I cleared my throat and looked at her when she breathed a small sigh of relief. "Now, are you hungry?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "I can make a mean pancake." I flashed her a small wink with a small smirk, and she smiled and moved closer to Katie.

"Yes, please," she said and nodded in confirmation while she cocked her head and studied me. "Can I have some chocolate chips in it, please?" she asked and furrowed her brows while she frowned with a small pout on her lips.

My heart grew warm, and I slowly nodded with a small smile on her face. "Sure," I said before I turned my gaze to look at my mate. "Do you want some pancakes, too?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Please," Katie said and nodded in confirmation with a small smile on her face while she looked at JJ. "Are you going to come with us, or do you want to stay in here and bring it to you?"

JJ frowned and narrowed her eyes while she looked between us. "Do I have to stay in the room?" she asked and looked at me, and her frown grew larger while she studied us. "Or can I come out of the room, please?"

"You can come out of the room, JJ," I said and shook my head with a small smile on my face. "You do not need to stay here if you don't want to. The pack knows that you are my cousin and to treat you with kindness all ready."

"Or else you or Aunt Jess kicks their hiney, right?" She raised an eyebrow in question and cocked her head toward the side while she stared at me with wide innocent eyes.

I bit back a small laugh and slowly nodded in confirmation. "Yes," I confirmed before I cleared my throat to hide another chuckle. "We will kick any mean people's hiney if they are mean to you."

I opened the bedroom door and gestured for Katie and my cousin to exit the room so that we could go to the kitchen and I could whip up some pancakes for them. "So Katie doesn't normally talk in front of a lot of people," I said randomly. "There are only a select few that she will talk to and in front of, and you will be one of them."

My mate rolled her eyes but didn't say a word about what I said because it was true. She exited the room with JJ beside her, and I followed them out while I closed JJ's door.

"Oh," JJ said and furrowed her brows with a small frown on her face. She cocked her head to the side and looked at my mate with a small worried frown on her face. "Why?"

Katie hesitated, and her cheeks turned a little red. 'Fear,' she said and shugged with a small grimace on her face. 'We can teach you sign language so that you can communicate with me that way, but...' She shrugged and grimaced, biting the inside of her lip.

JJ blinked and watched my mate before she looked at me. She didn't say a word, and I had a feeling that she was wondering if I knew what she said.

"She said that she was afraid and that we can teach you sign language so that you can communicate with her that way, and then she trailed off." I flashed my mate a small wink, and she rolled her eyes and playfully scowled.

'Very funny, Daniel,' she said, and her scowl grew deeper while I beamed with a small smile on my face.

"I know," I said and pulled her closer to me so that I could place a small kiss to the side of her head. "But you love me."

My mate rolled her eyes, and her cheeks turned another shade of red. She didn't say a word while she looked at my cousin before she looked at me with wide eyes filled with something in them that I couldn't describe.

I bit back a small chuckle and tucked my head closer to my chest before I looked at my cousin with a small smile on my face. "So would that work for you?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Eh," JJ said and shrugged with a small grimace on her face. "I already know sign language, so no," she said with a shake of her head. "I just wanted to see if you knew what she was saying."

I bit back a small laugh and raised an eyebrow in question while I studied her. "Oh really?" I asked and raised the eyebrow higher in question, and amusement flashed through my eyes. "And where did you learn?"

"My daddy taught me," she replied with a small shrug with a small grimace on her face. "He knows sign language and then a few other languages as well. He made sure that I was fluent in them too because of something that had to deal with Aunt Jess." She shrugged and grimaced again.

'Maybe he wanted you to be as well rounded as her,' my mate said, making sure that her hands were visible so that we could talk. 'That might be why he had you learn everything.'

JJ shrugged and grimaced. "Maybe," she said, and I could tell that she was hesitant about some things that dealt with her past and what she understood or didn't understand. "Who knows."

'Did your daddy make sure that you stayed away from everything else?' Katie asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

JJ opened her mouth to answer her question but stopped when someone walked by us, bowing their head in greeting. She looked at them before she looked at us with fear in her eyes, and I could tell that she didn't want to talk about anything because of other people being near us.

My heart broke and became filled with worry for this young girl who had to see a different side of life, and I offered her a sad smile while I tucked my head closer to my chest. "We can talk about everything later, ok?" I asked and cocked my head while I studied her. "We can talk somewhere private so that no else can hear us."

'Or see because there are others that know sign language too, and I guess you do not want them to know what you are wanting to talk about. Right?' Katie raised an eyebrow in question while she stared at my cousin with some sort of sadness and understanding filling her eyes.

JJ bit back a small smile and slowly nodded. "Right," she said, biting back a small sigh of relief. "I do not want people to know everything yet and want to keep it..." She furrowed her brows and pouted, tucking her head closer to her chest while she tried to come up with something else to say.

"Private?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question, and JJ looked at me with wide eyes. "You want to keep everything private from everyone else. Right?"

"Yes," she said and nodded in confirmation with a small grin on her face. "I want to keep everything private when I talk to you both. I don't want anyone to hurt me because of stuff." She bit back a small frown and furrowed her brows, biting the inside of her lip.

"Again, no one is going to hurt you unless they want to deal with me or your aunt," I said and shook my head.

I cleared my throat and licked my lips, offering her a small smile. "But enough about that, why don't we go get those pancakes. Ya?"

JJ grinned and nodded, her face becoming brighter and looking younger than it had while she frowned or looked around us to make sure that we were safe or alone. "Yes," she said and nodded again. "I would like that because I love pancakes!"

I bit back a small chuckle and nodded, deciding that it would be best for us to be silent while we walked the rest of the way to the kitchen, praying that she would find her happiness here or wherever she decided to live after the war.

Because only Goddess knows that she deserves it...