Elena traced the jaguar mark on her wrist, the black silhouette seeming to absorb the morning light filtering through her bedroom window.
No matter how hard she scrubbed still, it remained stubbornly distinct against her skin.
"Elena! You'll be late!" her mother called from downstairs.
"Coming!" she replied, quickly sliding a wide bracelet over the mark.
As she gathered her backpack, her gaze fell on the stack of Aztec mythology books scattered across her desk.
None had provided answers about why this mark had appeared on her skin or why only she and Lucien Winchester could see it.
Her father's voice drifted up from below, his tone hushed but urgent. "-selection process is proceeding. The Council expects-"
He fell silent as Elena descended the stairs.
"Good morning, sweetheart," her father said, tucking his phone away with practiced casualness. "Sleep well?"
"Yeah," she lied, avoiding his eyes. "I should go. Don't wanna be late."
Her father's gaze lingered on her wrist. "That's a nice bracelet."
Elena's heart skipped. "Thanks. It's not new."
"Have a good day," her mother said, kissing her forehead. "And don't forget, we're having company for dinner tonight."
"Company?"
"I thought it would be nice to invite your new friend. The Winchester boy."
Elena froze. "Lucien?"
"Your father is particularly interested in meeting him," her mother said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "And his father too, of course. You did ask for the boy over after all, and we decided to agree."
"I'll... ask him," Elena managed, hurrying out the door before they could see the panic rising in her face.
----------------------
Mystic Falls Middle School buzzed with Monday morning chaos - lockers slamming, voices echoing off metal and linoleum.
Lucien kept his right hand firmly in his pocket as he scanned the hallway.
He spotted Elena by her locker, a wide bracelet conspicuously covering her wrist. Their eyes met across the hall. Before he could approach her, the first bell rang, forcing them to postpone their conversation.
In History class, Mr. Tanner droned on about Mystic Falls' founding, ironically describing the "peaceful establishment" of the town.
Lucien noticed Elena flinch when Tanner mentioned the "necessary sacrifices" of the founding families.
"The five families - Lockwood, Forbes, Fell, Gilbert, and Salvatore - established a community built on mutual protection and prosperity," Tanner explained. "Their covenant remains the foundation of our town's success today."
Lucien tried to pass a note to Elena, but she was called to read a passage from their textbook.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed Bonnie Bennett slip quietly into class, looking physically better than she had in weeks but emotionally distant.
She took a seat far from him, occasionally casting uncertain glances in his direction before quickly looking away.
"Winchester," Tanner called suddenly, "perhaps you'd like to share what you know about the founding families' initial settlement?"
Lucien straightened, considering his response carefully. "They arrived in 1860 and established the town charter," he said, deliberately omitting details he knew, to not draw attention from other kids.
Kids were kids after all. If you're smart, they either wanna be your friends, because they find you cool, hate on you because of jealousy, or not really care - the former two are more common though, and Lucien has no interest in dealing with that.
"A simplistic summary," Tanner replied with disappointment, moving on to another student.
Between classes, Lucien walked down a crowded hallway, hand firmly in pocket.
His heightened senses detected Tyler Lockwood approaching from behind, distracted by some message on his phone.
Elena stood at her locker just a few feet away.
Perfect timing.
Lucien made a split-second decision. He slowed his pace and positioned himself directly in Tyler's path, ensuring the collision would happen exactly as he wanted.
As Tyler bumped into him, Lucien deliberately used his marked hand to brace himself against the wall, making sure his palm was clearly visible.
"Sorry, man," Tyler began automatically, then froze as his eyes locked onto the jaguar mark on Lucien's palm.
Tyler's face drained of color, his eyes widening in recognition and fear. His hand unconsciously went to his busted lip.
'Huh, he recognizes it? Interesting. Tyler was just a convenience to have the mark be shown, so that whoever put it on me and Elena would know I have it, without me being obvious about it, as the son of a hunter. But it seems, perhaps he knows something.' Lucien thought to himself.
He has from the beginning of this situation suspected Mayor Lockwood, but he didn't think Tyler in anyway would be connected to it. Reasoning that the Mayor would keep whatever this is and his private life... seperate.
Perhaps he's been wrong.
Tyler without a word disappeared into the crowd, shoulders hunched protectively. Lucien turned to find Elena staring at his exposed palm, her eyes wide with shock.
"You have it too?" she whispered, grabbing his wrist to examine the mark more closely. "When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?"
The warning bell rang before Lucien could answer.
"We need to talk about this," Elena insisted.
"Later," Lucien told her, withdrawing his hand and slipping it back into his pocket. "Not here."
-----------------------
Physical Education was now what was at hand.
Paired with Matt Donovan for laps around the track, Lucien carefully steered the conversation toward getting some info.
"Caroline's still out?" Lucien asked casually, nodding toward an empty spot in the bleachers.
"Third day," Matt confirmed, concern evident in his voice. "Her mom's been working crazy hours too. Still going on about extra security for Founder's Day."
"When is that?"
"A couple days from now, upcoming Saturday. Big ceremony at midnight. The founding families make a big deal of it every year."
During a water break, Matt called out to Tyler. "Hey, what happened to your face?"
Tyler's hand went to his busted lip. "Got into it with some guys from the next town," he muttered unconvincingly.
Matt clearly didn't believe him but didn't push. Lucien noticed how Tyler flinched when Coach blew his whistle nearby.
----------------------
Science class paired Lucien with Elena as lab partners, giving them the perfect opportunity to talk while mixing chemicals for their experiment.
"My parents are acting weird," Elena whispered, measuring sodium bicarbonate. "Last night I found my dad burning papers in the fireplace at three in the morning."
"What kind of papers?" Lucien asked, recording data in their lab notebook.
"I couldn't tell, but I saw drawings that looked like..." she glanced at her wrist, "like this."
Lucien's eyes narrowed. "Have you noticed anything about Caroline's absence?"
"Her mom's always involved in town security around Founder's Day, but this year it's more intense. The Council meetings-"
"Council?"
"Town Council. All the founding families are on it. They claim it's for historical preservation, but there's always been something... off about it."
Their conversation was interrupted when their experiment suddenly bubbled over. As they cleaned up the mess, Elena leaned closer.
"My parents want you to come to dinner tonight. They specifically asked for your dad to come too."
"And you think that's a good idea?" Lucien asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I think it's happening whether I want it to or not," Elena replied. "7pm, 2104 Maple Street."
"Now, please Lucien, tell me, when did you get the mark on your palm?" she added, her voice barely above a whisper. "And why didn't you say you had it?"
Before Lucien could answer, again there was an interruption, as the teacher demanded attention, forcing them to turn silent.
-----------------------
Between classes, Lucien spotted Bonnie at her locker and approached carefully.
"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.
Bonnie tensed, closing her locker before turning to face him. "The headaches are gone," she said, her voice tight. "But I... I need time to process what happened."
"Bonnie-"
"I can't talk about this right now," she interrupted, hugging her books to her chest. "That blue thing, the jaguar... I just can't. Please."
After a moment of silence Lucien slowly nodded, "I understand," he said gently. "When you're ready." as he turned around and started walking away.
"My Grams was so relieved," Bonnie suddenly added, almost to herself, causing Lucien to stop, "When- When I told her what happened, she just kept saying 'Thank the spirits it passed you by.'" She looked up at Lucien, who had turned to face her. "She knows something, but she won't tell me what."
The warning bell rang, and Bonnie hurried away, leaving Lucien watching her retreat.
------------------------
Lunch period found Lucien alone in the cafeteria. Elena had been called to the office for a phone call from her mother, and Bonnie sat with other friends, carefully avoiding his gaze.
Across the room, Tyler watched him with wary eyes, flinching whenever anyone sat too close to him.
Lucien used the opportunity to observe the social dynamics of Mystic Falls students.
He noticed how the children of founding families tended to cluster together, a subtle separation that probably went unnoticed by most but was obvious to his trained eye.
When Elena returned, her expression was tense.
"My mom called to remind me about dinner," she said, sliding onto the bench across from him. "She said that you and your dad really should come."
"I'll tell him," Lucien replied, watching her carefully. "Are you okay?"
"No," Elena admitted. "Everything is just weird! My parents are acting creepy, and you have the same mark - and you just don't want to tell me!" she said, her voice raising a little, before she put her hand on her mouth, a bit embarressed.
Lucien couldn't help but internally sigh. 'Sometimes she's crazy mature, like no 13 year old little girl is, making me almost forget that fact but at other times she's... Like this.'
"It's complicated," Lucien said, keeping his voice low. "And not something we should discuss here."
"Then when?" Elena demanded. "Because I'm sick of it, Lucien, I want to know."
"When the time is right, Elena," Lucien promised. "I still don't know everything.'
---------------------
The afternoon classes dragged. The jaguar mark on Lucien's palm pulsed occasionally, like a beacon. He thought about texting Dean to warn that something felt off, but decided against it, since Dean would probably storm here, which he didn't want.
The school day was about to end anyway.
Finally the final bell rang.
'About damn time,' Lucien thought to himself.
He honestly hated the school days, only reason he tolerated them, was because it was relevant at least to the jaguar mark, able to keep an eye on Elena, Bonnie and the other founder kids.
Lucien soon enough, got out walking to the exit.
When he got out, he was surprised to see Sam there instead of Dean.
"Where's Dean?" Lucien asked as he approached the Impala, subtly scanning the area for anyone watching them.
"Had to help Dad with something," Sam replied, opening the passenger door. "I've got chauffeur duty today."
Lucien slid into the familiar leather seat, the scent of gunpowder, leather, and Dean's aftershave filling his nostrils.
The Impala was home in a way few places have been. He's spent a lot of time in it since he began hunting, and once inside, you almost knew for sure you were safe, because of all the protections inside.
Sam started the engine, which rumbled to life with a growl. But instead of turning right toward the Salvatore Boarding House, he turned left, heading away from town.
Lucien immediately took notice. "We're going the wrong way."
"Not wrong," Sam replied, eyes fixed on the road. "Just different."
They drove in silence for several minutes, houses giving way to trees, the road narrowing as they left civilization behind.
Lucien extended his senses, searching for threats, traps, anything that might explain Sam's unusual behavior.
But all he felt was his brother - Sam's familiar presence, tinged with... nervousness and determination? Not fear or worry though, so not threatened.
"You're not possessed," Lucien finally said. "You're not mind controlled. You're not being coerced either. So what's this about?"
Sam's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "We need to talk. Just us. No Dad, no Dean, no Katherine. No one else."
'What's this about?' Lucien thought curious about his big brother's behavior.
The Impala turned onto a dirt road that wound through dense forest before opening onto a small clearing overlooking a lake.
Sam parked, killed the engine, and silence descended like a physical weight.
Neither spoke. Birds called in the distance. Water lapped gently at the shore below.
Lucien opened his mouth to break the uncomfortable silence, but Sam spoke first.
"I heard you," Sam said quietly, still staring straight ahead through the windshield. "Yesterday. With Katherine."
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
Do tell me how you found it.
So, what exactly did Sam hear, and why's he wanting a conversation about it?
What do you guys think?
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)