The soft morning light began to seep into Hope's room, cutting through the shadows and bringing with it the calm silence of the French Quarter. On the bed, the girl's eyelids fluttered slightly before opening slowly. Her blue eyes stared at the ceiling for a few seconds as the weight of the previous night's memories and the strange energy of the curse returned to her body.
Turning her head to the side, the first thing Hope saw was Ethan's silhouette. He was standing by the window, leaning against the wooden frame as he silently watched the street outside, maintaining his unwavering vigil.
"Ethan..." Hope called out, her voice raspy from sleep and the exhaustion of the ritual.
Ethan turned instantly. Relief was evident in his eyes upon seeing that she was awake. He took two quick steps toward the bed, approaching with care.
"How are you feeling?" Ethan asked, searching her face for any sign of pain or loss of control.
Hope blinked slowly, moving her arms and feeling her own energy flow through her body.
"I'm okay..." Hope replied, surprising herself. "To be honest, I didn't think I'd feel this good, but everything seems quiet."
Ethan let out a deep breath of relief, the tension in his shoulders finally giving way. Hope pulled back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, fixing her hair.
"I need to go to the bathroom and take a shower," she said, standing up slowly.
Ethan nodded. "Alright. I'll head downstairs."
With one last calm nod, Ethan left the room and walked down the hallway toward the compound's main staircase.
Downstairs, the main hall hosted a lavish breakfast spread with fruits, breads, and juices. Freya and Klaus were standing near the table, organizing a few things and speaking in low tones. As soon as Ethan's footsteps echoed on the stairs, Klaus turned his face toward him. The Original Hybrid narrowed his eyes slightly upon seeing the boy approach, but in a rare gesture of courtesy, he gestured toward one of the chairs with a nod of his chin.
"Sit at the table, boy," Klaus said, his deep voice cutting through the atmosphere.
Ethan pulled out a chair and sat down, keeping a neutral posture. Klaus stared at him for a long moment before letting out a restrained sigh.
"I need to thank you," Klaus began, looking straight into Ethan's eyes. "For protecting Hope yesterday... when she was almost hit by that shot at Hayley's funeral."
Ethan held the Original's gaze without blinking. "I will always protect Hope. You don't need to thank me for that."
Klaus's eyes narrowed slightly, feeling deep down in his mind that there was something very strange and unusual about this boy. His composure, physical build, and fearless determination were not ordinary traits. Still, the Hybrid decided not to voice his suspicions for now.
Freya and Klaus resumed their conversation about family preparations, while Ethan remained quietly to himself, pouring a glass of juice and observing his surroundings.
Shortly after, the sound of light footsteps coming down the stairs caught everyone's attention. Hope appeared in the courtyard. She had already showered, changed her clothes, and looked refreshed. She walked over to the table and, without hesitation, pulled out the chair directly next to Ethan, sitting beside him with a natural familiarity that did not go unnoticed by Klaus's watchful eyes.
Hope picked up a piece of toast, but merely held it, playing with the crust as the heavy silence returned to the room. Klaus, who until then had only been observing his daughter, spoke up.
"Good morning, Hope," Klaus began. "I imagine you're feeling a sort of energy pulsing inside you. A rage you can't explain, a restlessness that seems to consume your thoughts."
Hope stopped playing with her bread and looked at her father, surprised that he had guessed the silent storm beginning to form in her mind.
"There's no point in trying to hide it from me or pretend everything is fine," Klaus continued. "There is ancient black magic inside you now. The power of the Hollow isn't something you can simply ignore or control with good manners. It wants out. It demands destruction."
Freya exchanged a worried look with Klaus but remained silent. Beside Hope, Ethan subtly tensed his posture. Klaus moved closer to Hope's chair, leaning slightly toward her.
"If what you need is violence to feel better... to relieve this pain and rage that are suffocating you... then you have the perfect father."
Hope swallowed hard, feeling the weight of her father's words. She looked down at the table and, with her voice still soft, turned her face away.
"Aunt Freya, could you pass the pastries from over there, please?"
Freya smiled softly, picked up the plate of pastries, and passed it across the center of the table. As she served her niece, Klaus took a sip of his drink and broke the silence.
"Rebekah will be back in a few days. She's just taking care of some matters abroad."
"It'll be great to have her around," Hope replied, eating one of the pastries.
"It'll be great to have all of us under the same roof again," Freya added, a hopeful tone in her eyes.
Ethan remained completely silent beside Hope. He paid attention to every detail of the conversation but preferred to keep to himself. Hope noticed the boy's quiet demeanor, picked up one of the most filled pastries from the plate, and handed it directly to him.
"Here, Ethan... it's really good."
Ethan looked at Hope and took the pastry from her hand. "Thanks, Hope."
The peaceful moment was short-lived. The sound of slow, elegant footsteps coming from the courtyard corridor instantly shifted the atmosphere. Elijah Mikaelson appeared at the entrance of the hall.
Hope froze instantly. Her eyes locked onto her uncle with an immediate mix of pain, resentment, and stifled rage. Klaus, Freya, and Ethan followed her line of sight, and the silence that settled over the table turned freezing cold.
"Good morning," Elijah said, his voice steady, though his eyes carried the heavy weight of recovered memories from what happened to Hayley.
No one answered. Elijah took two more steps toward the table, where Klaus and Freya were still seated, and rested his hands on the back of a chair, positioning himself next to Ethan.
"Obviously, we have much to discuss," Elijah continued, maintaining his composure. He looked directly at his niece. "Hope... let me start by saying how deeply sorry I am..."
The moment Elijah uttered her name, the magic trapped inside Hope's chest reacted to her anger. Without her making a single conscious gesture, the metal fork resting in her right hand began to bend and twist on its own, screeching loudly under the pressure of invisible sorcery. Hope dropped the deformed fork onto her plate with a sharp snap.
"Thanks for breakfast, everyone... but I have something I need to do," Hope declared, her voice cold.
She abruptly stood up from the table, turned her back without looking at Elijah, and walked quickly toward the stairs, leaving behind an awkward, heavy silence.
Ethan remained seated, pastry in hand, staring at Hope's plate, then at Klaus, Freya, and Elijah. With shameless composure and trying to break the unbearable tension, Ethan shrugged and blurted out:
"Uhh... So, guys, I'm actually really hungry. Mind if I keep eating?"
Freya let out a short laugh, her tense expression softening for a second.
"Of course you can, Ethan. Please, make yourself at home," Freya replied.
Elijah, leaning on the chair beside Ethan, analyzed the boy's striking features, posture, and facial structure. Instantly, the image of the late Clark automatically crossed his mind. The resemblance was undeniable.
"You're the spitting image of him..." Elijah commented softly, before elegantly extending his hand toward Ethan. "I am Elijah Mikaelson."
Ethan stood up, adjusted his posture to face the Original head-on, and took Elijah's extended hand with a firm grip.
"Ethan. Pleasure."
Ethan sat back down and continued eating his pastry while Elijah remained standing beside him. Klaus, who had followed Hope's exit with narrowed eyes, pointed toward the stairs.
"That isn't normal," Klaus declared, his deep voice trembling with contained anger. "She isn't normal."
Elijah looked toward the stairs and let out a heavy sigh. "She lost her mother, Klaus. I shouldn't have come here."
"At least you can claim amnesia!" Klaus shot back, his voice rising as he turned sharply to point at Freya, who remained seated at the table. "Unlike her! Who, on her own accord, helped a child ruin her life!"
Freya leaned forward, chin raised. "Hope is not a child!"
"Did you even consider the consequences of absorbing that magic?!" Klaus bellowed.
"And what choice did I have?!" Freya countered.
"To deny her! To defy her!" Klaus roared. "We had a plan to keep her away from that magic!"
"A plan that wasn't working, Klaus!" Freya retorted.
"And thanks to you, that magic is inside her now!" Klaus cut in. "Listen to me: if my daughter is hurt in any way, shape, or form, I am holding you responsible!"
Klaus abruptly stood up from the table. However, before he could take his first step away, Ethan's voice cut through the hall.
"You're wrong, Klaus."
Klaus stopped in his tracks. Elijah and Freya turned their eyes to Ethan, who calmly stood up from his chair.
"Hope isn't a child anymore. Losing her mother made her realize that certain things can never be done again... like hugging her mother, being there with her. In Hope's mind, all of this was her fault. So she decided to bring the whole family together and never let you be separated again, taking all that pain upon herself and enduring it alone. Tell me... is someone who thinks like that still a child?"
Klaus spun on his heel, jaw set tight. "Boy, do not test me! Hope is in extreme danger here. We don't know what will happen to her from now on!"
"I'll be here to protect Hope from anything," Ethan fired back without flinching. "No matter what happens, I will never let anything kill or harm her. That is my promise to you."
Klaus narrowed his eyes and took two heavy steps toward Ethan. "Why are you doing all of this? Why do you care so much?!"
Klaus's face began to transform violently: black veins vein-patterned beneath his eyes, his irises glowed a canine yellow, and his fangs emerged, revealing his hybrid face.
"Do you love my daughter?!"
Ethan held the furious gaze of Klaus's hybrid face without taking a single step back.
"It's not just a matter of liking her or wanting to be with her, Klaus. It's something much bigger than me... I am bound to your daughter."
Klaus growled softly. "What are you talking about, boy? Speak before I tear your head off!"
"It's the Imprint," Ethan explained. "It's an absolute bond that was born and grew inside me after my transformation, the moment I laid eyes on Hope. It isn't my choice, and it isn't something I can control or turn off. Imprinting is a biological and ancestral connection from my wolf lineage. From the moment it happens, the gravity of your life shifts. Hope becomes the center of my universe. I become whatever she needs me to be: a protector, a friend, a guardian, a shield. My absolute priority becomes her safety and happiness, above my own life."
Klaus frowned, retracting his fangs and returning to his human form, though filled with pure confusion and disbelief.
"Imprinting? I am over a thousand years old, boy. I have seen every pack, every curse, and every sorcery that has walked this earth. That kind of pack bond doesn't exist among ordinary werewolf lines. What are you trying to invent to justify your obsession with my daughter?"
"It's not an invention, Klaus," Freya intervened, stepping forward. "He's telling the truth. And this is only possible because of his father... because of Clark."
Klaus turned his face toward his sister. "What does Clark have to do with this, Freya?"
"Ethan's father's lineage wasn't an ordinary werewolf line," Freya explained. "In fact... I have a theory about Clark, though I can't confirm anything for sure. It's just a theory, but I think Clark's father either descended from the original form of werewolves... or he was the Original Wolf himself, the supreme ancestor from whom all other werewolf lines originated."
The declaration made Klaus and Elijah exchange looks, visibly shaken and startled by the possibility. Ethan's eyes widened slightly, surprised by the revelation regarding the origins of his own bloodline.
"Why would you think such madness, Freya?!" Klaus asked.
"For many reasons, Klaus... Things like this aren't impossible in our world. In fact, it's the most logical thing to think. Every distinct species in this world derives from an Original. Whether it's the first witch in history or the Original Vampires," Freya said, pointing at Klaus. "So why wouldn't there be an Original Wolf? What gives the strongest indication is Ethan himself being completely different from any other werewolf. The speed of his physical development, his disproportionate strength, this immunity to fear, and the Imprint itself... Everything strays from the norm. Not to mention Clark's own transformation—exactly as you two described it in the past—being completely divergent from an ordinary werewolf seen anywhere else in the world."
"If that's true, then why did Clark himself never say a word about this story?" Klaus questioned. "Don't you find that a bit too strange?"
"Memory loss, a cloaking spell... I can't explain everything, it's just my theory," Freya replied.
Elijah took a step forward, his expression deeply contemplative. "This is indeed very possible... Which would also explain why Clark's child with Hayley was stillborn, while Hope was born completely healthy."
Klaus and Freya turned their eyes to Elijah.
"Balance," Elijah continued. "Think about it: what if, at this exact moment, there were two Ethans in this world? Don't you think nature itself, or the balance of the universe, did something to Clark? What if that's exactly why he disappeared... so that Ethan could be born?"
Klaus and Freya's eyes widened, struck by the impact of that deduction. Ethan scowled and interjected:
"Wait a second... I have a sister. But she never showed any kind of supernatural traits like me. She's normal."
Freya looked at Ethan and nodded slowly, her eyes shining as the pieces fell into place. "That has to be it! The balance took care of dividing the heritage... Your sister was born a simple mortal, while you, Ethan, inherited absolutely everything you could from your father."
Silence reigned in the compound's courtyard while the weight of those revelations lingered in the air. Freya looked at the boy's solemn expression, noticing the sea of emotions and the impact that conversation had left on him.
"Ethan..." Freya called out, her voice softer now. "What do you think about all of this?"
Ethan let out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair and looking down at the stone floor for a second before facing Freya, Klaus, and Elijah directly.
"I'm just as lost as you guys," Ethan answered, his voice carrying raw sincerity. "I don't know anything about ancestral bloodlines, the Original Wolf, or the balance of the universe. The only thing I know, with total certainty in my life, is that I am bound to Hope. If anything happens to her... I wouldn't even know what to do or what to think."
Klaus stared at the boy in silence. The Hybrid's fury, which had been burning out of control, gave way to a dense look of evaluation. He couldn't deny the truth or absolute devotion in Ethan's words.
Elijah merely nodded in silence, recognizing in the young man the same fierce loyalty that the Mikaelsons had always carried for those they loved.