"Siblings are our partners and rivals, our first friends, and our first enemies."
~Erica Goldblatt Hyatt
***

Caleb

I stepped foot into the humid air of Gran Canaria. Justin and Karina led the way. Across the tarmac waited two strangers and a familiar face. My heart leaped at the sight of Lily Stark in a red skater dress. She turned when the wind blew my scent her way. I saw her eyebrow raise, but otherwise, she gave no sign of having any feelings towards me. I'd have to act the same if we wanted to avoid the wrath of the Kellermans and the Lawmans, who I presumed were with her.

Sure enough, when we reached them, Karina said, "Caleb, this is Nina and Dwight Lawman. I assume you already know Lily Stark."

I nodded. "We had some classes together."

"Good, then you know how to work together peacefully."

Lily cocked her head. "What are you talking about?"

"If we brought anyone else along from either of your packs, they would've been at each other's throats already. We know you two worked well in class, so I'm assuming you can put aside your differences right now and help us find your problematic siblings."

"What's the plan when we find them?" I asked, trying to phrase the question in a way that they wouldn't suspect I was on my sisters' side.

"To help them," Nina replied simply.

Lily lifted her sunglasses. "Excuse me?"

"You heard her correctly," Justin said. "We're here to help your former pack mates. They're after something, and as clever and adept as they are, we doubt they'll be able to do it without our protection and assistance. Why do you think we insisted we come on the hunt instead of our parents? We want your siblings alive. We also figured that if anyone was in touch with them, it would be you two. Are we wrong?"

"Honestly, I thought you wanted the pride of killing them yourselves," I told them. Lily shot me a 'what-the-hell' look, but I ignored it. If they were going to kill us, they would've by now. "For the record, I haven't talked to Elsa or Anna or anyone else from my pack, and it's not like the Starks would talk to me even if I did find a way to contact them."

"I haven't contacted or been contacted by either of my brothers," Lily lied. "I tried reaching Dom just to find out if he'd gone after Spencer to bring him home for punishment or if he'd fucked off with the other Laroche twin to join the other traitors."

Nina shrugged. "Whether that's true or not, we don't care. The only reason we would is if you knew information that could help us find them."

"We don't have any information. Even if we were in touch with them, you think they'd tell us anything?" I scoffed. "We let my parents beat the shit out of Spencer, and the Starks let my parents beat the shit out of him. I have a feeling Elsa and Spencer won't be forgetting that any time soon."

"You seem to have thought about this," Dwight observed, crossing his arms.

I bristled. "I've thought about reaching out to them, trying to find where they are so I can bring them back home, but I know the twins won't answer, and it's not hard to come up with a hundred reasons why. Namely, the one I just mentioned."

"We can debate this all day long," Karina said, putting on her sunglasses. "None of it matters. What matters is that we find them as soon as possible. They were after the blood of the Dragon Tree, if that's helpful. Caleb, Lily, I want you two searching the towns, like hotels and restaurants. It's a long shot, but maybe you can sniff out their scents. We couldn't have missed them by more than a day or two. Show their pictures, ask if anyone's seen them. Dwight and I will ask around the airport and ferries, and Nina and Justin are going to hit the tourist destinations."

"Hang on," Lily snapped, holding up her hands. "Are you telling me you four get along?!"

"Believe it or not, yes. Our parents do too."

"Then why create the hatred between our packs?"

"Because of a prophecy from thousands of years ago. It stated the downfall of our parents would be from the union of a Laroche and a Stark. At first, they thought it was Arya and Chris, but that war was over as soon as it started."

I blinked, processing their words. "M-my mom and her da-"

"Yeah. They weren't meant to be like Spencer and Elsa were. Your parents are with their mates, but yes, your mom and her dad were lovers."

"Ew, please don't call them that. That's just-" Lily shuddered. "I'd rather deal with Caleb than hear anymore. For the record, though, if you're lying to us about helping them, I will find a way to kill you."

"We'd expect no less from you," Nina stated airily. "Get going. We don't have all day."

Lily and I scampered off, desperate to get away from the Controllers, who were now, apparently, our allies. Once out of earshot, I muttered, "This is weird."

"Tell me about it. I have a hard time believing they're on our side after they stood by and watched their parents murder our pack mates."

"Maybe we can use this to our advantage. We can use the Kellermans and Lawmans to get close to the twins and your brothers. We can tell them we're on their side and that whatever they need, we're there for them."

Lily sighed as we walked to the cab ramp. She pulled out her phone and googled something. I peered over her shoulder. "So it looks like the dragon trees are located here, but I bet they stayed in the closest major city to blend in with the crowds, which would most likely be-"

"Playa de Arguineguín," I pointed to it on the screen. "Guess we should head there?"

She agreed. We slid into a cab, instructing them where to bring us. Lily ran a hand through her wind-tousled hair and dialed a number, one I recognized as Dom's. He didn't answer. I tried calling Anna but had the same luck as Lily. I would've tried to call Elsa if I had her new number, but Anna wouldn't give it to me. I texted her to call me ASAP and that the Controller kids were on their tail, but even that didn't elicit a response.

"Nothing?" Lily asked dejectedly.

"Nothing," I confirmed.

"Looks like we'll have to find them the old-fashioned way..."

"That's what it looks like."

"You think they'll even be willing to listen? You had a point earlier. Spencer might be willing to talk to us, seeing as how he has already, but I doubt he'll welcome us with open arms. Elsa will be even worse. She seems to be holding a grudge against us, which I understand. Her dad did beat the shit out of Spencer, and my parents stood by and watched. We all did. If there is anything alphas are more protective of than their packs, it's their mate. They're not going to forgive us easily."

"We also have to worry about our packs too. They're still invested in the lies the Controllers have given us. They won't necessarily be willing to open their arms back up for the 'traitors.'"

"I know, which means we'll have to start convincing them that Elsa and Spencer deserve to return home."

"That'll be easier said than done."

We fell silent, engrossed in our thoughts as the cab drove us to our destination. It didn't take long, and we were downtown in the blink of an eye. Lily and I got out and scanned our surrounding area. I asked, "Where should we begin? I don't want to split up in case the Shadows are on their tail too. We're stronger together, even if we are meant to hate each other."

"You and I both know we don't hate each other unless you French-kiss all your enemies," she said, shooting me a cocky half-smile.

I clutched my heart. "How'd you know?"

She slapped my chest. "Very funny. Okay, I say we start with the large hotels. They'd stay somewhere big enough for all of them, and they're used to the high-life, so we start the high-end ones too."

Agreeing this was the best place to start, I followed her lead and googled the best places to stay in our area. It didn't take long for us to compile a list. There were thirteen, which was shorter than I thought it'd be. We started at the closest one with no luck. They'd never heard of or seen Elsa, Anna, Spencer, or Dom. Our luck remained the same for the next seven. By the ninth hotel, Lily and I were hot, sweaty, and starving.

"Want to grab a bite to eat?" I suggested, hungrily eyeing a café across the street. I could smell the bacon wafting from its kitchen.

"That's the smartest thing you've said since we've started this endeavor," Lily replied, following my line of sight and making her way over there.

"Excuse me, I was the one who pointed out this was the closest major city."

"Yeah, after I came up with the idea in the first place and looked it up on a map."

"Semantics."

She rolled her eyes but said nothing more. We arrived at the café and were seated outside. Our table overlooked the calm waters and bustling town, but rather than enjoying the view of Gran Canaria, my focus remained on Lily because I'd never seen a more beautiful girl in my life. I loved her wit and intelligence, her analytical green eyes, her fierceness... everything.

"Why are you staring at me?" Lily asked, lifting her sunglasses and bracing her crossed arms on the table.

I shifted in my chair and cleared my throat. "You, uh, you look really beautiful."

For the first time, I saw Lily Stark blush. "Oh. Thank you."

"I never got to tell you that before because of, well, you know, but I always thought it."

Lily smiled softly. "I always thought you were the most handsome guy I'd ever seen."

"What do you say we try things when all this shit passes?"

"If we make it out alive, absolutely. For now, I think we need to focus on what we need to do if Elsa and Spencer aren't at the hotels."

As I opened my mouth to respond, the waitress came to take our orders. Lily and I ordered coffee and sandwiches. Before the waitress left, I pulled out my phone and asked, "Have you seen any of these people?"

She squinted her eyes, trying to make out the faces in the glaring sun. "Yeah, yeah. They were here the other day."

Lily and I shared an excited glance. "Do you by chance know where they were staying or what they were planning on doing?"

"Uh, a helicopter tour, I think. I heard them talking about it."

"Thank you!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"Are they in trouble? Dangerous?"

"Uh, trouble. Not anything they caused, though."

"Oh. Good luck finding them."

Thanking her, I turned to Lily and said, "Helicopter tour. That's the kind of place Nina and Justin were supposed to look into. What do you say we say screw them and check it out ourselves?"

"Already ahead of you. There are a few, but I found only two that will bring you to requested destinations. Gran Canaria Helicopter Tours and Mauricio's Helicopter Rides. Both are nearby. I say we try them after we eat."

I nodded, unable to contain my anticipation. Despite only taking ten minutes, it felt like forever for the food to come. Lily and I scarfed down our lunches, and without asking for the bill, I left two twenties under the plate for the waitress. Lily and I high-tailed it to Mauricio's Helicopter Rides since it was closest, only to be disappointed when no one there recognized my sisters or Spencer and Dom.

I dared to hope that Gran Canaria Helicopter Tours would be the lead we needed. Arriving at the business, we beelined for the front desk. A friendly man greeted us. Lily took charge. Smiling sweetly at the man, she queried, "Have you by chance seen any of these people? They're in trouble, and we're trying to help them."

"Ehhh..." the man wrinkled his face. "Yeah, yeah, were here the other day. Talk to George. He flew them. He's the only pilot here right now, so go right on back and talk to him."

Thanking him, Lily and I hurried off to the tarmac. A short man worked on the only helicopter in sight. He had to be George. When he saw us approaching, he greeted us merrily. "You the Ulsters?"

"No, sorry. I'm Caleb Laroche, and this is Lily Stark. Your boss informed us that you flew these people the other day." Lily held up her phone and showed George the picture of Dom and Spencer.

I saw the flash of fear across his face and heard his heart start thundering, but he played dumb. "No, never saw them before. My boss must've been mistaken."

"Do you lie to all your guests?" I inquired, taking a step toward him. "Or just to us?"

"I don't know-"

"They were here. We know they were. I bet if we look at your security cameras, they'll show those two men walking in and out of here."

"I'm not lying. I'm not, I swear."

"Then why are you sweating?"

"Because it's hot out!" he protested.

"Did they get the dragon blood?" Lily prodded, stepping out to the side when George eyed the unprotected space to his right. "We know they needed it, and you helped them. We need to know if they got it."

George shook his head. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do. I saw the look on your face when we showed you their picture, and your heart skipped a few beats too."

George's eyes widened. "You're-you're one of them."

Lily and I looked at each other, and she asked, "One of what?"

"¡Son lobos!"

"I don't know much Spanish," Lily began, "but I know lobos means wolves."

I took another step toward him. "If you know what we are, then you know how dangerous we are, how deadly we can be. Look, we're not after them to hurt them. Lily here is the boys' sister, and my little sisters are with them. We need to help them gather the ingredients to protect them from the assholes trying to kill them, and we'll kill anyone who gets in our way of helping them. So answer me truthfully: do you have any idea where they would've gone next? Or where they were staying?"

"Uh-" George squeezed eyes, shaking his head- "uh, hotel... Hotel Paraíso. That's the place they pointed out when we were flying."

I pulled out a wad of twenties and handed it to him. "Thanks, man. You have a good day."

Lily and I rushed back to the front and hailed down a cab. Well, Lily did. The drivers were much more willing to pull over for a stunning woman than a dashing man. We slid into the backseat and instructed them where to go.

Both of us bounced our legs up and down, anxiously awaiting to get to the hotel. Would Elsa and Anna still be there? And Spencer and Dom? What were we about to walk into?

I'd already pulled out a wad of cash before the driver pulled up. I damn- near chucked it into the passenger seat before alighting from the cab with Lily. We rushed up to the front desk, breathlessly pulling up the photos of our siblings and showing them to the bewildered employee.

"Uh, you missed them. They left yesterday," the woman said.

"Do you know where they were going?" I demanded, shoving my phone back into my pocket.

"I heard them mention something about France. What's wrong with-"

Lily and I didn't let them finish. We bolted out to the main street. I processed all the information we'd obtained and said, "Okay, if they're heading to France, it must mean they got the blood. They probably can't sneak that on a plane, which means they're driving."

"Which means they took a ferry," Lily stated, pulling out her phone. "No ferries go directly to France. They all go to Spain. There are a ton, and I'm sure they're using a fake name; otherwise, the Kellermans and Lawmans would've been able to track them down by now."

"I guess our next step is to go to France and try to find them there."

"The Controllers will know why they're going to France. Whether we like it or not, we need them to help us get there. Once we do, we can try and lose them and warn Spencer and the others."

I nodded. "Sounds like a plan."