I couldn't leave you on that cliff hanger. Enjoy!

Chapter Quote:
"All I wanted was to take a hot bath, to go to sleep, and to not wake up. EVER."
~Nightshade, Andrea Cremer
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Chapter 3

Caleb

My pack and I sat solemnly, silently, in the lobby of the Healer's wing of the Academy. Somehow, some way, my baby sister had survived the horrific accident. She had been unconscious for six hours but was holding on. Mom and dad were with overseeing her surgery since she had fragments of glass and metal in any skin showing. Spencer was unresponsive to anyone. He'd blacked out at the scene upon believing that he'd just lost his girlfriend too after having lost his family only a couple years ago, something that was still hard to think about even now.

Anna was just as bad. She'd managed to stay conscious but was inconsolable and completely unable to stay still. No position was comfortable for her and she kept pacing up and down and around the room. Josilyn sat next to Hunter, her head on his shoulder, gripping his hand in hers, tears silently streaming down her face. My brother kept kissing her head every few minutes before resting his head on top of hers, face flushed from trying to keep it together. I was too numb to feel anything. I didn't want to get my hopes up that she'd live to tell the tale but I didn't want to not have hope for her either. She was my sister.

We sat for ages before my mom finally came out, tears stained on her face. Dread filled me but I held myself together for my pack. She cleared her throat and said, "Elsa has been put in a medically induced coma until her body heals itself a bit. They're not sure how long this will last but it will most likely be for a few days. Ren and I gave her blood but it doesn't seem to be helping much. Whatever injuries she has, it's not what we can fix. Ren and I will stay here with her until she wakes up. The rest of you should go home."

"I stay here with her," Spencer said quietly, causing us to all look at him. He wasn't looking at any of us; he was still fixing his attention at the spot on the ground he'd been staring at since he'd gotten here. But he firmly added, "I'm not moving."

"I'm not leaving either," Anna declared. "That's my twin in there. I've lost her once. I'm not losing her again."

"Honey, you can stay. Spencer, I think it'd be best if you went back to the compound. Caleb and Lily need their beta," Arya said gently, knowing fully well that she was about to have a fight with my beta.

"That's my girlfriend in there. I'm not going anywhere until she wakes up," he stated, glancing up at my mom.

Mom treaded carefully with her next words. "Anna will be watching over her along with us and you'll be the first to know when she wakes up. Caleb and Lily need their beta."

"I know that Anna is watching over her but I should be here too. If my alphas need a beta, Dom is more than up for the challenge. But I'm not leaving her when you and Ren are worried that this was anything but an accident."

There was a ripple of fear throughout the pack at his words; I glanced over at mom whose expression turned into one of a hidden anger. It was in that moment that I realized that even though my beta had been unresponsive to the rest of us, he had been very much aware of everything going on around him, including what was being said behind closed doors.

"You think someone made her crash on purpose?" Ember asked, standing up.

"You think the Hunters are making a comeback?" Thea piped up. She had tears in her eyes and I could imagine she was thinking of her late brother Barry.

"You can say whatever you want, Spencer, but the decision stands that you go back with your pack," Mom declared in a tone that said her decision was final. "Ember, your father and I were told that despite there being icy patches out on the roads, that road she was on was not one of them. We also discovered a scent around her car that led up from the road but did not stray from her car. Thea, we do not think it's the Hunters. The Searchers have taken care of them once and for all. It may be a rogue attacking our family, it may be a hit and run, we don't know. But we will find out. Adne is going to weave a portal for you all to get back to your compounds."

"My place is with Elsa," Spencer said.

"Your place is with your pack and the only time your place would be with her is if you were her husband. Until then, you will do as I say. If you will not go willingly, we will force you home. We'll keep you all updated on her status."

"Maybe Spencer and I can switch places being next to Elsa? That way Caleb and Lily will always have their beta and he can be with her," Anna suggested.

"No. You have a connection to her and you'll be able to sense if something is wrong before it happens and you can let us know," mom countered.

"Spencer has a connection to her too, though. He sensed something was wrong the same time I did."

"She was conscious when that happened. The connection is different when the person that is afflicted is unconscious. The twin connection will always be stronger than the mated one."

"Wait, I didn't know you two mated," I said, turning to Spencer. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"We thought you'd figured it out or had found out. Like maybe Hunter had told you..."

"You knew?!" I whirled on my brother.

He glanced nervously at Spencer then looked back at me. "Yeah. I thought they were going to tell you."

"Boys, enough of this. There are more important matters at hand. Just in case this was a targeted assault on our family, I want all of you on high alert. Up the amount of patrols and the number of wolves on each team. We're stronger together."

"Thank you for trying," I heard Spencer whisper to Anna, giving her a hug.

"I'll text you everything going on."

"Thank you. I'll let you know if we find anything."

When Spencer was out of ear shot, I heard Anna tell Dom, "Keep an eye on him. He's upset and from some of the things Elsa has told me, I worry he might push everyone away. Don't let him. He needs his pack right now which I think is the reason mom is wanting him with the pack rather than here."

"I promise. I'll see you soon," Dom told her, giving her a kiss. My pack gathered around the portal that Adne was weaving when Babatunde appeared with his daughter behind him. He wore a kind smile on his face.

"Laroches, I was hoping the next time we saw each other, it would not be under circumstances such as this. How is she doing?" he queried, holding one of mom's hands in his.

"She's alive," mom answered. "But severely injured. Thank you so much for helping take care of her. Elsa wouldn't be alive if not for you."

"Your family is always welcome here. Arya, might I have a word with you and the other alphas? I must discuss something with all of you."

"Of course. Ember, Noah, Spencer, help get the packs back to the compounds," Arya ordered. "Anna, go tell your father to come out here and join us. Stay with Elsa until we get back. Caleb, Hunter, Josie, Lily, with me and Babatunde."

"Any idea what this is about?" I whispered to Hunter.

"No, but I have a feeling it's nothing good," he replied grimly. "But we're about to find out."
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Dom

"Spencer, go see Elsa before mom and dad get back," Ember said when the alphas had disappeared. "You should see her before you leave."

"You heard your mom. My place is with my pack, not with her," he answered, not with a certain amount of bitterness, but the look on his face took out any of the hostility in his words. He was haggard and worn-looking, as if he hadn't slept in a week even though it'd only been a few hours.

"Noah and I have this. Dom is basically a second beta to Caleb. I'm sure he could handle it, right Dom?" Ember turned to me, eyebrows raised expectantly.

"Of course," I responded.

Spencer hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'll just be a minute."

"Take your time," Ember told him gently, placing her hand on his arm. He dashed away into his girlfriend's room. "Dom, you stay here to make sure he actually comes back out. Also he's going to need someone to escort him out because he's not going to be okay afterwards. I'm tempted to have Riley stay with you too..."

"I'll stay with Dom," Riley offered upon hearing his name. "I want to make sure he's okay."

"All right, then we'll get the others out of here." Ember and Noah started gathering the pack and escorting them through the portals one by one. I leaned against the wall while Riley paced up and down in front of me. Both of us wanted to make sure Spencer got out of there before Arya got back because we knew she'd have a fit. For whatever reason, she wanted to keep him away from Elsa in her condition. Knowing her, she must've had a good reason, but none of us could figure out what it was.

Thankfully Spencer was only gone for about five minutes, but when he came out, he'd lost most of the color in his face. As the door was shutting, I caught a glimpse of Elsa in bed, hooked up to all the machinery. It reminded me of the state Spencer had been in after the war, of how Elsa reacted to seeing him. It was the same situation now, except the roles were reversed.

"You okay man?" Riley queried, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go home," was all Spencer said. Without another word, he stepped through the portal to our compound. Riley and I glanced at each with worry. This was a far cry from the Spencer we knew. He was upset, but this... this was different. I couldn't place my finger on what it was, but there was definitely something else bothering him.

I stepped through the portal in an attempt to hurry after Spencer but he'd already gone into his house, shutting and locking the door behind him.

"That can't be good," Riley remarked.

"You heard the lock click too?" I asked.

"Yeah... we need to keep an eye on him. Maybe send in the girls to check on him because he's not going to say anything in front of us."

"I'm not sure he'd say anything in front of the girls except for maybe Lily. I'd say Anna but he wouldn't want to add anything on to her plate since he knows she's already dealing with worries of her own over Elsa."

"We need to have Lily or Josie talk to him. He shouldn't be alone right now."

"Who shouldn't be alone?" Arya's voice inquired from behind us. The two of us whirled around to find Arya, Ren, Caleb and Lily behind us. Hunter and Josilyn must've gone back to their compound. "Where's Spencer?"

"His house," I answered.

"He went and saw her, didn't he?" she stated. Riley and I kept quiet, but our silence gave her the answer. "I'll go speak with him."

"Mom, maybe Lily or I should. You were kind of harsh on him earlier."

"Because I didn't want him to see her in the state she's in. I know him more than he thinks. I'll go easy on him."

"He locked the door," Riley informed. "How are you going to get in? Because I can assure you he won't be answering the door today."

Arya pulled out a spare set of keys. "For emergencies only. I have one for all the compounds because I'm paranoid. I'll call this a health check. I'll be back."
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Arya

I knocked on the front door first, in the event that he would answer the door, but as I suspected, my attempts were ignored. With a sigh, I used the key to get in. All the lights were off in the house although it was still light outside and you didn't really need them to see at this point yet. I listened for Spencer's heartbeat to determine where he was in the house. By the sounds of it, he was upstairs. Quietly, I headed up to his room, figuring that was the most likely place for him to be.

"Spencer?" I called out softly, knocking on his door before entering. I found him slumped against the foot of the bed, staring at the blank TV. His head turned in my direction, anger crossing over his face.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded, standing up. His guard was immediately up but I'd seen enough to know that my concerns had been correct.

"I came to check on you. I know you went and saw Elsa." I slowly walked over to him, not wanting him to become more defensive, but it seemed that his resolve had gone. He plopped down on the bed, staring at the carpet.

"I know you didn't want me to see her because my place is with my pack and you're right, it is. But I also belong next to her, married or not. It's not like we haven't talked about it or that I haven't considered it. I just don't want to push her into anything she's not ready for. We're not like the other couples here. We haven't known each other since we were born."

"It scared you, seeing her like that." I sat on the bed next to him.

"How'd you know?"

"Because Ren saw it in you. He felt the same way when I nearly died. He knows you blame yourself for something you had no control over."

"But I did. I shouldn't have argued with her. I should've went and gotten her car from the mechanics. If you're right about it being a hit on our family, then it should've been me. Not her. She's been through enough."

"You're right. If this was a hit, it should've been you, which is why Ren and I were worried because it looks like they were targeting you and you specifically since it was your car. We want you at the compound because that's where you're safest. And believe it or not, but I would've preferred you stay by Elsa's side, but in the event that someone's after you-"

"It's best I stay away from her," he finished.

"We didn't want to say that in front of the rest. I know this will be hard for you because you're wanting to push everyone away. I get it. So does Ren. But while we're protecting our daughter, we're trying to protect you too. Stay near Dom or Caleb or Riley. Ren is talking to them privately about this because you're the closest to those three."

"I shouldn't be around any of you if they're targeting me," he countered. "You've all lost enough already."

"And we're not losing you either. You're our pack. You're my son just as much as Hunter and Caleb are. I'm sorry for being harsh earlier. I just needed to make sure you stayed away from Elsa, for her protection and your own, and I failed you. For that I'm sorry." I placed my hand on his shoulder in attempt to comfort him.

"I'm sorry mom-" Spencer shook his head, correcting himself and saying, "Arya."

"I know I'm not your mom and I could never replace her, but you're more than welcome to call me mom. Because by the sound of it, you might be my son-in-law one day. You might as well be my son." Spencer pulled me into a hug without warning, taking me by surprise, but I returned it, knowing he needed it. "It's okay sweetie. Listen, you know Ren and I don't blame you for her situation right? No one else does either. When Elsa wakes up, she won't blame you. Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this."

Spencer pulled away. "Whatever I can do to help, please let me know. I can't stay still right now. I need to keep myself busy."

"We'll put you on extra patrols. Will that help?"

"That, and if you get any leads on who did this, then let me go on the mission to help find them."

"I will. All right, what do you say you get some sleep since you didn't get any last night? Ren and I are staying overnight so if you need anything, don't hesitate to come get us."

"You're welcome to stay here tonight and I can go crash with Dom or something."

"No, no, no, you stay in your own bed. But I might just stay here to just to keep an eye on you. I might have Ren stay with Dom. Would you be okay with that?"

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't."

"Good. Then I'll talk to Ren. Okay, get some sleep sweetie. I'll see you later." I kissed him on the top of his head, feeling extremely protective of him in that moment. Blood or not, he was family. He'd been through so much, had lost so much, that I shuddered at the thought that someone was going after him. I wanted to hurt the person who was trying to hurt him. There was no way in hell I was losing any more of my family. Not today, not tomorrow, not any time in the near future.
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