"Trust me," Ethan had muttered to me when they left and that was two hours ago.

What was taking so long? Why hadn't we heard anything yet? What if they decided to lock him up without me getting a chance to tell him goodbye and how much I loved him?

I had no clue exactly what was going on. Silas had returned home with a blank expression. Without saying a word, he had handed me a file before walking away. The contents of the file worried me even more. I had placed the file aside and went to search for him. Silas was sitting on the bed with his face buried in his hands. He looked so defeated that fear filled me.

"They're going to lock me up," he had said.

I snapped back to reality when Valeria touched my shoulder. She gave me a small smile as she wrapped an arm around my waist and led me to the couch. I sighed when she pushed me down onto it and handed me a tall glass of water.

"You need to take it easy."

"What's taking them so long?" I asked no one in particular.

David sat forward with his elbows resting on his knees. He looked just as tired as Valeria but a little more stressed. His eyes locked with mine for a few seconds before darting away. I caught the guilt that flashed through his eyes before he glanced away. What was he feeling guilty about?

"I'm sure they'll be back soon. As Alpha Ethan has the right to question their punishments. He would be able to talk them into giving Silas a shorter sentence or a different punishment, but the final decision will depend on the elders."

His words didn't make me feel any better. It only made me worry more. Sipping some water, I leaned forward and placed the glass on the coffee table before I leaned back to watched David from beneath my lashes. Valeria walked over to him and took a seat next to him. She placed a comforting hand on his thigh. David looked at her and gave her a small smile but it quickly faded.

In what felt like forever, the door finally opened. I was on my feet in an instant, waiting eagerly for Silas to enter, but he never did. Devon entered with his head hung. My eyes darted behind him but nobody else entered.

"Devon?"

He sighed and turned towards me. "They had a witness to testify. Apparently Kyle testified against Silas. He stated that he had also seen Silas kill the boy and bury him."

"If he had seen it all. . ." Valeria trailed off.

Devon nodded. "He told them that Ethan helped Silas."

"Oh god."

The room tilted dangerously. I heard Valeria call out before everything faded into darkness.

***

A familiar scent surrounded me.

I sucked in a deep breath and leaned into the hand cupping my cheek. Even the touch felt familiar. It took a few seconds for me to remember what had happened. My eyes snapped open and locked with a pair of familiar peculiar eyes.

"Silas," I gasped, instantly shooting up in bed to throw my arms around his neck.

"Lara."

He hugged me tightly and buried his face against my neck. We stayed like that until he pushed me away and sat up. His eyes darted over my face.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine." I pressed a palm against his cheek. "What happened? Your dad said that Kyle testified against you—both of you."

"Kyle is an idiot, sweetness." He grabbed my hand and turned his head to press a kiss against my palm. "It doesn't matter, what matters is the fact that I'm not getting locked up."

"B-but how? I don't understand how. You were so sure they're going to lock you up. All of us were."

He gave me a small smile. "Avery had given Kyle a copy of the video to take to one of the elders. Since he had given it to the elder, they wanted him to testify. Only Kyle was never suppose to mention the fact that Ethan was also involved. When he mentioned Ethan, Avery went off and denied everything."

"So they just let you go without—"

"Ethan showed them what really happened," Silas interrupted. "Some elders wanted to take his title away, and the others believed it would only cause trouble. They're scared of the members fighting amongst each other for the Alpha position, but surprisingly a few of the elders said that I had done the right thing by killing him for what he had done to that animal."

"You're not getting locked up." My smile widened. "What happens now?"

"Now, we are waiting for Ethan to give the go ahead for one of the cabins." He paused. "If you're still up for it, we could still adopt some of the orphans or we could just give them a home."

I pressed my lips against his and slowly pulled away. "I'd like that very much."

Silas gripped my hips and lifted me to straddle his lap. I gripped his shoulders and noticed how tense he seemed. My brows dipped into a frown, whenever he got that look in his eyes, I knew he was about to tell me something I wouldn't like. He swallowed loudly and squeezed my hips.

"When we were our way to the house I got a call from Axel." He licked his lips and glanced away for a second. "He. . .he found your mother."

I was speechless for a moment before all the questions tumbled from my lips. "Where? Is she okay? Did I hurt her? How did she get out? Is—"

"Lara," he interrupted softly. "S-She's dead."

I sucked in a sharp breath and silently stared at him. It took a few seconds for his words to fully penetrate my mind. Dead. My mother was dead.

"H-how?"

"She was killed. Axel suspects that it might be from one of the dealers she owed money too." He stroked my back. "Do you want me to make agreements for a funeral?"

I thought about it for a moment and then shook my head. She gave birth to me and that was about it. My mother wasn't happy to have me around and she never failed to remind me of it. She even dragged me into her problems not giving a hell if I got killed in the end or not. She wasn't the worth a tear, but I could feel them burning my eyes.

A tear dripped onto my cheek and Silas quickly wiped it away. I gripped the back of his neck and pressed my forehead against his. It was a sign of comfort, I had learned. But it meant a lot of other things as well. I still had so much to learn. There was still so much to do, but all that didn't really matter.

"Silas?"

"Yes?" He blinked me.

I swallowed as I tried to find the words. "After everything that happened and all we've been through, we both realized that life is too short to live with regrets. Let's forget the past and focus on our future."

"Just get to the point Lara."

"I want you to try and mend things with your parents," I said, pulling back slightly to look at him. "I don't exactly know what happened but I know that sometimes they chose Ethan over you and maybe they've been doing it for years. But we all make mistakes, Silas. They love you even if they don't really show it or maybe they do but in a different way."

"Lara—"

"Please," I whispered. "I know it won't happen in a day, but promise me that you'd at least try."

He pursed his lips and glanced away. Gripping my hips, he placed me on the bed before he stood and walked over to the window. Silas ran a hand through his hair.

"I'll try, but I won't make any promises, Lara."

"All of you are so damn stubborn. It'll take time for everything to return to what it used to be, but even a little talking helps."

"Talking never did any of us any good. It's what caused this rift in the first place. We never talked about things like we should've. Whenever someone said anything it always ended up in an argument."

"It's been years, Silas. Things change and people change."

He turned to face me. For a long moment he just stared at me and then he suddenly smiled. Confusion filled me. Why was he smiling? Moments ago he looked like he was ready to yell at me.

"Ethan. . ." He trailed off with a shake of his head. "Ethan offered me a . . . kind of job."

"Kind of job?" I questioned, confused. "What kind of job."

"He wants me to lead alongside him. He wants me to become Alpha."

"Wow." Shock washed through me. "W-what did you say?"

He bit his lower lip and dropped his head back to stare up at the ceiling. "I declined because I know he doesn't really want me to. If I was meant to be an Alpha then I would've been trained to become one."

I stood just as the bedroom door burst open. David look frantic and pale and so fucking scared that I instantly knew that something was wrong. His eyes locked with mine and then darted over to Silas's.

"Ethan's house is on fire. We need help."