"Any second now you're going to burn a hole in that wall."

My head snapped around at the sound of her soft voice. Lara hovered in the doorway. After a few seconds she entered the room and softly closed the door behind her. My eyes trailed over her from head to toe and my body instantly started to react. I ignored the urge I had to walk over to her and loose myself in her body.

"Are you okay?"

"Stop asking me that Silas," she said softly.

I sighed. Running a hand through my hair, I leaned back in the chair. My eyes followed her as she moved around the room to get ready for bed. We've been here for two days and Lara hasn't mentioned what happened when we arrived. The fact that I caught her staring at Ethan was very unnerving. What was she thinking when she looked at him like that?

Maybe it was a mistake to come here. Maybe I should've refused, but then I remembered the look on my mother's face when she saw me. It was worth the trip here but the other part of me was scared that I'd forever changed Lara's opinion of me.

Ethan had shifted and she'd seen it all.

I should've told her before we came here. I should've been honest with her from the start. Just the thought of losing her made it hard to breath. I couldn't imagine my life without her by my side.

"Silas." Lara hesitated in front of me.

I opened my arms. The relief was instant when she climbed onto my lap and settled against my chest. She shifted around for a few seconds until she got comfortable. My hand slid down her back and around her hip to settle on her lower stomach.

"You look worried," Lara muttered.

"I am worried." I tilted my head down to run my lips along her forehead. "I'm scared that any minute now you're going to start freaking out. I'm worried that—"

"You should have told me," she interrupted me. "It would've been good to know beforehand that you. . ." She shook her head as she trailed off.

I understood where she was coming from. A warning would've been nice.

"I'm sorry." My arms tightened around her. "Are you. . .do you. . .?" I huffed, unsure how I should voice the question.

Lara sat up and turned sideways on my lap to face me. Her eyes darted over my face before dropping to my chest. She stared down for a full minute before she raised her eyes to glance up at me.

"Can you. . .change into a wolf?" she questioned.

I hesitated. "That's one thing I didn't inherit from my parents."

"What did you inherit?"

I gave her a wry smile. "A great sense of smell. I have great eyesight and hearing too."

"You make animal noises too."

My eyes widened in surprise. I didn't think that she had picked up on that at all. Lara gave me a small smile as she reached out to press her palm against my cheek.

"I think it's pretty hot," she whispered.

A chuckle fell from my lips. Gripping her hips, I lifted her and guided her so she straddled my legs. Lara gripped my shoulders tightly and dug her knees into the chair to lift herself so we were eye level. Her eyes darted over my face and lingered on my lips for a few seconds before darting back up to mine.

"What happened between you and your brother?"

Anger instantly filled me. I pushed her from my lap and stood. Clenching my fists I turned away from her and headed into the bathroom. Why did she have to bring it up? Why couldn't she just have leave it be? Lara called my name but I ignored her. I stripped as I made my way over to the shower. After opening the tabs, I turned towards Lara who hesitated in the doorway.

"Are you going to join me?"

"No," she muttered. "It's been years since whatever happened between you and your brother, happened. Can't you just forgive him and move on?"

"Forgive him?" I snarled. "What makes you think that I should be the one to fucking forgive him? He should be to one to fucking apologize to me!"

Lara flinched when I yelled, making me instantly regret it. I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. When I moved towards her, she hurriedly stepped back. I paused. It was easy to spot the tears welling up in her eyes from where I stood.

"Lara—"

"Your animosity towards each other is destroying your family," Lara softly interrupted. "I would give anything to have a sibling, you know. I would've loved to have someone who stood by my side when my mother was too drunk to even remember my name." She sucked in a breath and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You have a family who loves you, Silas. I would give anything to have that and here you are throwing it away over some shit that happened years ago! Can you even remember what it was about?"

With that said Lara spun on her heels and stormed out of the room. I stared at the door for a long while after she left. Pain tightened my chest. If I could, I would turn back the clock and undo some mistakes I had made when I was younger. It was too late now. Lara was right. There was no use holding onto something after so many years.

***

When I finished my shower, Lara still hadn't returned. I quickly pulled on some sweats and then hurried out of the room. I had no clue where to look. The fact that we were staying in Ethan's house for the duration of our stay was even more worrying. What if I enter a room only to find them in the position I found him in with my girlfriend years ago? I wouldn't be able to handle that.

I hurried down the hall to the opposite side of the house. Ethan's bedroom door was open but he was nowhere to be seen. I searched all the other rooms and then made my way downstairs. Before I could start searching the first level of the house, Lara's husky laugh filled my ears. I paused, tilted my head to the side and then spun on my heels to follow the sound of her laughter.

Lara was in the kitchen with my family. Mom stood by the counter mixing something in a big bowl and Lara hovered close to her while David and Devon sat by the table watching them with small smiles. My eyes darted over to Ethan at the same time he glanced up at me. The smile instantly faded and the laughter in his eyes died down. Ethan was sitting on the counter, swinging his legs back and forth. It reminded me of when we were kids when we watched mom cook.

"Silas."

My eyes snapped over to Lara. She narrowed her eyes at me, making it clear that she didn't want me to start anything. I pursed my lips and after a few seconds hesitation, I made my way over to the table and took a seat across from Devon.

Awkward silence filled the kitchen and I hated it. Things between all of us had changed. It's been years since I've seen them or had a proper conversation with either of them. A part of me actually regretted not keeping in touch with them. I glanced at Lara only to find her already watching me. She gave me a small encouraging smile.

Swallowing, I glanced around before focusing my attention on Devon. "I see Mom's sweet tooth hasn't changed at all."

I said the correct thing because the tension was suddenly broken. Devon laughed and David chuckled. Even Ethan joined in on the laughter. Lara gave me a wink before focusing on her task again. We made small talk while the women baked. Ethan had joined us at the table after handing out beers which I refused. He mocked me with his eyes when I told him that I didn't want a beer. It was on the tip of my tongue to mutter something to anger him but I caught myself. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin the fun.

"Cupcakes will be done in seven minutes," Mom announced loudly.

"The icing is done too," Lara said after a few minutes.

I pushed my chair away from the table and leaned back in it as Lara approached me. Her eyes darted around the table. I watched as colour flooded her cheeks when she realized that there were no chairs open. Smirking at her, I reached out to grip her wrist and tug her onto my lap.

"So what have you been up too, Silas?" Mom asked softly.

I wrapped an arm around Lara's waist and tugged her against my chest. "I've been busy with work."

"What kind of work do you do?" She truly sounded interested.

"I invest in businesses that are drowning."

"How exactly does that work?" Ethan surprised me by asking.

My eyes darted over to him to find him watching me with interest. I hesitated but a nudge to my ribs made me sigh.

"I have a few people who work for me. They search for business that are failing and need help. We approach them with a proposal. If they're happy with it, we draw up a contract and get started."

"As simple as that?"

"Yes."

Ethan huffed. I pursed my lips but kept quite. I fell silent as David started a conversation with Ethan. Lara joined in from time to time. After a while she fell silent too. Lara shifted on my lap and then leaned back against my chest. She shifted sideways and pressed her face against my neck. Goosebumps broke out across my skin when her nose brushed my neck.

"You okay?" I asked her.

She nodded. I pulled back slightly to glance down at her face. Her eyes were closed and her lips parted. I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her mouth before I could stop myself. Lara's eyes fluttered open. She blinked at me and then gave me a small smile.

"When's the big day?" Ethan's loud voice broke through our moment.

I slipped my hand underneath Lara's shirt and pressed it against the curve of her lower stomach. "We haven't set a date yet," I muttered, "but it'll be in a few days."

Ethan smirked. "What's the hurry?"

Lara tensed but I ignored her. I returned Ethan's smirk with one of my own. "We're waiting for the right amount of time to pass before we do a pregnancy test. Lara might be pregnant."

My words wiped the smirk right off his face. My mother gave a loud exclamation of shock followed by a shout of joy. I pulled my eyes away from his shocked once to focus on my parents as they stood. My mother was the first to throw her arms around us in a tight hug.

"I'm going to be a grandmother!"

One glance at Lara's face made me realize that I had made a big mistake in revealing our little secret. And I wasn't the only one who thought so because I heard Devon mutter under his breath.

"Well shit."