cascaded its whimsical light down onto the city of New Orleans without fault and without knowledge of what it was causing. The moon didn't care about such human affairs; its job was to only shine when needed to, and tonight it was needed. The light washed over the bayou in clumps, scattered by the tall trees. However the light hit Mercy Mikaelson just right, and she changed underneath it into something much different than herself, and yet the same nonetheless.

The fire that surrounded her was long gone, leaving only embers where the flames fought hopelessly to grow still. The ashes were blown sideways by the wind, rustling a few leaves along with it. Two wolves were climbing to their feet; they were Lucy and Caesar Day, having transformed tonight as well. The sacrificial blade that had been a weapon to kill Mercy was thrown, discarded, to the side. They wouldn't be able to use it any longer.

And like a phoenix, she ascended from the ashes. Her fur was dark, the color of night, and the only thing that revealed she was actually there within the shadows were her eyes that glowed brightly in the night. The two wolves noticed that one iris was golden, and the other one was green.

She stood tall, taller than the two wolves below her. Her wolf form was much bigger than she had anticipated, but she didn't mind it; the extra space inside gave room for the First Powers to roam freely, providing her with the strength and the wildness that wolves were known for. She could feel them all; Nahele, Keokuk, Tayen, all leaping inside of her chest, urging her to run, to explore, to be a true wolf now that she was finally inside different skin.

And yet, when her eyes settled over Lucy and Caesar's wolf forms, she growled. It was a deep, guttural sound that echoed in the silence of the bayou. The two wolves, in response, whimpered and backed up, their ears laying flat against their heads as Mercy commanded her Alpha status. She could feel her power, but with the return back to reality, she could feel another emotion bubbling over like a pot of water left on the stove for too long.

Anger.

Rage, uncontrollable in its rawness, filled her up and got stuck in her throat, where another loud and deep growl rumbled. She stepped out of the darkness as the two wolves scrambled back, afraid for what they knew was coming.

Mercy felt this anger consume her into every nook and cranny of her wolf body. Without another second of hesitation, she lunged, moving faster than she had ever moved before. It was like she was there one second and gone the next, jumping on the smaller of the two wolves: Lucy Day. The remaining one, Caesar, ran, but Mercy caught up with him, her thoughts filled with nothing but the body of Noah that laid against the ground.

She tore them to pieces, and the worst part of it all?

She actually liked it.

>

Klaus Mikaelson stumbled back as the Hollow was split among him and his siblings. He could feel the darkness—poignant in his body—whisper against the confines of his mind. They were dark whispers, darker than any nightmare the man had suffered as a child.

But that darkness was pushed aside when he felt an unusual explosion inside of his chest, where his heart was. It was instinctual, powerful, and even ancient with its feeling, and Klaus gasped when he saw a pair of familiar eyes pass over his vision. Only this time, the eyes were no longer that pretty hazel color that he loved. Instead, one of the eyes was golden, and the other one green, like the splitting of the sea, or the separation of a kingdom.

When his eyes fluttered against this image, he was back in the compound. He looked at Hayley, who seemed to understand exactly what he saw. It appeared as if she had seen what he did as well, and when the startled parents looked at each other, they knew something was wrong.

"Mercy—" Klaus began, but he was abruptly cut off. There was a long and ringing wolf howl that echoed around the courtyard of the Abattoir. Klaus listened to it closely, noticing that it was coming straight from the bayou. The sound was lonely, and the feeling inside his chest egged him to go forward, to find his daughter, and to make sure she was safe.

Hayley nodded her head as Hope stirred in her arms. "Go," she said, jutting her chin out to the exit, and Klaus nodded.

However, he hesitated when Hope sat up, looking to him in confusion. "Dad?" She asked groggily, and Klaus's gaze softened, feeling torn on what he should do.

Despite knowing that Mercy could be in danger, Klaus took the time to send his other daughter a gentle look. "Hope... I love you," he told her, watching as her small face grew even more confused.

And then he ran, hearing Hope call out to him again, but he couldn't think about her just yet; he knew she would be safe with Hayley. Mercy, on the other hand, was all alone in the bayou, and from what he was hearing and feeling, he had a sense that something terrible happened to her.

He ran as fast as he could, and the wind ripped at his hair and clothes; he couldn't remember the last time he had ran this fast. He stopped once he reached the bayou, looking around and feeling a strange sense of helplessness consume him. Everything looked the same here: just miles and miles of trees, and Mercy could be anywhere within them, hurt or worse. His heart stuttered at the possibility, and he tried his best to remain calm.

"Mercy!" He yelled, hearing his voice echo through the woods. He whirled around, but the shadows pulled tightly against the floor, draping everything in night, which only made it harder for him to see.

He shook his head in frustration and ran farther into the woods, deeper than Hayley's pack had taken up residency so many years ago. He went deeper than he, himself, had ever ventured into the bayou, but still, he couldn't find her.

However, he found something else.

It was a smell that had become increasingly familiar to Klaus over the centuries that he lived through. It was the very same scent of the thing that vampires lived off of. The smell made him panic even more, because if there was blood in the bayou, then Mercy could be in more danger than he initially believed. He couldn't bear that thought, and so he raced farther and farther toward the smell until he came to an abrupt stop.

What met him was a horrifying sight.

He couldn't help but gasp at the blood staining the ground. The smell was thick with decay already, and he noticed what looked like two wolf bodies, but they were torn apart beyond being able to recognize them. Their bodies were dispersed all around, and the intense scent of blood almost made him choke.

Klaus glanced around, not concerned with the bodies as much as he was for his child. "Mercy!" He called out, turning around as he tried to figure out what had happened. There was a complete circle of burnt grass on the ground, and he stepped toward it, tilting his head as he examined the work.

As he bent down to brush his fingers against the dead grass, he noticed a reflective light in the center of it. He reached for the object, and was shocked to find that it was a necklace. It was a simple silver chain with a circular white stone sat at the bottom of the jewelry, pulled down by gravity. He distantly remembered Mercy wearing it, and he clenched his fist around the chain.

He stood up again, and that's when he saw him. The little boy that had helped Mercy and played with her whenever she needed it was lying against a rock, blood surrounding him in a puddle. Klaus's mouth opened out of honest surprise as well as sadness. The boy was young, he couldn't have been older than Mercy, and he knew that his daughter would not be okay after his death. The hybrid had seen the way his daughter acted around the boy, and even though he hadn't been happy with it, Klaus would've never wished this fate on a child.

"Mercy! Sweetheart, where are you?" He shouted, but when he didn't get a reply, his worry grew tenfold. He ended up walking toward the boy's body, but as he was getting close, a twig snapped. Klaus's head twisted toward the noise, instantly on edge.

He heard a growl emerge from the darkness, and he squinted his eyes, trying to see what was there. The shadow he had been looking at moved, and he saw a pair of eyes, one green and one golden.

He knew who it was.

"Mercy," he breathed, but when the shadow stepped forward, he gasped again. While his daughter was safe, at least somewhat, she no longer stood in her human skin. A large black wolf stood over him, and he was taken aback by the size; a normal wolf at Mercy's age would've looked like a puppy, but what stood before him looked like a mighty and strong beast, ready to protect the dead boy's body despite there being no way to save him.

The wolf approached, and he heard another low growl rip from its chest. Klaus, knowing it had to have been Mercy, stepped back slowly, raising his hands to show that he wasn't a threat.

"Mercy, it's me," he told her softly, knowing that she must be confused and scared and everything that he, himself, had felt when he first turned. "It's Dad. I know you're afraid, but I'm not going to hurt you." He paused, and the wolf stopped walking, as if listening to the words. Klaus hoped that he was getting through to her, because then he would be able to comfort and hold her close afterwards. Standing this close to her, he could feel the waves of sadness, guilt, and anger coming off of her. He wished he could absorb her pain and take it all away, but first, he needed her to turn back into her human body. "I would never hurt you."

The wolf stared at him, and he was surprised by the deep feeling in his chest. It was something akin to loyalty, but it was stronger, as if he would follow her blindly without his own thoughts supporting her actions. It was as if he would go to war for her, and although he had already done that, he knew that whatever this was, it was more than just a father's love. No, this was something primitive and before time itself. This was true power.

And Mercy was wielding it.

His hands were still raised, but Mercy stopped walking, towering over him with her stance. Hesitantly, Klaus took a step forward, and Mercy didn't growl or stop him, so he took that as a sign of good faith. With a deep breath and keeping eye contact with Mercy, he moved forward again.

"It's okay," he said softly, and Mercy watched him closely, eyes narrowed in dominance. "It's okay, Mercy. I know you're frightened, maybe even guilty," he began, knowing that in order for Mercy to be standing in front of him now as she was, she had to have killed somebody. Klaus connected the dots easily and assumed it was the boy, her friend. His heart ached at the thought of his daughter's agony. "But I can help you. Please, just let me help you."

He took the last step forward and gently placed his hand onto Mercy's forehead, just above her multicolored eyes. She allowed him to touch her fur, and he watched in fascination as Mercy closed her eyes and softly breathed in his scent.

It was a moment of peace, but it didn't last long.

Suddenly, the wolf's eyes shot open, and Klaus watched as Mercy shook her head, huffing and puffing as if upset. His hand fell as she moved backwards. She looked to her father, and before he knew it, she growled and lunged on top of him.

He didn't want to fight her, but he didn't have to. As soon as her weight pushed him to the ground, it was gone, and he scrambled up to his knees to look around. There was nothing, not even a glimpse of black fur or the paw prints on the ground. It was as if she had just vanished into thin air, and Klaus's eyes widened.

"Mercy!" He screamed, climbing to his feet. He could sense that feeling in his chest again, only now it was becoming less and less prominent with the distance between him and his daughter. "Mercy, come back!"

But she didn't, and so Klaus did the only thing he knew to do and ran in the direction he believed her to have gone.

>

Jordyn King wasn't an extraordinary person. She lived a simple life with a simple job and simple hobbies. She didn't partake in partying or getting into trouble; God knows how many times mischief found her before she went out searching for it. She didn't mind the simplicity of her life, because it kept her safe most times. With a heritage like hers, she needed that safety net to catch her if she were to ever fall off the shaking wire she balanced herself on.

Being a wolf had its perks, like speed and strength and durability, but it also had its drawbacks, and Jordyn couldn't let a day go by where she didn't remember her first kill. She couldn't allow herself to forget the woman's face as she died—it had been an accident, but it didn't matter at the end of the day. She was still a killer, and she couldn't take it.

So that was what brought her to California, far away from the troubles she left behind in Maryland. She wasn't living in any major city, close to the beach or downtown. Instead, she had chosen to build her own house—she had enough money saved up from her time at college—and it was settled deep in the woods, illegally built on the Mendocino National Forest's grounds.

She was out of the way of park rangers and most humans who visited, so she wasn't afraid of getting caught at her house. And if she did, she had found a witch during her renovations, and luckily this witch was a friend to wolves. She offered to cloak the small cottage house when it was done, and Jordyn, knowing it would mean a lot, graciously accepted. Thus, her little home became her little hideaway, invisible to anybody else.

It was lonely sometimes, considering that Jordyn only ever went into the nearby town to grab groceries and things she needed before returning. She liked it like that though; she didn't want to risk hurting anybody else, and with every full moon bringing about another torturous turn, she needed to keep the safety of other people in mind. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she murdered again, especially as a wolf.

And that was her life: a simple, unemotional, and unsociable life. She preferred it this way, but that didn't mean she longed to stay alone. She hoped that one day, she would be able to know people more than just a simple passing phrase. She hoped that, one day, she would have her own people again. She hoped that she would belong.

It seemed the universe gave her exactly what she wanted in the exact time that she needed it.

She was walking through the forest, a basket in her hand that was full of her groceries. The basket was heavy with produce, and the woman almost thought it would break, but it didn't yet, so she ventured on. She held the basket with two hands, feeling the weight pull on her shoulders; she was currently regretting living so far, but she knew now was not the time to be debating it. She just needed to get home, cook some dinner, and go to sleep. Then, tomorrow, she would do it all over again. That was her repetitive life style, and she sighed under her breath, blowing a piece of dark hair away from her face.

Despite the heaviness of what she carried, she felt a strange pulling sensation leading her to go the long way back to her cottage. Jordyn stopped, looking at the break in the path and wondering why she wanted to go the long way so badly. It was like a deep, drawing sensation in her chest, and without meaning to, the older woman turned and walked down the second path, toward the riverbank.

Her mind was fuzzy and puzzled over this quick decision, but she tried to brush the unfamiliar feeling away. She could use the extra 10 minutes to think to herself anyway. She had logical reasons for wanting to go down this path, but they didn't seem to be enough for her puzzlement to go away. Even as she continued walking, her lips were pursed together, overthinking what she was doing as she usually did.

She wished for the feeling to go away, but that deep sensation from before was still settled comfortably in her chest, and it grew stronger with each step she took down the path. Leaves crunched under her dark boots, and Jordyn switched the basket between hands, hoping that the path would suddenly become shorter so she wouldn't have to lug it around anymore. But she knew that wasn't the reality, and she shook her head to herself.

She could hear the sound of running water and knew she was getting close to the stream that was carved into the earth behind her cottage house. She wasn't far from her home at this point, and her legs sped up, taking her closer and closer to that feeling in her chest. She didn't understand what was going on, but she didn't think twice about it, letting her body lead her.

And then, the feeling subsided slightly before returning full force. Jordyn stopped, getting lightheaded, and brought her free hand up to her forehead, closing her eyes slightly. When she opened them again, she glanced around, and then she gasped.

There was something between the trees, she could see it. By the smallness of it, she assumed it was an injured animal, or perhaps some trash that the park rangers didn't clean up and it had managed to travel all the way here. She doubted the second option, but that didn't take away her nervousness.

Setting the heavy basket down, Jordyn slightly reveled in the relief of her arms. Then, she did something she never would've done before and began walking to the small object on the forest floor.

As she came closer, her eyes grew wide. It wasn't an animal at all, but a girl. Her brown hair was long and tangled all over with leaves and sticks sticking out from around her head. She was covered in a black cloak of some sort, shielding the rest of her curled up body from view, and Jordyn distantly wondered if the girl had any other clothes on despite that. The woman couldn't see the girl's face, but her hand that laid against the ground was pale, and a surprisingly large ring sat on one of her tiny fingers.

Jordyn was confused, but at the revelation of the injured animal turning out to be a young child, she moved faster toward the small break in the trees, trying to be as quiet as she could while still getting there quickly.

Soon, she stood above the girl, noticing that her body was curled up under the dark cloak. Jordyn's face softened when she saw the side profile of the child. Her eyes were closed, but her face was caked in dirt and rain and something else that looked somewhat like blood. Jordyn didn't want to imagine what the girl must've gone through.