MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION

26. SILAS: WORRIES AND FEAR

"Any second now you're going to burn a hole in that wall."

My head snapped around at the sound of her soft voice. Lara hovered in the doorway. After a few seconds she entered the room and softly closed the door behind her. My eyes trailed over her from head to toe and my body instantly started to react. I ignored the urge I had to walk over to her and loose myself in her body.

"Are you okay?"

"Stop asking me that Silas," she said softly.

I sighed. Running a hand through my hair, I leaned back in the chair. My eyes followed her as she moved around the room to get ready for bed. We've been here for two days and Lara hasn't mentioned what happened when we arrived. The fact that I caught her staring at Ethan was very unnerving. What was she thinking when she looked at him like that?

Maybe it was a mistake to come here. Maybe I should've refused, but then I remembered the look on my mother's face when she saw me. It was worth the trip here but the other part of me was scared that I'd forever changed Lara's opinion of me.

Ethan had shifted and she'd seen it all.

I should've told her before we came here. I should've been honest with her from the start. Just the thought of losing her made it hard to breath. I couldn't imagine my life without her by my side.

"Silas." Lara hesitated in front of me.

I opened my arms. The relief was instant when she climbed onto my lap and settled against my chest. She shifted around for a few seconds until she got comfortable. My hand slid down her back and around her hip to settle on her lower stomach.

"You look worried," Lara muttered.

"I am worried." I tilted my head down to run my lips along her forehead. "I'm scared that any minute now you're going to start freaking out. I'm worried that—"

"You should have told me," she interrupted me. "It would've been good to know beforehand that you. . ." She shook her head as she trailed off.

I understood where she was coming from. A warning would've been nice.

"I'm sorry." My arms tightened around her. "Are you. . .do you. . .?" I huffed, unsure how I should voice the question.

Lara sat up and turned sideways on my lap to face me. Her eyes darted over my face before dropping to my chest. She stared down for a full minute before she raised her eyes to glance up at me.

"Can you. . .change into a wolf?" she questioned.

I hesitated. "That's one thing I didn't inherit from my parents."

"What did you inherit?"

I gave her a wry smile. "A great sense of smell. I have great eyesight and hearing too."

"You make animal noises too."

My eyes widened in surprise. I didn't think that she had picked up on that at all. Lara gave me a small smile as she reached out to press her palm against my cheek.

"I think it's pretty hot," she whispered.

A chuckle fell from my lips. Gripping her hips, I lifted her and guided her so she straddled my legs. Lara gripped my shoulders tightly and dug her knees into the chair to lift herself so we were eye level. Her eyes darted over my face and lingered on my lips for a few seconds before darting back up to mine.

"What happened between you and your brother?"

Anger instantly filled me. I pushed her from my lap and stood. Clenching my fists I turned away from her and headed into the bathroom. Why did she have to bring it up? Why couldn't she just have leave it be? Lara called my name but I ignored her. I stripped as I made my way over to the shower. After opening the tabs, I turned towards Lara who hesitated in the doorway.