"It's hard when you know shouldn't hold on and yet you're too in love to let go."
~Unknown

Anna had to pull me out of the room. I felt a twinge of jealousy as I watched Callie hold Spencer's hand just before I disappeared into the hallway, losing sight of them. The two of us were led to a guest bedroom of burgundy and white. It was gorgeous and reminded me of something my mom would like.

"Here, take these and take a shower." Mrs. Stark handed both of us a pair of sweatpants and a tank top along with an exceptionally plush towel. "There are robes in there you can wear while I wash your clothes. I'm sure I can find some makeup or something if you need it. I know us wolves are sticklers on appearance, no matter what pack we come from. Lily, stay here and keep an eye on them."

Anna grabbed them, thanked her, and darted into the bathroom, leaving me by myself with Lily and the departing Mrs. Stark.

"Mrs. Stark, why are you helping us? You wanted to kill us earlier," I said. I wasn't angry, nor did I sound rude (hopefully), I was just genuinely curious. She was acting almost motherly toward us, and it made me suspicious of her intentions.

"You saved my son's life. That is why you two are not dead yet. And for some reason, Dom has put you two under his protection. When you're done, come downstairs. We have questions for you."

I turned the towel over thoughtfully in my hands. "Thank you for being kind to us. I know it's difficult when you hate us."

Mrs. Stark opened her mouth, about to say something, but seemed to decide otherwise, instead, nodding in acceptance of my statement.

Then she left.

I sat down on the hardwood floor so I wouldn't get blood on the rug or the bedspread. They looked expensive.

Lily sat on the edge of the bed, poised and perfect. She pushed her sleek brown hair- the same dark chocolate shade as her mother's- behind her ear. Her blue eyes bore into me, making me feel slightly self-conscious, not about my appearance, but that she could see every thought running through my head.

Rather than asking me anything, though, she got up and pulled something out of the vanity drawer. Lily handed me a wet wipe. I must've given her a 'what the hell' look because she said, "I can't continue looking at the blood on your face. Not when I can smell it as my brother's."

"Oh... sorry. I didn't realize," I confessed. I wiped my face and could feel the dried up blood coming off. "If I'd known, I would've taken it off sooner. I didn't mean to cause you any discomfort."

"Why was my brother holding your face?" She asked bluntly. Her tone insinuated any lies would be detected and any of the lies I told, I'd be punished for.

"People do things strange things when they're about to die," I said carefully. "He must've been hallucinating or something, and seeing me as the person he loved. He did lose a lot of blood."

"He saw you clearly. The first coherent thing out of his mouth when we'd patched him up was asking if you were okay. So don't bullshit me. He knew it was you, and I want to know why."

"I don't know, Miss Stark. When I found him, I had no idea if he was going to die, and I wasn't going to be a bitch to him if those were his dying moments. I wouldn't have been a bitch to any of you had it been someone other than him. If you want to know why he held my face, you'll have to ask him, because I can't give you the answer I know you want."

"And how do you know what question I'm not asking?"

"Because I have a sister you remind me very much of. Beautiful, badass, and would do anything for her family. You want to know what's happening between Spencer and me because a hand on the cheek is anything but friendly."

"You don't beat around the bush, do you?"

"Neither do you. So stop playing the game everyone else in your pack is and ask me exactly what it is you want me to know."

"How long have you and my brother been sneaking out to see each other? I know he's been leaving the house in the middle of the night. The day after one of those nights, I followed his trail, which led me to the neutral territory. I could smell perfume, but I couldn't place who it belonged to, until-"

"Until I walked into the compound tonight," I finished.

"Exactly. So start talking."

"We became partners for a lab in science because everyone else was too afraid of us. We didn't want to sacrifice our grades over a fight, so we worked together and, over the course of the semester, became friendly with each other. We would sneak out at night and to the library after school to see each other and work on the projects. We realized we shared a lot of the same ideas and thoughts, especially about the pack feud."

"You don't understand it, do you?"

"No. I don't know what's so bad that our parents can't tell us what the feud is about, and I don't understand why we're fighting our parents' argument. I don't hate any of you, and when you're not trying to pick a fight or kill me, I dare say I even like most of you."

"You like my brother, don't you?"

"Yes... Like I said, I'm not going to lie to you. There's no point. And he likes me. But your family? My family? They would never accept us being together. They'd rather kill us than let us be together."

Lily leaned forward. "My brother likes you?"

"From what he's told me, yes."

"That explains a lot."

"What do you mean?"

"It explains why he's been in such good spirits. Most of the time at least. It explains why he was suddenly going to the library for school all the time. And it explains his intense objection to being married to Callie."

"That happened long before I came along."

"But he had accepted that was his fate. Then all of a sudden, he wasn't even accepting of that. I'm willing to bet it happened around the time he met you."

"Are you going to tell anyone in the pack? I don't care what they do to me if you do, but I worry about what they'll do to him. He cares about all of you more than words can say. He idolizes Dom, he worships the ground you walk on, and he always wants to make sure his pack is happy. If they found out the real reason he didn't want to marry Callie, they would shun him. And he needs his pack."

"They're going to find out sooner or later."

"We're hoping for later. They deserve to hear from us, not through the grapevine. Your pack and my pack."

"Who all knows about you two beside your sister?"

"Just Finn, and then two from your pack."

"I don't know who the second person is, but I know the first is Rey because she and Spencer got extremely close. Closer than usual. At first, we thought it was because they were seeing each other, but now I know better."

"She wasn't too happy when she found out, but she's warmed up to me a little... The second found out in public, so they didn't have the chance to lose their head. Once they got comfortable, though, they were really nice to be around. I know Anna enjoys their company."

"It's definitely a guy... is she dating him?"

"Nooo," I chuckled humorlessly. "They're friends."

"And you and Spencer? You never said if you were friends or dating. You just said you were sneaking out to see each other."

Anna saved me from answering by walking out of the bathroom, wrapped in a fluffy white robe and a towel on her head. "That is an amazing shower. I'm going to marry that shower. I hope the Starks don't mind."

"I'm next," I said, rushing to the bathroom and shutting the door behind me, anxious to get away from Lily's interrogation.

My relief lasted for only a moment.

I glanced at myself in the mirror and froze. While the blood on my face was gone, it remained everywhere else. My hair, my neck, my shirt, my arms, my hands... The stench of it hit me too. Up until then, I'd been focusing on everything going on around me. Not anymore.

The events of tonight, the smell of the blood- it all caught up to me, and I was sick.

Thankfully I reached the toilet in time.

Wiping my mouth, I stood back, slowly taking off my bloody clothes, leaving them in a pile on the white tile. Turning on the shower, I stepped into the warm water, letting it stream down my body and carry away all the blood and dirt along with it into the drain. I watched, mesmerized by the sight of it.

I scrubbed and scrubbed until my skin was almost raw. I'm pretty sure I stripped my hair of any oils it had with how much shampoo and conditioner I used, but I'd rather have that than blood.

When I finished and went back into the bedroom, Anna was curled up in the armchair with Dom occupying the other one. Lily was nowhere to be found.

"Feel better?" Dom asked.

"Yeah..." I replied.

"Spencer will be fine. He lost a lot of blood, but nothing we can't help with."

"Good."

He sighed. "What were you two thinking? Coming up here by yourselves?"

"We were telling the truth when we said we came here to thank you and Spencer," Anna said, sounding rather argumentative. "We're about to be grounded for the rest of our lives for sneaking out to see you two."

"So you come and see us one more time? I'm not sure if that's brave or stupid."

"It's funny how often those go hand in hand."

"Well, consider the life debts paid, even though you didn't owe them to us in the first place. Spencer would die for you, Elsa, and I'm not going to let any Laroche die, no matter what feud is going on between us."

My eyes glanced over at Anna when I felt a pang of hurt- not my own- in my heart. Something about his words hurt her, and I wanted to know why. But for the time being, the two of us had other things to focus on.

Like the interrogation we were about to endure with the Stark alphas.