"Growing is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying somewhere you don't belong."
~Unknown

Elsa

When Spencer kissed me in front of the entire conglomeration, my legs turned jello. Lord knows I would've fallen to the ground had Spencer not had a firm hold on me.

"Run," he whispered, taking my hand in his and urging me towards the door. I nodded, and Spencer and I sprinted out of the hotel, dodging guests workers, and leaping over the stream to take the fastest exit route. We wanted to put as much distance between us and our packs as possible because they'd be coming f

Outside, the air was crisp and cool, and my feet hurt from running in heels. Spencer and I reached his car, which was thankfully parked right in front. He opened the car door for me and planted another kiss on my lips before I got in. I couldn't stop the grin that had permanently engraved itself onto my face as I buckled myself in. Spencer slid into the driver's seat and pulled out of the parking lot, going well over the speed limit.

"Where are we going?" I inquired.

"To your house so you can pack. I may or may not have a suitcase in the back of the car with me," he answered.

"You thought about doing this?"

"I thought about it every day since the marriage date was confirmed. Seeing you there, I couldn't go through with it." Spencer turned onto the main road, heading in the direction of my compound. The idea of him being there was an alien idea to me. Maybe because I knew he was forbidden from being there.

But I didn't care.

I was going to pack my bags and run away with Spencer until our parents could accept we weren't going to be with anyone but each other. Who knew how long that would be, but I was willing to wait.

I'd wait forever for my mate.

The ride seemed surprisingly short. Then again, that was probably because of how fast he'd been going. The two of us hopped out of the car, rushing into my house and scrambling up to my room. I hurriedly pulled things out of my closet, including my massive suitcase. I haphazardly threw stuff in there, mainly jeans and long sleeve shirts since it was winter, and it'd be so for a while. Hopefully, our parents would let us return before summer, but if need be, I had enough money in my bank account to last me a very long while.

Spencer wandered around my room, studying all my pictures. I kept an eye on him to see which one he was looking at, explaining it if he lingered on for more than a few seconds. I was mid-sentence recounting a photo where my dad was holding me and Anna upside down by our feet when we heard the front door open. We froze. Five heartbeats pounded madly downstairs, most likely being my parents, my brothers, and Anna. Ember would've been left behind to help Josilyn get our pack under control.

Spencer slipped his hand in mine as we prepared for a bloody fight, but when the door flew open, the people who stumbled in were definitely not my family.

"Spencer!" Rey exclaimed, embracing her Alpha. Finn and Killian came over to me. Holding Killian's hand was a girl with flaming red hair. Behind her was a brunette girl that shared a resemblance.

"You must be Emma and Ellie," I said with a warm smile. "I've heard nothing but good things about both of you."

"Likewise. Killian gave us the rundown on the way over here," Emma answered, giving him a loving look.

"Dom's instigating a few fights to give the two of you and us time to pack," Finn said. "So, if you'll excuse me, I'll be right back."

"Same!" Killian exclaimed, hastening after his friend.

"Us?" Spencer asked.

"You think we're letting you go alone? Emma, Ellie, and I are all packed. I saw your suitcase and knew what you were thinking. I told Ellie and Emma knowing about Emma's involvement with Killian and gave them the option of joining. They obviously have. Now get going! Dom won't be able to stall forever."

"You're amazing, Rey," Spencer said.

"Thank you," I added gratefully, turning back to finish packing. After throwing in everything I could think of into my suitcase, I packed a backpack with my laptop, phone, chargers. All in all, it took about twenty minutes, and I knew we were cutting it close with time. Spencer took the suitcase from me while I carried my backpack. Killian and Finn weren't far behind us, and we loaded everything into our cars. Rey and Finn jumped in with Spencer and me while Killian drove Emma and Ellie.

As we pulled onto the road leading us to the highway out of Estes, I recognized my parent's black Porsche Cayenne, along with Hunter and Caleb's. They must've identified Spencer or me because they all slammed on the brakes and did a U-Turn, following closely behind us. I figured mom was driving. She'd taught herself trick driving for the 'fun of it.' We'd thought the idea was crazy, but it came in handy now.

"Shit," Spencer muttered, hitting the brakes. Three Maserati Levantes barricaded our way. I knew it could only be Spencer's parents, Dom, and Lily. It wouldn't surprise me if Callie was with them too.

"We're trapped," Finn said.

"Get down. Don't show yourselves," I warned. Rey and Finn complied. Sharing a look with Spencer, we silently agreed on the next course of action. Opening our car doors, we stepped out to face our packs. All the headlights focused on us, and I couldn't help but think it was the setup to some bad mob movie or book. But then again, my life wasn't in that of a novel.