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Chapter Quote:
"You do realize you just mixed Disney metaphors, right? Disney metaphors. Wow, Calla, now I'm just sad for you."
~Shay Doran
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Chapter 50

Thea

Riley and I were chatting with Noah in his room. The three of us were trying to figure out what had happened to Hunter's face last night. None of us had missed the shiner on his cheek. With the negative looks Elsa and Anna had been directing towards Stark, we had a feeling he was involved in it.

We'd just gotten back from seeing Arya around ten minutes ago when the door flew open. Ember stormed through, only to slam the door shut again.

"Babe, what's up?" Noah asked, seeming rather taken aback by his girlfriend's actions.

"That son of a bitch!" she shouted, physically trembling with rage. "All this time he's been here and he's let all of us believe he was still up in Canada!"

"Who?" I asked.

"Caleb!" She fired back. "My bastard of a brother has been with us the whole damn time and the only reason he chose to show himself was because he thought mom was dying. Why the hell couldn't he have told us when he arrived in Estes?"

"Caleb's here?" Noah stated, standing up.

"Caleb is Stark and Stark is Caleb. Stark is the last name of the pack that took him in. So yeah, he's here. Not that I'm happy about it. He caused so much shit when he left and now he's causing shit being back. He should've stayed in Canada."

"Em, that's your brother you're talking about," I pointed out. "Caleb must've had a good reason."

"The only reason he has is because he didn't want any of us to know."

"Does Elsa know?"

"Yeah, she's known for a while now and she kept it a secret too." Ember took a deep breath. "I want to be mad at her but I can't. She was always close to Caleb and although I think she's stupid for forgiving him for what he's done, but I get her point of view in this."

"Have you talked to him?"

"Pretty much told him to go screw himself in the process but yeah."

"Why don't I go talk to him?" I suggested.

"I don't know why you'd want to talk to a guy who obviously doesn't want to talk to any of us. Besides, he has a girlfriend now so even if you tried to hit on him-"

"Ember!" I interrupted angrily. "I don't like him. Not like that."

"You used to."

"Yeah, used to. I like Riley and no one else, so I'd appreciate you not giving my boyfriend something to worry about just because you're pissed off at your brother. Don't take your anger out on us. Come on Riley, let's go."

I walked out of the room with my boyfriend on my heels.

"You okay?" he questioned, slipping his hand in mine.

"Fine. Just mad at Ember. I get she's mad but that gives her no right to say what she did."

"Do you want to go see Caleb?"

"Yes, but I just want to see that he's okay. I haven't exactly forgiven him for running away either but I also remember how badly he and Hunter fought. I want to hear his side of the story."

"Then let's go see him."

"I saw Elsa go in his room earlier. We'll wait until she's done."
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Elsa

Anna, Spencer, Dom, and I were sparring in the training room, my sister and I against the boys. It was pretty evenly matched in skill and strength. But my sister and I were so used to fighting side by side, we were so synchronized with each other, that we kept beating the boys.

"Uncle! Uncle!" Spencer and Dom laughed as we pinned them to the floor. Anna and I got off, helping them stand up.

"Another round?" I asked.

"Oh no, I'm taking a break from getting my ass whooped because I'm hungry. Who wants to go get something to eat?" Dom replied.

"I'm in!" Spencer agreed, raising his hand.

"I'm not hungry, but I'm going to go take a shower. I'm all sweaty. I'll see you afterwards," Anna said.

"I'm going to stay here and train some more. I'll meet you all later," I told them. Spencer gave me a quick kiss before running off with Dom to the kitchen. Anna dashed off to her room. I went for the punching bag. I'd been using it for around twenty minutes when someone cleared their throat. I turned around to find Babatunde standing in the doorway.

"Hello, sir," I greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Yourself?"

"I'm doing really well. I'm not torn between packs, my mom is alive, and we're closing in on the Hunters."

"You look well. I came to talk to you about the mission to take down the Hunters. The final pieces are falling into place. Problem is, our reconnaissance tells us that they have other Guardians as hostages in the building. We want you and Anna as Strikers to help attack the Hunters, but from what we've heard from your parents, your brothers, and various other members of your pack, you and Anna are also the stealthiest. It would be a dangerous mission that you would be a part of, but I think you and your sister could do it."

"How many people are we allowed to bring?"

"Two. But I have already decided who. We're sending Jason Argent and Kit Lane with you. I know you would've liked Spencer and Dom with you but we need them on the front lines. You'll join them once you've freed the captives. That is, if you agree to take the mission."

"I do. Are my parents okay with it?"

"They said that since you are no longer with the pack at the moment, you are free to make your own decision about this."

"Then yes. I want to do it."

"Very well. I shall alert the teams."

"Do we know when we're to attack?"

"Not as of yet, but soon. Your mother needs to be healed beforehand because she's adamant that she needs to be in the fight."

"She's been in enough fights in her life. She doesn't need anymore," I grumbled.

"That's what your father told her. He said she refused to not fight."

"Unfortunately, I'd be the same way."

"I shall see you soon. Good day Elsa." Babatunde left. I tried to keep hitting the punching bag but my mind wandered elsewhere. I decided to go shower instead since it seemed like a good idea. I ended up being right. Putting on clean clothes, makeup, and drying my hair, I plopped down on my bed. Barely five seconds later someone knocked on my door.

"Come in!" I called out.

"Hey," Spencer said. "Can you come to Caleb's room for a minute?"

"Yeah, why?"

"He wants to talk to you about some things."

"I'm coming," I said, rolling off the bed. We walked to Caleb's room. He was sitting at the desk, madly typing away on his laptop.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked, sitting on his bed.

"Yeah. Lily, Spencer, can I talk to Elsa alone for a bit?" my brother requested.

"Yeah, sure." Lily gave him a strange look but agreed. Spencer followed his alpha out the door. Once the door was shut, my brother began speaking.

"I need you to call Hunter here," Caleb said.

"Excuse me?"

"I need you to call Hunter here," he repeated.

"So you can punch him again?"

"No. So we can talk."

"Why have me come here and call him though?"

"I need you as a mediator because you'll keep me from punching him again, and believe me, I do."

"Fine." I pulled out my phone and put Hunter on speaker.

"Hey Elsa, what's up?" Hunter greeted.

"Can you come to Caleb's room?"

There was a pause. "Does he want to punch me again?"

"No, I already asked him that. Believe or not he actually wants to talk."

"Need," Caleb intervened. "I need to. I don't want to."

"That sounds about right," Hunter commented. "I'll be down in about five minutes. Let me get dressed."

"Hunter, it's three in the afternoon. Have you not woken up yet or something?"

"No, I've been awake." In the background, I heard Josie mumble something but it didn't take a brainiac to figure out what was going on there. "I've heard enough. You two... finish up or whatever."

"This is awkward. I'll be there ASAP." Hunter hung up.

Caleb laughed and said, "You've been scarred for life haven't you?"

"I mean it's not that I didn't know Hunter and Josilyn were doing it but I don't want to know when they're doing it. That's just too much information."

"At least you never walked in on them."

"Have you ever-"

"No. But Spencer did. On me and Lily."

"That poor boy."

"Yep, we were-"

"I don't want to hear about it!" I exclaimed, covering my ears. Caleb simply started laughing which told me he hadn't been going to, he just wanted a reaction out of me. I hit him on the arm and said, "Asshole."

"I know. I know."

"So what exactly do you want- I mean need to talk to Hunter about?"

"Stuff you're probably not going to like."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why?"

"I keep forgetting how curious you always are."

"Don't change the subject on me."

At that moment, Hunter poked his head into the room. He asked, "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No," Caleb replied. My oldest brother shut the door before coming to sit next to me on the bed. He stared expectantly at Caleb. "We need to talk about this war."

Hunter deflated a little bit. I knew he'd been hoping that they'd be talking things out. Instead, he sucked it up and said, "What about it?"

"I don't know what all Elsa's told you about my predicament-"

"Is this the thing that Lily doesn't know about?"

"Precisely."

"You still haven't told her?" I demanded.

"I don't know how to tell her!"

"What's going on?" Hunter interrupted, his eyes flitting between the two of us.

"There was a prophecy about our family, about the second born. The Hunters thought it meant Elsa because she was the second-born of the twins which is why they kidnapped Anna. They thought Anna was Elsa. But after quite a bit of research, we realized the prophecy was talking about me."

"What does the prophecy say?" he prodded.

"It says that if the second power is killed, then a lost power will be returned."

"You're not actually going to let yourself get killed, are you?" Hunter ran a hand through his hair. "Caleb, that's insane. That's- you can't do it. Not when we just got you back."

"I don't plan on getting myself killed, but if I do, I need you to do something for me."

"Look, I can convince mom and dad to let Spencer and Lily have the south compound or something because I know Lily would never have me as alpha."

"That's not what I was going to ask, but thank you. If I die, I need you to turn Dom into a Guardian, if he accepts the offer of becoming one."

"Caleb, I don't have that power. We've never had that power."

"We never have, but our parents did, and the gene is dormant. I don't know how or why it unlocks for everyone if I die, but it does. I don't plan on dying, I really don't, but in case I do-"

"Why can't Anna do it?"

"Because she's not an alpha. Being an alpha isn't just a title, it's a mentality, it's a... force. Ember and Anna don't have it. You and I do."

"Does Elsa?"

"I'm no alpha," I said.

"You could be," Caleb replied.

"How?"

"Because you can make decisions that others can't. You can handle anything Elsa. You've proven that time and time again. You have been through and lost so much, more than any of the rest of us. You felt when Anna was taken from you, you felt when she was tortured. You died for a full minute and came back to life. You were tortured mercilessly and then were nearly killed by an ex-packmate of mine who you then showed mercy to by saving her life. You went and saved Anna because you chose family over rules. You are most definitely an alpha. Maybe you're not the alpha in the pack, but there are other places you shine and in the upcoming weeks, we're going to need that part of you."

"Don't go giving me a big ego. I don't want to be too much like you and Hunter."

At that, my brothers chuckled. Hunter pulled me into a side hug and said, "No one has as big of an ego as me."

"I don't know. Caleb's pretty close, if not equal."

"Hey!" Caleb protested. I smiled at him but it quickly faded as my mind began to wander about the upcoming war. My brothers saw the change, asking what was wrong. "What's going to happen to us after the war? Has there ever been a time where we weren't at war?"

"I'm going back to Canada. Hunter's going back to Estes. And you're free to make whatever decision you want. You can go with me, you can go with him, you can make your own path and travel the world. It's totally up to you Ice Princess."

"I can't travel the world. My duty is to my pack," I argued.

"I believe the line is 'my duty is to my heart,' Mulan, and your duty is not to your pack. It's to your happiness."

"Whatever you want to do after the war, we'll support you. Mom made a point a while back that by always trying to stop you and by punishing you the way we did, that we only began isolating you from the pack. It was when we let go of you that you came back. I'm always going to see you as my little sister and I'm always going to want to stop you from doing stuff that could get you hurt, but that would mean I'd never let you leave the house and we may be very different, but I understand you wanting freedom. That's what being a Guardian is. It's freedom," Hunter told me.

"I'm not sure if I want to cry because you two are being so sweet to me or because you two are getting along."

"It's been almost ten years since we could be in a room without arguing," Hunter remarked.

"Even when I was Stark, we were constantly sending death glares and growls at each other," Caleb added.

"But at least now you two know you can be in the same room without hating each other," I said.

"Yeah, I guess we can. I'm going to head back to my room, get ready before dinner. I'll see you two later." Hunter got up from the bed and headed to the door. Just as he opened the door, he turned around and said, "Caleb, in the garden, before you punched me, and I said that I was willing to talk, that offer still stands. It will always stand."

My younger brother glanced over at me. His shoulders deflated ever so slightly as he said, "Elsa, would you mind if-"

"Nope!" I interrupted, jumping up from the bed. I threw my arms around him, whispering "Thank you!"

"I'm not saying I'm going to forgive him right now, but we can at least start down a path towards that," Caleb told me.

"That's all I ask. I love you." I hurried over to Hunter, giving him a hug as well. I told him I loved him, then scurried out the door. As I walked down the hallway to head to the garden, my mind kept thinking over and over about how after almost ten years of praying and dreaming, my wish was finally coming true.
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