"Grief is the price we pay for love."
~Queen Elizabeth II

Lily

I sat in Spencer's room, trying to call his cell without my parents finding out. But he was either dead, in trouble, or ignoring me. Considering I'd taken the side against him, I had a feeling he was ignoring me.

My parents had announced it was treason to get in touch with him, Rey, Emma, or Ellie, so if they found out what I was doing, I would be in serious trouble.

"Anything?" Dom asked softly from my doorway. He'd been quieter than ever since our brother ran off. I often wondered if Dom knew more than what he said he did let on. I also debated whether or not he had feelings for the other Laroche twin- Anna. She certainly had a thing for him. I'd seen a lot of girls give my brother longing, lustful stares, but Anna's was different. It was longing too, but it was softer, as if she didn't even realize herself that she was falling for him.

"Nothing. I just want to know he's okay. That Rey is okay..." I confessed. "How's Callie doing?"

"Calmed down, and I think she's more upset than mad now. Spencer might not have loved her in the way she wanted him to, but she certainly loved him as more than a friend."

"Unrequited love is a bitch," I muttered.

"Not that you would know," my brother joked. I didn't say respond because I did know, but none of my pack knew that. However, my silence seemed to intrigue my brother. Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "Have you?"

"Spencer isn't the only one to have fallen for a Laroche's charm," I whispered, so quiet I was barely audible. My brother still heard it. Shutting the door, he came and sat next to me. He leaned in and gently nudged my arm, urging me to continue. "Caleb and I had AP Physics together. I was top of the class, and he wasn't far behind. I guess similar to Elsa and Spencer, no one wanted to work on group projects with us because of who we are. Reluctantly, we worked on assignments together. At first, the only thing we'd talk about was class and the work itself. It was surprisingly cordial, and I daresay borderline friendly. We worked well together because we always focused on the task at hand. It progressed to some light-hearted joking and bantering, and maybe even a little flirting. And then one day, he tripped over a girl's backpack and casually remarked, 'I think I just fell for you' to her, which of course, she blushed because the Starks and Laroches might be feared, but we're all attractive. Anyway, I didn't like him flirting with that girl, or with any girl for that matter. Then one day, it dawned on me that it was because I developed feelings for him. I hid it well because I was always an ass to him outside of class, but that was more to try and convince myself to stop liking him than to convince anyone else around me, although I don't think anyone guessed it in the first place."

"You liked Caleb Laroche?" Dom asked in surprise.

"Like," I corrected. "I like Caleb Laroche. I always have and annoyingly still do. He's much less temperamental than his older brother. And smarter."

"I think he gets that from Arya. The girls are always smarter than the boys, I swear."

I patted Dom's hand. "That's because we are. So what did you come in here for actually? Because I know it wasn't just to listen to my love life or lack thereof."

"There's a pack meeting downstairs in about five minutes from now. I figured since you were up here, we'd end up talking about things, so I came to tell you early," Dom said, looking around our brother's room. "It's weird not having him here."

"I miss him."

I glanced at a picture on my nightstand, the one of me with my brothers at my graduation. "Me, too."

"Did you know?"

Dom sighed. "Yeah, I knew. I wanted Spencer to be happy for a bit before he married Callie. I thought it was a fling, and he and Elsa enjoyed defying their parents and the adrenaline from sneaking out. Even after they broke it off between them, I thought the only reason he missed her was that he missed the friendship and escape she provided him."

"But?"

"But," he continued, "that was very, very far from the case."

"What do you mean?" I prodded curiously.

"Do you remember the day we went shopping for tuxedos? And how we ran into the Laroche twins?"

"Yeah?"

"Once dad saw the interaction between Spencer and Elsa, as little as it was, he realized how deeply Spencer felt for her. Once she was gone, dad asked him if he loved her, but he didn't answer, which gave us the answer anyway. Dad left to go do something, and I asked Spencer if he was going to be able to get over her."

"I'm sure he said no," I mused, thinking back to the night of the wedding. You didn't kiss someone the way he did in front of that many people. Not unless you were head over heels in love, especially when a majority of the crowd could and would kill you for doing that.

"He said he could never get over his mate," Dom said.

"What?!" I exclaimed.

My brother hushed me quickly. "No one but Anna and I know. Maybe Rey and Finn, but I'm not sure. But it explains why he couldn't forget and why he risked everything to be with her."

"Wow... I can't believe he found his mate.

"Listen, you can't tell anyone," Dom said seriously, staring me down with an unusual intensity. "Especially with the meeting that's about to happen. The people that are coming... they're deadly."

"Are they a threat to Spencer?"

"Most definitely. I'm praying they don't find him."

"Then I won't say a word," I promised. "Speaking of these people, we should probably head downstairs. They're going to be here soon."