"Yes, you did it." Nik hugged her and Hayley smiled happily. "You're the best, the most powerful."
"Stop that, it doesn't sound like you," Hayley grumbled, though she accepted Nik's embrace.
"I'm only telling the truth. You're incredible, Hayley," Nik said gently, caressing her face.
"No." Hayley's eyes widened. "Nik doesn't call me by my name... You're the wolf."
Nik's eyes turned red and a sinister smile spread across his face.
"Wasn't this what you wanted, Hayley? To be acknowledged by me?" Nik said with a predatory look.
"No... not like this." Hayley stepped back fearfully. "I want him to recognize me as myself, but not this way. Stop using that wolf form."
The smile on Nik's face widened.
Wrong.
Artificial.
As if something was learning to imitate affection without truly understanding what it meant.
Then the red eyes glowed more intensely.
"But I am recognizing you, Hayley." The voice came out far too soft. "I'm seeing everything you truly are."
Hayley took another step back.
"Stop using his face."
The creature tilted its head.
"Does this face hurt you?" it asked with almost curious interest. "Interesting."
The skin around Nik's eyes slowly darkened, black shadows spreading like veins.
"I hate you..." Hayley whispered.
The wolf smiled.
"No." It stepped forward. "You fear me."
The air around them became heavy.
Darkness moved like living smoke until the place transformed into something resembling a forest beneath a full moon.
Cold. Silent. Dead.
The wolf continued wearing Nik's appearance as it circled around her.
"Do you know why I exist?" it asked. "Because werewolves were never made for peace." The red eyes burned into her. "They were made to destroy."
Hayley clenched her fists.
"You're just a curse."
"I'm the part of the curse that never sleeps." The smile slowly vanished. "Every full moon, I feel your fear." Its voice deepened. "I feel you begging not to lose control."
Hayley looked away.
And that was enough.
The wolf appeared directly in front of her instantly.
"But you do lose it."
The words cut through her like blades.
"You feel it, don't you?" it continued. "The horror afterward." Nik's face turned cruel. "The doubt." Another step. "The fear of waking up and discovering you hurt someone."
Hayley took a deep breath, but her hands trembled.
The wolf noticed immediately.
"Ah..." it whispered with satisfaction. "It still hurts."
The shadows behind it began to shift.
Then Hayley saw blood.
Claws.
Fallen bodies.
Screams.
The images came too quickly, distorted and violent—not graphic, but enough for her to understand what they were.
The wolf spread its arms.
"This is your future every time the moon rises." Its voice echoed through the dark forest. "You were made to kill what you love."
"No..." Hayley murmured.
"Yes." It smiled again. "That's why you keep pushing people away." The red eyes locked onto hers. "Because deep down, you know someday I'll take everything from you."
Hayley lunged forward angrily and punched him in the face.
The creature didn't even move.
Then it grabbed her wrist tightly.
"Weak."
Hayley tried to pull away, but the wolf squeezed harder.
"You want to know what I like most about you?" it asked quietly. "That ridiculous hope." The smile widened. "Even after everything, you still believe you can be loved without hurting anyone."
Pain climbed through her arm.
"Stop..." Hayley hissed through clenched teeth.
"You were born cursed." Nik's face began to crack, revealing something lupine and monstrous beneath the skin. "And every time you love someone..." the red eyes gleamed, "you hand me another victim."
Hayley widened her eyes.
Hope.
The wolf noticed instantly.
And smiled monstrously.
"Ah..." Its voice became almost pleased. "Now we've reached the real fear."
"Don't talk about her."
"You think you can protect her?" It slowly walked around her again. "You can barely protect yourself." Another step. "One bad night." Another. "One full moon." It showed its teeth. "And I take control."
Hayley felt her heart racing.
The wolf leaned close to her face.
"And when that happens..." the creature whispered, "you'll spend the rest of eternity hating yourself for whatever I do with your hands."
--++---
"AAAHHHHH!"
The screams were loud as Nik, Caroline, and Amara stood before a furious wolf.
"Looks like she's losing," Nik sighed. "Just this once, I'll help you, little wolf."
He looked at Caroline.
"Love, do you want to fight him?" Nik pointed toward the wolf expectantly.
"What if he bites me?" Caroline asked nervously.
"I'll revive you," Nik answered indifferently.
"You can do that?" Caroline blinked. "Like... whenever you want?"
"Of course. As long as you're a vampire, every time you die you go to my mother's domain, so yes," Nik replied cheerfully.
"Then wonderful." Caroline laughed and cracked her fingers excitedly. "With magic or without magic?"
"Without magic, please," Nik replied. "Don't hurt her too badly."
"Uh, do you want a harem? Aren't the two of us enough?" Caroline asked with irritated teasing. "I'm feeling jealous. I'm gonna kill her right here."
"Ew." Nik made a disgusted face. "She's the mother of my sister... Besides, she slept with my father."
'And she was my mother in my past life,' Nik added only in his mind before pointing his hand toward Hayley.
"Remember, little wolf. In your soul, you're omnipotent."
---+++---
"No, no, no, no..." Hayley dropped to her knees while staring at corpses around her. "Stop, stop, I didn't want this, I didn't want this, I'm sorry."
She sobbed uncontrollably.
Hayley collapsed onto her knees in the dark forest, her sobs caught in her throat as she looked around.
The bodies had disappeared.
But that was worse.
Because now they were alive.
Or at least they looked alive.
People from her past appeared between the trees wrapped in the black mist of the curse. Frightened faces. Wounded people. Some crying. Others simply staring at her with disappointment.
The wolf walked slowly behind her.
"Do you remember them?" it asked almost gently.
Hayley immediately started trembling.
She recognized those faces.
An old pack. People who had tried to help her. Strangers who were in the wrong place during full moons. People she had never wanted to hurt.
"Stop..." she begged.
The wolf ignored her.
"You spent years running." It smiled. "City after city." Another step. "Always leaving before anyone realized what you were."
The memories began shifting around her.
A younger Hayley. Alone. Sleeping in abandoned cars. Covered in blood after transformations. Waking up without fully remembering what happened.
The wolf stopped beside her.
"Do you know what I love most about these memories?" it asked quietly.
Hayley closed her eyes.
"That even back then..." the cruel smile returned, "you already believed you were a monster."
The shadows showed another memory.
A younger girl staring at Hayley fearfully after a particularly violent transformation.
Then a man yelling at her to run before hunters arrived.
Then loneliness.
Always loneliness.
"You never had peace before the Originals." The wolf circled around her. "You never had a home." Its voice deepened. "Because deep down you knew you'd destroy any place you tried to stay."
Hayley clutched her head.
"Shut up!"
But the memories continued.
She saw herself running through forests. Hiding. Starving. Covered in mud and blood after full moons.
The wolf crouched beside her again.
"Do you want to know the truth?" Its red eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "Nik and the Mikaelsons were the first people who made you believe you could belong somewhere."
Hayley froze.
And the wolf noticed immediately.
"Ah..." The smile widened. "So that's what hurts the most."
The shadows changed again.
Now she saw happy moments.
Rare. Small. But real.
Laughter. Protection. Hope. The feeling of finally not being completely alone.
Then the wolf tore those images apart.
Literally.
The memories dissolved into black shadows.
"Because happiness wasn't made for creatures like us," it snarled.
Hayley started crying again.
"You're lying..."
"No." The wolf grabbed her face forcefully. "I'm the only honest thing inside you."
The red eyes burned with pure cruelty.
"You spent your whole life trying to make up for what you did." Its voice became low and sharp. "Trying to save people." Another monstrous smile appeared. "As if that erased the dead."
Hayley shoved the creature desperately.
"I never wanted to hurt anyone!"
"But you did."
The words came instantly.
Without mercy.
Without hesitation.
And for one second, something inside her shattered.
The wolf noticed.
The entire forest trembled as it grew even larger, taking the shape of a colossal lupine creature made of shadows and glowing red eyes.
"This guilt." The roar echoed through her soul. "This fear." Another roar. "THIS PAIN."
The monster opened its jaws in a horrible grin.
"It all feeds me."
---++---
Caroline dodged the wolf and kicked it in the ribs, sending it flying.
She was having fun playing with it and cornering it.
She didn't even use transmutation or elemental magic.
She was using only physical power and had a huge advantage, becoming careless until the wolf managed to scrape its teeth against her skin.
"Ow!" Caroline shouted and kicked the wolf in the ribs so hard it gasped and whimpered before crashing into a wall with enough force to destroy a beam.
She was already in front of it again, grabbing it by the throat and lifting it with an enraged expression.
She pulled her arm back in a spear-like motion.
---+----
"Nooo, stop, stop!" the images kept appearing.
"You're a monster, get out of my house!" a man and woman screamed.
"Mom, dad..." Hayley cried.
"Don't call us that, you monster!" the man and woman screamed.
"Don't call us that, you monster!"
The voices echoed through the entire forest again.
Hayley fell to the ground, covering her ears as the memories shattered around her like mirrors.
She saw herself running. Blood on her hands. Fearful stares. Doors being slammed shut.
All the pain of her life crushed her chest at once.
The colossal wolf watched from above, its red eyes glowing with cruel satisfaction.
"Look at yourself," it snarled. "Your entire life was built on fear." Its monstrous jaws opened into a horrible grin. "You were born to destroy."
Shadows climbed up Hayley's legs like living chains.
She tried to fight.
But she was tired.
Tired of running. Tired of guilt. Tired of fearing herself.
The wolf noticed immediately.
And smiled even wider.
"Yes..." it whispered. "Give up."
The black chains tightened.
"You can't defeat me because I am part of you." Another heavy step shook the entire forest. "I am all your rage. All your violence. All the pain you never managed to forget."
Hayley closed her eyes as silent tears fell.
Then—
"Little wolf."
The voice was low.
Distant.
But familiar.
Hayley's eyes slowly opened.
Nik.
She could hear him.
"In your soul..." his voice echoed softly through the darkness, "you are omnipotent."
The wolf immediately roared.
"SHUT UP!"
But now Hayley was listening.
"He wants you to believe you're small," Nik continued. "Because if you realize what you truly are here..." A faint amused tone entered his voice. "It's over for him."
Hayley took a deep breath.
The wolf charged furiously.
"YOU ARE A CURSE!"
The shadows shot toward her like living claws.
But then Hayley looked around.
And realized something.
The forest... the memories... the shadows...
All of it existed inside her.
Inside her soul.
The wolf hadn't created that place.
It was only using it.
Hayley's golden eyes began glowing intensely.
The wolf hesitated for the first time.
"No..." it growled.
Hayley slowly stood up.
The black chains shattered around her.
"You spent so long making me feel small..." she said, her voice trembling but firm. "So long making me believe I was nothing but pain."
The wolf instinctively stepped back.
And that made Hayley realize something else.
It was afraid.
"You feed on guilt," she continued. "Fear. Trauma." Another step forward. "Because that's all you are."
"I AM THE WOLF!" the creature roared. "I AM THE CURSE!"
"No." Hayley lifted her chin. "You're just a parasite living inside my soul."
The entire forest began changing.
The dead trees regained color. The dark mist began fading. The red moon above them slowly cracked apart.
The wolf widened its red eyes.
"STOP!"
Hayley finally understood.
In that place... she decided the rules.
The monster lunged desperately toward her.
But Hayley simply raised her hand.
And the wolf froze in midair instantly.
Its eyes widened in pure horror.
"Impossible..."
Hayley could feel power vibrating around her now.
The soul was hers.
The domain was hers.
The wolf never truly had control.
It had only convinced her it did.
"You wanted me to hate myself," Hayley said calmly as she walked toward the creature suspended in the air. "Because as long as I hated myself..." her golden eyes burned intensely, "I'd never realize I was stronger than you."
The wolf struggled violently.
"I AM YOU!"
"No." Hayley placed her hand on the creature's chest. "You're just my pain."
The shadows began cracking.
The wolf's monstrous body slowly started falling apart as it roared furiously.
"I WILL COME BACK!" it screamed desperately. "EVERY FULL MOON! EVERY RAGE! EVERY FEAR!"
Hayley closed her eyes for a moment.
Then answered:
"Maybe."
She opened her eyes again.
Firm. Strong.
"You won't," Hayley said firmly as she walked toward the wolf. It tried to attack, but chains wrapped around its neck and restrained it. "You die here."
Hayley raised her hand and a sword formed within it while the wolf shrank smaller and smaller.
Then she reached him and swung the sword, cutting off the wolf's head.
And her eyes changed from yellow to red.
---+++---
Just as Caroline was about to strike, the wolf's gaze changed and Caroline widened her eyes.
"You got lucky," she sighed. "Because that would've hurt a lot."
The wolf shifted into a naked and completely defenseless Hayley.
Hayley opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Caroline's wounded arm.
"No..." Hayley widened her eyes as tears formed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, what did I do?"
For a second Hayley's eyes flickered red before turning yellow again, but Caroline gently caressed her face.
"Don't worry, I'll be okay," Caroline said with a smile. "It was my fault. I got careless."
Hayley's eyes turned red again.
---+++---
Three days later.
The Mikaelson mansion was far too quiet.
The metallic scent of venom still lingered in the room despite every attempt to clean it away. Caroline lay in the massive bed, breathing unevenly while dark veins slowly crept up her neck.
Hayley paced back and forth in complete desperation.
"This is my fault..." she whispered for what had to be the hundredth time.
"You've said that like forty times today already," Amara replied from beside the window.
"Because it's true!"
Hayley gripped her hair tightly.
Werewolf venom normally destroyed vampires slowly. Fever. Hallucinations. Increasing pain until their organs began failing.
And Caroline had definitely gone through the first stages.
On the first day she could barely stay conscious.
On the second she developed such a high fever that she burned through the bedsheets.
Now, on the third day...
She was still alive.
Very alive.
Caroline groaned irritably and opened her eyes.
"If I survive this..." she muttered hoarsely, "I'm killing both of you."
Nik was sprawled across an armchair beside the bed reading a book.
"Technically you've already died before," he replied without looking up. "So statistically this isn't even your worst day."
Caroline grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.
The pillow smacked directly into Nik's face.
Hayley's eyes widened.
"You have enough strength to throw things?"
Caroline blinked.
Then slowly looked down at her own arm.
The dark veins were... disappearing.
The entire room fell silent.
Nik slowly lowered his book.
"...Hm."
Amara narrowed her eyes immediately.
"That's not normal."
Caroline slowly sat up in bed.
"I feel..." She paused in surprise. "Better?"
Hayley instantly appeared beside her.
"Better how?!"
"Like..." Caroline flexed her fingers. "Without the overwhelming urge to die horribly."
Nik immediately appeared beside them and grabbed Caroline's face to examine her eyes.
The dark veins were receding far too quickly.
Way too quickly.
"Interesting..." he murmured.
Caroline looked at him suspiciously.
"Nik."
His eyes started glowing with pure arrogance.
"Nik."
A huge grin spread across his face.
"OH MY GOD."
Amara sighed in immediate exhaustion.
"Oh no..."
Nik dramatically stood up from the bed.
"I AM BETTER THAN KLAUS."
"Here we go..." Amara muttered.
Nik started pacing around the room completely energized.
"My father can cure werewolf bites." He pointed at himself. "I DON'T EVEN NEED TO CURE THEM. My bloodline simply DOESN'T DIE."
Hayley blinked several times.
"...Are you bragging because your species is biologically broken?"
"YES."
Nik spread his arms arrogantly.
"Klaus: half werewolf." He pointed downward. "Me: absurd divine evolution."
Caroline started laughing despite the pain.
"Nik..."
"No, love, think about this." He looked genuinely excited now. "That means vampires created by me naturally resist the venom." His eyes gleamed. "I CREATED A SUPERIOR BLOODLINE."
Amara stood up impatiently.
"You didn't create anything. You were born."
"Irrelevant details."
Hayley stared incredulously as Caroline visibly improved right in front of them.
Her breathing stabilized.
The fever disappeared.
The dark marks completely faded from her skin.
Then Caroline simply got out of bed.
"...I'm fine."
Silence.
Nik slowly placed his hands on his hips.
Then he started laughing.
Not a normal laugh.
A laugh of absolute victory.
"I BEAT GENETICS."
Amara grabbed a book from the table and smacked him over the head with it.
THUMP.
"Control your ego."
"Violence against superior beings is envy."
Caroline rolled her eyes and smacked his arm.
"You spent three days panicking because you thought I was going to die."
Nik immediately pointed at her.
"Fake news."
Hayley crossed her arms.
"You threatened to rip out the heart of anyone who entered the room."
Nik fell silent.
"...Male emotional protection."
Amara hit him again with the book.
Caroline finally started laughing for real now.
A light laugh.
Alive.
And that made Hayley freeze for a moment.
Because three days earlier she'd been certain she would destroy someone important again.
But Caroline was there.
Alive.
Smiling.
And when Hayley realized that, her eyes briefly flickered red again.
Only for a second.
Nik noticed immediately.
His smile vanished.
Hayley noticed the look.
And the fear instantly returned.
"...Nik."
He walked toward her calmly.
"Hey." His voice was soft. "Look at me."
Hayley hesitated.
"You killed the wolf," Nik said firmly. "But years of fear don't disappear in three days."
She clenched her fists.
"What if he's still here?"
Nik placed a hand over her chest.
"Then he's about to learn something terrible." A small smile appeared on his face. "The owner of this soul is unbelievably stubborn."
Caroline immediately walked over beside them.
"And we literally just discovered your bite barely works on us." She smirked teasingly. "So you even lost the ability to traumatize people efficiently."
Hayley let out a weak laugh despite herself.
Amara silently watched the three of them for a moment.
Then sighed.
"...You people are strangely functional."
"We're perfect," Nik corrected instantly.
Both women looked at him.
"Don't exaggerate," Caroline said.
"You were crying in the hallway yesterday," Amara added.
Nik looked offended.
"I was dramatically anguished. There's a difference."