Darkness I Became

Chapter 1: Stuck In The Dark

Author's note: Okay so the prologue ended on quite the doozy so here's a bit of a lighter chapter and a taste of this story is really about. The chapter title comes from the song "Flashlight" by Jessie J from Pitch Perfect 2. Not only do I love that song and movie, but I think this song really resonates with Hayley and where she's going in this story. Hope you enjoy :)

Chapter One: Stuck In The Dark

Three years later . . .

"Miss Hayley?"
The werewolf – no, hybrid – in question looked up from the map she'd been studying. A little girl of six stood next to her, tugging on the sleeve of her elbow. The young girl had a full head of bright red hair, freckles on her cheeks, and a stuffed puppy in her arms. She knew this girl and her mother – the seer who was also her close friend and the only family she had in this cruel, cruel, world. Sure there was a whole camp of werewolves that she was technically responsible for and cared for as a leader cares for her people. Erin and her mother, however, were family.
"Miss Hayley, my mommy wants to see you." The girl told her, tugging on her sleeve again.
Hayley nodded, putting down the pen she'd had in her hand and began to rise from the small stool she'd been sitting on. "Thank you, Erin." She ruffled the young girl's hair, eliciting a giggle from the girl.
"Auntie Hayley, let's go!" Erin pulled on her arm, dragging Hayley out of the small cabin outside. "Mommy promised cookies!"
"Oh boy, then we better hurry." Hayley chuckled, hiding the frown she felt bubbling up. The two of them raced through the camp toward the cabin where Erin and her mother lived.
Hayley felt a small surge of pain reach her heart as she remembered (for the hundredth time that morning already) exactly what day it was. Erin's red hair and pale skin was the exact opposite of what she'd imagined her child to be. With her New Orleans Crescent roots and Klaus's Nordic Viking roots, she'd always thought that their daughter would probably either have dark hair like her or lighter like Klaus and his sister. Her skin was a tad darker thank Klaus's so their daughter would probably be somewhere in between. The brief moments she'd been allowed to hold her daughter were a blessing and a curse all in one.
Her daughter would have been three years old today.
"C'mon auntie!"
"Coming, sweetie." Hayley sighed, pushing the pain back down. There wasn't time for a breakdown right now.
The two entered Erin's cabin where her mother Keara was waiting for them. "Mommy I brought Auntie Hayley is it cookie time?"
Keara laughed, shaking her head. "Yes, little one. They're on the table in the kitchen with a glass of milk."
"Thank you Mommy!"
"You're welcome. Now go eat your snack while your aunt and I have a grown up conversation. Ok?" The girl nodded, letting go of her aunt's hand and racing to the table across the room.
Hayley and Keara sat down on the small couch in the sitting area facing each other. Hayley let out a sigh as Keara watched her. "How are you today, my friend?" Keara regarded her.
Hayley looked away, her head down. Anyone else in the camp, she'd have held her head high and insisted she was fine – even chastising them for crossing a line. With Keara, though . . . She looked back up. "Let's just say it's not a good day."
"I'm so very sorry you've had to endure this. The loss of a child is a special kind of pain – one that does not go away." Keara said. "It is the day of her birth today, is it not?" Hayley nodded, willing the tears away. "You're strong – you know that. You will get through this. How are the cravings?"
As a hybrid, Hayley had had to learn to control the bloodlust she was now cursed with along with the extra violent tendencies that came with being a wolf. Over the last three years, she hadn't always been in control – and that was putting it lightly. While she'd done her share of violence in her days as just a werewolf – even killing – she'd always cringed at the sheer thought of the numbers of bodies the Mikaelsons were responsible for. Thousands of years of murder and unnecessary death . . . and now she was well on her way to just the same thing.
For the last two and half years she'd been lost, drowning her sorrows in blood and booze. The small group of werewolves she'd been running with seemed to follow her lead. They didn't quite trust her but they understood who she was, that she cared for them as a lead cares for their pack, and as a hybrid she had the means of protecting them. So for a while she led them, helped them protect each other, warded them from their enemies – though from a distance, because she never trusted herself around them. They understood how dangerous she could be to them so they kept their distance as well.
Then one day she'd happened along a scared little girl with red hair and her equally scared seer mother being attacked by vampires – and something had snapped in her. She saved the little girl and her mom – and then they saved her. Ever since Keara had been helping her get control of the bloodlust within her and managing her ever-constant depression. Having nowhere else to go, Keara and her daughter Erin became a part of Hayley's pack. Everyone in the pack embraced the mother and her child – not to mention the fact that with Keara around, Hayley was less confrontational. Keara became a sister to Hayley and having Erin around her brought her closer to her daughter's memory.
Hayley let out a deep breath. "I just miss her."
"Oh sweetie, of course you do." Keara nodded. "The bond a woman has with her child is unbreakable – she'll always be there with you in your heart." Hayley sniffled, wiping her eye. "That is actually why I wanted to talk to you this late morning."
Hayley froze, looking up from where she'd been staring at the floor.
"I've had a vision," Keara's voice cracked. Hayley's heart beat quicker and she let out a breath. "I didn't think much of it at first – I thought perhaps one of the women in the camp was expecting and I'd picked up a vision from one of them." Keara reached over and held on to Hayley's hand. "Hayley, my sister in this life, I believe that your daughter is alive."
Hayley gasped, her entire body tensing. Her heart constricted, pain spread from there to her entire body. Tears welled in her eyes. "Keara, please – why would you do this to me?" She gasped.
Across the room, Erin looked up from her cookies with a mouth full.
Keara shook her head. "It is true, I know it. I have seen her as clearly as I see you now – I would not lie to you or deceive you. You know this – I owe you my life as well as my own daughter's."
Panic flooded Hayley's system – she hadn't felt this much pain or fear since the night she'd given birth to her daughter in the hands of those damn witches. A ghost of feeling spread throughout her womb and she clutched it as if she were still pregnant.
"Erin please take your cookies and go play in your room, okay?" Keara called across the room. The little girl sensed the tension in the room and immediately did as she was told. Keara scooted closer to Hayley, grabbing hold of the other woman's shoulders. "I know that this is painful and unbelievable but you have to trust me, sister."
"H-how?" Hayley gasped.
"That I did not see." Keara shook her head. "Let me see your phone – the pictures." Hayley pulled out her cell and pulled up the image gallery. Keara pointed at a particular picture. "Yes – that one, you've showed me that one before."
Hayley touched the screen on the picture Keara had pointed out, making the image larger. It was of Hayley when she was still pregnant and one of the Mikaelsons – Rebekah. Actually, it was of the two in the bayou saying goodbye on the day Rebekah had left after the showdown with Klaus. Rebekah had promised that she loved her niece and would always be there for her. "What is it?"
"This woman in the photo – I've seen her too. Hayley, she is with your daughter. Protecting her, I believe." Keara told her. Hayley swallowed – it couldn't be true. Could it? "I saw images of them on the road, in many cities and in many houses. Hayley, your girl is alive. That last image I saw was of a few days ago. I think that something is coming for them, seeking them out to do harm."
Every nerve in Hayley's hybrid body was on edge - pain and hope and happiness and fear hitting her all at once.
"Hayley, you must go back to New Orleans. You have to go back to your daughter." Keara told her.
to be continued . . .