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Summary: Derek and Erica adopt their twins.
Life and Times of a She-Wolf
The Wolves of Beacon Hills
Adoptions I: Avery and Amory
As it turns out one major side effect of having a large stable pack in the midst of a large supernatural community like Beacon Hills was that when supernaturals in the surrounding areas couldn't take care of, or didn't want their children, they left them on your land.
Surprisingly it happened often and as much as the pack wanted to they couldn't take in every child that was left at their gate; most of them were barely adults, not ready to raise kids at the time. They felt awful about it.
Luckily thanks to the relationships the pack had started to build (and rebuild from the days of Talia Hale) with other supernatural communities, they knew there were homes in Beacon Hills and beyond that would take in the children. So not long after the children started showing up at the gates of Wolf's Run (nearly three years after the Second Hale Fire) Allison McCall-Lahey opened up a supernatural adoption agency on Main Street in Beacon Hills and recruited some of her packmates to help her. There, she and her staff aimed to provide safe homes to the children that were left at the gates of Wolf's Run (or had come to the agency by other means) with supernatural families that they had investigated thoroughly, and had similar powers to the child.
Over the years the Beacon Hills Adoption Agency would bring together many families in Beacon Hills and beyond. And occasionally, after her friends finished school and started wanting children, Allison was able to match a child with her own packmates.
Erica had called earlier to let him now that they got a lead, and she and Bill were leading a raid on a suspected member of a supernatural smuggling rings' home. So Derek helped the girls with their homework, made sure all three of his kids were fed and bathed and put them to bed before starting his own nightly routine.
When he got out of the shower and found Erica crying on the floor of their bedroom he knew that what she found on the raid was horrible. So he sat down next to her and gathered her in his arms. And he smelled the scents of pups on her.
Not just any pups, frightened pups, pups that weren't biologically his but their scent gave his inner wolf the same feeling of parenthood that he got when he thought of Andi, Aubrey or DJ.
"Their father had them locked in the basement, with no light or proper toilet and with barely any food. When I carried them out of there they were crying for their mom, and I had to be the one to tell them she was dead. They clung to me and wouldn't let go. I think the wolf-girl chose me to be her adoptive mom… my wolf saw them as mine Derek, It nearly killed me to have to hand them over to Child Protective Services…I called Allison, her agency is taking custody in the morning, and she's going to try to find them a home."
Erica started to sob more.
Derek was conflicted. He wanted to take the pups in; his wolf insisted that they belonged with him and Erica but he knew that it could be difficult if his current children weren't up to the task of having two new sisters and helping them heal. If Allison could find a family without children that were willing to raise wolf and druid twins then he knew that it would be the best place for them.
But they belong safe in our den.
"Mom? Why are you crying?" Came Andromeda's voice from the doorway.
Derek looked up to find his eldest children peaking thorough the partially opened bedroom door. Erica had the nasty habit of never shutting the door completely when she came in the room.
Aubrey, seeing no reason to stay outside the room now that her sister had announced their presence walked right to them and snuggled into Erica's side. "It's okay Mommy."
Andi walked toward them as well, but stopped when the scent of the pups hit her. "What happened to our sisters?" She said her eyes glowing gold. "Who hurt our sisters? Why aren't they here with us?"
Aubrey sniffed Erica, "They aren't in Mommy's tummy like DJ was."
"They have to live at the adoption agency until Aunt Allison can find them a good home." Erica said softly.
"Why can't they come to live with us?" Andi asked, "They belong here."
Derek looked to his wife, not knowing what to say.
"Well, I thought it might be a problem bringing two new kids into our family without talking to you. And if there are people that can give these girls more than we can, I think they deserve the chance at that family don't you?"
Aubrey grumbled in response, not liking the idea at all but having no way to argue.
His little Andromeda though, she had a response. "You are wrong Mom, we are the best place for them. So when Auntie Ally can't find them a home, you better say that we will adopt them."
Erica didn't look convinced, and Derek didn't blame her. His girls had a hard time accepting DJ when he was born, they did not like change at all. Yes, they were accepting of the possibility of two new sisters now but he worried that in practice it could be a disaster.
A week later, Allison had run out of suitable families to take the girls. All the families in her files were ignorant in raising both a druid and a wolf pup that had been through emotional trauma, and weren't up to the task of trying. Allison had come over the night before and begged Derek and Erica to try a home visit to see if the kids would get along and if the twins' instincts that chose Erica as an adoptive mother translated to Derek as an adoptive father.
He and Erica were nervous, but their daughters we excited to meet the twins. They had spent the last week setting up a bedroom for the girls, next to Aubrey's room and across the hall from Andi and DJ's rooms. They had purchased furniture, toys and clothing (Derek suspected his sisters, Malia and Lydia helped, but wouldn't be surprised if Andi and Aubrey had figured out how to shop online with a pack credit card on their own).
His son, who he had been holding, was picking up on his parents' unease and had begun to let out little whimpers.
"DJ is a grump like daddy." Aubrey said, as she skipped around the living room, fluffing pillows.
"How much did Uncle Stiles pay you to say that?" Erica said as she walked into the room with the tray of cookies she and Andi had spent the morning making, Andi followed her with a jug of milk and a stack of cups with cartoon characters on them.
"He didn't. Auntie Lia paid me six whole dollars." Aubrey responded, moving on to the next couch to pillow fluff.
"What are you saving up all of that money for Aubrey?"
Aubrey stopped her task to glare at him. "My finances are none of your concern Daddy."
Derek tried his best to hold in his laugh, he failed.
"They have a super secret project." Erica said through her own small laugh, "I caught Andi taking money from my wallet earlier and the both of them digging through the couches for change yesterday."
Derek stopped his laughing to glare back at Aubrey. If raising two daughters was this much of a headache, how much more difficult would it be raising four?
"Give up Daddy, I will always win." Aubrey said with a grin that reminded him of his mother.
Derek gave up his glare and gave his best helpless look to his wife.
"Don't look at me. I was a complete angel as a child. They get this from your side of the family." Erica said as the app on both their phones notified them of an entry through the front gate.
The girls ran to the front door screaming "They're here!"
DJ wrestled out of Derek's grip and toddled quickly after his sisters.
Erica sat next to Derek on the couch and grasped his hands tightly. "I really hope they like each other and the twins want us to be their parents. I think my heart might break if this doesn't work."
Derek gave her hand a squeeze; he didn't think his heart would be able to handle this not working either. These pups had his heart already, and he had yet to meet them.
He heard his three children laughing, introducing themselves, and the ensuing puppy pile that Allison broke up. Andi lead them all into the living room, promising the twins cookies and milk.
Derek's heart clenched when he laid eyes on the little girls. They were beautiful, and his wolf instincts were screaming that these pups were his daughters. But he stayed put, and simply gave a friendly smile. He knew what a horrible wolf and man their biological father was (and he wished he could kill the piece of trash all over again); he didn't want to spook them or worse, make them think he was anything like that other man.
It seems that he didn't have to worry, because as soon as they entered the room the pups ran to him and Erica screaming "Mommy! Daddy!"
He soon had his arms full of druid child and Erica had the wolf child in her arms, while Andi (having dismissed Allison, assuring her that Erica would call if they needed her), Aubrey and DJ looked on from the doorway of the living room with smiles on their faces.
The girls switched laps after a moment, and the rest of his children made their way into the room and settled themselves around the coffee table. Andi began pouring milk for herself and her four siblings while Aubrey put two cookies onto each plate and placed them next to the milk cups making sure that the plates were spaced out around the coffee table.
"Mommy, Daddy did you know that our sisters don't even have names! Their Mama used to call them both 'Adamma' but they don't have their own names." Andi said while glaring at DJ, who was grabbing at her milk cup. "Stop it DJ, I brought you a sippy cup, I just have to put the lid on."
DJ sat back, sufficiently chastised. "Thirsty." he whined.
His newest wolf daughter climbed off his lap and went to sit next to DJ. She kissed his cheek to distract him while Andi put a lid on his cup. DJ giggled and kissed her cheek in return.
"Thank you." Andi said, "You need to pick a name, so we all can stop calling you 'wolf twin' and 'druid twin' you are so much more than what species you are."
Derek smiled at his eldest, she was right they couldn't keep going on calling them by their species. He knew they both must already have insecurities rooted to what species they were, he didn't want to put any more emphasis on it than they needed to. They were so much more than their species.
"We want A names, so we fit in with Andi and Aubrey." Said the child still on Erica's lap.
"Well, we had a list that I made when your Mommy was pregnant with Andi. There's some good names there…I think there's a few A names too. If you don't find an name you like there we can go online and look for A names." Derek suggested.
"Derek, I have no clue where that list is." Erica sighed.
"I do." He said reaching for his back pocket. "I hoped the girls would want to be adopted by us and that we would be naming them tonight."
His new daughters beamed. "Read the A names to us Daddy." The daughter on Erica's lap asked.
He smiled and read the only two A names on the list.
And luckily enough, his newest children each seemed to find a name they felt was theirs on the list.
Allison McCall-Lahey put down the phone with a sigh and got up from her desk, walking across the hall to the office that her husband Isaac and her packmate Marin used when she asked for their help with a difficult placement.
Isaac and Marin had their own counseling practice in the building next to her adoption agency, but they would help her out when she and her staff needed it. Some of the children she had to place had difficult pasts, and if she placed them with a family who were not equipped to raise a troubled child, that could be more emotionally scaring for the child.
"What's your favorite word?" She heard her husband say from behind the door.
"Mommy."The six year old replied.
"What's your least favorite word?"
"Bedtime."
"Do you love your big sister and little brother?"He asked.
"Yep. Andi is a mean sometimes and DJ is a mommy-hog but I love them."
"How do you feel about getting two more siblings?"
Allison heard Aubrey Hale draw in a lungful of air and let it out with a huff. "I love my new sisters already and Mommy and Daddy have plenty of love to share, and whenever a new baby comes into the pack the only thing changes is that there are more people to love…but what if they don't like me?"
Allison's heart ached, and she continued on down the hall, passing the bathroom, the conference room, and the playroom until she reached the large room that served as a reception area and held the desks of the rest of her employee/friends.
Kira was at the desk she shared with her husband. While her husband only worked for their little non-profit part-time and spent the rest of his time working cases for his parents firm, Kira devoted all her energy to Beacon Hills Adoption Agency as their only full-time lawyer.
Allison, Malia and Ethan were the agency's social workers, even though they all held other roles to keep the adoption agency afloat. Allison was the owner of the agency, so that came with reams of paperwork and making sure everything was being done right. Malia and Ethan kept the entire place clean and acted as receptionists. Everyone at the agency was on rotation to stay in the four-bedroom apartment above the offices when they had children waiting for placements or paperwork to go through, which was about 80% of the time.
Kira waived to Allison as she walked by, and Allison made a beeline for Malia's desk, sitting herself on top of it and sighing again.
Her fellow lieutenant glared at her, while rubbing her tiny baby bump. "Get over yourself Ally."
"Where's Ethan?"
"Upstairs with the girls." Malia said, "Kira, tell Ally to stop her little pity party."
Kira hung up the phone. "Ally, stop your little pity party. Those girls needed a home, and no one would take them both. You did the right think by asking Derek and Erica."
"My beautiful best friend, the voice of reason as always." Malia said, "Der and Puppy are on board with the idea, and so are their kids. I heard the laughter and excitement last night from my house during their home visit. No ones mad at you, you did good Ally." Malia said holding out her fist for a fist bump.
Allison gave a halfhearted bump, and rolled her eyes as Malia made explosion noises before returning to her work. Allison sighed and made her way to Ethan's desk to sit down.
It had been a few months since the incident Derek and Erica had with her Aunt Kate in Mexico, and their pack was still healing, Allison had really hated to ask this of her alphas after her aunt had put their family through so much more pain, but these little girls needed a home. No families looking for children were willing to take care of a wolf pup and a druid child who had severe early traumas.
They didn't even have names, the druid child had told Allison that their 'father' (if a man who brought your mother into the country against her will could be called a father) didn't think the girls deserved names if he was just going to sell them to the highest bidder when they were old enough, but their mother called them both "Adamma", which the girls said meant "beautiful girl" in their mother's native language. The girls were recovered in a raid by the Beacon County Sheriff's Department after a neighboring pack had informed the Hale Pack of a supernatural smuggling ring, that they suspected one of their former members were involved in. The girls had been locked away in a basement for most of their life and had rarely been allowed to visit with their mother (who had been killed by her captor when the police were entering the home on the outskirts of the county line).
The Hale Pack and The King Pride had interrogated the man, who gave up all his friends in the smuggling ring and admitted to be behind the recent were-cat kidnappings in in India and parts of the African continent. Derek and Bill King had killed the man for his crimes and The Beacon County Sheriff's Department then began to take down the rest of the smuggling ring in the county and passed information of the rest of the ring to other packs and to Cat King at the FBI. The men they had caught were now sitting in cells in The Council's prison under Eichen House.
This ring was more disgusting to Allison then Henry Maxwell's operation, because it was run by supernatural men. These men were stealing women from their families and communities and were selling them to other supernatural men. It was horrifying, and the authorities were still working on going through this group's ledgers trying to ensure that all the "clients" would be brought to justice and hoping to rescue more women and children affected by this group.
Everyone rescued so far has chosen to go back to their home country, but the girls' mother never told them where she was from in Africa and there had been no reports of a druid woman going missing in all the reports of were-cat abductions. Which meant she was from some remote village or she was presumed dead due to her home being near an area that was in the midst of a war. So the girls really had no home besides one another…
"Derek and Erica are the best parents for them. I just feel horrible asking after what happened in Mexico." Allison said, rolling Ethan's desk chair out and plopping herself into it. "The little wolf girl needs to know that all white male-wolves aren't like her father, and her wolf side isn't a curse, she needs a safe and strong pack to nurture that thought. And the little druid girl will have Marin and Braeden as teachers of all things druid. They will have siblings and parents to help them through life and an extended family so they feel safe…plus they basically chose Erica to be their adopted mom when she took them out of that damned basement"
"They have names now. And they chose Daddy to be their Daddy too." Andromeda Hale said, popping her head out from under Ethan's desk, looking too pleased with herself when Allison jumped out of the seat a little bit. "Avery Adamma Hale is my new wolf little sister, and Amory Adamma Hale is my new druid little sister. We all helped our new sisters pick out their names, they wanted A names like us too, so Mom and Dad made a list and we all helped pick."
"Oh Ally, Andi is here too. Derek and Erica are upstairs explaining everything to the girls and making sure they are okay with being adopted for the twelve billionth time and Ethan is supervising and playing with DJ." Malia said offhandedly.
Allison glared at Malia, she had almost had it with the members of the Hale family popping out of every nook and cranny of her office. She expected it at home, not at work. Malia just loved sneaking her son, nieces and nephews in to try to scare Allison.
"What is it with the Hale children and A names this generation?" Kira asked absently as she typed away on her computer.
Andi smiled, "I think there aren't enough A-names…Andromeda, Diana, Aubrey, Avery, Amory, Alan, Ava, Derek and Marcus….Aunt Cora refuses to name the new baby with an A but Aunt Malia says that if her new baby is a girl it will be Alicia after Uncle Boyd's sister…it's too bad we can change Diana, DJ and Marcus' names though…"
Allison shook her head, "I don't think anyone planned all the A-names Andi."
"No, but Uncle Stiles says Hales like naming patterns, he's just glad it's A-names this generation and no one has named their kids Nora or Dora." Aubrey said skipping down the hall followed closely by Isaac.
"Ok, are interviews are done?" Andi said, "Can we take our sisters home yet?"
"No, not yet." Isaac said.
Andi and Aubrey looked murderous, and Allison was reminded once again that not only were they children, but they would one day lead a pack. "We want to take our sisters home now Uncle Isaac."
"You will in a few days girls." Kira said, coming to Isaac's rescue without even taking her eyes from her computer screen. "I have to file a few forms, and your Uncle's reports about the mental states of you two, Avery and Amory and then your parents and sisters have to go to a court with me but after that they can come go home with you."
Aubrey was still snarling a bit, but Andi looked thoughtful and nodded her head. "It makes sense." She said grabbing her sister's hand, and walking towards the door.
"Where do you think you two are going?" Malia said, "I'm supposed to be babysitting!"
"Well, if you can keep a secret from Mom, Dad, Avery and Amory then we will let you come. Otherwise, this surprise is none of your concern Auntie Lia." Andi huffed.
Allison narrowed her eyes. Andi was eight years old and she sounded like an annoyed teenager (or Aubrey)… it was moments like these that Allison was glad that her children had her disposition. She wasn't sure she could handle raising a sassy children like Andi and Aubrey.
Malia got up from her chair. "You're a little turd, just like your father." She said following the girls out the door and down the street.
After the Hale women left the office, Isaac flung the folder he had been holding onto Kira's desk. Allison noted that he had crossed off 'Jane and Jill Doe' that was written on top of the file and wrote 'Avery and Amory Hale'.
Kira let out an annoyed squawk. "What the hell Isaac!" as her other files fell to the floor.
Isaac grinned, "Are you going to bring the thunder*?"
"Allison, I don't know what you see in him, he's an ass." Kira said, cleaning up her desk.
Isaac kissed Allison on the cheek and walked out of the agency, towards his practice. She waited until he was out of earshot to respond.
"It's the case. It reminds him of his own abuse. I wanted to ask Marin to help instead but he went on about how Marin would be their aunt if this all went well, and that could be a bigger conflict of interest."
Kira stopped her work and looked up at Allison. "This job will never get easy will it? I keep thinking, it's been five years since we started, this will get easier after a while…"
"If cases like these ever are easy to handle, then there is something wrong with us." Allison said, "But seeing the families together and happy in the end, it makes up for all the bad."
Kira nodded.
Avery sat on top of Ms. Malia's desk (the nice lady insisted that she was Aunt Malia now but Avery wasn't ready to call her that yet) and watched as Amory, Aubrey and DJ played a game called 'Go Fish' on the floor next to the desk. Mommy and Daddy were still at court with Ms. Kira and Ms Allison, and Mr. Ethan was watching them all as he worked at his desk across the room.
She and Amory were at court with Mommy and Daddy but after the judge talked to them she said that Ms. Malia could take them back to the office. Ms. Malia said that it wasn't a bad thing that it was taking so long; she said that sometimes grown up things are silly and take a long time, they just had to wait.
Andi came skipping into the office carrying a small bag in each hand. Ms. Malia followed her inside.
It had been three days since her and Amory had met their new family and got their names. Over the last few weeks she and her sister had discussed how their Mama wouldn't be sad if they adopted into a new family, that she would be happy that they were safe and loved and far away from The Bad Man. They loved Mama still and always would, but that didn't mean they couldn't love their Mommy, Daddy and new siblings.
Avery thought it was weird at first that her new family had such pale skin. Before Mommy rescued them from The Bad Man, they never had seen a person with pale skin (apparently The Bad Man had pale skin but he only ever yelled at them and fed them through a tiny hole in the basement door, so they never saw him). But since getting out of the basement they had seen so many people, with so many differences and they thought it was an amazing and beautiful thing. All that mattered now is that her new family would love her and keep her and Amory safe.
In Beacon Hills, being a different color or species didn't really matter because the whole town was accepting of one another. And that wasn't important to Avery, because all her life she felt evil because she was the same species as The Bad Man, and different from Mama and Amory. She had always thought that wolves were evil godless beings that only hurt people. She always thought that she would grow up evil and end up hurting her sister, simply because she was a wolf and Amory was a druid like Mama.
But now, her Mommy, Daddy, and new siblings were all wolves, and her Mommy and Daddy weren't just any kind of wolf, they were alphas. They ran a pack full of different supernatural creatures and were the nicest people. Avery was proud to become the daughter of two kind, loving wolves, and was starting to think it wasn't a persons species, or outward appearance that made someone evil, maybe it was what was their soul.
Mr. Isaac and Ms. Marin had been helping her to realize that she was good, and that just because The Bad Man and her shared blood and a species, didn't mean that he had passed his evil soul on to her as well; and her protectiveness over Amory was evidence of that. They helped her realize that if she was evil she wouldn't have been so protective of her younger sister since birth. She wouldn't have made sure her sister ate first (and ate more) when The Bad Man remembered to feed them, she wouldn't have cared to lock herself into the small closet under the stairs on full moons so Amory didn't get hurt, she wouldn't have stepped in front of Amory when sirens sounded the other night and Mama was crying for help before she heard loud bangs and Mama was quiet, she wouldn't have made sure that Mommy carried Amory from the basement first, letting herself be carried by Mommy's friend Mr. Bill no matter how much he scared her because Amory was more scared of him (they had never seen a man before then, and were scared that they were all like The Bad Man).
Avery now found that her protectiveness was extending to her new little brother and her older sisters, and knew by watching her new sisters that a protective streak was a Hale trait. Her new parents and sisters (not to mention their whole pack who she would meet tonight) would protect her with all they had, and would sacrifice everything to ensure she and Amory were safe.
It felt wonderful to have another person look out for you.
Avery knew Amory loved her, but her sister had always been so sickly a weak. Mama had said it was because their magic was tied to The Homeland they couldn't practice magic, and that made them weak and sick. It's why Mama could never escape The Bad Man because he had taken her so far from her home. But ever since Amory had recognized Ms. Marin as a druid, and asked her how she was so strong so far away from the Homeland, she and her niece had been tutoring Amory everyday. Each day her sister got stronger and more vibrant. It felt like she was finally getting to know the person her sister was.
Andromeda handed her bags to Ms. Malia and hopped up onto the desk next to Avery, putting her arms around her and hugging her tight. Avery smiled and hugged her eldest sister back.
"You look sad." Andi said glaring at the siblings playing cards on the floor. "Did they exclude you Avery?"
"No," Amory responded, "Avery wanted to keep watch. She's worried we wont get adopted after all and is trying not to think about it by thinking of The Bad Man and how far we've both come since Mommy rescued us and watching the door to make sure nothing bad gets us while Mommy and Daddy aren't here."
Avery glared at her twin. Not only had she gotten stronger since she started druid lessons with Ms. Marin and Ms. Braeden, but she always seemed to have some sort of an idea what was going through her mind.
Amory simply smiled in return.
"Pay Amry!" DJ yelled throwing his cards.
Amory laughed and grabbed their little brother showering him in kisses and tickles until he was laughing too.
"Juliet says that you're going to be adopted." Aubrey said putting down her cards and climbing up on the desk sitting on the other side of Avery, "So stop being a grump like Daddy and DJ."
Avery laughed at that. And put her arms around her older sisters.
"Sure nieces, take over my desk." Ms. Malia said still standing by the door. "It's not like I have to work today."
At that, their parents, Ms. Allison and Ms. Kira walked into the agency with big grins on their faces. Mommy scooped DJ and Amory up off the floor and Daddy had picked up herself, Aubrey and Andi up off the desk.
There were tears and laughter and were more hugs and kisses than she expected.
"You're officially Avery and Amory Hale." Mommy said.
"We can take you home tonight." Daddy said.
Avery Adamma Hale was so overwhelmed with happiness she wept.
Amory Adamma Hale looked around the dining room of her new home and grinned. It was filled with people, with family, with pack.
Pack. The word really hadn't meant anything to her until today, Avery as a wolf instinctively knew the feeling of belonging being apart of a pack would bring, but she had never been able to put the longing for one into words.
Auntie Marin and Auntie Bray had been teaching her about druids since they met two days after Mommy recused her and Avery, before they even had first names. They explained that her Mama had been a type of ancient race known as a mage, and mage-magic was tied to the land. Mages were the oldest of the druid sub-species, they have existed since before druids started calling all species of magic-makers druid. Many druidic species didn't have connection to lands. They told her since most all druidic sub-species and choices (they also taught her the differences of species and choice, like how they both chose to be Emissaries, but they didn't chose to be born druids, or how a druid can chose darkness and become Darach) evolved from mages that they could teach her how to use the magic she needed to gain health and strength without looking for her Mama's Homeland.
They had blood-adopted her into their bloodline as their niece so she could access their bloodline's magic. All she needed was the magic of the Deaton bloodline for her body to recognize Beacon Hills as her adoptive family's Homeland and allow her to access her magic.
They taught her how to keep herself healthy, how to use her abilities (especially her ability to sense what Avery was thinking when she was stressed) and told her that she had a choice to make when she was older, like most druids, she would get to choose what to use her knowledge and magic in service of.
When Mommy and Daddy bit her and Avery on their arms, claiming them as their children and packmates in front of the whole pack, she started to sense them all like she sensed Avery. The links with every individual in the pack began to form in her mind, and while she sensed her parents, and siblings the strongest, they were all in her mind and they all felt nothing but happiness and love as Mommy and Daddy cleaned up their wounds, their sisters leached away what little pain they felt and Aunt Marin healed the bite marks.
Now she understood why Avery had always been longing for something she couldn't put words to. This was it. Pack was what her sister had needed, this unconditional love and this feeling of belonging, and now that Amory could feel it, she never wanted to loose it.
She was a Hale. This was her Pack. Her parents were alphas, her eldest sister their heir. Her parents, aunts and uncles had worked hard for this pack, and her siblings, her cousins and herself would one day be responsible for keeping this loving family safe.
She looked over at Auntie Bray, and knew what she meant when she said the other day that for her, there was never any choice. Auntie Bray had known she was going to be a Hale Emissary since she was born, she felt it in her soul that it was the best path for her. Amory felt the same right at this moment. She would be Andromeda's Emissary. Maybe her cousin Alan would join her and be a co-emissary, she didn't know his feelings on his path (he was only two like DJ and cousin Marcus, they were focused on mastering walking and talking). All she knew was she loved her new family and she loved her pack, and she wanted to keep them all safe.
Andi jumped up onto the dining room table, followed by Aubrey, who was carrying the two small bags that Andi and Auntie Malia had brought into the adoption agency earlier. "Attention please! Everyone look at me and Bree!"
"Andromeda Lyn! Aubrey Talia! Get off the table!" Mommy said loudly from the other side of the room where she was talking with Auntie Rose and Auntie Bray while rocking DJ.
Auntie Laura and Auntie Cora grinned and pulled out two dining chairs and Andi and Aubrey stepped down onto them.
"It this better Mommy?" Aubrey asked.
"Can we give our sisters our surprise now?" Andi finished.
Everyone laughed, and Mommy simply rolled her eyes. "Please do, I want to see what the two of you have been saving up for."
"Bree and I have used everything in our piggy banks and tried to earn enough to buy these." Andi said, "Everyone in the pack has a triskele that they wear everywhere. Mommy, Bree, and I all have necklaces. Mommy and Daddy gave Bree and me our necklaces on our fourth birthdays, and since you are already four we figured you needed one, and Mommy and Daddy would be busy making sure you were adopted to remember that its pack tradition."
Aubrey and Andi each took a box out of a bag and jumped off the chairs, walking around the table to where she and Avery sat on Daddy's lap. They opened up the boxes and Amory saw two beautiful triskele necklaces identical to the ones Mommy, Andi and Aubrey wore sitting on a soft blue fabric.
Amory looked at her twin who was grinning as happily as she was. They both jumped off their Daddy's lap and hugged their big sisters as thanks. After a moment of hugging DJ joined in and all five Hale siblings were laughing and hugging each other.
When the hugs were over they turned to their parents, were now kneeling on the floor next to the hugging siblings. At one point, they had grabbed the jewelry boxes that Andromeda and Aubrey dropped when Amory and Avery started to hug them.
"You girls, spent all that money on these?" Daddy asked amazed.
"We wanted to welcome them." Aubrey said, "Setting up their bedroom didn't seem like enough."
Amory doubted that. Their new bedroom was beautiful, and they had considered the fact that Amory and Avery would not be comfortable sleeping in separate rooms just yet. Avery had said that the room was like what she imagined the princesses in the stories Mama used to tell them lived. The bedroom made them made them feel welcomed, and so did finally having their own names. Her sisters didn't need to do this for them, especially going by the looks on their Mommy and Daddy's face.
"Girls, we never forgot tradition, were just waiting until Samhain** or Christmas. You didn't have to spend all your money on this. This is very sweet but these were expensive." Daddy sighed.
"Don't be mad Daddy." Avery said.
"We aren't mad, just surprised." Mommy said. "And we want to let you and Amory know that we didn't forget the tradition for you."
"I went with them when they ordered the necklaces Der-Bear." Auntie Malia said stepping forward. "Mrs. Kim knew they were your girls and thought it was sweet, she gave them an extreme discount so they could afford them. Chill. They didn't spend as much as you think they did. She said you can stop by and pay the difference when you had the chance."
"This is why we bring Auntie Lia along on missions Bree. She had our back. I told you ninety dollars wasn't enough." Andi sighed.
"It's the thought that counts Andi." Amory said. "You and Bree keep doing these things to make us feel welcome and loved, and we love you for it."
"I agree," Avery said, "But we don't need gifts from you to know you want us in your family."
Aubrey looked at them and then at their parents. "Andi, I think we went overboard this time."
"Yep. I think we went full Aunt Lydia this time."
The pack laughed at that, including their Mommy. Daddy looked slightly pained.
"Remind me to tell you girls of the time when Raul, Diego, Juliet and Connor were adopted and Lydia wrecked havoc on her biological fathers credit cards, and the pack credit cards decorating their rooms, buying toys and buying that huge playground that is out in the yard."
Amory looked over at Aunt Lydia who looked unrepentant. "Pack children still use that playground to this day Derek Hale. I stand by that purchase." She said looking up at the two young men standing on either side of her. "Little brothers! Defend me!"
It was hard to imagine the sixteen and eighteen year-old men being little bothers to the tiny redhead, but they were, and they were her second cousins now.
"They didn't go as far as Lydia would have" Diego said, "I think we should give them credit for that."
Everyone laughed at that while Aunt Lydia muttered, "I said defend me Diego, not the children!"
Mommy and Daddy had used everyone's distraction to get over their surprise, and Daddy took one of the necklaces out of its box.
"Your Daddy was the first one to put on Andromeda and Aubrey's necklaces, I think he wants to do it for you too." Mommy said.
"Avery first" Amory said, pushing her twin towards their Daddy.
After Daddy put on Avery's necklace, she kissed his cheek and then went to hug Andi and Aubrey. Daddy then took out Amory's necklace and waited for her to walk to him.
Amory skipped to her Daddy and waited patiently as Daddy put the necklace on her.
"This is the best day ever." She told Daddy when he was done, before hugging him. "I'm going to love being a Hale. I love you Daddy, Mommy, Andi, Aubrey, Avery and DJ. And I'm going to love the rest of the pack too."
She felt her sisters; Mommy and brother join their hug too and the pack talking about how cute they were together.
She was Amory Hale, Daughter of Derek and Erica, Sister of Andromeda, Aubrey, Avery and Derek Julian and Wolf's Run was her home from this day onward.
She belonged here.
Footnotes:
*reference to the fact that Kira is a thunder kitsune
**more on what Samhain means to wolves to come in the next few chapters.