MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION

82. LARA: Déjà Vu

"Valeria suffered from postnatal depression," Devon said softly. "It was okay in the beginning but then things started to change. We thought it was normal but we realized that it wasn't. David and I tried to be with her to help as much as we could but sometimes pack business had to come first."

"How can you do that?"

He shrugged. "It was drilled into us from a small age. Pack comes first—they come above everything else. So Valeria had to look after the boys most of the time. Wrin would help and so would other pack members whenever they could but it didn't change anything."

Devon ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in the chair with a sigh. "We started noticing small things. Val would have difficulty sleeping even though we told her that we would look after the boys. She was getting irritated at the smallest of things. Sometimes she had difficulty concentrating and making decisions."

"Go on," I told him when he fell silent.

"If something went wrong. . .there were times when I'd find her sobbing in the shower. The things she said." He shook his head. "She took all the blame on herself. Val thought that she was being a shitty mother."

I heard him swallow. "Was she?"

His eyes snapped towards me. "No! Val's a wonderful mother. She always placed their needs before her own."

"Devon—"

"We worked out schedule. I took on most of the pack business so David could stay home and help her with the boys. If he needed to be somewhere then I'd be with them. It was working well but only for a while. Val looked after Silas most of the time. She barely spent any time with Ethan expect for when she was feeding them together sometimes." He turned back to stare at the wall. "Since David was spending the most time with her, he started noticing the changes."

"W-what changes?"

"The more time she spent with Silas, the less she wanted to spend with Ethan. It was worrying so of course we changed things up. David started looking after Silas, leaving Lara no choice but to take care of Ethan. We thought that we were helping."

"You only made it worse."

He nodded. "It got harder as they grew older. Silas noticed that fact that Ethan got more attention from her than he had. He started acting out to get attention which was why he was always in so much trouble. It made Val feel guilty so she started covering up his mistakes. I guess we all felt guilty."

"You didn't raise Silas to be an Alpha," I muttered.

"We just assumed that Ethan would take the spot. Silas never showed any interest in learning so we never pushed him." Devon leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "There were a lot of things I wish I could change from how we raised them. Maybe if we had done things differently, then this wouldn't have happened."

"If you had done things that way then Silas and I would never have met," I said softly. "Nothing would be as it is now."

"But that's the point, isn't it? If we had done things differently then there wouldn't be such a big rift between our son and us. Even between Ethan and Silas, they—"

"They love each other very much even though a part of them hate each other. I think Val is right, I thing that I'm the cause for them hating each other more."

"Guess we all fucked up, huh?"

"Yeah."

Devon reached out and grabbed my hand. He gave it a squeeze before letting it go again. I licked my lips and asked him something I'd feared since I found out that we were having twins.

"What if I'm a terrible mother?" I asked. "What if I somehow make my twins hate each other?"

"I doubt that you'd make the same mistake we made, Lara. You'll love them both equally. Lara, you'll be a great mother and Silas will be a great father. You both had something to learn from the mistakes we made."

"I'm scared."

Devon chuckled and surprised me by wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me against his side. "Aren't we all? A lot of things has changed since you met my sons. I'm sorry that we weren't as supportive as we should've been, but all that's going to change."

We both tensed when the double doors suddenly opened. It has been hours since my mates and little Luca had disappeared through them. Devon got to his feet first and then reached out to help me up.

The doctor looked grim but he gave us a small smile. "The baby and Silas's condition is stable. We removed the dead tissue from the burned areas. Both of them are on antibiotics and some strong painkillers."

"They'll be okay?" I asked him.

"With the right care and treatments both will be okay. We'll have to do skin drafting but I'll explain everything to you at a later detail. I'm sure you'd like to see your mate."

"Yes, please."

The doctor nodded and turned around. "Follow me."

***

It was like déjà vu when I stepped into his hospital room.

Silas laid on the bed with various wires connected to his body but there was a difference this time. My knees buckled as I slowly made my way towards the bed. I stopped next to it and stared down at him. The sheet only covered one leg and his crotch. Silas was completely naked underneath it and one side of his body was covered in bandages.

"I was told that a beam had fallen on him. Unfortunately his clothes caught fire which caused the burns. He was very lucky. They managed to stop the fire from spreading and causing more damage."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "H-He's going to be okay, right?"

The doctor nodded. "He has no nerve damage. With some skin grafting his skin should look somewhat normal."

I glanced up at him. "And Luca? You said he's fine."

"He is." The doctor nodded and gave me a small smile. "Unfortunately Luca suffered nerve damage, but his skin will heal although it would take him some time to recover. I'll have the doctor in charge explain this to you in terms so you'll understand."

"Thank you."

With a nod and one last glance at Silas, he silently left the room. Tears filled my eyes as I stared down at Silas. I hadn't even noticed his injuries when they first brought him in. Now I took note of it all. Had this happened when he ran back inside the house after he handed Luca to me?

"Silas?" I pressed a shaky hand against his cheek and leaned over him. "I'm here. Everything's going to be okay, I promise. Luca is going to be fine too."

I stayed until a nurse came to tell me that it was time to leave and that I could come back again tomorrow. The thought of leaving scared me. What if I left and something happened to him? I forced myself to walk out of the room and back down the hall. The closer I got to the doors the more I became aware of the screaming coming from outside.

Stepping through the doors, I stared in shock at Valeria as she completely lost her composure. David and Devon stood by her side, trying to calm her but it wasn't working. My eyes darted over to the doctor who stood to the side with his head bent and body tense.

"I'm sorry," he said before turning and walking away.

"W-what's g-going on?" I asked softly.

David turned towards me. I was shocked to find the tears in his eyes along with so much pain that it knocked the air from my lungs. He straightened, and after glancing at Devon, he moved towards me.

"Lara." He paused. "Ethan didn't make it."