"I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends."
~Abraham Lincoln
***

Elsa

Spencer and I sat at the top of a cliff in the Pyrenees mountains, staring at the valley below us. We could see our little cottage on the outskirts, including the six people trekking up to the door. The two of us stiffened. Even from this distance, there was no mistaking two of the figures taking the lead.

Caleb and Lily.

My heart lurched at the sight of my brother. Part of me wanted to sprint down the mountain as fast as possible toward him, envelop him in a hug, and beg for forgiveness. The other part reminded me of how he stood by and did nothing while I pleaded for anyone to help me when Dad was beating Spencer within an inch of his life, and that held me back. Caleb cared about one thing, and one thing only, and that was pleasing our parents. He might've wanted to make sure I was okay, but I didn't trust him not to turn his back on me again when I needed him most.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Spencer lean forward, wearing a wistful expression. I could tell he wanted to go see Lily because, despite everything he'd said to her on the phone the other day, I knew he'd welcome her with open arms in a heartbeat.

We watched the four strangers turn to Caleb and Lily, who suddenly were glancing at things all over their bodies... no, not things. Gashes. Long, deep scratches in their arms, legs, and God knows where else.

"Son of a bitch," Spencer snarled, standing up and starting to move down the mountain. I grabbed onto him when Caleb and Lily's panic subsided. "Elsa, I know you don't want to-"

"No, look," I interrupted. "It doesn't look like they're in pain?"

Spencer reluctantly halted, frowning when he realized I was right. Then, in the blink of an eye, Caleb and Lily were gone. While I remained speechless, Spencer said, "The fuck just happened?"

"I don't know. Let's make our way down, but cautiously. We still don't know if they're on our side or not."

We shifted, taking on a dark brown color to blend in with the trees and foliage. Without making a sound, we swiftly trotted down towards our cottage, keeping a careful eye and ear on our surroundings. As we reached the base of the mountain, we heard the Controllers.

Wolves are rare around here, but they exist. I said, an idea forming in my head. I have an idea, but it's difficult to explain. Do you trust me?

Spencer responded immediately. Always.

Then make yourself scarce, but stay nearby.

I don't like this already. Still, my boyfriend trotted back up the mountain, just far enough that we could see each other, but an untrained eye would have no idea there was a second wolf, ready and waiting to defend his mate.

"- wore the wrong shoes for this," a guy muttered. "Didn't think I'd be trudging up a mountain."

"Justin, I told you we'd be going to the Pyrenees. What do you think we'd be doing?" A girl replied in such a tone that I swear she could only be his sister.

"Well, good for you, Karina."

"Do you two always bitch like this?" another girl inquired.

"You make it sound like we don't do the same thing," a different guy responded.

"Shut up, Dwight."

"Nina, since when has that-" the man named Dwight stopped in his tracks, his eyes zeroing in on me. "Which one are you? Elsa or Spencer?"

I remained stock-still, trying not to act too scared or too intrigued. Either one could give away my identity, which I couldn't afford right now. The Controllers would know that wherever I was, Spencer wouldn't be far behind and vice versa.

"Playing hardball, I see," Karina said, nodding. "Don't blame you. I'm sure Dom and Anna told you some horrifying things about us. Unfortunately, most are true, and we're not proud of it."

"Has it occurred to anyone that this might be a regular wolf?" Justin inquired, peering at each of his comrades.

"You really think a random wolf would stop and listen to four strangers?"

"Maybe we look tasty."

"You're a dumbass."

"Maybe, but I'm a good-looking dumbass."

"Kellermans, focus," Nina ordered, clapping her hands to get their attention. "We have a mission to accomplish and limited time."

"Elsa, Spencer, whichever you are, we're not here to fight," Dwight promised, holding up his hands placatingly. I listened to his heart, and it didn't skip a beat. Either he was telling the truth, or he was one hell of a liar. "We know you're after ingredients that will make you immune to our magic attacks. We want to help you."

"Here," Karina said, pulling a clear jar filled with a swirling black and silver liquid. It looked anything but friendly. "Let me demonstrate what it does."

She knelt on the ground next to a dying blue wildflower and poured a couple of drops of the sketchy liquid. The wildflower perked up in the blink of an eye, blooming with such intensity that one would never have guessed it'd been on its last legs of life mere seconds ago. Although I tried to hide my amazement, enough slipped through for her to say, "I think we have their attention."

"It won't ruin the ingredients for when they're ready to be made into the potion," Nina added. "It's simply a solution to ensure the plants you need stay alive as long as you need them to. The ingredients were made to be near impossible to get all at once. You need our help."

"I still think we're wasting our time with a random wolf," Justin muttered.

"I'm sure you're wondering why we want to help you," Karina said, twisting the lid on the solution and cautiously approaching me. I curled my lip, showing her my sharp teeth. She halted. Placing the jar on the ground, Karina backed away back to her group.

Surprised she listened. Spencer commented.

Me too, but I'm not complaining. Where are you?

Sneaking up behind them in case they decide their kindness isn't working and choose to attack instead.

"We've lived thousands of years, seen dynasties rise and fall, and seen people we love live and die with them. Many of those times have been at our hands, and we're tired," Karina said. "We don't want to be the bad guys like our parents. We don't want to face a war with every new generation, but we have to as long as our parents are alive. They're stronger than us. Only when they die do we gain their power, but every time someone's gone against them, they've died. You're not the first to try it, but I do hope you'll be the last. We don't want to see anymore Laroches and Starks die because of us."

"You're probably wondering why it's a good thing for us to have our parents' power," Dwight continued. "Well, firstly, we don't intend to use it against you. Once we have their power, we intend to let all of you be on your merry way and live your lives without fear of us. Secondly, as a show of our good faith, we'll tell you a secret no other Shifter has ever known: we have individual weak spots. Mine's the inside of my right ankle. You impale me right there, it kills me instantly. Consider it my Achilles' Heel. My mom's is behind her left ear. My dad's, behind his right."

Justin shrugged. "Good places. My mom's is at the base of her spine. My dad chose his left armpit. Me? I chose-" he tapped the inside of his left wrist- "here."

Karina tapped underneath her chin. "Mine's here."

"Mine's here," Nina said, pointing to the crook on the right side of her neck.

Think they're telling the truth? Spencer asked, silently appearing a few feet behind the unsuspecting Controllers. He took a seat, appearing wholly at ease, but I knew better. Spencer was tensed and ready to jump into action at a moment's notice.

Their hearts aren't conveying that they're lying. I pointed out. In fact, they've been steady this entire time. All of theirs have.

It's your call.

Stay quiet. I'll take the bait. They don't know you're here yet. Taking a deep breath, I shifted into a human. "Why now? Why, of all the people who have tried to go against your parents in the past, help us?"

"Because you two actually stand a chance," Karina said plainly. "Most were dead or caught within a couple of months. You and Spencer, I don't know how you've done it, and maybe in time, when we prove our trustworthiness to you, you can tell us, but you've survived. While I have no doubt you'd figure out a way to make sure all the plants you need stay alive without us, we wanted to ensure you didn't have to worry about that. This is the only way we can help until the big fight comes. Just remember this, though. The potion will only prevent their magic from penetrating your body, meaning they can't stick their hand through your chest and rip your heart out, and the effects of their magic are dampened, but you can still be hurt by it."

"Give an example."

Dwight had an answer. "My mom's particularly fond of fire, and she can create a fire whip. It can wrap around your body and burn you. The burn won't be severe, but it'll still hurt like a son of a bitch. She can also throw you around like a rag doll with said fire whip."

"My mom's fond of creating pits in the earth and burying people alive," Justin added nonchalantly. "Also, just going to put this out here, so glad we weren't talking to some random, wild wolf. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Elsa Laroche. Heard a lot about you."

"All terrible things, I'm sure." The answer came out half as a serious remark and half as a joke.

The Controllers smiled, and Karina replied, "If it helps, I believe it was an act on most of their parts. Anyways, we should get going. Otherwise, our parents will wonder what's taking so long killing some rogue wolves."

"Two more questions before you go. First, what did you do to Caleb and Lily?"

"We gave them very real but painless gashes to make it look like you attacked them to keep up with the façade we're creating, and then we portaled them back to their respective compounds."

Nina must've seen the question in my expression because she added, "We don't portal much. It's one of the most taxing magical efforts. At least until we get our parents' powers. What's your second question?"

"What will you tell your parents since you haven't killed us?" I asked.

"We'll tell them you ambushed as well, except with booby-traps and acid."

I blinked, processing their words. "I-I beg your pardon?"

"It'll have to be real acid," Justin said in slight distaste. "Our magic effects fade too quickly on us, so we can't fake it like we did with Caleb and Lily."

"You're... you're going to douse yourself in acid?" I repeated, still unable to comprehend the idea of it.

"Yeah. It's going to hurt like a son of a bitch, but it'll be fine. We've had worse. Anywho, nice meeting you, don't let us down, don't die, and we'll see you on the flip side." Justin saluted me and turned around. He swiftly exclaimed, "Oh, fuck me! How long have you been there?"

The other Controllers turned around to see what their comrade was freaking out about. Spencer shifted into human form, skirting around them to come stand by me.

"Callie was right," Nina said, looking Spencer up and down. "You are handsome."

I bristled at her words but kept quiet. The Controllers bid us farewell once more before they hiked down the mountain, leaving Spencer and me more than a little stupefied.

"That-" my boyfriend began- "is the weirdest thing I think I've ever had happen."

"You mean, other than falling in love with a Laroche?" I teased, playfully nudging him with my elbow.

Spencer grinned. "Only slightly. What do you say we grab this jar and high-tail it back to the others?"

"Let's wait a day or two, just to make sure they're not following us." I picked the jar off the ground and stared at the sketchy liquid. "Well, I guess this is better than having our hearts ripped out of our chest."

"Hey, you think if the Controllers' kids are on our side, then that means most of our old pack members are too?" Spencer queried. I looked up at him just in time to see the flicker of hope in his eyes. My heart ached at the sight because as much as I wanted to believe his words were true, I couldn't. Logic forbade me from doing so. If our packs supported us, we would've heard from them by now, not just Lily, Caleb, and Hunter.

My silence must've given Spencer his answer because he simply kissed me on the forehead, slipped his hand in mine, and without a word, led me back to our cottage.