The Day Before
The night before my departure, I found Aurora in the garden. The moonlight caught her hair, and for a moment I simply stood, memorizing her as she was — human, fragile, and yet stronger than she knew.
"You've been brooding all evening," she teased, glancing back at me. "What weighs on your mind, Niklaus?"
I took a breath. The truth had lingered long enough between us. She deserved more than lies.
So I told her.
Of my mother's spell, of Mikael's rage. Of how my siblings and I had become something more than mortal. Vampires, witches, wolves — bound by blood and magic, immortal.
Aurora listened without flinching, her expression unreadable, until at last she said softly, "I knew there was something in you. Something dangerous, yes — but something beautiful too."
Her hand brushed mine, her eyes fierce with certainty. "I don't fear you, Niklaus. I want to stand beside you. Whatever you are… I want to be it too."
I did not answer then. But I knew she would ask again.
The Departure
The next evening, I called my family together in the great hall. Freya, Henrik, Elijah, Kol, Rebekah — all stood waiting. Aurora was there as well, eyes fixed on me, already knowing what I would say. Lucien lingered near the wall, as ever the observer.
"I am leaving," I said.
Gasps. Protests.
Rebekah: "Nik, you cannot—"
Kol: "Where in the bloody hell—"
Elijah: "Brother, do not do this—"
Aurora's voice cut through them all, steady and calm. "I knew he would."
They turned to her in shock, but she only looked at me, her gaze unwavering.
"You told me," she said. "What you are. What your family is. And I told you then — I want to stand beside you. If you are leaving, then before you go… make me like you."
The hall went still.
Rebekah's eyes widened. "Aurora—"
I raised a hand. "Not me. Rebekah. If you wish to walk this path, sister, let it be by your hand."
Aurora turned to her, resolute. "Please."
Rebekah hesitated, torn, then at last sighed. "Very well."
She offered her blood, ended Aurora's human life, and when Aurora rose again, her eyes gleamed with newfound hunger. Rebekah steadied her, whispering comfort as Aurora drank from the veins offered to her.
When it was done, Aurora stood taller, fiercer. She looked at me, and there was triumph in her smile.
Lucien's Choice
Lucien had watched it all, his hands trembling.
"You too," I said, turning my gaze upon him.
His eyes widened. "Me, my lord?"
"You kept our secret. You proved your loyalty. And loyalty should be rewarded. You will not be servant — you will be eternal."
He dropped to his knees. "Then I swear, always, I am yours."
I gave him my blood, broke his neck, and when he rose, his hunger was wild. He fed, then stood before me, transformed.
"You are bound to me now, Lucien Castle," I told him. "Do not forget it."
The Northern Atlantic Pack
My siblings gathered again, their faces a storm of emotion.
Kol spat. "So you gift immortality to courtiers and then vanish for a century?"
Elijah's voice was sharp. "Where will you go, Niklaus?"
I lifted my chin. "To seek my birthright. My true father, Ansel, was of the Northern Atlantic Pack. My blood calls to them. I must find them, must understand where I come from. Only then will I know who I am meant to be."
Rebekah's eyes filled with tears. "Nik, please… don't leave us."
I touched her cheek gently. "I will return, sister. In a century, here, in this place. That is my vow."
Aurora stepped closer, her new eyes blazing. "And to me?"
I met her gaze, steady and sure. "Yes, Aurora. To you."
The Choice
The hall was still humming with the weight of my words when I glanced at Henrik. His golden eyes met mine — fierce, uncertain, burning with the same restless energy that had always been in him, even as a boy.
"Very well," I said slowly, letting the silence stretch. "How would one of you like to come with me?"
My siblings blinked in confusion, but I let my gaze linger only on Henrik.
"You," I said, stepping closer. "You are no longer the boy who fell that night. You are something new. The first immortal bitten werewolf. But you know nothing of what it means to be a wolf. To be a pack. Perhaps it is time you learn."
Henrik's jaw tightened, his hands curling into fists at his sides. "You would take me with you?"
I placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing firmly. "Yes. You've been given a gift no other has. But a wolf without a pack is lost. My birth father, Ansel, was of the Northern Atlantic Pack. If you come with me, you may finally understand what you are meant to be."
Rebekah's voice cracked, fear in her tone. "Nik, no! Not Henrik — we've only just got him back."
Kol scowled. "So you'd drag him off into the wilds while the rest of us sit here playing politics with nobles? Typical."
Elijah's expression was calm, but I saw the worry beneath it. "If Henrik goes with you, he will return changed. Perhaps stronger. Perhaps… harder."
Henrik raised his chin, his golden eyes glowing faintly. "I want to go. I need to know what I am. I don't want to hide behind walls while the world passes me by."
I smiled faintly, proud of him. "Then it's settled."
Farewell
Aurora stepped closer, her new immortal eyes fierce. "So you leave me here to wait?"
I brushed a lock of her fiery hair from her face. "A century will pass faster than you think. And when I return, I will return to you."
Lucien bowed low, his voice trembling with gratitude and devotion. "My lord, I will guard your secret — and your place here — until you return."
Rebekah clutched Henrik's arm one last time, her tears streaking her cheeks. "Be safe, little brother. Don't let Nik get you killed."
Henrik laughed softly. "I'm not so little anymore."
Elijah inclined his head to me, his voice firm. "Bring him back, Niklaus."
I nodded once. "That is my vow."
Into the North
And so, with Henrik at my side, I stepped out of the castle and into the night. Aurora watched from the balcony, her eyes unyielding. Lucien stood at the gates, bowing deeply. My siblings lingered in the shadows, their hearts torn between grief and pride.
The road stretched northward, to the lands of snow and sea where the Northern Atlantic wolves roamed — my father's pack. My blood's origin.
Henrik glanced at me as we walked, the moonlight catching his golden eyes. "Do you think they'll accept us? Wolves… but not like them."
I smirked. "They will learn to. Or they will fall trying."
And with that, we vanished into the darkness — two brothers, immortal and untamed, seeking the truth of the wolf within.