Getting back to the colony was stressful for many of us. We were greeted by the rest of the apes when we arrived, but after the news spread around of how many we lost, the mood quickly turned gloomy and depressing. This attack was the worst yet, we've never lost more than 20 apes, so this attack would go down in ape history as the most brutal attack by humans ever. After returning home, we had a sending off for the apes we lost, they were sent down the river, just as we had done with Tinker two years ago when she died. Down the hill from the road next to the river, I sat just below Caesar and Maurice, watching our dead float away, the death in the air taking its effect on me as my face was blank but my eyes angry and hurt, if I feel like this I can't imagine how Caesar feels. I bowed my head and rested my chin on my knees as I hugged my legs and stared at the rocks by my feet instead of the apes around me.

"Koba still haunts us. Why didn't I see that he could not forgive what humans did to him?" I picked my head up and turned around to see Maurice shake his head at Caesar.

No one could have known how much darkness… was living inside him. I was close enough to the two that I picked my arm up and set my hand on Caesar's knee in comfort before vicious and ear piercing screeching came from above us. We looked up to see our lookouts on the cliff side screeching in warning, something was coming. Quickly, all of the apes started moving up the rocky hill to protect whatever might threaten our home. Caesar and Maurice were in front of me and reached the top first, so when Caesar was upright he turned around and put a hand out to help me up the hill the rest of the way. I took his hand and smiled at him before familiar screeching came from my left. I looked over to see Spear at the front of the pack, spear in the air ready to attack and I tried to go to him to pull him back cause if someone was attacking he was the first one hit, but Caesar put an arm up to stop me making me look down at it and up at him to see him staring at the tunnel before us. I looked that way and heard the sound of horse hooves falling on the ground before two dark figures could be seen on horseback walking towards us. When they emerged into the light I gasped and put a hand over my mouth and my other landed on Caesar's shoulder as tears of relief and joy started to form in my eyes; Rocket and Blue Eyes, I was looking at Rocket and Blue Eyes, two of my boys, they came home safe! As I watched them dismount and Blue Eyes sign to his father, I felt my hand slip off Caesar's shoulder as he moved towards his son. I followed Caesar, slowly, and stopped next to Spear, hand still over my mouth, tears threatening to fall, and my friend put his hand on my shoulder but I ignored him as I watched Caesar and Blue Eyes embrace. The hug lasted a minute and as Rocket came up next to them they pulled away and Caesar had one hand on the side of our prince's head, and he and Rocket touched foreheads.

"Welcome home, Rocket. You look tired."

It was a long journey. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, it almost felt too good to be true. Caesar looked from Rocket to Blue Eyes, a smile on his face.

Father, we found something! Caesar patted their shoulders and went to turn around.

"Come." As soon as Caesar turned to head back into the colony he caught sight of me, hand still over my mouth and staring at Blue Eyes and Rocket, who both stopped and looked at me before smiles came to their faces.

I thought you were dead… The tears that brimmed my eyes fell down my cheeks now and the look that came over the two apes' faces was as if saying 'silly Kenai' and Blue Eyes was the first one to come up to me and embrace me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed hard, not wanting to let go, but when I felt Rocket's hand on my back I pulled away from Blue Eyes, keeping one hand gripping his arm, scared that if I lose contact he'll disappear, and pulled Rocket into a one-armed crushing hug. When I pulled back I smiled at both of them and felt another hand on my shoulder and looked behind me to see Spear with a smile on his face.

She's been worried about you two for months. She thought she killed you by sending you away. Rocket huffed and looked at me, a stern look on his face.

We volunteered for this, Kenai. I frowned and pulled Blue Eyes to my side again and laid my head on his shoulder.

But it was my idea for the trip to be made, what if something happened to you guys? Blue Eyes huffed this time and put his arm around my shoulder.

We are fine, Kenai. If anything had happened, you would not be to blame. I sighed and looked up as Caesar came up between Blue Eyes and Rocket, and I looked over at him.

Can I give him the news, please? Blue Eyes looked confused and looked from me to Caesar.

What news? Caesar smiled and nodded and I turned to Blue Eyes, a happy grin forming on my face now as the tears started to dry on my cheeks.

Blue Eyes, you're a big brother again! Shock crossed Blue Eyes' face as he looked over at his father who gave him a smug look and a shrug.

How is this possible? Caesar shook his head and put his arms around the shoulders of his son and best friend.

"Come, let us go inside, there are many waiting to see you." Caesar put a hand on my shoulder as Blue Eyes and Rocket pulled away and we all started walking towards the cave entrance. As we walked, Blue Eyes and Rocket were on either side of Caesar, and I was behind them with Spear walking next to me, arm around my back and hand resting on my shoulder and I used my right hand to grip at his and pull his arm around me as much as possible, needing as much comfort as I could get. We entered the cave and walked through to the main cavern, and as we started coming up the walkway behind the waterfall, all of the children and females started running to greet us including Cornelia with a newborn baby in her arms and Cornelius holding her hand while walking next to her. The look that came over Blue Eyes' face was of fascination at seeing the baby, you see, chimpanzees only give birth every four to five years, and Cornelius is only two years old, so Cornelia having another child this early, it should be impossible, but here we are, little baby ape that was the reason I stayed in the colony instead of going with Spear and the others to the trench. When Cornelia saw her son, she slowed down and a happy surprised look crossed her features.

Mother…! The two embraced, careful not to squish the baby between them, and while the two held each other, Cornelius moved from his mother's side to Caesar's and grabbed his father's hand. Me and Spear had stopped behind the family, and Spear turned to me and we touched foreheads before he walked away and I watched him go for a second before looking over at Caesar who was staring at me. I wasn't able to read the look on his face, it just seemed blank, but his eyes were very expressive, and from where I was I couldn't figure out what he was thinking, so I moved closer and stood next to him, but he turned away from me and back towards his family. Blue Eyes and Cornelia parted and Blue Eyes turned around and gestured to his brother. Caesar picked up Cornelius and Cornelia came up to me and handed me the youngest of the family. I took the baby and cuddled it to my chest, stroking my hand over its head.

Cornelius… Say hi to your brother! Blue Eyes took his brother's hand and smiled at him as he laid his other hand on his brother's head. The smiles I was seeing were happy and joyful and it made my heart swell a little seeing the ones I love back together again. When Blue Eyes turned to me and looked down at the baby in my hands and pointed to it with a quizzical look on his face I smiled and walked up to him till I was in between Caesar and Cornelia.

"This is Keefa, this is your sister." Blue Eyes' eyes widened a little and he moved forward to greet his new sister. The baby in my arms turned her head to Blue Eyes, then looked at me with a small squeak and I nodded to her before she looked back at her brother and reached her arm out and poked Blue Eyes on his cheek. Blue Eyes and Caesar chuckled before Cornelia laid a hand on her oldest son's shoulder.

Look who's here, son… Blue Eyes looked at his mother then at where she pointed and stopped when he saw Lake walking toward us trying to herd a group of younglings. Lake looked up from hooting at the children and stopped, the kids in front of her doing so as well until their caregiver gave them one last absentminded gesture to go ahead. They took off and Lake stood up straight as she stared at her mate, the same look on her face that I had when I first saw him, questioning if he was real or not.

Lake… I smiled as Blue Eyes walked up to his mate and stood in front of her for a second before pulling her forward and leaning their foreheads together and sighing. I looked over at Cornelia and saw a mother's look on her face that clearly said she did not want her baby boy growing up and I giggled before Caesar wrapped his free arm around both of us and pulled us close before leaning his head down to rest on mine as we watched the scene before us with Cornelius and Keefa poking at each other.

After greetings and reunions were finished, the council gathered on our rock in the main cavern, the rest of the colony surrounding us on raised walkways and the ground along the cavern walls, listening and watching our conversations. The council consisted of Caesar, Cornelia who had their son with them, Blue Eyes, Lake, Rocket, Luca, Maurice, Winter, Spear, and myself. I was sitting between Maurice and Spear, Luca and Winter on Spear's other side, Blue Eyes and Lake to the right of them. Next to Lake was Cornelia and her youngest son with Caesar to their right and then Rocket to his and then back to Maurice. In my lap was Keefa, my little princess. She was a princess, she was Caesar's daughter and Caesar was our king, which made Blue Eyes and Cornelius princes and Keefa a princess, and she was so precious that I called her Princess more than using her actual name. My little princess was currently taking a nap as the council conducted their business, watching as Blue Eyes pulled a hand-drawn map on an animal skin from Rocket's bag and laid it out before us. Cornelius walked up to it and started running his fingers over the lines just as his big brother was doing.

This is it, father… We can start over… A new home. I looked at where Blue Eyes was pointing and it looked to be just over the mountains, they went far enough east that they crossed over the Rocky Mountains! Cornelia started hooting a little and pulled her younger son to her to sit by her legs.

What is beyond those mountains, son? With a smile on his face, Blue Eyes gestured to Rocket.

Show them, Rocket… The gray ape stood up and started hooting while holding his bag and looking around the cavern before handing the bag to Blue Eyes who put his hand inside and pulled it out to drop sand on the map in front of us. The apes around us started hooting in fascination at the sand and I looked over to see a huge smile on Caesar's face, one that I have seen more on him since the boys returned then I have in the whole last two years of this war. I smiled myself when I looked back at Blue Eyes and the hand that wasn't holding Keefa to my chest as the princess slept reached over and took Spear's hand and squeezed it. He looked over at me and smiled and gripped my hand in response.

A desert! The journey is long… But that is why humans will not find us. Blue Eyes still had a smile on his face, happy and excited as well even as Winter chimed in.

We must leave tonight! The looks that came over the apes' faces clearly said they thought the idea was totally far-fetched and almost made fun of the mere concept of leaving immediately.

Tonight? That's impossible!

How long can we wait, Lake? Soldiers getting closer! Winter had a point… they kept getting closer and closer and soon they will find their way here.

Winter… Blue Eyes tried to comfort the albino gorilla, but when his hand landed on the larger's arm, Winter growled at him and threw his hand off with a violent wave of his arm before standing up. I jumped back a little from where I was sitting and my grip on Spear's hand tightened before I saw Caesar stand up in intimidation as if daring the other ape to start something. Winter looked up at Caesar in shame before crouching to the ground and bowing his head in submission, remembering what Caesar had done to Koba when he challenged him.

Your son's been gone, Caesar… He doesn't know how hard it's been. To emphasize his point, Winter pointed to the wound on his forehead where blood has stained his white fur a dark brownish red color. Again Blue Eyes put his hand on Winter's shoulder, but this time the gorilla just bowed his head again and did not react violently.

I know you are scared… We all are… But we are still planning… Everyone seemed to calm down now, but Caesar still stood, and when he spoke we all looked up at him.

"Yes. We must find a safe out of the woods. There were only two of you, but we are… many." Caesar waved his hand around the cavern to prove his point as there was over two hundred of us just in the main cavern and he sat down again while looking at Winter who avoided eye contact. I looked over at the albino gorilla, confusion on my features. Why was he acting like this? Winter never lost his temper like that or spoke in fear. He has always had faith in Caesar and the colony, and never showed signs that he was scared. He was a shy ape, there is no doubt about that, but he was strong and was Luca's right-hand ape, so why the sudden change in behavior? I huffed before looking back at my king as he continued to speak.

"We will find a way out of here. Apes… together… strong." I smiled as he put his fist together, and the rest of us followed, well, mostly, I still had a little Keefa against my chest so I was only able to hold up one fist, but the point was still gotten across as all of the apes around us started hooting. Caesar stood now and held his hand out for his wife who took it and also stood up.

"Come, let us eat." I smiled at Cornelia as she came up to me and put her hands out for her daughter. I gently pulled Keefa from my chest, careful not to wake the little princess, handed her to her mother and they walked away to wait for our dinner to be prepared. It didn't take long, the meat had already been cooked, and fruits had already been sliced, so they were being distributed around to everyone. Caesar, his family, Maurice, and Rocket sat on the council rock to eat their dinner, and usually, I sit with them, but I decided to sit with Spear instead, and we sat on the far side of the room next to the cavern wall close to the walkway down to the cave entrance. I sat next to Spear eating some mango, and since Spear knows that is my favorite he gave me all of his even though he likes it as well. During our meal Spear told me all about his commander's position at the trench, and told me about things that happened, some funny, others not so much, but they were interesting stories nonetheless.

She is giggling… why is she giggling? What did he say to her to put that smile on her face? So many thoughts were going through Caesar's head as he chewed his food and watched Kenai from his spot on the council rock. He knew he was staring, but he didn't care, and no one asked him about it since he was alpha. Spear was making Kenai laugh and smile and was sitting very close to her, and all of the cuddling they were doing lately, holding hands, arms around shoulders, looks given to each other as if they were mates… it bothered Caesar. He didn't know why, but he was jealous and felt almost threatened. Kenai was always by his side, and if she wasn't he knew where to find her and knew she was alone most of the time. When he found out that Spear had become infatuated with Kenai, Caesar started spying on them. Watching them from a high vantage point in the main cavern, or finding a hiding spot outside the colony where he could sneak off to and watch them as they sat on the ledge by the cave entrance. Caesar liked Spear, he had respect for him, and he was a good soldier. He followed orders well and without question, and went above and beyond his duty, sometimes putting himself in harm's way to do so, but when he started hanging around Kenai and wouldn't leave her side, Caesar started to become wary of the ape commander. He did not like how close he was with Kenai. Kenai was a part of his family, she belonged to him, not Spear. Caesar huffed and growled which caught the attention of Maurice who looked up from his plate of food to see Caesar glaring across the room. Maurice looked at what his leader was glaring at to see Spear running his fingers over Kenai's head and smiling at her as she blushed and looked away, smiling a small bashful smile in return. Maurice smirked and looked back at Caesar before throwing a walnut at him. When the nut hit Caesar on the shoulder, the leader snapped from his angry staring contest with no partner, looked down to his shoulder, then over at Maurice, glare still on his face but confusion in his eyes.

You and I need to have a word. Caesar huffed and looked away, knowing that Maurice had caught him staring at Kenai and Spear, and Maurice is the only ape who has ever and will ever call Caesar out and get away with it. The others on the council rock were completely oblivious to what was going on, as were Kenai and Spear, so they were all confused when Maurice stood up and walked through the group, grabbed Caesar by the wrist and started pulling him away from his food, all the while Caesar was protesting like a child with lazy hoots and annoyed huffs. Kenai giggled at seeing Maurice haul Caesar away like a mother pulling their child away from a video game and she went back to listening to Spear tell another story, this time about one of their hunting trips down at the trench.

What was that? Caesar huffed and tried to put on an innocent face.

"What was what?" Maurice grumbled in annoyance as his leader tried to avoid the question.

I saw that look on your face when you looked at Kenai and Spear. Are you jealous that Spear has Kenai's attention? Caesar growled a little before turning around and walking away a couple steps before stopping at a wall and looking at the ground, thinking. Maurice had brought Caesar into his room, a ten by ten rock chamber, no door, and nothing but a hanging bed inside similar to a hammock.

"I don't know, Maurice. Ever since Spear came into Kenai's life, she's been distant from me and the others. She hardly ever left my side and when Spear showed up, I hardly ever saw her. After Spear left and Kenai stayed here to help take care of Keefa, we had grown close again, and I've realized how much I missed that. I just… don't want to lose her again. She's not his mate, he is not a very good fit for her, she needs someone strong, protective, respectful of her, and not quick to violence like Spear is." Maurice stayed quiet while his leader spoke, and when Caesar turned around, Maurice smiled at him.

You do not want her to be his? Caesar shook his head slowly, knowing the answer, but not knowing what to do about it.

You want her to be yours. This was not a question, and more a statement, and it caught Caesar by surprise when he almost immediately responded with 'she is mine' before he stopped himself, his eyes widening before he realized what was really going through his head. Finding out Maurice had figured it out before he even did made Caesar feel like a young ape again like he first did when he met Cornelia, nervous, flustered, and fumbling over himself.

"What do I do, Maurice?" The ape Caesar had been friends with for years and years smiled at him and stepped forward to put a hand on Caesar's shoulder.

Make her yours. With that said, Maurice turned and left to go back to the main cavern to finish his food, leaving Caesar standing in the middle of the room, shock on his face and a million thoughts running through his head. After a few minutes, Caesar's face turned firm and determined as he made his decision on what he would do and the ape king marched back to the cavern and finished eating while trying to ignore the flirtatious hoots Spear was giving his Kenai. If he saw it, he might lose his cool right there, and that would ruin his plan.

It wasn't till after dinner and after everyone had gone to bed when Caesar found Kenai in her room standing next to her bed removing her beaver skin cloak, her bearskin hip wrap, and her leather satchel. Kenai had an animal skin draped over the entrance to her room, preferring to have privacy for when she removed her clothes to wash them, so Caesar moved that out of the way, not even asking Kenai if she was decent, and stopped on the other side of it to watch his human woman.

After dinner, I had gone straight to my room to get ready for bed. I still slept with Caesar and his family every night, but I would always go back to my room and remove my winter clothes before doing so. I learned after a few nights that sleeping with my warm clothes on while surrounded by apes is not a good idea, I get very overheated very quickly, but removing my cloak and hip wrap are perfect because I stay a comfortable temperature all night. Now that I have those off, I can go to bed, and man was I tired, but before I could leave my room I had to get past the ape king, who was staring at me with a hard, intimidating, and kind of sexy look on his face.

"Caesar, is everything okay? What's wrong?" The only response I got was a huff as Caesar rolled his shoulders back as if in a challenge, and started moving towards me with a purpose in his step. I swallowed hard when he started getting closer and didn't seem to be slowing down, this made me take multiple steps backward before my shoulder blades hit the rock wall behind me followed by my butt. I was completely pressed against the wall when Caesar reached me and he placed his left hand next to my head and stood close enough to me that I felt the heat coming from his body and the hair from his fur tickled my skin before he leaned down and put his mouth next to my ear to slowly whisper with a calm voice.

"Stay away from Spear, he is trouble. You are mine, not his." I gasped at the feel of Caesar's hot breath on my ear and had to stop myself from moaning before he growled in my ear protectively and I felt him drag his teeth across the skin on my neck. I couldn't help it as a groan escaped my mouth at the feeling of my skin breaking as he left his mark on me. Caesar pulled back, gave me a hard look to emphasize his point before pulling away, turning, and leaving my room. This left me heated, red-cheeked and pretty turned on before confusion and hundreds of questions started running through my brain but first and foremost,

"What the hell just happened?"

A/N: Thank you, everyone, for your reviews! Especially you, Anyanka, your idea inspired the last part of this chapter! Please, keep the reviews coming I love reading them! I hope y'all like where I went with this chapter! Thank you for reading and I will see you in the next chapter!