I was walking up the water fall with my friends. I was to jump the water fall because we were playing the game of Truth or Dare. I had chosen dare and they said that I could either: throw a fit at Mikael, which of course was insane, or I could jump the water fall and not get beat. We reached the top and I looked down. I was supposed to jump from the log that crosses both sides of the water fall. I walked out to the center of the said log and looked down. It was awfully high. I looked at them but they were expecting something from the great Niklaus. After all, I have said on numerous accounts that I fear nothing.

"Go on. Jump." Carr said. Kyle nodded.

"Yes. If you are the all fearless Nik you say you are then you'll jump." Kyle encouraged me.

I heard a shout then, "Niklaus? What are you doing?" asked Elijah. He came up on the log. Kyle and Carr were blocking his way. It was now or never. "Jumping." I said, smiled and jumped. I felt the air whoosh and I could hear Elijah shout "NIKLAUS!" He sounded distraught. What the hell is wrong with him? I tried to shout back but the force was too strong to let me open my mouth.

When I reached the water, I felt the force of the impact bruise my body and I swam to the surface, proud. "I'm fine!" I shouted but then I was tugged away by the current. I was swirling and twirling all over. If the speed didn't slow down I would hurl. I tried to fight the current but I got nowhere. I felt my head bang against a rock and feinted.

(Tyler POV)

I had been sent on a patrol to get water and was collecting water with John, Richard and Suzy. They had gone back to camp but I stayed to collect enough for everyone and was just getting ready to leave when my Alpha sense told me that if I left I would regret it. 'What the heck does that mean?' I thought. So I stayed there getting the buckets in the easiest way to carry home when something in the water caught my eye. Someone was swimming in the water.

I got up with my senses screaming danger so I looked again and what I saw horrified me. My son was in the water. He wasn't swimming. He was drowning. I jumped in after him and felt the current begin to drag me away. I locked my gaze onto Niklaus and swam towards him as his head began to sink under water.

I dove under water and grabbed him before he could reach too far down and put him under my arm and began to swim to the surface. I looked for a way out of the current but the only way to do so was to let it carry you until you reach a crack in the force of water. So I busied myself with keeping his head above water. Which was getting harder and harder by the second. I would need to force my way through.

I put him in my other arm and swam toward shore, using every ounce of strength I could to get to shore while holding onto him. If I had no need to hold on to him then I would have already been free of the current but his clothes were already dripping wet.

When I reached the shore I put Niklaus farther from the water as I dared before pushing on his chest. Water came pouring out after about the fourth time. I kept at it until I could feel Niklaus body decide to breathe again. I sighed in relief but I knew my job was not at all over. I picked him up in my arms and carried him back to my work station, where I had more sunlight to dry him off.

When I got there I gently took his shirt off and hung it to dry in the sun. Along with his pants. I covered him with the blanket I'd brought. It was the only way to keep him warm long enough for him to wake.

(Nik POV minutes later)

I gasped awake and looked around. How was I still alive? I looked around and saw a man with long blonde hair sitting beside the river. A warrior? Maybe? I knew that if I were still here and it took me so long to wake then I had to be a long way from home. I rolled over and stretched out. I felt naked. Where the hell were my clothes?

I stared at him and tried to stand without him noticing. "Are you awake Niklaus?" the man asked.

"How the hell do you know my name and where the hell are my clothes?"

"Your clothes have just finished getting dry. Here put them on." He threw me my clothes. I quickly dressed and he spoke again. "Please don't curse. It upsets me to hear you use such language." He said and I flinched at his soft tone. He was scolding me yet he was being nice.

"What village am I in?" I demanded.

"Don't talk like that to someone you haven't even met yet Niklaus. It starts you out with a bad impression. You haven't even left your own village."

"Well then where the hell am I?"

"Niklaus. You are near the river that you just almost drowned in and you're talking to me like that? How do you see that fit to talk like this to someone who just saved your life?" he kept talking with a kind voice.

"I don't know. But I don't even know who you are. My mother tells me not to talk to strangers." I said, feeling bad about my behavior.

"Ah. Yes Esther. She was always very protective of her children. Your mother is Esther? I am your father." He said.

I looked at him again. "You're lying. I'll be-" He had turned around to face me. I didn't trust him. He can't just say he's my father and I believe him. "Prove it." I demanded. He came forward. And I didn't at all feel like I was in danger. He walked close up to me and hugged me. I stiffened and the sniff caught the mans' scent. I was thrown back into my memory and I was 4 years old. I was wandering off from Ayanna because my mother was teaching me to. She would then carry me into the woods and then his scent would hit my nose and because he was nice, I locked his scent into my brain. He was my father. Wow.

"Father?" I asked and he stopped his hug. I hugged him back and he kissed my forehead.

"Yes, Niklaus." I stopped hugging him and then just stared at him. "Now can we talk about you drowning?"

"Sure." I said. "I was playing truth or dare with my friends and so I chose dare, of course. I like dares better because it gives you a chance to face your fears and prove you're fearless. So I was dared to jump the water fall and I did. So I felt the current and that was when I blacked out." I said and remembered the bruising. It was slight but it was there.

"What made you decide that jumping would be the best choice of action?"

"Because I needed to show I have no fear."

"Yes. No fear in battle but something so thoughtless could have killed you, in fact it almost did."

"… It was not thoughtless. I did think about it."

"Did you know that there would be a current in the water? Or that you would almost drown? Or what effect it would have on your mom and Mikael? Did you think about the effect it would have on your friends? Did you think about that maybe you could have died?" He asked.

I looked away. "No I didn't but I… I don't know." I said. "What? Are you going to punish me?"

"Do you think I should punish you? I warn you that if I do punish you, I will spank you. How do you feel about that?"

"I'll be punished by my mother anyway. But why do you ask me if I think I deserve it?"

"Because if you ask me then that means you think I should doesn't it?" he said, smiling kindly at me.

"What do you think?" I asked looking at him.

"What do I think? I think that had you been part of the clan, that there would be no question in whether or not you get punished because I would punish you for not thinking about the consequences that might follow after. Every action has a consequence Niklaus. Whether the consequence be good or bad. Bad behavior warrants a bad consequence while good behavior warrants a good consequence. How often do you behave?"

"Well you're scolding me, you might as well punish me." I sighed, I did deserve it after all. I wouldn't let MY child get away with it. He lifted my chin and I looked at him. He stared at me a bit and I looked away. He kissed my cheek after a few seconds. He took my hand.

"Follow me Niklaus, I'll take us to a secluded area only I know about." He said and I obeyed. Maybe I could begin to meet him here every once in a while. He was silent while we walked. Probably because he felt he'd lectured me enough?

When we stopped walking we were at a cabin. "You're sure you only know about this?"

"Yes I'm sure. Not even my father knows about it. Though there is something else I neglected to tell you. Had you been raised in my clan, you would be used to people being there, watching or not, while you get punished. I built this place when I found your mother was pregnant. I thought we might live together but she refused to leave Mikael. So I have been keeping many things here." He said and we walked in.

I found a round table with only three chairs. He pulled one of them out and put it in the center of the room. Now I was getting nervous. I've only ever been with Mikael and Esther in this position. I tried to take my hand back and he let me.

"I want you to please pull down your pants and trousers and lay over my lap." He said kindly. I was a bit hesitant about it but I did it nevertheless. With my bare bottom in the air he rubbed my back and spoke.

"Do you understand why I am going to do this Niklaus?" he asked.

"Yes I do. I wasn't thinking and almost drowned in the river." I said and he wrapped his arm around my waist. I squirmed a bit and he congratulated me.

"Good boy. Now are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." I said.

He began as soon as I said that and I regretted agreeing to this. If I thought Mikael was bad, then he was horrible. His hand hurt so much more than his. It felt like I was being smacked with Mikael's belt instead of this mans' hand. I squirmed after the first twelve landed and I kicked when he started at his twentieth.

When I was close to crying he took his belt off and began again. Only when I was limp and crying did he stop. I quit squirming and he put his belt back on and put me in a sitting position on his lap. I clung to him and cried into his chest. I had at least gotten rid of the guilt I felt from almost drowning.

When I was whimpering he took his hand from rubbing my back, he stood me up and gently redressed me. He had me look at him, with direct eye contact. He smiled at me and I couldn't help it. I smiled back.

"Do you know why I did that? Or what you did wrong?" he asked, again still being kind. He was better than Mikael. Mikael was nothing but rough. He was kind even when disciplining. Or as far as I know. "Come on Nik. I want two answers please." He said gently nudging me back out of my thoughts.

"Yes sir. You spanked me because you love me and you don't want me to thoughtlessly put myself in danger that I don't need to get in."

"Good boy." He ruffled my hair and smiled. I smiled and wiped the tears from my face, looking away as I did so. He embraced me and sat me on his lap and I stayed that way until he himself got up. He held me until we reached the door. He set me down on my feet.

"Okay we have to go home before anyone misses us." He said and gently shoved me toward home.

"But when will I see you again?" I asked.

"Ask your mother if she can let you out for a bonfire. We are having one tonight and maybe you can come. My friends are hosting it and we'll tell you stories about your clan history." He said. I headed home as he called out one more thing.

"Do try to behave for tonight if you come. I'll be waiting here!" He called and I heard in the distance, my siblings calling my name. I smiled one last time to him and ran to them, they told me they'd been looking for me everywhere and I needed to come home.

When we got home we had supper and I talked to my parents. "Hey mom! The other kids are having a bonfire and I was wondering if I could go."

"When is this bonfire?"

"It's tomorrow night." I said.

"No. Not at all."

"But Mother-"

"Niklaus just behave."

"Yes Father." I replied. I laid my head on my hand and waited for us to go to bed.

Finally mother called: "Children! Time for bed."

I waited, pouting. "Mother are you sure I can't go? I can prove myself tomorrow…"

She kissed my cheek and I sighed. I went to bed and laid in the only place left. I had a plan though. The bonfire was tonight but they didn't know that. So far my plan was working and I just had to keep up the ruse.

My plan was to trick them into thinking that it was tomorrow, when it was actually tonight. I planned to act like I was going to try and prove myself to her and instead I would be sent to bed. I would then wait for everyone to fall asleep and then sneak out of the house. I would go to that house that he'd shown me and from there I would have to keep track of the time. I would need at least four hours and they wake up at 5 in the morning. Meaning I would have until 1 AM. It was 9 PM and it would take them about two hours for everyone to be asleep. I would have two hours for this bonfire.

When I could hear them snoring I got up and snuck out the house and rode my horse to that weird house he'd led me to. I got there and he was ready on his horse. I rode to him and we started off to a relaxing trot, I following him.

"So did she let you come out?" he asked.

"Yes sir. Even if Mikael did object to it." I lied. He seemed to narrow his eyes but just kept quiet. Did he know I was lying?

In just a short two minutes we came upon some other men. They seemed to perk up at his presence. "I thought you weren't going to make it Ty." Ty? Who the heck was Ty?

"Don't be silly. Of course I am going to make it. So you know we only have an hour or two before anyone realizes we're not home." He said matter of factly. "Niklaus meet Joseph and Mathew. They are old friends of mine. One day I'll show you the wolf camp." He said.

"Oh. So this is your kid you've been telling us about." Mathew said and began to walk his horse by my dad's horse. Joseph walked his horse by my horse.

"We don't usually take kids to our bonfire." Joseph said.

"Well we'll make an exception this time."

"Well don't let Harold find out you have an outsider in our territory. How did you even get out of the camp?"

"I don't understand. I thought you could come and go as you please?" I asked.

"The wolves can but not at night. Either you are on a patrol or scent patrol, you can leave as you please only when you become Alpha. The other option is if the Alpha wishes to take you out on a night walk or patrol himself. Which I am not part of tonight."

"So you are on a patrol?"

They were all silent for the rest of the trip. When we got there they made a fire. They gathered some small logs. We all sat down, one to his own side, though I was sat by my father. I waited for them, not knowing what was going to happen. I only had two hours for this.

"Well, what stories should we tell?"

"How about the story of why the Alpha only ever has one kid?"

"Nah that story is boring and unimportant. How about we tell of how we won the battle against the Shitanais? Huh? Those guys are assholes."

"Every story is important. It helps us to remember not to repeat our past mistakes. The two brothers almost cost us our clan. Even if it was long ago. Back before even my father was a kid."

"Yes! Every kid likes war stories. Well okay. The Shitanai wolves are another wolf pack. They aren't related to us even if the great Alpha wolf says they are."

"Shut up! You always exaggerate on war stories."

"Well at least I tell them better than you."

"We don't have time for fighting. All wolf packs are related from one lone wolf Alpha. He found a woman and they fell in love. It was true love at first sight. When they had kids they had many. About seven. One for every clan beginning. The children got along fine but the Great Alpha wanted to spread his kind around the world and so he told his kids that they must divide and be married to others. The children, not wanting to disobey but not wanting to split up either decided that they would create a pact between each other. They would go get married as told but when they had children they would have their children marry unto each other. Now the children had different abilities from one another. One clan could have speed while one clan mastered in strength. The children knew this so they decided to tell their children that when questioned why they must marry someone they might not love. So it went on like that and that is why we have the sacred marriage. Of course I haven't gotten to why clans fight. There was one Alpha who decided he wanted to rule all the land and make the humans slaves unto them instead of having to either fight or flee from them. The other wolves in his clan had split into fighting amongst themselves over whether to follow what is right and what the Alpha says. For the Alphas' word is law. So the part that fought against the Alpha split and decided that they would stand with the other packs against theirs. That is where the first clan split up. Clans have been splitting up and splitting up ever since and that is where we come in along with the Shitanai clan."

"Oh wow. Tyler where did you learn to tell stories like that?"

"I just retold from what my father has told me when I was a kid or ask why there are so many different wolf packs."

"So you just retold the story of why there are so many wolves. What is the next story? Our last fight with those jerks or a story about why there are only one kid to an Alpha? Or why we have so many wolves in one pack?"

"Well typically we have so many wolves because the first alphas decided to bring in ten people at first, then married and had kids, then their kids had kids and then married with the other clan but the others of course had to have children. The Alpha had sex with the females he collected and they would each perceive a child and they would marry outside the clan. Then they started in-breeding. Marrying someone in the same clan as them. The Alphas had kids and they married other Alphas kids. That is why we have many wolves in one. No incest of course for that is and was forbidden in their time."

"We still have time for two stories. The Alpha kid or, my favorite, the battle? Come on guys. Please?" He begged.

"No! We aren't going over the battle. It is not right for us to brag about winning a battle when you know full well that people die in battle. The reason we fight with other wolves is because once upon a time ago there were two Alphas who fought over whose land is whose. They had such a fight that it angered the first wolf and they attacked the second one. That sparked a battle between the two clans because when your Alpha comes into a battle then you enter too. After the battle so many had died that the Alphas decided that they would go their separate ways and if any wolf was to live somewhere then they would put scent markers down to claim their land and borders. From then on we have been doing so and protecting our borders with tooth and claw ever since."

"Well now how about we go over the battle? That or why there are only –" he didn't get to finish his sentence. Instead we could hear calling coming from within the forest. Then there was a girl who appeared. "Why are you men here? Aren't you on a patrol?"

"Calm down Elizabeth. We were just talking." Joseph said, annoyed.

"Go back to camp. I'll take them home."

"Why are you out here? I thought that Ishaan told you to stay home."

"Get out of our business. I will handle this."

"You let an outsider in our territory Tyler. How do you think Ishaan will handle that?" she said. I was beginning to wonder who the hell this woman thought she was.

"He is my kid Liz. I brought him out here to learn about his own heritage. Is that so wrong?"

"Well since you had to go farther up the river instead of getting the water from the fact that you didn't feel like hunting that lion, yes you shouldn't be doing that. What is your name boy?" she asked.

"Niklaus is his name. Let him go home. I promise to make sure he gets there safe."

"No. Let him go. Tell him to run because Harold is coming. Ishaan sent us to find you."

He looked startled for a minute. "He knows? I thought I asked you not to tell him?"

"He wanted to take you hunting, looked in your room, you weren't there he sounds the alarm."

"Niklaus I need you to go home. Can you do that for me?" He asked.

"Yes but why can't I-"

"Sorry Niklaus but there is no time for questions. Go home."

"Yes Father." We embraced and he sent me off with a gentle push and I ran and disappeared right before I heard Harold appear and say to them: "Ha! The Alpha kid gets caught breaking the rules. No surprise there."

I heard no more as I ran home as fast as possible. I grabbed my horse and rode him back to the outskirts of the village. I slowed down to catch my breath and Star catch his.

We reached the stables and I put him in his stable and snuck back inside to my room to lie down where I had been laying until I decided to leave. I thought about what could possibly happen to my father when I left.

If you want me to write Tylers' ride home then just PM me about it and I will. Happy Reading Guys!