Hope's hands shook as she opened the letter from her aunt.

Hope,

However this is possible, I believe you. I have no choice, because every spell I've done on your blood proves that you are family.

I want you to know that you, your child, and the father of your child are more than welcome to come to New Orleans and you will have a home with us. Let me know when you arrive in the city and meet me at Rousseau's.

In the meantime, I'll be doing what I can to return people's memories of you. There's a hole in our lives and I think it's where you should be. I hope you come home soon.

Always and forever,

Freya Mikaelson

Hope reread the letter over and over again, before she was finally able to process the words. She could go home! Her baby would be a part of the Crescent pack and she wouldn't be so alone during her pregnancy.

All the emotions she'd been holding in for the last decade ripped through her and she couldn't fight it now. She didn't have a reason to. Her family wouldn't turn their backs on her and she could finally call herself a Mikaelson once more.

Sobs tore at her and she buckled, wrapping her arms around her middle. If she didn't, she was afraid that she might fly apart at the seams.

This was how Ryan found her a while later and he pulled her against his chest.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"Freya." Unable to finish speaking, she shoved the letter at him, to allow him to read it.

"She accepts you," Ryan whispered against her hair.

"Our baby will know my family. We can go home." Hope buried her face in his neck as she wrapped her hands over her belly.

"So, let's get ready. Your family deserves to have you in their lives and you need them, especially with you being pregnant." He covered both of her hands with one of his.

Like this, she couldn't ignore just how much bigger he was than her and even though she was the one with the supernatural strength and magic, she felt safe, protected, loved, with his arms around her. There was definitely a bonus to being with a man a whole foot taller than she was.

"I can go home," Hope whispered. "I can go home."

Ryan kissed the side of her head, nuzzling her.

"I've never had a home of my own before. It's always been about protecting Seylah and Landon and living wherever was safest for them. I've never belonged."

"You will now. To the Mikaelsons, family is always and forever, and you're the father of my baby, so that makes you family, no matter what." Hope kissed the part of his chest exposed by the v in the collar of his t-shirt.

"Our son or daughter is going to never know what it means to not be loved." Ryan rubbed her belly right below her navel, where their child was growing.

"Speaking of, I um, I promised to figure out if the baby was a boy or girl."

"You know it doesn't matter to me, one way or the other."

"I know, but I'd rather not keep calling the baby 'it'."

"You know the baby might end up not fitting into the gender role the sex suggests."

"I know. But until he or she makes it known, we'll call them according to their sex."

Ryan tipped her chin up and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"I love you, Ryan."

"I love you, sweetheart." He brushed her hair out of her face. "You're so beautiful."

"I'm not. My face is all puffy and I'm a mess from crying." Hope rubbed her eyes with her t-shirt.

"Still beautiful." Ryan stood up, helping Hope to her feet as he moved.

Hope smiled up at him, then caught his wrists, leading him over to the bed.

"Come on. Let's find out if it's a boy or a girl."

Taking off a necklace, Hope lay down and held the jewelry out to him.

"What do I do?"

"Hold this above my stomach. Which ever way it spins tells us if it's a boy or a girl."

Ryan held the necklace over her belly and it started to spin.

"What does that mean?"

"It's a girl," Hope whispered.

Ryan dropped the necklace and leaned over to kiss her stomach.

"My daughter."

"You're going to turn her into a daddy's girl, aren't you?" Hope giggled.

"Of course. I never thought I'd have this, so yes, I'm going to spoil her rotten."

"You know there's a chance that we can have more children after she's born."

"I know, and I will love them all equally, but she'll a little more special because she's the dream I gave up on having centuries ago." He rested his cheek against her belly.

Hope ran her fingers through his curls and he sighed in contentment.

"When can we leave?" she asked after a long moment of them simply lying there, enjoying the feel of each other's bodies.

"Hopefully, things will be settled by this weekend and we can be on our way."

"Once we're out of town, you won't have to deal with Lucy anymore."

Ryan chuckled, his beard stubble tickling her and she giggled.

"I'm sure she'll be so heartbroken."

"Once we disappear, she won't have a choice but to move on."

"That might be difficult because you're a beautiful man and no one else in this town is even as close to good looking as you are."

Ryan pushed himself up so that he was braced on his elbow above Hope, his face even with hers, his brows furrowed.

"What?"

"You think the only reason she was attracted to me was because of how I look?"

"You're a pretty, older, mysterious guy, and she's a high school student who thinks she's more mature than she actually is." Hope started laughing. "You're literally a character out of a young adult novel and she's the heroine of her own story, so of course you'd want her."

"Instead, I've fallen for the powerful, exquisitely beautiful, secret agent who has no qualms about removing herself from people's memories and who falls so outside the rules of nature that I was able to father a child with her."

"To her, I'm a terrible person, moving in on the guy she thinks she's in love with, and if she knew what sort of life I've lived, she'd definitely become convinced that I'm the villain in her story."

Ryan sigh and sat up.

"What's wrong?"

"We need to talk to Seylah, to let her know what the plans are. That your family wants you to come home as soon as possible."

"Seylah can wait a little bit longer." Hope tugged him back down so she could lay her head against his heart.

For a long moment, they lay there, basking in the perfection of the moment, the ancient being holding the tiny young woman who defied all the laws of nature, including the one that allowed her to carry his child.

Shouting from upstairs caught her attention and she sat up, looking at Ryan.

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure." Hope scrambled to her feet and Ryan followed her.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they found Landon and Raf standing in the living room. Raf was in tears and Landon was watching him, his eyes wide with fear. Seylah stood off to one side, her expression uncertain.

"What's going on?"

"Raf and his girlfriend were in a car accident this morning. She died while Raf was able to walk away without a scratch and now he's flipping out so bad he cracked the door when he slammed it," Landon said without looking away from his friend.

Something about the way Rafael was standing had Hope's hair standing on end and she approached him slowly.

"Rafael. Raf."

Hope touched his arm and he jerked back, his lips curling back in a snarl as his eyes flashed yellow.

"You're a werewolf."

Raf stared at her for a moment, confused.

"It's okay. Just breathe. You're new to this, but you'll be able to adjust. I know about some people in Virginia who can help you adjust and teach you to manage what's going on with your body right now."

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm a werewolf too. I know what you're going through."

"Did these people help you too?"

"No. But I do know their reputation and they're good at what they do."

"Werewolf?" Landon squeaked.

"The supernatural is real and sometimes monsters look human."

"Like Ryan."

"Ryan's not as much of a monster as I am."

"You know what he is and you're still with him?" Landon asked, confused.

"I'm a werewolf and a witch. I'd say that makes me more of a monster than a being who's essentially an immortal human in terms of power."

"I'm a werewolf?" Rafael shook his head, his expression confused.

"You are. That anger, that strength, it's because when your girlfriend died, you triggered the curse. And the next full moon, you'll break every bone in your body when you turn into a wolf for a few hours."

Raf shook his head again and backed up, so Hope did the only thing she could do.

Lifting her hands, she murmured, "Papilio Lux."

A glowing butterfly rose from her hands and Raf watched it for a moment before asking, "What is that?"

"It's a comfort spell, to bring peace of mind. It'll help us explain what's happening to you better since it's calming your mind."

"Oh." His brows were still furrowed, but he stood straighter now. "How bad will it hurt?"

"It will be excruciatingly painful. The first transition is always the worst, but it gets easier after that."

"Do you go through it?"

"Not every month no. My pack is able to turn at will, so I can sometimes turn several times a month, or not even once that month. But I won't be able to turn at all until the baby is born, since pregnant wolves can't turn. Our bodies won't allow us to."

"Oh."

"I'll take Rafael to Virginia," Seylah offered. "Landon and I can live close by to him, just in case."

She raised an eyebrow just a little at Ryan as if to say 'just in case Landon needed the school too' and Ryan nodded once.

"And Hope and I will head straight to New Orleans."

"Why New Orleans? Why don't you and Hope come with us?" Landon asked.

"It's where I'm from and it's time for me to go home. My family wants me home and I need my pack."

"Werewolves have packs, like in the stories?" Raf asked.

"Yes. There is a pack at the school you'll be going to and they may want you to go through whatever initiation this pack requires, but wolves protect their own and once you prove yourself to them, they'll have your back, no matter what."

"I don't need a pack." Raf denied.

"Every wolf needs a pack. The pack is family, and family is always and forever. It's instinctive to want to belong to one."

"You've survived alone. Why can't I?" Raf seemed almost defiant, but it was a defiance Hope understood. He was terrified.

"It's been hell being alone, especially during the first few months, when you're still trying to adjust to this new normal you're in, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It's hard to be alone as a werewolf." Hope stepped back, her hands cradling her belly. "It's even more difficult to be a werewolf alone while pregnant, so that's I'm finally going home."

"This school, will they judge me?"

"You didn't kill her on purpose. It was an accident. So they'll accept you as a student. That's their one thing. They can't accept cold blooded killers. Which is the main reason I never tried to attend. I triggered the curse by committing murder and I don't feel bad for it."

"A Triad agent, I'm assuming," Seylah mused.

"Yes." Turning back to Raf, she said, "Don't become like me. You've got the chance for a good life. Don't throw it away. Please."

"Okay. Just let me go to the funeral." Raf deflated even more and it took everything in her not to go over and hug him. He didn't know her and she didn't know how to hug properly, so anything she might do to try to comfort him would end up making the situation worse than it already was.

"Of course. Grieving properly helps you heal and adjust more quickly. Believe me, now that you've triggered the curse, you do not want to bottle up your feelings, because when we explode, people can and do get hurt."

"How do you deal with it?"

"I paint."

"I don't have the patience for that."

"You don't have to. We're all different and this school will help you find a way to manage yourself in a way that you enjoy."

Raf rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "I guess I better start packing."

"Yeah. The sooner you're out of here, the better. The full moon is coming up in less than two weeks and you'll need a place to secure yourself for the night, so people don't think you're a rabid wolf try to kill you and you accidentally kill them instead."

"I'll go with him. We've moved often enough I know how to pack," Landon volunteered.

"And we'll get started here. I want to be out of here by this weekend," Seylah said. Her gaze moved quickly around the room as if planning out in her head just how she was going to get everything ready for their move.

"Good thing I don't have much," Hope joked.

"You and Landon can use my car," Ryan said. "Hope and I will take hers and I'll get it whenever I see you again."

With that, the conversation turned to planning their move and what else needed to be done to make the trip across the country to start their new lives. Hope's heart pounded with excitement and fear. Soon, very soon, she would be home and with her family. She could only hope that Freya would be able to work her magic before they arrived.