"Claire" Megan calls out jogging towards her. Claire is spending the morning in the stables. It was early, very early but Claire could fall back asleep. She woke up feeling sick, just like the previous morning. She couldn't just lay in bed anymore, she needed to get moving. It seemed like the longer she was up and moving around the more the sickness and dizziness drifted away.

"Good morning" Claire greets smiling at her. "What can I do for you?" Megan opens the stall door. She grabs a brush and walks on the other side of the bay mare. She begins to leisurely brush the side of the horse but most of her attention is on Claire.

"Almost all of the hybrids have broken the bond" Megan mutters lowly knowing some of said hybrids were in the barn with them. Claire takes in the information and slowly nods.

"Do you have a number? Estimate?" Claire asks. Megan thinks about it for a moment.

"24 of the 30 I believe." Megan tells her. Claire nods again.

"How many of those are still loyal to Klaus?"

"Claire, Klaus forced us all to turn. Before you got on him about treating us fairly he used and took us for granted. He ripped us from our homes, sometimes even killing members of our families. The only ones loyal to Klaus are the ones who have no choice." Megan tells her.

"So the unsired follow Tyler" Claire assumes. Megan smiles at her and shakes her head. Claire frowns her eyebrows.

"Remember our last conversation?" Megan asks.

"Werewolves are loyal. We travel in packs and follow our Alpha. We crave leadership, a pack to belong in. Klaus is our alpha by the sire bond, we have to follow him but we choose to follow you. Klaus looks up to you, he listens to you and he loves you. You're our Luna, our alpha female, and to werewolves that's very sacred."

"It's not Klaus that we're loyal too, nor is it Tyler. We follow you. You and Klaus are together so we follow him as well but you, you're the one we're loyal too. Our Luna." Megan speaks breaking her from her thoughts.

"Megan, you don't have to be loyal to me. The ones that have broken the sire bond can leave. You have your free will. Go home, be with your family." Claire insists.

"The pack is our family, our Luna is our family." Megan stresses. "We'll return home if you want us to take some time to do it but we'll come back to you because that's what our instincts tell us to do. I know you don't understand but you're going to have to accept it." Megan tells her.

"Well, it will be entertaining to tell Klaus that his hybrids like me better" Claire mutters to herself. Megan grins softly. "But you'll follow Klaus as well?" She asks knowing it would annoy him, disappoint him if the hybrids just started to ignore him and not follow his orders.

"Yes but we'll follow you before him. If you two are in a disagreement you can trust us to back you up." Claire grins as she imagines Klaus's face when his beloved hybrids take her side, follow her orders. She didn't know if she should be enjoying the fantasy as much as she is.

"You said 24 of the 30 have broken the bond, why have the remaining 6 not chosen to do so?" Claire questions.

"Fear, uncertainty." Megan shrugs. Claire sighs but nods.

"Of the 24, are any loyal to Kla-... to me?" Claire asks. Megan grins slightly at her unease about the hybrids being loyal to her. Their way of life, their instincts differed from Claire making it hard for the Siphoner to understand why they are loyal to her.

"12."

"And the ones loyal to Tyler, there's no chance on bringing them back?" Claire asks.

"For some, their loyalty to Tyler is as great as their hatred to Klaus. Those I doubt will ever follow you. However, there are some that are loyal to Tyler because their scared of Klaus and doubt your ability to protect them. Those, I believe, you can turn." Megan says. Claire nods slowly.

"And have you broken the bond?" She asks. Megan nods giving her a small smile.

"And here I am." Megan tells her.

"And I thank you" Claire tells her sincerely. "I would be lost without you."

"Whatever I can do to help." Megan smiles at her. "And just so you know, Tyler believes I'm loyal to him."

"Should you be talking to me in the open?" Claire asks.

"Don't worry, if anyone tells Tyler that I've been talking to you he'll think I'm trying to convince you to let him be in Madelyn's life. I volunteered to talk to you." She tells her. Claire looks at her skeptically. "Don't worry, I've talked to a few others, we're keeping a close yet distant eye on Madelyn. I have a feeling Tyler and Hayley are up to no good."

"You're not the only one" Claire mutters with hints of unease. "I hate to ask you to do something for me but-"

"Anything" Megan said. "What do you need?"

"It's going to take some time and it needs to stay between us." Megan nods shifting on her feet. "I want a list of names of all the Hybrids. The sired, the unsired, the loyal, the unloyal, all of them. With the names I want information on each of them. I want to know about their immediate families. Parents, siblings, anybody they were close too. If they have any deceased family members due to Klaus's actions, I want that noted as well. Along with all that I want to know of their living arrangements, debts, schooling, everything of that sort. Make a list and make it detailed. When you have it done, give it straight to me."

"Yes ma'am" Megan nods smiling at her. "I'll get right on it." Megan tosses the brush she was holding back in the brush bag before slipping past the stall door. "Claire" Claire looks at her. "Be careful. I don't know what Tyler and Hayley are planning but it's nothing good. Whatever it is you can bet it will have to do with you, Klaus, and Madelyn. I have those loyal to you keeping a careful eye on Madelyn but that means that-"

"There's not much attention on me and Klaus. I'll be alright, Megan. Madelyn is the most important. I can handle myself and Klaus, just help me keep Madelyn safe."

"Madelyn will be safe, don't worry." Megan assures her. Claire smiles and nods.

"Thank you" She whispers. Megan nods and leaves completely. Claire returns her attention to the mare but not for long.

"So the hybrids are breaking the bond?" Claire jumps and turns her head seeing Henrik leaning against the stall door, his arms crossed.

"How much-"

"Pretty much all of it." Henrik shrugs. "I was in the next stall over." Claire nods slowly not knowing how to react. "And from what it seems, you've known about this for a while. Known about the potential danger the hybrids bring. Yet you didn't tell anybody."

"It hasn't become a problem yet. Right now all their doing is breaking the bond. I think they should." She shrugs. "I love Klaus but I will not condone him taking away free will." She tells him.

"And that's fine, except for the fact that 12 of those hybrids hate Klaus and what's the one most effective way to get to him?" He asks giving her a pointed look.

"I'm fine" She tells him. "Yes we have 12 hybrids to worry about but we also have 18 that are on our side. Besides I'm never outside of ear shot of any of you. Even then, I'm not completely helpless. I would just need to get my hands on one of them, get my magic and their toast." She shrugs.

"You need to take your safety more seriously" He snapped. "Need I remind you what happened the night before you met Elijah?" He asks tilting his head. "You tried to get your hands on Trevor and granted you did but guess what happened? He still over powered you and you almost died." He snapped.

"I'm better than I was then" Claire snapped in return. "I'm faster, I'm stronger, I understand my magic more. I know my limitations."

"Oh, so you think you can take on 12 hybrids?" He asks.

"I highly doubt that all 12 hybrids are going to try and get the jump on me. They wouldn't survive because you and your brothers would rip them apart seconds later." Claire assures him.

"It's the seconds that it takes us to get to you that worry me." Henrik said walking up to her. "And I know that situation is unlikely but it's still a possibility." He says pulling her into his arms. "You should have told us the moment you found out so we could do something."

"I'm sorry" She whispers rubbing his chest. "But I didn't see any danger" She tells him. He sighs and presses his lips on her forehead. "Madelyn was always protected and I was always with at least one of you." She mutters. He hugs her tightly.

"I just can't bare the thought of you in danger, in pain. I've spent so much time on the Other Side completely helpless and I don't want to feel like that again... but when you keep stuff like this from me, from us, I get that same helpless feeling." Claire nuzzles her head into his chest.

"I'm sorry" She whispers. "I won't keep anything from you, I promise." She whispers. He sighs and kisses the top of her head.

"It's alright." He assures her. "I love you, I just want you safe."

"I am. I am safe"She said pulling her head back to look at him. She cups the sides of her face.

"We have to tell the others."

"Please not yet" She whispers to him. He gives her a look.

"They need- They deserve to know."

"If Klaus finds out right now I might not be able to stop him from killing the hybrids. There's still a chance for me to save them. And if we move now Tyler and Hayley will spook which will make them dangerous, unpredictable. Right now, with Megan, we have the advantage. Let them continue to think we know nothing, at least for now." Claire explains. "In the mean time I'll try and get more of the hybrids on our side. That'll weaken Tyler and Hayley's plan while saving their lives. If things get too out of hand, I'll tell the rest of them." She assures him. He sighs looking very reluctantly. "Please" She begs.

"I'll keep your little secret for two weeks." He bargains. "That should give you enough time to do what you need to do. You can try and figure out what Tyler and Hayley is up to while getting hybrids on our side."

"Agreed" She says instantly.

"I'm not finished." Henrik said. Claire tilts her head. "I'm a strong witch but I'm not comfortable being the only one knowing about the potential threat, the only one keeping an eye out for danger. The only one knowing the situation."

"I told you, I'm not telling Klaus-"

"I understand that" He says silencing her. "But one or two of my brothers, not Klaus but one of the others. Please." He begs her.

"Finn" Claire said. "I trust him not to go talking about the situation. I know he won't tell Klaus or give any hints. He'll trust me to make the decisions and not intervene" She says mainly to herself.

"Fine, Finn" He nods. "Two weeks and you tell Finn."

"Deal" She smiles kissing him. "Thank you for letting me do this." She whispers pressing her forehead against his.

"I couldn't stop you if I tried" He smiles at her. She grins and gently pulls him into a kiss. His grip around her tightens. "I love you and I just want you safe" He whispers.

"I understand" She assures him. "I need you to trust me on this."

"I do" He nods kissing her forehead. "Now, are you out here just to spend time with the horses or would you like to join me for a ride?" He asks grinning at her.

"I'd love to go for a ride" She said grinning back.

"Excellent" He nods and slips out of the stall. The two of them tack up their chosen horses. They ride side by side each other through the forest. While Claire enjoyed the silence and simply being with Henrik, she grew slightly bored.

"Bet you can't catch me" Claire said suddenly breaking the silence. Before Henrik could process what she had said Claire turned her mare into the woods off the trail. Grinning, Henrik turns his gelding and launches after her.

Claire laughs and steers her mare through the woods. She sores over fallen logs, weaves around trees and glides through the grass. Every few moments she would spare a glance behind her. Henrik wasn't too far behind and slowly catching up.

"Come on Roxy, show him what it means to fly" She urges knowing fully well that the odds of the horse actually understanding her was slim, yet it seemed to her that Roxy sped after she finished her sentence. "That's a girl" She pats her large neck.

Soon Claire pulls Roxy to a quick stop. She smiles as she recognized the place they have arrived too. A few moments later, Henrik pulls up beside her.

"The Falls" Henrik notes.

"I didn't think we were that far out" Claire mutters softly. They had managed to ride around town, literally.

"We should head back" Henrik said knowing that his brothers didn't know where Claire is.

"Relax, they'll be fine. They can feel me through the bond." Claire assures him. "Besides, it's been a while since I've swam."

"Claire it's almost December. That water is freezing" Henrik warns her.

"What? Are you chicken?" She teases. He gives her a look but a smile slowly breaks onto his face. She grins mischievously. They both dismount and tie their horses to a nearby tree. They both began to take their clothes off, sneaking glances at each other while they do so.

"Maybe we should go lower, it's a long way-" Before Henrik could finish, Claire launches herself off the cliff releasing an adrenaline induced holler. "Claire!" Henrik snapped at her recklessness. He watches her body slam into the water.

"You coming or not, chicken shit?!!" Henrik scoffs and laughs.

"She's gonna be the death of me, I swear" He mutters to himself before jumping off the cliff before he could talk himself out of it. He felt as if his heart jumped into his throat as his body falls through the air and into the water.

When he comes back up he grins where he thought Claire had been. He frowns slightly not seeing her. He turns around and swims to a different area.

"Claire?" He asks. "Claire?" He knew she was around here somewhere. "Clair-" He went to ask again but then found himself submerged in water by two small hands pushing on his shoulders.

Claire laughs but then ends up in the water as Henrik yanks on her ankles. The two of them grin at each other before swimming to the surface.

"This water is bloody freezing." Henrik told her.

"Well, let me warm you up then." She swims closer to him. He grins and pulls her close when she's within range. "I love you" She whispers to him.

"What's wrong?" He whispers. He loves her and knows she loves him but the way she said it, it told him something was wrong.

"I feel like something terrible is going to happen" She whispers to him. "I don't know what it is but it's going to be bad. I can't stop thinking about all the things that can go wrong. It's like we're in a stage of fragile peace and something, someone is about to take that fragile peace and just snap it." She whispers frantically.

"I don't know what's going to happen in the future but no matter what it is, no matter how bad it gets, just remember that you're not alone. You have support. You have people who love you, a daughter who loves you. Whatever happens, we'll all face it together." She smiles and slowly nods. "And I love you too" He kisses her nose smirking as her face scrunches up.

"Want to get out of this freezing water?" Claire asks giving him a grin.

"I'd appreciate it before the both of you catch a cold." Claire and Henrik slowly turn their head towards the bank seeing Elijah standing there trying to look stern, which is all Henrik saw, but Claire could see the amusement in his eyes.

"Busted" Claire sang under her breath. Henrik struggles not to crack a smile as the two of them approach Elijah. He hands Henrik a towel and personally wraps the second towel around Claire. She smiles up at him.

"Thank you" She mutters. He nods and kisses her forehead.

"Come on, lets get you both home and in warmer clothes." Elijah ushers them back to the horses. Elijah mounts on Claire's mare behind her. She smirks as he wraps his arms around her as she turns her mare into the direction to go home.