"I never had any trouble being myself. Myself was a problem for a lot of people, but I didn't have a problem."
~Tituss Burgess

Caleb

An eerie silence settled over the compound after Barry's death. Diana and Thea, naturally, took it the hardest. My heart ached for them. No matter what we said or did, nothing would or could ever help the Fray girls right now. All we could do was be there for them when they needed us.

Despite our enhanced healing abilities, Anna and Elsa struggled to heal quickly. Anna's concussion was worse than any of us realized until she fell down the stairs from a dizzy spell. Elsa tried running to her sister's aid, forgetting she was out of commission with both her legs broken until she collapsed the moment she stood up. I helped her get back in bed while Hunter escorted Anna to the couch. Afterward, both twins were on strict bed rest.

Our parents were frantic over the whole ordeal. They refused to let us out of their sight, which seemed to drive my sisters crazy once they healed. I'd never seen them get claustrophobic until now. I also knew Elsa was trying to escape the unavoidable: the discussion with my parents about the accident. For some reason, she didn't want to talk about it. Even weirder, our parents wanted Hunter and me to join the dreaded conversation. I had no idea what was going on. Neither did my brother.

"You know what's going on?" I asked.

"Maybe it's about your obnoxious snoring," Hunter said.

"Maybe it's about your obnoxious music."

"The Chainsmokers are so much better than whatever you're listening to."

"The Targaryen theme songs are extremely motivating!"

"What exactly are you trying to motivate yourself to do? Burn down a city?"

"It helps with working out!"

Hunter raised an eyebrow at me, about to make some sarcastic remark, but dad called us into the office. Elsa was already in there, seated in the middle chair, fiddling with her necklace. Hunter and I sat on either side of her.

"What's this about?" Hunter asked.

"Glad I'm not the only one confused," Elsa remarked.

Mom sighed, and I couldn't help but think this was going to be anything but a pleasant conversation. Dad leaned against the stone fireplace, refusing to look anywhere but at the flickering flames. That put me on edge. If mom was taking the lead on this, then I knew it was about us. And in the past, that never brought good news.

"How are your legs, Elsa?" Mom asked.

"Good," my sister replied.

"What happened?"

"A truck lost control and came straight for Anna and me. Dom pulled her out of the way, and Spencer got-"

"I meant before that. Why were you close to the Stark pack in the first place?" Mom interrupted. She'd never really been firm with Elsa before, mostly because Elsa rarely did anything wrong.

"Spencer accidentally hit me in the face with a snowball, so he let me throw one back as payback. Instead of one, I threw a second. It started a snowball fight between our packs. There wasn't any fighting; it was just a good-natured competition."

"This wasn't an attempt to bring the packs together?"

"No."

"So you and Spencer aren't trying to bridge the gap between us?"

"What?"

"This semester, you two had classes together. You would meet him in secret to work on projects." Hunter and I both snapped our heads to stare in disbelief at Elsa. My sister's heart started pounding wildly.

"All the humans were too scared partner with us, and neither of us was willing to sacrifice our grades over some feud," Elsa explained.

"Who initiated the conversation?"

"He did. We knew you and his parents wouldn't approve, so we kept it quiet."

"And involving Anna and Dom?"

"They were there to chaperone. She didn't want me alone with a Stark, and the same went for Dom. Listen, if I'm going to get in trouble, then fine. I deserve it. But don't punish Anna. She got dragged into it."

"We will punish all those involved. That is you and Anna. Regardless of whether she willingly went along or not, she kept it a secret from us the same as you."

"Mom-"

"I don't want to hear it!" she snapped.

"Elsa, there's a reason why we don't want any association with the Starks," Dad said, uncharacteristically grim. "It is a reason you're not privy to know. But I'll warn you the last time our family tried to associate with the Starks, people started dying."

"Are you saying I'm the reason for Barry's death? Because some unknown force is pissed I'm friendly with a Stark?" Elsa snapped.

"That's not what I'm saying-"

"It sure sounds like it is!"

"We don't want you to be next. That truck was heading straight for you and Anna for a reason. I'm grateful the Stark boys were there to save you two-"

"Their names are Spencer and Dom," Elsa said.

"I don't give a damn what their names are!" He roared, causing her to cower. "All I care about is that you two are alive, but we lost one of our own that day, and I can't watch this happen again. You're forbidden from interacting with the Starks without our supervision or that of your brothers'. I want your phone, and I want to watch you delete his number."

Elsa tossed her phone on the desk. "Just keep the damn thing if you're so worried."

"Don't use that tone with us, Elsa Felicity Laroche," Mom growled. My sister flinched. To avoid invoking our mother's wrath any further, she deleted Spencer's number. Mom opened her hand, motioning for Elsa to hand the phone over, which she did.

"If you're looking for damning evidence for something that didn't happen, you're out of luck. All we talked about was school," Elsa said, her eyes glittering with anger. Mom didn't respond as she scrolled through the messages.

Finally, she said, "You're not telling us everything."

"What could I possibly not be telling you?"

"That you liked him. And he liked you back."

"Elsa wouldn't like a Stark," Hunter said. "That's absurd."

"Spencer is insanely handsome, and when he's not having to go on the defensive, is actually really nice. We knew our packs would kill us if we were ever more than friends, so that's what we stayed as."

"You liked him?" Hunter demanded.

"I think that's what she meant when she said she found him handsome," I said. My brother glowered at me.

"It never went any further than friendship?" Mom interrogated.

"No."

"Your punishment will be discussed later. For now, we'd like to talk to your brothers. You're dismissed."

Elsa walked out of the room with her head hung low. I wanted to go after her because I saw her eyes glimmering with unshed tears.

"Your father and I let that go on too long. We thought it'd end after the school year, but we were wrong," Mom said, shuffling some papers on the desk after Elsa shut the door.

"What'd you want to talk to us about?" Hunter asked.

"Due to recent revelations, your father and I decided we can no longer hide the truth from you about our feud with the Starks." Hunter and I both unconsciously shifted to the edge of our seats, eager to finally know the answer to a question we had always wondered.

  _____________________________________  

Elsa

I found Anna waiting for me when I entered my room. She said, "I felt your stress. I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm so sorry, Anna. I've gotten you into a lot of trouble, and we're both being punished. I don't know what it's going to be, but I'll do whatever I can to make sure yours isn't bad."

"I made my choice. I easily could've turned you in. I chose not to. But there's something else that's bothering you. What is it?"

My mother's words rose in my head, followed by images of Barry's body in the casket. I broke down as I told her, "I think I got Barry killed."

"What?" Anna exclaimed in alarm. I explained to her what mom said as I sank down next to her. She listened attentively, soaking everything in.

"Whether it's true or not, she shouldn't have said that and put the burden of it on you, and dad shouldn't have let her. But if the Frays catch wind of this, Thea will go ballistic on you."

"What if I did get Barry killed? Then I deserve it. I deserve every bad thing that comes my way."

Anna placed her hand on my back. "You didn't purposefully hang out with Spencer to get Barry killed. His death is not your fault. It's the fault of the truck driver that lost control. Do you understand me?"

I nodded. "I still haven't thanked Spencer for saving my life. Not officially."

"They may've taken your phone, but they haven't taken mine. I'm sure they wouldn't suspect me of having his number. Want to text him to set up a meeting?"

"Mom and dad will read your messages."

"I'll delete them. By the way, how'd you manage to avoid them seeing the lovey-dovey conversations between you two?"

At that, I smiled. "They forgot about Snapchat. Hopefully, they won't think about it."

"Fingers crossed. Why don't we go for a walk? Get out of the house before we lose our freedoms? Go see the Starks?"

"Mom and dad might kill us."

"We're already screwed to hell and back."

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

"If we're going to hell, we might as well do stuff that'll put us on the throne. Besides, this is my idea, not yours," Anna said. "I'll tell mom and dad as such if we're caught."

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"No, but you don't have to. I can feel it. Come on. Let's go before we-"

She was interrupted by Hunter and Caleb opening my bedroom door. I hurriedly wiped away my tears.

"What the hell, Elsa?" Hunter demanded.

"If you're here to berate her, then get out," Anna warned.

"Watch your tone," Caleb growled. "We want the truth."

"About what?" I replied.

"About you and Spencer!" Hunter blew up. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself and said, "Mom and dad told us why we can't get involved with the Starks, It's a very valid reason. But maybe if you talk to us, we can help you move past this."

"You two wouldn't be willing to understand."

"Try us," Caleb challenged.

"No. I know better, and I know my place. I'm an Omega. I'll keep my mouth shut like I'm supposed to."

"For the love of- the one time you decide to listen to that!" Hunter exclaimed in exasperation, throwing his hands up.

"What's that?" Anna asked, looking out the window, interrupting the conversation. We joined her, staring at the scene unfolding below. An unknown wolf was cornered by Shiloh and Loren, both viciously baring their teeth.

"Who the hell is that?" Hunter asked.

"Let's go find out," Anna said, striding out of the room. I started to follow, but my brothers grabbed my arms and whispered, "We're not done talking about this."

"Yes," I replied, yanking my arms out of their grasp. "We are."