Bound in the Shadows / TVD N.M

🦋~° 20 °~🦋

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Liora

Five packs. Five different groups of werewolves who had all made the same decision. They had joined us—not all as hybrids, but they had split between those who wanted to keep their werewolf heritage alive and those who had chosen the hybrid life. It was a delicate balance. We were a proud race, even when our powers were cursed. Our perks came with a steep price: turning only after we've taken another life, the excruciating pain that rips through us during each transformation.

But in a pack, we learn to live with it. We accept our actions, our choices. We learn to be a family. And that, I think, was something Niklaus had missed for so long. Something even I had forgotten about.

Now, here we were, sitting around a bonfire with wolves—no, friends—who were loyal not because they had to be, but because they chose to be. They weren't soldiers like Niklaus had once envisioned. They were more than that. They were family, something Nik had always longed for but never truly had.

I glanced at Niklaus as he sat beside me, his face illuminated by the flickering firelight. He was smiling, something I hadn't seen often enough. But even with that rare smile on his face, I could see the sadness still lingering in his eyes. His siblings. The family he had betrayed in so many ways. The family he had loved but hurt. They were still locked away, daggers in their hearts, sleeping in coffins at his command. He wanted to free them—he'd told me as much—but he also wanted them safe. That's where I came in. I had promised him that I'd help him, that we'd find a way to have both: his siblings by his side, and their safety assured.

Excitement rushed through me. The full moon was almost at its peak, and I could feel the familiar tingling sensation creeping through my body. Tonight, I hoped, I'd get to be human again. Just like last full moon. It was a strange kind of hope, a bittersweet one. I'd spent so long in this wolf form that part of me had forgotten what it was like to be human. And now, after all this time, I wasn't just returning to my old self—I was returning to speak with Niklaus. Really speak with him.

He'd told the hybrids, our friends, about my curse—how I was trapped in this wolf form most of the time. They were eager to meet me in my human form, to see the person behind the wolf. I was just as eager to meet them, but mostly, I was excited to speak to Nik. To have a real conversation, face to face, not just through the silent understanding we had built while I was a wolf.

Niklaus had left some clothes for me in our tent, as if he knew exactly when the transformation would happen. His thoughtfulness made my heart swell. As the tingling grew stronger, I glanced at him one last time before I rushed into the tent. I could feel the shift beginning, my bones rearranging, muscles stretching, skin reforming. The pain was still there, but it was different this time—more familiar, more manageable. I welcomed it.

And then, just like that, I was human again.

I looked down at my hands—fingers instead of paws. It felt strange, but it felt right. Quickly, I dressed in the clothes Nik had left for me, the excitement building in my chest. I was nervous—how would they react? How would he react? But the nerves were chased away by a greater sense of anticipation. I wanted to talk to Niklaus. Really talk to him.

As I stepped out of the tent, the night air hit my skin, cool but not unpleasant. The bonfire was still crackling, and the pack—now a mix of hybrids and werewolves—looked up as I approached. Their expressions ranged from surprise to curiosity, but it was Niklaus's reaction that mattered most.

He stood slowly, his blue eyes locking onto mine. There was a flicker of something in his gaze—something soft, almost vulnerable. He stepped forward, and I met him halfway, my heart pounding in my chest.