Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Darkness.

Endless, boundless, alive .

Hope dreamt of darkness. All-consuming and infinite, with no clear end or beginning.

But a void it was not. It was not empty - even though Hope could not see anything or anyone other than her, she knew that something was there, creeping in the endless shadows, just on the edge of her consciousness. 

Something. Some one .

The darkness was alive .

Hope could feel its slow breaths, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up with each inhale and exhale. Could feel its thousands of invisible eyes, staring right into and through her, prying into her mind, creeping under her skin. Hope could feel a presence - one encompassing everywhere and nowhere at once.

Magic, ancient and powerful. burned like acid at the back of her throat. It was pervasive. Persistent. Prying. It unnerved her at a primal level. 

A predator lurked in the dark- No, a predator was the dark. 

And Hope had been caught.

Hope woke up with a start.

She shot upwards, her heart beating out of her chest and her lungs constricting violently around air. A small, uncontrollable wave of magic unconsciously left her, sending loose items off of their respective places and tipping her chair over.

Sweat trickled down her body and seeped into her pajamas, making the clothes stick to her body uncomfortably, making her feel almost trapped. Nerves strung tight, her eyes frantically searched her room, but found nothing. Everything was as she had left it when she went to bed and no-one hid in the shadows. The room was basked in darkness, but it was a different darkness than the one pervading her dreams - familiar, non-tangible, safe. Her breath having calmed down slightly, Hope inhaled deeply, but there was no change in the room’s scent - nor did her enhanced earsight pick anything up.

Leaning with her back against the headboard, Hope tried to calm her racing heart, a hand clutching her chest.

It was just a dream. She was safe. Everything was all-right.

A few deep breaths later, her heart and breathing steadied, and her muscles uncoiled, some of the stress leaving her body. But- something at the back of her mind told her it wasn’t just a dream, wasn’t just a figment of Hope’s cruel imagination. Anxiety buzzed underneath her skin as uneasiness settled deep down in her core.

Hope couldn’t shake off the feeling that something very bad was lurking for her in the future. 

Sleep lost its grasp on her mind, but the dream remained vivid in her memory, as did the deeply unsettling feeling that accompanied it. The darkness felt alive. Dangerous. Lethal. Evil . Evil in a way that reminded her of one of the darkest moments of her life, evil born out of an insatiable hunger of power, evil born out of a hollowness where a heart should be.

Hope sighed, forcing those thoughts away, not wanting to spiral.

With slightly shaky hands, she threw the covers off of herself and ran a hand through her damp hair. The air was uncomfortably warm, her wet clothes threatening to suffocate her. A sudden, small burst of determination shot through her and she got up, opened the window to let in the cold nightly breeze and changed into fresh clothes.

The clock on her bedside table glared at her angrily, almost as if faulting her for not being asleep at 3 am. The witching hour. During a full moon, too. A little of the nose, if you asked her.

She wasn’t supposed to be awake for another 3 hours, but Hope knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore. She was still shaken, still unnerved - and she needed to express those emotions outwards, if she didn’t want to burst later. 

Slowly, Hope gathered up the things she accidentally knocked over when she woke, and set up her painting station. Hope set out an empty canvas, her rich collection of paints and brushes, and sighed softly. She dipped the tip of her brush into black, and started painting her dream.

Two hours later the sun began its ascent, filling the room with natural light. The weight on her soul lessened and dissipated, as if the darkness invading her dreams fully bled onto her canvas. The painting was still unfinished and Hope could see a number of additions she wanted to make, but it was mostly done. Her dream stared back at her, but it seemed less… threatening now that it was exorcized from her mind and immortalized by art.

A loud knock drew Hope out of her thoughts.

Setting aside her brush, she padded to the door and opened it, revealing Dr. Saltzman.

A hint of surprise danced in his eyes as he regarded her. “You’re awake.”

“You knocked.” Hope raised her eyebrow. She chanced a look at the clock - 5 am. In his defense, she was usually asleep for at least another half an hour, if not an hour.

“There’s a situation,” he explained. “Get ready and meet me downstairs in fifteen minutes.”

And with that, he turned around and left. Hope pushed down her irritation at his flippancy. He could’ve at least told her what the situation was.

Hope was downstairs within ten minutes.

“I don’t think you’ll need that.”

Hope glanced sideways. Alaric’s face was focused on the road ahead, but his voice was light. Ignoring his comment, she continued to polish the knife in her hands, careful to avoid the sharp edge. 

“You brought your crossbow.”

“I don’t have powers,” he responded easily, shrugging gently. 

Having finished cleaning her knife, she put it away, attaching it to her belt. “I won’t use Agatha unless I have to,” she conceded, not wanting this to turn into an argument.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Alaric’s eyebrow raise up. “You named your knife?”

“Uncle Kol did,” Hope corrected, glancing out the window. “Before he gave it to me. He names it after some important person he killed it with, can’t remember who.”

Kol developed a habit of expressing his love for her through gifts. Or maybe it was a Mikaelson thing. Either way, every time they saw each other, Hope ended up with a new object Alaric surely wouldn’t approve of, if he knew. A few years ago, it was this knife. Last week, it was a grimoire Hope disguised as a Shakespeare book.

Alaric’s jaw twitched, but he stayed silent.

Hope knew he wasn’t fond of her family. He made it quite clear through his off hand comments and reprimands. She traced the hilt of the dagger, unwilling to let herself feel angry over that again. Instead, she chose to focus on something else:

“So, what’s the situation?”

Her question seemed to break Alaric out of his thoughts. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel before responding.

“An elderly woman called the police last night, concerned over the strange noises coming from her neighbors’ house. She said she heard a wild animal.” Alaric explained.

“A newby wolf?”

Dr. Saltzman nodded. “A few hours later, the very same neighbors kicked out their two foster kids. They were last seen on a bus south. I’m hoping we can get there before they do.”

“Both of them are wolves?”

“Unknown. I had a contact of mine stop by their house, but the foster parents were too shaken to answer any of his questions. All he could do was compel them to forget.”

Two foster kids, including at least one wolf, on the run, scared and alone. Not exactly the type of people one would expect to be trusting of strangers. Which was probably why Alaric wanted her to come this time. Not as a bodyguard, as usual, but as an ambassador. Still - scared and alone people could be dangerous. The dagger was staying on, even if she didn’t need it to defend herself.

Taking her on recruitment missions started off as a distraction. Maybe he took pity on the outcast with no friends, or maybe he didn’t trust her to spend all of her excess energy responsibly. Because that was the second reason - using her powers for ‘something good’, instead of destruction.

That, and he was just a human. 

“We’re here.” Alaric stopped his car nearby the bus stop. They both frowned when they realized the bus they wanted to catch up to already nearly emptied.

Glancing at each other, they exited the car. Alaric asked one of the passengers and it seemed like they remembered their two co-passengers, because a moment later, they pointed southeast. Hope glanced in that direction - the street was small-ish and mostly empty, except for the two figures walking off in the distance.

Hope pushed herself off of the hood of the jeep and headed their direction. Not a minute later, Alaric joined her, his huge duffle bag thrown over his shoulder. Something clancked inside it as he walked, and Hope raised her eyebrow.

“We don’t exactly want to sneak up on them.” He replied, his shoulders getting more and more tense the closer they got to the two.

That, or he just packed quickly.

Once they were about two blocks away from them, Alaric looked around to make sure the road was empty and nodded, signaling for Hope to move. Hope muttered a spell, and felt the air shift under the influence of magic. The boys walked straight into an invisible wall, the crash sending them both to the ground. Confused, they looked between each other before looking backwards at the other two.

Alaric stepped forwards, a polite smile playing on his lips, and he was about to introduce himself, but one of the boys beat him to it.

With wide eyes, he looked past Alaric, towards Hope herself.

“Hope?”

What was he doing here? 

Was Landon a werewolf? She didn’t even know he was a foster kid. Hope felt her brows draw in confusion. “Landon?”

He hadn’t changed. His hair grew a little, some of the more rowdy curls falling into his face. But his green eyes stayed the same, except now they stared at her with surprise instead of shyness. 

“What are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same,” he clumsily got up, dusting himself off.

He really didn’t change. It momentarily brought her back to the time they met - when Hope’s father and uncle were still alive, when the Hollow was not yet done with destroying her family. Something akin to nostalgia crept into her heart, but Alaric’s voice quickly drew her out of her thoughts.

“You two know each other?” The surprise was evident in his tone.

“Yeah.” Landon said.

“Kind of.” Hope corrected.

“I’m sorry but who are you?” The other boy asked. He was tall, taller than Landon and objectively handsome. He wore a suspicious expression on his face, and he looked about two seconds away from running. Hope couldn’t really blame him.

Alaric stepped in. “That’s actually what we wanted to talk to you about.”

“So it’s like Hogwarts?”

They stood in an alleyway, away from the prying ears of passersby. The smell of nearby trash was starting to irritate Hope, but Alaric chose the location. Speaking of the headmaster- he glanced at her expectantly.

Right. Ambassador, not guard. Why did he think this was a good idea, again?

“Kind of.” Hope shrugged. 

They were both taking it in stride, really. Hope assumed the initial shock must’ve hit during Rafael’s transformation and worn off a bit since then. It turned out only Rafael was a werewolf. Landon was a human. Presumably.

“What did you say it was called? Saltor-”

“Salvatore Board School.”

“Isn’t that the school for troubled rich kids?” Landon asked. Raf sent him a questioning look, to which he responded with a shrug. “I used to live in Mystic Falls. Gossip carries.”

“It’s a front. Partially, at-”

Hope cut off suddenly.

Roar of an engine. Squeal of tires on the ground. 

The hair on the back of her neck stood up.

Alaric caught on immediately. The other two, not so much. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Dr. Saltzman perch his bag on one of the trash cans and fish out his crossbow.

“What-” Rafael started, but Hope cut him off with a “shush.”

Not a moment later, a van screeched to a halt near the entrance of the alleyway. It was black, and looked enforced. The door flew open, and a group of armed men ran out.

They were dressed in all-black and had faceless metal-looking masks on. Each one had a patch on their shoulder: three slightly overlapping silver triangles on a black background. Hope didn’t recognize the logo.

Alaric reloaded his crossbow, stood up next to Hope and pulled Raf and Landon behind him. Hope took a moment to assess the situation. There were six of them, all dressed in armored clothing, all of them carrying rifles. Except - the rifles looked a bit odd, not like something one might find in the gun store. They positioned themselves tactically around the entrance to the alleyway, blocking off their exit and effectively trapping them.

Dr. Saltzman shifted beside her. “Hey, we don’t want any trouble-” 

Bang .

One of the armed men pulled his trigger, and Hope’s magic acted instinctively, diverting the flying object. As one, everyone looked in it’s direction.

A tranquilizer dart. 

It embedded itself in the trash can just centimeters to Alaric’s right.

And then all hell broke loose. 

Hope’s vision swam in gold as she caught, and broke, the dart shot in her direction. At incredible speed, she launched herself at her assailant, clawed hands ripping his skin and shoving his gun away. She crashed his head against the nearby wall and watched as his body slumped to the ground, leaving only a small patch of red on the uncovered bricks.

A spell on the tip of her tongue, she was about to set the van on fire, when a thump , immediately followed by a panicked cry, reached her ears.

The thump was Dr. Salzman falling to the ground, a dart in his shoulder. The cry was Landon, who quickly followed Alaric’s fate. One of the armed men crept up towards Rafael, but he reacted much quicker to the danger than his brother. 

Raf punched him in the gut, sending his assailant doubling over in pain, before grabbing his head and bringing it down to meet his knee. But these people weren’t amateurs. The man recovered quickly and kicked Raf’s legs under him. He raised his gun to shoot him, but Hope was quicker.

Her dagger buried itself in his back, making him drop the gun. Raf was quick to take advantage of that, arming himself with her dagger, but Hope had better things to do than watch. Clenching her fist up in the air, she muttered a spell, and heard bones crunch next to her. With a cry of pain, the man closest to her fell to the ground, dropping his gun.

With a low growl, Hope turned towards another opponent. She could not see his face, but she felt the burnt tinge of fear coming off from him. 

“You’re the Tribrid,” he said, disbelief, shock and fear mixed into his voice. Stepping back, he picked up her previous opponent by the collar and shoved him towards the van. “Retreat. I repeat, retreat now .”

Something metallic gleamed in the sun when he reached behind himself. A handgun - and this one looked like it held real bullets - quickly appeared in his hand, the dangerous end pointed towards Hope.

She hesitated.

A shot rang out in the empty street, but it wasn’t directed at her. At the last moment, he pointed the weapon at Rafael, and shot just above his head. Hope didn’t know whether he missed or whether it was on purpose, but she didn’t exactly have the time to analyze that. Another shot rang out just as she tackled the other boy to the ground, the bullet flying above them - right where Raf’s chest was a split second ago.

The armed men scrambled off, carrying the ones that couldn’t walk anymore. Hope moved upwards to intervene, but a hand on her arm stopped her. Raf pulled her back down onto himself just in time to avoid the next bullet being shot in their direction. 

Two more shots rang out - one hitting the trash can besides them, another hitting the lamp above them - before the door of the van shut close and their assailants drove off at incredible speed.

Hope and Raf shared a look.

What in the world just happened?

“Rafael, right?”

The boy glanced sideways. “Raf,” he corrected, sending a worried glance towards the backseat.

Hope had left Rafael - Raf - with the two unconscious men and an invisibility spell, and went back to pull the car around. With a little help from the other wolf, she placed the two of them in the backseat. They were completely out, by the looks of it. Landon was slumped against the window in a position that would punish his neck later, and Alaric was slumped forwards, his seatbelt the only thing holding him up.

“Raf,” Hope called his attention. “They’ll be ok.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he straightened up in his seat nonetheless.

“Who were these people?”

Good question.

Hope bit the inside of her cheek. Who were these people? She didn’t recognize their logo from anywhere and their outfits were unremarkable otherwise. A group of supernatural hunters? Why would supernatural hunters use tranquilizer guns? Too many questions, too little answers. 

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips. She didn’t like being left in the dark. 

“I don’t know,” she admitted, her grip on the steering wheel tightening. “But we’ll look into it.”

Once again, the boy didn’t look convinced. Hope could smell trust issues from a mile away. Made sense given what they knew about his life, really.

“And what are you?” He turned towards her, his eyes curious. “You had gold eyes like I did, but you also did that thing with you hands-” he raised his hands slightly, as if to imitate, but gave up halfway.

“Magic.” Hope corrected, eyes on the road. “What I am is… complicated.”

Rafael raised his eyebrows, but did not pry further. She could feel him recede into himself again and clenched her teeth. Hope could deal with the rest of the trip being silent, but she didn’t want to deal with Alaric’s lecture if she pushed him away from the school.

He was going to find out what she was anyways. Might as well tell him now.

“I’m a Tribrid,” she broke the silence. “ The Tribrid. I’m a witch, a werewolf and a vampire.”

“I didn’t know you can be all three.”

“You can’t.” Hope glanced towards him, before looking straight at the road again. “I’m an exception.”

Raf nodded, slowly taking it in. He seemed a tiny bit overwhelmed, but didn’t look like his brain was melting, which she counted as a win. She could be a great ambassador if it came to it.

“Do you drink blood?”

The question surprised her, and it must’ve shown on her face, because he rushed to elaborate. “Since you’re a vampire.”

“I’m an inactivated vampire.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “Will the school teach me how to control my wolf side like you did back there?”

There was a hopeful note to his voice. Hope almost felt bad for quenching it. “No. That was also a me thing. Normal werewolves can’t do that.”

An amused huff escaped his lips as he shook his head. “You didn’t lie when you said it’s complicated.”

The corner of her mouth quirked upwards involuntarily. This was one of the better reactions people had to finding out what she was. A comfortable silence enveloped them, and continued until Hope stopped at a red light a few minutes later. 

“So I’m a werewolf,” he stated, as if tasting the word on his lips. Hope glanced towards him. It was a curious thing - seeing someone experience it all for the first time. She knew she was a werewolf since she was a child, and grandma Mary taught her their rich history long before she activated her own curse.

“Didn’t have being a monster on my bucket list,” he muttered, but Hope’s ears caught it easily.

The idea that he was a monster was… laughable. Hope knew what a monster looked like, and Rafael wasn’t even close. But the expression on his face was miserable, so she stopped herself from expressing her amusement.

“You’re not.” He glanced at her through the rearview mirror, catching her gaze. “I’ve seen monsters. You’re not one.”

He seemed to search her gaze for something for a minute and Hope let him. The brown of his eyes softened visibly once he let her response settle in. The car behind them honked loudly, neither of them having realized that the lights changed. Hope glanced away first, focusing back on the road. 

“By the way,” he reached out, her dagger in his hands, “this belongs to you, right?”

“Yeah,” she glanced away from the road for a second. He pointed the dagger incorrectly - the blade directed her way - which meant she had to reach out to his hand. His palm was warm, she noted, but not in an unpleasant way. Snapping her gaze back to the road, she attached her dagger back where it belonged. Raf seemed unfamiliar with how to handle a dagger, but looking back to the fight, he did fight pretty well. “You train?”

“Huh?”

Hope shrugged, “You fought pretty well back there.”

“Oh,” his hand reached back to scratch the back of his neck. “Yeah I train - used to train - kickboxing. My foster parents thought it could help me with my anger issues.”

“It’s a werewolf thing - the anger issues.” Hope explained.

Raf looked slightly surprised, but also… reassured? She supposed being able to write your issues as species thing could be comforting, for someone as new to the supernatural world as him. “You too?”

Hope nodded instead of answering. They spent the rest of the ride in a surprisingly comfortable silence. Hope enjoyed it while she could - she knew that the moment he’d hear the rumors buzzing around the school, his opinion of her would become much less favorable.

“...and we’ll put you into the Intro to Lycanthrope class, too.” Alaric continued, noting something down. He had a bruise already forming near his right temple, from when he hit the pavement.

Raf and Landon sat in front of the desk, across from Alaric. Raf kept trying to glance over to whatever document Alaric was filling out, meanwhile Landon looked like he wanted to disappear - he was hunched down on his seat, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Hope herself was perched against the nearby bookshelf, bored out of her mind.

As interesting as it was to watch people as they found out about the supernatural world, this part was repetitive. 

Alaric finished writing, and closed the file swiftly, before Raf could gauge its contents. With his patented headmaster smile, he passed his schedule and a key. “Mrs. Vandran - in room 15C - will get your measurements and give you your school uniform after the tour. Your room is in the east wing.”

Cautiously, Raf took the schedule from him, tilting it so Landon could see too.

“But before we officially welcome you to the school, there’s one more thing we have to ask-” Alaric’s gaze snapped to Hope for a moment, and she understood immediately. The reason she hadn’t yet left to her room to finish her painting was simple: protection. Not all werewolves responded kindly to being asked how they activated her curse. “- who did you kill?”

Landon and Rafael’s eyes widened almost comically. 

“Listen,” Landon butted in, much to Hope’s surprise. He seemed the type to hold his head down at all times. But Raf was his brother, so it’d be fair to assume he was an exception. The things we’d do for family often are. “I know that we got kicked out, and that we come from the foster system,” he rambled, “but we’re not criminals, ok?”

“Are you accusing me of something?” Raf stood up even before Landon stopped talking.

Hope stepped in, a cautious hand outstretched towards his chest. “We’re not accusing you or anything. Or assuming you’re criminals,” she glanced at Landon for a moment. “The werewolf curse is activated through killing. Every werewolf at this school killed someone. We just want to know if there’s a mess we need to clean up.”

His jaw clenched in barely-restrained anger, Rafael glanced downwards at Hope before looking towards his brother. With a slow breath, he nodded, and sat back down.

“My girlfriend. We were coming back from a party, I was drunk…” Pain flashed across his face. “I shouldn’t have been driving, but I did and… we got into a crash. She didn’t survive it.”

“When was this?” Alaric’s voice reached them.

“Two weeks ago,” Raf sighed. “Turns out the other driver was drunk too, even more than me. He got charged, I didn’t.” Landon reached out to squeeze Raf’s arm in comfort, sending him a small smile.

A knock resounded through the room, and a moment later, MG’s face popped through the open door. “May I?”

Alaric nodded, standing up. “Rafael, Landon, this is MG. He is a vampire.”

The two regarded MG with curiosity. MG looked like the least stereotypical vampire ever. Even the dark of his uniform couldn’t dim his bright smile. “So which one…?”

“Landon.” Alaric supplied. The boy in question looked a bit spooked. MG swiftly made his way to him and grabbed his shoulder as he tried to jump away. 

“You will forget everything that you know about the supernatural. You’ll remember that your brother got accepted into a good school, and you’ll be happy for him, but you won’t visit.”

Landon pushed his hand away and backed away. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Hope drew her eyes in confusion, exchanging a look with Dr. Saltzman. “Did you do it correctly?”

“Yes, I did it correctly, Hope.” MG sighed, surprise making way for irritation.

“He may have vervain in his system. We’ll try again tomorrow.”

“You’ll try what again tomorrow?” Raf asked, positioning himself in front of Landon.

MG took a step back just as Hope took a step forward. This had the potential to get very ugly, very quickly, if-

A knock on the door broke through the tense atmosphere. Two girls - a blonde and a brunette - popped in. Lizzie and Josie Saltzman. The glimmer in Josie’s eyes disappeared when she seemed to notice the tension, but Lizzie was none the wiser.

“Ready for your tour?”

The door clicked closed after everyone exited. Hope leaned against the backrest of the nearby chair.

“Did you recognize their logo?”

Alaric shook his head. “No, I didn’t.” A frown line appeared between his brows. “I have absolutely no idea who these people were.”

A soft sigh of disappointment escaped Hope’s lips. “I’ll ask my family, maybe they will recognize it.”

Dr. Saltzman nodded and drew the mark on a loose piece of paper. The mark consisted of three isosceles triangles. One was upright and the other two were sideways, turned towards the middle of the first one. The middle part reminded Hope of an eye, a little bit.

“I’ll ask Dorian to do some research.” He folded the piece of paper, setting it aside. “Meanwhile, are you going to the party I’m pretending not to know about tonight?”

Hope raised her eyebrow. “No.”

Alaric leaned back in his chair. “I think you should.”

“Why?”

“Loneliness isn’t good for your mental health.” He shrugged. He said it nonchalantly, carelessly, but Hope knew him long enough to read between the lines. He wanted something from her. She stared at him until he relented.

“A mysterious armed group attacked us today. There’s no saying they won’t try again.”

He wanted her to play guard dog during a supernatural teenage party. Fantastic.

But- Hope was curious about who they were. They didn’t even know whether the group targeted the Salvatore school, or one of them, or supernaturals in general. Besides - they seemed to know who she was. 

Finally, she nodded. “Fine. I’ll go.”

“This hallway is pretty boring. It has administrative offices only.” Lizzie explained as they walked.

“But this-” Josie pointed to the room nearest to them, “is Ms. Tigg’s office. She’s the school therapist. Everyone has a therapy session at least once a week.”

Speaking of- the woman exited the room, as if on cue. With a wide, warm smile that Josie grew to associate with her, she greeted the tour. “Hey, you must be the new students.”

The boys nodded, and the twins stepped back slightly when they introduced themselves. Something unreadable crossed Emma’s face when she heard their names, but Josie didn’t really get to follow that train of thought, when Lizzie leaned in to whisper into her ear.

“Dibs.”

“On which one?”

Lizzie gave her a look. “On the handsome one.”

Well - they were both handsome, if you asked Josie. But one was obviously Lizzie’s type and the other wasn’t. Josie held back a sigh of disappointment. Raf was cute, but… dibs was dibs and Josie had to respect it. Even if Lizzie was the only one who ever called dibs.

Emma sent the twins a smile, before ushering the boys back to them and leaving to go somewhere. 

With practiced motion, Josie stepped back into the role of the tour guide, a kind smile making her way onto her face. Lizzie hooked her arm around Rafael and Josie stepped up to his brother as they resumed their walk down the hall.

“And this is the main room.” Lizzie announced when they entered.

The main room was huge. Beautiful chandeliers hung near the ceiling, lighting up the otherwise dark room. Dark leather couches stood off on both sides and a crackling, huge fireplace stood against the wall in the middle.

A group off to the side was engaged in a card game. By the sounds of it, it was getting intense. One of the girls’ eyes glowed yellow as she shot up from her seat, her cards bended in her grasp. The guy in front of her quickly followed her example. Low growls reverberated through the crowded room, but before a fight could break out, one of the teachers stepped in. Josie couldn’t hear what he said, but the wolves’ eyes quickly went back to their normal color as he led them off somewhere. The rest of the wolves looked in between each other and went back to the game.

“Those were werewolves, right?” Raf asked, a hint of recognition in his tone.

Josie nodded as Lizzie responded. “Yup. That was the pack.”

“You’ll be expected to join it, actually” Josie added. 

“There used to be more of a choice,” Lizzie continued. “But once Jed took over, he united all the small packs under his thumb. Now the only choice is between joining, or becoming the alpha.”

“The latter can be a bit difficult.” Josie said. Her dad would be proud for discouraging violence. The last thing this school needed was more fights. “Jed’s werewolf royalty.”

“But,” Lizzie traced Raf’s arm, drawing his gaze away from the small group of wolves ahead of them. “I’m sure you could do it.”

“Werewolf royalty?” Raf asked, ignoring Lizzie’s comment.

“His mom is the alpha of the Deep Water pack,” Josie explained, trying to make this as clear as possible. “- one of the original wolf packs.” A crinkle of confusion started forming on his forehead, so Lizzie jumped in.

“In non-nerd terms,” she threw her sister a look that Josie knew was only teasing, “it means that his family controls one of the biggest packs in the world and Jed was born to take over.”

A hum came from behind them. “That he was. Shame all that power got into his head and made him an asshole.”

“What are you doing here?” Lizzie asked, hostility underlying her voice. Her back straightened, her posture becoming defensive. There was a limited amount of people that could elicit such a reaction out of Lizzie in such a short time, but Kaleb was definitely one of them.

The newcomer smiled charmingly. “Introducing myself, of course.” Bowing his head slightly, he did just that, “Kaleb Hawkins, vampire.”

“Rafael Waithe. Raf.”

“Landon. Kirby.”

Kaleb nodded before glancing towards the twins. He eyed Lizzie for a second, but was met with only a glare, so he quickly diverted his eyes towards Josie. They weren’t friends, by any means, but Josie knew she had much more… friendly reputation than her win. “Vamps?”

“No,” Lizzie answered before Josie could. “Rafael’s a werewolf and Landon is his emotional support human on vervain. They’re-”

“I’ll stop you right there.” Kaleb cut her off, his smile slightly dimmer. “You lost my interest on ‘no’.” Lizze huffed and crossed her arms on her chest, but Kaleb didn’t seem to care. He stepped forwards, and straightened up the collar of Landon’s shirt. The boy looked like he wanted to run.

“You two stay away from the attic, and we’re good.” His eyes dipped downwards, towards Landon’s neck, but they returned to his face so quickly Josie wasn’t sure if she hadn’t imagined it. “I mean - unless you’re invited.”

And with that, he left in a gust of wind. Landon jumped back, startled and Raf did a double-take. The twins were more than used to his antics by now.

Josie held back a sigh. They were five minutes into this tour and faction hostility already made its presence known. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. She could practically feel the irritation wave off of Lizzie.

“Asshole,” her sister muttered, to no one in particular.

“What’s so special about the attic?” Raf’s voice reached her, and she opened her eyes. 

Josie shrugged. She wasn’t sure herself. “The vampires practically claimed it for themselves. They don’t let any non-vampires in unless they want something from you. No-one really knows what they’re doing there.”

“There’s a bet pool going on.” Lizzie added. “The most popular theory is that they’re just being mysterious and edgy. The second most popular is drugs.”

Rafael nodded slowly. He looked like he regretted asking. Or regretted coming to the school. Or both.

“Anyways,” Lizzie brightened, and hooked her arm around Rafael’s once more. “Let me show you the gym.” Placing her free hand on his bicep, she added, “you’ll love it.”

Josie lagged behind, letting Lizzie take the lead. She did call dibs, after all. Landon walked besides her, most probably not wanting to be in Lizzie’s immediate vicinity. Considering the amount of glares she already sent him, Josie couldn’t blame him.

“So the vampires have the attic.” Landon started, prompting Josie to look towards him. “Have the werewolves and witches claimed any place? Not sure how long I’ll stay here but I’d like to know what places to avoid.”

He said it as a joke, but Josie had an inkling that she wouldn’t find him prying into any of these places. 

“The werewolves have the boathouse by the lake. Jed’s family funded it.” Josie responded. “And the witches have the garden behind the school.”

“Just the garden?” Landon raised his eyebrow, a hint of a teasing smile on his lips.

“It’s a pretty garden,” Josie defended, but felt a smile of her own curl up on her face. She shrugged, glancing towards the pair in front of them. Lizzie held Rafael tightly by the arm, practically dragging him towards the gym. “I like the plants. And we have a very nice fountain in the middle of it.”

Landon raised his hands defensively. “Right, now that you’ve mentioned the fountain it seems totally fair.” 

Josie rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Distanced from Lizzie and Kaleb and large groups of students in general, he looked less spooked and less likely to run. The group stopped by the entrance.

“...and I’m QB1 this year, but you should totally join the team as well,” Lizzie continued, but Raf looked like he was only half-listening. The smell of sweat instantly hit her nose when she moved to stand besides Lizzie. The wolves set out some workout equipment, clearly deciding on occupying the room for the rest of the afternoon. 

The gym was expansive, but it didn’t look like normal school gyms. With everything - from the floor, to the bleachers and the wall coverings - being made of wood, it looked pretty… old school, for a lack of a better word.

Standing off to the side, Jed quickly noticed the tour group, and turned to move towards them, but Lizzie’s extended hand stopped him in his tracks.

“Don’t, Tien.”

He raised his eyebrow challengingly. 

“I’ve already maxed out my limit for annoying tour interruptions. You can do your macho welcoming ritual later.”

“And I would listen to you why, exactly?” He asked, purposefully stepping forward.

Before Lizzie could launch a tirade of threats, Josie stepped in. “Because you owe me for letting you cheat from me on our geography test yesterday?” Normally, she wouldn’t bring it up, but she really wanted to de-escalate the situation before they spooked off the new students completely. Finding out you’re supernatural could be overwhelming by itself. There was no need to add the school’s inner workings to the mess of the first day.

Surprise replaced the challenge in his eyes. Having been caught, he rolled his eyes and turned back to his pack. “Whatever. I’ll talk to you after the party.”

Josie turned back to Lizzie, but her sister had already dragged Raf off towards the library. Glancing at Landon, Josie followed.

The Salvatore Boarding School Library was one of Josie’s favorite places in the whole school. It was named after her kind-of-step-father, and had a cabinet dedicated to him off to the side. The room was pretty dark, with both the long tables and the bookshelves themselves being made out of dark wood. The huge windows on the walls let in just enough light to eliminate the need for lamps during the day, but not enough to take away from the atmosphere of the place.

“Mr. Williams is the head librarian, but he’s also the vice headmaster, so he’s rarely here.” Lizzie explained once they entered. “You can’t actually borrow any of the books here, since they’re very old and kind of fragile, but you can ask to copy a few pages.”

“The Salvatore library is also where we keep our artifacts.” Josie spoke up, easily shifting once more into her tour responsibilities. She gestured towards the nearby glass cabinet. “Dark objects, centuries old journals…but I wouldn’t touch the cabinet. Our dad, Dorian and Emma are the only ones who know how to get around the security system.”

“Alyssa Chang once tried to open it with a spell, and she was nearly set on fire.”

“ Nearly set on fire?” Landon asked, his voice a bit strained.

“Kind of set on fire,” Josie corrected. “Her sleeve burst into flames, but her friends quickly put out the flame.”

Disbelief, surprise and a hint of fear painted across their faces. Josie clapped her hands. “So, in conclusion, don’t touch the cabinet.”

Lizzie nodded along, her face pulled into a serious expression even as amusement danced in her eyes. “C’mon, we still have one more stop on our tour.”

The classes were, arguably, the least interesting part of the tour. Sure, they were very pretty and carefully decorated, but they lost their appeal after sitting in them for eight hours a day, five days a week. Lizzie led the charge, pulling Raf along, while Landon and Josie followed two steps back in a comfortable silence.

Even when obsessed with a new boy, her sister was good at this. She knew just the right amount of funny anecdotes, and having lived here for years, knew every cranny and nook of the building. Josie half-listened as her sister listed off teachers based on their likeability, when a voice suddenly reached them.

“Fresh blood?”

Josie clenched her teeth. Instantly, Lizzie left Raf’s side to position herself in front of her.

“Why? Looking for new people to suck the life out of?”

Penelope just smirked in response. “No, just passing by.” Glancing around Lizzie, she sent her a wink. “Hi, Jo-Jo.”

Josie crossed her arms over her chest. “Go away, Evil One.”

“Already gone.” She turned, but before she walked off, she added “See you at the party” over her shoulder.

Josie felt a pout creep onto her lips as her heart clenched. It was incredibly annoying how Penelope still managed to - still dared to - get a rise out of her after she broke her heart. As if leaving her crying in a spot that used to be just theirs wasn’t enough. But what she hated even more was the small flame of longing the other witch managed to light up in her. Landon’s voice drew her out of her thoughts:

“And that was…?”

“Penelope Park.” Lizzie supplied. “Evil incarnate. Satan herself.”

“And my ex,” Josie muttered.

“C’mon, Jo. Cheer up. Don’t let her ruin your day. Or the party.” Lizzie gently bumped their shoulders. Glancing back at Raf, she quickly slid back into her position. Raf looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. 

“-to which you’re invited too, of course. You could go as my plus one, if you’d like-”

Following her sister through the hall, she tried to follow her advice, too. (She failed.)

Hope knocked rapidly on the door. The moment she heard Alaric’s “come in,” she threw them open, entering with urgency.

“I called my family,” Hope started, “and they didn't recognize the mark from anywhere.”

Walking up to the desk, she placed the book she was carrying onto it, open on a specific page. “I looked through some books, but the only mention I’ve found is this,” she pointed to the top of the page. The mark was drawn besides a large block of text. “Some traveler from the 19th century mentioned that during his travels, he encountered a decimated werewolf pack. One of the swords used in the fight, that presumably the attackers left, was branded with that same mark.”

Alaric leaned forwards, moving his hand to keep the book open as Hope continued, “if the people that killed that wolf pack are somehow connected to the people that attacked us today, then we may have a supernatural hunters problem on our hands.”

Dr. Saltzman’s brows furrowed as he glanced up from the book. “The people that attacked us?”

Hope raised her eyebrow. Had he been drinking today already? “When we picked up Raf and Landon.”

The frown between his brows only deepened. He glanced between the book and Hope, before saying “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”

“What do you mean you’re not sure?” Hope asked, more than a bit weirded out by the situation. “A group of armed men pulled up in a van and attacked us. They literally shot you with a sleeping dart?”

Leaning back on his chair, Alaric let the book he was holding open close slowly. “All I remember was talking to them, then getting knocked out, and then waking up in the jeep with you driving.”

Hope was confused. Very confused. Furrowing her brows, she glanced down at his desk, and immediately found the drawing of the logo he made previously. She snapped it up, and held it up to him to see. “Do you remember this mark?”

“I mean…” he scratched his cheek, taking the note into his hands. “Not really? I think we talked about it a few hours ago. I’m just not sure why.”

Red alarms blared in the back of Hope’s mind. Something was very, very wrong.

“Hope,” he put the note down, “are you playing some prank on me?”

Before she could’ve answered, a knock resounded through the room. Dorian popped his head in, a book in his hands. “May I?”

Alaric nodded, and the vice headmaster stepped in. He opened the book and placed it next to the one already on the desk. “I looked into the mark, like you asked.” Dorian explained. Hope quickly realized that the book was a journal. “There’s not much on it, to be honest. All I found was a mention in a journal from 1960. The author, a witch, said she was supposed to meet up with her brother in a restaurant, but when he didn’t come, she got worried and stopped by his house. He was dead, his body in the hallway. With his dying breath, he drew the mark with his blood. The witch dedicated her life to finding out what that meant, but found nothing.”

Alaric exchanged a look with Hope. “Thank you, Dorian. You may leave.”

Sensing the slightly tense atmosphere, he glanced between them before dashing out. Once the door clicked closed, Alaric turned to Hope. “I think someone may have messed with my memory.”

The beer was cheap.

Which was no surprise. This was still a teenage party, even if at least a third of the student body had a trust fund in place. Kaleb swished around the beer in his cup. He was thirsty, and the beer? Wasn’t going to cut it.

A loud sigh came from his right.

“You have that look in your eyes again.”

Kaleb felt a smile slip onto his lips when he turned to Jade. The other vampire looked right through him. “What look?”

“The look you get when you’re planning something,” she poked his temple and he easily swatted her hand away. “So - what is it?”

Kaleb glanced from his drink to the party that was still in its starting phase. A few wolves were already passed out by the alcohol table. And they were just half an hour into the whole thing.

“I’m thinking that Jed can’t throw a good party to save his life.”

Amusement danced in Jade’s eyes. Leaning against the tree, she looked at him curiously. “And what are you going to do about it?”

Kaleb shrugged easily, returning his gaze to the crowds. He easily spotted a few vampires he knew wouldn’t mind ditching the party. “Leave.” Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Jade raise her eyebrow, so he added. “There’s this club in Mystic Falls…”

“Is there now?”

“Mhm.” Kaleb smiled. Finding MG with his gaze, he leaned slightly towards Jade. “Find me a group?”

Jade rolled her eyes. Kaleb wasn’t the leader of the vampires - the vampires didn’t have the leader. But he knew how to charm people into doing what he wanted. Or - like in Jade’s case - he had friends that didn’t mind helping him out sometimes. Slapping him gently on the arm, she did just that.

Kaleb quickly zapped over to MG. Throwing his arm over MG’s shoulders, he asked. “This party is getting boring, isn’t it?”

“It just started?” MG asked, a hint of amusement underlying his tone. He let Kaleb steer him back to the tree line. Jade was already waiting with a small group of vampires that Kaleb knew could be trusted. 

“Still.” Kaleb shrugged. “I’m thinking of changing venues. Interested?”

MG opened his mouth to respond, when something caught his eye. Kaleb looked in that direction and had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes.

Lizzie Saltzman entered the scene.

He knew his friend’s answer before MG even said it. “No, sorry. I-”

“It’s fine,” Kaleb cut him off, and patted him on the back. He knew better than to argue about Lizzie Saltzman with him again. Kaleb’s open dislike for and rivalry with the girl wasn’t enough to dissuade MG from his little (big) crush, and neither was anything Kaleb could say. “Go have fun moping over Saltzman.”

MG didn’t even mind the dig, too focused on the other girl. With a small wave, he disappeared. 

Kaleb turned to the awaiting group and clapped his hands. “So, who’s in the mood for a real party?”

What Lizzie Saltzman wanted, Lizzie Saltzman got.

And Lizzie wanted Rafael.

She had spent exactly sixty five minutes doing her makeup, and around half of that picking out a perfect outfit. And she looked spectacular. She always did, but really, she outdid herself this time.

Lizzie had arrived at the party hand-in-hand with her sister, like the power duo that they were, fashionably late. A large crowd was already gathered around the Old Mill - a large crowd that included Rafael.

And Hope, apparently. The Tribrid stood off to the side, Landon standing next to her. Outcast one and outcast two. It would’ve been cute, if it wasn’t nauseatingly pathetic. Raf, unfortunately, chose to stand next to them.

Unhooking her hand from Josie’s, Lizzie was about to walk up to the unlikely trio, but MG suddenly came into her path.

“Hey, Liz-”

“Shush, MG,” she cut him off, a finger near his mouth. Keeping her gaze on Raf, she dismissed him. “I’m on a mission.” And with that, she sidestepped around the vampire, and walked up to the new werewolf.

Behind her, she vaguely heard MG and Josie hug in greeting, before they chose to walk up to the fireplace as well, chatting quietly.

Ignoring Hope and Landon, Lizzie sent Rafael her most charming smile.

“Hi, Raf.”

His face was unreadable. Good - she liked mysterious guys. “Hey, Lizzie.”

“Have you thought about what I said?”

“Uh…” a lost look crossed his face. “Which part?”

“Joining the rugby team!” Lizzie reminded him, slightly offended that he didn’t remember. “I’m team captain this year, so I can accept you right away.”

“Right. Thanks, but I’m not interested.” Raf responded. “Rugby isn’t my thing.”

Well - that was pretty disappointing. 

Nonetheless, Lizzie was undeterred. Rolling a strand of hair onto her finger, she leaned in slightly into his space. “So - you’re single, right? I mean I heard about what happened to your girlfriend-”

The look on his face made her stop. His expression instantly morphed into anger. “What about my girlfriend?” he asked, his voice an octave lower.

“That she’s dead?” Lizzie shrugged. “So unless you got over her so quickly, you’re still single, right-”

Something akin to a growl rumbled out of his chest. Lizzie’s eyes widened in surprise. He poked a finger at her. “What in the world is wrong with you?” He asked. Surprised at the abrupt change in tone, Lizzie didn’t get to respond before he was leaning away. “Do not mention my girlfriend again,” he added, his voice menacing, before walking off to his brother, his shoulders tense.

Fuck. 

Fuck fuck fuck.

Lizzie messed up, didn’t she? She just had to say something stupid and ruin everything, like she always ruined everything-

A hand on her shoulder stopped her from spiraling. She turned around, expecting to see her sister, but was met with MG's brown eyes instead.

“Hey, let’s get a drink, ok?”

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Lizzie nodded and followed him.

When Lizzie walked off with MG, Hope felt some tension escape her shoulders. She didn’t fear Lizzie Saltzman. Really, she couldn’t care less about her. But she was incredibly annoying.

Landon left her side to chat with Rafael about something quietly, and Josie kept staring at something straight ahead, still sitting down beside the fire.

Hope felt awkward. Parties weren’t really her scene. But the old mill was far enough from the school that the wards didn’t reach it, and Hope had no guarantee that the mysterious armed group wouldn’t attack the school.

The small shift in the air drew her from her thoughts. Glancing down, she realized that it was Josie’s doing, a small magical flame dancing in-between her fingers. The siphoner was looking straight ahead, through the fire, at something ahead of her. Josie followed her gaze and was met with the sight of Penelope making out with Alyssa Chang against a tree. She frowned slightly. She wasn’t even aware the two liked each other. 

Silently, Hope sat down next to her. Glancing between the small flame currently at the tips of Josie’s fingers and the scene in front of them, she decided that it may be best to say something.

“You look like you want to set her on fire with your mind.”

The tiny flame on Josie’s hand died out as she snapped her gaze to Hope’s, surprised. She looked at Hope warily for a minute, and Hope couldn’t blame her. That was the longest sentence Hope had said to her in a month, if not longer.

“I’m just… mad at her.” Josie explained, a hint of shame in her voice. 

“Like you were mad at Alyssa in sixth grade?”

Josie’s gaze snapped back to her once more, surprise and familiarity swimming in her brown eyes. Hope wasn’t sure why she was talking to her either, really. The truth was - Hope had always been drawn to Josie, even when she wanted to shut the rest of the world out. But Lizzie and Hope’s antisocial tendencies and life at large always got in the way, and all they’ve ever had were these little unexpected conversations that Hope secretly cherished.

“That was an accident.” Josie defended, but the corner of her mouth went up.

Hope raised her eyebrow. “Was it?”

The siphoner moved as if she wanted to push Hope’s shoulder with her own, but stopped at the last minute. “You were the one that taught me the spell.”

“And we both got detention.”

Josie smiled fondly at the memory. “Alyssa was so mad at us.”

Sparing a glance towards the still-kissing pair, Hope added. “I think she still holds a grudge.”

“You do?” Josie asked, an amused expression painted on her face. Hope hummed in faint-serious confirmation.

Blue eyes locked on brown as Hope fought a smile trying to worm onto her lips. Sometimes, just sometimes, years of history weren’t a bad thing.

But as soon as their little moment started, it ended, crashing down by the hand of Lizzie Saltzman. The blonde made her way back to her sister, announcing “I’m back” with the confidence of someone who clearly expected enthusiasm at her return.

Hope just rolled her eyes. Raf and Landon broke off their convo, and Josie had the faintest blush on her cheeks. Though maybe that was just from the heat of the fire.

MG trailed behind Lizzie, a lovesick puppy expression on his face, and Hope noted that despite going to get drinks, only Lizzie brought back a beer.

Lizzie had a different shirt on, too. Normally, she wouldn’t notice or care, but Lizzie’s previous dark top was replaced with a slightly-oversized light green shirt, with some comicky print on it.

Josie shifted slightly away from her, too, when Lizzie walked up to them. Hope sighed softly, an odd sense of disappointment dwelling in her heart.

MG had a calming effect on her.

Really, him and her sister were the only two people that could move her away from the edge of a breakdown. Maybe because they both had that slightly-annoying-but-mostly-endearing sunshine quality about themselves, or maybe because they were, most likely, the only two people in the school that didn’t look down on her because of her bipolar disorder.

Looking around the small group, Lizzie took note of the general mood: Landon looked like he wanted to disappear. Raf looked as handsome as ever, and Josie and Hope looked a bit disgruntled that Lizzie interrupted them. Well - Hope looked disgruntled. Josie looked a bit embarrassed. Which was odd, because she should’ve been thanking her from saving her from the Tribrid-

But no, she wasn’t going to think about Hope and ruin her night. Lizzie was going to enjoy herself and Hope’s grumpy, incredibly annoying presence wasn’t going to stop her.

Shaking her head slightly, she plopped down next to Raf. Deep in thought, he jumped slightly, startled at the sudden movement. Good - she liked thoughtful guys.

“I admit that maybe mentioning your dead girlfriend was not a good move.”

He raised his eyebrow. “Was that an apology?”

Well, duh.

Lizzie nodded. “Clearly.”

He nodded slowly, regarding her for a moment. Seemingly having found whatever it was he was looking for, he glanced at the fire in front of him. “Well, I guess in that case… I admit that I probably shouldn’t have blown up like I did.”

She looked at him with surprise. Lizzie had found something dangerously exciting about his anger burst, but she wasn’t going to admit that.

“I just…” he shrugged. “I still miss her.”

That was- oddly sweet of him. Romantic, almost. There was something hauntingly beautiful about the flicker of pain in his eyes. Lizzie felt herself drawn to him even more.

“How did you know about her, by the way?”

“Oh, I have spies,” Lizzie gestured off-handedly with her hand. But her response didn’t get the desired reaction. Raf just widened his eyes again, a slightly weirded out look in his eyes.

“I’m joking.” She clarified, lying through her teeth. Lizzie took a breath, steadying herself. She knew she could be intense. She had to tone it down, if she didn’t want to scare him off. Wanting to change the topic, she glanced towards the dance area. “Wanna dance?”

Raf shook his head gently. “I don’t dance.”

“Why?”

He seemed a bit taken aback by the question. “I don’t know how to.”

“Oh come on,” she rolled her eyes, getting up from her seat. Extending her hand to him, she smiled invitingly. “You’re hot. No one cares if you know how to dance.”

Raf looked between her extended hand and her face. For a moment there, it looked like he might refuse, and Lizzie’s heart stilled at the thought. Being rejected, in public no less, was not something she was good at dealing with. She felt herself tensen as the moment went on, but finally, Raf took her hand and followed her to the dance floor.

A weight left her shoulders when he let her pull him into the crowd. The music was loud enough to dampen any self-conscious thoughts Lizzie might’ve had, so instead she placed Raf’s hands on her waist and started moving to the beat of the music.

Raf shifted his hands upwards, to a more innocent location, as he tried to move along. He didn’t lie before - he really did not know how to dance. But, thankfully, Lizzie was good enough for the both of them. And Raf was just hot enough for her to not care about him stepping on her toes twice.

They continued dancing for three more songs, until Lizzie felt the edges of her vision blur. Maybe it was the heat of the crowd, or maybe it was the alcohol. Either way, she wanted to get away from the party. Tugging on his hand, she pulled them away from the dance floor. Raf looked relieved.

“Lead me to my room?”

His eyes widened as a soft blush dusted across his cheeks.

Cute.

She laughed gently at his expression. “I don’t mean it that way,” she said, despite kind of meaning it that way. It wasn’t her primary goal, but she definitely wouldn’t complain. “I’m drunk and it’s getting dark.”

Shaken out of his surprise, Raf nodded hesitantly. He glanced at the dark forest before nodding hesitantly. “Ok.”

With a bright smile, Lizzie hooked her arm with his as they went into the forest.

With Raf having walked off with Lizzie, Landon once again lingered by Hope’s side. Hiding his face behind his cup and choosing to simply watch the crowd instead of joining them, he didn’t seem like the party type. Hope could relate.

Surveying the crowd for any signs of danger, she couldn’t help but glance towards Josie again. Hope watched as MG sat next to her for a while , before the two of them sneaked up to the upper level of the Old Mill. 

Hope knew what happened on the upper level of the Old Mill, she wasn’t dumb. For a split second, she worried that the mysterious triangle group, as Hope dubbed them in her mind, could take advantage of them getting high but she quickly shook off that thought - the only entrance to the upper level was through the lower lever, and the lower level was practically filled to the brim with supernaturals.

A few minutes later, Landon’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. “You look tense.”

Hope raised her eyebrow. They weren’t even remotely close for him to point that out so openly. He raised his hands defensively. “I just- you don’t have to be here if you don’t want to, you know?”

She regarded him for a moment. “What do you remember about us picking you and Raf up?”

He looked a bit taken aback by the question, but he answered nonetheless. “Uh.. You caught up with us, explained the deal with the school… then I remember passing out and waking up in a jeep.”

“And nothing else?”

Landon shook his head. Hope sighed. 

He was right - she was tense.

“I think I just need to wolf out. It was a full moon last night.”

He nodded, “right - Raf mentioned you were a Tri- ” his voice trailed off, and Hope finished for him: “Tribrid.”

“Yeah, that.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Do you need any help?”

She raised her eyebrow once again, searching his face for his intentions. But the only thing she found was earnestness. 

Huh. That was refreshing.

“Grab me a spare change of clothes. They’re upstairs, in the corner.”

Landon nodded, a tiny hint of enthusiasm visible in the simple movement. “Where should I put it?”

“Just walk down that path,” Hope pointed towards the forest. “I’ll find you.”

He nodded once more, and was about to set his empty cup on the ground, before Hope stopped him with a stern gaze. “And don’t litter my forest.”

Slightly embarrassed, he went off to find a trash can just as Hope turned towards the treeline.

“You’re like, my best friend, you know?” MG’s voice reached her, as he passed her the blunt. Josie nodded.

“I know.” 

“And I just want her happiness, you know?”

Josie must’ve missed a part of what he said, but she just nodded along. “I know.”

“But I feel like she doesn’t even respect me, you know?”

“I know.” Josie nodded. Turning to him, Josie shifted on the couch, a hand propping her head. “And you would’ve been a great boyfriend to her.”

MG’s brows scrunched up in confusion. “To Penelope?”

Josie raised her eyebrow. “I thought we were talking about Lizzie?”

“I am,” MG nodded. “But you’re here because you’re moping over Penelope.”

Josie huffed. “I’m not moping over her. I’m just… heartbroken, you know?”

“I know.”

“She just broke up with me, out of the blue!” Josie gestured with her hands. “I mean we’ve had problems before, but that just hurt, you know?”

“I know.” MG nodded. Josie sighed, slumping against him on the couch.

After a minute - or a few hours, Josie wasn’t sure - he spoke up again. “I’m going downstairs. You’re good here?”

Unsupported by his arm, her body just kind of slumped down onto the couch. She nodded. “Have fun downstairs.”

“And I’m taking this,” he picked up the blunt.

“No-”

But MG didn’t listen.

“Thief,” she muttered.

Flying.

High above the clouds, despite the merciless gravity wanting to pull her in…

Josie was soaring.

“You’re high.”

Josie nodded. “I am pretty tall, yes.”

Landon’s eyebrow raised. “No I mean-” he looked like he was holding back a laugh. Josie didn’t see why he would do that, so she just giggled in his stead. “- you said you were flying. I think you’re just high.”

“Oh.” Josie tried to sit up, failed, and then finally managed to do so with Landon’s help. “Yeah, that’s how this stuff works.” Noticing he was alone, she felt a pout creep onto her lips. ”Wait, where’s Hope?”

Landon shifted away from her, and towards the boxes stashed in one corner of the upper level. He shifted some of them around, clearly looking for something.

“Wolfing out.” He explained over his shoulder. “She asked me to bring her spare clothes, said they’ll be here.”

Josie shook her head. He was so silly. Hope’s spare clothes were in the other corner!

She got up, walked to the aforementioned corner, pried one of the bigger boxes open, pushed away the blanket covering its contents and fished out one of the spare clothes bags. Presenting it to Landon, she smiled brightly, “here.”

“Oh.” He furrowed his brows and tried to put back all the boxes he moved. The moment he took the bag from Josie’s hands, some of the boxes toppled over, sending him jumping back in surprise.

“You’re skittish,” she noted. Eyes snapping from the boxes to her, he nodded, a slightly embarrassed look on his face. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

Shifting the bag in his hands, he looked around the room. “Where’s MG?”

Josie shrugged. “Dunno.” She rocked back on her feet.

“Do you need help getting back to your room?”

She shook her head. “No, thanks. This,” she gestured to herself, “will wear off soon anyways.”

Landon nodded in response. They stayed in an awkward silence for a moment, before he nodded again and turned towards the staircase. Josie followed him with her gaze, but a flash of something familiar through the window drew her attention. Shifting closer, Josie saw Penelope, hand in hand with Alyssa, sneaking off deeper into the forest.

Jealousy and anger and a thousand other emotions burned through her. She was flying, soaring - but the sight of her ex with Alyssa Chang, of all people, was way more than enough to send her crashing down.

Making a quick decision, Josie caught up with the retreating boy. “Landon, wait up!”

The boy in question stopped in his tracks, waiting for Josie to catch up. He raised his eyebrow inquisitively, and Josie shrugged, “I’ve never seen Hope’s wolf form.”

It wasn’t the complete truth, but he didn’t need to know that. They started walking off deeper into the forest, Josie letting Landon take the lead. She wasn’t sure he knew where he was supposed to go, but she was still at least a little bit high, so she couldn’t be bothered with the direction either.

“Really? How long have you known each other?”

“About ten years,” Josie replied. “But we’re childhood enemies. Kind of. Sometimes.”

“Both of you are childhood enemies with Hope, or Lizzie is enemies with Hope?” Landon asked, and Josie didn’t like the observant gleam in his eye at all.

“Same difference.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but Josie beat him to it. “Didn’t peg you as a curious cat.”

Caught, he glanced down, a slightly embarrassed expression crossing his face. “I just don’t want to get on anyone’s bad side. Though I doubt I’ll be staying here for long, I mean Dr. Saltzman tried-”

Josie tried to listen to him, she really did. But a giggle somewhere to her right caught her attention, and she immediately recognized it as Alyssa’s. Jealousy and resentment curled at the bottom of her heart when she heard the tone of Penelope’s voice join her, and she excused herself quickly. “Hey, I’ll catch up to you.”

As the smell of the forest enveloped all of her senses, Hope allowed her wolf part to take over.

Her instincts bared down to a primal level, Hope felt completely in-tune with Nature. The gentle breeze ran its fingers down her fur, the thousand scents it carried each telling a story of their own. Hope could feel every texture of the ground beneath her feet - every puddle, branch and moss carpet. Could see even the movements of even the fastest dwellers of the forest.

There were no anxious thoughts prying at the edges of her mind, no nightmares and no legacies. There was just the current moment, and Hope’s place in it.

Having all of her bones break simultaneously just to feel like this was worth it.

Hope slowed down from a run to a trot, inhaling deeply to take note of her surroundings. She could see a rabbit hiding a few feet to her left, could faintly hear the sounds of music from the party, could smell Josie and Landon, walking down a path around half a mile from her and-

And then another scent invaded her senses, new and dangerous.

A presence creeped in the shadows.

A low growl rumbled from her chest. Muscles tense, she began her hunt.

The music and a pretty stranger’s blood thumping through his veins, Kaleb looked around, fear creeping up into his heart. The look in Jade’s eyes…

All he did was offer her a bite. And she freaked out, to say the least.

Now he was pushing through the dense crowd, trying to catch up with his friend, find out what happened-

A man suddenly stepped into his way. Irritation scratched at the back of Kaleb’s mind. He tried to side-step, but the man cut his path off again. 

Kaleb looked him up-and-down. He was tall - taller than Kaleb by at least half a foot. He had an old-fashioned haircut, a leather jacket and a weird triangle tattoo poking out from underneath his shirt collar.

“Hey there,” the stranger started. “How would you like to earn some quick money?”

Kaleb gave him a look. Cutting straight to it, huh?

“Yeah I don’t sell drugs,” he tried side-stepping him again, but the man was faster. Something told Kaleb that he wasn’t exactly human.

“It’s not drugs,” the man laughed lightly. Kaleb wasn’t sure what he found funny about this situation. “It’s… like a party. A place for extraordinary people like you to test their skills and-”

“As I said,” Kaleb repeated, a hint of hostility underlying his tone. “I’m not interested.” He felt black veins creep up his cheeks menacingly.

The man backed off, hands raised in defeat. He didn’t look very scared, though. “It’s by the docks, if you change your mind-”

But Kaleb wasn’t listening to him anymore. He pushed pass him and searched through the crowd. Unsuccessfully so - Jade was gone.

“Hey, where did you disappear off to?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Josie waved him off. She braced herself for more questions, but none came. Landon just shrugged in response and continued down the path.

The forest around them was starting to get dark. They were far enough from the party for the music to diminish into background noise, overshadowed by the rustling of leaves and bird sounds. Even though Josie’s eyes had mostly adjusted to the dark, the only source of light was the moon, hidden behind a lush ceiling of tree branches, and she had nearly tripped over something three times in the last few minutes.

Depleted of magic, she instinctively reached out to grab Landon’s arm and siphon. Only when she started, did she remember he was a human. She was about to pull back with an apology, when she felt a buzz of magic dance down her fingers and into her arm.

It felt like an electric shock. And the magic felt… weird. Very much unlike what magic siphoned from anyone else felt. It almost hurt .

Josie retracted her hand quickly, startled. Landon jumped back immediately, a pained expression on his face.

“Sorry!”

Rubbing his arm where she touched him, he grimaced. “What did you do?”

“I tried siphoning magic from you,” she explained with an apologetic smile. She wasn’t sure whether he could see it, given how dark it was getting.

“But I’m a human.”

That he was. But - Josie felt magic. Weird, odd, almost painful but still, it was magic. Hesitantly, she muttered a spell, wanting to form a light orb in her hand. To her surprise, it worked. Light reflected off of her companion’s face, revealing an equally surprised face.

“What-”

A low growl cut him off. They immediately glanced sideways.

“Hope?” she asked, voice slightly strained.

A branch crunched under an incoming weight. Josie angled the light to see better.

A huge wolf, with dark brown fur, stared at them. Crouched down, it looked ready to pounce.

Josie had a feeling that it wasn’t Hope.

The wolf snarled, and leaped.

A low growl. Flashes of a white wolf with a bloody snout. The shift in the air as her spell left her mouth. The harsh impact of hitting the ground.

Fear, curling deep down in her stomach, primal and overbearing.

Josie woke up slowly.

With a groan, she got up to a sitting position and leaned against a nearby tree. Her head pounding, she tried to gather her bearings.

Once it finally clicked that she was still in the forest, her eyes widened and he last hints of sleep left her system. Her heart beating at a much quicker pace than moments before, she searched her memories for answers. Josie remembered seeing Landon look for Hope’s clothes, deciding on joining him, walking with him through the forest, seeing Penelope with Alyssa again - the thought immediately brought a pout to her lips - and sneaking off to-

Well, that wasn’t important right now.

Then she remembered catching up with Landon, chatting with him quietly, until a low growl reached them. And then-

Nothing.

She remembered casting a spell, she just wasn’t sure why. Flashes of a bloody white wolf snout, the faint smell of smoke and a sharp pain just below her ribs came back to her too, but the context was missing. With a small frown, she lifted up her shirt, but didn’t see any bruises. Rolling her shirt back down, however, she noted a small hole, as if a needle punctured the material.

Josie heard a groan a few feet to her left, her gaze immediately snapping to the source. Landon got up from his position face-first on the ground, stumbling slightly as he regained his footing. He looked around the forest, and Josie followed his gaze, noting the spray of red on a few trees and something dark lying nearby another.

She leaned forward to see what it was, but once it clicked, she immediately reeled back, her face forming in disgust. A patch of bloody deep brown fur.

Her gaze met Landon’s.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice raspy and strained.

Good question.

Warmth.

Warmth was the first thing Lizzie felt. Sunrays enveloped her in a comforting blanket of heat and stung her eyes, even through her closed eyelids. Frowning, she dragged her hand across her face. Did Josie forget to close the blinds again? 

Stickiness.

Something dried was stuck to her hand, prickling the soft skin on the back of her eyes. Still half-asleep, Lizzie grunted softly, distancing her hand from her face. Not yet fully awake, her mind clouded with irritation. Did she spill some beer on herself? But no, the back of her shirt felt uncomfortable as well. Something dried and sticky made her top skin to her back.

Moss.

And leaves, and branches, and everything else that lies on a forest ground. Something tickled her cheek, and Lizzie pushed it off, barely registering the crunch of the dried leaf as she swiped her hand. Something in the back of her mind, a small voice largely overshadowed by the daze of sleep, told her that she never made it back to her room.

Lizzie stretched out slightly and felt her hand touch something wet. What the fuck? 

Bringing her hand closer to her face, she finally opened her eyes.

Her hand was red.

Panicked, Lizzie spun around to a sitting position.

The sight around her drew a high scream from her throat.

Adrenaline pumping through her veins, she backed away on the grounds, legs eagerly kicking at the ground to push her away, her palms digging into the rough ground. In her haste, she didn’t register movement behind her until a pair of arms grasped her shoulders.

Lizzie yelped, her throat raw, and would’ve jumped away if it wasn’t for the aforementioned hands on her shoulders.

“Lizzie, what happened?”

Raf’s voice, rough from sleep, calmed her just a bit. Fear and shock still pulsing underneath her skin, she leaned backwards into his sitting frame, needing to feel both a steady source of magic and a warm body in that moment.

Glancing sideways at his confused face, she pointed forwards. His gaze followed her finger, and his eyes widened.

“Oh fuck.”

The area around them was a battlefield. Branches cracked, blood painted the trees and collected in puddles.

And Lizzie had a hole in her memory.

The water was cold against her skin as she cleaned off the blood.

With disgust, she noticed that some of it got on her teeth. A vampire she was not, so the drop that ended up on her tongue tasted terrible.

The bag of clothes Landon and Josie brought her layed next to her on the ground, now empty, as she used a spare rug to wipe all flecks of blood off of her face. While in wolf form, she didn’t care much for avoiding getting her snout bloody, and now she was paying the price.

Half of the school already feared her. She didn’t need to add to those rumors.

With a huff, she inspected her face through the reflection in the water and got up, empty bag in hand. The path back to the school was longer as a human than a wolf, but still, she got there within half an hour.

With surprise, she noted the sheriff’s car parked near the entrance. Sheriff Matt Donovan stood in the entryway, talking quietly to Alaric. Only a part of the conversation reached her:

“... a body was found in the woods, completely burned.”