The Grey Wolf [TWILIGHT/LEGACIES]

17

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As time went by, soon came mid-December. While Hope had found a job as a waitress, Renesmee had little luck yet. Both of them were focused on obtaining their GEDs so that they could find better-paid jobs and eventually save up enough to potentially move out and go to University. That meant they had to work hard. But they knew it would pay off.

Every night, the women would go to their favourite restaurant to share biscuits and gravy and talk about their past and build plans for the future. They had become regular clients. As much as both of them wanted to work in that same restaurant, they couldn't. The owners weren't looking for new people to join yet. They, however, had promised the supernaturals that they would call them as soon as there was work for them.

One night, after returning from their favourite restaurant, however, there was a surprise waiting for both of the women.

Freya Mikaelson and Marcel Gerard were in the mansion. They had sat in the indoor garden, having a conversation. From where they were sitting, it didn't seem that they could see Hope and Renesmee. However, the tribrid and the hybrid could see them from the entrance of the mansion.

Hope grew nervous at the sight of her aunt and adoptive brother. She knew she would have to face her family eventually, but she was hoping it wouldn't be that soon. What was she going to tell them? Would they believe her? What if they threw her away? And she had just found a job, but neither she nor Renesmee had enough to move out yet. All of their money went either to their future funds, either to pay the bills.

The tribrid took a deep breath before she grasped Renesmee's hand for support and braced herself for what was about to happen. The hybrid had to control herself and her thoughts to not expose anything unwanted to her friend.

And with that, the two women stepped inside the mansion. As soon as their footsteps were heard, Freya and Marcel stopped anything they were doing and rushed to the entrance to see who was disturbing them.

For their delight, it was their dearest Hope. Although she was with a stranger. Both Freya and Marcel could tell that the stranger was not a human being.

"Hope!", both of them exclaimed and rushed to hug her as tightly as possible. They had missed her to the moon and back. The rest of the family would be delighted to hear the news that Hope was safe and sound.

"You remember me?", the tribrid was surprised. She was sure that Malivore had practically erased her from existence.

"Of course we do, dear," Freya reassured her niece. Indeed, they had forgotten about her at first, the way they were supposed to. But just like the Saltzman twins, they had begun to have those dreams and visions of Hope, until they began to regain their memories by putting the pieces together.

In fact, Freya and Marcel knew that Hope was in New Orleans. They had been expecting her. They had gone to look for her at the Salvatore School, but nobody there remembered her and the twins had been too shy to speak up yet. Not even Alaric had known back then.

Then Freya and Marcel had continued to look everywhere they could think of until they decided to come back and to wait for her, while the rest of the family was still on the search.

As soon as they had come to New Orleans, Freya had received a call from Alaric, who had told them everything his daughters had told him. From there, they decided that he and the twins would come to New Orleans to wait. Everybody suspected that they wouldn't have to wait for too long. After all, where else would Hope go? Everybody had checked Mystic Falls - one of the first places to check - and no one had seen or heard of Hope. So where else than New Orleans - her home?

"Where have you been?", Marcel demanded to know.

Hope nervously chuckled. "At work? And then we went to eat biscuits and gravy?"

"How could you even drop out of school?", questioned Freya. She had been informed that Hope hadn't appeared at the Salvatore School either.

"I'm too old to be there anyway, aunt Freya. It's best if I just obtain my GED and get a job. I'm eighteen, I'm a legal adult," Hope explained herself. She wanted everyone around her to understand her decisions better. Sure, they weren't the best decisions, but she wanted to be in control of her own life, the same way Renesmee did. They wanted to build their lives from scratch with their own bare hands, without anybody else's help, most notably the Salvatore School. They believed they didn't belong there. Or in the state of Washington for that matter.

"How did you even disappear?", asked Marcel. "I swear, one day we just walked by your room and wondered who slept there."

"Well, I kind of jumped into a pit, called Malivore, to save everyone else," Hope murmured.

"Hope Andrea Mikaelson!", Freya scolded, shaking her head in disapproval. "Sometimes you're far too selfless!"

"I'm not!", insisted Hope, "I knew what I was doing! I knew about the consequences and I could care less if I was forgotten!"

Marcel and Freya stood there, taken aback. How could Hope speak that way?

"And it's not just because of the deaths of Mom, Dad and uncle Elijah," the tribrid continued, "I guess I just needed a new beginning too. I didn't realize this until I escaped from Malivore."

Nobody else said anything anymore. Neither Marcel nor Freya asked Renesmee who she was. It wasn't as if they didn't care. They were not too concerned with their guest at the moment. They could see that she was not human and it seemed to them that she meant no harm. Besides, she was Hope's friend. Sure, the last friend Hope had had, had brought nothing but chaos, but Marcel and Freya could feel that Renesmee was nothing like Roman Sienna.

"So you don't go to school anymore?", asked Marcel.

Hope shook her head, "Haven't been going since I jumped, obviously."

She then proceeded to explain how she and Renesmee were planning on obtaining their GEDs while working and then they would find better jobs to afford to go to University. From there, they would move out and then decide what to do next.

Nobody said anything else anymore. Both Marcel and Freya were disappointed with Hope's decision at first, but then they realized that she was now an adult and had a choice.

However, there was one person, who wasn't going to like that idea. And that person was someone who Hope knew too well.

"Oh, and Hope?", Freya spoke again, "Mr Saltzman and his daughters are coming soon. They just called us, in fact."

At that moment, Hope's phone slipped out of her hand and fell on the floor.