1234

The Black Forest, Germany

The rain pelted down against the earth, thrashed around by the roaring wind, blasting sideways, up and down, the ruthless storm battering against their faces as they ran. Feet slipped and skidded on water-logged mud, their balance wavering, despite their supernatural strength and speed. All the while, canine teeth snapped at their heels.

"KOL!" Klaus screamed in warning, a second too late. He skidded through the mud to an abrupt halt, watching in horror as the wolves pounced and brought his brother to the ground. He moved to help, but a wolf attacked him at the same moment, slamming into him with the weight of its body, making them both crash down to the muddy leaf-ridden earth. Its teeth snapped at his neck, slick with werewolf venom, and Klaus barely held it back, bracing an arm against its neck, too focused on trying to see Kol.

His younger brother had managed to throw one of the wolves attacking him off, kicking another so hard it was thrown into the trunk of a tree not far away, bones breaking on impact. But they were outnumbered. An entire pack had hunted them down, caught their scent and chased them from their most recent home, causing Kol and Klaus to be separated from Elijah and their sister. Kol couldn't fight them all. One wolf proved that, attacking Kol head on, tearing its teeth into his forearm when he used it to block the wolf's attack, and while Kol was busy trying to pry the wolf off, another came up from behind and pounced onto his back, sinking its teeth in his neck. His scream tore through the forest, echoing far and wide as the two wolves brought him to his knees, and suddenly, all Klaus felt was untamed, feral fury.

Snarling, black veins erupted along his face and eyes bleeding red, Klaus grabbed the wolf on top of him by the neck, pulling it closer and sinking his teeth into its neck. The wolf whined, a pitiful sound, trying to get away, but Klaus held firm as his teeth tore through fur and skin, scraping against bone, blood flowing down his throat. And then when the wolf fell limp, he threw the wolf off him with a roar and leapt to his feet, moving too quickly to follow by the naked eye. The wolves surrounding his brother turned as he charged at them, teeth bared and muzzles slick with blood, yellow eyes glowing in the darkness. But Klaus' eyes glowed too this time, bleeding red – he no longer was the powerless boy he used to be all those years ago. This time, he could tear a wolf apart with his bare hands.

So he did.

They yelped and whimpered, scattering in terror as he took them down one by one, blood making the pooling rainwater run red. Klaus took pleasure in every sound, every cry of fear, revelling in it. One had the audacity to leap on him from behind like they did with Kol, successfully sinking its teeth into his neck before he had the chance to throw it off. Hissing out a sound that was far from human, he dropped to the ground and rolled, grabbing that wolf around its stomach, flipping the scales of the fight, crushing its ribs and insides as they rolled to a stop, tightening his hold. He threw it to the side, shooting to his feet and leaving it behind in a whining mess, crumpled on the floor.

The wolves either dead or scattered, Klaus flashed to his brother's side, kneeling beside him and taking his face in his hands. Kol was covered in bite marks, tunic in shreds and stained with his own blood. Klaus swallowed. Kol wouldn't die from the bite – they'd learnt that much when Elijah had been bitten a few decades ago – but Kol was weakened now. Vulnerable. If they didn't get out of here, Kol was in trouble.

"N-N-ik." Kol gasped, coughing up blood. The ravaged wound on his neck was a mess, blood seeping out of the wound too quickly for Klaus to stop. For a second, panic overwhelmed him, the image reminding him of a different brother torn apart by wolves.

Kol was not dying. He wasn't.

"I've got you, brother. I've got you." Klaus wrapped his arms under his brother's legs and neck as he spoke, gently lifting him off the ground. "You're going to be fine."

"N-Nev-er knew y-you cared-d, Nik." Kol managed to stutter, the teasing note in his voice still there.

"Don't get used to it." Klaus grumbled, far too worried about his brother to gather a glare dangerous enough to shut Kol up.

Suddenly, a howl pierced the silence. Klaus turned with Kol in his arms towards the sound, eyes wide with fear. Kol's eyelids fluttered, drowsily following Klaus' sightline. He had lost too much blood.

"Sorry N-Nik, but I off-ficially hate your f-furry-faced cousi-in-ns."

Klaus glared down at his brother as he turned back around, starting to move at a hurried pace. "They're not my cousins, Kol." He snarled.

Kol rolled his eyes. "Could have f-fooled me, snarly face."

"Call me that again, and I'll reconsider why I didn't leave you daggered with Finn." Klaus ground out. Kol didn't answer. Frowning, Klaus looked down at his brother. "Kol?" His brother's eyes were shut, his breathing shallow. "KOL!" Klaus shouted, shaking his brother slightly. Kol didn't wake up, his head hanging limply.

Another howl pierced the forest, causing Klaus to curse. The rest of the wolf pack were gaining on them. They needed to leave, now.

Shifting Kol's weight, Klaus held him tighter, using his vampiric speed to flash through the trees. But Klaus did not know the land, did not know which direction he should run. He could only rely on the full moon and the stars to guide him north, every tree identical to the one before. And worst of all, both he and Kol were bleeding, and although Klaus had healed, their scent still drifted through the air, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for the wolves to follow.

A wolf burst through the trees, and Klaus barely skidded out of the way of its venomous teeth, abruptly turning in the other direction. He could hear them behind him now, snapping at his heels as their paws slammed against the earth with each powerful stride, gaining on him. Despite his supernatural speed as an original vampire, the wolves were faster. Wolves were always faster. Vampires may be the natural predator of humans, but it was the werewolves that hunted vampires.

Damn Elijah for convincing him they could live in peace with the wolves. That as long as they didn't provoke them, they were no threat. Damn himself for listening, a slither of what was left of his heart hoping he could learn from the wolves, find perhaps what was robbed from him centuries ago. And damn the wolves for turning him away.

Klaus pushed himself to run faster. He had to get ahead, find a suitable place to make a stand. He couldn't run from the wolves forever, and although he hoped he was at least drawing them away from Elijah and Rebekah, the problem still remained that they were chasing him. He had to deal with them, once and for all.

Klaus drew to a stop in a slight clearing within the trees, a rocky outcrop positioned in the centre. Carefully, he rested Kol against it, noticing how his brother's eyes fluttered slightly, his skin a furnace to touch. Kol wouldn't be helping him. Perhaps if he'd been bitten once, he'd be more lucid, capable to fight although weakened, but multiple bites meant his blood was heavily dosed with the venom, acting faster than Klaus had ever seen it.

The wolf pack arrived with ferocious snarls, slowing as they approached Klaus, surrounding him on all sides. Klaus slowly rose to his feet, letting his hand from his brother's shoulder and turning his back to Kol. With the rocky outcrop behind them, he wouldn't have to worry about an attack from behind. However, that also meant he was boxed in, with no clear escape in sight.

The wolves prowled forward, teeth snapping towards Klaus as they tested how close they could get. The Original growled back, letting his monster rise to the surface. Black veins and red eyes challenged the wolves to make the first move as Klaus bared his fangs, protectively standing between them and his brother. Klaus knew he couldn't be killed but that didn't change the fact the wolves would happily eat them alive, given they got the chance. He wouldn't let that happen, not as long as he could still fight. Klaus stepped forward, snarling ferociously at the wolves gathered around him.

He expected them to flinch. Expected them to show a degree of caution in the presence of such a dangerous rival predator. He did not expect them to whine like kicked puppies, their growls cutting off abruptly as they staggered backwards, ears flattened back against their heads in fear. Confusion fluttered across Klaus' features, his monster receding slightly. And that was when he noticed the great shadow that stretched across the earth in front of him, too thick to be a tree.

A growl that rumbled like thunder, deep and guttural, came from behind Klaus. The Original froze. He had always relied on his instincts. Now, his heart was thumping a rhythm that echoed loudly in his own ears, primal instincts on edge. The hairs on the back of the neck; the prickling of the thumbs; that creeping horrible dread that something was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Not even realising he was holding his breath; Klaus slowly turned his head. There, standing atop of the rocky outcrop he had leaned Kol against, was the largest black wolf Klaus had ever seen, eyes glowing like hellfire in the darkness and pouring rain. Its attention was focused on the wolves, lips curled back as it flashed its deadly set of canine teeth, power radiating off every inch of its body. And then it looked at Klaus, yellow eyes locking with his.

Klaus' eyes widened in recognition, staggering back slightly in shock as he turned fully around. The Black Wolf's eyes flickered over his shoulder, and with a mighty bend of its back legs, the wolf leapt over Klaus's head, pouncing on the wolves below.

The pack of wolves scattered. Their alpha put up a fair fight, but was no match for the larger wolf, taken down by sharp fanged teeth that tore into its neck and claws that slashed through its belly. Two brave wolves even leapt onto the Black Wolf, snapping at his neck and clawing at his sides, drawing deep gashes across the pitch-black fur coat. Klaus watched, frozen, as the Black Wolf snarled, spinning his body as he rolled, jaw clamping on one wolf's neck, throwing it through the sky like a rag doll as he slammed the other into the rocky outcrop, crushing the smaller wolf between his body and the stone. A she-wolf, seeing a direct attack was failing, changed direction and headed straight for Klaus, coming up behind him. Klaus barely sensed her in time, turning around with no choice left but brace for impact, but the Black Wolf was faster, and he had leapt onto the she-wolf before Klaus could so much as blink, crashing to the ground with her beneath his paws. Predictably, she didn't last long either.

Where once the forest had been filled with the sound of howls and animalistic growls, now all Klaus could hear was whimpers and pained cries. The wolves were running away in every direction, terrified, as the Black Wolf tore apart any that got too close. Blood sprayed across the ground, mixing with the rain and mud in a churning mess. Before long, Klaus was the only one left standing.

He could only watch, paralysed, as the Black Wolf - his back to Klaus - grabbed the last wolf by the tail with his teeth, dragging it towards him so he could clamp his jaw around its neck, snapping it with a sickening crunch. The wolf's struggles ceased suddenly, its whine cutting off, and Klaus watched as the limp body fell from the Black Wolf's teeth to the blood-soaked ground.

Klaus swallowed.

Every rational thought was telling him that what he was witnessing was some kind of trick, a phantom. Because it was impossible. His blood father was dead, murdered by Mikael in his rage and jealously, not long after Klaus' werewolf side was bound. Slaughtered with the rest of his pack in such a terrible act that the land would be forever tainted by the tragedy. It had been centuries since then, so even if his father had survived, Klaus knew there was no possible chance that he could be alive.

But his eyes did not lie.

Hearing Klaus gulp, the Black Wolf raised his head, his ears twitching towards his son. He turned slowly, one paw after the other, and suddenly Klaus wasn't staring at the back of the Black Wolf's head, but into his bright yellow eyes.

"Father…" Klaus breathed, barely believing the words he had spoken.

For a creature so adept at killing, the Black Wolf's eyes looked remarkably soft. He walked forward, stopping not far away from Klaus and releasing a low, almost gentle, rumble of sound as he lowered his head slightly to the Original's eye level. It was then that Klaus was reminded that he could no longer understand the wolves, no longer hear them speak. Not since his werewolf side had been bound. Even so, he knew exactly what his father would say - remembered hearing his voice like it was yesterday.

Hello, little wolf.