"I'll let you into my soul, but wipe your feet at the door."
~Atticus

_______________________________

Elsa

We had two more weeks of peace before we received word that the Controllers were heading to Estes. No one knew why, but it couldn't be good, whatever it was for. We alerted our siblings of the movement, none of whom had known about it, and neither had our parents, insinuating the Controllers were coming for a surprise check-up or they knew something no one else did. Neither Caleb nor Lily wanted to find out the hard way and chose to leave to 'scope out a new potential business deal' in New Mexico. It took some convincing of the parents, but they managed to swing it. We provided a secure location in Idaho, discovered by the Kids, to the escaping couple while we could gear up ourselves for the impending battle.

I sat on my bed, slowly and carefully packing my clothes, listening to my true crime podcasts and the ongoings of my pack on the floor below. I smiled at the sound of Dom pleading with Anna to let him have some of the cookie dough and the prompt 'OW!' from him that followed a few seconds later.

I could hear Spencer, Rey, and Finn in the office chatting over patrols and the mixed conversations of the rest of my pack in the kitchen and living room. We were to leave for Estes in two days and had booked a hotel in a neighboring village to avoid being in the town directly, although we'd surely have to make trips regardless for supplies. That's what wigs and the scent-neutralizing perfume were for, though. It might've been three years, but scents held memories for us, especially with how strong our sense of smell was.

I got up to grab another shirt when the doorbell rang, halting me in my tracks. Confused, I poked my head out into the hallway. Spencer, Rey, and Finn were doing the same. We made eye contact, and I whispered, "Are we expecting any deliveries?"

Spencer shook his head, stepping into the hallway. I joined him and our betas. We tiptoed down the corridor and the stairs and into the foyer, where the rest of our pack had gathered. We eyed one another warily, all wondering the same thing: who could it be?

"Elsa? Anna? You in there?" Came Caleb's familiar voice, followed by Lily's asking, "Spencer? Dom? Anyone?"

Dom peered through the peephole and then back at us, nodding in confirmation. I shared a hesitant look with Spencer, but we gave our approval. Dom opened the door, and with no time to prepare himself, he found himself tackled by his sister. Had Finn and Jace not placed their hands on his back to brace him, Dom would've fallen to the floor. Caleb stepped inside next, and since Anna stood closer to the door, he went to her first, lifting her into the air in a bear hug and saying, "Oh, you have no idea how good it is to see you!"

"I missed you too," Anna breathed, tears unmistakably in her voice. My heart wrenched at the sound. I sometimes forgot what my sister sacrificed to stay at my side, namely, her family. Twins or not, I couldn't fathom why she chose me over an entire family and pack that could protect her a lot better than I could, and yet, here we were. I'd reminded myself to thank her for sticking by me all this time again.

"Spencer!" Lily exclaimed, crushing her younger brother in a hug while tears rolled down her face. "I can't believe it's you! I thought I'd never see you again!"

I watched ecstatic relief fall onto Spencer's face at his sister's reaction, and for the second time in less than a minute, I questioned what all my husband had given up to be with me. Was I really worth his family and pack? A former omega who had no power or respect in her family? What did I have to offer him besides my undying love for him? If his family offered to accept him back, who was I to keep him from them? How could I be better than a whole pack?

Oh, let's not go down that path. I thought grimly.

"Where's Elsa?" Caleb asked, scanning the group. His eyes landed on me, and, elated, he stepped towards me. I involuntarily moved one of my feet back. The action effectively stopped my brother in his tracks. Pain flickered in his eyes, but he respected my silent wishes. Slightly unsteady, he said, "It's good to see you, Elsa."

"You too," I replied, turning to my beta in a desperate attempt to eliminate the awkwardness between my brother and me. "You already know Finn and Killian, and you've probably heard of Rey and the Park sisters too."

"Yeah, yeah, how are you guys doing?" Caleb queried, offering his hand for them to shake. None of my packmates acted anything other than warmly to my brother. I continued going around the group, introducing each new member to my brother and Lily. I waited until I reached the end before saying, "I'm going to go make some calls. We're going to need to change plans with them here."

Spencer nodded and kissed the top of my head. Then, beaming at his sister and even at Caleb, my husband said, "Come on. We'll give you the grand tour."

I slipped up the stairs to our main office, shut the door behind me, and practically collapsed into the chair. I massaged my temple, the stress headache I'd had earlier from overthinking about the upcoming battle increasing tenfold at a nagging question in the back of my head: how had they found us?

Someone from our pack had to have reached out to Caleb and Lily. It was the only feasible idea, but who? It's not like I could be mad at whoever it was. Outside of myself and those in our pack who didn't know the Starks and Laroches, I knew the others missed their families. That'd been reconfirmed when I saw the way Spencer, Dom, and Anna reacted to Lily and Caleb.

A soft knock sounded from the door, followed by Dom poking his head in. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah," I lied, smiling tiredly at him. "You can come in. What's going on?"

Dom slipped inside and shut the door behind him. He strolled over and took a seat in front of me. "I, uh, I wanted to apologize."

"What for?"

"I'm the one who told Lily and Caleb where we were. A-" His heart sped up- "I missed my sister, and I know she's not going to betray us. I figured we were going to see her soon anyway, so I... hurried up the process."

"You don't have to cover for Anna. I know how horribly she misses our pack, especially our brothers and sister." Dom stiffened at my words, and I smiled understandingly at him. "Your heart beat faster right before you told me. Also, you sounded like you were about to say 'Anna,' so not too hard to figure out you were lying."

Dom leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. "Yeah, but you weren't ready to see them. I should've considered that."

"I don't know when I'd truly be ready to see them. I was far from a perfect daughter and sister, and I've undoubtedly let them down, but they've let me down too, and I can't bring myself to forgive them for not only standing there and doing nothing while my dad beat the shit out of Spencer but also seeing them approaching the church with the intent to kill us. Running away is one thing. Trying to murder someone is another."

"Then why don't you hate me?" Dom queried, tilting his head. "I stood by that night and did nothing as well."

I shook my head. "You would've had Anna gotten involved. When she stepped forward to help me out, you did too. I don't think you even realized it. Even if you hadn't, you left with her to find us and nearly got yourself killed trying to protect her from the Shadows. That would've ended any doubts and dislike I had of you if it existed, which it didn't." I leaned back on my chair and dropped my gaze to a spot of sunlight on the rustic wooden floor. "I don't hate any of them. I want to. It'd be easier if I did, but I don't. I simply have issues forgiving and trusting them, and I'm not sure what they could do to change that."

"You have no attachment to my sister, so I understand if you don't want to establish a foundation with her, but I think with Caleb, him showing up here, and with a Stark of all people considering who he is, sounds like to me that he's truly made the switch to our side."

I nodded, hating the fact that he was right, and I remarked on this, which caused Dom to chuckle. Then, I added, "As for your sister, I do need to establish a foundation with her. If we survive and win this impending war, I have no doubt Lily will disobey your parents and go against your pack by staying in touch with you and Spencer, and Spencer will want to be in touch with her. I doubt she has any love for me since I'm the reason Spencer left, but she and I at least need to be on civil terms."

"She likes you more than you think. Lily might've been mad at first, but I think seeing how close you and Spencer are, and seeing how you've stuck by his side through everything, tells her it wasn't teenage hormones driving you two."

I snorted in amusement. "Thank God it wasn't just teenage hormones behind all this," I said, rolling my head to look back at Dom. "Hey, on a similar note, I don't think I ever thanked you for taking care of my sister the way you have these past few years. Between saving her life from Callie's attack, escaping with her to find us, protecting her from the Shadows at the inn, staying by her side throughout this chaotic life Spencer and I have caused for everyone- I can never thank you enough for all of it."

Dom smiled, bowing his head. "I'm glad I've been there for her. Despite my cold reception in the beginning, I'm pretty sure I fell for her the moment we started talking. I just wish I could give her more than I can."

Guilt flooded my chest. "After this war is over, I promise we won't have to live in hiding. You two can be free and-"

"No, no, it's not that. You and Spencer don't care if she and I take a solo trip together, and I can still give her those and presents and all the love in the world I can, but I can't give her the thing that is hardwired into us to want: a family."

"I don't understand. Why can't you give her a family?"

Dom wrung his hands nervously. "As punishment for my parent's betrayal to them, the Controllers made me sterile. I can never have kids, and while Spencer and Lily can, it's still the knowledge that I can't carry on their legacy, which as a first-born alpha, is one of our biggest goals outside of protecting the pack."

"Fuck legacy," I said shortly, hating how depressed Dom looked while giving me the information. "Keeping the bloodline going was a requirement by the Controllers we were brainwashed into believing, but we're not controlled by them anymore. That means you can make a new legacy for yourself."

He smiled softly. "You sound like Anna. She told me practically the same thing when I told her."

"We do think a lot alike." I leaned forward and braced my elbows on the desk. "If you do want a family in the future, we can look into adopting. We're not werewolves, and I'm not aware of a way we can change anyone into one of us, but the Kids have a wealth of knowledge. Maybe they could help us figure something out."

"Maybe Anna and I could adopt all of them," he joked lightly.

"Then they'd be extremely lucky to have you as parents."

"Thanks, Elsa. Are we good?"

"We were never bad. When you go downstairs, can you send Lily up?" I requested. When Dom raised his eyebrows, I said, "Put those back down. I'm figuring it'll be easier to make amends with someone I have no history with."

Dom nodded, and then he left. I sighed and turned to my computer, staring at my home screen: a group picture of me and the pack standing on the Spanish Steps, beaming like we had no care in the world.

"You wanted to see me?" Lily asked from the doorway.

"Hey! Yeah, yeah, come in," I said, standing up and moving around the desk to face her without anything between us. I hadn't thought this through when I told Dom to send her up here, but now that we were alone, face-to-face in my office, the only thing that came to mind was, "I'm sorry."

Lily's face scrunched up. "For what?"

"For everything. I took Spencer away from you, I'm part of the reason Dom left, I caused so much grief for you and your pack, caused the death of your packmate Miles Hart, caused this war, made you believe we died-"

"You did what you had to do to survive," Lily interrupted. "None of this would've happened if the Controllers weren't around. Our families wouldn't hate each other if it weren't for them, you and Spencer wouldn't have had to run away if the Controllers weren't around, nor would Miles have died, nor would this war be happening, nor would you have to fake your own death. I wanted to blame you for all this, don't get me wrong, and for a while, I did. However, the more I thought about it, and the more I realized how in love you and Spencer were, the blame shifted to who it should've been on all along. I'm sorry for how it's all turned out. When this war is over, I'll petition with my pack and yours alongside Caleb to get you accepted back into the families."

I smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you, but do so only if it doesn't risk you getting kicked out as well. You will, of course, have a place with Spencer and me if that happens, but I'd rather you not go through that in the first place."

"It won't. My parents can't lose their last alpha, so I do have some leverage." Lily took a couple of cautious steps toward me. "Thank you for taking care of my brother."

"Thank you for taking care of mine."

The corners of her mouth tugged upward ever so slightly. "He hasn't made it easy."

"Neither has yours." For a second, I thought I'd taken the joke too far, but when Lily broke into a grin, I let myself relax. Then, extending my hand out, I offered, "Truce?"

"Truce," she replied, shaking it. "On one condition."

"Usually, that comes before the shake, but I'll still honor it if I can. What is it?"

"I don't trust my brother not to embellish the good things and sugar-coat the bad things. I want you to tell me everything."

I hesitated, thinking back to my time with the Shadows. While I could talk about it without any emotion now, that's not to say I didn't feel anything about it. It haunted me to this day, and I hated the mere idea of burdening someone else with the knowledge of it. Still, Lily had asked for everything, so I decided to give her the option. "There's a part of this story that's... it's not pleasant. It involves a lot of torture."

"Of your pack or of you doing it to someone?"

"The part I'm referring to? It was done to me by the Shadows, although we're not exactly innocent either."

"Only speak about it if you're comfortable with it. While I want to know everything about what you and the pack have been up to, I also don't want to upset you by forcing you to talk about things you don't want to, especially if they were traumatic."

"I appreciate it. I'll see how I feel when we reach that part in the story." I motioned at the couch in the corner. "Let's take a seat. This is going to take a while."