"Taking responsibility is not an admission of guilt."
~Will Smith

Elsa

Dom and Anna burst into mine and Spencer's bedroom. My sister tossed me her phone, and I read the text message. I could feel the color drain out of my face at the text before me. I wasn't sure what terrified me more: the Controllers finding us or my brother. I wasn't ready to face Caleb for two very contradicting emotions. On the one hand, I felt embarrassed and remorseful for causing all the trouble I caused. On the other hand, I was furious at him for standing by and doing nothing as dad beat the shit out of Spencer while I pleaded for someone, anyone, to help. If anyone would defy our parents' orders, it'd be Caleb because I'd been closer to him than Ember or Hunter. But no. He did nothing.

"Elsa?" Anna prodded, sitting on the edge of the bed next to me. "You okay?"

I nodded, getting up to walk off some of the anxiety. "We can't let them find all of us if we still want to get those ingredients."

"What do you mean?" Dom asked, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.

"I have an idea, but none of you will like it."

Spencer stood. "I'm pretty sure I have the same idea."

A silent understanding passed between us, and then I said, "I'm suggesting we split up. Spencer and I lead the Controllers, Caleb, and Lily astray while you take the others to France to collect the water and other ingredients if need be."

"What do you mean by 'if need be?'" Anna demanded, staring me down with hard eyes.

"I mean that Spencer and I will lead them astray as long as possible, and if that means you all have to get the rest of the ingredients without us, then so be it."

"So Dom and I come with you two, and the others get the ingredients?"

"No. You and Dom lead them, and Spencer and I go it alone."

Anna scoffed. "No fucking way. Do you remember the last time we got split up? Both of us nearly died!"

"The others need alphas leading them. That's you and Dom," I said calmly, although my heart ached for my twin, a mixture of my own pain and the sensation of feeling hers. "We caused this, so it's our mess to clean up. Any repercussions that come our way, Spencer and I will handle by ourselves. None of you asked to be brought into this mess-"

"I think you're forgetting the part where Dom and I left our packs to come find you!"

"Because you felt my pain when the Shadows took me. Just like I was coming for you when I felt your pain when Callie attacked you. Spencer and I never should've dragged you two into this. At all. Maybe then you wouldn't be on the run like us and having to stay in hotel after hotel to-"

"I don't care about that, and Dom doesn't either," Anna said sharply. "If we did, we wouldn't be here. Elsa, I can't do it. I can't split up from you again. I can't-"

"Anna, it'll be okay," I told her gently. "It's not like we have the Shadows on our asses now too. It's easier to hide from six people than an entire organization. I would gladly take you with me if I didn't think our pack needed some alphas to lead them on this endeavor. They need you and Dom until Spencer and I return, and we will. The most important thing is getting those ingredients so we'll be immune to the Controllers' powers."

"As much as I hate to admit it," Dom began carefully, coming up behind Anna, "Elsa's right. The Controllers want them. I know they're supposedly on our side, and maybe they're here to help, but we can't risk the whole pack in finding out."

"Leave one wolf alive, and the sheep are never safe," Spencer said.

Dom rolled his eyes. "Really? A Game of Thrones quote?"

"What? It's fitting."

I watched Anna's chest rise and fall heavily, her blue eyes boring into mine. Finally, she spoke. "You can go alone on two conditions. First, one of you will check in with us morning, afternoon, and night with a call. Not a text because anyone can shoot off a text saying they're fine. Second, the moment you're able to return to us, you do. You get in the car or on a plane, and you get your asses to us as soon as possible."

"Deal," I said immediately. "Why don't you gather the others and tell them the plan?"

"What are you two going to do?"

"We're going to start packing." Anna nodded and reluctantly left with Dom. I turned to Spencer. "Should we give Lily a call?"

"What about Caleb?" he replied.

"They're together. She'll relay the information to him."

"Maybe you should talk to-"

"No," I interrupted sharply. "I don't want to talk to him. It's... it's complicated."

Spencer sat on the bed in front of me and grabbed onto my hips, pulling me towards him. "Talk to me."

"It's different for you with your pack. They respected you when you left. They might've hated what you'd done, but they still respected you. With me, I was the omega. Any shred of respect my pack had for me disappeared the night we left. The Frays already blamed me for Barry, my brothers thought I was off my rocker for falling for you, and Ember hates your family almost as much as Thea. She and Callie had a big rivalry."

"Probably because they're both as hot-headed as each other."

I gave him a small smile. "True, but that doesn't help my case. I love my brothers, but I'm furious with them for not standing up against the injustice done to us all because we fell in love with the 'wrong person.' I hate myself even more for still wanting their approval when I know the chances of me ever getting it are low. I can't open that door right now when I'm still recovering from my ordeal with the Shadows. I have to close other doors before I open anymore. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I do, and I won't push you to talk to them right now, but consider it for the future. Caleb and I are anything but friends, and you heard the tiff we got into on the phone after your rescue, but he's concerned for you. No matter what happened between you two, he still loves you, and he doesn't want anything bad to happen to you."

Life would be easier for him if something did, though. The statement burst into my mind before I could stop it. I knew if I voiced the intrusive thought, Spencer would worry about me infinitely more than he already did. I couldn't do that to him.

"Go ahead and call. I'll start packing," I told him, kissing him on the forehead. I shuffled over to my suitcase while my boyfriend pulled out his phone. He put it on speaker. The phone barely hit the first ring before Lily picked up.

"Spencer?!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah, Dom and Anna showed us your texts. So, the Controllers are on our trail, huh?"

"Yes. We're in Gran Canaria now, but once they find out you got the Dragon Blood, they'll figure out you're going to France next."

"We're not going to France next," Spencer lied easily. "We're staying in Spain and- wait, how do you know we got the Dragon Blood? And what are you doing with the Controllers?"

Lily dove into an explanation of how the Controller Kids were on our side, how they wanted to help us beat their parents, and that they brought Lily and Caleb because they figured the two of them could get along without any blood being drawn.

"Only thing she's hurt so far is my ego," Caleb joked.

"You make it easy," Lily said, but I heard the playfulness in her tone. I locked eyes with Spencer, and I could tell he heard it too. What was going on between them? "Look, we'll tell the Controllers you're on your way to France and throw them off your trail."

"No, tell them where we are. If they're lying about wanting to help us, don't throw yourselves or your packs under the bus protecting us. We brought this upon ourselves, so we'll face the consequences."

"Spencer, they could kill you. You understand that, right?"

"Yes. They'd just be finishing what Ren intended to do."

"How can you say that so nonchalantly?!" Lily hissed. "He almost killed you, and if it hadn't been for Arya stepping in-"

"Yeah, Arya. No one else. Not our parents, not you, not Dom, or anyone else from our pack. It was the fucking Laroche alpha that stopped it, so I'm sorry if I'm finding it difficult to believe that you really support me."

"Spencer-"

"I know you love me, Lils. I love you too. And I have no doubt you want to help me so I can come home, but if you think I'm coming home and leaving Elsa in the process, you're wrong. She's my mate, and only death will force me to leave her. Until your pack and the Laroches can understand that, we will not return home permanently. We'll help defeat the Controllers if that's what you want us to do, but then we're leaving until everyone can get their heads out of their asses and accept our relationship because one day, and I hope one day soon, I plan on marrying Elsa." My head snapped up, and my body froze at my boyfriend's words. He smiled softly at me. "I would love for our former packs to be there, but I will marry her regardless of whether or not they approve. Now, if you really do love me and want to help me, you will tell the Lawmans and Kellermans that we're staying in Spain. Text me if anything urgent comes up. Bye, Lily."

Spencer hung up before his sister could protest. Slipping his phone into his pocket, he shuffled over to me. I remained rooted in place, still stunned by his words. Smiling sheepishly at me, Spencer said, "I guess the cat's out of the bag now."

"I-I mean, I always figured we would, but we haven't talked about it, so I just... ignored it."

Spencer brushed a piece of hair out of my face. "I knew from the beginning of our relationship that I wanted to marry you, but I want to propose and marry you at the right time. This life we have at the moment isn't the life either one of us ever dreamed we'd be living, so I want to make sure that the good memories we make are so amazing that they outweigh all the bad luck we've had."

"You make it sound like I'm the only one who lost my pack. You did too."

"I know, but it's like you said. There were differences in respect levels when we left, different relationships with our packs, and yes, we've all been through hell since we ran off, but you've suffered more than any of us. I want to give you the best I can to make up for all you've lost to be with me."

His words made my heart melt. "One day, it won't always be like this. One day, we'll be able to live our lives without the fear of being found. But, until then, I'm perfectly happy traveling Europe with you and our pack to find a way to destroy the Controllers."

"We will return home one day. I promise."

I gave him a chaste kiss. "We better start packing if we want that to happen sooner rather than later."

The two of us gathered our belongings, silently mulling over everything that could possibly go wrong with our plan. If the Controllers were lying, there was little to nothing Spencer and I could do to defeat them or even escape them. By the end of this, we'd either have unlikely allies, or our hearts would be on the ground next to our lifeless bodies.