"I can't believe you managed to get cursed!" I shouted, stomping my foot angrily. "How the hell did you get cursed?"
"I don't know!" my father shouted back, though his voice was weak. "I need your help, the full moon is coming and the Guerrera already took the city."
"Fuck the Guerrera!" I yelled, kicking the floor again. "You have the magical resistance of a vampire and a werewolf, and your vampire side is Original. You're almost immune to magic and you still got cursed!"
"Nephew, this is not the time for that," Elijah stepped forward. "I am partially to blame. I killed Marcel's army."
"Yeah, I heard about that," I nodded proudly at him. "That little army needed to die anyway."
Then I looked at Kol.
"Uncle, what about the nobles?" I looked directly into his eyes so he wouldn't dodge the subject. "Can you bring them into the fight?"
"What do you mean?" my father Klaus looked at Kol angrily. "You never said you had contact with those so-called nobles."
"I said I knew them," Kol gave a bright smile. "I just didn't go deeper into the relationship I had with them. And yes, I can bring them into the conflict, under one condition… These wolves can transform at will… The nobles want to know if the new alpha has something to do with that."
Ohh, the nobles noticed Hayley evolved into an alpha.
"What the hell is an alpha?" Rebekah got irritated. "Why do I keep learning about things I apparently should already know?"
"A second phase of werewolf power. Once activated, they can transform at will," Kol answered with a sigh. "I discovered it recently, though apparently our nephew already knew."
"Wait… does that mean Klaus can become even stronger?" Rebekah widened her eyes and looked at my father and then at me for an answer, and my father also looked at me expectantly.
"No. Once you become a hybrid, you're no longer under the curse's effects, so you lost the alpha power. Not that it would make much difference to you," I said, deciding to ignore the part where alphas could create monsters with their bite. Better my father didn't know and try to find a way to get that power.
He can kill an Alpha, but apparently it won't work.
"So nephew, do you know who this alpha is?" Kol looked at me curiously.
"Of course. Come in, Little Wolf," I shouted, and Hayley walked in with crimson red eyes.
"My God," Rebekah put a hand over her mouth. "Your eyes are red."
"Yes, I'm an alpha now," Hayley answered confidently.
"So you became super powerful?" Rebekah asked.
"No, she's still as powerful as she always was, but as an alpha she can use her werewolf power at full strength outside the full moon," Kol answered for me and I looked at him in surprise. "And she can control the curse of other werewolves, allowing them to transform at will too… from what I researched."
"Do those nobles know all of this?" Hayley asked in surprise and looked at me.
Yeah, she had been listening, even though Amara had cast a sensory block so the Originals wouldn't notice her.
"Of course, Little Wolf. I already told you the story of the war, didn't I?" I said while looking at Hayley.
"Yes," she just nodded.
"What war?" my father questioned irritably.
"The werewolf purge. You didn't miss much," I answered lazily.
"Wait, are you saying that purge was done by those nobles?" Elijah asked completely surprised. "I thought vampires had simply hunted wolves on sight."
"Yeah, that doesn't matter much," I answered, cutting the subject short. "Now that your question is answered, can you get the nobles to fight for us?"
"Sure, but they want to know if you're going to take over the city's pack and the remaining Guerrera," Kol looked at Hayley differently.
"No, I have absolutely no interest in that," Hayley answered coldly.
Ohhhhh, my girl learned perfectly not to trust werewolves.
"So, can we massacre all of them?" Kol asked provocatively.
"Sure, go ahead," Hayley smiled.
Then Caroline came behind me and pinched me.
"You fucked up her mind," Caroline growled and looked at everyone. "Hi, I just got here and we're going to help you."
Caroline spoke for me, and I was going to help my father no matter what.
Elijah discreetly observed Hayley while the conversation slowly died down.
She seemed relaxed now that the nobles had lost interest in her. Her shoulders were less tense, her expression less defensive, even her posture seemed lighter.
And yet…
She stayed far too close to Nik.
Elijah noticed when Hayley instinctively looked at his nephew before answering any comment Klaus made. He noticed how she automatically paid attention whenever Nik spoke, even when pretending not to listen.
That deeply bothered Elijah.
Not because Nik was cruel.
In fact, that was exactly the problem.
Nik was not like Klaus.
He didn't shout.
He didn't intimidate.
He didn't crush people until they obeyed.
He did something worse.
He convinced them.
Elijah knew that type of personality dangerously well. Klaus controlled through force and fear. Nik did it through confidence, intelligence, and absolute certainty.
And the most worrying part…
Hayley believed him.
Completely.
To her, Nik was someone her age, absurdly powerful, intelligent, confident, and above all, the one who had brought her into this family when she was lost.
In Elijah's mind, Hayley practically saw his nephew as someone incapable of being wrong.
And that was terrifying.
Because Nik knew exactly the impact he had on people.
"So the nobles simply don't care anymore?" Rebekah asked, breaking the silence.
"No," Kol shrugged. "They wanted to know if Hayley would take over the local packs. Since she doesn't want to… it's over."
"They really hate pack politics," Nik commented casually.
"You talk like you understand them perfectly," Klaus observed.
"I do," Nik answered simply.
Elijah noticed Hayley immediately agreeing with a small nod.
Of course she agreed.
She always agreed.
"Were the nobles involved in the purge?" Elijah asked calmly.
Kol opened his mouth, but Nik answered first.
"Indirectly," he said. "But honestly? The werewolves made their job much easier."
Klaus raised an eyebrow.
"What does that mean?"
Nik rested his arm on the couch.
"Alphas."
The word immediately drew attention.
Even Rebekah sighed irritably.
"Again with this."
"Because you still don't understand the size of the problem," Nik answered.
Kol silently observed his nephew now, curious.
"Modern werewolves think alphas are just pack leaders," Nik continued. "But that's because almost nobody remembers what an alpha really was."
"And what were they?" Elijah asked.
Nik glanced at Hayley before answering.
"Predators."
The silence turned heavy.
"A true alpha strengthened the entire pack," Nik explained. "They were absurdly difficult to kill, controlled transformations, and basically became the center of the pack."
"Then how did they disappear?" Rebekah asked.
Nik let out a humorless laugh.
"Because the nature of werewolves is garbage."
"Language," Elijah corrected automatically.
Nik ignored him.
"A wolf can steal alpha power by killing another alpha."
The entire room fell silent.
Even Klaus lost the small smile he had.
Kol slowly let out an "ah…"
Like someone finally fitting old pieces together.
"Wait…" Rebekah murmured. "So packs used to kill each other for power?"
"Yes," Nik answered. "But it became a myth over time. Most modern werewolves don't even believe it exists anymore."
"That's why nobody knew what an alpha was…" Elijah concluded slowly.
And suddenly it all made sense.
The Originals had known werewolves for a thousand years.
They had seen thousands of them.
And yet, they had never encountered a true alpha.
Because they had practically exterminated themselves long before modern times.
"My God…" Rebekah murmured.
Klaus stayed silent for a few seconds.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Elijah noticed immediately.
And apparently Nik did too.
"Hybrids can't steal the power," his nephew said before Klaus could even open his mouth. "So don't even think about it."
Klaus narrowed his eyes irritably.
"I wasn't going to say anything."
"You literally made the face," Kol answered laughing.
"Besides," Nik continued calmly, "alpha power comes from the original werewolf curse. Hybrids are outside of that."
Klaus looked genuinely disappointed.
Which earned a tired sigh from Elijah.
But then Elijah looked back at Hayley.
And the discomfort immediately returned.
Because now he understood.
He understood perfectly why she was beginning to develop fear toward her own species.
If Nik was right — and Elijah unfortunately suspected he was — then Hayley had become something other werewolves would naturally hunt.
Power.
Status.
Survival.
That turned every encounter with another wolf into a potential threat.
And worse…
Hayley clearly already believed it.
Elijah noticed by the way she didn't seem surprised during any part of the explanation. She just stayed quiet, listening to Nik speak as if she had already accepted every word as absolute truth.
Something tightened painfully inside him.
Because Hayley was far too young to carry that kind of paranoia.
And because Elijah sincerely wanted something better for her.
But while watching Hayley attentively listen to his nephew…
He realized something worrying.
Maybe it was already too late to separate the two.
"So… the mother of my daughter has a target on her back?" Klaus growled irritably. "Son, what are the chances that any Crescent wolf knows this?"
"Low… unless one of the nobles decides to spread the information…" Nik looked at Kol. "And I doubt they will. They probably heard my last warning."
"Manipulating me into attacking them was a very good move by my nephew," Kol looked proud of his nephew's cleverness. "Now they know they can't beat an Original."
"Well, you did mention that," Klaus sighed, remembering their last conversation. "So we can assume the Crescents don't know and neither do the Guerrera."
"Yes, but thanks to you getting cursed, they can now control the curse with moon rings," Nik answered irritably. "So if one of them is a stronger wolf than Little Wolf, they could kill her in combat and steal the power."
"That is not good," Elijah became worried. "The Guerrera should be purged."
"Oohhh, look Little Wolf, your man wants to protect you," Caroline teased and Elijah froze.
Hayley laughed and everyone laughed at Elijah's protective attitude.
"You're not thinking the wrong thing, nephew?" Elijah asked cautiously.
"I already have two women… and I can barely handle them. I'm not getting a third," Nik laughed while patting Hayley's head and she accepted the affection. "And what Little Wolf feels for me isn't love, it's the admiration a puppy feels toward its owner."
"Hey!" Hayley growled and tried to bite Nik's hand.
"Whoa," Nik quickly pulled his hand away and the two started laughing.
"She didn't deny it…" Elijah was stunned.
Elijah became completely still.
The others started laughing at Hayley trying to bite Nik's hand, but Elijah barely heard them.
Because she really hadn't denied it.
Not even tried to.
Hayley simply remained there, far too close to his nephew, far too comfortable with his touch, looking at Nik with that absolute trust that was beginning to bother Elijah to absurd levels.
And the worst part was that Nik seemed completely unaware of the problem.
Or maybe far too aware.
"She didn't deny it…" Elijah repeated slowly, still processing it.
"Because he's right," Hayley answered before Nik could speak. "I admire him."
Nik made an exaggeratedly proud expression.
"See? Finally someone in this family recognizes my genius."
"You manipulated an entire secret society using paranoia and pride," Caroline answered dryly. "Unfortunately you really are a genius."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
Kol seemed to be enjoying Elijah's reaction far too much.
Especially because Elijah was still looking at Hayley like someone trying to understand when exactly this had gotten out of control.
"You really see him that way?" Elijah asked carefully.
Hayley frowned as if the question were strange.
"Obviously?"
That did not help at all.
"Hayley…" Elijah began calmly.
"Not like that," she immediately rolled her eyes. "Ew."
Rebekah started laughing.
Even Klaus let out a small nasal chuckle.
"Thank you," Nik muttered, offended.
"You're way too annoying for that," Hayley answered instantly.
And then the two started casually arguing as if that were normal.
As if Hayley hadn't just basically admitted that she saw Nik as the most trustworthy person in the room.
Elijah noticed that immediately.
And honestly?
That scared him.
Because Nik was many good things.
Intelligent.
Loyal to the family.
Protective.
But Elijah knew his nephew better than almost anyone.
Nik was absurdly influential.
Especially with emotionally vulnerable people.
And Hayley was exactly like that now.
Confused.
Scared.
Isolated from her own species.
So of course she would cling to the person who seemed to understand everything.
"The problem," Elijah said, trying to return to a remotely healthy subject, "is that Hayley is now a potential target for any sufficiently ambitious werewolf."
Hayley immediately lost part of her humor.
Nik noticed instantly.
"The Guerrera probably don't know," he answered before her anxiety could increase. "They barely understand their own curse."
"But someone could discover it," Elijah insisted.
"They could," Nik agreed. "Especially if some old wolf still knows the myths."
Klaus growled irritably.
"Then we kill every threat before that happens."
"You literally solve everything like that," Caroline complained.
"And it works."
"Unfortunately, it does," Rebekah admitted.
Kol then gave Hayley an amused smile.
"Congratulations, Little Wolf," he teased. "You officially became a walking historical relic."
"That was not comforting," Hayley answered dryly.
"It wasn't supposed to be."
Elijah slowly sighed while watching her expression shift again.
That tension returning.
That constant caution.
And then he realized something worse.
Hayley didn't seem scared for herself.
She seemed… used to it.
As if she had already accepted the idea that she would eventually be hunted.
And that deeply bothered Elijah.
Because nobody that young should accept something like that so easily.
"You are not alone in this," Elijah suddenly said.
The room became slightly quieter.
Hayley looked at him in surprise.
And Elijah calmly held her gaze.
"If someone tries to turn you into a target," he continued, "they'll have to go through this family first."
Klaus immediately nodded.
"Especially me."
"Or me," Rebekah added.
"Or me," Caroline shrugged.
Kol smiled dangerously.
"Oh, I definitely want to participate in that part."
Hayley stood still for a few seconds looking at all of them.
And then, slowly, her posture relaxed a little.
Just a little.
But Elijah noticed.
And honestly?
That made it worth it.