This is an AU story that I thought up a while back and have been going back and forth on but I have decided to go ahead and post it to help get us all through this long hiatus as we wait for next year.

I've taken the liberty to switch a few things up from canon to make it work with this story. They're pretty easy to catch so they shouldn't confuse you when you come across them. If they do, let me know and I'll be sure to explain the changes.

I plan on updating this once or twice a week. So you shouldn't have to wonder when to expect a new chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters at times. I only own the plot...mostly.

Summary: After the wolves take someone the Mikaelsons care about, Hayley is captured by Klaus. Upon meeting Elijah, her situation does not seem so bad, but the closer Hayley gets to him the more her secret comes to light. She can't relinquish her feelings for him and so becomes plagued by guilt. If he found out, she could lose him. But if he didn't, she could lose herself. Haylijah AU.

Prologue

Hayley knew that it was a bad idea from the moment it had first been brought up. Yet there she was standing in the middle of the woods at two something in the morning having just committed an act that would surely come back to bite her in the ass later. She had clearly lost her ever-loving mind. The wolves and vampires of New Orléans were already in the midst of a war over the city and now with what she'd just helped do...there was no doubt in her mind that things would only get much worse very soon. It was such a shame she'd already made the stupidest decision she could have made and would now have to live with the consequences, whatever they may be.

"A little help here, Andrea," a voice hissed breaking Hayley out of her thoughts.

Hayley turned around and growled. "Shut up, Oliver," she hissed at him. "And what the hell have I told you about calling me that? It's Hayley, not Andrea!"

Oliver shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Hayley scoffed and turned away from him, leaving him to deal with the situation by himself.

It was just her luck to be bethrothed to an asshole like him. If she didn't love and respect her parents as much as she did, she would've told them all to screw off and go to hell a long time ago. But unfortunately she did and even though she didn't like that they had set her up to be with Oliver, she wasn't going to argue with them...not unless she wanted to be disowned. Her parents were the king and queen of their pack which meant she was the pack princess, something she absolutely loathed...anyone who called her a princess learned very quickly not to ever do it again. As the pack "princess," she was expected to marry whoever her parents chose for her. Much to her dismay, they had chosen Oliver...the son of the other pack's King and Queen.

"Come get her damn legs," Oliver ordered, earning the finger from Hayley.

Hayley wanted nothing more than to kick his ass to the moon and back in that moment but she knew that they didn't have much time before all of the vampires in the city knew that something had happened. They'd know immediately that the wolves were responsible. But that was the plan from the get go. The wolves, minus Hayley, wanted the vampires to know that they'd been the culprits.

"I can't believe I am helping you do this." Hayley hissed as she reluctantly stomped over and helped pick up the body from the ground and carry it over to the back of the pickup truck. "I must have lost my damn mind."

"Not that you had one to begin with." Oliver laughed.

Hayley once again stuck her finger up at him. She wasn't even going to dignify that with a response. He could be such a child sometimes. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out what her parents saw in Oliver. Well other than the obvious reason why...who his parents were. But other than that, seriously what the hell were they thinking? Weren't parents supposed to want what was best for their children? If so, then her parents were far off because Oliver wasn't even close to good enough for her. Or anyone at all, for that matter. It seemed as if her parents didn't have her in mind when thinking this through.

If only she had someone else to live for. That was the main reason she didn't just pack up and leave New Orleans. No one wants to be alone in life and without her pack and the other wolves that's exactly what she'd be, alone. Therefore, whether she liked it or not she was stuck in a loveless engagement and soon to be marriage, but at least she wouldn't be alone for the rest of her life. Although, at times she often thought about how it would be nice to be alone especially if it meant she could get the hell away from Oliver in he process.

"Damn it! Stop drifting off into La la Land and help me. We do not have all damn night!" Oliver growled when Hayley accidentally let go of the legs she was holding and they fell to the forest floor with a loud thump.

"Keep it up and you're going be doing this by yourself!" Hayley warned him; she really wasn't up for dealing with his shit right now.

"If you would stop zoning out like an insane person, I would not have to act like that!" Oliver shot back.

"Me, the insane person here? Yeah, okay." Hayley rolled her eyes. "How about this? I'll stop zoning out after you stop being an ass!" Hayley yelled at him in a tone that dared him to say even one word back to her.

He wisely chose to keep his mouth shut and went back to the task at hand.

As Hayley helped load the body into the back of Oliver's truck, Hayley couldn't shake the feeling in her gut that she was going to end up regretting this. She did not know how, she just knew she would. Truth be told, she was not looking forward to when karma finally caught up with her. After all, karma could be quite a bitch when she wanted to be.

So, there you have it! The prologue!

Hayley and Elijah will be meeting in the next chapter! Just a reminder, I plan on updating this once or twice a week. So you won't have to wonder when to expect a new chapter.

In the meantime, be sure to let me know what you thought of the prologue! All thoughts and feedback are very much welcome and appreciated.