It was getting close to yet another full moon, and Hope slowly woke up, feeling Landon still right by her side. A small smile formed on her face as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Hey" he said, looking at her.
When Hope spoke, her voice was gentle and a little tired, looking at him. "Hey"
"I should probably get going soon so I can get dressed for school" Landon said, looking at her.
Hope nodded and pressed her lips to his. "You're getting breakfast before you go"
"Well, I make pretty amazing pancakes, so maybe we could make it a team effort"
"Deal" She pulled him close and kissed him lovingly before slowly pulling out of his arms and checking the time "It's a good thing we woke up early"
"Mmhmm. I wouldn't want to leave without seeing you a bit longer"
Hope blushed slightly. "Well, you'll definitely see me at school too, but I do like this, waking up and seeing you in the morning" she admitted
"Maybe we can do it again sometime" Landon said, his cheeks pinkening lightly but a smile on his face.
"We should. That was the best night of sleep I've gotten in a while" Hope said and headed downstairs, not bothering to put on something better than her tank top.
She went over to the kitchen and started pulling things out for them to cook with, glad their kitchen was currently stocked. She then began working on eggs and sausage Landon joined her side and started working on making pancakes from scratch. He looked over at Hope with a smile a little before focusing on what was supposed to be his priority at the moment.
Last night, it felt like he had finally found a place he belonged. A home. It felt right in ways be couldn't explain. He had felt it other times he was around her. But here and now, laying in bed with her and falling asleep by her side. Just holding her. It was the best night he ever had. And he knew he had only known her for almost two months and dating her for three weeks. But he couldn't help the fact that it felt RIGHT. Like something in his freaking life was finally working itself out and giving him something. That being around her made all of the suffering to get to this point worth it.
Eventually, they finished cooking, and the two worked together at setting up their plates before taking a seat at the kitchen counter. Hope took a bite of her pancake and moaned a little. "Okay, you may not have powers, but you are a pancake god" she said
Landon grinned at her words. "Im glad you like it" he said before starting to eat. "You make pretty great eggs too"
"Thanks. I picked up a few tricks from Cutthroat Kitchen and played with it till it worked. Gave me something to keep my mind off of things besides painting and doing magic"
"Do you cook often? I mean we usually just order pizza or something"
"Not often. But sometimes."
He nodded a bit, looking at her. "I sometimes had to for my foster families. There had to be something I was good at to help avoid anyting I didn't want to happen."
Hope reached over and took his hand in hers, giving it a small squeeze. She knew about his past because he had talked about it before about the abuse he was put through with his foster families over the years of his life. She hated that he suffered his whole life with one cruel family after another. All she wanted was to give him a place to stay but he no longer had to go to his abusive Foster family. However, she was not sure but he would accept it so she wanted to wait a little bit until they were further on their relationship to consider asking him to stay in the spare bedroom or anything. She did not want him to have to suffer but waiting might be for the best.
Hope let out a sigh. "Well it certainly came in handy because now you are officially my own personal pancake god."
A small laugh escaped Landon lips and her words. "Yes I am your own designated god of pancakes."
Hope laughed softly as he agreed with her words. He may be human, but he was powerful in his own way and was funny too. He was really the only person that was able to truly make her laugh. And he was smart. Smarter then most people she has ever met. And she loved that she had taken the risk to open her heart to him even though it meant being terrified of losing him.
"I'm glad you agree" Hope told him as she let go of his hand.
Eventually they finished eating, and Landon headed out of the mansion. Hope watched him go before heading upstairs to get dressed. Soon she was sitting at her desk in her room, thoughts flooded through her mind. Just a month previously, there had been an alert for an alarm trip that happens once a month supposedly from the highschool. The same night as a full moon. It could be nothing, but what if there was a werewolf in town that needed help? If they were transforming at a regular high school, it had to be a teenage wolf without a pack. Right?
The tribrid took a deep breath and closed her notebook that was on her desk. She picked it up and slipped it in her bag before heading to school without a word to any of her family members about this. She hoped she would be able to help if her theory was right instead of making it worse. The last thing she needed was to screw up everything and get someone hurt.
Once Hope arrived at the school, her sense were alert as she tried to find anyone that could be a potential werewolf. She wished she was around wolves besides Keelin more so she could sense wolves better. Her mind was so focused on that, she didn't notice Landon coming up behind her.
"Hope?" Landon said, looking at her.
Hope turned around to look at him and smiled a little automatically. "Hey," she greeted, taking his hand.
"Is something wrong?"
"I'll talk to you about it at lunch time where we are alone."
Landon nodded. "Well, we should probably head to our classes, but I'll see you after?"
Hope kissed him for a moment before heading to class, still keeping her senses aware for a possible wolf.
Soon it was time for lunch, and she walked with Landon towards their spot before taking a seat.
Hope tugged Landon towards her gently and casted a cloaking spell. Landon kissed Hope once the spell was cast, already familiar with the fact they couldn't be seen. Hope kissed him back for a minute before pulling away with a smile.
"So what's going on?" Landon asked, an arm around Hope as he looked at her.
"I don't know if you've heard about this but apparently there have been supposed false alarm triggers at the school once a month. And last time while I was actually here, it was during a full moon, which means werewolf. If my theory that it is a werewolf is right, it means that there is a werewolf that is going to chain themselves up at the school tonight. And if they are, it means, they are probably a student and don't have a pack. I want to help them."
Landon listened to her every word, curious about this whole supernatural world. He could hardly believe there was a werewolf in their school. He knew Hope was basically a unicorn, being the only one of her species, which was a combination of vampire, werewolf, and witch. However, if there was also a werewolf at the school, could there be other supernatural beings there? Is there a chance there were some that did not know they were supernatural? Would any of them become vampires?
"What are you going to do?" He asked his girlfriend, taking her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers.
"I'm going to the school tonight, placing a barrier spell so that the wolf can't actually get free and hurt someone but they won't be chained up. If this was some place in the mountains, things could be different but we aren't that lucky in a small town like Mystic Falls."
Landon nodded in understanding. "And after?"
"After. I'll bring them to my house and see if I can help, maybe give them a place to stay if they are willing."
"Well, I wish you luck. Maybe keep me updated? I wish I could do something to support you like be there when they get to your house, but I'm taking an extra shift at the Grill since Finch called in."
"She can't show up at work tonight?"
"Yeah apparently she's not feeling that great so I told her I'd work her shift." Landon explained.
Hope frowned thoughtfully and nodded. "Alright, well, I'm glad you'll be safe away from the school while it's a full moon. And I'll let you know what happens." Hope promised.
"Thanks," Landon gave her a small smile and continued eating his food. Hope snuggled up against him as she ate her apple. She wasn't really hungry so she just wanted that for her lunch. Her mind was too busy to let herself feel hungry.
Once Landon was done eating, he set his tray to the side and turned to look at her, pulling away a little to do so. He tucked her hair behind her ear, thinking about the pressure it was obvious she felt just by the expression on her face. He knew they had only been dating for a couple weeks, but he had known her for over a month. And if he could do anything to make her feel better, he would.
"Hey. I know I don't know that much about all of this, but I have faith in you being able to help this person if your theory is right."
Hope gave him a small smile and pressed her lips to his, clearly grateful for the reassurance. Her hand slid up slowly to his neck, her fingers tangling a little in his curls as she continued to kiss him back passionately. One of his hands rested on the back of her head as the other tugged her closer to him. She grinned into the kiss a little before deepening it again, unable to explain how strong her feelings had gotten for him already, but she did know that she was glad she told him the truth.
She trusted him. And the part of her that couldn't find a way to get rid of the trauma (if such a thing is possible) reminded her of the last time she trusted someone romantically it had resulted in her mother's death because she had been foolish and reckless. But Landon... it had taken her weeks to truly trust him, but now she couldn't help herself from believing that he was being honest with her. That he meant every word and every kiss. That she wasn't stupid enough to repeat the mistakes of the past.
She had thought she could maintain a cold shell around her heart, a barrier almost made of steel and magically enforced around her heart to keep herself from being betrayed like that again. But somehow Landon Kirby had managed to get past her emotional boundaries and into her heart. And while she thought these things, she knew there was not a thing in the world that would enable her to truly push him past the barriers around her heart again. Not unless he betrayed her in ways she could never let herself forgive. And if that happened, then it would already be too late for everyone.
When the bell suddenly rang, Hope pulled away from Landon, wincing a little at the unexpected sound of the school bell. Her hands slowly moved away from his body, and he let go of her with a small sigh before he got up and smiled down at her, offering her his hand. Despite not needing his help, Hope found herself taking his hand to get up. They both then grabbed their bags and tray before heading to discard the food. They then walked to history once Hope uncloaked them.
"I have an early shift tomorrow if you want to hang out later or me come to your house again," Landon told Hope as they walked.
"It depends on how tonight goes. I don't know what is going to be happening. But if you want, you can just show up when you're done. I don't know how free I will be, but I would enjoy your company. And maybe you could help."
Though truthfully, she was hoping there would not be anything for him to help with. Nothing particularly dangerous at least. She never really wanted anyone to get hurt. But he was different. She was terrified he would die for being around her, just as her parents did.
"I would like that. But... why do I get the feeling that welcome wasn't as opening and heartwarming as you tried to make it seem?"
"I just... I know how... dangerous things can get. And I don't want you to get hurt. But I was being honest when I say I'd enjoy your company." Hope said as she stopped in her tracks, looking at him.
"I want to help you where I can. But I will be careful. I promise. I just want to be there for you. Whatever you need. I'll come by after my shift tomorrow."
Hope's gaze lowered a little as she thought, yearning to take his hand. "Okay," she said after a moment, her gaze returning to his eyes. "Okay, I'll see you then. Hopefully, things will be all sorted out by the time you get there."
Landon gave Hope a small smile at that and nodded at her words before they walked into their history class, where they both started taking notes.
Later that night, Hope Mikaelson was walking towards Mystic Falls Highschool, keeping an eye on the time. Once she arrived, she got inside the building and listened around carefully. She cloaked herself and continued walking, her eyes glowing werewolf gold before turning back to blue. She heard sounds coming from down in the basement, and she headed that way. As she went further down the hall, she spotted a teenager trying to restrain herself. The tribrid moved closer to see who it was but the girl then moved quickly, grabbing Hope's invisible form by the neck. Hope quickly reversed the spell as the girl Hope recognized from the Mystic Grill as Finch glowed her own golden werewolf eyes.
"Hope?" Finch questioned before grunting as her bones started craking.
"Yeah. You came here to turn. I'll help you," Hope offered, her voice soft.
"No, run!" Finch growled.
"No, you can't hurt me," Hope said, looking at her as she cast a barrier spell so Finch could move without chains but no one would end up getting hurt.
Finch wanted to argue but she was soon in a full wolf form. Hope frowned slightly after she shifted so quickly. She was alone so she didn't know the trick to speed up the process. Yet, here she was shifting pretty quickly. Which meant she likely has already shifted a lot even though she was only 15.
Finch's wolf form came at Hope but was blocked by the barrier spell. She growled a little before moving away. Hope took a seat along the wall, thinking about the startling revelation, and she pulled out her phone and called Freya, who she knew was keeping an eye on Keelin.
"Hey. Hope, was your theory right?" was the first thing Freya said as she answered the phone.
"It was. Apparently, it's someone who also works with Landon. He took her shift tonight since she called in sick. I considered the possibility it was her, but now it's confirmed."
"Is she restrained at the school?"
"She is free from her chains, but I have a barrier spell in place so she can't leave and hurt anyone," Hope explained.
"Good," Freya said. "Bring her over to our house once she is back in human form so we can talk to her about all of this. I'll stay watching over Keelin and Nick."
"Okay. I'll see you later then."
Hope hung up her phone and sighed softly, looking over at the wolf that was trapped inside the barrier. She wished that the wolf could run freely. But she also knew how problematic that could be in a place like Mystic Falls. It was a small town, including vampires and a bunch of people that might end up getting hurt.
Hope let herself get comfortable and eventually Finch shifted back to human form, easily drifting to what was a usual brief sleep some werewolves had after shifting back. Hope covered her and grabbed her things before bringing her to the mansion while cloaked. She set Finch down gently on a spare bed, her body still covered by the blanket. Hope took a seat in a chair and waited patiently for Finch to wake up.
Eventually, the werewolf started to wake up, and Hope straightened up in her chair.
"Hope? What- where am I? Why did you bring me here?" Finch tugged her blanket higher up a little.
"We need to talk," Hope said, "about what you are?"
"About what I am? You've got some cloak of invisibility or something?"
"Something like that. You have some clothes on the dresser. I'll leave you to get dressed and then we can talk. You're not alone, and I want to help. Oh and I'll hear if you try to sneak out without letting me at least try to help you" She looked at Finch for a moment before heading out of the room, closing the door behind her.
The tribrid leaned against the wall and pulled out her phone, checking for messages from Landon. But when she saw there werent any, she assumed he was probably still asleep. He had said he was going to stop by this morning. She just wondered if that would be before or after she managed to explain things to the werewolf in the spare bedroom of their mansion. Hope closed her eyes and waited, thinking. Part of her wanted to go visit Keelin for a bit, but Keelin was usually with Freya after a full moon, and Hope knew she had to explain things to Finch and see how much she knew already.
Finch walked out of the room after a couple of minutes. "Thanks for the clothes and everything, but I should go"
"Wait" Hope said, following after her. "We need to talk"
"There's nothing to talk about. Just forget you saw what you saw"
Hope sighed in irritation and put up a barrier spell. Finch hit the barrier, which rippled a purple color before turning invisible.
"What the hell?" Finch questioned, touching the barrier again before turning to face Hope.
"I'm sorry. You're not a prisoner here. I swear"
"Sure looks like it to me"
"Just until we talk. I want to help you. I know you're a werewolf"
Finch blinked and looked at her. "I thought I was the only one"
"You're not. In fact one lives here in this house. And then I'm part werewolf"
"You call this a house?" She scoffed a bit and looked around.
"Thats besides the point" Hope said and stepped closer to her, glowing her eyes gold. "If you thought you were the only one, you dont have a pack. And you weren't really taught about any of this. I know about all sorts of information about the supernatural. And so does my family. So can you please just let me help you understand things better and in any other way I can"
Finch sighed and nodded, so Hope lowered the barrier spell and led her downstairs to one of the spare rooms that wasn't a bedroom. Hope took a seat and watched as Finch did as well.
"So what do you know about... what you are?" Hope asked
"What? Besides the fact I need to chain myself up every full moon so I dont kill anyone while I'm in wolf form? Which I change to by breaking bones in my body? Not much"
"How long ago did you start turning?"
"About five years ago"
Hope frowned softly at her words, thinking a bit about how young she was. What could have happened at such a young age? But she didn't ask. Considering the age, it was likely self defense or an accident. Something she would not want to talk about.
"And you dont have anyone explaining things to you? Were you adopted?" she asked instead
Finch shook her head. "No. Is it something that runs in families then?"
"It does. Both of my parents had the gene."
"Well, I was raised by my parents until I got emancipated a little over a year ago. My family was pretty messed up" Finch admitted with hesitation.
"Well if you ever don't want to be alone, you can stay here"
"I barely know you, Hope. All I know is you're dating Landon and really rich and new to town."
"I struggle at getting close to people. Making friends. Any of that. But... I'm here. You dont need to hide who you are here. Its a place you can be yourself"
"Be myself in a mansion" Finch scoffed and looked around a bit
"It belonged to my dad when he used to live in this town. But we arent.... I mean we don't exactly always behave like rich assholes" Hope replied
"What are you? You're clearly not just like me"
"I'm, um, actually one of a kind. If I go into too much detail with you, my aunts won't be happy. But I can do magic. Which is how I made myself invisible."
"Magic?" Finch raised an eyebrow.
Hope nodded and murmured a spell, causing a glowing orb of light to appear, hovering over her palm. She smiled a little before making it disappear.
"You being able to do magic explains that purple barrier thing you did"
Hope nodded. "I also used that to keep you from killing anyone last night. And I could do it again on the next full moon. And you wouldn't need to chain yourself up in order to prevent yourself from killing anyone anymore. You'd still be locked up, but you won't be in chains"
Finch looked at her. "Tell me more about you, and I might consider it. Because right now I still don't trust you"
"Look, I cant be too forthcoming instantly. Because its dangerous for people to know too much about me. I've opened up to Landon, but I shouldn't to anyone else. Yet. But that doesn't mean I don't want to help. I'm Seventeen years old, and I love art more than I can even put into words. I've traveled a lot in my life. And my favorite show is Cutthroat Kitchen"
"Cutthroat Kitchen? Seriously?" Finch raised an eyebrow at that, surprised. "Alright I'll think about it. But I dont want charity. Okay?"
"Me offering you to stay here isn't charity. Its an opportunity for you to learn more about the supernatural world. And if it makes you feel better, you can pay for like groceries or something." Hope shrugged lightly. "I just want to help you. I can't imagine what its like to think you're the only supernatural being for five years of your life"
"Look, I think I need to get to know you better before I consider agreeing" Finch said
Hope nodded. "Take the time you need" Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Excuse me" she said before heading out of the room and opening the front door. A small smile formed on her face at the sight of Landon.
"Hey" Landon greeted with a smile as he looked at her.
"Hey" Hope said and pulled him gently inside before pressing her lips to his. Landon kissed her back, drawing her close. Finally he pulled away.
"So there was a werewolf?"
The tribrid nodded and took the milkshake he offered her. "Thank you. And yes. She's in the other room" She slipped her free hand in his and took a sip of her milkshake before leading him to the right room.
"Finch?" Landon questioned in surprise as he saw her. "I guess that explains why you weren't at work last night."
"Yeah, Landon knows about the supernatural world. I explained it to him a few weeks ago."
"Well, then yeah, I'm a werewolf, I guess. Like I told Hope, I thought I was the only one" Finch glanced between them both.
"That must have been really hard for you all and said you're the only one. But at least now you know you're not alone." Landon looked at her.
"I should probably go, Finch said, looking at them. "I appreciate knowing rather I'm not alone, but I need some time to clear my head about all of this. So I'll see you both later I guess"
"Finch, Hope said "you can go if you want, but maybe we should meet someone else who is just a werewolf like my aunt Keelin."
Finch looked at her curiously still a bit worried about all of this. However she nodded and then followed Hope out of the room. As Hope walked down the hallway, she sipped her peanut butter blast milkshake, thought flooding through the mind.
She was glad she had found Finch when she did. At least now she could help bench knowing she was not the only werewolf in existence. As someone who was the only one of a kind. She understood exactly how that felt to be alone, but the difference was she actually was. Finch at least had several wolves she could meet and spend time with like Keelin. Finch was not alone no matter how much she thought she was.
"You just deserve to have people around you that know what you go through" Hope said and watched Keelin leave her bedroom.
"Hello" Keelin greeted, seeing Finch. "I assume you are the werewolf my niece told my wife about?"
"I am" Finch said, looking at her.
"Well, perhaps we can talk about everything if you want" she offered
Finch hesitated before nodding. A small smile formed on Keelin's face as she led Finch away, starting to talk to her. Hope watched the two go, easily seeing how Finch was starting to be a bit more comfortable towards Keelin than she did to Hope. The tribrid tore her gaze away and sighed softly before heading to her room, Landon following her.
"So Finch is a werewolf" Landon said as he sat down on Hope's bed.
"She is" she replied, sitting beside him. "And it seems she's more willing to listen to Keelin than she was to me"
"Well, Keelin has to shift every full moon. You don't. And she knows that. Otherwise you would have shifted when you found her."
"I suppose you have a point. And its probably for the best" Hope slipped her hand into his and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for the milkshake"
"You're welcome. How are you feeling about Finch?"
"I like her. I just wish she was more willing to accept help"
"Well, she isn't the only one who is stubborn around here"
Hope chuckled slightly. "I suppose you have a point. Do you know anything about her?"
"Not really besides the fact she lives on her own" Landon admitted. "Its not like all of the workers at the Mystic Grill hang out and throw a party to get to know each other"
"Well, that makes sense. I just wasn't sure if you might have heard anything"
"I havent"
Hope nodded a bit. "I invited her to stay here."
"I doubt that went well. She doesn't seem like someone who would just accept that. I wouldn't. Even if I wanted to. Not if it felt like some charity."
The tribrid let out a sigh. "Its not charity"
"Its not as easy to believe when you go through your whole life feeling like crap and never belonging anywhere and suddenly someone wants you around"
Hope looked at Landon, a small frown on her face. She leaned over and kissed his cheek, knowing he was talking about himself too. "I just don't want her to be alone anymore. I want her around people that understand and know what she is going through"
"I understand, but its not really your choice. Just give her time" Landon said, his arm slipping around her waist.
Hope nodded. "You're probably right" she said. A thought started occurring to her, but she didn't say anything about it as she considered an option to offer Finch instead. One she wanted to talk to her about soon if she could get it worked out. Suddenly, something else came to mind. "Shouldn't we be at school?"
Landon shrugged slightly and kissed the top of her head. "Technically, but we can miss a day. It won't kill us."
"I suppose you have a point. And we don't have classes tomorrow. So three day weekend for us this week. Do you have work?"
"This afternoon, yes. Tomorrow I have off though. And then I work again on Sunday"
Hope nodded a bit. "Okay. Well, we should probably head downstairs soon and see how things are going with Keelin and Finch. Maybe they are bonding better than Finch and I did"
"Maybe so" Landon agreed
Eventually the two left Hope's bedroom and went downstairs, finding Keelin and Finch sitting on the couch in the living room.
"Hey' Hope greeted. "You two seem to be enjoying yourselves?" she said as she spotted how casual they were and the drinks in their hands.
"We are" Keelin said with a smile. "I was telling Finch about the supernatural world a bit"
"I might stay here for a little bit. I... I'm not sure past that. But I do want to know about the supernatural and everything" Finch said
"I... Well, I was considering us talking a tour of Salvatore Boarding School. It's a school for the supernatural" Hope explained to Finch. "Just so you can see it and meet wolves your age. You dont need to go. I just thought it might be a way to see your options"
Finch shifted uncomfortably and was silent. "I might agree to a tour" she said finally. "But don't think that's me agreeing to go"
"Okay" Hope agreed, looking at Finch. "Im not trying to force you to do anything you don't want to do. I just think seeing your options might be the best thing. So you at least know what you can do if you choose to"
'I dont know if you should go on a tour of that school, Hope" Keelin spoke up
Hope frowned a bit. "I know what I need to do. And it's not like I will agree to go. But I want to be there for her while she goes. And the best way to do that is pretend I'm interested too."
"I'll go with her" Landon said not wanting to leave Hope's side.
Keelin let out a sigh. "Alright. Fine. When you you want to do this?"
"I was thinking after the football game tomorrow." Hope said. "But I need to call the school first."
"I'll take care of that and leave you three to talk about everything." Keelin said before leaving the room.
"Why is it such a big deal if you tour?" Finch questioned.
"Let's just say, the fewer people that know where I am, the better. I can't go into detail yet. Not to you. But I will. If we continue to get to know each other, I'll tell you everything. But right now I just... I cant" Hope said
Finch sighed. "I'm just gonna go pick a room to crash in today and then head out for a bit. I need to think" She walked upstairs, and Hope frowned softly before taking a seat.
"I feel like I made things worse" she said, leaning back. "I just... I dont know her well and all I want is to help"
"I'll talk to her later" Landon promised. "Just give her some space to think. Everyone needs space sometimes. And pushing doesn't help them make up their minds." He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head
Hope leaned against him. "When do you have to leave?"
"When school ends. Until then, I'm all yours"
"Alright. Maybe we can order some pizza for lunch and chill as we watch a movie" Hope suggested.
"I'd like that" Landon pressed his lips to hers, and she smiled, kissing him back passionately.