#every time i try to draw a full on werewolf i fail miserably at it

[nyxronomicon]

Do you have any thoughts about werewolf!Diaval?? I mean yes I want to squish and pet him but I’d also let him hunt me down and have his way with me you know??

I didn't but hoo boy now I do

Werewolf!Diaval hcs

Since his hair is naturally black, his fur is mostly black with a tuft of purple dreads between his ears

He also has curly fur. Don't ask me how it works

In a group he would definitely not be the alpha but when it comes to you he gets possessive, so he'll leave the pack before he'd let anyone else touch you

He does kinda let his instincts take over when he's in heat tho.

He always respects your boundaries but it takes a lot more control when he's in wolf form. He prefers to hide that side of himself until he really trusts you

You could know him for years and not know he's a werewolf. He's that good at hiding it lol

(not out of fear, he hates that side of himself and thinks you would too)

If you find out and show acceptance/affection for him anyway, he will absolutely melt for you

When he's comfortable with it, he likes to relax in his wolf form with his head on your lap while you're petting him

He's pretty playful still so even in a hunter/prey thing he'd be fun about it (idk I can't explain better haha)

He has a lot of energy. I'll let you figure out how you wanna tire him out lol

[dragonologist-in-the-making]

More than a disease

Pairing: Remus x reader

 Request: Hi! So i had this idea with remus x reader where they're learning about werewolves and some kids make rude comment about them being monster and she gets really heated up saying that it's not like people choose to become a werewolf cause they've got nothing better to do, they're turned against their will and you can't judge people for things they can't control? And remus goes up to her after the class and they start spending time together and develop feelings and remus feels nice knowing that when he is ready to tell her about himself she will take it well?sorry it's so long also change whatever you want you're the writer

 A/N: I don’t know if anyone who’s reading this watches Supercarlinbrothers on youtube but they have this theory that once Dumbledore became the headmaster if they couldn’t find a DADA teacher for a year he would fill in (because let’s be real, how many people do you think are applying for a job which they know will only last a year. For 50 years? He’s going to have to fill in sometimes), so I’ve rolled with that here.

 Wordcount: 1.5k

 Warnings: I don’t think there are any, just some fluff here!

 Remus couldn’t help but watch the (y/h/c) girl as she walked to her desk, chatting animatedly to her friend about something he couldn’t hear, but wished he could. Anything she could talk about with that much passion had to be worth listening to, even if it was something as mundane as cauldron sizes. He’d been trying to work up the courage to ask her out for a while now, they shared a few classes together and always had the most interesting conversations, talking about anything which was on their minds. There was just one thing stopping him, and that was his monthly transformation.

“It’s page 394 in your textbooks today.” Dumbledore smiled as he walked through the classroom. This would have been about the only thing which could have broken Remus’ thoughts. 394. He knew that page, he had memorised that number, hoping the day would never come. Today was the day the class learned about werewolves, and he was hoping to god that nobody would make the connection to him. He quickly flipped open his book, pretending to study the page with fascination, although of course none of the information was new to him, or to his three best friends, who were currently all trying to do the same as him.

 The lesson was going as smoothly as Remus could imagine it being, the class silently taking down notes from the textbook and from what Dumbledore was saying, as he described the signs of spotting a werewolf and more. The lesson went smoothly, until near the end.

 “As of yet, there is no potion or remedy to the symptoms of lycanthropy, to help the human turned wolf retain some of their own mind during the transformation. Because of this, there is a strong prejudice against werewolves in the wizarding world, which I encourage you all to consider yourselves, and decide whether this is fair.” Remus winced slightly at Dumbledore’s words, he appreciated them and the kind sentiment they contained, but he knew how easily they could trigger a conflict in the class. And just as he predicted, this was exactly what happened.

“Yeah, we should just let these dangerous monsters walk among us.” Severus Snape spoke up from the other side of the classroom, a smile on his face. Remus threw a warning glance to his friends, begging them not to do anything and draw attention to him, that was the last thing he needed. It seemed his friends weren’t the people he needed to worry about arguing against Snape, as a voice he would recognise anywhere piped up hotly.

 “Hey, do you think they chose this life?” She shot back at him, rising from her seat with her hands balled into fists. “Do you think they volunteered to never be able to find a job, to have everyone not even give them a chance? To not be trusted? This is a horrible thing they’ve had to go through, a tragedy thrust upon them without permission.” Her voice was rising with every sentence, and all heads were turned to her, mostly in shock. Sure, she wasn’t the type to sit silently in the back of the class but this was definitely out of the ordinary. “It’s people like you, people who just write them off as if they’re nothing more than a disease, you’re the problem. I would rather spend my life with a whole pack of werewolves than one second in your company.” You spat, chest rising rapidly with your heavy breathing from the agitated state you had worked yourself into.

 Remus couldn’t help the hope that flooded into his chest as he took her words in. She understood him, she didn’t think that he was a monster. If she ever knew, she would see past his disease to the person that he was. He desperately tried to fight the smile which was edging onto his face, but failed miserably, tilting his head down to try and hide it, but a newfound confidence surging through him.

 “Thank you, Miss (y/l/n).” Dumbledore spoke calmly, gesturing for you to take your seat. You did so, blushing a little but still with a determined glint in your eyes. “And it seems we’ve arrived at the end of the lesson.” He was quick to assign you homework before everyone gathered their belongings and started to leave the classroom. Remus told the boys to go ahead and that he would meet them there, as he hovered outside the classroom waiting for her to exit. She did so a couple of minutes later, a guilty smile on her face as she spotted him.

 “Detention.” She shrugged lightly as they started to walk to lunch together. “Couldn’t have expected less, really, I did start shouting in a classroom. I think he agreed with me though, because it’s a detention with Hagrid, which means it can’t be anything too harsh and he probably is just doing it to try and show he has no bias, which is completely fair. Besides, I would spend all night doing manual labour for Filch if I had to, some things are more important, you know? I’m glad I said that, I think it needed to be said. Don’t you agree?” She finished her monologue looking up at the boy, hopeful expression on her face as she asked him the question.

 “Go on a date with me.” He blurted out, unable to stop himself from asking after she literally stood unbeknownst next to a werewolf and went on a tirade about how any punishment was worth her defending them. Her eyes widened slightly, but so did her smile.

 “I would love to, Remus.” She replied, hesitantly leaning up on her tiptoes and pressing a delicate kiss to his cheek, giggling at the goofy smile this left on his face.

 Since that moment, the months had flown by, filled with many dates between them as autumn turned into winter and the pair had grown inseparable. Although it was extremely irritating when they tried to steal her away to spend time with them instead, Remus was incredibly glad that his friends got along with her, too, and even in the time they had spent apart over Christmas, an owl arrived at his window every day with a new letter from her. Now, January was drawing to a close, and he knew that he was ready to tell her his secret.

 They had borrowed James’ invisibility cloak, to sneak out to the grounds and find a secluded spot where they wouldn’t be found, to just lie and look at the stars. She was currently pointing out different constellations to him, and although he already knew them he felt like he was learning all over again listening to the information coming from your mouth. “And that’s the star that Sirius is named after.” She said, pointing to a star slightly to their left, which shone brighter than the rest. They were silent for a few minutes, laying comfortably in each other’s company before she spoke up again. “What do you want to do when we leave here?” She asked, a question that seemed to come out of nowhere. He turned his head towards her, propping himself up on his elbow to be able to see her face better.

 “Why do you ask?

 “I don’t know, I think we’ve just been asked to think about our futures a lot, lately, haven’t we? Being in our last few years here.” She spoke, the stars shining in the reflection of her eyes. “I think I want to work for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.” She mused, and Remus felt his heart flutter slightly, that same care that had encouraged him to ask her out all those months ago showing itself as it so often did. “I think that’s where I can help people the most. What about you? Any ideas?”

 “I… don’t think I have much of a career to plan.” Remus admitted, taking a breath and knowing this was the time to tell her. As she predictably asked why, he spoke into the cool night air. “I’m a werewolf, (y/n). I know you know how hard it is for us to find any job, let alone a full career.” He barely even had time to worry about her reaction before she had quelled it, a bright smile lighting her face.

 “I wish other people could see past this disease, Rem, because you’re so much more than that.” She reassured him, scooting closer to him and resting her face in his neck, pressing a soft kiss to his collarbone. “You’re much too smart to be overlooked because of a choice you were never given.” He could hear her sighing faintly, wishing that she could change everything, to give him the life that he deserved, to make people see him for who he was, not what he turned into. “Well, I guess this just means that I’m going to have to do really well in my job, to help the boy I love.” Their laughs mixed together in the darkness around them. Together, she would help him through the tough times, the rejections, and she would always fight her hardest to help him and others like him. But more importantly than that, he knew that she would always love him, and would see him as more than his condition.

[dirt-cup-draco]

Remus x Reader- Safe and Sound

 I love your work! Its so good. So so good. Could I request a adult remus x reader where he saves her life? Then maybe they have to hide somewhere together while they're being 'hunted' and they're both super scared and tryna calm each other down?

A/N: You’re so so good! <3 Thank you for sending this in, as I am a Remus Slut. Probably got carried away tbh

You had been trying to gather intel and dirt on some death eaters you were hoping to reveal to the public, ultimately sending them to Azkaban for all their days but you had ignored Remus’ advice to be patient, wanting to damn them then and there. 

“We can do it!” You had promised, going in wand at the ready and no plan in your head. Remus had been stunned but the fear of you facing them alone had ultimately pulled him from his hiding spot. Unfortunately, you were more overpowered than you had realized. He was proud to see that you had successfully dropped a few but you were already breaking a sweat, eyes darting over the death eaters that just seemed to keep coming.

You weren’t as quick on your toes as Remus hoped and his eyes grew wide with panic when he realized you weren’t watching your back. That’s my job. He reminded himself as he darted to your said, hands out in front of him as he called out your name, your head whipping around to look at the man you trusted more than anything. You were frightened something had happened to him but he looked worried about you. You were about to ask what but you were cut off by the impact of Remus shoving you as a death eater shot off a spell from behind you, cloaked in the shadows. 

From your stunned place on the ground you gasped in fear as Remus doubled over, not quick enough to save you and himself from the spell. You felt some small relief as he took a few bumbling steps, eyes shut tight for a moment against the pain. He was hurting, that much was clear, but he was alilve and that was something. You finally realized that if you wanted to stay alive you ought to get out of there, no matter if the death eaters were free another day. 

You had reeled in your ego after seeing Remus bend in half, a pained grunt ripping from him as he took the spell meant for you. Finally thinking straight again, you had held onto the man who hadn’t even thought twice about saving your life and disapparated. 

With a snap in the air and a twist of you stomach you were free from the chaos of the fight and deposited in a busy town that was sleeping for the night. Your chest was heaving as you took in your surroundings, Remus’ hand in yours as you helped him into an alley that would (hopefully) hide you so long as you stayed silent. 

The treading of a group could be heard somewhere to your left and when you peered out of the darkness you found four death eaters who had apparated after you, lit momentarily by a street lamp. You could hear them talking in low voices but the wild beat of your heart was drowning it out.

You, and you alone, had already made some foolish mistakes tonight and you couldn’t afford to make anymore- the few death eaters you had been able to hex surely wasn’t worth seeing Remus in pain. He was slumped against the stone, breath coming out in labored gasps and cold sweat trickling from his forehead. 

Once the devout followers of the Dark Lord had vanished from your sight as well as outside your range of hearing, you returned to Remus and spoke in low tones. “What can I do?” 

“Listen to me for once?” He offered through gritted teeth, his suggestion coming out as a snarl as he lowered himself to the filthy cobblestone beneath him. You followed and found your hands were shaking nearly as bad as his. You could tell Remus was frightened. His eyes were wild, searching yours and wondering if he would be okay. 

The werewolf had always been good at hiding fear, for as long as you had known him. Fear of dying when Greyback had attacked him as a young boy. Fear of being found out when he had survived but with a far worse fate at hand. Fear of giving in to the monster that lay doormant until the full moon rose high in the night sky. You had only seen his facade crack on few occasions and you were sick knowing you had caused him fear. 

“I know you’re going to be alright,” You promised instead of answering his question.

Remus quieted after that for a moment but you could see him nodding slowly. He tried to steady his thoughts but he found it was hard with the pain in his abdomen that burned like fire and tore like jagged knives.”St. Mungos” He finally grumbled, hand searching for yours and squeezing for the strength that had abandoned him. “Get me there,” 

It was the last three words he said before he could say no more. He had lost consciousness and was slumped forward. Your stomach churned and you had to look straight ahead for a moment to steel your resolve. You could get Remus to safety. This wasn’t a big deal, he had been through worse. 

You bit your lip hard enough to draw blood and it helped the fearful part of you dissolve away for the determined part of you. You wouldn’t let Remus suffer here, you wouldn’t let your mistakes turn into his death. You knew you could get him to St. Mungos where Healers- far more capable than you in healing spells and medicines- could save him. 

Remus was dead weight as you slung his arm over your shoulder, making sure he was secure against you as you found ways to make his weight more bearable on your sore frame. You hadn’t had an easy night either it seemed as your limbs screamed at you in agitation. 

You dragged him from the alley, his head lolling side to side uncontrollably as he refused to rouse from his deep slumber. “It’ll be alright Rem, you’ll be alright,” You promised him even if he couldn’t hear you. Maybe you were comforting yourself, but you needed it to keep a cool head.

Remus moaned softly in the dark of the night as you hobbled with him attached to your side. His lanky legs dragged against the stone and you were losing your strength. Remus was lithe yet muscular and he had weight to him. It didn’t help that he was unable to support his own weight. You helped him into another alleyway, most likely not even a quarter of a mile between you and the one you had first hidden in. You just needed to lean against the sturdy stone and catch your breath. 

The moon was shining on you from above, reminding you of how Remus would be changing soon. It was going to be a miserable few days for him. He wouldn’t get the chance to recover from tonight before his body would be ripped apart from the wolf inside. You had seen it once. Sirius, James and Peter had always gone with him and watched after him on those full mooned nights and you had become curious. 

You remembered it as if it was yesterday and not years ago. His bones had cracked with every spasm of his body, reshaping and growing to fit a more extreme size. You shivered when you had heard his muscle tear and shred to accommodate his new structure. With shame, you had looked away. Your closed eyes hadn’t stopped you from hearing the pained screams that morphed into a forlorn howl. 

You hadn’t been able to face Remus for a week after that, you’d been plagued by nightmares of him in pain and you unable to do anything. He meant so much to you and you had turned away from him in his worst time. You wouldn’t do that again. 

His breathing was even for the most part as he drifted in and out of semi-consciousness. Every so often he shuddered, letting out a soft and pained groan. You weren’t going to fail him this time, you told yourself. You weren’t going to turn away. You were going to get him to safety. 

That thought propelled you forward once more and finally St. Mungos was standing sturdy and dependable in front of your eyes like a shining beacon. You had no way of knowing how long you had walked with Remus but as the healers took him off your hands you sank down to the ground, legs quivering. Only then were you able to let yourself cry, letting out all the frustration and guilt you had been holding onto. 

--

Remus woke as something heavy fell atop his midsection. Squinting at the sunlight that threatened to blind him, he cracked an eye open and found you with your cheek squashed against the wrinkled bed sheets that covered him. In your sleep it seemed you had tossed your arm over him. It made him smile as he took in your features that were lit by that same sun that had bothered him moments before. 

Dark circles were evident under your eyes and you mumbled nonsense as you slept on. Remus was well aware of why he was in St. Mungos, even still he felt like he had been rammed in the gut with a car, but he was more confused as to how you had managed to get him here. He remembered sitting with you in the alley before he knew no more. 

There were bits and pieces that pulled at the back of his brain, like your soft voice breaking through to promise he was alright. It had soothed him even in his miserable state. 

Suddenly, the peace was broken as you gasped, “Remus!”, body going ramrod straight as your eyes flew around the room, finally going still when they fell on him, reclining in bed and looking at you with a soft, amused smile. 

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” He teased, his voice coming out surprisingly more rough than he expected. Remus reached for the water on his bedside table and you helped him out, before rolling your eyes.

“You nearly die and then the first thing out of your mouth sounds like it came straight from Sirius’ limited dialogue when it comes to girls,” 

You had meant to sound playful but Remus noticed the way your breath hitched as you’d uttered the words that echoed in his head. He’d nearly died? He took a long pull of his water before he set it down, hand seeking yours as you stared at him oddly. 

“Jokes aside, how are you feeling?” You asked, lip being abused between your teeth as you worried. 

“Probably better than you, you look like you’ve barely slept,” Remus deflected the question and you glared at him. You wouldn’t be lied to today it seemed. 

“I’m... better. Sore.” He slowly explained. “Not any worse than-” the usual. 

You nodded in understanding as he trailed off quietly, shrugging nonchalantly as you gripped his hand a bit tighter, thumb tracing an old scar he’d gotten from trying, and failing, to cut an apple from a tree, cutting himself instead. 

“How are you feeling?” He shot back, brushing his free hand against your cheek as you found yourself leaning into the touch. 

“I’m great!” You lied through your teeth, braving a smile that didn’t meet your eyes. 

“Y/N” Remus warned, wanting to know if anything was wrong despite being in no fit condition himself. 

You swallowed the lump in your throat and gave a noncommittal shrug. You were fine. You weren’t hurt besides the ache in your back and leg from carrying Remus last night. You were tired too but it seemed inconsequential now. All you could think about after crying it out last night was that it was your fault. If you had only listened, as Remus pointed out, neither of you would be in this position. 

Your fellow Order members had visited earlier, needing you to explain everything in full and you watched as their looks turned disapproving as you explained that you hadn’t looked before you leapt and it had nearly cost you one of the best men you’d even known. It had been exhausting. 

You startled back to the present as Remus’ thumb stroked the apple of your cheek, a soft “darling?” coming from his lips as his finger came away wet with tears. You hadn’t even realized you’d been crying. 

“It’s nothing,” You laughed weakly, shoving his hand away as you stood from your chair beside his bed. “Anyway, I’ve got to... get going” You hesitated with your words, unable to form a believable excuse and Remus wasn’t stupid enough to miss it. 

Remus reached for you, grip tight enough to stop you in your tracks but loose enough that you could easily pull away if you wanted. “Y/N, what’s wrong? Sometimes what we do, sometimes it doesn’t turn out right. I know that as well as you, please don’t tell me you’re blaming yourself,” 

You hated how easily he could tell what was going on inside your mind. You supposed it was because if the roles were reversed, he would be feeling the same guilt. “Of course I’m blaming myself,” You sighed, tugging your wrist from his grip but returning back to your seat as you buried your face in your hands. Even if he had already, you didn’t want him to see you cry. 

“They could find you any time! They could find you and hurt you and I’ll be powerless like I was last night and y-you might not get so lucky and it would be all my fault,” Your lip quivered, sniffling before you continued. “You told me to wait, to listen, and I ignored you. I ignored you and now you’re in a hospital bed,” 

“I’m safe,” Remus cut in, hand going to your hair as he shifted to the edge of his bed so he could be closer to you. “I saved you last night but you saved me too. If you hadn’t kept walking we wouldn’t be here now and it was plausible they could have found us and done much worse than killed us,” 

“We’d have been completely fine if I hadn’t been an idiot,” You kept going, ignoring his reasonable words. Your heart was pounding uncomfortably again and you recognized the fear mixed with the worry. You were still afraid that somehow those death eaters were just around the corner and that they would hurt Remus again. You cried harder into your hands as Remus rubbing gentle circles into your scalp. 

“Come here,” he finally said, knowing he couldn’t say much to comfort you. The quaking in your shoulders stopped momentarily as you processed his words. 

“Rem?” You croaked, looking up in question. His chest constricted at the sight of your puffy red eyes, made more severe by the bags that lay beneath them. You must have been beating yourself up all night long instead of sleeping. 

“Come here,” He repeated, scooting back in his bed and making ample room for you. You watched with wide eyes but you barely paused in climbing beside him, tucking yourself against his side as he wrapped his arm around you, kissing the top of your head. 

“You’re hurt because of me,” You reminded, ear pressed against his chest as you found some relief in the strong and steady beat of his heart. 

“We’re safe because of you,” He pointed out, hand trailing a warming path up and down your back. “Your safety matters too,” 

“Not at the cost of your own,” You scolded gently. 

Remus sighed heavily. “You would do the same for me,” 

“That’s different,” You grumbled petulantly. 

“It’s not,” Remus smiled a little, fingers grasping your chin lightly as he looked at you. “You know very well how I feel about you,” 

You blushed, pressing your face harder against the sturdy warmth of his chest. Remus’ voice was reassuring and steady. There was no hesitation when it came to his admittance of his feelings when they concerned you. You felt the same. Only problem was, you didn’t feel worthy. 

“Remus-” 

“I know,” He sighed, tugging you closer as you mentally pulled away. “Not the right time, never the right place, always something...” You could tell he was mainly speaking to himself but you knew he was hurt. You’d told him to move on, you couldn’t say you didn’t feel the same but you didn’t want to lead him on either. You were scared you wouldn’t be what he needed. He told you you weren’t leading him on because he’d never feel for anyone else what he felt for you so he’d just wait. The fool. 

“You’re the right person for me,” You offered as a heavy silence fell over you two. You were desperate to break it. “But-” 

“I’m a werewolf?” He winced. Of course that was it, of course that was why you didn’t want him... Why hadn’t he understood that earlier? After all, you’d turned away from the hideousness of him when you were children. 

“God Remus, no!” You were shocked to your core. Had you made him feel like you didn’t love all of him? You suddenly felt very guilty. “That isn’t it at all! I-I...” You were fumbling over your words as you knew the truth had to come out. 

You wished it didn’t have to come out with Healers bustling around you, their eyes trying not to linger too long on you and Remus as you cuddled, trying to keep your voices down but not quite managing it. 

“You are amazing, everything anyone could ever want. You are perfect in my eyes. Even with your furry little problem you have more humanity than half the people I’ve come across in my life.” You admitted, a lump stuck in your throat. “But I’m a coward and I can’t be what you need. It broke my heart when were kids to see you changing and I had to look away because I’d do something rash if I didn’t... And last night I was foolish and got you hurt. I’m not what you need Rem, no matter how I feel.” 

Remus was surprised at you. He was a werewolf for Merlin’s sake and you were caught up on how you might hurt him? How could you possibly think that you weren’t what he needed? You were everything he needed and more. You had turned away when he’d changed not because you’d been disgusted but because it had caused you pain too and if that didn’t made him feel loved, what else would?

You couldn’t avoid his gaze and it made your lungs constrict painfully. His eyes were sad and pleading. “It wasn’t your fault!” He urged, catching a few looks around the room that had started to attract more people as the sun rose higher in the sky. “Shouldn’t I be the one to decide what I need?” 

His grip on your chin was a little tighter now as he forced you to look at him and tell him no, tell him you two wouldn’t be happy together. But you couldn’t. Even now you were feeling better than you had in the past twenty four hours because he was holding you. 

“I want you to be safe-” Your argument was weakening as your voice cracked. 

“I’m safe and sound with you, nothing can take me from you as long as you let me be yours,” he promised, nuzzling his nose against yours and you sighed gently into the affection. 

“Promise me you want me?” You finally gave in. 

“I’ve wanted you for years, nothing has changed, not once.” He grinned, a smug but delighted look on his face. His fingers brushed through your hair as you mulled over it for a moment longer. 

“I suppose we’re safer together than apart,” 

“And happier together,” Remus smiled, kissing the corner of your mouth as you let go of all your tension. 

It had been a hellish day but you were able to let go of your doubt and guilt as Remus kept you safe in his arms. Whatever came next you would have each other. 

[vampiregirl1797]

Hopeless: Chapter Eight

Klaus Mikaelson x OC 

Warning: SMUT in this chapter so 18+ ONLY

GIF Not Mine

Click Here For Masterlist

The day after I was bitten was spent with me in bed, re-gathering my strength. I spent most of the day sleeping and drinking the cups of blood Klaus had bought up for me. I assumed he had compelled the staff to bleed into them for me, but I didn’t say anything, grateful that he was being so thoughtful. I was even more surprised every time I opened my eyes, because Klaus was there without fail. I don’t know if he ever actually left the room, and part of me was afraid to ask because if he hadn’t I didn’t want to consider what that meant. Or rather, what I hoped it could mean. I refused to focus on the fact that my stomach had filled with butterflies, and my heart had squeezed whenever his blue eyes had greeted me when I woke up from my slumber. That day passed by quickly and before I knew it night had fallen and I was dozing off yet again.

When I woke the next morning, I jolted up with a start when I heard something banging from the floor below. It sounded like someone had just been thrown into a wall. I listened for a moment longer and realised it was Klaus having a spat with one of his men. With that I relaxed, knowing the wolf in him assured he asserted his dominance over those who worked for him as often as possible. I threw the covers off me and tentatively asked the maids to bring the bath in—I was desperate to wash off the dried sweat and blood that had gathered on my skin all of yesterday and a few hours of the day before. When I slipped into the pleasantly warm bath I realised that Katherine would be arriving in two days.

 It’s fine. She’ll be here for three days and probably won’t be anywhere near you during that time. You just need to lay low and keep an eye on her to assure she doesn’t escape.

 The scents that had been added to the bath helped soothe me as well as the temperature. I felt like I was lying in a meadow with the smell of roses, lilies and jasmine that were emanating from the water. I took my time, lying there until the water ran cold and then I quickly washed my hair before getting out. After dressing in a loose red dress I tied my hair up with the hair tie that had thankfully been around my wrist when I had gotten here. Once it was secure I decided to make my way out of the room to find out what everyone else was up to, and maybe convince Klaus to do something fun—Katherine would be here soon and I wanted to make the most of her absence. Elijah was nowhere to be found, but after focusing my hearing I managed to locate Klaus in the room next door to his chambers. I tentatively knocked on the door, wondering what he could have been doing.

 ‘Come in,’ his voice was soft and I wondered if it was because he knew it was me knocking. I shook that thought away and opened the door before stepping inside.

 ‘Wow.’ I breathed, I don’t know what I had been expecting but this definitely wasn’t it.

 The room was full of paintings. Some were of landscapes, others of people and objects. A few were still unfinished and on easels but even I, a complete art novice, could tell they were going to be wonderful when they were finished.

 ‘Not the reaction my presence usually gets but I’ll take it,’ he teased, drawing my attention back to him. I could read the shyness in his eyes; I assumed allowing me to see his artwork was something that made him feel vulnerable.

 ‘Did you paint all of these?’ I asked quietly, my feet carrying me over to the landscape painting on the far wall. It was a picture of a meadow illuminated by moonlight. I couldn’t explain it but I felt like I could step into that painting and feel as calm and serene as I did looking at it.

 ‘I did.’ He murmured, coming to stand beside me.

 ‘They’re incredible. I had a feeling that the paintings around the house were yours.’ I admitted, not taking my eyes off the painting.

 ‘You’d be the first.’ I could hear the surprise in his voice, but I didn’t comment on it.

 ‘You have a gift, Klaus.’ My hand came up to touch the painting, following the bumps of the paint that detailed the flowers and the grass, ‘you should have galleries of your own all over the world. Why don’t you?’

 I looked over to him when I was met with silence and saw that he was frowning and deep in thought, probably thinking over whether he could tell me something. I didn’t say a word, wanting him to think it over on his own and by the looks of it; he was thinking it over very thoroughly.

 ‘You’ve shared so much with me since you’ve been here.’ He murmured and for a moment I wondered if he’d spoken aloud without realising it, ‘the least I can do is tell you about The Destroyer.’

 ‘I have been wanting to ask, but I sensed that you’d rather I didn’t.’ I admitted with a sheepish smile.

 ‘You sensed correctly. The Destroyer is also known as Mikael or rather, my father.’ My draw dropped open in shock from his words.

 ‘Your father is hunting you?’ I continued when he offered a grim nod, ‘why?’ I remembered Elijah telling us about how his mother was unfaithful and that was why Klaus was half werewolf, but I couldn’t recall all the details, I’d mainly retained the details of the ritual.

 ‘Well, that’s a long complicated story.’ He smiled as he repeated my words from a few days ago.

 ‘If you want to tell me, I’d love to hear it.’ I murmured back.

 So he did. He told me about how his mother had cheated on Mikael and the result had been him. No one had known of his true lineage, no one except Ester, until they had been turned into vampires and Klaus had triggered his werewolf gene with his first kill. He told me how his mother had preformed a ritual to supress his wolf side in an effort to make her discretion up to Mikael, he told me how he had tore his mothers heart out afterwards—a fit of rage had overcome him when she had called him her “greatest shame”. At that my hand had found his in a way of offering comfort; no mother should be anything less than proud of her son. He told me how his siblings believed Mikael had killed her and how Mikael had vowed to kill Klaus in a bid to rid the world of the “abomination” that he was. He told me how they had spent their immortal lives running from him, never able to settle down due to the fear of him finding them.

 Just like he had a few days ago, I had to take a moment to digest everything he told me and honestly I was disgusted. Disgusted in his parents for failing all of their children, especially Klaus. He deserved better, how could Mikael be mad at Klaus for something that was beyond his control—Ester had been the one who had the affair, shouldn’t she be held responsible?  As for him killing her, I couldn’t deny that I understood where he was coming from. He had told me he couldn’t understand the pain from losing a parent and now I understood why, because his parents hadn’t been parents. I understood why his paintings weren’t in galleries and being talked about by everyone, because he and his siblings couldn’t draw attention to themselves. They weren’t living.

 ‘I’m sorry.’ I said after a while, breaking the silence that we had lapsed into when he had finished his story.

 ‘For what, love?’ he frowned, confused.

 ‘For the miserable excuses for parents you got stuck with. You deserve better.’ I told him honestly, squeezing the hand I was still holding.

 ‘Thank you,’ he whispered so quietly that I almost didn’t dear him.

 It hit me then; no one else knew of what he had done to Ester, and so he hadn’t had acceptance from someone that had all the facts in a long time. I realised that he needed to hear that; he needed to know that he wasn’t completely at fault for the events that had been thrown upon him and his family.

 He cleared his throat and released my hand to move over to the painting he had been working on when I walked in. He had barely started on it yet, so there was no telling what it was going to be.

 ‘Was there something you wanted?’ he asked, clearly trying to lead the conversation into a much more unemotional topic.

 ‘Actually yes.’ I smiled, walking over to him with my hands behind my back, ‘I was wondering if you could do me a favour.’

 ‘Consider me intrigued. What can I do for you?’ He smirked, his eyes dancing with amusement.

 ‘Well seeing as tomorrow will be spent preparing for Katherine and she will be here the day after that, I was hoping you could give me today.’ I held my hands out as if that would convince him.

 He looked up from his painting to fix me with his stare; it was both amused and surprised. But for whatever reason, he was also hesitating.

 ‘Come on, show this twenty first century girl the best things that the fifteenth century has to offer.’ I tried to pout to get him to cave, but his laughter implied I wasn’t successful, ‘Klaus!’

 ‘Alright.’ He managed to contain his laughter after a few attempts, though my irritated look almost caused his effort to wain, ‘I’d be more than happy to show you everything that the world has to offer, Evangeline, but I suppose for now we’ll have to settle for fifteenth century England.’

 I felt my heart skip a beat at the implication, but I managed to gather myself and take his offered arm. I couldn’t contain my excitement as I followed him out of the house; I was getting the opportunity to experience the way life was lived before I was born and I was looking forward to it. When he led me to the carriage the caskets had travelled in I smiled in bemusement.

 ‘Where are we going?’ I asked after I tried and failed to overhear his words with the man leading the horses.

 ‘We’re not that far outside London. I thought you’d like to see it.’ He commented casually, but he smiled when I couldn’t contain my excited squeal.

 ‘It’s going to be weird going back to my time.’ I mused, staring at the passing scenery, ‘I’m getting used to life here.’

 ‘When do you have to go back?’ I looked over to him when I heard his melancholic tone.

 ‘After the ritual.’ I smiled sadly when he frowned, ‘can I admit something to you without you thinking I’m completely selfish?’

 ‘Of course.’ He smiled a little and expectantly waited for me to elaborate.

 ‘Part of me doesn’t want to go back.’ I looked back out of the window, not wanting to see the disappointment in his eyes, ‘for the first time I’m not waking up everyday thinking about what I need to do for everyone else. Well aside from planning for the ritual, but it’s not the same. It doesn’t consume the whole day, and I’m doing stuff for me, I’m doing what I want to do for the first time in the longest time. Does that make me selfish?’

 His hand reached into my lap to entwine our hands together. I felt the familiar warmth from his touch spread up my arm and it caused me to look over to him. When I looked into his eyes I didn’t see the disappointment or disgust I thought would be present after my confession. His expression was soft, affectionate even.

 ‘It doesn’t make you selfish to want to do what makes you happy. If those in your life truly care about you and love you like I think they do, your happiness will matter to them, Evangeline. You do not need to sacrifice that for others—they wouldn’t want you to and most importantly, living for everyone else isn’t living.’

 ‘Thank you,’ my voice was barely above a whisper, because I didn’t trust it not to break with emotion at a louder volume.

 ‘Of course.’ He flashed his dimpled smile and leaned forward to place a kiss to my cheek.

 He lingered and all I could think about was how the skin he had kissed was tingling pleasantly. Klaus pulled back a little, but only far enough to allow him to stare into my eyes. I didn’t know what he was looking for, but he must have found it through the lust I could feel on my face as his gaze flickered to my lips before he leant forward, closing the gap so that there was a mere inch between us. Knowing he was waiting for me to make the final move, I didn’t waste any time and pressed my lips to his. This kiss was different from the last one we shared. That was inspired by lust and an animalistic hunger. This was softer and more emotional; the affection we had for one another was clear, an aspect that had been absent in the woods. We didn’t know each other well then; both of us had been looking for a release. But now I could feel the way he cared for me from the gentleness of his lips moving against mine, from the way he caressed the side of my face while his other hand was tightly grasping mine. I had never been kissed this way before and it was overwhelming in the best possible way. It felt like he was worshipping me, treating me is if I were the most important thing in the world to him. I knew that couldn’t possibly be true, but I couldn’t deny how cared for he was making me feel in that moment.

 I don’t know how long we were kissing for, but eventually we pulled apart, both of us a little breathless. We shared a look before he placed a kiss to my forehead and we resumed the journey in comfortable silence. It was in that moment that the feelings I had been repressing, or rather ignoring, for the hybrid came back full force and I realised… I was in love with him. That was definitely not a part of the plan.

 Xxx

 It didn’t take much longer for us to reach London and when we did I was practically vibrating with excitement. Klaus chuckled at me as he helped me down from the carriage, linking my arm with his as he started leading me through the streets. The cobbled streets were incredibly narrow, so much so that I wondered how carriages managed to fit through them. The buildings were built of brick and wood and I couldn’t help but stare in fascination at how different they were to the buildings in the twenty first century. My eyes greedily drunk in every detail, the bread, cloths, jewellery and fruits that were being sold on different carriages. The sounds of horses’ hooves against the cobbled roads, the sounds of men shouting in a bid to entice customers, the sounds of people merrily chatting amongst themselves.

 ‘You know, I’ve been to London many times over the centuries and each time I find myself amazed by the culture,’ Klaus mused from beside me. I looked over to him only to find his gaze already fixed on me.

 ‘Is it one of your favourite destinations?’ I wondered, curious—a man who had been alive for so long must have seen everything; I wanted to know what his favourite was.

 ‘Before we came back to England, Paris was my favourite place to visit,’ his stare turned affectionate, ‘but recent developments have me changing my mind.’

 I blushed and glanced down, unable to hold his stare due to the intensity behind it. His thumb brushed over the knuckles of the hand that rested in the crook of his arm. I smiled a little and looked back up at him.

 ‘I’ve never really travelled anywhere, but I think England is always going to be my favourite.’ And I honestly did; I would always cherish that moment with him.

 He smiled softly and placed a kiss to my forehead before leading me further down the street as he continued to talk.

 ‘I’ll take you,’ his dimpled smile greeted me when I looked over to him in surprise, ‘anywhere you wanna go.’

 My heart leaped in my chest and my stomach filled with butterflies, but I forced it down. I shook my head as a light laugh tumbled from my lips, ‘as enticing as that sounds, you know you’re going to forget about me as soon as I leave.’

 I started when he pulled me to a stop in the middle of the street, his hand came up to caress the side of my face and I couldn’t help but lean into his touch.

 ‘Evangeline—,’ I couldn’t help my irritated frown when whatever he had been about so say was cut off by me being shoved from behind. I was pushed into his chest and the intense stare that had been on his face a moment before fell into anger. His eyes tried to find the culprit over my shoulder, but they were long lost in the bustling crowds.

 ‘I’ve seen London,’ I murmured, drawing his attention back to me, ‘what else is there to see, Lord Klaus?’ I smiled when he smirked at my teasing.

 ‘Not so much of what to see, but more what to do.’ He said ominously, leading me back to the carriage that had bought us here.

 Xxx

 ‘Okay, I might have been good at the sword fighting activity…’ I trailed off as my eyes flickered between the crossbow and the smirking hybrid a few feet from me, ‘but there is no way I’m gonna be able to do this.’

 ‘Patience, love.’ I didn’t need to look at him to know he was smirking at me.

 I took the stance he had shown me again, my right foot forward, with my left hand holding the crossbow. I made the arrow match up with the apple Klaus had nailed to the tree in front of me earlier—it was my target. I growled when I missed it again. It didn’t even hit the tree!

 ‘I refuse to let archery beat me!’ I muttered, picking up another arrow but when it missed I looked over to Klaus, arching my brow at his amusement, ‘what am I doing wrong?’

 ‘Don’t close one eye when you take your aim, use both eyes to line up the arrow with the target.’ He stepped over to me and placed his hand on the arm that was holding the crossbow, ‘and your arm isn’t straight, it needs to be lower.’ He moved it into the correct position before standing back and nodding for me to give it a shot.

 I took a second to let the tingles that lingered on my arm from his touch to fade. After I took a deep breath, I was ready and I lined up the shot and released the arrow. When it went straight through the apple I couldn’t have stopped my grin if I tried.

 ‘Just call me a professional archer.’ I cracked my knuckles after placing the bow down.

 Klaus chuckled and shook his head fondly, which made my cheeks darken with colour. I cleared my throat and offered him a bright smile when he looked over to me, his dimpled smile still playing on his lips and I couldn’t help but be hypnotised by them for a second before my eyes flickered up to his.

 ‘Now I’ve mastered archery,’ I smiled a little when he chuckled at my exaggeration, ‘what else should I try?’

 He just sent me a devilish smirk.

 Xxx

 ‘You’re joking,’ I sent him a look that was a mixture of amused and unsurprised.

 ‘Of course not, this is a tradition around these parts, love.’ He grinned and started stripping off his clothes.

 ‘Right. And seeing me naked is of no interest to you.’ I raised a brow.

 He simply kept his grin in place and continued stripping. I turned my back when he started to remove his pants and shook my head when he chuckled. Apparently something to do in the fifteenth century was “strip and swim” in the river close to the Mikaelson property. I personally thought he had other motives.

 ‘You don’t need to turn around, love.’ A small gasp escaped when I felt him directly behind me, his hands rested on my waist and pulled me against his chest, ‘I don’t mind.’

 ‘For someone who singlehandedly took on a werewolf, I would have thought you’d be braver.’ He commented and I spun around to retort against my better judgement, only he wasn’t behind me when I did.

 I heard the unmistakable splash of water and looked over to see him sending me a mocking wave. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

 ‘Give me one reason as to why this is a good idea.’ I murmured, fighting down the insecurity that was trying to claw its way to the surface. I expected him to give me a funny answer, but he must have read the reluctance on my expression, because his next words were serious and soft.

 ‘Because we only have today, Evangeline,’ his expression was forlorn, ‘and I’d like to make the most of it while we still can, as we both know when you fix what you came here to fix, you’re never going to want to see me again.’

 I looked away from his gaze for a second before turning back to him and gesturing, ‘turn around.’ His expression became amused before he complied with my instruction.

 In that moment I was grateful for my vampire speed as I stripped off my clothes and added them to his pile. I flashed into the water and came to a stop behind him. With a hand on his shoulder, I turned him around and lowered my guard so he could read the sincerity behind my next words.

 ‘What you said isn’t true.’ I smiled sadly, ‘I told you before, a part of me doesn’t want to go back to my time and that isn’t because I prefer this century. It’s because of you. It’s because you make me happy and you make me feel alive. It’s not that I won’t want to see you again, it’s that you’re going to forget about me when I’m gone. And why wouldn’t you? You’ve lived for four hundred years already and in another six hundred you’re not going to remember my name, never mind my face. And I don’t expect you to. But I’m grateful that I got to know you now and… I’ll never forget my time here and I definitely won’t forget you.’

 I took a deep breath to stop the tears in my eyes from falling and forced a smile to my face. I nodded, pleased that I’d finally said what I wanted to say, well aside from the fact that I was in love with him. But that could wait until the last day, so I didn’t have to feel my heart break when he didn’t say it back. His index finger came to my chin and gently forced me to meet his gaze. The expression that greeted me was softer than I had ever seen it, and his eyes were also shining with tears.

 ‘I will never forget you, Evangeline. You’re unlike anyone I have ever known. You’re brave, smart, empathetic, kind, compassionate, determined and beautiful. You came here to destroy me and rather than sending yourself home when your plan failed, you stayed and offered an alternative idea to save your family and friends and to rid me of a curse that I have had to live with for almost five hundred years. Despite what I have done to you, you’ve not treated Elijah or I with disdain or hatred, which we most likely rightfully deserve. I don’t want you to go, but I know you have to.’ His thumb ran along my bottom lip before his hand came to caress the side of my face, ‘I can’t promise you that we will find each other in the future, but I give you my word that if we do… I will never let you go again.’

 The tears I had fought so hard to keep at bay were streaming uncontrollably down my face. Klaus’ other hand came up to my free cheek and his thumbs wiped the moisture away. His forehead rested against mine and I once again found myself hypnotised by his tantalising red lips.

 I could feel his gaze on me, warming me from the inside out and my eyes met his for a moment, both of us sharing a look of lust and affection before we moved towards each other at the same time. Our kiss was charged with promise and passion that made me want to stay in this moment forever, in the stream in the middle of the woods where none of our problems could reach us. It was just me and him being consumed by each other. My hands slid from his shoulders and up to his shoulder length hair, tangling in the curls and bringing pressing his mouth harder against mine. Neither of us broke from the kiss when his hands went to my waist and lifted my legs to wind around his hips. He walked us out of the water and laid me on the bank not far from where our clothes rested.

 I removed my hands from his hair and allowed them to feel the skin of his shoulders, his arms, and his back. My own skin burned under his touch as he caressed my waist, stomach and legs. I moaned when his touch moved to my breasts, kneading them gently. His lips moved from my lips to the crook of my neck, nipping and sucking. When he found the spot behind my ear, my back arched without my consent. I felt his grin against my skin, but I couldn’t find it in myself to be annoyed by his arrogance in that moment, if anything it made me hotter.

 When his hand moved in the direction of my core I stopped him by grabbing his wrist. Klaus’ eyes met mine and I could see the uncertainty in them, but I reassured him with a soft smile. I knew my eyes were burning with my desire for him.

 ‘I need you, Klaus.’ I murmured, hoping he understood that in that moment I didn’t want to take our time, I wanted him; I needed him then and there.

 His hesitation disappeared and the smile that lit up his face was a mixture of desire and pleasure. When he took position and prepared himself to enter me, my hands returned to his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin as he slid inside at a pace slow enough to make me moan. We paused when he completely filled me, both of us appreciating the feeling of us being joined together, of us finally taking this step with one another, before he started to move. The pace was slow and I can honestly say I have never felt such a strong connection like I felt as we moved together, staring into each other’s eyes with our bodies working as one. It was as if we had been intimate a hundred times before. I’ve never known such chemistry, such compatibility with anyone. It was both terrifying and exhilarating. We reached the end together, my nails scraped down Klaus’ back hard enough to break the skin. His hands gripped my waist hard enough to bruise. His forehead fell to my chest and my head fell to the grass underneath me. My hands went to his hair and his wrapped around me as we both collected our composure and waited for our breathing to return to normal.

 I found myself hoping as I lay there, surrounded by Klaus’ comforting scent and warmth that we would cross paths in the future. Because I was certain if we found each other, I wouldn’t want him to let me go either.

 Xxx

 ‘Niklaus, there you are!’ Elijah’s voice caused the both of us to look over to him. I ignored his arched brow when he noticed our joined hands.

 ‘Well, brother, you found me.’ Klaus smirked, his eyes glittering with mischief.

 ‘We have things to prepare—,’ the elder Mikaelson was cut off by Klaus raising his free hand.

 ‘Please, Elijah, not today. We have all of tomorrow to make preparations for the doppelgänger’s arrival.’ Klaus waved him off and stepped around Elijah, pulling me with him.

 I pretended not to notice Elijah’s apparent suspicion with Klaus brushing off what he usually treated as an important matter. To diffuse the tension I could feel growing in the room I decided to leave the brothers for a moment, using the excuse of needing to get ready for dinner. Neither bought it, but they didn’t say anything. Before I could completely leave them in the living area, Klaus pulled me back to him and placed a chaste kiss on my lips that caught me by surprise. By the time I recovered, Klaus had a smug grin on his lips and I just left them both after I rolled my eyes and desperately tried to suppress my own smile.

 As I closed the door to my chambers I couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling that threatened to overcome me. It reminded me that the closer I got to Klaus, the harder it was going to be to potentially lose him when everything was over. I knew what he said in the water, but the insecure neurotic side of me was telling me that while he may mean his words now, six hundred years could change a lot. He could be with someone else, he could never find me again, and as much as he denied the possibility, he could forget me.

 I shook away my depressing thoughts and comforted myself with the fact that we had right now. I had these moments, these memories to treasure forever even if he never found me again, even if he forgot me, the way if felt for him… it was worth it.

 Klaus’ POV

 I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. Evangeline was exquisite, but it wasn’t the new level of intimate that we had reached that was responsible for my good mood, though that was certainly a part of it. It was her confession, when she said that I made her happy and made her feel alive. She didn’t want to go home because of me. As I sat at her bedside when she was recovering from her wolf bite, I suspected then that my affection for her was more than me fancying her, but the elation I had felt this afternoon after her admission made me certain. I was in love with her.

 ‘You seem to be in a particularly good mood.’ Elijah’s comment pulled me out of my thoughts. When I realised what he said, my grin only grew.

 ‘Do I?’ I wondered over to the alcohol and poured myself a cup, hiding my smirk behind it.

 ‘Yes. And it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together.’ Elijah mused, his eyes flickering to the door Evangeline had left through and back up to me, ‘you care for her quite a bit don’t you?’

 ‘I don’t believe that’s any of your business, brother.’ The happiness disappeared from my expression to be replaced with anger and warning.

 ‘You definitely care for her. I would even say you love her.’ Elijah wasn’t one to be deterred by my anger. I knew he was baiting me, carefully selecting his words and observing my reaction.

 After five hundred years together, Elijah knew me better than anyone. It was both a blessing and a curse. When I didn’t say anything in response to his words, I could tell that he had figured it out before he even spoke.

 ‘You do love her.’ He realised, his eyes flickering over the tight grip I had on my cup and the annoyance in my eyes, ‘while I’m happy for you, brother, I must warn you about the danger of losing sight of your goal.’

 His confusion was clear when I laughed. I subdued my amusement when his puzzlement transformed into frustration.

 ‘Trust me brother, Evangeline is the last person who will distract me from my goal.’ I smiled knowingly but I refused to elaborate. Evangeline had told me that he didn’t betray me, but I didn’t want anyone to know where she truly came from.

 Evangeline and I being the only ones who knew, it gave us power over what could be changed. If Elijah knew, he would want to save Katarina and he would want to make sure that she didn’t have to be on the run for the next five hundred years.

 However, I had a plan to make sure that Katarina followed the same path that she took to bring her into Evangeline’s life. The doppelgänger needed to run from me in order to meet the Salvatore brothers, because one of them was responsible for keeping her sister alive. And Katarina needed to go to Evangeline’s town to assure that she turned her. I would of course have eyes and ears on her at all times and when she had fulfilled her purpose I would grant her her freedom. Apparently Elijah would take a liking to her, and I wouldn’t stand in his way longer than necessary. Provided my brother wasn’t getting on my nerves at that point in time.

 I idly registered that Elijah left the room as I finished my drink and poured another—he knew better than anyone that if I didn’t want to reveal information, trying to get it would be a waste of time. It appeared whatever he had needed to tell me about the doppelgänger wasn’t important after all. I drank what was left in my glass with one gulp and quickly poured myself another. After focusing for a moment, I could hear Evangeline was in her chambers and the sounds assured me she was getting ready for dinner. I hoped she hadn’t been listening to our conversation.

 It wasn’t that I didn’t want her to know, it was that I was afraid of what would happen if she did. I hadn’t been in love with anyone for a long time. The first girl I had been interested in was Tatia. She had been beautiful, seductive and manipulative. She had played my brother and I against each other successfully for a long time, but in the end we recognised the sacred bond of family. Giving her up hadn’t been that difficult because I hadn’t been in love with her.

 Then we became vampires.

 After ten years constantly running we decided to settle for a while in a castle in England. We had taken the place of those we had killed. It was there that I met her. Aurora. At first I had been consumed by her beauty and it had blinded me from her faults. She was selfish, cruel and vindictive. But I didn’t realise that until it was time for us to leave, when Mikael found us again. I had asked her to flee with us and she laughed in my face and told me that now she had what she wanted, she wasn’t going to live her immortal life on the run. And as soon as the words had left her mouth, I saw her time together but through eyes that weren’t blinded with love and infatuation. Thanks to my epiphany, I was able to cut ties with her and that is the only time I’ve ever been grateful that Mikael forced us to flee.

 Since then, women had been nothing more to me than food and pleasure. At least until a week and a half ago, when I came across Evangeline in the woods. When I found out that she had come here to kill me, I should have ended her life then and there. But I didn’t. I still couldn’t say why. Something about her bravery and defiance intrigued me. She had known who I was and what I was capable of and yet even when she tried to run from me, she refused to let an ounce of fear show on her face. From there my interest had grown into affection and love. And I was absolutely terrified.

[maraudersandlily20]

Defenders

The house was small. The traffic outside was minimal, as it was the practically in the middle of nowhere. Remus quickly knocked, doing the pattern he had learned just that morning, and Fabian threw the door opened. He grinned as he took in Remus.

“Lupin! We were wondering if you were going to come. Shocking, so close to the full moon.” Fabian Prewett was a loudmouth, but Remus liked him. Him and his twin brother Gideon. They were good friends of Remus’.

“Hi, Fabian. Nice to see you too.” Fabian moved out of the way to let Remus in, and he slapped him on the shoulder. Remus waved him off and headed toward the living room where a long wooden table stood. There were multiple seats open, as not many people had arrived, and Remus sat down quietly.

He heard Fabian head upstairs, calling for Gideon as he went. Remus assumed that the house most likely belong to the Prewett family. The order met in an array of house to avoid suspicion, which meant Remus had seen quite a few interesting places. This one, however, was rather cozy. It was nice and warm, and there were pictures of the redheaded kids everywhere. He studied the frames. They marked the growth of the three Prewett children, their Christmas visits home during their time at Hogwarts, the vacations the family had taken together and so on. There were pictures of Molly and Arthur, newly engaged. And there was the whole Prewett family around the newly married couple. There were photos of the twins holding Molly’s babies, the Weasley boys growing up and playing ball with their grandfather. Molly and her mother cooking in a kitchen, sticking their tongues out. Fabian and Gideon in ridiculous costumes, doing riverdancing, by the looks of it. The pictures were endless, covering every inch of the wall. It showcased the love and growth of a beautiful family. Remus felt a pang of jealousy, wishing he had similar experiences at his home.

He shook his head of those thoughts when he heard another knock on the door. Fabian pounded down the stairs once more. Remus rolled his eyes and started to pick lint off of his sweater. It was his favorite sweater. A gift from Lily last year on his birthday. He was so focused on the woven fabric that he was startled when a hand fell on his shoulder. He looked up to the smiling face of his boyfriend, Sirius, who then swooped down and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Remus felt warmth pool into his stomach.

“Mmm.” He hummed. “Happy to see you too.”

Sirius grinned. “You left the flat so quickly this morning, I didn’t even have a chance to say hello. Or get up for that matter.”

His boyfriend nodded. “I had to make sure all of the arrangements were made for Wednesday. And you were so peaceful there, I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Well thank you,” he replied. “Is everything all set, do we have the place?”

“Everything’s in order and agreed to by Albus.”

“What a relief. Now if, you’ll excuse me, Fabian said there is some left over spaghetti in the fridge and I’m going to eat it before James gets here. Because he hasn’t had a home cooked meal in 4 days and I think he might explode because of it, so I have to get to it first.”

Remus laughed, watching as Sirius trotted off toward the kitchen. He and Sirius hadn’t had much of a chance to eat at home either these days. It was exhausting, one of them always seemed to be out of the house for one reason or another. He sat at the table as the knock sounded again and again and Fabian always came rushing toward the door. Remus waved at the Longbottoms, Emmeline Vance, Benjy Fenwick, Edgar Bones and Caradoc Dearborn. They all called out hellos in his direction, swarming the house. Every room now contained noise of some kind, happy chatter filling the air.

Remus loved Order meetings. There were many who shared the same experiences the  others did. They all related to each other, understood the problems and concerns they were all facing. It felt like a horribly twisted version of a family. Remus loved it.

As he was sitting, waiting as more and more people filed into the room and sat around the table, he heard something behind him. It was a quiet conversation that he could pick up just barely. It sounded like Elphias Doge, and older member of the Order who had known Albus for a long time. Elphias was one of the people that Remus didn’t know very well. The old man stayed to himself when he was around.

“It’s not right.” Elphias was saying quietly, sounding agitated. “This close to its time and it’s still here? It’s dangerous, Moody. You know that. It could snap at any time.”

“Come now, Elphias. You’re being suspicious for no good reason. He has great control over himself. He wouldn’t have come if he didn’t think he was able.”

“It shouldn’t be allowed here at all. Albus is putting everyone at risk by allowing that monster here. It’s no good, for any of us, and the full moon is two days away. I don’t trust it. It could be capable of anything.”

It was then that Remus realized what the conversation was about. Him. Elphias was talking about him. Immediately, he felt a feeling of uncomfortable panic, the same kind that swelled up anytime people he wanted to trust showed animosity toward him or his lycanthropy. His scars would start to itch and it felt like everybody was staring at him. He tried to ignore it, but now that he was honed in on the conversation, he couldn’t stop himself from listening.

“Those things are monsters. They murder children. Does Albus really think it’s a good idea to put one in a position of authority? We have no idea what it’s done or what it’s capable of. If you ask me, we should lock it up until this war is over. One less god-forsaken person to keep track of.”

“You should watch yourself, Elphias.” Moody replied, his voice emotionless. “There are people who wouldn’t take kindly to you talking about Lupin that way. He’s a good lad with a smart head on his shoulders. Keep your prejudice to yourself, of I’ll just have to shut you up myself.” Moody left then, walked away, and Elphias headed toward the room with the table. He shot Remus a disgusted look and sat as far away as possible. Remus tried not to fidget and wished that the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

It took another few minutes for the remaining Order members to arrive. Lily pecked Remus and Sirius on the cheek and James ruffled their hair, which made Sirius smack his hand away. Remus just kept a tight lipped smile on his face, trying not to look to tense, but failing miserably. Sirius and James were horsing around, but Remus couldn’t join in. It was the first time that he felt unwanted at an Order meeting. He wasn’t sure what to do.

Albus appeared last. He usually did, often saying he had other matters to attend to. He greeted his Order members with smiles and handshakes and took his seat at the head of the table. He called the meeting to attention and then went about asking for statuses on missions and reports. Remus could barely listen, only hearing the insults Elphias had said echo around in his head. He tried not to let it affect him, but he felt his body begin to shake. It was a reaction he had when he felt stressed.

Sirius noticed immediately. His head swiveled over toward his boyfriend, eyes creased with worry. “Moons?” he whispered, trying not to draw attention away from Bones who was reporting on one thing or another. Remus couldn’t look at him. “Moony, what is it?” Sirius tried again, but with no response. Sirius looked back over to James who had also taken notice of Remus’ physical reaction. They were all well acquainted with his shaking in anxiety inducing situations, but they didn’t understand why it was happening. Nothing seemed to be causing it.

“What going on?” Lily whispered, leaning closer to her husband.

James shrugged. “Something’s going on with Remus, but we’re not sure what it is that’s causing it.”

“He’s shaking.”

A nod came from James. “It happens when he is put in a stressful situation that he doesn’t know how to handle or can’t control. We’ve seen it happen before, and they increase in severity around the full moon.”

“But why is Remus stressed? Nothing is happening.”

“I know,” James agreed. “That’s the problem. If we can’t figure it out, it only gets worse.”

Sirius was quietly listening to this conversation, not giving any input and not moving his eyes from the quaking body of Remus. After another minute, he put a hand on his arm. “Moons, let’s go to the kitchen.” Remus nodded, looking like he was having a difficulty swallowing.

The two boys stood, and there was a scoff from the other side of the table. “It’s too dangerous to be here. It should be locked up so none of us have to deal with it or its problems.” Remus cringed, knowing exactly what would happen and felt Sirius tense up beside him. His boyfriend slowly turned and looked back over the table to the source of the voice. Elphias sat, looking every bit the self righteous man he was. Sirius’ eyes clouded over in anger.

“What did you just say?”

“Sirius,” Remus whispered, panicked. “Just drop it.”

Elphias shrugged. “I said that that thing is dangerous. It needs to be locked up where it can never hurt another person again. It shouldn’t even be here. Honestly, Albus, how you could trust a werewolf of all creatures to belong to your army? It’s not right. And it’s not natural.”

Remus backed up, feeling each word ram into him like a physical hit. His back found the wall and he attempted to keep his breathing even. And then something happened that Remus didn’t expect. Suddenly, a people were standing, reaching for their wands. Fabian, Gideon, Marlene, Benjy, even Sturgis were standing against Elphias, looks of anger over their faces. Lily was making her way toward Remus and James and Sirius looked so tense it seemed like it would only take a poke for either of them to combust.

“You better watch yourself, old man.” Sirius growled.

“You have no right to say anything about him.” James continued.

Elphias’ eyebrows raised in surprise. “Don’t I? I know what its kind is capable of. I have witnessed the mayhem and destruction with my own eyes. Albus may believe he can keep it on a leash, but you can’t control a werewolf. We’re all in danger just being in the same room as that creature.”

“That “creature” is our friend, you miserable old coot. You best watch what you say about him in this house or we may just have to ask you to leave.” Gideon said, glaring.

Fabian scoffed. “I won’t even ask. There are ways to get you out of here that aren’t quite as polite as asking.”

Everyone stood, eying each other. Elphias hadn’t risen from his chair, nor had Albus or Moody. Moody was rolling his eyes, mumbling about telling him so, and Albus had a nonplussed smile on his face. Lily had her arm around Remus’ waist and was rubbing a hand reassuringly over his arm, but Remus was still shaking. He couldn’t stop.

“My dear Elphias,” Albus said in his usual calm voice. “I believe you have picked on the wrong werewolf. I think it may be best if you keep your unwanted opinions to yourself. Mr. Lupin is perfectly capable of keeping himself in control and I would trust him with my life or the lives of anyone else here. And I’m sure they would agree with me. If you cannot handle having him here, then I am afraid it is you who must go, not he. And that would be a terrible, terrible shame.”

Elphias glared at his old friend, his internal thoughts clearly conflicting him. Finally, he raised his hands in surrender. “Very well, Albus, I’ll keep my thoughts to myself. But don’t expect me to be happy about it.”

Albus laughed lightly. “Oh, Elphias, I don’t expect you to be happy about anything. Now, everyone, if you would all lower your wands and retake your seats, we have important matters to discuss. And Mr. Black, please take Mr. lupin out of the room for a moment, I believe he needs to regain his composure.” Sirius nodded stiffly, turned and grabbed Remus’ hand before pulling him down the hallway to one of the guest rooms. He shut the door behind them.

Remus went and took a seat on the bed, trying to breath evenly and get his hands to stop shaking. Sirius began pacing and seething under his breath. Remus followed the movement with his eyes.

After a bit, Sirius turned to him. “Was he the reason you were shaking?” Remus nodded. “How? What was he doing to you?” a shrug was the reply. “C’mon, Moony. What happened?”

“He didn’t do anything to me, Pads. I just heard him talking to Moody before the meeting. Much of the same stuff he was saying just then. And he was glaring, and I just… It was too much to handle.”

Sirius studied him for a second, his eyes narrowed. “That can’t be it.”

Another shrug from Remus. His boyfriend sighed in frustration. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to get the answer out of him when feeling this angry, Sirius trying to calm down for a second and then went and took a seat beside him, intertwining their fingers. “Remus, what really happened?”

A shuddering breath left Remus’ lungs, but he felt comfort from the boy that was holding his hand. “I just… All of a sudden, I was ten years old again, feeling unwanted, dangerous, and ugly. It felt like I was back at the beginning, where everywhere I went I had to look over my shoulder to make sure no one with pitchforks and torches were following me. It felt like I didn’t belong somewhere I had always felt safe. I always feel safe with the Order. And all of a sudden, I didn’t. And I panicked. I’m sorry, it was an overreaction.”

Sirius was staring at Remus wide eyes, horrified at confession. He hated that Remus didn’t feel safe in the world he lived in and he hated that other people and their awful words held such influence over Remus’ thoughts of himself.

“Well,” Sirius finally said quietly. “I’m glad you told me. I’m just not sure how to fix it.” Remus nodded. “You do belong here, Moony. You belong here and you’re always safe with us. With me, and James and Lily and all of the people in there.” Another nod. “I’m not sure how to make this better or how to convince you that it’s true.”

Remus turned at smiled at him. “I know it’s true. You all just proved it. The moment you all stood up, willing to fight for me against someone we call friend made me realize that there is nowhere else on this earth that I would find people like that. I do belong here. I know that. I’m safe when I’m with you.”

“Good.” Sirius said, letting out a breath. “But, next time you should really figure out how to stand up for yourself before you get half of the Order up in arms, wands ablazing.” they both let out a laugh before Sirius took Remus’ face in his hands and brought their lips together. They kissed for a bit, wrapped up in each other, before Sirius pulled back.

“Are you feeling okay now?” he asked, quiet. His boyfriend nodded. “Lovely. Because we have a meeting to go to.” He stood, taking Remus’ hand in his again before the two of them headed back toward the meeting in the other room.

This story was requested by the wonderful, beautiful, amazing @thethingsofthethings who just keeps giving me these wonderful ideas!!! I freaking love them and I love writing them! I hope this story is kind of what you wanted!! thank you again for the love and the ideas. You’re amazing!

[bubble-tea-bunny]

addiction

[roman godfrey x reader]

author’s note: started watching hemlock grove and wanted to write something for roman but holy hell it was so difficult. idk why i was having so much trouble. i almost gave up on this idea but was adamant about making it work so i hope y’all like this and my struggle ends up being worth it lol

word count: 1,772

When Roman’s staring at you through a haze of cigarette smoke, it’s easy to believe for a moment that you’re only a ghost, a fleeting figure formed from curling wisps of nicotine vapors. The white dress you wear makes him think you truly are something other than human, and maybe that’s why he’d always been so drawn to you. The first time he’d ever seen you he was overwhelmed with the urge to know you, to have you for himself. It was magnetic, almost, a sort of tug in the pit of his stomach, and at first he couldn’t quite place what it meant but then suddenly he’d been yearning to get closer, to feel the heat of your skin against his. And maybe that’s typical for someone like him—set his sights on a pretty girl, draw them in with dark eyes and darker intentions, mark them as his conquest for the day or the week or whatever-the-fuck have you. But for reasons he can’t quite place his interest in you had gone beyond the surface. You’d gotten beneath his skin, flooded his veins like some sort of fucking drug he can’t put down. He was looking for a fix of a stimulant he hadn’t ever felt yet and whenever he caught your eyes from across a room he wondered if you knew what you were doing to him.

You’d even followed him into sleep, all that he sees when he’s dreaming, and he wakes up in the middle of the night, staring at the ceiling and coming to the conclusion that you’re an obsession of the worst kind. His fingers twitch, curling tightly into the blankets because he can’t curl them in your hair, can’t tug at it from the roots to expose your neck so he has the space to run his lips along the smooth column. He closes his eyes and grits his teeth and he swears he can almost smell you, smell your blood, and he’s hungering for a taste, imagining what it’d feel like to take a knife and slice you open, just a tiny bit, until there’s a rush of liquid crimson he can lick up, tongue flat against your skin, and he’s tasting copper and salt and your chest is heaving and you’re biting your lip trying to keep down moans but failing miserably. But he wants you to be loud, wants each and every one of your labored breaths to fog up the windows of the Jaguar.

He’s stalking his prey but you’re not making it easy, not so eager to give in to his advances. He supposes that’s the beauty of a challenge. But as the days pass his cravings grow and he’s suffering withdrawals from a drug that hadn’t actually entered his system at all. He’s growing irritable because he’s Roman Godfrey and he always gets what he wants, when he wants it, except for when he doesn’t. When he’s leaning against the passenger-side of his car, waiting for Peter, you walk past him, and he catches a whiff of your strawberry shampoo. You glance at him with an amiable smile but in such close proximity he can see the mischief dancing in your gaze, and his jaw clenches because he knows now he is not stalking prey, but a fellow predator. You’re vying for the spot at the top of the chain and the darkness in your eyes matches his.

Calling you something more than human hadn’t been just a poetic notion. Well, it had been at first, but then Peter reveals his suspicions about you and Roman’s annoyed about why he hadn’t brought it up sooner, and Peter holds his hands up in defense as he explains he just didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Roman decides he’ll bring this up in the midst of his next conversation with you, because Peter’s senses about these things are never wrong. He’s not very subtle about addressing your full-moon activities, but he doesn’t actually drop the buzz word. Yet you understand perfectly what he’s talking about and he knows he has you. You’re nonplussed about the fact he knows your secret, but it’s likely because you sensed Peter was the same as you, and the two of them are friends. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before it got brought up. Roman can’t fight the smirk because he knows he’s on the winning end. This gave him the edge.

He asks if he can watch, no other context given, but you get what he means, and it’s your turn to smirk.

“Quite the voyeur, aren’t you?” you tease.

Roman shrugs. “Is that a yes?”

It is a yes. The full moon this month is on a Friday and he’s at your house. You live on the outskirts of town too, so there’s no worry of anyone else hearing or seeing you. As the two of you wait in your backyard for the moon to take its place in the center of the sky, he lights a cigarette and you’re walking in circles around him, bare feet sifting over the grass, occasionally glancing his way, as if waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on your target.

“Do you watch Peter transform?” you inquire.

Roman breathes out smoke and you note how much he looks like a dragon when he does that. The vapors float above his head before being carried away by the wind. “I did once.”

“What makes you think my transformation would be any different?”

It takes the Godfrey boy a moment to think about this, then he sighs and shrugs. “I don’t.”

The blunt statement makes you smile a little. You don’t need to keep your gaze on the sky to know the moon is exactly in the middle because heat pools in your belly, and you’re absolutely burning and your knees buckle. Roman’s eyes are glued to you when you fall to the ground, leaned forward and hands braced in front of you. Your eyes are squeezed shut but you’re doing your best to bite back noises, and even from this distance he can see your stomach tensing from pain. But then you whimper and squeeze your thighs together and his eyes widen because you’re not in pain. Far from it.

Your fingers curl into the dirt and the grass and you’re panting, arousal only growing with every second. With furrowed brows and little gasps leaving your mouth, you look at Roman, and he swallows hard at the haziness in your stare. A small growl leaves your lips, wolf starting to manifest, and you moan once more, loudly, and while it could be taken as a noise of pain at first, he knows very well it’s not that sort of moan. The transformation which follows is slow and mirrors Peter’s exactly, and Roman is enraptured completely as he watches as your wolf makes itself known, all sharp canines and glowing eyes and insatiable bloodlust. You stand there observing each other in silence for a few moments, before you run away, getting lost in the woods, off to find an unlucky animal to feed on.

Roman remains where he is, acutely aware that he is very, very hard. He’d been honest when he said he wasn’t expecting your transformation to be different from Peter’s, but even if he did, Christ, he wouldn’t have expected it to be like that. You’d gotten off without being touched. Transforming made you horny as fuck and now he’s annoyed because his erection is straining against his pants but it’s not like you’d be home anytime soon to help take care of it. So he jacks himself off in your bathroom, holding back groans and shutting his eyes as he thinks about the downright depraved noises you’d made, thinks about the way you’d squirmed. When he’s laying on your bed later and it’s half an hour past midnight, he laughs a little to himself as he thinks about your voyeurism comment from the other day.

You’re fast asleep next to him in the bed come morning, clad in a tank top and panties. He’d been stretched out on his back and you’re on your side, facing away from him, [hair color] hair splayed out on your pillow. At seeing you there, Roman quickly blinks away the remainder of sleep from his eyes and props himself up on his elbow to look at you better. You’re so close to him now, and he can feel the heat emitting from you in waves. His fingers twitch and he lifts a hand to set it gently on your arm, stroking up and down gently. You stir a little bit but don’t wake, so he lowers his lips to the curve of your neck, kissing you softly, his hair falling forward and brushing along the skin.

This finally wakes you up, and you sigh lightly at the sensation. Roman lifts his head so you can lay on your back and look at him properly. You grace him with a sleepy smile, eyes squinting from the light pouring into the room.

“Liked what you saw?” you ask quietly. Even when not fully awake, your voice is tinged with playfulness.

Roman smirks and goes back to trailing kisses along your neck and collarbone, and you bite your lip. “You left me with an awfully painful hard on, you know,” he murmurs.

You chuckle. “I’m sure you managed.”

“Be that as it may, I think you owe me for leaving me all high and dry.” He nips at the junction between your neck and shoulder. The laugh you’d let out at his comment is cut off as you gasp at the bite, which actually did hurt, but you’re a big girl and you can take it. You’re a werewolf. You’ve suffered nastier.  

Suddenly you shove him back onto the bed so you can straddle him, legs on either side of him as you grind your crotch against his. You brace your hands on his chest as his own go straight to your hips, squeezing and guiding you back and forth over his dick.

“I did have brunch plans with a friend…” you trail off, smiling slyly. It’s not true, but you can’t help but tease.

The growl that leaves Roman’s lips is wolfish in its own right. “You’re not leaving this goddamn bed at all today.”

And you don’t. Roman’s getting his fill of a drug he’s long since been aching for, of a drug he’d been addicted to before he even got a taste, and he plans to take his sweet fucking time.