Lara and I left for the pack house half an hour after the doctor left. Much to my surprise, Lara didn't want to tell my parents about being pregnant again. She said that she wanted to wait until she had a little more information regarding the pregnancy. I'd be happy if she never told them anything, but I didn't tell her that.

As we walked back to the pack house, some members stopped to stare at us. I could see their confusion, but they didn't ask any questions. None of them approached us and I was thankful for that. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone; I wanted time to sort out my mind. The worry of whether Avery's actions would cause me punishment was starting to pile up. My main worry though was Lara and my baby. They wouldn't be safe amongst the humans.

"Do you want me to make you something to eat?" Lara asked as we stepped into the apartment on the top floor.

"Are you hungry?" I followed her into the kitchen. "You should be in bed like the doctor ordered. I'll make you something to eat if you're hungry."

She shook her head. "I'm not really hungry but a toasted cheese sandwich sounds good."

I smiled and moved around her to grab everything I needed to make us some sandwiches. Lara excused herself by saying that she would like another shower. I frowned but didn't comment on it. She probably wanted to get rid of Ethan's scent on her. I waited until I heard the water before I reached for the phone and dialled Devrim's number.

"Silas, is everything okay?" he answered on the second ring.

"It depends on what you mean by okay." I leaned back against the counter. "We're back at the pack but there has been some. . .unforeseen complications."

"What happened?"

"Let's just say my past has caught up on me." I ran a hand down my face as a wave of fear flashed through me. "Listen, I called because I need to ask you something."

"I'm listening," Devrim muttered. "What do you need?"

"We just found out that Lara's pregnant."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you," I muttered. "Listen, I did some bad shit in my youth and it's caught up with me. I'm. . .I could get locked up or a whole lot of other shit, but the worst that could happen is me being sentenced to death. I know that we really don't know each other very well but I've spend enough time with you to know that you are honourable man. You take care of your own and more. If I'm sentenced to death, I want to ask you if you'd take Lara and my child in. Will you make them part of your pride?"

Devrim was silent for so long that I thought he would refuse me. Every pack had different traditions and believes. No pack was the same. Maybe I had crossed a line by asking him to take in Lara, but he was the only man I knew who would take care of her. Sure, Ethan was her mate and he would do anything to protect her, but he had his own priorities and sometimes he was too focused on it to notice anything else. My parents were exactly the same.

"If Lara agrees then I don't see a problem," Devrim finally answered. "I will agree for your mate and child to become part of my pride, but it must be on Lara's freewill. I will not force this on her."

"I'll talk to her about it. Thank you, Devrim."

"You're welcome," he muttered. "If you need anything just give me a call."

I stared down at my screen once I ended the call. Now I just had a few more calls to make in order to be sure that Lara would be okay encase something ever happened to me.

***

My head snapped up when the study door was thrown open. I frowned as my father's entered followed by my mother and Wrin. I hadn't seen them since the dinner incident but that was because I spend most of the time with Lara to make sure that she was resting.

The doctor had told us that Lara were around twenty weeks pregnant. It was a big shock when we found out that she was carrying twins. Thankfully both babies were developing as they should but the doctor still scheduled regular exams. It was scary to leave Lara alone because the smallest of things would make her shift. As long as she stayed calm and relaxed, her emotions were easy to control.

I leaned back in the chair. "Do what do I owe the honour?"

"Silas."

My mother walked around the desk and surprised me by wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. I just stopped myself from flinching away from her touch. She hugged me for what felt like minutes until I moved out of her embrace. When she pulled back, I caught sight of the tears streaming down her cheeks before she turned away.

I glanced at my father's to see that they had similar expressions on their faces. I felt my heart drop to my stomach. Walking around the desk, I stopped in front of Wrin.

"How bad is it?"

He shrugged. "We don't know yet."

"The council called Ethan for a meeting," Devon said softly. "From what we gathered about the conversation, they had been informed of you killing Avery's brother."

I swallowed. I was sure that the video had been turned in as evidence. Turning away from them, I walked back around the desk and took a seat. My hands reached for the papers and a pen. I needed to finish this before they came to take me away.

"Silas."

I ignored them as I read over the page and then signed the bottom. I reached for the next page but a hand clamped down on my wrist, stopping my movement. I growled at my father, but he didn't pull his hand away.

"Silas, listen to me," he said softly.

"There's nothing to listen too," I growled. "I need to finish this before they come to get me."

"You need to listen to me. We're not going to let anything happen to you."

I shook off his hand and let out a humourless laugh. They won't let anything happen to me—it was fucking hilarious. I signed the last paper and placed it on top of the other papers before I pushed them back in the file. Without glancing at them, I stood with the file clutched tightly in my hand and made my way towards the door.

Wrin stepped in front of it, blocking my exit.

"Move."

"Silas, please," my mother pleaded, gripping my arm. "We just want to help you."

"Help me?" I spun around and glared down at her. "Where were you when I needed your help all those years ago? Where were you when the teasing started? Where were you when I got jumped on my way home? Where were you when I was beaten until I ended up in the hospital? Where were you then mother? Why hadn't you helped me then?"

She blinked at me and then slowly dropped her arm. Tears filled her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. David stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her waist when she swayed.

"Beaten?" She shook her head. "You were in a fight."

"So you do remember. Do you remember what I told you?"

"You said that they jumped you on your way home," Devon muttered. "We—"

"You asked me numerous times to tell you the truth and I did, over and over again. Didn't it occur to you that if I kept telling you the same thing that it was the truth?" I glared at them.

"We thought you were lying," David admitted. "You lied about a lot of thing, Silas. It was hard to—"

His words were cut off when the door opened and Ethan entered the room. His eyes darted around before locking with mine. There was pain and something else I couldn't make out. He swallowed and slightly shook his head.

"I'm sorry."

"W-what did they say?"

He hesitated. "They wouldn't listen to reason. I talked them out of banning you but. . ."

"But what? Just spit it out Ethan."

"They want you punished and they're doing that by having you imprisoned for the maximum sentence of ten years."

My stomach dropped. Ten years. They wanted me imprisoned for ten years. I'll miss the birth of my kids. I'll miss their first birthday and every other birthday and achievement they made. I would miss everything. What would happen to Lara? How would she manage twins on her own?

Ethan gripped the back of my neck and pressed his forehead against mine. He blew out a breath. "Do you trust me, brother?"

I smirked at him. "To an extent."

He rolled his eyes. "I'll take care of everything. You will not miss the birth of your baby or any part of his or her life." I faintly heard my mother gasp. "I took care of things then and I'll take care of it now."