Hi everyone, welcome to my new story.

I hope you enjoy it.

Currently, this is just a preview. I will post a new chapter every Friday until the fifth. If you like it, I will continue editing it; otherwise, I will keep it for myself. So, let me know what you think. Your opinion is important.

For those who also follow my other story, Dear Katherine Pierce, I am sorry for the long absence; I hope to resume publishing soon.

Unlike the one where each chapter contained between 7000 and 10000 words, we will settle around 3000-4000 here. It will be faster and less in-depth writing, but I have realized that when I try too hard, I can't make my schedule work and get stuck, losing inspiration. English is not my first language, and I don't have a beta, so feel free to correct me! Enjoy the chapter, and let me know your thoughts – criticisms, suggestions, and ideas on how you imagine the story could continue: all are welcome. Happy reading! See you next Friday (or sooner, just this once).

Available with the same title on:

Wattpad: lostinthebooks_
Ao3: breexx

Setting:
4x16 TVD – 4x17 TVD

Pilot:
For Her

"For twenty years, I lived in a world where magic was unreal, relegated to television shows and fantasy books.
 And for twenty years, I cultivated my passion for it, hiding it from the world and casting myself as the perfect Christian daughter.
 I was happy like that, balancing my two personalities as best I could.
 Then, the necklace my biological mother had left me broke, and with it, my old world.
Suddenly, the magic I had observed as a spectator became a part of me.
 I had never had a mania for protagonism.
I was the girl in the back row who never raised her hand and remained silent during the controversy.
 Until she.
 Now, hiding is no longer an option.
 I was someone else, but that doesn't matter anymore.
I am Hayley Marshall. I'm a werewolf. And this is my story."

Diane wasn't sure exactly when everything had gone wrong in her life.

That day had started like any other: her boyfriend had snuck into her dorm room after her roommate left for volleyball practice and woke her up with the perfect spicy breakfast; her best friend had raved about their hot anatomy professor during lunch; her mother had called for the umpteenth time that month to come home for Sunday mass; her boss had assigned her new articles to write for the university editorial.

Normality, that was it.

But then she got a call from a hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, and everything had fallen apart as the operator told her that her birth mother had died.

She shouldn't have fallen into that world halfway down the dorm stairs. She shouldn't have been so heartbroken over the loss of the woman who'd abandoned her at three months old outside a Phoenix hospital.

But she was, and it hurt to have lost her just eight months after the two had finally reunited.

That had probably been the beginning of the defeat, but what had really destroyed him was the unsympathetic response he had received from his adoptive mother when he had called her.

She had found herself yelling at her for the first time and slamming the phone down on her.

Then she had thrown the phone on the floor, collapsed against the side of the bed, and cried more tears than she thought her eyes could produce in such a short amount of time.

It had taken more than an hour before the anger to overcome the pain. Her hands had automatically gone to the black oval that Amber Walker had given her at birth, and, for more than eighteen years, the only object that connected her to her origins.

Yes, now that she thought about it, maybe that had been the moment that had ruined her entire life because the moment after she had thrown the necklace against the window of her room, the whole world had gone white.

In what felt like a dream, she found herself flooded with flashes of a life that wasn't her \own before everything went black, and her eyes opened to a room she was sure wasn't the same one she'd been in before.

As the new memories settled into place in her head, her eyes wandered through her new surroundings before settling on the very naked, very handsome man sleeping to her right.

She had never left a bed so quickly, and before the scream that had been building in her throat could even escape, she was locked in the en-suite bathroom of the bedroom with her hand over her mouth.

For the second time, she had collapsed to the floor, breathing hard, although this time it was from panic, not pain.

And there she was again three hours later, her thoughts a little clearer but her panic no less intense.

Hayley Marshall. It was Hayley Marshall, no doubt about it, straight from the universe of The Vampire Diaries, straight into the house of Niklaus Mikaelson, with whom she had just slept.

It had to be a dream; it was the only way.

However, she had repeated that phrase enough times in the last three hours to know that it was nothing more than a fantasy, an illusion to maintain a sanity that she had evidently lost long ago to end up in bed with The Original Hybrid.

What had she been thinking? Trust Katherine Pierce? Take refuge from him?

Oh, she had made a lot of mistakes lately. It was all Atticus Shane's fault.

Hayley– no, Diane– had to bite her tongue to stop those thoughts.

Hayley's memories were clear enough to blend in with her own. There was only a thin veil to muffle them and allow her to be certain that she had been Diane Wilson up until that moment and not the unfortunate and unconscious Hayley Marshall.

However, there was one memory as vivid as her own, and Diane had to take a few seconds to remember that waking up in those covers wasn't the first memory she had of being inside Hayley Marshall's body.

Oh, no, there was a more important one.

She remembered her rolling in the sheets with Klaus; she remembered the moment she opened her eyes, muffled by alcohol and sure she was dreaming.

She remembered the kisses the Hybrid had left on her body, the exuberant caresses with which he had run his hands over her toned and lean body. She remembered the world in which she had left herself on him, biting and taking everything he was willing to give, marking him as hers and letting him mark her in return.

She had dug her nails into his back, she had moaned under him, and she had experienced one of the strongest orgasms of her life, incomparable to any other pleasure her previous partners had been able to make her feel.

And then she had fallen asleep in his arms, sure that when she woke up, she would find herself again...again she didn't know, but not there.

And yet, when she had opened her eyes, she was still in that room.

But despite what that night had made her feel and the certainty that it had already been her, Diane, and not the other old Hayley, another thought had haunted the last two hours of her self-imprisonment in that bathroom.

Hope Mikaelson.

Was she already inside her? Had she and Klaus' fluids already combined to form their future daughter?

Biologically, she knew that was unlikely. Sperm took two to five days to reach their destination, and as fast as it was at first, the process of forming an embryo took at least a week.

So no, rationally speaking,Hope Mikaelson did not yet exist in any sense or acceptance of the term. But Diane knew it. She knew that she was growing inside her, and whether she remembered her relationship with her father or not, Diane already considered the child hers, her beautiful miracle.

Anger enveloped her again, and she saw her eyes flash amber through the full-wall mirror before her.

Yes, Hope was hers, and no harm would come to her, no witches, no crazy aunts, no evil grandparents, no Ancient Vampires, no strange old spirits. They would have to pass over her dead body; they would have to face a mother's fury before they could even think of harmingher little girl.

Threats would be eliminated before they even became threats. Allies would be well-selected, and relatives would be well-informed.

Diane didn't know where that strength came from. Maybe it was a result of Hayley's memories, maybe it was the loss she had just suffered and for which there would be no time to cry, maybe the angry werewolf genes taking over her psyche. Whatever it was, Diane was sure it wouldn't go away anytime soon and would need it not to. She needed all the help she could get to face the next fifteen years.

Luckily, she had a valid ally in her eidetic memory, inherited from her biological mother.

Her hand automatically reached for comfort, and she was surprised to find herself touching a familiar obsidian oval.

Looking down, she thoughtfully examined the exact necklace that had accompanied her in her previous life. Hayley had had it for as long as she could remember, and it was the only link she had with her biological family.

Diane lingered on that coincidence long before filing it away as a non-priority. There would be time to think about it.

No, now she had to figure out what to do and how to proceed. There were no manuals for her situation, no right or wrong way to proceed– not that she could even think of a right one.

Any idea that crossed her mind was automatically discarded as problematic.

Should she have followed the script of the TV series? Should she have disconnected from it?

Could she have packed everything up and left for a quiet place without any witches who could get their hands on Hope?

No. No, that last option was ruled out the instant it crossed her mind.

She had lived without knowing her origins. She had felt the weight of the unknown on herself to shoulder the same burden on her daughter.

Putting aside the sympathy that Diana had always felt for the Original family, she wouldn't keep Hope away from them; she couldn't. And, after all, she was pretty sure her daughter would always have a danger sign on her. Nature had allowed her to be created to balance Malivore. There was no way she could escape her destiny.

Well, at least she had a starting point. She would stay close to the Mikaelsons.

Now, she just had to decide whether or not to start the chaos of The Originals. Should she stay close to Klaus? Should she go to New Orleans?

Hayley's memories and longing to know her origins pushed her towards this last move.

However, she couldn't leave herself at the mercy of the witches. She knew everything would be fine, but she wasn't Hayley, and even if she followed the scripts in the letter, the fact that she wasn't Hayley would risk altering everything. It was a scientific fact. An external observer altered the observed itself.

She wouldn't risk putting her daughter in danger; she had to prevent the witches from harming her and from connecting her to Sophie. A spell on the latter, a fall, an encounter with a vampire who accused her of something would be enough to kill her and her daughter.

But how could she avoid it without derailing all her knowledge?

After all, knowledge was power, and if she relied on it, she could ensure their very salvation and prevent Hope from living alone in the world without her parents to support and love her.

Not that she had much hope. This world seemed to revel in orphaning its characters. Elena, Caroline, Tyler, the Mikaelsons themselves, Hayley, Bonnie...

Bonnie.

Her brain lit up, and she began working overtime to find a way to capitalize on that spark that had struck him.

She could ask her for a favor. He could beg her to put a spell on her that would prevent the other witches from binding her to them. It was possible, right? Bonnie could find a way.

But would she accept? He remembered all the messes he had made while indulging Shane. No, probably not. But he could offer her something in return.

His mind replayed the current plot that was unfolding in Mystic Falls.

Elena was without humanity, on her way to New York with Damon.

There was the blood theft, and Bonnie was currently under the control of Silas, who was posing as Shane and forcing her to complete the Triangle of Expression, which he said would allow her to get Jeremy back.

She knew she would be in the woods that day, that twelve witches would be tied up and lured there, and that Caroline would kill one of them, letting Silas know what she wanted.

The immortal warlock would then drive a stake into Klaus's back, manipulating him into thinking there was still a shard there so he could give him the cure.

But that wasn't important—not right now. No, Klaus would be fine. He had to focus on Bonnie. There was no way he could find her before she completed the triangle. He would have to wait and talk later.

She would be devastated to learn of Jeremy's death, but she could use the moment. Yes, she could tell her how to bring him back and the plan to follow—one she would find on her own but one Diane could anticipate. She had to try; it was the only way. Then she would leave, go to New Orleans, and start the plot.

With her hearing, she could hear Klaus starting to wake up.

Standing up, she looked at herself in the mirror for a moment, still shocked by the reflection she saw, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. She didn't have time to dwell on many things.

Opening the door, she started back to bed. Like the Hayley on the screen, she began to get dressed.

As she pulled on her jeans, she could feel Klaus watching her.

"Are you running away, little wolf?"

"Do you want me to stay?" she asked instinctively, unable to stick to the script.

She could hear Klaus snort a laugh.

The hybrid's hand touched Diane's right shoulder, left bare by her tank top, and Diane had to hold back the shivers his touch gave her and the flashes of their fantastic night.

"What is it?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"That mark," Klaus exclaimed, continuing to caress her birthmark. "I've seen it before."

Diane picked up his shirt from the floor and turned to him. "It's a birthmark. Many have them."

"In my long life," Klaus began. "I've only seen that kind of mark on a few people. All of the same lineage. A clan of werewolves that once thrived in what we now call Louisiana."

Diane skipped Hayley's following lines and leaned toward him, hunting for all the information he would give her that hadn't been shown on the screen. "Tell me, Klaus."

There wasn't much information. Klaus told her only that they were the Alpha family members who led the pack that lived in the Bayou in New Orleans.

When Klaus was done, Diane thanked him and decided to do something for him. "Thank you, Klaus. I owe you. That information you wanted on Katherine: she's in New York. The cure is in the hands of a woman who is forcing.

Klaus stiffened. "You said..."

"I know what I said. Katherine won't use it on you. It's a lever she wants to use for her freedom. Currently, she's rekindling her relationship with Elijah. Your brother deserves to be happy, and I am sure Katherine would be willing to give it to you in exchange for her freedom. Have your brother intercede. Get it and then stop chasing her, or let things be as they must. I told you, you are safe. If there's one thing you can trust, it's this: that cure will never enter your bloodstream," she looked him straight in the eyes and then leaned in to kiss his lips. "See you around, Klaus. Maybe you'll take a trip to New Orleans sometime."

Retrieving her bag from the living room, Diane left the mansion. She didn't know why she kissed him; it wasn't entirely like her, but she felt a connection to the hybrid, created by Hayley's memories and years of watching him through a screen.

Niklaus Mikaelson, despite his madness, his paranoia, and his resentment, deserved better – he deserved a happy ending. And if she wanted to help him get it, she had a place to be right now.

After scanning Hayley's memories, she went to Tyler Lockwood's house.

Matt and Caroline must have already left because everything was locked, so she used Hayley's skills to pick the lock on the door in the back.

Wandering inside the mansion, she picked up an old gym bag and quickly grabbed as many jewels and valuables as possible.

She wasn't usually a thief, but in a harsh world like this, taking something from someone dead wasn't the worst thing she could do, she knew.

Once she reached the ex-mayor's office, she didn't hesitate to break into the safe and retrieve the wads of money stored there and some other jewelry.

Satisfied with her loot, she returned to her car and hurried to the nearby city of Richmond to exchange the stolen jewelry for money.

As she waited for the day to pass, she went to the bank, opened an account, and got a credit card. Just after one o'clock, she sat at a table in the city library with a newly purchased computer.

She had always trusted her mind to hold memories. However, her brain was technically no longer her own, so she didn't know if or how much she could trust it. Eidetic memory, after all, was a trait of the brain, and Hayley didn't have it. She couldn't risk forgetting some essential events. Putting her knowledge on paper—or a chip, in this case—was risky, but she would use the cryptography courses she'd taken her first year of college. She would soon get an offsite server to store her data even more securely, but the cloud was an acceptable temporary system.

So, she spent the next six hours typing furiously into her computer, setting up the best cybersecurity measures she could muster, and ensuring she hadn't overlooked any important details.

When the librarian came by to tell her it was closing time, she smiled sweetly before gathering her things and heading back to her car.

Bonnie Bennett was alone when she reached the house of the current mayor of Mystic Falls.

Her keen hearing could hear the girl's muffled sobs, and she felt sorry for her. She was a little girl, just like her, and she had felt more pain in the past year than anyone had in a lifetime. She was just about ready to turn around and let the girl cry in peace when the face of newborn Hope returned to her mind.

No, she couldn't put it off.

Tightening her lips, she forced her hand up to the doorbell.

The shrill sound cut off Bonnie's moans, and Hayley could hear her coming down the stairs.

When the witch opened the door for her, Hayley could see the shock on her face before it hardened.

"What are you doing here, Hayley?"

Diane took a breath. "I need your help, Bonnie."

The witch sniffed, not caring if she was weak in front of the wolf. "This is not a good time."

Bone was about to close the door in her face, but Diane stopped her with a hand. "Please," she begged. "I'm... I'm pregnant, Bonnie and some witches want to hurt my baby because of who the father is. I can't allow that," she explained. "They're innocent, Bonnie. Please."

Bonnie looked at her for a few seconds, then her gaze dropped to her stomach, and she sighed. "Come in," she invited, taking a step back.

With a hint of a smile, Diane entered the house. "Thank you."

"Let's not waste time with small talk. What do you want, and why would the baby be in danger?"

Diane grimaced. "It has to do with the father. He... he's special and feared, and she...she'll be unique. I can give you information about Silas in return."

Bonnie frowned, and then her eyes widened. "You slept with Silas? Is that right? Are you here to help him?"

Diane looked at her in shock. "What? No, of course not! It's Klaus's, Bonnie!"

"That's not possible! He's a vampire."

Diane spent the next five minutes explaining nature's loopholes that allowed Klaus to father children. Bonnie seemed to be getting more shocked by the second until Diane explained what she needed.

"The witches of New Orleans are planning to tie me to one of them to control me. I need a way to avoid that. I can't allow it ...they can't have this much control over her...over my little girl."

Bonnie was silent for a few seconds, taking it all in. Hayley's eyes were sincere, but the witch didn't know whether to trust her.

"You used us, you sacrificed twelve hybrids, and because of you, Klaus is hunting Tyler."

Diane sighed, knowing that Hayley's mess would come back to bite her tail. "Shane promised to shed light on my origins. I was desperate, and I know I was wrong. I will regret it forever. But her," she began, placing a hand on her stomach and softening her tone. "She's not to blame. She shouldn't suffer because of her parents' mistakes. She'll have a target on her for the rest of her life, and she doesn't need my and Klaus's guilt to weigh her down."

"What do you want me to do, Hayley?" Bonnie sighed, tired.

"I know you broke the bond that tied Klaus to his brothers, but is there a way to stop the witches from connecting me to them?"

The witch thought about it. "I guess so. I know how that kind of spell works. I can try to create one that stops it from working. But I can't guarantee anything."

Diane squeezed her hand. "That's more than enough."

As soon as their hands met, Bonnie felt a strange sensation, like familiarity, along with a quick flash of a crying girl clutching a necklace around her neck, the same one Hayley was wearing, and a hint of magic. "But what...?" she whispered, shaking off the perception.

"Are you okay?" Diane asked, worried, having noticed how the witch's eyes had drifted away.

"What? Yes, no, it's okay. Like I said, I think I can help you. Wait here," she said, standing up.

When Bonnie returned, she had two books in her arms, along with a pen.

The Bennett witch then began reading the old lumpy, making notes in the most recent notebook.

Bone asked her a few questions, and Diane answered them to the best of her ability.

A little over an hour had passed when Bonnie put down her pen and looked up from her book. "I have an idea of how to proceed. I'll cast the spell and then try to bind you to me and see if it works."

"Is there a way to keep the witch from noticing her failure?"

Bonnie thought for a moment before nodding. "I think so. I can hide the spell. So, you're ready."

Diane nodded. "I am."

Bone took her hands and closed her eyes; Diane politely did the same. Bonnie's chant was easily recognizable. The Latin grammar wasn't perfect, but it worked, and Diane could feel the magic running through her body. It was like an adrenaline rush, and Diane hoped with all her heart that it worked and that she and her daughter were safe. It had to work. There was no other choice.

When Bonnie finished chanting, Diane could still feel the magic in her blood, and even before Bonnie pricked her finger, she knew it had worked.

"Well?" she asked. Diane smiled as she showed her the finger without any wounds.

"It worked. Thank you, I truly do."

"Witches won't be able to tell the difference. The spell will seem to work. It won't last long. It will lose its potency in a month or two."

"That's more than enough. I owe you one, Bonnie Bennett," she said, her gaze hardening. "Silas doesn't want to drop the veil. He wants to completely tear the other side apart to reunite with his soulmate. He's not out of your mind. He won't be for long. Don't trust anyone, he can be anyone. He's right about one thing: you will be able to lower the veil, you are one of the strongest witches alive, and your blood is learnedly descended from the same Quetzikaj who created it. If you take Silas's gravestone, everything will be easier. But if you try to bring Jeremy back while the veil is down, you will die."

"You don't know that," Bonnie said defensively.

Diane's gaze softened. "I know. So, you have to find a way to avoid it. Protect yourself with a spell, absorb another being's energy, hell channel someone, but protect yourself. You deserve better than dying to bring someone back, Bonnie. You've sacrificed far too much."

The witch didn't look at her and stood thinking about her words.

"How can you know all this? You make it sound like it's already happened."

Diane gave her a crooked smile. "Maybe it has. I can't tell you how I know, but I can offer you this," she said, reaching for the pen and writing some numbers on one of the notebook pages between them. "If you are in trouble or don't know how to act, call me. Anytime and for whatever you need."

"My perception was right. There is something different about you."

Diane stood up. "I repeat: call me. Thanks again for everything, Bonnie. You didn't have to, and yet you helped me."

The witch pointed to her belly. "As you said, she is innocent."

Diane smiled softly. "Yes, she is, and I will make sure she stays that way for as long as I can. I bid you good night, Bonnie, and don't despair; everything will be okay."

Diane opened the door to leave when something crossed her mind. "One last thing: at the end of the school year, you will send Stefan to throw the safe into the sea. Don't do this, because Silas will break free when you die and throw him into the sea. Tell everyone...tell them that the real thing is Stefan. It's his doppelganger."

"What? Hayley, wait...I-" Bonnie stammered in shock.

"I have to go. I can't risk crossing paths with Silas. I told you, call me."

At that point, Diane closed the door behind her and sighed. She wished she could help him more and do something more for them. But there was no time. Silas was still watching Bonnie, and she had to leave Mystic Falls before she got stuck here. New Orleans wasn't safe, but it was an insecurity she could exploit and one she knew she could conquer. Getting into her car, she set the navigator for the Louisiana city.

In thirteen hours, she would be in the French Quarter.

She would have about a week to formulate a solid plan preventing the entire second-season plot from taking hold. All in all, the first season would be a walk in the park. No, it was the second-season villains who could really cause trouble.

Before Hope was born, she would probably just have to deal with Agnes, find a way to frame Celeste before she could derail the harvest, and maybe get the cure for her pack. She certainly couldn't let Esther be consecrated in New Orleans –the witch would have conspired against Hope, against her family. But bringing Kol back to life was still a priority. Maybe she could take advantage of the fall of the other side. She would certainly keep in touch with Bonnie. She didn't know if she should bring Finn back, too; the firstborn Original was a puzzle, and she would have to think about it.

First of all, she had the attic of a church to visit. It was a priority.

Her hand went to her necklace again. Diane still needed to deal with the loss of her old life, and it would hurt a lot and for a long time. But right now, she couldn't allow herself to be Diane Wilson.

The twenty-year-old was sweet, level-headed, kind to an extent, and too selfless for her good.

She was used to not being noticed, to submitting to the bigotry of her adoptive parents, to not showing off, to being underestimated, and to rarely following her heart. Hell, she'd been engaged for over a year and hadn't even mentioned it to her parents to avoid the conversation about extramarital affairs and the sacred bond of marriage.

Her parents didn't understand that the world had moved on, that marriage wasn't a woman's priority. Gosh, we never even understood why she'd decided to become a doctor rather than take on a less demanding homemaking job that would have allowed her to focus on her family. And she'd reassured them that she was just curious and just explore a little and work a few years before settling down. And Diane was pretty sure she would probably even be capable of doing it just to please them. She'd felt like she owed them for adopting her, for caring for her and loving her, for giving her a better life than the one she'd had in the orphanage.

But she couldn't please just anyone anymore.

It wasn't just about her anymore. She'd have a daughter to take care of, a daughter who deserved more than a doormat of a mother.

No, Diane couldn't be Diane Andrea Wilson anymore. Diane should have taken a page from Hayley, toughened up, and embraced a little of her selfishness – maybe in a healthier way.

Hayley was strong, confident, sure of her path, and willing to do anything to get what she wanted. She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty; she wouldn't compromise or step aside when she knew there was a better option.

She would have embraced her inner Hayley, giving her a little more sense through her logic and knowledge.

Hope would have been proud of her, and Niklaus, Rebekah, and Elijah would have seen her as a valuable ally and not an impulsive burden.

Yes, she could already imagine how things would work now that she knew about the future.

But for that to work, she must make one last, huge, and definite compromise.

So, as she passed the sign indicating the end of Mystic Falls, she left Diane behind her.

For years, fantasy had been her dirty secret, a passion relegated to lonely afternoons, to movies secretly watched in her room, to books stolen from the shelves.

Now, it was part of it, an essential and central part of the delicate balance of the supernatural.

But she would have gladly embraced it all for her, for her Hope.

She was once Diane Wilson, a student and future doctor, the adopted daughter of a deacon lawyer, and an elementary school teacher.

Now, she was Hayley Marshall, born Andrea Labonair, werewolf heir to a dynasty of powerful alphas and mother of the future tribrid Hope Mikaelson, and like the original, she would do anything to protect her daughter.

Hayley smiled, a piano in her mind becoming more and more defined kilometer after kilometer.

The Originals, here we come.

I hope you enjoyed it.

I am ready to answer any questions you have.

Any criticism, comments, or ideas are welcome.

I really hope you can start to like this story as much as I am enjoying it.

See you soon!