I pinched the bridge of my nose and slowly blew out a breath. There was a mountain of paperwork on my desk that needed to be sorted. Then there was some pack business that needed to be dealt with. On top of all that I knew that Luca would be waking for his bottle. I was fucking tired but there was no chance of just taking a quick nap.

With a glance at the crib to make sure that Luca was still asleep, I sat up and reached for my phone when it vibrated. It was a message from Silas.

Have you done what I asked?

Fuck! How could I forget that? It was on the top of my priority list but I haven't gotten around to it. I typed a reply and waited. It didn't take him long to reply again.

Get to it! We're boarding the plane now.

Want me to meet you at the airport?

This time he took a little longer to reply.

No. It's not a good idea.

I locked my phone without replying and placed it aside. It wasn't a good idea for so many reasons, but I wanted to be there. I wanted to see for myself that Lara was okay. That was another thing I needed to add to my list—doing some research for Silas. Just as I pulled some papers in front of me, Luca started to squirm. I sighed and dropped my head into my hands.

His cries began—soft at first and then louder and louder until it couldn't be ignored.

Muttering a few curses under my breath, I pushed the chair back and got up. Where the hell was Avery? She was supposed to be watching Luca. I told her that I had some work to get done.

"Hey buddy," I muttered as I carefully picked him up. "Can't you let daddy work for a little while?"

He let out a loud cry and but quieted down a little when I held him against my chest. His small fists clutched at my shirt. I rubbed his back and I walked out of my office and down the hall towards the kitchen. It was empty like I knew it would be.

"Avery?" I called out.

There was no reply at all. My anger and irritation continued to rise when it was clear that she had left once again without informing me. This parenting thing was supposed to be done by both parents, not just one. All I've been doing these past few weeks was feeding and cleaning and bathing my son. If he woke in the middle of the night I was the one who got up because Avery made no move to feed him.

She hasn't even held him since the day she gave birth to him. It was like she actually avoided being around him. How could a mother do that? Wasn't her parental instinct urging her to care for him? A part of me had hoped that something in Avery would change when our baby was born, but I was wrong. Very fucking wrong.

Avery was still a self-absorbed bitch. She still didn't give a fuck about anybody but herself.

"It looks like it's just you and me, baby."

I warmed his bottle and then grabbed everything I needed and made my way up the stairs and into the nursery. Taking a seat on the rocking chair, I guided Luca into position before I started feeding him. His eyes started to droop half way through his feeding. When he was done drinking his milk, I burped him like my mother had showed me before I changed his diaper and then took a seat on the chair again.

My eyes started to droop as I continued to rock the chair. Luca fussed a little and then stilled. I brushed my lips along his forehead as I relaxed. With the comforting weight of my son against my chest and the sound of the rocking chair filing the room, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

***

Lara

My heart was beating a mile a minute as we drove down the familiar path towards the pack. I pressed a hand against my stomach when it churned in nausea. I felt much better than I had a couple of days ago but there was still some lingering nausea that wouldn't go away.

Silas reached across and gripped my hand. I glanced at him and saw the worry that hadn't quite left since the night I unexpectedly shifted. My hold on his hand tightened as a shudder raced down my spine. I instantly shook the images away and focused on his thumb rubbing my knuckles.

"Silas? Did you bury his body?"

He stayed silent for so long that I thought he wasn't going to answer me. "I burned his body."

I licked my lips. "And my mother?"

Just thinking about it made me want to burst out in tears so I had avoided asking questions and just accepted his answer when he told me that he took care of things. Unexpectedly shifting had scared me. I hated the sudden violence and the need to taste blood that came with changing into an animal.

"Your mother ran," Silas said. "Axel is working on finding her."

"Had I hurt him?"

"No, sweetness. Axel's fine."

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry that you had to tell him the truth."

He shrugged and guided my hand to rest on his thigh before he let go to shift gears. "It was bound to happen someday."

I stared out the window at the passing trees as I thought things over. Silas and I barely had time to sit down and talk. We haven't even discussed the fact that we were returning to the pack without anybody knowing. Silas had mentioned that he told Ethan—in fact he had said that he had called Ethan the night I was so sick and that he had mentioned us returning to his parents, but he hasn't talked to them since. Apparently Ethan was supposed to find some information for him but he hadn't gotten back to him.

"Ethan named his son Luca," Silas said, breaking the silence.

I squeezed my eyes closed for a few seconds before I opened them. Licking my lips, I turned my head to give him a small smile. "T-that's. . ." I trailed off, unsure of what to say.

He placed his hand on mine and squeezed. "I asked him for a cabin, one closer to the edge of the border."

"Why?"

"Most of the cabins near the borders are empty. We can start somewhat over by making it our home. We can go furniture shopping and everything."

"That'll be fun," I whispered. "But will the cabin be big enough?"

Silas chuckle and glanced at me. "The elders built it when they first got here. When they first escaped, they had to start from scratch. None of them really knew how the outside world worked. They had to learn everything. Anyway, the elders had built the cabins with the plans or reproducing. It's basically a family home."

"Oh."

"There's a downside to it though."

I frowned at him. "What down side."

"It's a little old fashioned so it might be a while before we have warm water and power."

My frown cleared. "I thought it was going to be something serious."

He slowed the truck at a stop and flicked on the indicator. "And no power and warm water is nothing serious?"

"I've lived in worse places."

"After you left home?" I nodded. "Why did you leave home?"

Of all the questions I expected him to ask, that was the least of it. As I thought about it, I realized that I never truly told him my mother or the hell I lived before I left home. Licking my lips, I turned my head to stare out the window.

"My mother is a gambling and drug addict," I said softly.

"I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. We all have our problems. Andrea was the only constant thing in my life back then. We both had a shitty life but we stuck together. We'd stay with her grandmother most nights when things got too much. But then her grandmother died and my mother got mixed up with the wrong people."

"And the man you killed?"

His image flashed though my mind. "He was better than any other men my mother brought home. He also stayed the longest and he was nice, but after a few months things started to change. Andrea and I left the first chance we got."

"Do you ever regret leaving home?" Silas questioned.

I answered without hesitation. "No. Do you?"

He was silent for a while before he answered. "Sometimes."

We fell silent as he turned down the dirt road that led to the pack. I reached out to grip his hand as I spotted the scattering of houses ahead of us. The closer we got, the more people became visible. They all turned to stare as we drove by.

"We have to stop by Ethan's house for the keys."

"Okay." I nodded. "I can handle seeing them. Sooner or later I'll have to see them, I'd rather be prepared than unprepared."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded but when he stopped in front of Ethan's house I wasn't so sure anymore. My stomach clenched as we made our way to the front door. Silas knocked and then stepped back but there was no reply. After knocking three times with no reply, he opened the door and stepped inside.

"Ethan?" No reply.

"Maybe h-he's not here."

"His truck is parked outside."

I frowned. I hadn't even seen it. I followed Silas up the stairs and down the hall. He seemed to know where he was going even when I told him that it was wrong to enter someone's house without permission. Silas paused in the doorway of a room so suddenly that I bumped into his back. I leaned to the side to glance around him.

The breath got caught in my throat when my eyes fell on Ethan fast asleep while holding his son to his chest. My hand shot out to grab hold of Silas's shirt when the room started to spin. Silas turned slightly with a frown. Whatever he saw made him turn towards me and wrap an arm around my waist.

"T-that's not s-safe is it?" I nodded to Ethan.

"Probably not. Are you okay?" Silas gripped my shoulders and leaned down slightly. "What happened?"

"I just got dizzy for a moment," I told him honestly. "I'm okay."

His eyes darted over my face. Silas didn't look convinced but he said nothing else. After giving my shoulders a squeeze, he turned back and silently moved deeper into the room. Silas stopped a few feet in front of Ethan and stared down at him. He looked completely clueless and on any other day, it would've been funny.

"What are you doing?"

He glanced at me. "I want to take Luca from him. I'm scared that if we leave his hold might loosen and the baby will fall." He swallowed loudly. "I'm just not sure how to take him."

"Have you ever held a baby before?" I asked him as I walked over to them.

"No."

I smiled but still hesitated. Licking my lips, I leaned forward and carefully slipped my hands under the baby. The moment I started pulling him away, Ethan's body tensed and his eyes snapped open. I froze when he growled at me.

"L-Lara?" he croaked.

I straightened with the baby in my arms and held him against my chest. Ethan suddenly sat up with a muttered curse.

"The cabin!" He stood and ran a hand though his hair. "I'm sorry, Silas, I haven't gotten around to inquiring about a cabin. Shit, I've been so busy—"

"I messaged you when we boarded the plane. It wouldn't have taken you so long just to have someone else look into it. You couldn't ask someone?"

I turned when Silas's voice rose. The baby jerked in my arms and a whine fell from his lips. I turned him around and pressed one hand against his diaper. My lips twitched and slowly curled up into a smile. The little guy needed a diaper change. My eyes darted around until I spotted the changing table. I made quick work changing his diaper and redressing him again.

When I turned, I froze when I realized that both men were staring at me. I shifted from foot to foot self-consciously. "W-what?"

Ethan gave me a small smile. "Nothing. I just. . ." He scratched the back of his neck. "You changed his diaper without any trouble."

"That's because he's still half asleep." I returned his smile before glancing down at Luca. "I use to babysit sometimes to earn money."

An awkward silence settled between us. Silas muttered something to Ethan and then excused himself from the room. As he passed me, he stroked a finger down Luca's cheek before pressing a kiss against my forehead.

"Do you mind watching him for a little while?" Ethan asked softly.

"S-sure." I don't mind at all. It's not like my heart is being ripped out by holding your son you had with another woman. A son that's supposed to be ours and not hers.

Ethan lingered. It looked like he wanted to say more, but in the end he shook his head and followed Silas out of the room. I pressed my cheek against the baby's head as I walked around the room.

The walls were painted a light blue and the crib, changing table and every other piece of furniture was made out off some dark brown oak. It was beautiful but not really something I would've chosen for a nursery. There were a few bears and toys here and there but not lot. Feeling the walls closing in on me, I walked out of the room and down the hall towards the stairs.

I could hear them talking in the study but their voices were too low to make out what was being said because the door had been closed firmly behind them. Making my way into the kitchen, I poured myself a glass of water and took a few sips. I couldn't finish it because Luca was reaching up and pressing a small hand against the glass.

"You're too young to be drinking that, my darling," I whispered.

Wide eyes blinked up at me. I swallowed the lump in my throat and glanced away from him. He was a real cutie but it hurt to look at him. So much had happened and even though I knew that Ethan would never be mine, I couldn't help but imagine that Luca was ours—mine, Silas's and Ethan's—but he wasn't. He was Avery's and Ethan's.

The front door suddenly opened and a voice called out. I tensed and slowly turned around, silently preparing myself to face Avery. But it wasn't Avery who had entered the house. Valeria came to a sudden stop in the kitchen doorway. Her eyes widened when they fell on me.

"L-Lara?"