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Chapter Quote:
"Love wasn't forged by circumstance or changed by sorrow. It simply was. Fierce and free as the wolf within me."
~Bloodrose, Andrea Cremer
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Chapter 60

Anna

It'd been a week since Spencer had woken up. Once that had happened, his recovery time went by extremely fast, but he still wasn't completely healed. The Healers said it'd be at least a month from the time he woke up until he was at a hundred percent again.

Dom, Spencer, Elsa, and I were chilling in the courtyard with the first two sleeping and soaking up the sun while my twin and I were reading a book in the Nancy Drew series. We were interrupted when Josilyn and Hunter came sprinting over to us, both flushed in the face.

"Guys! Caleb is awake!" Hunter exclaimed excitedly.

"What?!" we exclaimed simultaneously, scrambling up.

"Can we go see him?" Spencer asked, obviously elated at the news his alpha was awake.

"Not yet. The only ones allowed in are the alphas, so me, mom, dad, and Lily. But the others should be able to see him soon," Hunter explained.

"Trust me, I've been going crazy not being able to see him," Josilyn sympathized.

"When can we see him? Like as an exact time?" Spencer prodded.

"Within the next couple of hours. You're welcome to wait outside his room like the rest of us are."

Spencer was always running towards the infirmary with the rest of us hot at his heels. Upon arriving at his room, I found the entirety of my pack, both adults and kids, waiting outside his room. Even Ember was there which was surprising since she hadn't exactly been on speaking terms with Caleb before the war.

We all waited impatiently, wondering when the Healer or our alphas would come out telling us we could go in and see him. At one point Lily poked her head out and told Spencer to come in. He shot up pretty fast for someone whose stomach still had a hole in it.

About thirty minutes after that, mom announced we could come in. Trying to fit thirty-four people into the room was a challenge and basically impossible so the kids were allowed in first. Lily let me, Elsa, and Dom stay since we'd all been the closest to Caleb. One by one the pack members came to say hi to Caleb. He could barely speak and he could barely keep his eyes open, so mom and dad made sure that visitation was quick.

Once everyone was done, we were allowed to talk to him privately.

"How you feeling, man?" Spencer asked, visibly relieved to see his alpha alive and talking.

"I don't recommend falling off a two hundred foot cliff unless absolutely necessary," he groaned. "Especially with a guy that has a knife and is repeatedly stabbing you with it while you're falling."

"Yeah that sounds painful," Spencer laughed.

"How'd you fare?"

"I was fine."

"Liar."

"I'll tell you when you're better. For now you get some rest."

"Elsa, what happened to him?"

"I agree with him. Best to tell you everything that happened to everyone when you're feeling better," Elsa stated.

"Who all died?"

All of us hesitated but Hunter spoke up solemnly, "Barry, Nancy, Derek, Sabine, and Ethan. They all had quick deaths from the autopsy reports."

Caleb squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments. "Anyone with permanent injuries?"

"No. We all managed to avoid losing any limbs or anything like that."

"Anyone else in a coma?"

"Not anymore."

"Good."

"Sweetie, get some rest. It'll help the healing go much faster. We'll give you some blood later," Mom said. Caleb nodded, not even trying to argue with her. He shut his eyes, falling asleep in ten seconds flat.

"Do the Healers have a date they think he'll be well enough to go home?" Spencer queried.

"Within the next week," Lily replied. "But the Laroches have been kind enough to offer us time to stay with them for a bit which I've accepted. I think it would be beneficial for all of us to spend time with our family members."

"Spencer, you're welcome to stay with Elsa in her room or to have a guest room in Loren's house. Riley was adamant you stay with them," Arya said, a tinge of amusement in her voice. "Dom, the same offer is extended to you, except you'd be staying in Shiloh's house. Josilyn insisted on it."

"I'd love to stay with Elsa but I think the safer option would be to stay with Loren," Spencer said, warily glancing over at Ren.

"I know about you and my daughter. You don't need to worry about your safety," Ren said. "Same goes for you Dom."

"I think I'll still stay with Loren."

"Smart choice."

"I'll stay with Shiloh," Dom decided.

"Then it's settled. When Caleb is able to leave, we'll all head back to our compound," Ren announced. "I'll alert the others to start packing."
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One week later...

Elsa

Anna gripped my hand, nerves wracking through her body. I don't know why she was so nervous heading back home and I was pretty sure she didn't know either. I guess because the last time she'd been there, she'd been violently taken from there.

"You ready?" I asked.

"No, not really. It feels weird going back. Last time I was here, I was being taken," Anna remarked.

"That's never happening again."

"I know."

Taking a deep breath, we stepped through the portal that Adne had woven, immediately transporting us to our home. The house towered over us in its grand form. I led Anna inside the house. Despite having lived there for so long, she said she had no memory of the place, but that it still felt familiar. The scents did at least, but that might've been because it smelled like her pack. I led her upstairs to her old room. It certainly wasn't the little girl's room she'd had when she lived here, but some of her stuff was still in here.

"We didn't touch it for about three years. Mom and dad just couldn't bring themselves to change it. It was only after they got their revenge on the Hunters for what they did to you that they could even step foot in here," I informed. "We made it so that if you ever came back, it'd be more grown up for you. We can fix it up more to your liking once we're all settled back in."

"It's perfect," Anna declared. "Thank you."

"I'll be in my room if you need anything." Anna nodded, studying the room as I left.

My room had been exactly like I'd left it. Everything had a thin layer of dust on it which I blew off when I started unpacking. I turned on my music to keep me motivated but I kept it quiet. I wasn't in the mood for loud noises.

"So this is where you grew up," Spencer noted from the doorway.

"You can come in you know," I said. He stepped foot inside and studied my room. He picked up the picture of me and Anna standing behind Caleb with our chins on his shoulders. It'd been one of the last days she'd been 'alive'.

"You three looked happy," Spencer said.

"We were. That was probably one of the last normal days we ever had. She would die a few days later and things were never the same. Time didn't heal those wounds. How's your room at the Hess's?"

"Good. Riley helped me unpack, gave me a tour of the house but he seems quiet. I think he's still upset."

"Yeah... it'll be a while before any of us are back to normal. We have the funeral in a few days. Ethan and Sabine are being buried there too. All the Searchers are coming for that. I think Kit will be staying with us for a bit."

"What are we going to do?" Spencer asked softly. I knew he was referring to us but I just didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to lose him too. "I hate to bring this up now but we need to talk about it. Would you be willing to do long-distance?"

"Or what if I moved back to Canada with you, Caleb, and Lily?"

"What about your pack? And Anna?"

"Anna and I offered to Lily to become her pack if you and Caleb didn't make it through. I think that offer still stands with the both of us. It certainly does for me."

"I would love for you to move back with me, but your pack is here," he said, cupping my face with one of his hands. "You need them as much as they need you. Besides, who else is Josie going to have as her beta?"

"Ember could take my place," I said. "I'll talk to my parents, see what my options are. But I don't want to leave you."

"And I don't want to leave you."

"Are you sure you want to stay with Loren?" I asked with a smile.

At that, Spencer laughed. "For my safety, yeah, I'm staying with him. Your dad knows about me and you and I think it'd be best if I stayed in their guest room. But, since we're not having to worry about Hunters killing us, how about I take you on a date. Will you be up for an adventure tonight?"

There was a mischievous spark in his eyes and I couldn't help but feel excited at what he had planned. "I'm down. Where are we going?"

"You'll see."
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At midnight, Spencer and I snuck out of the compound. We went on a long walk, probably an hour at least, before we arrived at the place.

"Remember this?" Spencer asked, shifting into a human.

"I- sort of."

"This is the first place we ever hung out by ourselves. It was where we let each other in, and the place I fell in love with you."

"That Sunday afternoon, before I knew about Caleb, or that you were a Guardian..." I said, the memory coming back to me. "That was here... god it seems so long ago."

"It was almost a year ago. It's hard to believe so much has happened in that span of time."

"Let's hope our lives are a little more exciting in a different way."

"Hungry?"

"No, but if you have food, I'll eat."

Spencer laughed as he lay a blanket down on the ground before pulling snack after snack out of his backpack.

"How on earth did you fit all that in there?" I asked in awe, taking a seat next to him.

"I'm good. Also I talked to Ember and she helped me gather and pack all this. Alright we have cookies, milk, cake, chocolate-dipped pretzels, Diet Dr. Pepper, regular Dr. Pepper, and because I know it's your favorite even if you're not technically legal to drink here, Baileys."

"My favorite!" I exclaimed.

"I realized I hadn't taken you on an actual date yet without having to worry about our packs interfering or people trying to kill us, so I hope you don't mind this."

"Hey, it's away from the pack in a stunning place that means a lot to both of us. You're not the only one who fell in love that day you know. Although I don't think I realized it then."

"Oh yeah? When did you know?"

"When I thought I'd lost you to another girl, as bad as that sounds. I knew I liked you, don't get me wrong, but it was really, really painful seeing your ex show up. It felt like my world had shattered around me, kind of like the day I'd lost Anna."

"Did you think I'd choose her over you?"

"Well yeah. You two had a history together. You'd been through so much together."

"And we hadn't?"

"I mean you'd known her since you were kids. You lost your parents and her in a horrific way and I know we had gone through things together, but you'd been through more with her."

"She was there for a lot of milestones, and that's important, but you're the one that saved me. That time we were here... it was the first time I ever lied to you. The only other time was when I told you I'd gotten close to you because of Caleb."

"What did you lie about? And how on earth did I save you?"

"About how mild my depression was."

"It wasn't?" I said, shifting closer to him.

"No, it was pretty bad. The only thing that kept me from doing anything was the fact I knew Caleb and Lily needed me. But even then, there were always those thoughts that I was a burden to them and that they'd be better off if I wasn't around."

"Oh Spencer..." I breathed.

"Then you came into my life and I'll admit, I thought you were going to be a nightmare to be around just being a Laroche and all and I thought you'd be like Cersei from Game of Thrones or something," Spencer joked.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, my mouth dropping open in offense.

"But, but," Spencer said, holding up his hand. "I was extremely wrong and between your smile and your passion and your caring, I knew I was in for a world of hurt. Dancing distracted me from my thoughts, a lot like how it did for you, but then again, it wasn't the dancing I was looking forward to whenever we had lessons. It was getting to see you. That day I took you up here wasn't because I was trying to find things out for Caleb. It was because I wanted to get to know you because I liked you. And on this rock-" Spencer patted the boulder next to us. "-where we sat and talked about our problems, I fell in love. Like you I didn't know it at the time. But at this point in time, that's irrelevant. You did save me, Elsa Laroche. And I love you."

His hazel eyes met my blue ones and the world disappeared around me. Saying 'I love you' didn't quite seem to cover everything I felt for Spencer in this moment. I felt the only thing in this moment was to show him. I captured his lips in a fiery, passionate kiss, grabbing his jacket lapels in my hands, and completely forgetting gravity was against me. With nothing to brace myself up, I fell backwards, but Spencer went with me, his lips never leaving mine. Suddenly my hands were in his hair and his hands were on my hips, pinning me to the ground. We broke apart for a moment to catch our breath and I took that quick second to ask, "You know when I fell in love, but when did it happen for you?"

"The day of the dance competition, when I had to leave you standing there in front of the restaurant. Every part of me wanted to stay with you, because you were home to me. Not Canada, not Estes Park, you."

"You're my home too," I told him. He leaned down and kissed me, this time slow and soft. My hands pushed off his jacket and after that, the rest of the night was a blur.
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