Tahlia Owens, she has hair like spun gold and eyes so dark they are like looking into the universe. She is a tiny female with a great spirit and I know she misses her family greatly." There was a choked sound from the other end of the line before it went dead.

He had called me yesterday and told me he and his mate would be coming to the territory, demanding I tell him where it was so they could come see their little girl.

I picked up the phone absent-mindedly.

"Where the hell is your territory?" Abraham's voice was harsh and I raised an eyebrow.

"Hello to you too, Abraham." I adjusted the phone and he made a sound of annoyance.

"Don't care about civilities. I am coming to see my little girl." His voice was gruff and I sat down, feeling the sudden seriousness of the situation.

"Its the Algus pack, the mountains near the border to Canada. Location should be in the information package the Hunter gave you." I gripped the desk

"I have it." He shuffled some papers, I could hear it through the phone. "You said you have a son. Does this mean I have grandchildren?" His voice cracked slightly and I nodded.

"Five of them."

"Holy shit! You two were busy." At that I laughed loudly, the tension leaving my muscles.

"They are adopted." I couldn't help the wide grin that crossed my face.

"Okay, good. I was going to have to give you shit for defiling my daughter." He sounded perturbed and I gave a wicked grin.

"Don't worry. I defile her quite regularly." Quite regularly. He made a sound in the back of his throat that I couldn't place before he started laughing.

"I... I think I might like you, Alpha Thorn." There was a lightness to his tone that I hadn't hear before and it made a surge of happiness to fill me.

"Call me Azrael." He was my mate father and he deserved to be allowed that. With him I wasn't an Alpha. I was family.

"We are coming to see her." He hung up the phone and I smiled at my desk before hanging up my phone as well.

I glanced at Lace. I was nervous. I wasn't sure how she would react towards seeing her family again. I hoped that she would be happy, that it would bring her some closure and some joy.

"What has got you wound up?" She glanced at me and I swallowed hard before giving her a small smile.

"We are having some visitors to the territory and I'm not sure how well the alliance might go." I could practically see her tuning out from the conversation and I inwardly smirked. Lace wanted very little to do with the Alpha duties. She wasn't trained for it and she seemed more content to be the power force for me than anything else. I didn't mind that. Dealing with difficult Alphas had become very easy, all Lace had to do was let her dominance out and stare until they cowered.

Eli ran towards us, his cheeks rosy. Caden followed him and I could see Nina in her big puffy blue snow suit as she toddled after them. She idolized her brothers, following them around constantly. At eleven months old she had quite the personality. She made an impression on everyone who spent time with her. Her heterochromia was highly striking and we had numerous visitors be mesmerized by her big and unique eyes.

Lace didn't particularly like having them stare at her or the other children but she never once kept them from my meetings. We liked to foster a sense of curiosity in them. I wanted to see who would have the drive to lead. So far I hadn't seen much but they were all young, still growing and drive sometimes took time to emerge.

We are here. Mason's voice accompanied the sight of a humvee coming through the gate. My heart felt like it would pound out of my chest. I looked over at Lace and she was picking up Nina, kissing her chubby cheeks. Caden and Eli grabbed hold of my legs, laughing loudly. Graham and Lander came over and I ruffled their hair before I reached out and grasped Lace's hand and watched as the humvee came to a stop in front of us.

Lace gave me a slightly questioning stare but I ignored it as the passenger side door opened and a rather large, burly man stepped out. His hair was the exact same shade as Lace's, braided down his back and set in his face were two eyes as dark as the universe. Lace gave a choked gasp, her hand trembling in mine as she caught sight of the him. I glanced at her and her eyes were wide and glassy.

"Lace." He breathed it out, his expression matched the shock in hers and I felt a surge of panic from Lace. I held her hand tighter, pulling her a bit closer, giving her the support she needed. "Eleven years." He gave a choking sob and kids looked between Abraham and Lace and back again.

Lander knew instantly and Graham was close to follow in the realization. Abraham took a step closer, holding his hand out. Lace took a half step backwards. She swallowed, her panic was nearly all consuming and I shushed her softly. Mason exited the driver side and slowly moved around us. I gave him a faint nod of thanks that he returned in acknowledgement.

"You look like Mama." Graham said it loudly and both Lace and her father looked at him. He looked up at him before marching over to Abraham. "Are yous my grandpa? Or my uncle?" Abraham wiped at his eyes and crouched down in front of him.

"I'm your grandpa." He gave him a smile and Graham beamed back at him.

"Good. Cause I have a papa but I don't have a grandpa. I needed one." He put his hands on his hips and I watched as Lace took that half step forward again.

"What is your name?" Abraham wiped at his eyes again, his focus on his grandson, getting to know the child that his daughter had taken in and loved dearly.

"Graham Thorn." He emphasized the last name and gave me a sly smile over his shoulder. I chuckled at that and Abraham gave him another smile.

"Well, Graham Thorn, can I give you a hug?" At the words Graham nodded enthusiastically and practically threw himself at Abraham, wrapping his arms around him tightly. Abraham slowly wrapped his arms around him closing his eyes. I could see him inhale, taking Graham's scent deep into his lungs.

"I'm Lander." Our eldest came over, holding his shoulders back and keeping his form straight just like I had taught him. Abraham gave a chuckle, letting Graham go to stand up. Lander stuck his hand out and Abraham enclosed it with his, giving it a firm shake.

"Pleased to meet you, Lander. May I give you a hug as well?" At Lander's nod Abraham stepped towards him, pulling him close, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Lace took another step forwards before crouching beside Eli. She murmured something into his ear and he nodded happily, kissing her cheek before running over to Abraham, hugging his leg excitedly.

"I Ewi!" His voice was a small shriek and Abraham let Lander go with one more squeeze before he looked down at Eli.

"Hello, Eli. I'm your grandpa." He reached down and picked Eli up, holding him close as he took a single step forward.

"G'anpa!" Eli kissed his cheek and patted his face before wrapping his arms around his neck, giving him a hug. Lace took a step, pulling Caden with her as she murmured something into his ear, gently pushing him forwards. Abraham took another step and crouched down, still holding Eli as he opened his arm for Caden.

"My name's Caden." Caden's voice was small and Abraham gave him a soft smile, taking a step towards him before hugging him tightly.

"It is very nice to meet you, Caden." He kissed Caden's cheek and then Eli's before setting them both down. Lace took a step and set Nina on her feet. She pointed at Abraham.

"Go see grandpa." She gently urged Nina forward and our little girl giggled happily before she toddled towards the large male. He picked her up gently, giving her a hug and kissing her cheek. His eyes soon landed on Lace and Lander took Nina from him as he took one more step and enclosed Lace into his arms.

"My baby girl." He clung to her, his shoulders shaking with emotions and the silent sobs I knew were escaping along with his tears. "My little one."

"Dad." Lace buried her face in his chest and cried, her arms coming up as she held onto him just as tightly as he was to her. The back passenger door opened and a small woman, about Lace's height, with brown hair highlighted with auburn stepped out. She moved over to Abraham quickly and grasped at Lace.

"My baby!" Her form trembled just as Lace did and Lace's arm dropped from her father as she almost scrambled to wrap them around the woman.

"Muma!" It was a sharp cry and I stepped forward. She was starting to get a tad overwhelmed as Gwenyth grasped her face and peppered it with kisses.

"Only the moon knows how I missed you. My little baby. My little girl." She encased Lace within her arms and Abraham held them both, kissing both of their cheeks. I could feel Lace start withdrawing and I placed a hand on her lower back. As soon as they let her go she sunk into my side, slightly behind me as she wiped at her eyes, avoiding looking at them before she hurried away to the fort. Gwenyth reached for her with a low sound of distress but Lace ignored the sound, already halfway across the courtyard.

"She gets overwhelmed sometimes and needs time alone." I kept my voice low and soothing. I didn't want to distress them anymore either.

"I'm gunna kill him." Abraham held his crying mate to his chest, his jaw flexing with his agitation. "I can't believe him. I can't understand what type of sick bastard would do that! Im going to tear his head off!"

"She already did." Obviously he hadn't heard about that entire incident but the hunter had said they kept themselves fairly isolated from everyone. That was why they were so hard to track down. I bent down and picked up Nina who had toddled towards my legs. She cooed at me, patting my face, before pressing her face against mine in what she believed was a kiss. I appreciated it no matter what it was.

"Good." He gave a sharp nod and I moved closer.

"Gwenyth, would you like to meet your granddaughter?" I kept my tone light and she gave a shaky nod, wiping at the tears before she gave me a watery smile.

"That's right. I have five new grandbabies to spoil. I need to stop crying, this is happy." She reached for Nina and I handed her over. She kissed Nina's cheeks and held her hand before she sat down on the ground, urging the others to come closer. The action was reminiscent of what Lace did whenever she was speaking to the children and I could tell that she had probably learned it from her mother. Abraham moved towards me and gave me a look. I nodded and we move further away from the small group.

"Thank you." He grabbed my shoulder and I shook my head.

"I did this for her as much as for you. She needs her family." I knew she couldn't fully deal with things without them. I wanted her to be better, I wanted her to move forward because it was healthier for her. She needed her family.

"Does that happen often?" He gestured in the direction where Lace had left in.

"No." I shook my head slowly. Lace had deviated."She usually kills what does that to her." I watched his expression as it flashed with confusion.

"She isn't the same young woman that you last saw. What happened to her had some pretty serious consequences. We are working through them. It is a long process but she is getting better." I stared in the direction she had left in. My wolf wanted me to go after her but I knew she needed some time alone. If she could process where people weren't then it worked better.

"She doesn't have to be." He shook his head. "I have spent the past eleven years mourning the loss of my child. I have her back and it doesn't matter what shape she is in. She is, and always will be, my little girl." I nodded and patted his back.

"I also gots these!" I glanced at Gwenyth and I made a noise of surprise as Caden lifted his shirt to show off his rather wicked scars. I jumped towards him, pulling his shirt down.

"I apologize." I said it quickly and Gwenyth looked a little green.

"Where the fuck did he get those?" Her voice was high pitched and her angry eyes landed on me and I opened my mouth when Graham jumped excitedly.

"There was a battle." He said it gleefully and I wanted to cover his mouth with my hand. He was not helping.

"A battle?" She looked horrified and I didn't know whether to laugh or be angry.

"Yah, and this bad guy tried to kill me but I'm too tough!" Caden attempted to flex his arms and I covered my face with my hand, shaking my head.

"What the hell?" She narrowed her gaze at me and I shrugged. I honestly didn't know how to explain it to her without actually making her more mad.

"Mountain ways are hard ways. Only the strong survive." Lace's voice trembled slightly but was firm. I felt for her but she seemed to have calmed herself down in a quick amount of time. Her composure flawless even though I could feel her emotions through the bond, betraying how she truly felt, off-kilter, confused, and shaky.

"See, Gamma? Mama says I'm tough!" Caden looked pleased and he ran towards Lace, wrapping his arms around her legs. She smoothed his hair down with both her hands and kissed his forehead.

"It must be getting cold. Lets go inside." She held out her hand for Caden and then Graham and both took them as she lead them towards the fort. I picked up Eli and Gwenyth stood up, still holding Nina. I put my arm around Lander, ruffling his hair.

We followed Lace into the fort, she lead us all into the study and we were joined by more of my family. There were no barriers with us. Family was family and Lace's family was just as much part of ours as we believed we were part of theirs. Lace hadn't been very comfortable and while she spoke to her parents, learning about her brothers matings and their children. She has showed some contentment with the news but she still left half way through the get together, feeling overwhelmed again.

I waited for a few minutes before I followed her scent. She had left the fort and I knew exactly where she was. I walked through the compound slowly, giving her time to work through her feelings and emotions. I wasn't worried about her parents, Uriel and Abraham were talking and Larissa and Katrina were talking to her mother. They were also bonding with their newest grandchildren. Her parents were fine without us both.

I moved out of the gate and leaned against the wall, watching Lace as she traced the name on her son's stone. She had come out at least once a day. She had even brought the children out, telling them about how they had a sibling that had died a long time ago. She had spoke about him enough that it had become almost commonplace for them to mention him when someone asked about their siblings.

"I don't need to be babysat, Azrael." She didn't look away from the stone and I pushed off the wall, walking towards her.

"I'm not babysitting you." I stood beside her and stared at Timothy's stone. My wolf whimpered, he viewed Timothy as his boy as well. If it was Lace's child it was his as well. So he grieved slightly for the lost little life.

"Then why are you here?" She smoothed her thumb over the letters of his name.

"Because I love you and I want to make sure you are feeling okay." I pressed my hand to her lower back and nipped her ear lobe gently, causing her to shiver.

"Why did you bring them here?" There was a hard edge to her tone and I rubbed her back with my thumb.

"You need your family." It was one thing that I knew was needed for her progress to continue.

"I didn't want them to see me like this." Her form stiffened with slight hurt. She was truly worried that they would no longer love her if they saw her as the brutal creature Damascus had helped shape her into.

"Like what? As a loving mother?" That was all that I saw when I looked at her. She was a great mother and I knew that was all that truly mattered to me. She loved our children and it was enough.

"Like I am."

"I spoke to your father and he told me that it didn't matter what you were or how your life changed you, you would always be his little girl." I rubbed her back, digging my fingers into her muscles in small circular motions. She made a low sound in her throat. "You needed them, Lace." I pressed my hand to her belly. She needed them to help her through this. I wanted to help her but this situation was something that made me doubt myself and our relationship. I wasn't allowed into her head, I wasn't allowed to see what she was thinking. She kept her privacy but it let my doubts grow so large. I swallowed hard.

"I need you to know and understand this, Lace. What ever happens to this baby, it will never change how I feel about you. I love you, so deeply." I pressed my lips to her temple. "I am not Damascus." I wasn't and I didn't want her to ever fear I would do as he did. I would never do that to her. She grasped the wrist of that hand I held over our growing future. My heart was in my throat but she slid her hand to cover my own before she turned her head upwards and kissed me softly, a soft smile on her face.

"I know." She kissed me again and I doubted an 'I love you' could ever taste sweeter on her lips.