The castle was quiet that night, its halls lit only by firelight and whispers. I found Aurora in a chamber overlooking the courtyard, the moonlight casting her in silver glow. She turned as I entered, her lips curving in a teasing smile.
"You vanish for a century," she said softly, "and then return as though not a day has passed."
I smirked faintly, stepping closer. "Time means little to us now. But for you, Aurora… every century only makes you more radiant."
She rolled her eyes, though her smile lingered. "Flatterer. Now tell me what weighs on you. I can see it in your eyes."
I took her hand, my thumb brushing across her skin. There was a truth I had carried since my travels in the North, and now she needed to hear it.
"During my journey with Henrik, we crossed paths with a witch. Old, half-blind, but with a sight that cut through time itself. She spoke of my future — our future."
Aurora tilted her head, amusement flickering in her eyes. "And what did this witch see? That you would conquer kingdoms? That you would never be alone?"
I smiled faintly. "Closer to the latter. She told me I would not walk eternity alone. She saw five wives at my side. You were one of them… the first."
Aurora froze, the teasing gone. Her lips parted, her voice quieter now. "Five wives. And you tell me this so casually?"
I shook my head. "No. I tell you because I will never lie to you. But there was more. The witch said you would not only love me — you would love each other. She saw a bond between you all, a family of wives bound not by jealousy but by love. Stronger together than apart. She said the five of you would be one — not rivals, but eternal companions."
Aurora turned away, staring out into the night. "I have seen men take wives as trophies. I will not be one of many, Niklaus."
I lifted her chin gently, forcing her eyes back to mine. "No. You are Aurora de Martel. My first love. My first wife. Nothing will change that. You will be the one who binds us all, who stands first among equals."
Her lips trembled before she whispered, "And you believe her? That these women will love each other as they love you?"
"Yes," I said firmly. "Because I have already seen it — the beginnings of it. The witch was clear. This is not about conquest. It is about family. You are the first, Aurora. The one who claimed me before destiny even spoke."
Aurora held my gaze for a long moment, then at last she smiled — sharp, fierce, but softened with something rare. "Then let it be so. Let the others come when they may. I will not fear them. I will be the first, and I will endure them — and love them, if destiny wills it. But never forget, Niklaus… I was the first."
I kissed her then, sealing her place not only in prophecy but in eternity.
Henrik's Encounter
Elsewhere in the castle grounds, Henrik wandered restlessly, his crimson Alpha eyes glowing faintly in the torchlight. He had lived over a century as the first bitten werewolf, yet still he carried the weight of being alone in what he was.
Until he met her.
Selene Hale.
She stood at the edge of the courtyard, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders, her eyes sharp and unflinching. Unlike others, she did not shy from him, even when his wolf stirred and his features shifted faintly.
"You're not like the cursed wolves," she said quietly.
Henrik stiffened. "You… know of them?"
"I grew up among them," Selene replied. "The cursed ones, bound to the moon, to pain, to blood. But you are different. Your bite does not kill — it creates. You can choose what your bite makes of someone."
Henrik's eyes narrowed, glowing brighter. "Few would dare speak that truth. But yes. There are two paths."
He stepped closer, his voice low. "The first bite remakes them as I was remade — immortal, eternal, never aging, never dying. The second gives them wolf power, strength, the fire of the bite — but they remain mortal. They can have children, grow old, and one day, die."
Selene's lips curved into a small smile. "Then I choose the second. I don't want eternity, Henrik. I want life. I want strength, to run with you beneath the moon, to be your wolf. But one day, I want to die old, with children grown, my story complete."
Henrik was stunned. Every other creature he had met desired immortality. Yet here she was, choosing an ending.
"You would turn down forever?" he asked.
"Yes," Selene said firmly. "Because eternity without an ending is not life. It's a prison. Bite me, Henrik Mikaelson. Let me be your wolf — but let me keep my humanity."
The First Hale
Henrik's crimson Alpha eyes glowed brighter. He stepped forward, his claws sliding across her waist as he lowered his mouth to her shoulder. With a growl, his fangs sank deep into her flesh.
Selene gasped, her body trembling as the fire of his bite burned through her veins. She clutched at him, but she did not scream. His venom mingled with her blood, searing, reshaping.
When at last Henrik pulled back, crimson dripping from his fangs, he steadied her in his arms.
"In the next few days," he said softly, "you will either rise as a wolf… or the bite will kill you. All you can do is wait."
Selene, pale and shaking, managed a smile through the pain. "Then I will rise."
Henrik laid her gently down, watching her chest rise and fall. Something stirred in his Alpha blood, deeper than instinct, deeper than pack. A thread that tied her to something greater than this moment.
Selene Hale was not only his first bitten wolf. She was the beginning of a dynasty.
Her children would carry her fire. Her grandchildren her strength. And centuries later, in a place far from here, her descendants would still walk the world as wolves.
The Hale family.
Derek. Talia. Laura. Cora. Peter. All would one day carry her blood.
And on that night, beneath the silver moon, the Hale bloodline was born.