"I have some good news for you," I whispered.

I stroked his cheekbone with my thumb as I tried to get my thoughts in order. How do you break such good news to someone who's in a coma? How do I even know if he was hearing everything I told him?

Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to his forehead and then moved them lower to his ear. "You're going to be a father."

I closed my eyes and imagined him as he had been the morning before we went for a walk. I heard his laughter in my ears and felt his big hands cupping my cheeks. His lips would brush against mine and then he would wrap his arms round me and spin me around when I told him the good news.

"Please don't leave me alone," I croaked. "I can't raise our child on my own. I need you to be by my side to guide me in the right direction."

Pulling my hand from his cheek, I gripped his instead and squeezed. They said that people in a coma could hear everything. I hoped that was true. Maybe if I told him how much I loved him, he wouldn't leave me alone.

"I'm scared Silas."

I sniffed and reached up to run a hand through my hair. It needed to be washed but I didn't have the strength to do it. My eyes darted around the room before landing on Silas again. He was still connected to all the machines. His skin was paler and his weight loss was a little more noticeable. They were feeding him through vein but it wasn't giving him all the nutrients he needed. At least the injuries he had sustained were healing.

My body jerked when the door was suddenly thrown open. The woman who entered came to a sudden stop when her eyes fell on me. She scowled at me.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in here?"

I licked my lips. "I should be asking you that."

She wasn't one of the nurses because I've never seen her before and she wasn't wearing the uniform all medical staff wore. Her eyes narrowed on me as she moved forward.

"Get out of her before I call security to escort you out." Her nose wrinkled. "Does the Alpha know you're here human? Have you come to harm us? I'll have them lock you up!"

Before I could utter a word, she spun on her heels and stormed out of the room. I heard her yelling something as she moved down the hall. Human? Was that how everybody else thought of me? Did they think the same about Silas since he couldn't shift like them?

I tensed when the woman returned with two guards right behind her. She pointed at me and sneered.

"Have her escorted to the dungeon!"

One of the guards stepped forward but a loud snarl had him freezing in place. My eyes widened when an enraged Ethan entered the room. It looked like he was ready to kill. My heartbeat increased as fear filled me. Had he changed his mind about killing Silas?

"Good, you're here. We have an intruder," the woman said, glancing at me again.

Ethan's hands clenched at his side. "She's not an intruder. Lara is Silas's mate."

The colour drained from the woman's face. She actually stumbled backwards in shock.

"You can't be serious! He chose a human as his mate?" A laugh fell from her parted lips. "That's fucking pathetic."

Not as pathetic as you, I thought but kept silent. Another scoff fell from her lips when she turned to watch me. I hated the way she looked at me as her eyes darted over me from head to toe. She was beautiful despite the amount of make-up she wore. I became a little self-conscious when her eyes lingered on my oily hair and wrinkled shirt.

"You can't be serious," she repeated.

Ethan ran a hand through his hair. "I am. What are you doing here?"

"Mom told me about what happened to Silas, so I came to check on him."

"When did you get back?" Ethan asked her.

"About an hour ago." She stepped closer and placed her hands on his chest. "I went to see you but they said you were in a meeting. I came here instead."

Pain suddenly flashed through my chest when the woman pressed her lips against Ethan's. He didn't push her away; instead he gripped her hips and tugged her closer against his body as he deepened the kiss.

I swallowed and quickly glanced away from them. It shouldn't matter. It shouldn't hurt. I shouldn't care about them. It was obvious that they were in a relationship. But why does it hurt so much to see him kissing her?

"Avery, I'd like you to meet Lara," Ethan said, drawing my attention towards them. "Lara, meet my mate Avery."

Mate? Was that the same as fiancé? He hadn't introduced me as Silas's fiancé but as his mate, so it must mean the same. My eyes dropped to her hand but there was no ring visible on her finger. Why wasn't she wearing a ring? I frowned.

"Nice to meet you," I muttered.

The woman gave me a nod but she didn't look very happy at all. Her lips parted but before she could utter a word, Ethan pulled her against his body again. He muttered something in her ear that had her smiling widely. Her hands trailed down his chest to the band of his pants.

"Let's go baby," Avery purred.

"Escort Lara back to the house when she's done here," Ethan ordered the guards before he escorted Avery out of the room.

***

Silas smiled as he slowly made his way towards me.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I questioned.

"Aren't I allowed to enjoy the sight of my beautiful wife swollen with child?" He paused in front of me, and leaned down to grip the arms of the chair on either side of me.

My eyes instantly dropped to his lips. I could feel the familiar heat slowly rising in me. Soon the need would be too strong to ignore which would lead us right back to bed where we'd spend the rest of the day.

His smiled widened like he could read my mind. "We have plans for today," he softly reminded me.

"Plans I know nothing about."

"You'll know soon enough."

Silas lowered his head until his lips brushed mine. I parted mine and traced his bottom lip with the tip of my tongue. A low growl fell from his lips. I slipped my hands into his hair and spread my legs so I could wrap them around his hips to tug him closer.

Silas suddenly pulled away, making me whimper.

"Sweetness, anymore of that and we wouldn't be leaving the house today."

"That's the point," I whispered.

He chuckled. "I'm not allowing you to seduce me today."

I sighed loudly. Disappointment washed through me when Silas placed one last lingering kiss on my lips before pulling away from me. My eyes dropped to his ass when he turned. He looked good in those jeans but he'd look better without them. So much better. Another sigh fell from my lips. Guess we couldn't stay in bed all the time.

Shifting forward on the couch, I pressed a hand against my stomach as I struggle to my feet.

"Here let me help." He grabbed my hand and helped me up.

"Thank you."

He smirked. "Anytime, lollipop."

Colour flooded my cheeks. "Don't call me that."

Ethan laughed. "I like calling you that."

"I don't," I muttered.

He pulled me against his body—as much as my rounded belly would allow—and leaned down, but before he could press his lips against mine, Silas entered the living room again.

"We need to get going or we're going to be late."

***

The happy moment slowly faded. I wanted to reach out and hold onto it for a few minutes more but something was forcing me to wake up. I jerked upright in the chair and glanced around. My eyes fell on the red blinking light of one of the machines. An alarm was blaring.

I was instantly on my feet and leaning over Silas. He looked the same he always did. Something was wrong otherwise the alarm wouldn't be blaring. The door to the room burst open and people rushed inside. I was pushed back further and further in the room as more people rushed in.

Machines were pushed into the room and close to the bed. I had no clue what they were doing but it silenced the alarm.

My head snapped up when a hand gripped my arm. Devon gave me a grim smile as he tugged me out of the room and into the hall. I spotted Valeria leaning against the wall. Our eyes locked for a few seconds before I glanced away, unable to bare the pain I saw in her eyes.

"What's happening?" I asked Devon, turning to stare up at him.

He shrugged. "We won't know until the doctor tells us.

I just hoped everything was okay. Wrapping my arms around my waist, I paced back and forth until I was forced by Valeria to take a seat. I was offered a bottle of water which I gladly took. The dream lingered in the back of my mind through the next few hours that followed.

Doctors rushed in and out of the room along with nurses. If felt like forever before the activity finally slowed down. My stomach was grumbling in hunger but I couldn't stomach a single thing.

Finally the door to Silas's room opened and the doctor stepped out.

"He's going to be just fine."