"What?"

Ethan pushed Alark away and fixed his clothing. My eyes darted over his shoulder to my fathers' as they stepped out onto the porch. Mom said something that made both of them pale. David was the first to move, he hurried down the steps and towards us.

"I'm the reason you can't shift," Ethan said softly, drawing my attention towards him.

He was staring at me but not really seeing me. His breathing sped up slightly. It looked like he was close to having a panic attack.

"Ethan," David called but he ignored him.

"Mom had asked me to keep an eye on you because they had to attend a meeting. I didn't want too because I had plans with friends. They forced me to take you with us and I did."

"Ethan," David said, gripping his shoulders and spinning him around so they faced each other. "Stop."

"I have too," he croaked. "I can't handle it anymore. It's too much."

I stepped forward but they both ignored me. They stared at each other like they were having a silent conversation. David gripped the back of Ethan's neck and tugged him closer. The low rumble of his voice assured me that he was softly speaking to Ethan. Whatever he said to him made him tense. They stood like that for a few minutes before they pulled apart.

Ethan glanced at me and then walked off. He disappeared around the side of the house. A few minutes later I heard the rumble of his truck as he started it and drove away.

"Silas," David called.

I glanced at him.

"We'll talk about this once we're home as a family, not now. Getting Lara home safely is the only thing we need to focus on right now."

I stared at him for a few more seconds before I walked past him. He was right. Getting Lara home safely was the only thing I needed to worry about. Once she's home, we all needed to sit and have a talk. We had things to sort out.

"Silas—"

I ignored my mom and walked passed her and into the house. Once glance at the clock assured me that I still had a few minutes left before I needed to pick up the money, but I needed to get out of here. I grabbed the phone and hurried towards the door, then paused. Ethan was supposed to give me his truck but he left in it.

"Here," Alark said, holding out keys. "You can use my truck."

"Thanks."

I pushed all thoughts from my mind as I drove through town towards the bank. How could it possibly be Ethan's fault? I was born without the genres to shift, I was sure of that. I couldn't remember a time where I changed from skin to fur. Why had David stopped him? I was missing something and as soon as Lara was home safely, I'll find out what they were hiding.

The money was ready and waiting minutes after I arrived. I watched as they loaded the bags onto the truck, and with a nod of thanks at the bank manager, I climbed back into the truck and drove off.

We would be meeting at the park where they had taken Lara from. When exactly an hour had passed, the phone rang. I sucked in a deep breath before I answered.

"I see you're nice and early."

"I told you I'd have your money in an hour. Wh—"

"Climb out of your truck with my money and walk towards the East side of the park. You'll see a bench marked with red ribbon. Leave the money there and walk back to your truck."

"What about my wife?" I questioned.

"She'll be waiting for you at the truck."

He instantly hung up once he was done speaking. I got out of the truck, grabbed the bags and followed his instructions. There were four benches and the one closest to the edge of the park was marked like he had said it would be.

My eyes darted around as I made my way towards it. There were no cars parked within sight. Alark had cleared the park because he didn't want any kids killed or taken hostage if things went wrong. I knew he had men close to grab the kidnapper as soon as Lara was safe with me.

I hesitated as I lowered the bags to the bench. He had given clear instructions and I was going to follow them—no matter how badly I wanted to do the opposite.

I nearly ran back to the truck. Lara would be waiting for me there. Once I had her, all I had to do was give the signal and the men would move in. I frowned. This was too easy. My stomach rolled as I thought of the man tricking me. What if he had already killed Lara? I hastened my steps until I was almost running. My steps slowed when I rounded the corner.

Like he had said, Lara stood leaning against the side of the truck. I hurried forward but came to a sudden stop a few feet away when she raised her head. Rage instantly flooded me. He told me that she was untouched! She told me that she was fine!

"I'm going to kill him," I swore.

"It wasn't him," Lara whispered.

I gently cupped her cheek and tilted her head back. My thumb hovered over her split lip. Dried blood was sticking to her chin and lip. I wiped it away before dropping my gaze to her stomach.

"The baby?"

"Is okay," she said.

My eyes shot up to hers when her voice cracked. Tears silently streamed down her cheeks. It was then that I realized that she was trembling.

"You're okay, sweetness," I told her as I pulled her against my chest. "I've got you and I'm never letting you go again."

"Good," she cried. "I love you Silas."

I pressed my lips against her hair. "Love you too, Lara."

The hair at the back of my neck rose—a clear warning that we were in danger. My arms around Lara tightened as I turned slightly to glance over my shoulder. There was still no one in sight and the park was still deadly silent.

"Let's get out of here."

I stepped back but kept my body in front of hers as I reached out to open the door. My fingers just brushed the door when I felt Lara tense against me.

"Don't open the door!"

A low growl fell from my lips when I heard Ethan. My anger died down when I saw the distressed look on his face. He stopped close to me and gripped my shoulder. Lara pressed herself tighter against me when Ethan glanced at her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I growled.

"They bombed the truck," he said, ignoring me. "You open that door and it blows up."

He held out his keys towards me.

"Take my truck and get her home. They're waiting to hear the explosion before they leave."

"Ethan—"

His eyes caught mine. "Take your mate home, Silas. I'll be right behind you."

I stared at him. The man had told me that I needed to be alone or I would regret it. If there was no explosion he would know that I hadn't kept my word. He could get away and kidnap Lara again. They were waiting for an explosion and they would get one.

"What are you going to do?" I asked him as worry filled me.

Ethan gave me a smirk and pushed the keys into my hands. "Don't worry about me. Go."

His eyes darted to Lara but she avoided looking at him. This was going to take a while to get sorted, if ever. They belonged together and I might not like it but I'll make damn sure that they both get what they wanted.

With one last glance at Ethan, I wrapped my arm around Lara's waist and headed in the direction of Ethan's truck. He stood there watching us until we were safely inside before he turned. My hand shook as I pushed the key in the ignition. I shouldn't be walking away—it's what I've been doing since I was old enough—but one glance to my left made me realize that Lara was more important.

I loved my brother, but Lara was my future.

"He'll be okay," I softly reassured her.

We were about a mile away from the park when we heard the explosion. Lara sucked in a sharp breath and reached out to clutch my thigh. I reached down and gripped her hand in mine as I breathed through the pain. Ethan was okay.

He had to be!

***

I slowed the truck and turned into the driveway. My heart dropped to my stomach when I saw David and Devon sitting on the front porch steps. They stood when I got out of the truck. The last thing I wanted to do was expose Lara to the tension after everything she had gone through.

Walking around the front of the truck, I opened Lara's door and gripped her hand to help her out. The moment her feet hit the ground, her knees gave way beneath her. I caught her before she could fall. Lara blinked up at me. She looked exhausted.

"How about a bath, a nice warm meal and then bed?" I asked as I picked her up.

She nodded and buried her face against my neck. "I don't want you to leave me."

"Never," I promised.

My fathers' stood aside when I walked up the porch steps. The door was already open so I just entered the house. I could hear voices coming from the living room and so could Lara judging by the way she tensed. Lara wasn't ready to face anyone yet.

I made my way up the stairs and down the hall to the room Lara has been staying in. Kicking the door shut behind me, I walked into the bathroom and lowered her onto the counter. Lara silently watched me as filled the bath with water. After testing the water to make sure that it was not too hot, I closed the taps and turned back to her.

My eyes dropped to her split lip. I needed to clean that wound before it got infected. I searched through the cabinets until I found the first-aid-kit. Lara parted her legs for me to step between them. Her eyes darted over my face as I cleaned her wound. It looked a little worse with the dried blood than it actually was.

"You said he didn't hurt you?"

"One of the men who worked for him hit me. He touched me so I slapped him and it made him mad."

"How did he touch you?" I asked as fury rose inside me.

She swallowed loudly and glanced anywhere but at me.

"Lara?"

"He grabbed my ass when they came to get me from the room," she said softly. "I slapped him and he got angry. The man who kidnapped me killed him after he hit me." Her words died down on choked sob.

I instantly pulled her against my chest and hugged her close. "I'm sorry you had to see that, sweetness."

Lara sniffed. "I should p-probably get used to it, right?"

"Why?" I pulled back slightly to stare down at her.

"Can we not talk about this now? I really missed you and I just want you to hold me."

I nodded but uncertainty filled me. Why had she said that?