How had I not figured it out before?!

Hybrid eyes stared at me.

Originally I'd thought that it was maybe a Crescent. That I smelled like their alpha so they were protecting me out of instinct.

I didn't even clock it when Elijah said Klaus had been mysteriously disappearing every night, coincidentally the same time period that the wolf would show up.

In hindsight it made perfect sense that he came to protect me. I bore his mark, we were true mates, and no matter how long I stayed in Jackson's cabin, I still had his faint scent.

The wolf was whimpering. Odd, normally blood didn't transfer between forms. Which was nice.

Klaus fought in both human and wolf form.

And he was hurt in both.

I got down on my knees and let him approach me, biting into my wrist, and letting it bleed.

The wolf jumped down, limping over. Predictably, he licked my wound, Gods, it stung. Always did. Once he was done, he laid his head in my lap.

Little fucker.

It was actually kind of sweet how he'd always come find me on instinct.

I bit my other wrist, getting it to bleed, and let him lick it. He needed to heal, both forms. Eventually those eyes turned on me, and when I moved to bite my arm, he put his head in the way.

Again, and again.

Alright. I got up, moving toward the door. He followed.

"Whats with the wolf?" Hayley eyed him as soon as she saw us.

Camille stopped.

"I have to get him blood." I explained as I descended the stairs. The wolf didn't seem to have much of a limp anymore. "It's Klaus."

"That's Klaus?" Hayley gaped. "Jackson said there was a white wolf that sometimes roamed the bayou, but I had no idea it was him."

"I don't think he even knows. He only transitioned after he was unconscious." Wait. I paused. "Though maybe he does. Every night while I was in the bayou, he would come protect me, but he'd always leave before dawn, which is usually when Klaus wakes up. If he didn't return to his bed... he probably figured it out."

"Why does he need blood?"

"Both of his forms are injured and he'd only let me give him mine until he figured out I was technically hurting myself in the process." Klaus' wolf came up under my hand. "So to the blood fridge we go."

"I didn't know that wolves drank that." Camille sat back.

"Half vampire ones do. I don't think we prefer it in our wolf forms, but I also think they can see the need."

"Wolves aren't technically aware in the way we are as humans. All being a hybrid does is strengthen the connection between wolf and human forms, that way it's easier to transform but wolves are animals and they think like animals." Hayley beat me to the punch. "I did a lot of research when I got turned, mostly experimentation."

Wasn't the same as being a hybrid for years.

"On that note, I'm going to find some blood. I don't know if Klaus will turn back if he's not fully healed."

"And we have to get back to this mess." Hayley gestured to the salty glue she was getting up with a paint scraper.

"Sorry." I winced.

"Don't be, you were protecting us." Camille assured. "And you're helping Klaus now. We got this. Maybe you could lay down with him once he's better and you both can rest. It looks like he had a rough day and you did too."

"Yeah and when the kids wake up, Freya's here to help with that too."

Sneaky. I still didn't want to rest. "Wait, where'd everyone else go?"

"Davina went home, and the boys plus Rebekah went to go deal with something. I don't know what it was, they wouldn't say. A lot of hushed whispers about some guy named Michael."

"Mikael. They left to face their father." Hayley paled.

Interesting. So they knew too.

"I'll ask Freya to put up a boundary, you focus on getting Klaus healed, he's going to be one of our best protectors." She got to her feet, presumably rushing off to find Freya.

Camille looked like she was about to puke. "From what Klaus told me about him, he was a monster before he became a vampire, who hated Klaus more than anything else."

And he was here, in the city.