"Her soul is fierce, her heart is brave, her mind is strong."
~R.H. Sin

Elsa

With the chaos of a new wolf being in our midst, our parents became distracted from dealing with mine and Anna's punishment. They told us before going to bed, however, that they had certainly not forgotten and would be talking about it tomorrow.

Anna and I waited for everyone in our house to fall asleep before sneaking out. We had to be careful because Loren was out patrolling with Dmitri, Oliver, and Taki. Loren was one of the few people I was terrified of when angry, next to my parents and Shiloh. If he caught us, we were going to need one hell of an explanation to get out of that situation.

But, to my shock, and slight unease, Anna and I managed to make a clean getaway off our territory. The two of us walked in silence as we made our way towards the Stark compound. It was on the complete other side of Estes Park, so the journey took a while, but not long enough for me to find a way to calm my nerves.

At one point, Anna veered off on the trail, nose to the ground. I had no idea what could be so intriguing, but I ignored it, focusing on my goal as I trekked up the hill to the Stark's compound in hopes I would make it to the door without them accosting me first. Unfortunately, luck was not on my side. I smelled four of them before I saw them, but they'd already seen me. Within seconds, I became surrounded. On the bright side, Dom and Rey were there. On the downside, Callie and Brian were too. The former of the twins lunged at me, but with a quick, sharp bark from Dom, she halted, teeth snapping inches away from my face.

"What are you doing here?" Dom asked once we all shifted into humans.

"I came to see Spencer, to say thank you for saving my life last week. I never got to say it before my parents ran him off," I explained calmly. "Is he around?"

"We'll pass the word onto him," Rey said.

"That's not the same," I argued lightly. "It's not like he picked up something I dropped. He saved my life. Literally. I wouldn't be standing here right now if it weren't for him."

"What's going on? Why is there a Laroche on our property?" A woman demanded, appearing from the shadows. I gulped as I saw the Stark Alphas towering above me from the hill. It was Spencer's and Dom's mother- Hayley- who had spoken. Their father Chris stood beside her. I wasn't going to back down from them, but I also wasn't going to challenge them. I might be blonde, but I wasn't dumb (although some may beg to differ). I was here to thank them, not fight. Surely this feud would at least allow me this. They had been civil with us at the scene of the accident. Maybe that meant they would be now too if they knew my intentions.

"Especially Elsa Laroche. Do you realize how many people here would like to rip out your throat? Me being one of them? My sister being even worse?" Jack growled.

I tried not to glare at him, but it was hard not to as I said, "I do."

One by one, more members surrounded me until the entire Stark Pack was there. My eyes scanned for Spencer, but he wasn't there. Odd...

"Are you seriously this stupid?" Callie snarled.

I shrugged. "In the words of Jake Fray, sometimes I'm more stubborn than I am smart."

"Have you ever been smart?"

"I've made it this far, so I'm doing something right." My eyes scanned the pack again, my nose sniffing for the familiar scent of Spencer's Giorgio Armani cologne. There was none, leading me to a conclusion. "Where is Spencer? All of you are here except him. And this is extremely close to your compound to have patrols. Even we don't send members this close to our houses, and I highly suspect you don't either. So, where is he?"

There was uneasiness amongst his pack mates, but none of them offered an explanation.

"He's missing." Someone said. I turned my head to find them.

"Lily," Callie reprimanded.

"What? Don't you think it's unusual that Spencer goes missing just hours ago, and suddenly, a Laroche is in our territory asking to see him? I want to know if she knows anything about it."

"I think it's a coincidence," Dom said, his firm voice cutting through the cold air. "I don't know Elsa Laroche well, but I know the Laroches. They may not like us, but they don't want to start a war. They have no reason to."

"He's missing?" I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Did you not hear Lily? Yes, he's missing," Emily retorted.

"Do you need help searching?" I asked seriously. "I have people in my pack that would help-"

"Absolutely not," Mrs. Stark said. "We will not be in debt to a Laroche, let alone the entire pack."

My temper snapped. "Your son is somewhere out there, possibly injured, and the only thing you're worried about is owing a favor to a Laroche? Is this hatred between our families so severe that you would risk your son's safety?"

"Watch what you say, little girl," Natalie O'Connor warned. "You're all alone right now."

"I didn't come alone," I replied.

"You're surrounded. Pretty sure we would've found whoever it is you're supposedly with, so nice bluff," James O'Connor said. I could see where Brian, Rey, and Jack all got their hair and eyes from. In comparison, Callie was the spitting image of her mother, Natalie.

"She's not wrong, you know," Anna said, deceptively calm. However, I knew my sister. She was most definitely anxious about this situation, but she refused to show that to the Starks.

I flicked my eyes over to the tree next to Dom, where I found Anna lounging against it. He whirled around to face her. Giving him a lofty smile, she added, "We're both very stealthy."

"How long have you been there exactly?" Lily asked.

"Since the pack circled my twin. The funny thing is I joined you. You were all too busy focusing on her that you didn't think about your own and that there was one more of you than there should be. Regardless of that, Elsa is right. She has people in her pack willing to help you search for Spencer. I am one of them."

"We can't trust the Laroches," Brian said. "They've never given us a reason to."

"Elsa, Anna, we appreciate the sentiment and offer of help, but we are still going to decline. Spencer is our son, and he is a Stark. He will be found by his own. If you are still here in the next five minutes, we will forcefully escort you off the property. Good night," Chris said.

He started to walk away, but before he could, I blurted, "I'm still going to look for him."

The Stark Alphas turned around. Both unmistakably frustrated. In a barely contained rage, Hayley said, "Why would you do that?"

"Just because you don't want me searching for him with you doesn't mean I won't do it on my own. I owe him a life debt, and I need to repay it."

I could tell they were genuinely considering killing me and Anna then and there, but they wouldn't be the first to attack. They knew better. And while the Starks weren't scared of much, I knew they were afraid of my parents' wrath.

"My parents won't allow you to search on our property," Dom spoke up. "But, you're welcome to search anywhere that isn't."

"Dom-" Brian began, but he was interrupted immediately by his Alpha.

"That's my brother that's missing, and Elsa is right. She owes Spencer a life debt. If she helps, we won't owe any favors to her. I won't be argued with or swayed otherwise."

"Thank you, Dom," I said gratefully.

"What about her?" Gigi Reynolds pointed at my sister. "She doesn't owe any of us anything, so we'd owe her a favor."

"I owe Dom a life debt considering I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for him," Anna said. "Which I want to thank you for officially."

"Don't mention it," Dom replied with a nod.

"To help pay it back, I want to help search for Spencer," she added. With that said, she strode over to me.

"You can search the neutral territory if you must, but do not come onto our territory. Dom, escort them away," Hayley commanded. Everyone shifted into wolves. As the Stark pack dispersed, Dom stayed behind to make sure Anna and I left the property.

We haven't checked the cave or the neutral territory. I'm heading to the cave now. Check the neutral territory for me. Dom said.

Will do. What should we do if we find him? I asked.

Call me. I'd say howl, but that might alert your pack.

I could mimic one of you.

I felt Dom's amusement at the thought. As people, you could possibly imitate our voices, but you can't with howls. Just call me. And girls? Thank you. It was stupid what you two did, but we have two more people out looking for him. That's all I care about.

We'll find him. Anna assured. Whether it be you or us, we will find him.