Enjoy :)

Chapter Quote:
"Everywhere? I don't think I've been there."
~Calla Tor in Nightshade
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Chapter 30

Lily

"You're positive it was Callie?" I repeated for the fiftieth time. It seemed impossible to me that anyone could've survived the explosion that had turned our lives upside down merely a year ago.

"I know it was her. Spencer did too. It was like she didn't even recognize us though. Some Guardian attacked her and she bolted. I couldn't stop her," Caleb said as he paced up and down our room with his hands clasped behind his head.

It'd been two days since we'd rescued Elsa, Josilyn, and Sebastian. The McKays had left only a few hours after the battle. Hunter was miserable and he wasn't even trying to hide it. Elsa was still bedridden. Even with all the Guardian blood she'd been given, it still wasn't enough to replace all the blood she'd lost from being cut by the Hunter's knife. She was up and talking but tired easily so she didn't say much before she'd fall asleep again.

"It's not your fault you couldn't catch Callie," I said. "You were taken by surprise."

"I know, but I still should've been able to catch her. I'm an alpha. It's my job to adapt to situations that change instantly."

"You're not invincible you know."

"Unfortunately."

Someone knocked on our door. We glanced at each other, both wondering who it was this late at night. After all, it was midnight and while most Guardians were still up, they were all in their beds. I got up to answer it while Caleb shifted into wolf form in case it was any of the Laroche pack.

"Elsa!" I exclaimed when I opened the door. My boyfriend's sister was leaning heavily on the door frame, her face was pale, but she was up and standing, and that was shocking.

"Elsa?" Caleb said, running up to her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I just came to talk," Elsa explained, moving into our room. Caleb helped her over to our bed where she collapsed into sitting position. "Sorry, I just really had to get out of that room. I was going stir-crazy sitting in there all day long."

"Did someone help you walk over here?" Caleb asked.

"No, I came by myself. So how are you doing? After seeing Callie?" she queried, staring inquisitively up at her brother. He sat down next to her.

"Shocked among other things. How did you know it was her? I never showed you what she looked like," Caleb noted.

"Spencer showed me pictures of all of you, including Michael and Elaine. What about you Lily? Are you doing okay?"

I shrugged. "As best you can be when you find out a dead pack member is not actually dead and apparently doesn't remember you."

"The thing is, I think she recognized you, or at least Spencer since they dated. We're going to get her back though. I know we will," Elsa promised. I gave her a grateful smile. "How's Spencer handling it?"

"Honestly we haven't seen much of him except at dinner and breakfast. He's been really quiet. Has he said anything to you?"

"No. I haven't seen him since the night you rescued me."

"Really? He's been going to visit you," I remarked.

"I must've been asleep. I feel that's all I've been doing lately... but if I see Spencer, I'll ask how he's doing and relay it to you in case he's not open with you guys about it."

"That would be wonderful. Besides, the one time he did talk at dinner, he said he needed to talk to you."

"Maybe I'll go see him later. For now, I think I should head back. Dad went to go shower so I had a little bit of time to escape but he'll be back soon and if he finds out I left without supervision, he'll freak," Elsa laughed weakly. She stood up. Caleb lightly placed his arm around her to make sure she didn't fall.

"Hey what's going on?" Spencer asked, striding into the room. None of us had even heard him open the door. His eyes instantly settled on Elsa. "Elsa! What are you doing out of bed?"

"I wanted to see how you were all doing. Plus I was going stir-crazy doing nothing for two days straight. Listen, I'm going to head back now because I need to get back before dad does and I can tell you need to talk to Caleb and Lily. I'll see y'all later," Elsa said with a smile. She began shuffling towards the door.

"Elsa, about the other night-" Spencer began.

"Don't worry about it. I promise we'll get Callie back for you. I'll talk to Baba about it the first chance I get," she said. She exited the room. Spencer stared after her before saying dejectedly, "That's not what I meant... I need to go after her."

"Why don't I go help her back to her room? I think this calls for girl talk. You two have some... boy talk." I made a shooing motion with my hands as I left. It wasn't much trouble for me to catch up to Elsa. She'd barely made it four feet from our doorway.

"Need a hand?" I inquired.

"I need strength," she laughed. "But a hand would be wonderful."

I wrapped my arm around her waist as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder. We slowly walked to her room.

"May I ask you something?" I queried, giving her a sideways glance.

"Of course," she answered immediately.

"Don't take this the wrong way when I ask this, but I know how you feel about Spencer and while you may have him and Caleb and most of your pack fooled, you don't have me fooled. So my question is, if you love him so much, why are you so hell-bent on getting his ex-girlfriend back for him?"

Elsa stayed quiet for a few moments before responding. "Because she deserves to be saved, girlfriend of the guy I love or not. I don't know what the Hunters did to her, just that they have been able to give her amnesia of sorts, but Spencer's her anchor. He's the reason she didn't kill me."

"I thought that was because you prevented him from shooting her," I countered.

"Different points of view I guess. But I was there for Spencer when he needed someone he could really relate to. Maybe I was a rebound girl, maybe I wasn't, but he and I connected for the sheer fact we had similar life experiences. He still loves Callie and I think deep down, she knows she has feelings for him. She only tried to attack me and Caleb. She didn't go for Spencer, not even when he rushed to my side when she stabbed me. And considering I know what it's like to lose someone I love dearly, if I found out they were alive, I'd do anything in my power to get them back, no matter what."

"You're talking about Anna, aren't you?"

She nodded. "Anna was my other half. I mean we were independent enough that we didn't mind doing things on our own or being separated from each other, but at the same time, we were always connected, more so with each other than anyone else in the pack, even with our own immediate family. And when I lost that other half, I lost a lot of myself. It took a long time for me to put myself back together and to find out who I was without my other half. Now it's my turn to ask you a question."

"Considering I was extremely invasive with mine, fire away."

"What would you have done if you'd been in Spencer's place the other night?"

"You mean holding a gun pointed at Callie while she was trying to kill you?" Elsa nodded. "I would've fired the shot because you're Caleb's little sister, and since Caleb is my pack, you're my pack too, if only unofficially. But pack member or not, if you attack a pack mate of mine, I will hurt you."

We reached her bedroom just as she replied, "You're my unofficial pack too. Any family of my brother is family of mine."

I helped her into bed and said, "Speaking of packs, there's one more thing I wanted to bring up with you. I know Spencer offered you a position in the pack and I know you said no, but I want to ask you personally because I was thinking I could really use a beta. Spencer is juggling being beta to me and Caleb but he and Caleb have gotten a lot closer and I want my beta to be my best friend. I know we're not exactly like sisters, but you're the closest friend I've had outside of my pack in, well, ever. So I'm officially asking you to be a part of our pack, as my beta."

"Are- are you being serious?" Elsa stammered, her eyes wide.

"Yes. You get along well with all three of us, you think similar to us, and Spencer needs a beta that he works well with, and you two are great partners in crime. When we rebuild our compound, you'd have the option of living in the same house as him or living in your own. Although it might be an awkward conversation when you choose separate houses and he chooses living in the same one."

"He wouldn't choose that," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Do you really believe he doesn't love you or are you still trying to convince yourself he doesn't so it makes it easier when you two go your separate ways at the end of the war?" I finally demanded in exasperation. I was tired of both of them acting like they didn't like the other when it was completely, totally, blatantly obvious that they did.

"More of the latter... Lily, I would love to accept your offer of being your beta, but I have to stay with my pack. I can't leave Hunter or my dad. My mom and sister could handle me leaving because they know I'm grown up now but my dad and brother still see me as a little girl that needs to be protected. Not only would neither of them ever allow me to go with you, but I couldn't leave them when they're not ready for me to go."

"What if Spencer decided to stay with you?"

"You and Caleb need him. Besides, for better or for worse, he's a lot like me and I know his loyalty for you would overshadow anything he wants. I've done a lot of selfish things lately, I've caused a lot of pain, and I need to make up for that. Starting with my family."

"It's okay to be selfish once in a while, you know," I remarked.

"Yeah, but this is war. You can't be selfish in war. You have to think of the greater good."

"This selflessness of yours is really getting on my nerves because you and Spencer need to be together but neither of you will do anything to make it happen," I growled.

"Sorry alpha, but our stubbornness is going to remain," Elsa said with a grin.

"If I hadn't had experience around Laroches, I would keep arguing, but I know better. I'll let you get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow. But Elsa, consider what I said about my pack, and know it's always open. Just give me a call."

The Laroche girl nodded before lying back on her pillow and falling asleep within seconds. I left her room and went back to mine. Spencer had left and Caleb was relaxing on the bed, doing stuff on his computer.

"Did you talk to her about the position?" he asked, sitting up.

I crawled into bed next to him. "You Laroches are too damn stubborn for your own good. She's staying with her current pack, but I told her the offer is always open. Now come on, let's get some sleep. It's been another long day."
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Spencer

Four days later...

I was sitting on my bed, watching stupid YouTube videos, when someone knocked on my door. When I called for them to come in, I instantly sat up. Elsa, looking much better and healthier, stood in the middle of my room, appearing rather shy to be there. Neither of us had really talked since Callie's appearance. Every time I went to see her in her room, she'd been sleeping. In fact, she still looked tired even though it was only nine at night.

"Hey, how are you doing?" I asked, setting down my laptop and standing up.

"Much better. How are you doing?" Elsa replied.

"Better, especially now that I see you're up and about."

"Yeah, it's nice to be walking around." We stood in an awkward silence before she said, "Lily told me you wanted to talk to me? I tried coming to see you earlier but dad kept a careful watch on me. Oh! Before I forget, I talked to Baba about Callie. I explained the situation and so he's alerting all the Searchers that she's not to be killed, although he said she might get harmed a little if she tries to attack anyone. I can't really argue with him on that..."

"God, you Laroches make nothing easy, do you?" I laughed.

Elsa looked confused but she gave me a smile. "No, we typically don't."

"Listen, I want Callie back. She was part of my pack, and my pack and I are lucky enough to have the chance to get her back. But if she does remember us, she's going to remember how she and I were dating. The thing is, I've moved on from that, even if that sounds terrible. If she was the one for me, if she was the one meant to be my mate for life, then it would've taken me a lot longer to get over her death, but it didn't."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I'm in love with someone else and that if she comes back-"

"When she comes back," Elsa corrected. "We're definitely getting her back for you and Caleb and Lily."

I sighed. "When we get Callie back, I'm worried that her presence will ruin any chance I have with this new girl."

"Well if this new girl loves you back, she won't have a problem with Callie being back. But if she acts different with Callie around, it might not be because of her but because she knows you'll be leaving soon and doesn't want to get anymore attached to you than she already is."

"Doesn't distance make the heart grow fonder?"

"Supposedly. But we have phones and computers. And also planes."

I chuckled. "But nothing beats seeing you in person."

Elsa took her hands in mine. "Hey, if the dead can come back to life, then there's a chance it can still work out between us. But for now, let's focus on the war and getting Callie back. We can figure out our love lives after."

"I'm going to hold you to that, you know," I said.

"I'm counting on it," she replied, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "I'll let you get back to watching stupid YouTube videos."

"How did you know?"

"Because I heard the scream of the guy bouncing on the tree limb singing gibberish and pretending he's Rafiki from the Lion King."

"Want to watch some with me?"

"I would but I'm heading to the gym. No one's there and I plan on getting back to my full strength ASAP. Tomorrow night?"

"Deal. Good night."

Elsa left my room. Okay, so maybe it didn't go exactly how I wanted it to, but it still had a decent outcome. At least I knew she was interested and was open to trying something between us at the end of the war. For the first time in days, I smiled. Things were going to turn out okay. I knew they were.
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Elsa

I taped my hands and wrists before I began hitting the punching back. I was being careful not to rip open my stab wound on my stomach. It wouldn't kill me if I did but it certainly would hurt like hell.

I'd been punching and kicking the bag for about fifteen minutes when I heard someone come in. I looked over my shoulder to find Dominic Stone strutting over to me. I had to admit he was handsome with his dark hair and green eyes, but for some reason, I wasn't physically attracted to him. Although that might've been because I was in love with a different guy...

"Mind if I join you?" Dom asked.

"Um, no," I said, watching him carefully as he leaned against a table. I didn't really trust him. There was something... off about him. "Aren't you supposed to be in your room because of new recruiter restrictions or something?"

"After I helped the Searchers find you and your friends, they gave me some leniency. I'm allowed to go to the garden, dining hall, and the training room. But nowhere else that could give me knowledge of the Searchers ways. That's okay. I understand. So how are you doing?"

"I'm better," I replied.

"Even though the ex-girlfriend of the guy you like has come back to life and you're still the omega of your pack?"

I growled. "Be careful where you tread, Dom. Just because I'm the omega doesn't mean I fight like one. What do you want?"

"I want to get to know you."

"Why?"

"Because I want to get to know your pack. I'm curious like that. It gets me into trouble. Why do you think I'm on the Hunters' bad side?" he joked.

"My parents don't trust you. We're not supposed to talk to you or give you any information about our pack."

"This coming from the girl who risked her place in the pack and her life to see her run-away brother, Caleb? Excuse me if I'm wrong, but you seem to have a little bit of disregard for the rules," Dom remarked, trying to hide a smile.

"I swear to god, if you breathe a word about Caleb being here to my pack, I'll kill you. Caleb will be next in line. He doesn't want them knowing he's here."

"I wouldn't put it past you. Besides, you don't have to worry about me spilling the beans. His secret is not mine to tell."

"That's the smartest thing you've said so far."

"Can I ask you something?" Dom inquired, standing up.

"You're going to ask me anyway," I retorted.

"Do you believe in the impossible?"

"I can turn into a wolf and back into a human at will, I'm able to walk through a portal to get from one destination to another, and a girl survived an explosion somehow. All of that should be impossible but it happened nonetheless. I'm kind of used to believing in the impossible. Why?"

"Because I want to show you something. Elsa, this might be difficult to wrap your head around so before you kill me after seeing it, at least give me a chance to explain, okay?" He said. I nodded. Dom pulled out his phone, scrolled through a few things before finally settling on something. He handed his phone to me. At first I wondered why he had a picture of me that I never remembered being taken in the first place until he told me to swipe to the next one. I saw nothing wrong with the next photo because my eyes immediately went to him smiling in front of the "Welcome to Vegas" sign. However I did a double-take when I saw the girl from the previous picture standing next to him.

"How is this possible? Did you photoshop this?" I demanded.

"No. That was taken three years ago in Vegas. A trip I took with her."

"She looks just like me... I mean it's insane. We're identical. Is that why you were staring at me when you arrived? You thought I was her?" I looked up at him.

Dom shook his head. "I knew you weren't her. But since you two are identical, seeing you was like seeing her again. But you remember how I asked you if you believed in the impossible?"

"Yes?"

"Would you be willing to believe that your twin sister is still alive?"

"Who told you about Anna?"

"I looked into it. Anna always knew she had a twin somewhere so I did research for her to find her, to find you."

"But... but Caleb saw the Hunters slit her throat in front of him. He saw them murder her in right in front of him. That can't... that can't be Anna," I declared weakly. My legs felt like jelly and I had no control when they collapsed on me. Thankfully Dom had quick reflexes. He lowered me to the floor and sat next to me.

"It was an illusion. The Hunters have been taking Guardians and turning them into their own personal weapons by erasing their memories and having the Guardians fight for them. That's what they did to Callie and that's what they tried to do to your sister. Anna was smart and she was strong. She pretended to act like she had no recollection of her former life. And that was partially true. I don't think she remembers much except for you and maybe her immediate family. But in order to make sure your pack didn't go after them anymore than they already were going to after the Hunters attacked your compound, they had to make sure your parents believed Anna was dead. The Hunters knew your pack wouldn't rest until they had Anna back so they faked her death and got her as far away from there as possible."

"So you're saying all these years, my sister has been working for the Hunters?" I asked. Dom nodded. I rubbed my head, unable to comprehend everything.

"I know it's hard to believe, but yes. She bided her time so she could plan her escape. The Hunters always kept a careful watch on her because she was always headstrong, a lot like you actually. They thought she might somehow regain her memories of her former life. Little did they know she still had some."

"Why did you not help her escape?"

"We... had a falling out and she took me out of her life. She severed all connections and I couldn't find her. Anna and I dated and some bitch convinced her I cheated on her. She never gave me a chance to defend myself. I've been trying to find her ever since."

"How long ago was that?"

"Two years ago."

"I found out she left the Hunters right after our fight. I've been trying to track her ever since but she was trained on how to hide, plus she was always good at sneaking around."

I let out a small laugh. "The two of us always were."

"I just now got a lead on her. If you want, in two days' time, I'm going after her. I haven't told anyone but you, Ember, Noah, and a Weaver I knew when I was little."

"How long have Ember and Noah known?"

"Since December for Ember. I had easiest access to her so that's why she knew first. Noah found out because he was throwing a fit that she was talking to another guy besides him even though they weren't dating at the time. You were always with someone else and I only wanted you to know. Ember never told you because she wanted to find out if it was actually true before telling you. She doesn't quite believe me still but curiosity is getting the better of her."

"I'll go with you in two days' time but only if I can bring Spencer. It'd be best to have an even number of people and I like having him fighting on my side. I'm going to see Josilyn tomorrow so I won't be around most of the day but afterwards, I want you to tell me everything about Anna... can you send me this picture and any others you have of her?" I requested.

Dom nodded. "Of course. Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so. It's just a lot to take in. I mean Anna's been gone for so many years... it just seems too good to be true that she's really alive."

"Why don't I escort you to your room? You don't look so good."

"Okay," I said, not really listening to him. I was still too busy staring at the picture of him and Anna. We ended up at my room way too quickly. I said goodnight to Dom and plopped down on my bed. A few seconds later, a bunch of texts came in on my phone. Opening, I saw they were all pictures of Anna that Dom had sent me. I began scrolling through them, trying to learn who my sister was now.
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Elsa finally finds out Anna is alive (maybe)! Reviews would be wonderful :)