"Don't tell me you're mad at me." Hope leaned against the closed door and played with the end of her skirt, letting it slide up her thigh.

"What makes you think I'm mad at you?"

"You've hardly looked at me all day and you're the one I'm supposed to report to. If this keeps up, I'm gonna think you don't like me."

He looked up and when she knew she had his full attention, Hope took the opportunity to play with the front of her mostly unbuttoned shirt.

Ryan drew a deep breath, then attempted to keep his focus on the papers in front of him, though he kept glancing up at her

Hope walked slowly towards him, then pulled his chair away from his desk. Keeping her gaze on his, she pushed whatever he was working on aside and sat down in front of him. With a smirk, she rested her foot on his knee and spread her legs, allowing him to see her lack of underwear.

"Are you trying to get me removed from the school?" He swallowed thickly and gripped the arms of his chair so tightly that had he been a vampire, he'd have broken them.

"We're both adults and I'm not a student." She trailed her fingers over his mouth. "There's no law or school rule that prohibits this. I looked it up."

"You don't know what you're doing."

"I know what I want."

Leaning over, Hope licked his lower lip, the shaky exhale of his breath against her, spreading warmth through her. As she straightened, she couldn't resist a glance down and her arousal spiked even higher. This man was definitely proportionate, at least if the erection she could see through his pants was anything to go by.

"And what I want is for you to lay me across this desk and fuck me."

"Mikayla, we can't," he groaned.

Shrugging, Hope stood up. "If that's the way you want it, I'll leave you to your books."

When she reached the door, Ryan said, "Mikayla."

Hope turned to face him, tilting her head to the side as she listened.

"Make no mistake, if you had your emotions on and behaved the way you just did, I wouldn't have hesitated."

"So, that's your game? Make me flip the switch through sexual frustration?" Hope snorted. "If so, it is a new approach."

"It's not a game, and I'm not playing."

"Then why?"

"You'll have enough to regret when you allow yourself to feel again. I'd rather not be on that list."

"So if I prove that humanity free or not, I'd want you, you'll fuck me?" Hope raised an eyebrow.

"I'd rather not answer that. Because knowing you, you'll make it impossible for me to function in any capacity."

"Very well then, Mr. Clarke, game on." With casual indifference, Hope added, "Just so you know, I'll be in my room, dealing with this myself. Though I don't imagine my fingers will be quite as satisfying as what you're packing."

Hope left the room then, though she paused outside his door, curious as to how he'd react. Her eavesdropping was rewarded because after a moment, there was a thump, as if a head slamming against a desk, followed by a groan.

"Damn you, Mikaya."

As she walked away, Hope struggled to wrap her head around why he wouldn't want to have sex with her. She hadn't been allowed to leave the compound to explore her own sexuality and she didn't want to touch the people she worked with, but from what she'd seen and heard, men hardly ever turned down sex, especially with pretty people.

Hope returned to her room and sat on her bed, staring at the far wall. While she supposed she could carry through with what she told Ryan she'd be doing, she wasn't in the mood to get herself off. She wanted him to get her off. So, stubborn as she was, she decided she was going to wait until he gave in before seeking relief.

Later that evening, Hope decided that being in her room was no longer necessary to torment Ryan, so she ventured out to see what sort of mischief she could get into.

"Hi, I'm Landon."

Hope glanced up to see a boy with curly, dark hair and gray green eyes.

"And?" She raised an eyebrow.

"He's a phoenix," a girl's voice cut in.

"Again, and?" Hope snorted and walked away. What did she care about someone she would have been sent after to kill if she was still with Triad? If anything, his scent had her hair standing on end, her muscles preparing to leap, to strike, to kill.

The only thing keeping her from attacking was that killing a student less than forty-eight hours after she was released from the cage might jeopardize her place at the school. So it came down to did she want to continue playing with Ryan and possibly getting him to sleep with her, or did she want the satisfaction of a quick kill? The kill would only last so long, but Ryan was too much of a challenge to walk away from.

Hope found herself wandering the halls, looking at the place she now resided.

"So, I figured you could use a vampire ally," the boy she'd seen with Alaric fell into step beside her. "I'm Kaleb, in case you didn't know."

"I'm not looking for a friend."

"I never said 'friend'. I said 'ally'."

"What would I do with an ally who's never seen combat?"

"I might be able to get you the hookup with some things that are considered contraband around here, provided certain people don't find out, and even people who don't let themselves feel the need to talk have things they might want, so whatever it is, I'm your guy. And no, I'm not looking to screw the pretty girl. I just think you need someone who'll be in your corner and who'll help you keep from breaking the rules."

"Fine. How do I get a real drink?"

"As long as you promise not to kill anyone introduce you to, I can hook you up."

"So, play by your rules and I can feed properly?" Hope raised an eyebrow. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. Vamps before anyone else."

"I'm not just a vampire, you know."

"Yeah, but you died and you need blood now. So I'll help you out."

"Don't expect me to be nice," Hope warned. Why was she saying that? What did it matter if she was cruel to anyone? Then again, no one offered to be an ally, which she knew she needed if she was going to make it here.

"Like I said, I'm expecting you to want to be a friend, but if you want an ally, I'm your guy."

"Get me a proper meal and I'll consider it."

"You'll consider it?" Kaleb raised an eyebrow.

"Turnabout's fair play. You help me, I'll help you and you know I can do things you can't."

"True. Meet me in the library just after midnight tonight. Snatch, feed, erase. No harm, no foul, and no one around here can know, not even other vampires."

"So, why me?"

"Because you look thirsty and I figure a humanity free vampire wouldn't be too keen on drinking bunny blood."

"You aren't wrong," Hope admitted as she fought against the veins beneath her eyes. That couldn't happen because it would give away that she was more than a heretic.

"So, what do you say?"

"Count me in."

"After midnight." Kaleb grinned and headed on his way.

Hope wondered around a little more before a familiar scent reached her nose, a scent she had pushed down so much she hadn't noticed if she'd crossed it earlier. As if under the power of compulsion, Hope followed it until she reached the library. When she got to there, she froze. There, sitting in a chair against the far wall, sat her dad. She wondered why she hadn't seen her before.

The switch buckled and threatened to give at the sight of him. Memories of the stories her mother told of him, of painting with him in the garden, of him just being her dad, they flooded her mind and she very nearly gave in.

"Daddy Klaus?" a girl's voice had her snapping away from the switch and she stepped out of the way as the dark haired girl she'd seen the night she first met people from the school, Josie?, sat on his lap and tucked her head under his chin.

"You haven't called me that in years."

"When did you get back?"

"Just a few minutes ago. What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"I wish I hadn't gone to Triad."

"Caroline told me about that. The first time you see a human killed so brutally can be difficult."

"I don't want to get used to it though. Because if I do, I could become like her."

"Like who?"

"Mikayla. The girl we brought back with us. She's hard and cold and just doesn't care."

"Mikayla. Is that her name?"

Hearing her father speak about her like he didn't even know her chilled her so deeply and she wanted to hurt someone, anyone, but especially the girl taking her place in her father's arms. That should be her being comforted, not some interloper.

"Pathetic," Hope sneered. "You can't even stomach seeing someone die and you fall apart."

"Not everyone has the experience you do," Klaus snapped.

"And not everyone has the luxury she does," Hope retorted. She was so close to breaking, so close to screaming that she was his daughter, crying and begging him to understand that she fit that empty place inside his heart, not Josie.

"What luxury is that?"

"Of knowing that someone cares when she's facing something she can't handle on her own. Why else do you think I flipped the switch? It's easier to face the impossible alone when I don't have to feel or care."

Turning on her heel, she fled the room as quickly as she could. So much for always and forever. She was a Mikaelson, yet no one remembered her, so that promise no longer applied to her. She knew it already, but having her father look at her so coldly was a difficult pill to swallow.

The first person who crossed her, she swore she was going to kill them. It didn't matter who it was or what they said, but she was going to take their life, prove that she was firmly in control and that no one could tell her what to do or guilt her for doing what she had to do to survive.

"Mikayla-"

That was all it took. One person saying her assumed name after her father treated her like that. With a snarl, Hope launched herself at the speaker and sank her fangs in. Blood, not human, but still satisfying enough to slake her thirst and push the switch firmly back into the 'off' position, flowed into her mouth. She swallowed greedily until the blood stopped and Hope dropped the body.

"Convenient," Hope said when she saw who lay at her feet.

"Convenient?" Josie shrieked. "You killed someone!"

"Convenient that it's the phoenix." She wiped lips with her thumb and sucked the blood off it.

She looked around to find nearly every student in the school as well as several teachers staring at her in horror. Kaleb shook his head with an exasperated smile on his face, but there was no real judgment in the expression.

"Why did you do it?"

"Because I was thirsty and he was annoying. Besides, it's not like there was any other way of getting a real meal around here." Why she felt the need to make sure no one would look at Kaleb for anything, she wasn't sure, but she decided not to think about it.

"You're an impulsive danger to everyone around you," Klaus said as he came up behind Josie. He looked the scene over.

"Says the one who killed a human just because her son didn't wanna be your little bitch boy anymore." Hope smirked when he stepped back as though she struck him. "I could make a list of all those you've killed who won't be coming back, but that would take me a month."

"Mikayla." Ryan caught her elbow. To the others surrounding them, he said, "I'll handle this."

"Oh, dear. Looks like I'm in trouble now."

"Come with me."

He led the way to his office and closed the door behind them.

"Are you going to spank me? I have been a very bad girl." Hope raised an eyebrow.

"No." He searched her face, his mouth pulling down just a little.

After a moment's consideration, Ryan opened a drawer and pulled out a decanter and two glasses. Pouring about three fingers worth into each of them, he held one up for her and Hope took it.

"I thought you could use a real drink," he said.

"Offering someone who's under the age of twenty-one a drink? My my. Looks like I'm not the only one in need of a spanking."

Hope sat down across from him and took a sip, enjoying the burn of the alcohol down her throat. As they drank, Ryan watched her carefully.

"Something on my face? Or are you picturing something more salacious?"

"I was thinking something a bit less scandalous than whatever's going on in that dirty mind of yours."

"What about?"

"You're too controlled to kill randomly. So why did you kill him?" Ryan leaned back in his chair with his elbows on the arms.

Hope shrugged and returned her attention to the glass in her hand.

"Now, everyone's just going to be waiting for me to snap again." Hope sneered as she took a sip of her drink.

"As long as you don't kill anyone permanently, there's not a whole lot that they can do about it."

Ryan held up the decanter, offering her a refill, and Hope accepted it silently.

"They could kick me out onto the streets." Why did that sound less appealing than it had the day before?

"And risk turning a humanity free vampire loose on the world? Not a chance. At least here, they know you're semi-contained. And, everyone here can either defend themselves or not die permanently; in some cases, both."

"Contained. So I've gone from one prison to another."

"It's only a prison if you let it be one. Here, you can figure out what you want out of life and to understand yourself, if you choose to do so."

"It's not like I have anything else to do. Besides, at least one of the jailers is hot." Hope looked at him from under her lashes.

Ryan looked like he wanted to say something else, but then decided against it.

Hope finished her drink quickly and stood up.

"You're leaving already?"

"I think it's better if I go. I probably shouldn't be alone with you."

"Why's that?"

"If I stay here any longer, I'll try to strip you naked and ride you into next week."

"Goodnight, Mikayla." He shifted in his chair, suddenly uncomfortable, even as his gaze fell to her lips.

With a final smirk, Hope left the room.