Always and Forever (The Hybrid and The Wolf - Book 7)

Chapter 1 - Where You Left Your Heart

Mystic Falls, Virginia

Inside the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted, Henry Benoit walked down the North Hall, looking around as if he was meeting someone.

Hope Mikaelson, now a teenager, walked closer from behind. "Hey, you have the money?" Henry turned around and grabbed some cash out of his pocket, handing it to her. "I'm not gonna ask where you got this." Hope grabbed two vials of her blood out of her bag, handing them to Henry. "Remember, one now, one after." Henry nodded. "Are you sure about this, Henry?"

Henry nodded. "Yes."

"Do me a favor, be discreet," Hope told him, walking away.

Henry sighed, consuming the first vial of blood. Then he walked into the library, calling someone.

Lisina: (voiceover) "It's me. Leave a message."

"Hey, Lisina," Henry said. "You're gonna get a call later. I just want you to know that there's nothing you could've done."

Henry hung up and walked towards the windows, opening them and let himself fall to the ground below, killing himself so he could wake up a hybrid in transition.

~*~*~

Hope was in her room, writing.

Someone knocked on her door.

"Come in," Hope said. Dorian Williams opened the door. Hope stood. "Mr. Williams, what's up?"

"Mr. Saltzman wants to see you," Dorian told her. "It's about Henry Benoit."

"Is, um, Mr. Saltzman calling my mom?" Hope asked.

"That and he thinks your dad should know what you've been up to," Dorian answered.

"Yeah, good luck finding him," Hope said.

"Pack your bags, Hope," Dorian replied. "You're going home."

Dorian closed the door as he left Hope's room.

Hope sat down, looking pensive.

~*~*~

New Orleans, Louisiana

Inside Rousseau's, a vampire named Poppy carried a tray of drinks to the table, Vincent Griffith, Josh Rosza, Freya and Nina Mikaelson were sitting at.

"Hey, guys," Poppy said, placing the drinks down. "If these don't prep your liver for Mardi Gras, then nothing will."

"Eh, my liver was probably dead before I became a vampire, but thanks, Poppy," Josh told her.

Poppy chuckled, walking away.

"Okay," Vincent said. "So we should probably get back to Mardi Gras prep."

"Oh, come on, Vincent," Josh replied. "We got this. All right, it's gone off without a hitch for, what, seven years now?"

"Josh, that's because we haven't taken it for granted in seven years," Vincent told him. Josh's phone chimed, he looked at it. "Let me remind you, moments of prosperity are invariably followed by times of great pain unless we remain vigilant."

"Thank you, Mr. Buzzkill," Freya said, drinking her wine.

"Okay, Freya, what you got?" Vincent asked. "Mardi Gras prep."