Legacies: Inari Rising (A TVD Universe Fanfic)

The Benefactor

Sometimes, Noel hated being right.

The moments after he entered Alaric's office were as Hope had promised; just standard, routine questions.

Landon, though failing to leave any meaningful impression, answered the questions thoroughly and without resistance.

All normal, routine questions.

That is, until, Alaric got to the question that had been plaguing everyone's minds:

Who did Rafael kill recently?

"W-Why would you ask me that?!"

Noel sat on the window alcove to Alaric's right, picking pieces of lint off a red pillow as Landon's jaw dropped.

"The werewolf gene lies dormant until the carrier takes a human life," Alaric explained, steepling his fingers. "If Rafael triggered his curse, it's...because he killed someone. And we don't accept cold-blooded killers into our program."

Alaric spoke those last few words with an added emphasis, causing Landon to squirm in his chair. But the boy quickly regained his nerve, scowling at the headmaster as his hands balled into fists.

"He's not a killer." he defended.

Noel shook his head, flicking a piece of lint away. "Well, clearly, you're wrong."

Hope glared at Noel as he met Landon's gaze, ignoring the anger burning in his olive-green eyes.

"We might be supernatural," Noel said. "But our world still has rules. And one of them is that a werewolf can't turn unless they've killed someone."

He leaned back against the window, the midday sun heating the back of his hoodie.

"Saying that you're a werewolf that hasn't killed anyone is like saying you're a pregnant virgin - very unlikely."

Landon scowled at him. "You think this is funny?"

"What Noel is trying to say," Alaric interrupted him. "Is that these sorts of things are consistent with a newly triggered wolf. There's no shame in it."

Landon held his gaze with Alaric, but his eyes softened as Hope put a hand on his arm.

Seriously, what was with her today?

"I know this is a lot to take in, right now." Hope sighed. "I've been going here since I was seven. This is a safe place for people like Rafael. I-It's a home!"

To some people. Noel thought bitterly.

"But if we take him in," Alaric added. "We need to make sure that he isn't a threat."

Landon looked down, but Noel could see the vacancy in the boy's eyes, like he were replaying some terrible memory on a loop in his mind.

"Look," Noel reasoned. "Just because your brother killed someone, doesn't mean that he's a bad guy. Soldiers kill people. Cops kill people. Hell, doctors and pharmacists kill people."

The witch folded his arms.

"... We're just trying to make sure that whatever happened wasn't premeditated."

The glaze in Landon's eyes dissipated, the boy taking an unsteady breath as he walked to the other side of the room.

"...His girlfriend." Landon finally admitted. "Cassie. Last month he was driving, there was a storm. He took a turn too fast."

Noel curled a finger over his chin. Killing a loved one in a car accident. That was a new one.

Noel didn't interact with the werewolves as a personal rule, but thanks to the school's rumour mill and Alyssa Chang's gossip (Jed was very talkative during their booty calls), plenty of people knew about the packs' first kills.