This is going to be a fun chapter :)
Chapter Quote:
"Maybe it's better this way-that we keep our darknesses close, hidden in our minds, protected by our hearts."
Chapter 23
One week later…
Elsa
"Hey mom? Can I go see a movie with Spencer?" I asked, walking into the living room.
"Did he get the blood cleaned out of his car?" My dad countered.
"Yeah, he had that done like… two days after he got injured."
"I don't see why she can't go. The boy can handle himself. He proved that by saving you and being able to keep up with Hunter. Go on sweetie. Be careful," mom told me. I said thank you and ran up to my room to text Spencer back. I started digging through my closet, trying to figure out what to wear. I didn't really want to go to the movie theaters in my pajamas. I went with a skirt and a tank top. I threw on a thin sweater and put my makeup on. I was halfway done with my hair when I heard the doorbell ring. Spencer was early. Ember must've been the one who opened the door because I heard the two of them talking. Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. Ember knocked, asking if she could come in. I told her she could. My door opened, revealing my sister and Josilyn. Ember shut the door and jumped on my bed.
"Your boyfriend is downstairs and looking mighty fine," Ember said. "Like seriously, if he wasn't yours and Noah wasn't mine, I'd totally tap him."
"Ember!" Josilyn laughed.
"What? He looks sexy in that leather jacket of his."
"I know exactly which jacket you're talking about too," I said, thinking back to the day Spencer had brought me lunch in his leather jacket. I'd be damned if I didn't say I'd never seen such a handsome guy.
"Do you really trust the others not to attack him? You know how mixed the pack is about him," I said.
"Mom wouldn't let anything happen to him. She knows he means too much to you."
"I know but dad hates him and you can't tell me otherwise."
"He doesn't hate him, he just… doesn't trust him."
"Still, I don't like him being near the pack," I muttered. I sprayed hairspray onto my curls and then tumped my head over so I could lightly brush the curls out. I flipped my hair back up and styled it the way I wanted. I just left it hanging loosely around my shoulders. Ponytails and hairclips gave me headaches. I threw on some silver hoops and a necklace before heading downstairs. Spencer stood in the foyer talking amiably with my mom. God he looked good…
"Hey Spencer," I greeted, stepping next to him.
"Hey Elsa. Sorry I was early. My sister told me traffic was bad earlier and so I thought it better we get there earlier rather than later."
"No problem. You ready to go?"
"Yeah. Mrs. Laroche, always a pleasure seeing you."
"You too. Be careful okay? If anything happens, call us," mom said.
"I will. Bye!" Spencer and I left my house, getting in his Ferrari.
"So what movie do you want to see?" Spencer asked, pulling out of our driveway.
"I'm literally game for anything. How about… Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation?" I suggested.
"Sounds good to me. The movie looked great in the previews! Oh, by the way, if you want, Caleb and Lily are making enchiladas for dinner tonight. Caleb said you love enchiladas and was wondering if you wanted to eat dinner with us."
"You had me at enchiladas," I told him. Spencer laughed.
We pulled into the movie theater, ordered some popcorn, two large drinks, and sat down in the back of the theater simply because those were the best seats (and because they reclined).
The movie was fantastic, even if we did run out of popcorn in the first twenty minutes of it. When we left, I texted my mom that I was going to eat dinner with Spencer, saying we were starving. She replied back saying okay.
Spencer's phone rang. Picking it up, I heard Caleb's voice on the other end, although I couldn't understand what he was saying. A few seconds later, Spencer hung up and said, "Caleb and Lily won't be home for a while. They took a drive in the park and they still need to go shopping for food for tonight. It looks like you'll be hanging out with me for a while."
"That's fine. What should we do to pass the time?"
"Well there's an Xbox there. I challenge you to a game of NFL Madden."
"Oh you're so on!"
The two of us raced into the living room once we reached Spencer's house. He shrugged off his jacket before putting in the game. Choosing our teams, he went for the Patriots. I loved my Broncos but I chose the Saints this time. For some reason, I'd always had a fascination with New Orleans. We were halfway through the game, tied, when I paused it.
"What is it?" he asked, instantly becoming alert.
"I heard something," I whispered. Getting up, I peered out the window. Caleb and Lily weren't home yet so it wasn't them.
"Elsa, get away from the window. I don't trust it not to be Hunters with guns. We should hide," Spencer said, taking me by the hand and dragging me away from the window. He led me to the guest bedroom and pulled the bookshelf away from the wall, revealing a hidden entrance. It was dark and I knew there were going to be tons of spiders in there. However, if I had to choose between Hunters and spiders, no matter how bad my arachnophobia was, I would still choose spiders. I entered the dark space first. Spencer came in behind me, shutting the bookshelf just as the door burst open. I heard glass breaking too. But those weren't what terrified me most. What terrified me was the sound of paws pattering on the wood.
"My family," I breathed. "They found us."
"Hurry. They'll find this sooner or later. Your parents will if anyone. They will most likely know that all Searchers' safe houses have secret escapes," Spencer said softly. I didn't need to be told twice. As quickly and quietly as we could, we ran down the steps and into a tunnel deep underground. Water dripped from the ceiling from the rainstorm we had earlier. More than once I stepped in a puddle, soaking my feet. Wearing flip flops had been a bad idea.
The tunnel was surprisingly wide but that was probably to make sure a lot of people could escape at one time. We'd been walking for twenty minutes when I finally heard someone from my pack, Sebastian by the sound of it, yelled: "Over here! There's a secret entrance! I can smell them! They went down here!"
Spencer and I froze. Turning to me, he said, "I'll hold them off. You get out of here."
"I'm not leaving you. They'll kill you without second thoughts."
"I can hold them off long enough for you to escape. I don't think they know it's you yet. Let's keep it that way. Go!"
"Not without you!" I hissed. The sound of running could be heard distinctly now. Not giving him a chance to fight back, I grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him towards the exit of the tunnel. We turned into wolves. It was easier to run faster like that. Spencer briefly turned human so he could move the boulder out of our way and placed it back once we were out of the tunnel. We scrambled away from the area before we both let out a long howl to alert Caleb and Lily what was happening.
The road! We need to get to the road! I said. Spencer agreed with me. We were back at running. I could smell my packmates nearby. They must've spread out to make sure we couldn't escape but since I didn't see any, I was praying we'd make it out of this without coming across any of them.
Elsa, get home. I'll lead them away from you. Spencer said.
No! That's what they want us to do! They want us to separate! It's what they're good at. We're easier to take on if we're alone than if we're together. We stay together! I ordered.
But you'll get in trouble! You remember your mother's warning if any of you broke the rules…
I'll be fine. They won't hurt me. They'll probably take me out of dance and keep me locked away in my room like Rapunzel or something.
Your hair's not long enough for me to climb to come see you. Spencer joked.
No, but I do have sheets I can tie and lower down to you. But if they catch us, you won't be able to come see me because you'll be dead!
He was about to make a retort when two wolves leapt in front of us: Barry and Akira. We skidded to a halt, backing away from them.
Stay where you are. Barry ordered.
We're not your enemies. Spencer said. We're here to catch the Hunters.
Tell that to our alphas. Akira, howl.
I didn't give her a chance. I tackled her to the ground and Spencer pinned Barry to the ground. We left them before they could see where we'd gone. They'd get their bearings soon though. After all, they were Guardians. Akira let out a howl. My packmates soon replied. They were coming for us. But that gave me an idea. If they were all leaving the house, that meant the Ferrari would be left unattended.
Spencer, do you think we could get to your Ferrari and get the hell out of here? I inquired, looking around to see if anyone was following us.
Go left! We can make it! I have the keys in my pocket. We'll be good to go! He answered immediately. We changed course. I heard more howling from my pack, and I recognized that one all too well: they'd picked up our scent. I urged Spencer to run faster. If Barry and Laurel were near us, they would catch up to us easily. They were the fastest wolves in our pack.
The house came into view and I wanted to sigh in relief. No wolves were around it. I could feel Spencer's relief as well. We had nearly reached the car when I saw a flash of black fly at me from my left. With no time to react, I braced myself for impact. When the wolf hit me, they also bit down into my left arm. My howl of pain turned into a scream. I barely heard Spencer and Noah gnashing their teeth at each other. Noah got a good bite into Spencer's shoulder. The latter shifted into human and nailed my brother's second in the neck. Not enough to injure him but enough to get him to back off and to start hacking in an attempt to get his breath back. Suddenly Spencer was standing over me, in wolf form, in an undeniable stance of possession and protection. When Noah made a move towards me, Spencer snarled at him. My brother's second halted, but didn't stop growling. Suddenly my entire pack was there. I didn't know when that happened. My dad and my mom were in the front with Shiloh, Loren, and Hunter flanking them. The five biggest wolves and Spencer was still standing guard over me.
Elsa, what happened? Hunter demanded.
N-Noah bit me. I stammered.
I didn't know it was her! Noah snapped.
Spencer snarled. Bullshit! You've lived with her your whole life! You know her damn scent!
You shut up! Hunter barked. You lied to us. All of us. I knew there was a reason I didn't like you!
Stop, please, stop. I said, standing up. Spencer moved off of me so I could, but he kept close.
Elsa Felicity Laroche, how dare you be with another pack! Dad said angrily.
Dad, please, they're not-
No! Quiet! I will not believe anything that comes out of your mouth. You've been lying to us for months! Shiloh, bring her over here.
I limped back from my mom's second. Spencer stood in front of me, obviously ready to fight Shiloh if he came any closer.
Kill him. My dad ordered.
"No!" I screamed. I hadn't even realized I'd shifted forms until I heard my own voice. Shiloh lunged at Spencer who rolled out of the way. But Caleb's second wasn't attacking. He was only going on the defensive. My dad's second on the other hand was listening to his alpha's orders and was in this fight for the kill. As Shiloh charged him for a second time, a wolf the size of my dad and Hunter tackled him to the ground. Another one landed in front of Spencer. It barked at him. He backed away next to me. The wolf transformed into a furious Lily.
"What is the meaning of this?!" She demanded.
All of my pack shifted forms. The only one who remained a wolf was Caleb for the obvious reason that he didn't want my pack to know it was him.
"You being on our territory and stealing our daughter into your pack," dad said. I saw my mom walk over to Caleb and Shiloh. The latter was trying to push my brother off but as long as Caleb had him pinned, my family couldn't do anything to hurt us because Caleb could easily kill Shiloh in one swift bite.
"Let go of my second and I will not hurt you," Arya said, her eyes hard. She and Caleb had a stare-down and for a few tense moments, I wondered if my brother might actually kill Shiloh. I let out a sigh of relief when he backed away, keeping his eyes on my mom. Shiloh stood up, rubbing his neck ruefully. I could see the indentations of teeth in his skin. Arya placed a hand on his shoulder. She nodded at Caleb and said, "Thank you."
"Who's that?" Ren inquired.
"The other alpha," Lily responded.
"Why isn't he shifting?"
"He doesn't want to. And it's much easier to crush someone's neck with a wolf's mouth rather than a human's. As for your comment about us 'stealing your daughter' into our pack, let's clear that up shall we? We didn't steal her. We're not the ones who sought her out. She found us," Lily said furiously. "You have a lot of nerve accusing us of stuff when all we've been doing is searching for the Hunters and protecting your damn pack."
"We don't need your protection!" My dad roared. His eyes settled on me. I cowered at the fury in them. Spencer took my hand in his. "You found them and you didn't tell us? You knew we were hunting for them and you stayed silent!"
"I almost did! I almost told you but they gave me an offer I couldn't turn down," I said.
"What exactly was that offer?" My mom demanded.
"A chance to search for the Hunters. They were telling me everything they found which is a lot more than you and dad ever did."
"Elsa, I told you to let that go," Ember said hesitantly. She didn't need to elaborate for me to know what she was referring to.
"You don't understand. None of you do."
"And they do? These people you don't even know?" Hunter growled. "What else have you been lying to us about?"
"Spencer and I aren't dating. For them to keep an eye on you, they needed information about where you'd be. I gave that to Spencer. When we ran into each other when we shopping in December and you asked why I was sneaking out, Lily made up the lie that we were dating. Spencer and I went along with it to throw off suspicion."
"You said her name was Carter."
"It's her last name."
"You two were pretty convincing," Noah commented in a snarky tone.
"Yeah, well, Spencer and I have learned to be damn good actors."
"Elsa, over here. Now," My father commanded.
"Spencer, let her go," Lily added. Reluctantly, he listened. I walked over there slowly.
My mom stepped forward. "You have one hour to clear out of here. When we come back, you better be gone. If not, we will not hesitate in killing you."
"Arya-" My dad began.
She held up her hand, cutting him off. Pointing at Spencer, she elaborated. "This one saved your life. And considering your life is worth more than all of theirs, I'm giving them the option of life or death. This will be your first and final warning. Get out or get killed."
My mom turned on her heel. Snarls and growls were exchanged as we walked away from Spencer, Lily, and Caleb. I couldn't help but watch them as I was forced to walk forward. Only when they were out of view did I face forward. I kept my head down. Mom and dad walked in front of me, Hunter to my left, Noah to the right, and Loren and Shiloh behind me. There was no way I could bolt, and even if I tried, I couldn't run at full speed with my injured arm. It was throbbing. Noah had definitely broken the bone into multiple pieces. Being a Guardian, it would heal faster than most, and it would heal properly, but it'd take a few days.
When we arrived at my house, Josilyn was pacing in the living room, biting her thumb. At the sight of me, she instantly exclaimed, "Elsa! What happened?! Here, sit down and-"
Hunter stopped her from coming near me. She gave him an inquisitive glance but backed down. I sat down on the couch. No one sat with me. They all crowded around the back of the couch except for my parents, Hunter, Josilyn, Noah, Shiloh, and Loren who stood in front of the fireplace. Josilyn held Hunter's hand, her eyes flitting between me and my brother. I couldn't bear to look at her though.
"Elsa Felicity Laroche, you have betrayed this pack and fraternized with an enemy pack. For that, you will incur the necessary punishments. First, I am taking you out of dance. That was how the pack got to you in the first place. Second, no more phone. I know you have all their numbers in it and I do not want you calling them or them calling you. Third, no more computer or television. Your only source of entertainment will be reading and patrols and work with your mother. Fourth, none of the pack shall speak to you. The only ones allowed are me, your mother, Hunter, and Ember, and that's only if we're ordering you to do something. You may not speak to us unless spoken to first. You have lied to us for months, therefore nothing you say can be trusted. And lastly, I am revoking your position as Josilyn's beta. From now on, you are the omega of this pack," my dad said. A gasp went around the room at the last consequence.
"Dad, please, they weren't hurting me, they weren't hurting any of you, they were watching out for us! They were protecting us! Spencer saved your life! Don't do this, please!" I pleaded.
"Enough! Did I ask you what you thought on this matter? No, I didn't."
"You've never listened to me! You've always treated me like I was someone to be coddled and I'm not! I'm eighteen dad! I'm one of the strongest wolves in the pack!" I turned to my mom. "Mom, listen to me! You've always been sensible with stuff like this!"
My mother's face remained stoic so I looked at my brother. "You told me you'd always be there for me when I needed you."
My brother replied with missing a beat. "I told that to a sister I trusted."
My mouth dropped open. "How… how could you?"
Hunter simply stared at me.
"Before you go to your room, where you will stay until breakfast and with your door unlocked, do you have any last words?" My dad asked.
I stood up, mustering up the little courage and defiance I had left in me and replied, "Caleb would've believed me."
"Caleb isn't here," he retorted.
"Well then let these be my last words: wherever Caleb is, I wish I was with him." I stalked up the stairs and shut my door.
Then, and only then, did I finally allow myself to break down.
Elsa got herself into some deep shit. What did y'all think?