"Fate was cruel to play this trick on her, although if she were honest, she knew she only had herself to blame. She had taken the chance, and now she had to pay the price."
~Emily Arden

Rey

I watched from afar as Spencer walked away from Elsa, head hung low. I shifted my attention to her reaction. Only when he was out of her sight did she lose her composure, letting the tears cascade freely down her cheeks as she slid down to the ground.

Despite wanting to help both of them in their time of distress, I knew the last thing either needed right now was for someone to have witnessed their heartbreak. I'd wondered how Elsa felt towards Spencer since it was evident to me how my Alpha felt about her. After tonight, I felt assured she reciprocated his affections.

For a brief moment, I despised our pack feud. It prevented these two from being with each other. I still couldn't shake my belief the adults had a valid reason for not liking the Laroches, though. I was torn between my Alpha and my pack but decided my best option was to remain silent.

Leaving Elsa be, I headed back to the compound. Spencer reached home before me, based on the light in his room, but if he'd seen my paw prints in the snow, he didn't wait up for me to explain. I headed to my room and found Callie waiting for me.

"I came to talk to you, and you were gone. Where'd you go?" She asked, looking up from her phone.

"Spencer and I caught a scent when we were outside talking and followed it. Turned out to be a lone deer that wandered through," I lied. "What's up?"

"You want to go shopping this weekend? The girls and I are heading to Denver to get dresses for the hotel event in a few weeks."

"Is that the one where all the owners of Colorado hotels come together and mingle?"

"The very one. I don't understand why we go to it, but it's fun to get dressed up. You in?"

"I'm in. You feel better after earlier?"

"Better, not great. I tried not to show it, but Elsa got under my skin. Did he mention anything about the rumors when you confronted him about it?"

"No. He was stunned we'd even consider him dating a Laroche. You have to admit, the idea was far-fetched in the first place."

"I know, but I've always hoped one day he'd see me as someone other than a friend... that's not going to happen any time soon, is it?"

"I think Spencer wants to lead his own life for a bit, one that doesn't include some of his Alpha duties, like finding a mate. Honestly, I think he's jealous of Dom sometimes. Since Dom can't have kids, he's not pressured into having a mate. Give Spencer time. Let him come to you."

"Thank you, Rey. I don't know what I'd do without you. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night." I collapsed onto my bed once Callie shut the door. Guilt from lying to my sister weighed heavily on my chest. I knew precisely why Spencer wasn't in love with her; I also knew he'd never be in love with her. Somehow, Elsa Laroche wormed her way into my Alpha's heart in such a way that he'd never look at another girl the same.

After tonight I was at least positive he'd found his way into her heart, and she'd never look at another guy the same way again either.

I had a dilemma: Spencer still wanted to be with Elsa, and vice versa. They should have the ability to do so, and I wanted to help with that, but how? I'd never convince my pack we should become friends with the Laroches.

Choosing to mull over this in the morning, I turned off my lamp and went to sleep.

Elsa

The day after the breakup was awful; not only did I miss Spencer horribly, but I had to continue acting like everything was okay, even more than before. I hid it fairly well, but Anna still knew something was up. She noticed early on I didn't want to talk about it though and told me when I was ready, she'd be there for me. My emotions were so out of whack that I nearly started crying at the sentiment, but I held myself together.

The only perk of the next day was I didn't have school. Unfortunately, Monday came too quickly. Even worse, it was the day in the block schedule where I had all my courses with Spencer. Physiology seemed to be never-ending because we stupidly sat next to each other. I wondered if he could hear my heart pounding in my chest. I tried listening to his heartbeat, but the erratic thumping of mine made that impossible. It was some consolation to me that he looked as miserable as I felt, but then again, I didn't want him feeling like that.

English was just as bad. At least we weren't next to each other, although it didn't help much. Mercifully, the teacher didn't give us any group work, giving me another avenue to avoid Spencer.

At the end of the day, I was at my locker, shoving my stuff in my bag, desperate to leave school. However, I was running behind, so none of my packmates were waiting for me. However, Anna texted me saying she and Finn were outside at the car. My sister would never leave without me, something I appreciated. It gave me comfort that no matter what, she always had my back.

I shut my locker and headed to the stairwell, where I ran into Jack O'Connor. Literally.

"Oh! I'm sorry," I apologized, sincerely. "Didn't see you there."

I attempted to go around him, but his pack suddenly appeared behind him. The only one missing was Spencer, so if they all turned on me, I would have no backup.

Great.

"Not so fast, Laroche," Gigi said.

"Do you guys really want a fight?" I groaned.

"We've been trying to get you all alone for weeks," Grey remarked. "You think we're going to let this opportunity slip by?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd listen to your alpha, to be honest. What do you want?"

"Payback for kicking my ass," Jack growled.

I sighed, asking dully, "Do you want another one or something?"

"What's going on here?" Spencer demanded, striding over to us. My heart damn near jumped out of my chest, and I couldn't stop thinking about how handsome he looked in his dark wash jeans and brown leather jacket. However, remembering his pack was talking about us, I averted my eyes. Meanwhile, Spencer asked, "Why have you cornered a Laroche?"

"She purposely bumped into me," Jack lied.

"Yes, because I go out of my way to start fights with all of you. I want nothing to do with any of you. I kicked your ass because you initiated an argument and made me lose my temper. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't tried anything since. If you'll kindly let me through, I won't cause any trouble," I said.

"Let her through," Spencer growled. The pack sent me death glares as I started towards them, but they seemed to listen to their alpha.

Well, I thought so until Jack lunged at me.

If Spencer hadn't grabbed onto him, I would've been pinned to the floor by a powerful wolf in a highly compromising position.

"I said to let her through!' Spencer barked. He had Jack on the ground with his arms pinned behind his back.

"Hey, let him up," I said.

"No, you stay out of this. This is between me and my pack."

"Your pack dragged me into this when they stopped me from getting to mine," I argued. "Stopping Jack from attacking me, I thank you for, but it's overkill to pin him to the ground. Don't let any personal issues you're having interfere with how you lead the pack."

Spencer shoved himself up, his jaw clenched tightly. Jack remained seated on the stairs, still a little dazed.

"How do you know he's having personal issues?" Isabelle asked with raised eyebrows.

"You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes, let alone part of his pack. We sit next to each other in physiology, and I could practically smell his anxiety. Considering we have excelled everything, including information retention, I could reasonably rule out anything to do with school, which leaves personal issues."

"Okay, Sherlock, what's up with Spencer?" Grey asked.

"Based on similar experiences with my brothers, he's probably stressed about his alpha duties, and from what I've overheard in your conversations, he's being pressured to date someone he doesn't want to. I think that's an adequate reason to be stressed: trying to live up to your family's expectations by doing something you don't want to."

"Elsa?" Finn queried. My packmate stood on the landing, eyeing the situation warily. I thought I heard a small growl erupt from Spencer, but deciding it'd be too obvious if I stole a glance at him, I ignored it. "What's going on here?"

"Just talking with the Starks. We had a misunderstanding, and I was just about to leave. What are you doing here?" I replied.

"Anna is on the phone with your mom. She sent me in here to what was taking you so long."

"I'm coming," I said. Turning to the Starks, I added, "I know the last person you want advice from is a Laroche, but go easy on your alpha. He has a lot on his plate. Spencer, go easy on your pack. They're just trying to defend you."

"You seem to know a hell of a lot about our alpha," Jack said.

"I know there are some bullshit rumors about the two of us. I'm sorry if I caused any problems, and I really am sorry for bumping into you. I didn't mean it, and I don't want to start fights with you."I stuck out my hand to Jack, offering to help him up. He stood on his own, and I lowered my hand.

"I still don't like you, Laroche," Jack began, "but thanks for your help."

My eyes flicked over briefly to Spencer. He wore a hardened expression, one I couldn't read. Shifting my attention back to Jack, I said, "You're welcome. May I go now?"

The Starks shuffled out of my way. With a goodbye nod, I walked through their ranks to Finn. We went downstairs, and to my surprise, Finn remained strangely quiet. If it'd been anyone else, they would've been hounding me for information about what just happened.

But not Finn.

He seemed lost in thought, but I knew it had to do with me since he stealing glances at me out. As we approached the doors, I stopped and said, "I have no right to ask this of you, but could you not mention any of this to the pack? Spencer was trying to protect me up there, but regardless, my family won't take it well that his pack tried to attack me a second time."

"What's going on with you and Spencer?"

"What do you mean?"

"He barely took his eyes off you, and I know you heard him growl. What's going on?"

"Nothing. We both want our packs to stop fighting. Come on, let's not keep Anna waiting any longer."