I own nothing but my own words.

Chapter 23: This Is A Battle Of Wolves

Hope had to smile.

After spending the majority of the day fighting with no breaks, Hope's first stop had been a shower. She was gross, covered in monster bits and blood, and there was no way she was going to kiss him like that. He started a late lunch for them while she was showering. Then he took his shower since he had missed his usual one that morning with the arrival of Malivore's Fight Club.

Fresh from the shower and peering out a window, she had used her magic to unearth a giant hole in the yard and moved all the bodies into it. She opted to cover it back up with dirt instead of burning them. The smell would make eating impossible.

Since she was exhausted and just wanted to be comfortable, she had headed to the living room area, stoked the fire in the fireplace, and then relaxed on the couch to wait for him.

When he actually came in to pass off a plate to her with a sandwich and a mug filled with hot chocolate, she couldn't contain her smile.

"Thank you," she grinned. "You know, I could've gotten that."

He shrugged, "Relax. You probably killed half the monsters in the pit today," he exaggerated then went to get his own lunch

They had their agreement that he cooked while she cut firewood, except they had arrived to a mudroom full of the stuff. She wouldn't have to cut any until closer to the end of their stay. But everything else was shared. They both cleaned when needed and did laundry. She killed monsters, but then, so did he. He didn't have to do anything else, especially not serve her lunch.

She hadn't planned on eating on the couch, but she was definitely okay with it. She picked up the mug and sat back, enjoying the warmth as she watched him.

He pulled the easy chair close to the coffee table. It wasn't the most comfortable arrangement, but he must've decided she needed to be comfortable and he wanted to join her.

"I thought we were out of sliced bread," she said, putting the cup down and picking up half of the chicken salad sandwich, grateful it wasn't another burger.

He kept the meals pretty basic. Breakfast was usually an omelet and toast, oatmeal, or cereal—or all of the above for him. They would probably run out of milk soon. For the rest, he mixed it up for the most part though his go-to was usually some kind of sandwich. Especially burgers. He bought so many of those, she was sure they would never get through them before they left but he had already worked his way through half. He also bought a ton of hamburger rolls and froze most of those too, taking out what he needed at a time.

She would never complain about anything he made—she couldn't cook herself—but any time he handed her something that wasn't a cheeseburger, she dug in with gusto.

At least she now knew his favorite food.

"I made some yesterday," he said around his bite of sandwich.

"You made bread?" she asked, amazed.

"Had to learn to make it before novel things like pre-packaged bread was invented," he said, swallowing. "Had to learn a lot of things that have been made easier these days. A lot has changed, even since I came out of the pit eighteen years ago."

"So, what you're saying is you're older than sliced bread," she laughed. "Okay, Betty White."

He rolled his eyes at her.

"What year did you go into the pit before?"

"1953."

"Imagine that," she shook her head. "You get to live forever but you still miss out on the sixties, seventies, eighties, even the nineties. Probably the only reason to live forever."

"You didn't live through them either, but you know all about them," he said. Honestly, when he came back he was glad for all the technological advancements. He hadn't cared about what he had 'missed' only that he was free again—or as free as he could hope to be.

"From history, yeah, but you went in right when it was getting good," she said. "You could've experienced it all."

"Living forever isn't all it's cracked up to be," he said, tossing the last of his first sandwich into his mouth.

"Is that why you went into the pit?" she asked. "Because you didn't want to live forever?"

"I didn't want to live forever like that," he said. "Disillusioned with everyone, and alone. Clearly, I hadn't thought it through. The pit ended up being the most torturous kind of lonely." Of course, there wasn't any other option. He couldn't die. And even if he could, he would just cease to exist. There wasn't any peace to be had for him.

She sat her sandwich down.

"Come here," she reached her hand out to him.

He grasped her hand and stood, moving toward her and sat on the couch near the end she indicated.

"Is this the part where you pity me?" he said a bit derisively. "Because I told you before, I don't want that."

"No," she brought her legs up and turned to face him. "This is the part where I say I'm glad you're still here. This way, we can be alone together."

He turned towards her with that adorable little smirk of his. "And is this the part where you kiss me?"

"Maybe…" she said with a teasing little smirk of her own.

"You did promise…" he mentioned, eyes lowering to her lips.

"I did, didn't I?" she murmured, leaning toward him.

His lips met hers, and she fell against him, enjoying holding onto him as much as she enjoyed kissing him.

Mouth never leaving his, she shifted and twisted on the couch until she was sitting sideways on his lap, tugging at his shirt collar, insisting he come closer.

He resisted the tug, only so he could take her bottom lip between his and tug on that instead. She moaned and he let go to trace his tongue along her lip. She waited to see what he would do next and was rewarded when he slid his tongue into her mouth, seeking hers. She slid hers to meet his tentatively, shifting when the rub of his tongue against hers flared up that fire he always created in her.

She lost herself in him, forgetting everything else as he explored her mouth and then coaxed her to return the favor.

She finally came up for air, panting, and he slid his mouth to her neck. She tried to remember how to breathe as he found a patch of skin he decided he wanted to lick and bite at. She grabbed at his head when his mouth opened on that spot and he created this delicious suction that had her shifting on his lap again. "Ryan…"

She couldn't do anything but run her fingers through his hair. She didn't want him to stop, it felt too good.

Inevitably, he did, but he kissed his way back up to her mouth. Then he drew back and murmured, "I'm glad I'm still here too."

She pulled his head to hers, kissing him again and showing him exactly how glad she was to hear that.

"I can't believe you were going to do it without telling me!" Josie exclaimed. Her sister tried to actually jump into Malivore! "And I had to wait two days to hear about it from MG and not you? Or Dad? What were you thinking!?"

"Well, it's not like you would remember?" Lizzie said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, you've pretty much forgotten all about me anyway." She scoffed.

"Going to Mystic Falls High isn't about you," Josie said, immediately going on the defensive. "It's about me! My magic!"

"Well, this isn't about you either," Lizzie griped.

"But you didn't even tell me! How could you be this selfish? I thought you were working on that!"

"Selfish? Selfish?" Lizzie exclaimed in disbelief. "I made a mistake. Hope and I made a mistake! And now this thing has risen and it's killing people! If I don't do something, it'll only get worse, and Hope or Landon could die. I'm trying to fix it! That's about as far from selfish as anyone can get."

"But jumping into the pit?" Josie asked. "Are you out of your mind?"

"You mean crazy?" Lizzie threw up her hands. "I'm pretty sure that's been well established."

"You know what I mean," Josie said.

"No," she shook her head. "No, I don't. At least I'm trying to do something. What else can I do? Wait around for Hope to swoop in, save the day, and possibly die in the process? Or wait for her to kill Landon? Do you really want any of that to happen? Because I sure don't. Not this week anyway."

"She can handle it," Josie insisted. "Just let her."

"Even if it means she has to kill him?" Lizzie asked. "I'd think you'd at least care about him."

"He's Hope's problem now," Josie shrugged, hating that the bitterness was still present. She thought she was over it. She had tried to put her best foot forward before, to just be friends with Hope and Landon. She had done a good job of pretending until she was sent off into a prison world and had to face the darkness she had been hiding from. She thought the magic was the source of the darkness. Turns out, she just had a bitter jealous streak despite the magic. "He dumped me for her, remember?"

"Oh no," Lizzie wouldn't allow her to brush this off. "You cared about him enough to have sex with him, so don't give me that. You care."

Josie couldn't deny it, but that just made her bitterness even worse. She had been that happy with Landon until Hope turned up again.

"Besides, he dumped her too, remember?" Lizzie said.

"Guess he didn't care about either of us much then," Josie shrugged. "She can do what she wants. Doesn't she already do that, no matter the consequences?"

She was referring to, of course, using Josie to recreate Clarke's body which, it turned out, recreated Malivore's too.

She was so angry at Hope. She had come back, destroyed Josie's happiness, insisted on being friends with her again, then used her before promptly forgetting about her. She hadn't heard from Hope at all since she left for parts unknown with Clarke. Hope only contacted Lizzie. What about Josie? Wasn't she her friend too? Hope had certainly insisted they remain friends. And Josie had been friends with Hope long before Lizzie ever was. Not that Josie really even wanted to hear from Hope after everything, but it would've been nice to know Hope still thought about her.

Her feelings about Hope were so convoluted. She was angry with her, but she was also jealous of the friendship she had with Lizzie.

She understood why Lizzie had tried to jump into Malivore. And she was right, it wasn't being selfish. Under better circumstances, she might even be proud of Lizzie for taking charge. But what would happen to Josie if she didn't remember Lizzie? Perhaps she was the selfish one, but she really didn't want to lose her sister that way.

"I still can't believe you were going to do it without telling me," Josie grumbled. Her glare was less pronounced than earlier since her anger had redirected.

"I would've told you, but you're never here anymore," Lizzie said. "You have your new friends. Your new life. You don't have time for me."

"I'm sorry," Josie said. "Living without magic is hard. I had to go cold turkey. I can't have one foot in everything at the Salvatore school and one foot in Mystic Falls if I'm ever going to adjust. Maybe you can come along with me sometimes though? We're hanging at Maya and Ethan's tomorrow night? Join us?"

"Pass," Lizzie looked heavenward. "I don't need to be friends with your friends. I just need my sister. You know, my best friend." Between Josie's new life and Hope on the run, MG was pretty much all she had left. She missed the dynamic of her whole team. Her support system had taken a hit.

"I'll do better," Josie said. "I promise. Just don't go jumping into memory stealing bottomless pits. Especially since I can't do the spell to return the memories anymore."

"Got any better ideas?" Lizzie asked hopefully.

"No, sorry," Josie said.

"That's what I figured," Lizzie sighed.

Hope's mountain lion painting was coming along.

She floated a slanted board in the air, using it as a makeshift easel as she added more color.

"I didn't think werewolves liked cats," he said, standing next to her, sipping his tea as he watched her.

"Why?" she said, feigning offense. "Because cats don't get along with dogs and you're referring to me as a dog?"

He shrugged. "You said it, I didn't."

She held up her paintbrush and pointed it at him. "Watch it."

"Are you going to fling paint at me again?" he asked.

"No," she said, turning back to her canvas. "I'm going to continue painting the cat."

"You know, the entire time I was in your subconscious, the only time I saw you paint was in your dreams," he remarked.

"I don't have a lot of time for it," she murmured, concentrating on getting a shadow just right. "But I do it when I can. And I love to go to galleries. See the world through other people's eyes."

"I've been many places, seen many works of art, but don't always connect with the artist," he said.

"Then they must not be that good," she said, dipping her brush in a bit more paint.

He laughed. "I've seen works that are revered to this day, but they still don't make me feel anything." He figured it was because he wasn't human and didn't understand how their feelings worked. Now that he knew more, maybe if he saw them again he would be able to see what escaped him before.

"My father has a landscape hanging in Russia," she said. "The Hermitage. I bet you'd feel something if you saw that."

Getting an idea, he asked, "Have you seen it?"

"No," she said, smiling wistfully.

"Do you want to?"

"Yeah, someday," she said. "Hopefully I'll be able to go to Russia and see it."

He reached down and adjusted his ring so the dull green flared to glowing red.

Hope's mouth dropped open and she looked around in wonder.

The entire room changed from the cozy living room to a light and airy white and gold room with tall rounded columns of white marble supporting an open gallery.

"It's been a while since I was there," he said. "But this is what I remember from Pavilion Hall. The State Hermitage Museum has six buildings, but landscapes—or Westerns as they would be referred to as—would be housed in either of two galleries there."

"So… we just walk to look at the paintings, or...?" She knew this was only an illusion, so they couldn't walk around without hitting the furniture, right?

He held up his hand and swiped it to the side. The illusion flew by in front of them until a painting stopped before them. "I'll just do this until we find it."

She set her paintbrush down on what she thought was where the table was outside of the illusion, and then she backed up against him.

He wrapped an arm around her and pointed with his other one. "Is this it?"

"No," she looked for the signature. "But it's beautiful, isn't it?"

He nodded against her. It was beautiful; it just didn't say anything else to him besides that.

He continued swiping as she talked, "You've been there."

"Once or twice," he shrugged. He didn't mention that it took at least a week to see everything, sometimes more. "They don't put their entire collection on display at all times, so if they didn't have it out when I was there, I wouldn't have seen it."

"You know, that's a really nifty ring you got there," she said as she shook her head at the next painting.

"Comes in handy," he said.

He kept swiping his hand, and she kept shaking her head, until they finally came to one that drew both of their attention before she could even try to look for the signature.

"This is it, isn't it," he asked, amazed because she was correct. He did feel something.

She nodded, staring wide-eyed.

He could feel exactly what her father must've felt while painting it. His anger, his torment, his loneliness—the frustration of being on a dark and twisted path that led on, stretching forever, with no end and no hope in sight.

"Do you feel it?" she asked softly.

"Yes, yes, I do," he said, wrapping his other arm around her too and drawing her close.

She didn't say anything else, just leaned back against him while they both took in the painting. It was possible he hadn't remembered all of it correctly but given that he didn't have a problem recalling much of anything, he knew it was at least on the right track.

"One day I'll take you to see it in person," he promised, knowing he was taking liberties but he didn't care. He was confident he was going to be with her in the long run, and she needed to know he wasn't going to back down. He was going to fight for her until she chose him. It was that simple. "In case my memory isn't foolproof."

"I'd like that," she murmured.

Amazed to feel a jump in his chest, he gripped her tighter and bent down to kiss her near her ear since that was the first place he reached. She was a lot shorter than him.

She giggled, grasped his arms and looked sideways back at him.

"Ready for bed?" she asked.

"Always," he smirked.

She shook her head but laughed as she elbowed him gently.

"Let's go."

Upstairs, she got ready for bed as she did every night while he reminded himself—not for the first time that day—that he had to be careful to let her lead. He knew she wasn't ready for anything more than they had already done, he wasn't an idiot. She had only just kissed him. If she had gone eighteen years and was still a virgin, she didn't take it lightly. If he tried for more now, he would probably end up scaring her which was the last thing he wanted to do.

She left the bathroom and turned the light off before climbing in next to him and immediately seeking him out.

"Thank you for tonight," she said, resting her head against his chest with a yawn. "Say what you want about mud men, but mine is a romantic."

There she went again, saying things that made his chest jump and got him feeling hopeful. Was she doing it on purpose? Was she telling him he was already on the way to winning her over completely? And if so, why couldn't she just say that so he could stop worrying? Or was this her being indecisive again?

"Yours?" he asked.

She glanced up at him. "Mine." She gave him a quick kiss then lay her head back down against him.

"Goodnight," she murmured.

"Goodnight," he murmured back, only mildly disappointed she didn't say or do more.

Given how quickly she fell asleep though, he knew she was just exhausted. She had taken it easy—except for the promised time on the couch—all day after fighting that morning, but she hadn't slept at all.

Hopefully she slept late tomorrow. She was going to need all the rest she could get for what was coming later.

Of all the creatures she had faced—and she had faced over a hundred of them at once today—this was the first one that had him truly worried.

The next day, she came downstairs to find him sitting at a table with a toolbox he found on site somewhere, cleaning a hammer.

"What's that for?" she asked, sitting next to him. She was taking it easy that morning at his insistence.

"Tonight," he answered with a smile, remembering their kisses that morning. He wanted her to go back to sleep, and she wanted to get up despite still being tired, so he kissed her until she gave up. She went back to sleep cuddled up against him.

"You think the way to kill Fenrir is with a hammer?" she asked. "I thought you said this wasn't Avengers."

"It's not for Fenrir," he said. "It's for what comes after." He nodded at the toolbox. "I can probably use one of the screwdrivers as a chisel."

"Why do you need a hammer and chisel?" she asked, perplexed.

"Assuming you'll survive—because you will. You have to," he looked up at her. "We need to bury Fenrir properly."

"Why? We've never cared about that before."

"This is the son of a god, and we don't want to anger the Norse gods," he explained. "We'll bury him properly."

"But we killed the son of a god before—Pegasus," she said.

"We were so busy trying to get away that we didn't think about it," he said. "I didn't think about it. But if these creatures really do exist, then so do the gods. There may still be consequences for Pegasus."

"The boys back home killed the son of a god too," she pointed out. "Seems easy enough."

"Pegasus wasn't a warrior, which is why it was easy. And, no, they didn't. They got lucky." he said. "Hercules walked in front of a poisoned arrow to protect Malivore. My father was responsible for that one. Technically, he's responsible for them all since he's controlling them, but we're not taking any chances."

"Okay, so we're going to…?"

"Odin made it law that all dead warriors of consequence would be burned, their belongings laid with them, and the ashes be cast into the sea or buried in the earth," he described. "We don't have an option here—he's being buried, beneath a raised mound. And then a standing stone should be placed atop the mound. That's what the hammer and chisel are for. The stone needs to be carved. I just have to find a soft enough stone for it."

"I guess then we should talk about how I'm going to kill him?" she said.

"At the battle of Ragnarok, he swallowed the god, Odin, and then Odin's son—Vidarr—was supposed to have grasped Fenrir's upper jaw and planted his foot in his lower jaw thereby tearing apart his mouth. I was reading up on it and some accounts say that alone was enough to kill him, while others say a sword through the heart after was also required."

"So I just need to get between his jowls and tear his face apart," she winced. "Got it."

He looked up at that. "No. You aren't getting near his mouth. Just use magic to do it."

She shook her head. "I can't do magic in wolf form. You know that."

"You aren't taking wolf form to do it," he said.

"I have to," she argued.

"Who said?" He put the hammer down, not liking where this was going.

"It was understood that he chose to fight me tonight because of the full moon," she said. "This is a battle of wolves. If you're worried about honoring the gods, then you should understand why I have to fight him as a wolf. He may not think it, but he's to die tonight. I'll let him die with dignity."

He shook his head. "It's too dangerous. He swallowed Odin. A god! He's too big for you to get near his mouth without suffering the same fate."

"But Odin's son killed him," she pointed out. "Supposedly."

"Yes, the son of a god," he argued. "You're not the son of a god, Hope!"

"No," she said firmly. "I'm the daughter of Klaus Mikaelson, the original hybrid, and Hayley Marshall, alpha of the Crescent wolf pack. Perhaps its time the gods learn what that means."

"Your arrogance will get you killed," he said. "You're not dying. Not on my watch." Not ever.

"Even if I die, I'll just activate my vampire side, okay? I'll be fine," she said. "Besides, you won't be there." She stood up.

"What?" he stood up right along with her.

"It's not going to be a fight out in the clearing," she said. "Wolves can't be confined, Ryan. We'll be too far out for you to follow. Besides, I'd rather you stay here so I don't have to worry about you."

"I can't die!"

"No, but if he can swallow a god, I'm sure he'd have no problem swallowing you," she said. "You're staying here."

He glared at her before he turned on his heel and stalked away.

"Where are you going?" she called after him.

"To find a stone," he said, going to the back door and pulling on his coat. "And I better be carving it for him, not you." He knew it was pointless to keep arguing with her. She was too stubborn. In the time he had known her, she only gave into his pleading once. He would go find a stone and try to convince her again later.

"Use the ring!" she reminded him before he went outside and got besieged by anything. He needed to remain invisible.

He used it and slammed the door on the way out.

She sat with a sigh. She knew he didn't want anything to happen to her, but she knew she could do this.

Besides, she had made a deal. She would see it through.

Ethan was having the strangest week.

He had spent days smelling something foul at home before he finally hunted down a bowl Maya had left under her bed in her messy room that was growing fur on it. Mold. Yuck.

She just laughed and made some comment about him finding her science experiment before she threw out the bowl.

She didn't comment on the fact that he never should've smelled it, especially since she hadn't smelled it. No one else had smelled it, but it hit him in the face every time he walked in the house.

Then there was his arm.

He and his mom went for his orthopedic appointment, fairly certain they were going to be scheduling the surgery to re-break his arm. Instead, when they removed the cast, his arm was completely healed. It felt good as new. The doctor claimed it was a miracle.

Ethan didn't buy it. He didn't believe in miracles.

But he couldn't understand it either.

The doctor had remarked that his temperature was pretty high though he didn't have any other symptoms. That garnered him a few days at home, his mother insisting he needed to rest since his temperature was so high. He felt fine though, just a little hot.

He finally put his foot down so he could return to school for wrestling tryouts since his arm was healed.

That had gone even worse.

Not that he hadn't pinned his opponent, he just did it a little too well. He hurt him without meaning to. He really wished Jed had decided to tryout too. He never had any problems sparing with Jed. If he had been going up against him, nothing bad would've happened.

He knew he made the team—he somehow heard the coach from across the room—but the assistant coach suggested they had accidentally put him in the wrong weight class. He knew he was in the right one. Maybe being held back by his arm had given him all this pent up energy that came bursting out now that it was healed?

He was looking forward to tonight because everyone was coming to hang out, which meant Jed. He planned to mention everything happening to his friend and see if he thought anything was wrong. He hadn't seen him much this week since he had been forced to stay home sick.

Hearing the doorbell ring, he hollered, "I got it!"

Opening the door, he saw Josie and Jade…but no Jed.

"Come on in," he said. "Jed isn't coming?"

Jade shook her head, glad for the instant invitation, and smirked as she passed Ethan. "It's his time of the month."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Right."

Josie just shrugged as she walked by him.

"Maya's downstairs setting up for the movie, if you want to head down," he said. "I'll be down with popcorn and drinks in a sec."

"Need any help?" Josie asked, as Jade bee-lined for the open door he indicated to the basement.

"Sure," he said, pleased that he would at least get some alone time with Josie.

Of course, when he walked into the kitchen he realized they weren't going to be quite as alone as he hoped.

"Oh, right," he looked back at Josie. "This is a friend of my mom's. Seylah."

Seylah looked up from where she was rolling out some dough.

"Seylah, this is my friend Josie," he said, making the introduction.

"Josie Saltzman," Josie added for the woman's benefit, knowing exactly who this person was. Her father had mentioned the sheriff wanted to keep the supernatural world from her kids for now. She wondered how long it would be before she let them know the woman living in their guest room was actually their aunt, and they had a cousin who was currently being inhabited by his father. Yeah, she kind of understood why she would balk at explaining that to her human children.

"I know your father," Seylah nodded. "Nice to meet you."

"You know Principal Saltzman?" Ethan asked, surprised. "I mean, he's not principal anymore, but he was pretty cool."

"Yes," Seylah nodded. She turned to the oven and put on a mitt. "I just made some chocolate chip cookies. Would you and your friends like some?"

"Sure," Josie answered for Ethan. She hadn't had fresh baked cookies that she hadn't made in forever.

Ethan nodded, "What she said."

He pulled a bottle of juice out of the fridge and some cups out of a cabinet. "Want to pop this?" He handed a couple bags of microwave popcorn to Josie.

"I'll do it while she's letting the cookies cool," Josie said.

He nodded and paused. He meant to hang with her while it was popping, but since Seylah was there, he guessed he should go on down for now.

"I'll be back," he said.

Josie nodded but paid him no mind as she turned back to Seylah who put a cookie on a napkin and handed it across to her.

Taking a bite, Josie moaned. "This is so good. My mom used to make these all the time."

"She doesn't anymore?" Seylah asked as she placed the rest on a cooling rack. She intended to make a homemade apple pie next with the dough she was rolling out. She loved to bake, and she stress baked. She had a lot on her mind since her return from the pit. She would speak with Alaric soon now that she had acclimated to missing another year of life and made some decisions.

"Mom's been…away," Josie explained. "My sister and I see her when we can, but she's working on this project and can't be home like she used to."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Seylah said. "I'm sure she loves you both very much."

"She does," Josie nodded. She knew how much her mother loved her, that she was trying to find a way to prevent the merge. The kicker was, if her mother never found a way to stop it then they were wasting all this time apart for nothing. It just meant less time to spend together before she and Lizzie turned twenty-two and had to merge.

Seylah picked up one of the popcorn bags and took off the cellophane.

"I can do that," Josie insisted, reaching for it.

"Enjoy your cookie," Seylah insisted with a small smile while walking to the microwave.

"You know, you would've made a great mom to him," Josie said. "I know I don't really know you, and it doesn't change anything, but you seem nice and…" she shrugged. "I just wanted to say it." She had also jumped into Malivore to erase all memories of herself to protect Landon. That wasn't the action of a bad or uncaring mother.

"You know my son?" Seylah asked. "Of course you do. Same school."

"And we dated," Josie said then shifted awkwardly.

"Ah," Seylah nodded. "I see. What happened?"

"He broke my heart," Josie said.

"Not very nice of him," Seylah said.

"He…didn't want to," Josie rushed to excuse him in direct opposition of the bitterness she had been wallowing in just yesterday. "His heart just belonged to someone else."

Seylah nodded. She could read between the lines. When last they met, her son had been head over heels for his girlfriend, Hope. She didn't see him wanting to let that girl go. This girl's twin had said he broke up with Hope, but she knew that must've been a mistake. Landon would try to fix it if he were still alive and they could get him away from his father's clutches.

A loud yapping at the door to the basement startled them.

Ethan was trying to come up the stairs but the little Yorkshire Terrier kept barking and snarling at him.

"Priscilla! Down!" Seylah commanded.

The dog barked a few more times before running to her master but made sure to keep an eye on Ethan.

"She's never done that before," Ethan said, looking down at the dog, feeling his anger rising. One more strange thing in the week of strange.

His mother had come home with the dog last year. They called it Penny because of the 'P' on its collar. Turned out the dog belonged to his mother's friend and her name was actually Priscilla.

Why didn't his mother know the dog's name when she took it in if it belonged to her friend? Sometimes he thought his mother was hiding things from them. Other times he remembered she was sheriff and had to keep certain things from them.

Seylah handed him the plate of cookies. "You two go ahead. I'll bring down the popcorn when it's ready."

But as soon as Ethan walked toward the basement door, Priscilla started barking again. She came over and growled at Ethan, trying to take a bite out of his ankle.

Frustrated, he put the plate back on the counter and resisted the urge to growl back at her.

"You know, maybe this was a bad idea anyway," Ethan said, pulling at his shirt collar. When he had gone back downstairs, he felt confined. The room was big but the ceiling was low. He felt like everything was closing in on him. "Want to go for a drive?"

Josie hesitated. The only reason her father had agreed to let them come over on the night of a full moon was because they would be inside.

"What's happening up here?" Maya said as she came through the basement door with Jade close behind her. "What's Priscilla barking at?"

"Want to go for a drive?" Ethan asked, ignoring her question.

"What about the movie?" Josie asked, catching Jade's eye pointedly.

"I think that sounds like a great idea," Jade said, grinning despite Josie's reluctance.

"Ooh, yeah," Maya said. "I've heard there's a place near the park that's perfect for star gazing! We should totally go!"

"Sounds perfect," Jade said.

"Great," Ethan said. "I'll drive."

Josie wanted to tell them it wasn't a good idea, but she had been railroaded. Besides, they would stay in the truck, and it wasn't like they would be in the middle of the woods. The park was close enough to other more populated areas. It should be okay.

Hopefully.

He couldn't convince her to change her mind.

The time was drawing near, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

"I'm gonna go out through the garage," she said. "Just wait for my howl then close the door from the inside doorway." She would strip and change in there. There was more space to change than inside the house.

"Hope…"

She came over to him. "I'm going to be okay."

"How am I supposed to know when it's over?" he asked. "Or who won?" Was he supposed to wait 'til morning to go out only to find her dead? And what if the wolf swallowed her? He would never be able to find her body. He would never know what happened to her.

She slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him, resting her head against his chest.

"Watch for me in the clearing. I'll be back. I promise. Just let me in."

"I hate this plan," he said, but he put his arms around her too.

"It'll be over before you know it," she insisted.

"That's what I'm afraid of."

She pulled back and reached up, dragging his head down towards her as she stood on tiptoe, and kissed him.

They just had their first kiss two days ago. Was this going to be their last one already? he wondered. He resolved to make it good, maybe even so much that she wouldn't go. She would stay until this night was over and then Fenrir would just have to fight her in her tribrid form or wait 'til the next full moon. Or not bother at all.

He moved forward while kissing her, urging her backwards until she rested against the wall. He bent to pick her up at the waist, bringing her mouth up closer to his.

She had to wrap her legs loosely around his waist or she would slide back down, and she didn't want to since she could reach his mouth so much easier this way.

He slid his tongue into her mouth, remembering how she reacted yesterday when he rubbed against hers. He wasn't disappointed when she whimpered and jerked up against him. He didn't let up, just changed angles and plundered her mouth as much as possible, hoping she would forget she had anywhere else to be.

It didn't work.

She pulled away from him and tried to get his attention, "Ryan."

He wasn't giving up yet, just moved his mouth to her neck.

"Ryan…" she said softly, moving her hands up to his shoulders and shifting to drop her feet back down to the floor. "I have to go."

He sighed and pulled away.

She gave him a small smile then went through the door into the garage.

Grateful she didn't say goodbye, he rested his forehead against the closed door, eyes closed, and waited for the telltale howl.

When he finally heard it, he opened the door and reached for the switch. He saw her before he touched it, standing and watching him with her coat of white fur gleaming in the moonlight.

He nodded and she turned and ran, letting out a loud howl, one that screamed for all other wolves to stand up and take notice.

Or, for at least one very big, very scary son-of-a-god wolf to.

Sprinting through the snow covered forest in search of her prey, Hope's senses were on high alert. She listened for the barest hint of movement and sniffed the air in search of his scent.

She came to a halt in the middle of a snowdrift, ignoring the sinking of her paws as she listened, hair standing on end. Something was out there. Close by. It had to be him.

Sensing movement from behind, she pounced forward to get away and tried to turn around before it attacked her. There was no time to turn though, as he was on her and above her, growling down at her with his fiercely pointy fangs. She drew away beneath him even as he snapped at her, trying to clench her in his jaw. He stood so tall that she could easily fit between his legs which is how she escaped, jumping up to bite at his underbelly as she did so.

Howling out, he sprang to the side but lashed out with his back paws, kicking her so hard she was flung a few yards, landing hard with a whimper against a tree trunk.

Giving herself no time to recover, she pounced back up and made a run for the trees. She wasn't sure if he was following her, she hoped not, as she jumped up into a tree with low hanging branches, using them to spring further and further up. She needed a new vantage point and a new form of attack.

Using her keen eye, she searched below for any sign of the monstrous body. It wasn't like he could hide for long out here. But he was so dark and he would sink into the shadows so well, she might miss him if she didn't pay enough attention.

Sighting what looked to be him in the distance, she jumped across from one tree to another, burrowing her claws in to hold on tight with each pounce.

Confirming it was him, quietly as possible she jumped down from her perch onto his back, slashing her nails at his flesh.

He tried to buck her off, but she dug her claws in, inflicting as much pain as possible for as long as she could. He finally rolled over with her on his back, and that hurt more than the tree trunk as he smashed her into the ground. Even when he rolled onto his back and trapped her, he didn't let up, just kept slamming himself back against her until she finally managed to twist out from under him.

Crying out, she scrambled to get away as he started snapping at her again, nearly biting her once, but she clawed at his face to push him away.

She took off again. She hated running from a fight, but she needed to regroup. This was turning out to be harder than she thought it would be.

She had to get to his mouth somehow, but how could she have a prayer of getting it to stay open?

As she ran, she realized it didn't matter that she wanted to regroup. He was already following her, chasing her through the woods. Perhaps he was as impatient to end this as she was. She looked around for another means of escape, knowing that going for the tress wouldn't work again, not if he knew she was up there.

Finally she just came to a stop and turned around, racing back toward him. Ignoring his ferocious leer, she faked right then went left instead, jumping up to claw at his right flank as he slid by her. She could hear him howl in anger, but she jumped for a snow drift before he could turn around.

Fortunately the snow was light and fluffy so she could easily move through it. Also fortunately, her coat was white so it blended in. Unfortunately, he could still smell her scent and that was what he did, followed her scent through the snow, using his claws to slash through the wetness.

She scampered through, over debris and branches, until she reached the end of a drift and popped out, hoping he would miss seeing her exit.

He didn't.

He, and his huge wolf body, pounced across the way to her in seconds. She clawed at him, but it didn't matter, he started snapping at her again and she was pinned. She twisted and pushed and snapped back at him too. She wiggled her way most of the way free but not before he managed to bite her in her right flank.

Howling out her pain, she slashed at his snout, making him let her go to back away.

He didn't back away because she had hurt him though.

He backed away so he could regard her injury as a major victory in the battle. He backed away to growl at her with his vicious fangs dripping with saliva and her blood.

He backed away to prepare for the death blow.

She couldn't let him swallow her. She had to win. She promised Ryan. She had to get back to him. She couldn't let Fenrir win. She couldn't let Malivore win.

Looking around, she started digging, searching the snow for something large she had felt when she had been trying to get away.

He ignored her ministrations, almost laughing if a wolf could, readying to pounce.

As he did so, landing right near her, but she found what she was looking for and wrapped her four legs around the giant fallen branch, rolling over with it.

His mouth had been poised wide open to bite down, so when he landed he tried to pull back noting her movement, but he landed with too much force. She was basically in his mouth now, so she arched her entire body, bouncing her back off of the ground, jabbing the branch and herself inside.

He couldn't swallow her, not with the branch poking and in the way, and he couldn't bite her because he couldn't get his mouth to close. He tried to push her out with his giant slobbering tongue but she bit that, drawing blood.

He flung his head up, trying to dislodge her, but she knew this was probably the only chance she would get.

She let go of the branch with her front legs and reached her paws up to the roof of his mouth, digging her claws in and pushing with all her might.

He howled again, flinging his head, then tried to use his paws to reach her and pull her out.

She let go of the branch with her back paws before he could get a hold of her, and dug down into the bottom of his mouth, digging her rear claws in.

And then she pushed with all of her might against the roof and lower jaw of his mouth.

Ignoring the pain in her flank that she knew was losing too much blood, she fought through everything and focused on drawing on all of her strength, the strength that was ten folds stronger because of the power of the full moon and finally, finally, she heard a crack.

She kept pushing through, still feeling resistance, knowing it wasn't over yet, and then she heard another one. And another. She kept pushing.

Suddenly the resistance was gone and Fenrir collapased.

Scared to move at first, she waited, trying to hear any sound above the racing of her own heart.

He was still and lifeless.

His mouth had been torn apart, so it wasn't difficult for her to climb out of it.

She limped to her feet, staring down at the wolf, amazed that she was the one left standing. Also glad she didn't need to put a sword through his heart—she hadn't quite figured out how to do that as a wolf without opposable thumbs.

For all that she had reassured Ryan, even she had to admit to herself this could've gone either way. In fact, there was a moment there she was sure she was done for.

But it was over now.

Now, she could go home.

She just had to walk there first.

"Are you okay?" Josie asked.

Ethan shrugged. "I'm fine."

He had driven them to the park area, and it was nice. He definitely liked being outside more than he did being cooped up in the basement. But he was restless.

The girls laid a couple blankets down in the bed of his truck and were all lying down, gazing up at the stars. He had tried to join them, but he couldn't stay still.

He was prowling around the truck, once again trying to figure out what was wrong with him.

Josie sat up and looked at him over the side of the truck bed, seeing how fidgety he seemed.

"We can just go home if you're not having any fun," Josie offered.

"I said I'm fine!" Ethan snapped at her.

Josie recoiled. "Okay…just trying to help."

Ethan swore to himself. He hadn't meant to say that. He just felt so agitated and irritable. Maybe he should go home, but then he would be inside again and he didn't want that.

"Look, I'm sor—ry!" He ended with clenched teeth as he was suddenly hit with an overwhelming pain. He clenched his fists and bent over, his entire body feeling it.

"Ethan, what's wrong?" Josie said.

"Ethan?" Maya said, quickly sitting up, having heard his cry too.

"I don't know what's—" He cut off as another pain sliced through his insides, one he felt all the way to his bones. He cried out. "—what's wrong! I don't know what's wrong!"

All three girls were on their feet, scrambling to get to him as he collapsed to the ground.

"Someone grab a phone!" Maya told them, being the first to reach her brother. "Call 9-1-1 or my mom! Or both!"

Josie climbed back into the truck to search for her phone.

Jade and Maya were trying to search for any injuries.

"Where does it hurt?" Jade asked. She had been training to be a medic before, so she would try to use her knowledge to help now.

"Every where!" Ethan cried out, his face a mess of pain as he tried to get back up but only made it to his knees.

"When did it start?" Jade asked.

"Two seconds ago!" Ethan said, reaching down to clench his fist into the grass at his feet.

Josie found her phone but looked over at him once more before dialing.

Seeing his eyes glow slightly, she realized three things in the span of a heartbeat.

One, Ethan was a werewolf and this was his first full moon. Two, the only death that could have triggered his curse since the last full moon was Dennis'. And three, she needed to call her dad, not an ambulance.

Oh, and number four? No wonder Jade's blood hadn't healed him.

Turning away from the other girls, lest Maya overheard, she quickly called her father.

"Dad! I need you!"

"What's wrong?"

"It's Ethan. He's a wolf! He just started his change. I don't think he had any idea!"

"I'll be to the house in ten minutes," he said.

"We're at the park!"

"Just stay put 'til I get there," he said. "And keep Jade away from him."

He hung up as she realized the danger.

Turning back to them she called out, "Help is on the way! And, Jade!"

Jade looked at her.

"Get away from him," she whispered so Maya couldn't hear.

She nodded and tried to get to her feet, but Ethan's body took that opportunity to break grotesquely at his ankle.

Maya screamed as loud as Ethan, and started begging Jade to help.

Jade, not knowing what else to do, held onto Ethan and Maya who were both grasping for her.

Josie would have to take her place, if only so Jade would be safe. Josie climbed down from the truck and hurried over but, as luck would have it, Ethan's fangs had started coming in already and he bit Jade's hand. The wolf's natural enemy was the vampire, so even in his beginning stages of change he sensed her and took action.

"Oh my God," Jade said, pulling away, flinging her hand back and forth like that would make it go away. "Oh my God, Oh my God."

"Jade, just go to the truck and sit down. My dad is coming. Just stay calm and I'll handle this," Josie said, grasping Jade's good hand and pulling her away.

"He bit her?!" Maya cried out in disbelief. "What the hell is going on? What's happening to him?" She gripped hold of her brother's shoulders, trying to hug him even as he screamed as more bones started breaking.

Seeing that Jade had climbed into the front of the truck, Josie turned back to Ethan and knelt in front of him.

"I know this will be hard to understand, but you're turning into a wolf," she said as gently as possible.

"A what?" Maya yelled.

Josie turned and hushed her. "Ethan needs to hear this. Save your questions for later."

Ethan cried out as more bones broke, so Josie sent Maya away. "Get one of the blankets out of the truck. I'm going to try to make him more comfortable."

Turning back to Ethan, she searched her mind for ways to help him. She remembered Hope talking about her first change. It was knowledge that students at the school didn't need because they had already gone through their first transformations at that point. But Josie remembered it.

"Don't fight it," she said. "It's gonna hurt. Every single bone in your body is breaking and reforming. It's going to happen no matter how much you fight it. But it will take hours if you fight it. Ethan, just let it happen."

He shook his head, crying out again. "I can't!"

"Here," Maya brought her the blanket.

Josie took it and placed it on the ground next to her.

"Take off his shoes and socks," she instructed Maya. "I'm going to take off his shirt. It'll only make it more difficult for him to change if something is blocking the bones."

It was nearly impossible to do it with him cringing and screaming every other second, but somehow they managed.

The pants would just have to stay, Josie thought as she wrapped the blanket around his shoulders.

"Why isn't it stopping?" Maya asked, tears streaming down her face. "You said he's changing? Why hasn't he?"

"Because he keeps fighting it," Josie said. "Ethan, please stop. Just let it happen."

"E, please," Maya said, begging too. "I'm right here. I've got you. Just do what she says."

Ethan tried, he really did try, but it hurt too much. He shook his head.

"Try again," Josie insisted.

He lunged forward suddenly and snapped at them, tired of them insisting he do something he didn't want to. He didn't hurt the girls, but they jumped back. Maya was fine, but Josie ended up scraping her palms on some gravel in the path.

"Damn it," she mumbled, looking at the blood on her hands.

Then she froze. She looked up toward the truck. She was right to be worried.

Jade had climbed out of the truck and was standing with the door open, staring at Josie. The veins in her face were starting to appear, pumping furiously.

"Jade," Josie said, closing her palms and holding her hands away from her vision. "Get back into the truck." This was going to be a problem. Jade had been doing great at keeping her ripper tendencies in check, but a werewolf bite caused uncontrollable hunger and delusions. If her father didn't arrive soon, this was going to get messy.

She would just siphon the venom from the bite, but she couldn't siphon. She was powerless right now.

Jade was about to go ripper on them and Ethan was turning into a werewolf, and the only person there who could've helped had given up her magic.

"Maya," Josie said out the side of her mouth. "When I say run, I'm going to need you to run, okay?"

"I'm not leaving my brother," Maya insisted.

Josie closed her eyes. This was impossible. Even if Maya ran, there was no way they were going to be able to get away from Jade when she lost it.

Ethan looked back and forth between Maya and Josie, trying to follow everything despite the pain. "What's…," he cried out, "…going on?" He cried out again.

"So, there aren't just wolves," Josie said quickly. "There are also vampires."

At this point, Ethan would believe just about anything, he just didn't know why she was telling him. "Okay?" He cried out as his arm—the one that had just healed—began to crack.

Josie kept looking back at Jade, seeing her face getting even worse. Jade was trying to hold herself back, she could tell, but it was only a matter of time.

"Ohh," Maya said, seeing what Josie was looking at. "No way! No friggin way am I dating a vampire!"

Jade could see the disgust and horror on Maya's face, and she lost focus on holding herself back enough that she couldn't do it anymore.

"Ethan," Josie said as she stood and backed away from Jade, pulling Maya back along with her. "If you were ever going to stop fighting the change, now would be the time."

She looked around. She didn't have any weapons at all. The only thing that could stop Jade at this point was a pointy wooden stake which was the last thing she wanted to use. Where is my dad!?

Jade advanced on them, and Maya cringed even as Josie grabbed her arm and tried to run for it. They needed to circle around back to the truck and get out of there. They started running even though Josie knew Jade would be on them any minute, it was just a matter of who she was going to grab first.

But then she heard growling behind her and Jade didn't grab either of them.

She looked over her shoulder and stopped. "Maya."

Maya, crying hysterically now, didn't want to stop, but she followed Josie's lead.

"Is that…" Maya gasped.

Ethan had completed his transformation and was growling at Jade, holding her off, his auburn coat standing on end as he prepared to attack.

"He did it," Josie said, breathing with relief. Jade wouldn't kill her or Maya.

Except now there was a very large chance Ethan would kill Jade.

"Jade!" Josie cried out. "Run!"

The vampire weighed her options, the fear greater than the need for blood, and Jade's personality took over, tearing herself from the wolf bite delusion long enough to put the ripper away, controlled once more.

Jade knew the only option she had was the one Josie had given her. In human form, Ethan wouldn't attack her, but as a wolf—he had no control over which vampire he attacked.

Josie watched Jade take off, with Ethan chasing her, his speed nearly as fast as hers.

Headlights finally appeared and her father and Kaleb got out.

"Dad!" she shouted. "He bit Jade! He changed already! He's chasing her! You have to stop him!"

"He changed already?" Alaric asked, tossing the tranquilizer gun to Kaleb who nodded and sped off immediately to track the other two down. "That was fast."

Maya was shaking uncontrollably. "What is going on? Why are there werewolves and vampires? Oh my God, there are vampires and werewolves! And my brother is one of them!"

Alaric nodded at her and said to Josie, "Can you take her to the Salvatore school?"

Josie nodded. She would drive Ethan's truck. She didn't drive much, but she had gotten her license as soon as she was able.

"What are you going to do?" Josie asked, scared for her friends.

"We're going to track them down and bring them back to the school too," he said. "We'll meet you there. Are you okay?"

"I'm good," she said. "Thanks, dad."

"Anytime, sweetheart."

It was unnerving, waiting for Hope to appear.

He peered out the window, searching for any sign of movement. He had the large spotlights turned on, the ones that covered the area all around the house up to the woods.

He didn't know what he would do if she didn't survive, but he wasn't going to entertain the possibility. They had come too far for her to die now. He didn't understand why this fight was so important to her to be fought this way. There had to be some reason for it.

As long as that reason meant she survived, he didn't really care.

The hours ticked by slowly. When the second hour was drawing to a close, he had to curse his father for doing this to her, to him. This shouldn't take this long. If she hadn't returned by now, did that mean…

No. Not entertaining that possibility.

He would just wait patiently and she would come. She promised. She kept her promises.

And then, he finally saw movement.

It was her; he would recognize that coat of fur anywhere.

She was moving incredibly slowly, but she was making her way back.

Alive.

He opened the door and waited, his frown becoming more pronounced as he realized she was moving so slowly because she was limping.

She came inside and he closed the door.

Catching sight of her right flank, he winced and immediately started grabbing for the first aid kit.

He moved into the living room and pulled the downthrow off the back of the couch.

"I'll get your clothes and a towel for that. Go ahead and change back. Use this to cover up 'til I get back," he said indicating the blanket.

Heading to the garage, he grabbed the clothes she left there and pulled a towel out of the hall closet on the first floor.

Coming back into the living room area, he found that she was still a wolf. She was pacing slowly back and forth in front of the fireplace.

"Why haven't you changed back? And why haven't you healed yet?" He walked over, setting her clothes on the couch and bringing the towel over to wrap around her and apply pressure.

She couldn't reply of course, just settled forward on her haunches, letting him take care of the wound though she hissed while he tried to clean it up and bandage it with the supplies he had.

"Hope, you can change back anytime you want," he said again. "I'll turn around."

She whimpered and shook her head before settling back down again.

She can't, he realized. In order to change back, she would have to break every bone in her body. She was in too much pain from the wound to change back yet.

"Okay, so you can't change back because it hurts too much. Just heal it," he insisted. "If you can heal a mountain lion, you can heal yourself…"

But she couldn't do that either. He sighed, "You can't do magic in wolf form. Crap."

He knew she had super healing abilities due to her wolf powers, so it would heal eventually. It must've been one hell of an injury if it was taking this long though.

Making her comfortable for now was the only thing he could do.

Standing, he pushed the coffee table out of the way and grabbed the blanket off the couch. He spread it out on the floor, and then went to the hall closet to retrieve more towels and a couple more blankets.

Settling down on the floor with his back against the couch, he made a pallet of the towels for her to lie on if she started bleeding again. He motioned for her to come over and she did, settling down with her snout on his knee, looking up at him. He hated seeing the pain in her eyes.

He pulled one of the blankets over top of her, and then stroked her head until she fell asleep, still whimpering every once in a while even in her sleep.

Hours later, he felt her stir. The blanket was still on top of her, so she only glanced toward him before she changed back, gasping at the pain. She clutched the blanket to her.

"I'll get more bandages to redress the wound while you get dressed," he said, shifting to stand.

She shook her head. "It's closed up. Everything just really hurts."

"Do you want to go up to bed?"

She shook her head. "I'm okay here for now." She didn't want to move. She figured the bruises would all be healed in a few more hours, but for now the thought of moving hurt.

Keeping the blanket closed around her, she pushed the towels out of the way and motioned for him to join her. "Lay next to me?"

He shifted around so he could lie down next to her, pulling another blanket up over top of both of them, wondering if he should get her a pillow too.

She didn't need a pillow, not when she had him. She laid her head against his chest like always and settled in to go back to sleep.

Later that day, they set out on their invisible trek through the wilderness to locate the body of the fallen wolf.

She cleared a path of snow near a nice spot by the trees, and then used her magic to dig a giant grave. Moving the body into the grave, she started a fire. They watched until his remains turned to ash.

When the fire died out, she tossed the silver dollar into the hole—representing the only earthly belongings she could bury him with.

Then she covered the ashes back up with the dirt, piling it high, until a great mound stood packed over him—apparent in appearance that this was a grave and should remain undisturbed.

He placed the stone he had carved on top of the mound and watched as she cemented it into the earth, ensuring it stood the test of time.

The carving depicted Fenrir, the wolf, standing proud, free from the shackles and fetter that lay at his feet.

He was free.

Free from the gods who had chained him to the earth so long ago.

Free from Malivore.

Free to transcend this plane and join his father and siblings at last.

To be continued…