Hope stared at her homework with feigned interest, if she really wanted to know about history she would go talk to her Auntie Beks, the poor woman nearly had a fit every time Hope's textbooks recorded something wrong.

It was the only class she got away with slacking in. Not that it had mattered, Hope had never gotten anything less than an A since she had been in seventh grade, it was all pretty touch-and-go till that point, and then her Auntie Beks had sat her down and told her how important it was to her father that she get an education – that she learn about the world.

And while her Auntie Beks were quick to tell her things about her mother, information about her father was more reluctantly offered up, Hope knew it was because underneath her harsh words and feigned anger, her Auntie Beks missed her brother more than anyone could ever understand, and it was hard for her to talk about him.

Hope was a Daddy's Girl – despite the fact that she had never met her father – and she was pretty sure if her Auntie Beks told her that it would bring her father happiness if she jumped off a cliff, she would do so – it wasn't like she would actually get hurt in the process.

Though her Auntie Beks would probably constitute it as putting her life in danger, which would then place her in a whole world of trouble, because while she didn't have many rules to live by, the ones that there were, were not to be messed with, and the biggest rule of all involves putting her life in danger. It's one rule that Hope had never had any interest in learning the consequences to.

She wondered – not for the first time – what kind of life she would have had with her parents, what kind of rules she would have had, the kinds of things they would have taught her. Hope loved her Auntie Beks – god, she loved her Auntie Beks more than anybody in the entire world, and if Hope died without ever meeting her parents, she would die completely content with the woman who had shaped her into who she was.

But it didn't change the constant emptiness that surrounded her, the emptiness she knew could only be filled by two people.

"What's with the thinking face, love?"

Hope turned in her seat to look at her Auntie Beks who had just walked into the home her arms laden with groceries that she could tell contained everything she liked to eat and everything her Auntie wanted her to eat – Hope after all was the only person in the room who ate.

She was hybrid, yes, but in the simplest of forms Hope was a vampire who could grow and change thanks to her werewolf side. She had never shifted into a wolf though her Auntie Beks figured she would be able to if she tried – without killing anybody, but she wasn't interested.

If she ever did want to try and go wolf, she wanted to do it with her mom, for now Hope was content with her three meals a day with a drink of blood.

"It's nothing, I'm just, thinking," She said lamely as she abandoned her homework in favor of helping her put the groceries away – or rather her form of the action, which involved simply putting things away till she found something she wanted, and then eating it. Today's choice was a bag of chocolate covered peanuts – she didn't even like peanuts.

"That's disgusting," Auntie Beks said shooting her a disapproving look as she took the peanut – now un-chocolate covered out of her mouth.

"I'm a very classy girl," She grinned.

"Also a sneaky one, quit changing the subject, what's wrong?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest as Hope jumped up onto the counter ditching her chocolate peanuts in favor of a bag of carrots that she probably should have washed before eating, but figured if unwashed carrots killed her than she was a shame to the hybrid name and should probably die just on principle.

"Nothing, Aunt Bekah," She sighed.

"You only call me Aunt Bekah when you're annoyed with me, and you're only annoyed with me when something's wrong, so why don't you just fess up and get on with it? Is someone bothering you at school?"

Hope gave her aunt an exasperated look, even if it was something at school, she was more than capable of taking care of herself, she went to a preparatory school in the heart of London – there was only so much trouble she could get into there.

"Nothing's wrong at school."

"Shall I compel it out you?"

"Even if you could compel me Auntie Beks," Hope pointed out as she took a loud bite out of her carrot, "You wouldn't, which makes that threat completely unthreatening."

"My intimidation skills rest more in threats like 'tell me what I want to hear and I won't rip your heart out of your chest' however considering you are my niece, I've had to resort to more tamed methods of cohesion."

"You have such self-restraint," She teased frowning as she dropped the carrots – she forgot she didn't like those either.

"This is about your parents, isn't it?"

Hope ignored the question, as she slid off the counter and began digging through the grocery bags again. She was usually much less reluctant to share her problems with her Auntie Beks, but she kept to herself when it came to her parents, it wasn't hard to figure out how she had managed to guess that this was about her parents.

"You know they love you very much."

"That's not what this is about," She sighed.

"Then what is it?"

"It's nothing."

"Hey," Auntie Beks grabbed her arm her blue eyes searching her own differently shaded blue eyes, "I can't help you if you don't let me."

Hope sighed as she abandoned the can of the soup – she told herself that it was because she really would have no idea what to do with the soup, but it was really because she was tired of holding the emptiness in.

"I just," Hope tried to find the right words that encompassed the complexity of her life and how everything she did and everything she was felt defined by that single moment when her parents had given her up, "I want them."

Auntie Beks face softened as she cupped her face with her hands, "Oh sweetheart, you're going to be with them someday, I promise you."

"I just, there's so many things," Hope cut herself off, she wasn't sure what she was trying to say, "I love you Auntie Beks, and you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, you are the reason I am who I am, you are the reason I love the things I love but-"

"But I'm not them," Auntie Beks smiled kindly picking her up and placing her back on the counter before she moved to stand between her legs, "Hope, I've told you about the things that I've wanted. I've told you about how I wanted love, and family, and freedom. I've even told you about how your father denied me those things for centuries before giving me all three of those things in one go."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you, my sweet girl, are all three of those things. You are my love, you are my family, you are my freedom. And by that same notion, you are free to love your parents, you are free to want the rest of your family, you are free to want them more than anything in the entire world. You don't ever need to feel guilty for wanting all those things on my account."

And just like that, her Auntie Beks had managed to understand the root of all of Hope's problems before she had even realized it herself. Her Auntie Beks had raised her – it didn't matter why her parents had given her to Auntie Beks, at the end of the day this woman had raised her, and Hope didn't ever want her to feel like she would ever forget that.

To Hope it was as simple as her Auntie Beks would never be her mom, but her mom would never be the woman who carried her bed to every night despite the fact that she was sixteen when she fell asleep on the couch.

"I just I don't want to keep it to myself, and I feel like if I tell you-"

"Then don't tell me."

"What do you mean?" She repeated.

"Tell them."

Hope blinked as she tried to understand what her Auntie Beks meant before she had simply disappeared to leave Hope to her devices.

And then Hope was moving with the vampire speed she usually didn't use out of habit, and because she couldn't find paper she simply turned to the back cover of her history textbook, picked up her pen, and began writing.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I first realized I wasn't like other kids when I was six and everyone's parents came into school for some stupid recital, sure some kids only had a mom come, or maybe a dad, but I didn't have either, I had my Auntie Beks.

And don't get me wrong, at the time I thought that that was coolest thing in the entire world, even when I knew I was different, I embraced it. I mean, I've always known I was different, being the True hybrid and all – which by the way is the stupidest name ever, but it's definitely better than being the Original hybrid – sorry Daddy.

I was faster than the other kids, stronger than them, and weird things happened when I was around. I'm the product of two bloodlines that were never supposed to mix – I was supposed to be the balance, yet I'm the one thing that contradicts everything about the world, I'm not the balance, I'm the exception.

I'm a vampire that can grow and change thanks to my werewolf side – which I haven't activated because I haven't killed anyone, so if you need a reason to be proud of me, well I'm not a murder or anything – again sorry Daddy, but then again your hands aren't so clean are they Mom? Again not the point, and this letter is totally judgment free. And as if that wasn't enough I'm a vampire and a werewolf that can use magic.

I mean I can't use it well or anything – between you guys and me – it kind of freaks me out – but Auntie Beks thinks I could be really powerful if I tried, that's another thing, I'm not too into effort – but I don't use ancestral magic, apparently that's important, whatever that is.

I guess that's why they call me the true hybrid, because I'm literally every type of freak show out there. Not that you guys aren't cool or anything, but you kind of gave life to a freak – though I'm sure you know that by now.

This is so stupid – Auntie Beks hates when I use the word stupid, but you two should probably get used to it, it's my favorite insult – I'm talking to you – sort of – and I have so many things I want to say, but I don't know how to say them, and instead I just sound really annoying, and you're probably really frustrated that I'm your kid, but I promise I'm only slightly annoying.

Which by saying that makes me sound completely annoying.

Ugh, I love you. There, how's that for annoying? I love you both so much that it hurts, and there's this emptiness that lives in my soul, this emptiness that I have in me I know that it's the part of me that's waiting for you, I guess I'm just scared.

I'm scared that I'm not who you want me to be. It isn't lost on me how important I am to this family, it isn't lost on me the significance of my name, and it isn't lost on me what the significance of my existence is. I know that right now, you both and Uncle Elijah are fighting for me, fighting for my life with your own, and I guess I'm just scared that when you finally win, you're going to be disappointed with who you find.

I know my existence is an extraordinary thing, but me – I'm not extraordinary, I'm fairly mediocre. I'm not all that funny, and I'm not that smart, I scare easy, and I'm shy. I don't like confrontation, and I don't like big crowds.

I shut people out, and I hide away in books, I like my space. I'm not a total social recluse, I have friends, but it's kind of hard being friends with people who don't get it, my entire life is one big lie – and while I don't ever want to seem ungrateful for it – it's hard to have people open up to you when you know that every word that comes out of your mouth to them is a lie.

I got a D in seventh grade Algebra, I can't swim for shit, and I think Chemistry is the worst thing that has ever happened to this world. Despite Auntie Beks hatred towards the subject, I love history, there's something really cool about it – even when it's wrong.

And unfortunately, I am the worst artist you will ever meet in your entire life – you know if you ever get around to meeting me – that wasn't cool, forget I said that. I can't draw stick figures, and I can't paint landscapes, and I'm not ashamed to say that Auntie Beks had to compel my Kindergarten art teacher to let me pass the class because my art skills are that atrocious. Again – sorry Daddy.

It's just a lot of pressure to be the miracle baby when I'm so completely ordinary – you know besides the whole vampire, werewolf, witch hybrid deal.

I guess what I'm trying to say is the idea of you both terrifies me. I'm so completely terrified of meeting you and not being the girl you fought for, but I promise that everyday I'm trying to be. I'm trying to be the kind of girl that brings hope.

I try to be kind, and smile at people, and help little old ladies bring their groceries to their car – I'm not a saint by any means – but I'm trying, god knows I'm trying.

Mom – that letter you wrote me, it's a little beaten up, and ripped, and I'm pretty sure I spilled coffee on it during an all-nighter, but I promise you I have all those things you wanted for me, I have all those things thanks to you. But more than that I promise you that we can still figure it out together, because no matter what, I'll always be waiting for you.

Daddy – you're the enigma. You're the complication that no one can ever seem to figure out, and maybe that's why I feel such a connection to you, because I guess I'm an enigma too. Can I promise you something, too? Something different than what I promised Mom? I promise you that one day you're going to find a girl and she's going to love you more than anything in the world, scary hybrid and all. But more than that I promise you that I'll love you enough for anybody in this world till then, I will come home to you. I believe in you.

So I guess that's it then, when you guys get done ridding the world of every scary monster under my bed, I'll be right here waiting, and if for some reason you want to come earlier – I promise, despite everything, I'm not that easy to kill. I love you both, I'm waiting for you both.

Love,

Hope