I gripped the torch a little tighter and stared down at the flame.

It was a struggle to catch my breath. I never knew how hard it would be to set my brother on fire. My eyes darted over to the grave that had been dug the night before. It was deep enough for his remains never to be dug up again. His body was covered with gasoline, wood and dry grass that I was supposed to set on fire.

I took a step closer and froze again.

His screams of pain echoed in my head again. He had suffered so much pain and it was all my fault. I should've tried harder to save him, but I didn't. Had I allowed him to die because a part of me knew that if he lived I would never be able to have Lara for myself? Even if he's dead, he will always have a part of her heart.

Lara would never fully belong to me.

"Silas?" I recoiled from his touch. "Give it to me, I'll do it."

David reached for the torch but I pulled it out of reach. I was going to set my brother on fire once again.

My eyes darted around. Everybody was waiting for me. Once Ethan's body had been set aflame the other families would set their family members alight. It was tradition.

This stupid pack and their traditions.

Blowing out a breath, I stepped forward and after another second's hesitation, I threw the torch down into the grave. It instantly caught fire. I jerked back when a flame reached for me. My skin burned where I had been injured. Sometimes a certain movement would hurt and it would remind me—as it the nightmares weren't a reminder enough.

"From dust you were born and to dust you will return," I heard David utter under his breath. "Rest in peace my son. We will miss you."

It was like a knife being stabbed into my heart over and over again. Ethan would be missed—more so by his parents than by the pack. My hands curled into fists at my sides.

Lara had been dreaming about him. She called him in her sleep and begged him not to leave her. I knew that she wasn't aware of it, but it hurt. It seemed like everybody was only focused on Ethan.

What about me? What about how I felt and what I wanted? What about what I needed?

My eyes darted around. It was customary for me to stay until the last flame died down. To hell with all these fucking traditions and customs. It's time a few things change around here. Ethan should've have done something about it when he took over but like usually, he wouldn't dare defy our parents.

But he never told them about Avery blackmailing him or about mating with Lara, or the possibility that Luca wasn't his son.

"Where are you going, Silas?" Devon called.

I rolled my shoulders and ignored them. I had just made it to the edge of the woods when he grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. A growl fell from my lips as I shook off his hand.

He glared at me. "Where are you going?"

"To prepare."

"Silas—"

"With time things change. Ethan should've made those changes years ago."

"Ethan—"

"Is no longer here," I interrupted. "I'm Alpha and I'll—"

"Only temporarily."

So that's how it is. I nodded and pushed the pain aside. "If that's how you want to do things." I turned away from him. "Why don't you fill the spot your beloved son left behind then?"

"Silas."

"I challenge you former Alpha for the title of this pack," I said loud enough for everybody to hear.

"Don't do this, Silas," David pleaded. "Think about what you're doing."

My eyes locked with Devon. "I challenge—"

"Stop, Silas!"

"Isn't it what you wanted?" I yelled. "You don't want me here, you never did. Whether I am your son or not Ethan was always the favourite. Even in his death—"

"It's not like that, Silas."

I growled at him. "Then prove it. Fight me!"

"Fine. You want to fucking fight, then we'll fight."

***

"Silas! No! Please don't! I beg of you."

When fighting for the title there were no rules. You fought until either opponent either died or were too injured to continue fighting. I never thought that it would ever come to this. I never thought that I would be faced with the choice of killing my father or walking away again.

Walking away was the easy way out. It would make me a fucking coward. It would make me weak in the eyes of everybody watching.

A total of twenty men had come up to challenge me and all of them had walked away on their own. And then my father had stepped up. The great Alpha Devon—a man everybody thought of to be good. He might have been a great Alpha but he was never a great father—not to me anyway.

I circled him slowly as I waited for him to get up. Neither one of us had fully shifted during out fight. He was good, but I was better. I had been trained by the best of the best in the packs I had visited after I left my home.

Devon laid on the ground, clutching at his side where I had managed to get in a lucky shot. We were both bleeding and in pain.. I had always been better than them. It took me years to finally figure that out. It took me fighting my own father to learn that I didn't need them.

"Silas, please."

I tried to block out my mother's cries but it was hard. From beneath my lashes, I risked a glance in her direction. David had her pressed to his front to stop her from intervening with our fight. She had tears streaming down her cheeks, and David's arms were dripping with blood from where she was clawing him.

He looked like he wanted to kill me. My eyes darted around at the crowd that had gathered. In fact it looked like everybody wanted to kill me.

That emptiness that I usually felt while growing up suddenly resurfaced. I had learned to bury it and pretend like it didn't matter. But it did, it would always matter. All I ever wanted was for them to love me like they had loved Ethan. I wanted them to be proud of what I had accomplished.

My eyes darted down to my father when he grunted. I watched as he slowly struggled to his feet. He stumbled but managed to regain his balance before he hit the ground again. Slowly, he turned towards me. I straightened when our eyes locked.

Whatever he saw made him do a double take. Devon sneered and then took a step forward and another until we were only inches apart.

"Do it," he rasped. "It's all you've ever wanted, isn't it? The power."

My hands clenched at my sides. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I? You don't think that I see it? You are my son," he pointed a finger against his chest. "I raised you. I can see the hunger for power. It's what you've always wanted, isn't it Silas? The power to control everybody and everything." He stepped even closer. "It's why we didn't raise you to be an Alpha. You might have the power but you are not Alpha material. You will never be an Alpha. You will never be like Ethan."

I sneered and lashed out. My claws slashed across the side of his face.

Devon stumbled backwards and then hit the ground. With my hand raised, I stepped closer, ready to kill him but I came to a sudden stop when my mother suddenly appeared. She threw her body over his and flashed her fangs at me.

"No!" she screamed. "Don't kill him! Please," she sobbed. "D-don't kill him."

"Move," I growled.

I tensed when David stepped in front of them. My eyes locked with his. I did a double take when I saw the pain in his eyes. David swallowed loudly.

"I know this is not you, Silas," he said softly. "This is not you Silas. Are you going to let your need for revenge ruin your life? We did not raise you like this. Think about it Silas before you act. Are you willing to kill your own father for something you never really wanted?" He tilted his head to the side. For a second his eyes darted over my shoulder before locking with mine again. "Are you going to allow your hatred for us to ruin your chance at seeing your kids grow up?"

My kids. My unborn babies. But what about the other baby that had gone missing? What were they doing to find him?

"Silas? W-what's going on?"