MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION

85. LARA: TRADITION

"How could she do that?" I asked him. "He's just a baby!"

"Calm down." Silas grabbed my arm to stop my pacing. "It's not good for the babies."

I turned and glared up at him. Silas's face was impassive and completely emotionless but I could see the storm brewing in his eyes. It was the calm before the storm and that was something I couldn't handle right now. I needed him to show emotion. I needed him to react like any normal person would in this situation.

"Why aren't you doing anything?" I asked him. "We need to find him."

"Lara—"

"She doesn't want a kid! Her blood or not." Tears filled my eyes, making him become blurry. "W-what if she k-kills him?"

He slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me against his chest. I tensed and tried to push him away but his hold only tightened. Silas held me tightly against him as I sobbed. The pain I felt was indescribable. First Nathan and now Luca.

"H-how could she t-take him?"

"Shh." He rubbed his nose along the side off my neck. "We'll find him."

I nodded, trying to hold onto the little hope Silas was offering me. It's almost been ten hours since Avery took him from his crib. Nobody had seen or heard a thing which meant that she disappeared without a trace.

We lived in a pack full of Lycan's. How could she have escaped without anyone seeing her?

My sobs died down but the tears continued to fall. I knew Luca wasn't mine, he was not blood but when I had held him for the first time, something had happened inside me. A bond had formed between us. He had filled part of the empty space that was left by the first baby we lost.

"Silas . . ."

"I know," he whispered against my ear. "I will find him."

Silas pulled away and cupped me cheeks. His eyes darted between mine and then over my face. He gave me a small smile and then leaned down to press his lips against the tip of my nose. They lingered and then moved to my cheek where he kissed away my tears.

"I love you."

"I love you too. I won't survive if anything happens to you."

His face hardened and anger flashed through his eyes. "You will."

Gripping my hand, he pressed it against my stomach. "You will live because they need you. Do you understand me, sweetness?"

"Yes," I breathed.

His lips tilted upwards but quickly straightened into a straight line again. There were no reasons to smile. Our whole world had been turned upside down by the fire—maybe even before that.

Silas straightened and took a step back. "We need to get ready. The funeral is about to start soon."

Just the mention of the funeral made me want to crawl into a hole. Swallowing, I nodded at him and watched as he walked out of the room. Neither of us had gotten any sleep since we found out that Avery had taken Luca.

Shaking my head, I walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower. With the towel wrapped around my body, I entered the bedroom and froze when I spotted Valeria sitting on the edge to the bed. She instantly stood and gave me a small smile.

"Hi," she greeted softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, thank you. How are you?"

The smile slipped from her face. "No need to be so polite, Lara. We're family."

"You might be connected by blood but you're not family." I walked passed her. "You've never really acted like a mother to Silas."

"We've been over this before, Lara." She pointed to a long black dress she had laid out on the bed along with shoes and a veil. "This is the traditional wear for a woman who had lost her mate."

"Nobody knew that Ethan and I were mated."

She pursed her lips and glanced away. Valeria opened her mouth but instantly slammed it shut again. She had apparently decided to not to say whatever she wanted too. Shaking her head, she gave me one forced smile before she walked out of the room.

I stared at the door for a few seconds before I walked over to the bed and fingered the material of the dress. It was something someone would wear in those movies Andrea and I used to watch. Long and all black but the material was soft so I knew it'll be somewhat comfortable.

My browns dipped into a frown. What was she about to say when she stopped? Nobody but their parents and of course Avery knew that Ethan and I had been mated, so why should I wear a traditional dress when it wouldn't make sense to anybody else?

I tensed when there was a knock on the door. "W-who is it?"

There were a few seconds of silence. "It's David."

My eyes dropped down my body and then darted around the room. I bit my lip as I debated on my answer. I really wasn't in the mood to face either of them at the moment.

"It's important," David said when I didn't answer. "I found something."

I entered the bathroom and grabbed the dressing gown that hung behind the door on the hook. Shrugging it on, I tied it around my waist before I slowly made my way towards the door and opened it. David straightened and quickly slipped into the room. Grabbing the door from my hold, he pushed it closed behind him and stared down at me.

"I need to get ready," I said pointing towards the bed.

David followed my finger and did a double take. "You're going to wear that?"

"Valeria said I had too."

"You can't wear that." He stomped over to the bed and scooped it up.

"Why—?"

"Why not father?" Silas suddenly questioned from the doorway. "It's her right as his mate to wear that. It is tradition, isn't it?"

"Silas." David turned to his son and glared. "You ordered this. What's the meaning of it? You know—"

"I'm standing in as temporarily Alpha, didn't you know that? What I say is as good as law, isn't it father?" Silas's cold eyes darted to me. "Get dressed, Lara."

My lips parted but slammed closed again when he growled at me. I hesitated but reached out to take the dress from David. He held onto it for a few seconds before he reluctantly handed it over. His hand gripped mine under the material of the dress, making my eyes snap up to his. I felt him push something against my palm before he moved away.

"Go get dressed, Lara. We're leaving in five minutes."