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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄.
[𝟏𝟐]. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐘 𝐖𝐇𝐎
𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐓 𝐎𝐅
𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐎.
【 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄 】
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❛ 𝘍𝘜𝘊𝘒𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘕𝘒
𝘉𝘌𝘍𝘖𝘙𝘌 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘈𝘊𝘛 ❜
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𝐀 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐋 didn't get a single moment to himself to deal with the whole Josie lying scenario. Which in return, left the nephilim with an itch that just couldn't be scratched. It wasn't like Nathaniel was planning on retaliating, the nephilim wasn't that much of an ass. But not even getting to talk to Emma Tig about the ordeal had Nathaniel's whole body tense.

And to top it all off, the giant cherry on the cake was that Rafael Waithe had been MIA with Landon Kirby and MG the whole day on a full moon. If Nathaniel didn't already think Rafael was a dumbass, as well as his companions, then the nephilim surely did now.

Even more so when Hope, Alaric and Nathaniel came across an unconscious Rafael at the Salvatore School's gate.

"Raph!" Hope ran towards the wolf, shaking at Rafael's shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"MG... Landon," Rafael murmured.

Nathaniel eyes narrowed. "Alright, Tarzan, what the hell happened?"

Rafael looked up. "I can't remember."

Which opened another can of worms.

And the situation just seemed dire when Emma joined them, and Rafael couldn't seem to be taken out from his fog. The wolf seemed traumatized, and if it wasn't for that fact, Nathaniel would have gone full on detective on him.

"Lunar psychosis?" Alaric wondered.

And Hope instantly turned to look at their headmaster. "That's a thing?"

"Could be," Nathaniel shrugged. "Kid looks traumatized."

"Quit talking," Rafael huffed, his breathing picking up only slightly. "Making noise."

Then the growling came, which only served to make Nathaniel puff out his chest and stand before Alaric, Emma and Hope. The nephilim's stance was rigid, and there was no way Rafael was getting through the brick wall that was Nathaniel.

And just as the nephilim thought the wolf was about to back down, Rafael pounced. The wolf's chest inflated as he made a go at Nathaniel. But before Rafael could get anywhere, the nephilim's eyes turned gold and the wolf whimpered.

"Sit down," Nathaniel's voice left no room for discussion.

And Rafael was taking his seat.

"You shouldn't be doing that," Hope stated.

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "It's fine."

Hope shook her head. "No. And you know it's not."

"She's right," Alaric intervened. "I asked you to do it once, but if you keep commanding him it'll be a Jed thing all over again."

"Ric," Nathaniel warned.

"It's a serious thing, Nate," Hope added.

"I'm not bonding teen wolf, okay?" Nathaniel scoffed in return. "Jed and I were kids, it's different. Leave it alone."

Doctor Saltzman just gave Nathaniel a disapproving look and it matched Hope's almost identically. Nathaniel knew they were right, that there was a probability the nephilim could bond with the wolf and basically sire him if Nathaniel kept commanding him-

Even more so because it wasn't once or twice. The nephilim had been doing it since the wolf made his way into Salvatore and if Nathaniel went down that path, he'd cause another sire in Rafael like he had Jed.

And Nathaniel didn't want that.

"What's happening to me?" Rafael interrupted the silence. "I keep... losing time."

Emma sighed. "Lunar psychosis."

"Which means," Rafael added.

Nathaniel made a face. "Your mind is divided in two, normally, right now your wolf side and your human side are kind of meshed together. Which is why you can't recall memory like you should."

Emma nodded in addition. "It's very rare. It only happens after a premature reversion. So, something caused your body to shift back before the full moon was over."

"What kind of something?" Rafael asked, almost like the answer terrified him.

"Usually trauma," Hope butted in, her whole demeanor faltering. "Something bad happened."

Nathaniel instantly shook his head. "You don't know that. Chill out."

"Three of them left," Hope turned to Nathaniel, the worry prominent on her features. "And only one came back. Something bad happened."

And Nathaniel knew he shouldn't, because the situation at hand was serious. MG and Landon could possibly be hurt, but the nephilim couldn't help but feel a black pit in his heart when he remembered how Hope had promised to stop worrying about Landon, and how at the first chance, that promise was completely thrown out the window.

"Nate," Alaric brought in the nephilim's attention when he saw him deep in thought. "Why don't you and Hope check on the other wolves?"

Hope scoffed. "I'm worried about this one."

Alaric gave Hope a look. "Go."

And with a huff, Hope was slamming the door on her way out. Nathaniel followed suit not much after, only to find the tribrid standing just a few feet from the door whilst she held onto the wall. From behind Hope, Nathaniel noticed how she held onto her chest as her shoulders showed her heavy breathing.

Something in Nathaniel hurt.

So, the nephilim pulled Hope into a tight hug. God only knew how much the tribrid was hurting Nathaniel with her newfound worry for the guy she had promised to leave behind. But Nathaniel wasn't about to be an asshole and bring it up to her when they knew nothing about the situation.

That bridge would be crossed when they got to it.

"It'll be okay, Hope," Nathaniel reassured.

"What if something happened?"

Nathaniel sighed. "Something did happen. That's not in question. We just don't know what yet."

And Hope simply nodded.

There wasn't much talk after that.

The wolf supervision was done without a word, and Nathaniel could feel himself getting tense. Even the atmosphere around the Salvatore School was dim. It's like everyone knew things were out of order and something really, really bad was brewing somewhere.

They just didn't know what.

And then Nathaniel and Hope were permitted back into Rafael's room under Alaric's word. As the headmaster went looking for MG and Landon, Nathaniel was on Rafael duty with Emma, seeing as though no one seemed to trust a paranoid and chaotic Hope at the moment.

Not even an hour passed before Rafael was processing and rummaging around in his head for answers. And before they knew it, the wolf was hyperventilating while he yelled out Landon's name in a panic.

Wolf senses were heightened.

And Nathaniel could feel it.

"It's happening again," Emma shook.

Nathaniel's eyes narrowed. "Again?"

Emma nodded. "Hand me the syringe."

And when Nathaniel made a move for the syringes sprawled out on Rafael's bed, Hope intervened, holding onto the nephilim.

"Wait," Hope pleaded. "He's about to tell us what happened to Landon."

At the lack of mention of MG, Nathaniel's heart increased in pulse. Gold eyes and white veins made an appearance, but Hope didn't even notice them with her eyes glued to a distressed Rafael.

Nathaniel's patience was growing thin.

"And if he stays in this state any longer, it'll be that much harder to pull him out," Emma added.

"Landon! Run!"

Hope didn't move.

When Nathaniel tried to, the tribrid pushed the nephilim back.

Something in Nathaniel cracked then, and before Hope could make a move, the nephilim used telekinesis to slam the tribrid on the chair opposite Rafael before turning and kneeling before the wolf.

"Look at me," Nathaniel commanded for the fourth time, and Rafael, though didn't stop breathing heavily, looked deeply into the nephilim's eyes. "You're about to be poked with a syringe, but before you fall asleep, you have to tell me who's after Kirby."

And that's when Emma plunged the syringe into Rafael's neck.

Rafael's jaw clenched. "A monster."

In seconds, the wolf was out.

Then there was silence.

"Are you stupid?" Nathaniel hissed at Hope.

Hope's jaw clenched. "We needed to know-"

"The kid is going through a hard time as it is, and you're completely disregarding it for Wednesday, do you even grasp that?" Nathaniel asked in complete disbelief.

"Nate-"

"No," Nathaniel interrupted. "I swear, Hope, you pull another stunt like that and I don't care, you're locked up in the cellar until this is over. Fucking think before you act."

The disappointment left Hope speechless.

And Nathaniel didn't say a word to the tribrid until the next morning.

Which didn't leave the nephilim with any energy to follow another Hope Mikaelson idea. Which, as one would expect, the tribrid had. And not just any idea, a stupid one at that.

An elixir, one that Alaric apparently signed off on.

"I doubt Ric said yes," Nathaniel rolled his eyes.

Hope huffed in annoyance. "Call him. Doctor Saltzman said that I-"

"Doctor Saltzman, bless him, is not a medical doctor. Nor am I. And most definitely, neither are you," Emma stated. "The division between the two sides of Rafael's mind exists for a reason- to protect his sanity and to-"

"Emma please," Hope interrupted. "Obviously, something terrible happened. Landon and MG are out there somewhere."

Nathaniel snorted. "So, now MG's a priority?"

Hope narrowed her eyes on him. "Are you seriously turning their disappearance into something to get jealous over?"

Nathaniel huffed out his annoyance. "It's not a good idea, but fine, drive yourself into a damn brick wall. I don't care anymore."

Three things happened following that comment.

One, Emma refused to let Hope go on with her plan. Two, Rafael plunged a syringe into Emma's neck to go forward with Hope's plan. And three, Nathaniel wasn't about to stay around and watch them do something stupid, so the nephilim was out to help Alaric and Kaleb in the search for Landon and MG.

Which wasn't that long.

Considering once Nathaniel followed Alaric's coordinates, the nephilim came to find Doctor Saltzman and Kaleb nursing a wounded MG. And Landon Kirby was nowhere in sight.

"What happened?" Nathaniel instantly questioned.

"Werewolf bite," Alaric informed.

That seemed to calm Nathaniel some. "It's okay, we'll just get Hope here."

"If he was bitten last night, he's got maybe an hour," Alaric stated. "Two, tops."

"Okay," Nathaniel's worry grew. "So, we get Hope here now."

Which seemed easy in theory, but no one answered the phone back at Salvatore. And it only served to give MG more time to talk to Kaleb and tell him all the things his priest father said to him. And to be completely honest, it broke Nathaniel's heart.

And that heartache didn't take a backseat.

Not until Hope and Rafael were running towards them. That's when Nathaniel allowed himself to take a deep intake of breath.

It wasn't long before they were all caught up, but what surprised everyone immensely was when Rafael admitted to biting MG, but MG was the one apologizing. In return, Kaleb was on his feet ready to have at Rafael.

But Alaric was quicker.

And it all came back to Rafael in a flash.

"I remember now."

The rage seeping through Rafael was palpable. It surged through the air and stuck onto everyone, making everything tense. And Nathaniel hoped it wouldn't get worse, but as always, things got worse. Because when Rafael started to recount last nights events, a chill ran up everyone's spine.

Landon Kirby was dead.

And MG killed him.

"Hope," Nathaniel said under his breath.

And when eyes landed on Hope Mikaelson, the tribrid grabbed a hold of her stomach and bent forward, like the air was blown out of her. The last time Nathaniel ever saw her like that was when she lost her parents. And it hurt.

"I did it. It was me," MG finally said, his eyes teary accompanied by a bloody lip. "I'm the monster."

Alaric stood, facing Rafael. "When you finished your turn, you got loose and bit MG. Watching Landon die was too traumatic, too human, so you reverted back and scrambled your memory."

"I don't want to remember any of this," Rafael spat as he walked away.

Nathaniel couldn't even turn to look at Hope. Because at that moment the nephilim wasn't what she needed the most. It was Landon. And as much as that scarred him, Nathaniel couldn't do anything to give him back to her.

Maybe it was finally over.

"Rafael," Nathaniel spat. "Where are you going?"

Rafael turned to him. "Away from MG before I finish the job- Landon's body is out there. I'm going to find it."

And find it they did.

Nathaniel walked behind Rafael, taking care of the wolf incase the trauma decided on making him do a complete one-eighty. And the second the wolf's eyes landed on his dead friend, there was a whimper. It felt to close to home.

It hurt Nathaniel too.

"You need to calm down."

Nathaniel's hand landed on Rafael's shoulder, and before the nephilim knew it, the wolf had him in a tight hug, sniffing at his neck. There was a type of intimacy there. A warmth Nathaniel had only felt once with Jed, and that scared the nephilim.

Nathaniel had bonded another one.

And making that go away was a trip.

"He's gone."

Nathaniel nodded. "You'll be okay."

But the truth was, the nephilim wasn't sure.

It wasn't much longer when everyone else joined them and gathered around Landon's body, which, Nathaniel hadn't even taken a second to look at. The nephilim didn't feel it to be appropriate. And Nathaniel chalked it up to him not really bothering to care about it.

Even more so when Hope let herself fall in a pit of tears over Landon's corpse.

Then, there was a small pause when Rafael's eye landed on MG. And when the wolf tried to go for the vampire, Nathaniel instantly put himself as a barrier between them, his gold eyes shining prominently.

"Stand down."

And Rafael kneeled.

From the corner of his eye, Nathaniel could see the look of disapproval in Alaric's eyes.

The headmaster already knew.

"Uh," MG's voice instantly brought in everyone's attention. "Am I still hallucinating, or do you all see this?"

Landon was going up in smoke.

Rafael panicked. "Put him out, Hope."

And Hope tried, but it failed.

"It's not working."

That's when Landon's body completely burst into flames, leaving everyone surrounding him completely dumbfounded. So shocked, they stilled, looking over the flames, seeing Landon burn beneath them.

"What the hell is happening?"

But no answer was given.

In a matter of a minute, the flames were out and left behind was nothing but ashes.

And something clicked in Nathaniel.

"Please don't tell me he's-"

But the stone began to crack, and Nathaniel's thought was put to a halt. Surprised faces replaced despaired ones and the theory roaming around in Nathaniel's head was completely proven to him when Landon was on his feet. Breathing.

"What's going on?" Landon asked.

Alaric half smiled. "You ever heard of the legend of the Phoenix?"

Nathaniel couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"This is so going to his head."

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unedited.
okay, so, lot's of things to unpack.

first off, i think is the first and only chapter that will be having soley a part one because this chapter was more mg/landon centered.

and anyway, now nate knows landon's not human so that's a plus. it changes the dinamic.

also, how bonding works: it's like a sire bond with vamps but it's mainly between nate (who's
a nephilim as we all know) and wolves. when nate makes commands, he's considered alpha in their eyes and if nate makes enough of them it creates a bond. it happened first with jed and now it's happening with rafael so yeah.