"A heart can no more be forced to love than a stomach can be forced to digest food by persuasion."
~Alfred Nobel

"What are you two doing in our house?" Lily demanded.

"We're here for our sisters," Caleb said stiffly. Strangely, his eyes stayed on only my sister.

"Where's the office?" Hunter inquired.

"Right here," Ren's voice piped up, coming into view. His eyes widened at the sight of my brother. "Chris, Hayley, he's up!"

I could hear chairs scraping before my parents burst into the living. Mom frowned and ordered, "Sit down this instant before you injure yourself anymore."

"I'm fine. Why are the Laroches here? Why are you interrogating Elsa and Anna?" Spencer said, grasping my shoulder in a vise-like grip. He was not fine at all but was refusing to let our parents or anyone else see that.

"Ren and Arya here to take their daughters back home, and we wanted to know what happened when they found you," dad explained.

"You think they had something to do with it?"

"Did they?" Callie asked.

"Don't you dare accuse my sisters of-" Hunter snapped angrily, but Arya placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to stop. It didn't prevent the death glare he skewered us with.

"They saved my life. I don't know who it was that attacked me, but it wasn't them," Spencer assured. "Where are they?"

"Still in the office. Now sit down. You're not fooling anyone by continuing to stand," Mom said in slight exasperation. "You're as stubborn as your father."

"Actually, that stubbornness comes from you. The recklessness comes from me," dad noted. Mom glowered at him.

"I want to thank them for saving my life," Spencer said.

"I'll get them if you sit down," mom bargained.

"I'll sit down if you get them."

"Or I could move and let you fall to the ground," I suggested.

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Boys, stop. Chris, go get them," Mom said. Dad disappeared for a few moments, leaving us all in awkward silence. Ren and Arya were staring at Spencer; Caleb and Hunter were staring down Lily and me, respectively.

"Spencer!" the twins exclaimed when they entered the living room.

"What are you doing standing up?" Anna asked.

"You should be sitting down," Elsa added.

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm fine," he protested.

"Because you lost a shit ton of blood," the twins said simultaneously. I turned my head towards my brother with an 'I told you so' expression. He ignored it.

"I wanted to thank you two. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here," Spencer said sincerely.

"We owe you and Dom a life debt for saving ours last month. We're sorry we couldn't tell you sooner," Anna said.

"You owe us nothing. We would've done it for any of you."

"How are you feeling?" Elsa queried.

"Horrendous, but I'll be fine. Listen-" Spencer took his hand off my shoulder to approach the twins. Hunter and Caleb stepped next to their sisters as a silent message for Spencer to stop, but either he didn't notice, or he didn't care, because he continued.

Or he tried.

Within three steps, his legs gave out. Anna, Elsa, Lily, and I surged to catch him before he fell and injured himself more.

"You moron," Lily chastised. She and I had reached him first, draping his arms over our shoulders.

"Okay, that's my bad. Sorry guys," Spencer apologized. He unwrapped his arm around our sister's shoulders and said, "If I could move without falling, I'd give both of you hugs because saying 'thank you' and shaking your hands is not sufficient thanks for saving my life. Mr. and Mrs. Laroche, I know you're mad at them for sneaking out to come here, but you should be proud of your daughters. They put aside their differences to save my life. I'm pretty sure there are some in your pack who- in the same situation- would've left me for dead. I know exactly what I'm saying when I tell you that if you ever need anything, let me know."

"Spencer," mom said in alarm.

"If you want to do something for us, then stay away from our daughters," Ren growled. "Girls, let's go."

"Thank you for saving my life, Spencer," Elsa said.

"I knew you'd do the same for me, and you proved me right," he told her. They smiled at each other, defying the tension in the room. In that brief moment, the two of them forgot everyone else was around them.

I found my eyes resting on Anna, who watched her sister and my brother. As if sensing my gaze, her eyes traveled over to me, but rather than giving me a smile which I was giving her (albeit a small one), she hurriedly looked away.

My smile faded.

"Girls, now," Arya warned. That snapped Elsa and Spencer back to reality. She scurried after her parents and brothers, Anna doing the same. The Betas took up the rear, protecting their Alphas.

"Okay, sitting down," Spencer groaned, plopping down onto the couch. He squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

"Rey, Brian, Jack, go back to your house with your parents. There's something we must discuss with Callie, Spencer, Dom, and Lily," dad ordered. I could tell they didn't like that, especially Rey, who appeared like she was about to argue. But one warning glare from her mother silenced her. She kissed Spencer on the head before following her siblings and parents out of the house.

When the door shut, mom and dad made their way in front of the fireplace, facing us. Lily and Callie sat down with Spencer, the latter lacing her fingers through his. He must've been out of it if he was letting her do that, considering Spencer avoided any physical touching with her that he could.

"What's this about?" I asked, sitting on the arm of the couch next to Lily.

"The Laroches gained a new packmate: Killian Kennedy. He belonged to the Nova pack in Montana, an ally of the Laroches. We have an allied pack of our own in that territory, the Borealis Pack. We have two sisters coming from there as the rest of them have mysteriously disappeared. Their names are Ellie and Emma Parks. They'll be staying with Miles, Cheyenne, and Scarlet," Mom informed.

"Okay, so we have new pack mates. What else?" Spencer asked, sitting up. He pulled his hand out of Callie's and lay them over his wound on his stomach.

"Due to recent events, your mother and I have agreed since you and Callie have both graduated now, we should begin your union," dad said.

"What?" Callie and Spencer said simultaneously. I was surprised to see her caught off guard. I knew she'd wanted to marry him, so I thought she would've been all for this, even in on the proclamation.

"Once Spencer is better, we'll send out wedding invitations," Mom said. "The wedding will take place on New Years' Eve."

"That's not near enough time to get everything done, though," Lily pointed out. "I mean to do food tastings, to get Callie a wedding dress, to get bridesmaids dresses, to get a cake made, to book a venue, to-"

"Lily!" Mom interjected. "That's enough. Everything will be ready."

"But it's not enough time! How-"

"Because they've had this planned since the get-go," Spencer declared, scarily calm. We all looked at him. "Our parents have had this planned since we were born. They chose the date, the food, everything. They've probably had this planned for years. They'll let Callie choose the dresses, they might even let us choose the rings, but that's it."

"Callie, Lily, would you two leave us with your brothers?" Mom asked in a way that 'no' was not an answer. Reluctantly, the girls left. I sat down next to Spencer, both of us watching our parents. I could hear my brother's heart pounding and could practically smell the seething rage he was barely containing.

"We've been telling you for years that we had a reason not to associate with the Laroches, and that one day we'd tell you. We know their daughters are beautiful, and we know you like the one called Elsa, but after tonight, after hearing what we have to say, I hope that you will finally listen to us."