A/N: Okay, so this is a long one, a lot of information in this one, but I'm hoping it all makes some kind of sense.

Also, quick question, how do you feel about supernatural pregnancies?

Kol knew his family were supposedly descendants of Vikings, or rather, his father had been one before moving to the New World, but how on earth they could bear the bloody cold back then was beyond him. It was a delectable little witch in Paris that had suggested he head towards his parents birthplace while looking for answers. She'd told him about a coven of powerful witches residing in a small town on the coast of Norway, and hinted that perhaps they'd be able to answer his inquiries.

She'd warned him to be careful as well, because apparently these witches had a particularly strong disregard for vampires. Kol would have been worried had he been a regular vampire, but seeing as he was one of the originals, he doubted he had much to fear. Yes, they could likely give him a bloody migraine or incapacitate him with a spell or two, but unless they had some white oak handily at the ready, he wasn't concerned.

"You're sure this is the place?"

The woman who'd introduced herself as Ingrid when she picked him up at the airport just outside the city known as Trondheim, glanced at him and nodded.

"This is the place, and this is where I'll be leaving you."

He stared at her.

"Come again?"

"I made a concious decision to walk away from magic years ago, the people you're about to meet is my old coven and they won't be happy to see me. You'll have a better chance at getting any answers without me there." She told him, and he sighed.

Of course his french witch hadn't made it easy for him, setting him up with an ex-witch as a guide.

Getting out of the car, he watched as Ingrid drove off him and left him right there on a bloody parking lot in the middle of nowhere on a small island that he'd never heard about. Hitra, it was called, and what kind of name was that anyway?

It was beautiful there, no doubt, but it was also windy, and it smelled of cows maneur and fish. Who on earth would ever want to live there?

"You must be the vampire," he heard a woman say in broken english. When he turned around to identify the owner of the voice, he was met with the sight of a small elderly woman with thick dark hair, generously streaked with silver, and pale blue eyes. She wore jeans, lace-up boots, a thick scarf and windbreaker jacket, and Kol could feel the magic coming off of her in waves. He hadn't felt such power since his mother, and it struck him then that a thousand years ago, his mother had been a witch born and bread in this very country.

"Well, don't just stand there and look at me boy, if you want answers, follow me."

This woman was a thousand years younger than him, and she still treated him like a child, called him "boy" like he was a misbehaving youngster. It astounded him that this woman who clearly knew who he was, showed neither fear nor respect in his presence. In any other situation he would have taught her to think differently, but he doubted he'd get the answers he was looking for if his first action when meeting this supposed "all-powerful" coven was attack one of their own. With nothing else for it, he began to follow her as she led the way up the road and weared onto a dirt road leading into what seemed to be a heavily wooded area.

"In case you were wondering," the witch, whose name he hadn't gotten yet, spoke up, "we have a field of especially grown white oaks hidden on the island. Just in case you decide to try something stupid." The way she said it, casually like they were having a nice easy conversation, and not like she'd just threatened to kill him, made him grin. He was starting to like this witch, and he would give his liver to see her converse with Nik, though she suspected this witch would like Elijah's civilty better.

"Good to know," he stated, and the witch glanced at him, her eyes twinkling with laughter.

"I've heard about you, Kol Mikaelson, charmer of witches."

Now that, that was unexpected. He'd specifically instructed his french witch not to divulge his name, and he knew she hadn't, and as for Ingrid, he'd never informed her of his name so it couldn't have been her who gave him up.

"Well, it seems I'm at a disadvantage here. I don't believe I caught your name,"

"That's because I didn't give it to you," she informed him, and thankfully continued to do just that, "but you can call me Agnes."

"It's a pleasure to make your aquaintance, Agnes." The witch snorted and shook her head.

"The pleasure is all yours, I assure you." Really, he liked this witch.

"The woman who drove me here, Ingrid, you know her?" he couldn't help his curiosity. If Ingrid had indeed once been part of this coven, he was curious as to what could have possibly made her turn her back on them, as well as her magic.

"Yes, she's my niece, sweet girl. She doesn't come around often, had a falling out with her father a few years ago, it ended badly." He was surprised at this divulging of information, though he got the impression that was all the information he'd get.

"Fair warning, when you meet the rest of the coven, don't expect a warm welcome. We don't have a high opinion of your kind, more of a policy to stake on sight, and ask questions later. I've told them to behave, but every coven has its rebells so I wouldn't be surprised if someone tried anything. Don't react, I'll deal with it, whatever it is." Again, he was surprised at her frank honesty. Most witches he'd met were secretive, untrusting, and it wasn't that Agnes trusted him, but she clearly recognized he was there for a reason.

"I'll be on my best behaviour," he swore. Agnes gave him a look, a long one that made his bones chill, before she nodded and continued leading him down the road until he saw an outcropping of small buildings appearing in the distance.

Before they could make it there, Agnes abruptly stopped and turned to him, pinning him down with her eyes.

"In a few moments you'll see and learn things that has never left this community. We've been here for more than a thousand years, and we've been able to do that because we're careful and we don't usually socialize with outsiders. Whether or not you find the answers you're looking for depends on your talent to keep secrets."

As much as he didn't like it, Kol felt that her honesty demanded his own, so he told her what she needed to know.

"The questions I'm asking are on someone elses' behalf, I must share whatever I discover with them. However, the location of your community and whatever I discover not relevant for my reason of being here, I will take with me to the grave."

Agnes sighed and nodded.

"I suppose that will have to do. Come on, let's get this over with."

Up until four months ago, Caroline had never left Mystic Falls and now she'd been practically everywhere. Stefan and Tyler had left soon after Bonnie's "visit", and in the days that passed she had gotten to know Hayley a lot better as the two of them tried to figure out where to go next. Northern Europe could mean anything, but they'd been able to figure out that whatever secret "werewolf bloodline" Bonnie had been talking about, originated from somewhere in Scandinavia, so that's where they were and had been for the past week.

They'd been to Finland, Denmark, even freaking Iceland (though Caroline wasn't sure that was actually part of Scandinavia), and now they'd just tracked down all their leads in Sweden without coming up with anything.

"Norway it is," Hayley muttered as they crossed the border from Sweden into Norway, and Caroline sighed.

"This seems stupid. We've been searching for this stupid pack forever, and we're nowhere closer to figuring out anything." She pointed out the sad truth. Honestly, she was getting ready to just give up and head back home, even if that meant once again facing Klaus and his family.

"Don't throw in the towel yet, Caroline. Look, if we don't find anything here, you can come back to New Orleans with me. There are some powerful witches in the city who might be able to help you out, and you can stay safely with me and my pack in the bayou until we learn something. I told you in Berlin, I got your back, no matter how that needs to come about."

Caroline seriously missed her friends from back home, and after leaving Berlin they'd been on a total communication blackout, but there was no denying she really valued having Haley's company. They were the same age, they both lived totally crazy lives, and where it mattered, they were a lot alike. And honestly, without Haley at her side, Caroline would have thrown in the towel and fallen into the temptation to head home days ago.

"Thanks Haley, I really appreciate your help with all of this. I know it can't be easy for you, being so far from home, helping out a total stranger. It means a lot to me that you're here."

"Don't worry about it, Caroline. I get it. I'm not a werewolf because I want to be, I didn't have a choice in it, and neither did you when it comes to being a vampire. And if there is any truth to you being a hybrid, that's kind of big news for everyone, so I'm happy to help."

"I'm not a hybrid," Caroline said for the millionth time, because seriously, she'd know if she was one, right?

"How do you know?" Haley asked, and Caroline glanced at her. They were taking turns driving, now Haley was at the wheel and the brunette shrugged at her question.

"I mean, hybrids don't have to turn if they don't want to. Werewolves are bound by the full moon, we don't have a choice, but if you are a hybrid, you could probably choose to turn at will if you want to. I mean, I already told you that's how Tyler was able to break his sire bond to Klaus, by turning over and over again until he didn't feel the pain anymore. So, you could probably find out for sure if you're a hybrid if you try to, you know, turn."

Caroline didn't like the sound of that. It sounded painful as hell, and she'd been there when Tyler had his first transformation and it was a horrifying experience that still made her shudder just thinking about it.

"I wouldn't even know how to do that," Caroline pointed out the obvious and Hayley glanced at her.

"You will your body to do what you tell it to. The full moon is coming up in a few days, I need to find a place out of sight and preferably uninhabited to turn. You could try doing it with me, see if anything happens, at least you'd know for sure."

She couldn't believe she was actually considering it, but Hayley had a good point. Besides, they were on this stupid search party looking for answers they may not even need the answers to, and if Caroline was right, nothing would happen anyway and they could just call of the search. Hayley could get back to her life in New Orleans and Caroline could maybe, if she played her cards right, come up with a plan to return home without falling into the clutches of the pesky Mikaelson-family.

"If I say yes, and nothing happens, can we stop this stupid search and go home then?"

"Sure," Hayley agreed easily, and Caroline cursed herself before she sighed and turned her head to look out the window at the scenery passing them by.

"Fine, I'll give it a try, see what happens."

"Okay then, we have a plan." Hayley agreed.

Yeah, Caroline thought, we have a plan. Damn.

Hayley had lied, she didn't need a secluded area to turn and run free as a wolf. She had a spelled pendant with a kyanite stone that prevented her from turning during a full moon, but she'd needed Caroline to believe that she was forced to turn. Now, she stood hidden in the trees and watched as Caroline's bones reshaped themselves into that of a wolf, but it was a transformation unlike anything Hayley had ever seen before.

The transformation was complete in minutes, and Caroline only screamed once as the change first began to happen, but then it was as if there was no pain. It was remarkable, and it raised a hell of a lot of questions. But one thing was for sure, it was indisputable, Caroline Forbes was a hybrid.

Hayley watched as the silvercoated wolf with the ice blue eyes disappeared into the trees, listened to the sounds of the forest as she began to track Caroline's path. She had a theory, and it might be a faulty one, but wolves were all about pack and nature, and it was only natural to assume that Caroline's wolf, now that she'd been released, would try to find her way back to her own pack. Wherever Caroline ended up might give them some clue as to where to look for answers.

She could be wrong, because so far, Caroline was nothing like any werewolf Hayley had ever met, but she was hoping she was right about this one.

Caroline woke up naked... on the forest floor... with dirt all over her. Oh no, this was not good.

Damn it, Klaus had been right, she was a freaking hybrid!

She'd turned into a wolf last night, and she couldn't remember much about the experience, except it only hurt for a second and then it was like the animal inside of her pushed the human, or vampire, aside, and it was all a blank from there.

"Morning sleepyhead," Pushing up into a sitting position, Caroline used her hands to cover herself and turned her head to glare at Hayley who was approaching her, thankfully carrying what looked to be clothes.

"You lied to me," she snapped, because she'd remembered that much. She remembered that Hayley hadn't changed, and while she had no explanation for that yet, she knew when she'd been played.

"I did, and I'm not sorry. We needed to know, and now we do, so get over it because we got places to go, answers to find."

Again, Caroline hated it when people was right and she couldn't be pissed at them when she wanted to.

"Whatever, give me those clothes and then find me a shower. I'm not going anywhere until I've washed the dirt and grime off my body."

"You're wish is my command, princess." Hayley muttered, making Caroline scowl. She didn't feel much like a princess right then, though she was not unaware she often had the disposition of a spoiled princess. Or she did have that disposition before she became a vampire and realized life was a lot more complicated than who would be the next Miss Mystic Falls, who she was going to prom with, or what college she was going to. None of that seemed to matter anymore, because the truth was, she'd never have a normal life again. It just wasn't in the cards for her.

And even if there was some magical cure for vampirism, Caroline was a much better person as a vampire than she'd ever been as a human, and she'd still be part werewolf and that was certainly not without its complications.

So yeah, her days of being a princess was long gone, but that didn't mean she wasn't always going to be high maintenance. There was a certain pride in that and she wouldn't give that up for anything.

Kol was unsure what he was doing, sitting at what was basically a giant campfire in the middle of the woods, but he'd been ordered by Agnes to attend and in the days he'd spent in their community he'd learned she was the head of the coven, as well as the community's most important individual, so he knew his best bet was to do what he was told.

He hadn't really learned anything in the days he'd been there, and the people in the community mostly gave him a wide berth, except for a group of curious young children and a few suspicious members of the coven. He'd told the children stories of what he'd seen in all his years as a vampire, had been surprised at their lack of awe at learning how old he truly was, and how they seemed more interested in knowing about what he could do as a vampire. He'd told them he was supernaturally fast and strong, and that he couldn't be killed of course, and he'd told him of his own magical powers of compulsion, and even this last part they didn't seem all that impressed with.

He was clearly missing something, he just couldn't figure out what it was. He had learned, however, that the children who were born with magic in the community was taught how to use them from a very early age. In return of him answering their questions, they'd shown him magic tricks, and he'd been thoroughly impressed when a little witch named Astrid who couldn't have been more than five years old, made an entire oak burst into flames only to extinguish the flame seconds later. The tree bore no marks of the flames, as if it had never happened, but the smell of burnt timber had lingered in the air for long moments after. The childrens parents, understandably, frowned on what their children was doing but still allowed it under strict supervision, likely under Agnes edict.

"Tonight," she now said, sitting on a log next to him, "you'll get the answers you seek, Kol Mikaelson."

Now he was thoroughly intrigued.

"You've met much of our community, but not all." She went on to inform him, her eyes aimed up at the sky and he followed her gaze to see she was staring up at the full moon shining bright over their little clearing. As if her words were some sort of cue, he could suddenly hear rustling in the woods, the sound of multiple people approaching. He looked across the massive fire at the center of the clearing, into the woods on the other side, and moments later a large group of people began to appear. At a guess, he'd say it was between twenty and thirty people, possibly even more.

As he watched their approach, a young girl broke away from the group and came running in their direction, in fact it seemed she was heading directly towards Kol, or more accurately, the woman sitting beside him. Agnes opened her arms just as the girl reached them, and he heard her greet a happy, "Hei bestemor," which he'd learned was the norwegian version "hello grandma".

"Your granddaughter?" He sought to clarify, and Agnes looked at him, nodded briefly and turned her attention to the little girl.

"Ylva, this is my friend, Kol." The little girl peeked at him shyly from beneath her long lashes, leaning into her grandmother and he smiled gently at her. He was a monster most of the time, but with certain people he'd learned to reign it in, children being those people.

"Hello Ylva, what a pretty name for a pretty girl." She smiled at the compliment and then she leaned up to whisper something in her grandmother's ear that he obviously heard, but couldn't understand as the girl spoke norwegian, but whatever it was, it made her grandmother laugh.

Settling Ylva back in her lap, Agnes turned to look at him and her eyes were dancing.

"She said you're very pretty," at that it was Kol's turn to laugh, and he did it while he winked at the little girl now shyly smiling at him.

"That's a high compliment indeed."

"She's a charmer, going to be trouble this one, drives her father up the wall. It's too early to tell yet, but it seems the magic is stronger than the wolf in her." Now, that was interesting.

"What do you mean, the magic is stronger than the wolf?" Agnes turned her eyes to the new arrivals and motioned with her head to a couple that had settled down close to them.

"That's Victor and his mate Amalie, he's a wolf and she's a witch and they have three children together."

Hmm...

"I was under the impression that witches aren't all that fond of interracial "breeding" as it were."

"Other witches, yes. With us, it's different. And for these wolves and these witches, it is not about breeding, it's about mating and keeping the power of the bloodline strong. Victor over there, how old do you think he is?"

Kol felt like it was a trick question, but studying the man, he'd say he was somewhere in his mid-forties perhaps, maybe slightly younger.

"43-44?"

Agnes shook her head in response.

"He's eight hundred and seventy-nine years old. Amalie is three hundred and five."

"How is that possible?" It was quite astounding, and very interesting information to possess, but he wasn't sure whether it answered any of the questions Nik had about his baby vampire/possible baby hybrid.

"Magic, Kol. I'm fifty-two years old, I have a grown son and a mate that was four hundred years my senior when we first met. He died, two years ago, at four hundred and eighty nine years old. To outsiders, he looked like a many in his mid-fifties, but he'd been alive for centuries before he took his last breath. I was born here, both my parents were witches, both of them are long gone now. And my mate, Lars, he was born in what makes up the other half of our community. His father was a wolf, his mother a witch. My in-laws are still alive, currently out exploring the world, and they will go on to live for millennia if they want to. It's the beauty of the mating bond, you see. A witch, even in this community, can only enhance her life by a few years if he or she is skilled enough, but the wolves are immortal until they choose to die."

"What do you mean, they choose to die?"

"It took Victor five hundred years to find his mate, it took my Lars four hundred to find me, some of the wolves go even longer, and some of them can't stand the loneliness. That is the curse of this bloodline. The ones who can't handle it, they choose to abandon their immortality in place of a normal human lifespan, but once they've made that decision there is no turning back. They leave the community, they abandon the connection to the animal within, and they settle with the humans somewhere else. It's still possible for them to pass on the werewolf gene, but it rarely activates in those outside of the pack because they never even know it's there."

"That's not how werewolves function where I'm from." Kol muttered and Agnes shook her head.

"You've been taught to see werewolves as cursed and bound by the moon, but these wolves, my family, they are different. More than a millennia ago, long before you or any of your siblings even existed, there was a powerful witch who fell in love with a human man. As the lore goes, this witch received her powers directly from the old gods, and as long as she remained in their favor, she would not die. The norse goddess of love, who was also the goddess of fertility, war and death, offered the witch a gift so she would not spend an eternity alone. It was a spell, crafted by the goddess herself, to give the witch's lover immortality. But, as it is with any spell, it came at a cost. A mere human could not survive the toll it would take on his body, to live for millennia without anyone to help share the burden, and so when the goddess asked him which creature he'd share his vessel with, the human who was a proud hunter, chose the wolf. Unlike the wolves you are familiar with, Kol, he was not bound to give his body to the moon during any full moon. The man had a choice, always. But for each transformation, the human lived ten more years."

"So what you're really saying is, once any of these wolves, your wolves, stop transforming, they'll eventually grow older, and possibly die?"

"At a certain time, yes."

Well, this was definitely unlike any werewolf origin story he'd ever heard.

"What if one of these wolves were turned into a vampire, would it be possible for he or she to somehow activate the curse after their transition?"

"These wolves are not cursed, they were given a gift. And there is no way to activate it, as you say. If the gene is in your blood, I suppose, even if you are a vampire, it could make itself known under certain circumstances."

"Known how?" Finally, he was getting somewhere.

"Well, if a person originating from this bloodline, was to become a vampire, it is likely it would have no effect on the werewolf gene because these wolves already have the magic of immortality coursing through their blood. Whether or not the person is aware of it is another story. But there have been situations where wolves without mates have been unable to transform until crossing paths with their true mate. The gene lies in their blood and allows them to live for centuries, slowing their aging until they only age by a year or less for each passing decade. And when they meet their mates, it is as if the wolf had been hiding until that very moment, and only then can he or she change into the animal, precisely because after a mating, their partner receives the same immunity to aging and the same powers of immortality through their bond."

Bloody hell, Nik was not going to like this.

"How does one recognize his or her mate?"

"It usually happens very quickly, some make the connection at first sight, others need slightly more time. But once a wolf of this bloodline has found and recognized its mate, it is usually marked by their eyes flashing blue."

Oh hell, Nik really wouldn't like this.

"From the look on your face, I'd say you've found some answers." Agnes said and he focused on her to see that he'd completely forgotten about the young girl now fast asleep in her lap, and he was equally surprised that no one had approached them in the time they'd been talking. Strangely, the newly arrived were also given him intense, but not entirely unfriendly glances.

"Why have you been so honest with me?" It was a valid question. Most witches would have at least given him a migraine or two by then.

"The witches of this land have always known we'd see the return of Esther and Dahlia's bloodline someday. They grew up here, on this very island, before they were taken by a group of vikings and forced to perform magic for them. Your mother fell in love with one of her captors, a viking named Mikael, broke her sister's heart as she chose to stay with him instead of running off with Dahlia."

"My mother grew up here, with a sister?"

Agnes sighed, nodded and then motioned for him to come with her as she carefully adjusted Ylva in her arms while getting to her feet. He followed her over to a couple she introduced to him as her son, Nikolai and his wife, Marie, where she handed a sleeping Ylva to her father before she turned to him and ordered him to come with her. Still reeling from everything he'd learned, he remained quiet as she led him back to the small community of houses, and he walked into the house he knew was hers. In his time there, he'd stayed in an uninhabited cabin, and that night was the first time Agnes had invited him into her home, acknowleding a level of trust she hadn't showed until then.

"Here," she said and he automatically reached out his hands to accept the large leather book she was holding his way.

"This was your grandmother's grimoire, it's been added on to over the years, by witches of your bloodline. Your mother had an older sister, named Dahlia, and no one really knows what happened to her after your mother and father took your brother Finn and moved to the new world. Dahlia disappeared around the same time your sister Freya died, and there has been no trace of her since. But your grandmother had a brother, and he sired three children before he died, two boys and one girl, all of which were powerful witches who again bore forth sons and daughters. You have many living relatives you know nothing of, Kol Mikaelson, some of them still resides in this very community. Some of them you saw tonight, witches who mated with wolves. We've discovered over the years, that any child of a werewolf and a witch of Esther's and Dahlia's bloodline, the magic is too powerful for the werewolf gene to emerge fully. They become powerful witches indeed, but their wolf never appears."

Again, he was overwhelmed with information he had no idea existed, and he was even more unsure how much he should divulge to his siblings.

"And you?" He asked, a sneaking suspicion entering his mind.

"I told you earlier, both of my parents were witches, but yes, I am a descendant of your great-grandmother. The woman who birthed the woman who created the first vampires to roam the earth."

Bloody. Fucking. Hell.