MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION

35. LARA: MEETING ETHAN'S FIANCE OR RATHER, MATE

"I have some good news for you," I whispered.

I stroked his cheekbone with my thumb as I tried to get my thoughts in order. How do you break such good news to someone who's in a coma? How do I even know if he was hearing everything I told him?

Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to his forehead and then moved them lower to his ear. "You're going to be a father."

I closed my eyes and imagined him as he had been the morning before we went for a walk. I heard his laughter in my ears and felt his big hands cupping my cheeks. His lips would brush against mine and then he would wrap his arms round me and spin me around when I told him the good news.

"Please don't leave me alone," I croaked. "I can't raise our child on my own. I need you to be by my side to guide me in the right direction."

Pulling my hand from his cheek, I gripped his instead and squeezed. They said that people in a coma could hear everything. I hoped that was true. Maybe if I told him how much I loved him, he wouldn't leave me alone.

"I'm scared Silas."

I sniffed and reached up to run a hand through my hair. It needed to be washed but I didn't have the strength to do it. My eyes darted around the room before landing on Silas again. He was still connected to all the machines. His skin was paler and his weight loss was a little more noticeable. They were feeding him through vein but it wasn't giving him all the nutrients he needed. At least the injuries he had sustained were healing.

My body jerked when the door was suddenly thrown open. The woman who entered came to a sudden stop when her eyes fell on me. She scowled at me.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in here?"

I licked my lips. "I should be asking you that."

She wasn't one of the nurses because I've never seen her before and she wasn't wearing the uniform all medical staff wore. Her eyes narrowed on me as she moved forward.

"Get out of her before I call security to escort you out." Her nose wrinkled. "Does the Alpha know you're here human? Have you come to harm us? I'll have them lock you up!"

Before I could utter a word, she spun on her heels and stormed out of the room. I heard her yelling something as she moved down the hall. Human? Was that how everybody else thought of me? Did they think the same about Silas since he couldn't shift like them?

I tensed when the woman returned with two guards right behind her. She pointed at me and sneered.

"Have her escorted to the dungeon!"

One of the guards stepped forward but a loud snarl had him freezing in place. My eyes widened when an enraged Ethan entered the room. It looked like he was ready to kill. My heartbeat increased as fear filled me. Had he changed his mind about killing Silas?

"Good, you're here. We have an intruder," the woman said, glancing at me again.

Ethan's hands clenched at his side. "She's not an intruder. Lara is Silas's mate."

The colour drained from the woman's face. She actually stumbled backwards in shock.

"You can't be serious! He chose a human as his mate?" A laugh fell from her parted lips. "That's fucking pathetic."

Not as pathetic as you, I thought but kept silent. Another scoff fell from her lips when she turned to watch me. I hated the way she looked at me as her eyes darted over me from head to toe. She was beautiful despite the amount of make-up she wore. I became a little self-conscious when her eyes lingered on my oily hair and wrinkled shirt.