"Nothing haunts us like the things we don't say."
~Mitch Albom

Once out of earshot of the room, I asked, "Why'd you really want to come get food with me?"

"Because I wanted to talk to you about them," Anna said.

"How did you figure it out?"

"Long story, but Spencer chose me and another packmate of mine to be on his team in gym. We worked well until Sebastian lost his temper. Spencer defended him to the coach, and when we were asking him why he did that, he basically said the same thing Elsa does: that he doesn't see the point in this feud. When he said he had a project to work on, it clicked with me that Elsa was staying after school to work on a project too, and with how similar they are, there was little doubt he was sneaking off to see her. I mean, you saw how they acted around each other. This isn't a new thing."

"You mean you think they're dating?!" I exclaimed. A few heads in the library turned to look at us. A librarian even shushed us. Anna only answered me when we were outside.

"I don't think they're dating, but I think they've been seeing each other for a while, even sneaking out to do so. Elsa behaved weirdly these past few months. She was really happy for a while, then got really distant, and suddenly she's happy again. I think it has something to do with Spencer."

I thought back to the past few months and my brother's behavior. "Now that you mention it, Spencer's done the same thing- the happy to distant to happy again. It lines up."

"Elsa knows I agree with her about this pack feud, but I won't say anything about it because it won't get anything but scorn from everyone else. It's why I'm not upset about her spending time with him. He seems like a good guy. If they started dating, I wouldn't be against it."

"You think they will?"

"If they haven't yet, they will. Or they'll try. Our packs will never allow it to happen openly, though," Anna said solemnly. "I don't want my sister getting hurt."

"You sense her emotions, don't you?" I prodded.

"How'd you know?" Anna looked up at me, slightly surprised.

"Brian and Callie can do the same thing. They're not identical, obviously, but it must be even stronger for you two."

"You have no idea. Usually, we can control it, but there was a night just over a month ago when it felt like my heart had been ripped in two. I had no reason to feel like that, so I knew it had to be Elsa. She never told me what was wrong, and I never asked, knowing she'd tell me when she was ready. We tell each other everything at some point. Why do you think they asked us instead of others from our packs?"

"Elsa chose you because she's probably been dying to tell you. Why Spencer called me, I have no idea. He could've called Rey-"

"I have a feeling Rey and I wouldn't get along... you think she knows? I know Finn does."

"Wouldn't surprise me if she did. Those two have been closer than usual."

"If Spencer and Elsa have been seeing each other for a while, then they've most certainly told each other about each pack member. It's probably why they didn't call Rey since they knew I was coming."

"But why me?" I mused.

Anna gave me a sly smirk. "Maybe they think we're a good match."

"Very funny," I responded, unable to stop the corners of my lips from turning upward. We fell into silence after that, walking into the Mexican restaurant to order. While we waited, I called my parents to let them know Spencer and I would be missing dinner. They didn't ask questions.

Anna called her parents as well, but they were a little more suspicious about the whole thing. However, they believed her after some serious convincing.

Fifteen minutes later, our food was ready. We carried it back, making small talk on the way. It surprised me that I was getting along with a Laroche. Even if it wasn't friendly, it was certainly cordial.

Entering the room, Elsa and Spencer's eyes lit up at the sight of the food. I noticed they sat closer to each other than when we'd left. I'd have to bring it up with Spencer later.

"Okay, we have about half the paper knocked out," Spencer announced, grabbing his dinner. "So another twenty minutes, and we should be done."

"We have food. We won't be getting near as much done," Elsa pointed out. "We'll probably be here for another hour. So, how did getting the food go? I see you're both alive?"

"He's not bad company when he doesn't have a stick up his ass," Anna remarked before shoveling a mouthful of enchiladas.

"I know, right?" Spencer said playfully. "He has a sense of humor. You just have to get him to like you."

"Don't you start," I warned. "Get working on your paper so we can get home before mom and dad start getting suspicious."

"You're not my Alpha."

"I'm your older brother."

"That's made me listen to you since... when?"

"Hunter and Caleb are the same way. Pulling the older sibling card doesn't work," Anna said. "I would know."

"Yeah, because you're only a minute older," Elsa chimed in. "Okay, Spencer, focus. As fun as this is, we need to get this done."

Spencer pouted, but Elsa wouldn't take no for an answer. She excelled at multitasking, so between bites, she would type. For Spencer, he would suggest something for her to add. Shockingly, they finished ahead of schedule, if only by ten minutes. I hurriedly cleared my food in an attempt to motivate Spencer to get a move on too, but he went at a snail's pace as he chatted with Elsa.

"I'll see you in class," she finally said. "Hope you two don't get in trouble. Sorry for keeping you so late, Dom. It was a pleasure meeting you."

"You too," I responded impatiently. To my surprise, Spencer hugged her; Elsa returned it as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. She briefly rested her hand on my arm, repeating it was nice to meet me before she and Anna left. Spencer was packing his bag when I pinned him against the bookshelf.

"What the hell?!" he snarled, pushing against me. We were equal in power, but at the moment, my anger made me stronger.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

His nostrils flared as he shoved me away. "It's a science project, Dom. All the humans were too scared, so we had to pair up, and I'm not letting some stupid feud affect my grades."

"Don't lie to me. What's going on between you and Elsa? You acted too naturally around each other for this to have just happened. How long have you been seeing her?"

"It's not like that," my brother argued. However, his anger seemed to dissipate. "We're just friends."

"Just friends, my ass. You don't look at a friend that way."

His eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"It took me a while to figure out that look you kept giving her, but it was brought to my attention that you two might have a thing for each other."

"Anna. That's why she wanted to go get the food with you. She wanted to talk to you about me and Elsa."

"I didn't know that was her intentions until we left, but yes."

My brother fell silent, bracing himself against the table. "We started talking in January, and we got close quickly. I fell for her even faster. We dated for a bit but broke it off when we realized how it was going to be impossible. We didn't talk for a while, which was hell. That's why I was off for a couple of weeks. Then we ran into each other at the store and started talking again. We're just staying friends. We know we can never be more."

I sighed. "Spencer, those feelings aren't just going to disappear. Being around her is going to make them stronger and stronger until you can't take it anymore. The only way to stop them from happening is to either be with her or stop seeing her altogether. Since we both know that latter didn't work-"

"Are you saying we should date?" he asked, a dash of hope in his tone.

"No. I'm saying you should have fun with her while you can."

"Fun?"

"You two haven't-"

"No! It wasn't like that! Dom, I like her. A lot. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the physical stuff is fun, but I want it to be more than that."

"You're playing a dangerous game."

"You think I don't know that? It's like Romeo and Juliet, except we both want to make it out alive..." He ran a hand through his hair. "Thank you for not flipping out until after they left."

"Why call me? Why not Rey or Lily?"

"Rey and Anna would be at each other's throats, and Lily would drag me out of here by my ear if she thought anything was going on between us that shouldn't be. Besides, Elsa and I thought you two were compatible." With an impish grin, Spencer barely avoided the head slap I tried to give him. "What? You're telling me you two didn't get along?"

"We... were polite."

"See? They're not so bad."

"That doesn't matter. I don't know why our parents hate each other, but they do, and I trust they have a good reason."

"I do, too, but I also know we shouldn't be fighting our parents' battle... please, don't tell mom and dad. This is the last bit of happiness I'm going to have before I'm forced to marry Callie."

"Callie's not a bad person."

"No, she's not. She's lovely," my brother agreed.

"But she's not Elsa," I said. Spencer raised his eyebrows at me, starting to ask how I knew that's what he wanted to say, but I interrupted him with, "I saw it in your eyes. I won't tell mom and dad, but you need to be careful. If Elsa's brothers find out, they'll come after you. Ember probably would too, if not Thea just because I'm pretty sure that girl wants to murder our entire pack."

"Thank you, Dom. Really. You don't know what this means to me."

"Does anyone else know about you two?"

"Rey. She's known almost since the time Elsa I were dating. Or right before we broke up anyway. Finn knows too, from Elsa's pack. Now you and Anna."

"You're slowly bringing us all into this, aren't you?"

"No... Finn, Anna, and Rey all guessed. You're the only one we willingly allowed to know."

"I'll keep it a secret because as much as I hate it, I can see you're happy with her. But promise me you'll do what's right for the pack in the end?"

Spencer nodded. "I promise. Now let's get going. Mom and dad are going to be wondering what's taking us so