"You can love someone so much...But you can never love people as much as you can miss them."
~John Green

Rey

When we arrived home, my sister was in an utterly foul mood, prompting Spencer to ask, "What's wrong?"

"Had a run-in with the Laroche girls. It turned into a catfight," I informed while Callie stormed upstairs to talk to Lily. "One of the twins- Elsa, I think- got under Callie's skin. Made a comment about you two dating, or the lack of it."

"Ah hell," he groaned.

"How did Elsa know you two weren't dating?"

"Because she's smart."

"Are you sure it's not because you're seeing her?" I asked quietly, not wanting the others to hear.

He snapped his head up. "Why on earth would you think Elsa and I are seeing each other?"

"She mentioned how she took you down after she kicked Jack's ass, but I don't recall you ever mentioning it to anyone, or else I would've known about it before now. I know it's nearly a crime to do anything remotely nice towards a Laroche, so if something happened between you two and you didn't tell any of us, then it's logical for me to assume it was something you think we'd disapprove of."

"Fine, I grabbed her from behind to let Jack get away. She flipped me over her shoulder. During the struggle, her books and papers fell out of her bag, so I helped her pick them up. She apologized for flipping me over and thanked me for helping her pick up her things. End of story."

"You're right, we wouldn't have liked that story," I said with a scrunched up face. "Elsa was a huge bitch to Callie."

"Was Callie being a bitch to her?"

"Mostly to Hunter's mate, but she and her sister's stepped in."

"She treats people how they treat her. If you were pleasant to her, she'd be pleasant back."

"How do you know?"

"Because of how she acted when I helped her. Go see Callie, make sure she's okay. I need to go do some work."

"Spencer, do you like her?" I asked softly.

"We've been over this. I love Callie, but not in the way everyone wants me to."

"I'm not talking about her. I'm talking about Elsa Laroche."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Why would you ask me that?"

"The pack's been talking. Whenever you guys encounter the Laroches, you and Elsa barely take your eyes off each other. It would explain why every day you have a class with her, and you're in a much better mood than the days you don't."

"Rey-"

"Is she the girl you've been seeing?" I interrupted. "Tell me the truth."

"If I tell you who I'm seeing, you'll inevitably tell the others. And if you tell, then I'll have to break it off, and I'm not ready to do that. I know we're having problems at the moment, but we'll figure it out."

"So, it is her."

My alpha's shoulders slumped, and he completely deflated, defeat and dismay flickering across his face. I'd seen him sad before, I'd seen him defeated too, but never both at the same time, alerting me his feelings towards Elsa were much more than 'liking' her.

"Don't tell the pack. I'll-I'll go up and call her now, break it off. She warned me this would happen and-"

"No. I don't like how she spoke to Callie, but I also made a promise to you. I'm going to keep it."

My alpha stared at me, cautiously hopeful. "You mean that?"

"She makes you happy, and this argument has been taking its toll on both of you. Even under her makeup today, she looked exhausted, and I don't think it was solely stress from school."

Spencer pulled me into a hug, surprising me with the show of affection. "Thank you!"

Then he dashed away upstairs. I let out a big sigh as I wondered what I was getting myself into. I hated the Laroches, and currently at the top of the most hated was Elsa for how she'd spoken to my sister. Then again, I trusted Spencer's judgment. He wouldn't date anyone who was a bitch all the time, so I believed him when he said she treated people the way people treated her. Admittedly, my sister wasn't exactly pleasant earlier.

"Where's Spencer?" Dom inquired, entering the living room.

"He just went upstairs to take care of some work. I wouldn't bug him tonight. Why? Do you need him?"

"I just wanted to see how he was doing. He's been down in the dumps lately."

"He's in high spirits tonight, so don't worry. You should get some sleep. You've had a long day it looks like."

"I love our hotel, but sometimes the business can be very... challenging."

I chuckled. "Get some sleep, Dom. I'll see you tomorrow."

Elsa

When I got home, I immediately showered and got ready for bed, not wanting to deal with reality any longer than I had to. My eyes were barely closed for a minute when my phone started buzzing. Groaning, I answered, "Hello?"

"Did I wake you?" Spencer's quiet voice inquired.

"No, I just got into bed. Why are you calling me?"

"Can I not call my girlfriend?"

I fiddled with the sheets on my bed. "You can; it's just after our argument-"

"I know... about that, can you meet me at our spot?"

"Can we meet in like two hours so I can get ready to go out and make sure all my family members are asleep and also get at least thirty minutes of rest?"

"Yeah, I need to do the same with mine. I'll see you soon." We hung up, and after setting my alarm for an hour, I crashed back down onto my pillow and went to sleep.

The hour passed by too soon as I groggily woke up again. Using my enhanced hearing, I listened in to see if any of my family was awake. There were three distinct snores, which I figured were my brothers and dad. Mom, Anna, and Ember never snored unless they were sick, but upon poking my head out my bedroom door, I saw my sisters' lights were off and knowing that since my dad was asleep, my mom probably was too. I quietly shut my door and went to my dresser to put on some makeup. At midnight, I slipped out of my house and ran to the appointed meeting space. Spencer was already there, pacing up and down.

I slowed down to a walk as I approached so as not to startle him. Shifting into a human, I greeted, "Hey."

He whirled around to face me, a relieved smile on his face. "Hey."

"What did you want to talk about that couldn't be discussed over phone or text?"

"I thought you should hear this in person."

My heart sank because as much as I toyed around with the idea that Spencer was going to break up with me, I realized I hadn't been expecting him to actually do it. However, I covered up my feelings as I asked, "What is it?"

"First off, Rey figured it out. She figured us out," Spencer explained.

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"My pack has been talking. I guess we're not as discreet as we thought we were."

I ran my hand through my hair. "Wow... I thought this would be able to stay a secret longer. If your pack has been talking, then surely mine has too. We need an escape plan in case our packs find out and declare us traitors. I can go out and buy everything I need that would last me for a week, or just long enough that we could get our feet on the ground. I could-"

"Elsa, she's not telling anyone in my pack about us," he interrupted.

I stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"Rey figured out early on I was seeing someone, and she promised me at the time that be you a human, another wolf, or a Laroche, she would keep it a secret."

"And you trust her to follow through with that?"

Spencer bristled at my words. "Of course, I trust her. I would've denied it whole-heartedly otherwise. She's my second because of how much I trust her. I know she'll keep it a secret."

"Okay..."

"You don't trust her, do you?"

"I don't know her, and don't use the 'I trust her so you should too' argument. You trust other members of your pack that I know, and I wouldn't trust them either."

"None of them are my Beta, though."

"I wish that changed anything."

We both fell silent, staring at each other, trying to find the right words to say that could convince us both that what we were doing wasn't wrong.

That what we were doing was worth the risk of losing our packs.

That what we were doing wasn't making us lie to ourselves.

But no words came.

We both understood what we had to say, but neither of us could bring ourselves to say it. Despite Rey's reaction, we knew the rest of his pack would not be as accepting. We knew my pack- with the possible exception of my sister, and perhaps even Josilyn- would not be accepting.

It seemed words would never suffice for that moment, only actions. Spencer leaned down and kissed me, long, slow, and gentle, cradling my face in his hands. I bunched up his shirt in my fists, never wanted to let go. When we separated, it was a mutual understanding that the kiss wasn't the only thing being broken off.

We were too.