It has been said that all love begins and ends with she who gave us life.

A thousand years ago, my

mother turned us into monsters, yet still she claimed to love her children, even as she vowed to
destroy us. The noble Elijah, tormented by long buried, shameful secrets. Kol, the wily troublemaker,
out for no one but himself. Finn, the devoted acolyte, his love all too easily warped by our mother's
sick hate. Fierce Rebekah, willing to risk everything on the chance that she might one day find
happiness ...and me, the bastard child, my mother's greatest shame.

In the beginning, we were so naive.

Our mother had made us into beasts that fed on blood, but immortality was beyond our grasp,
compulsion a trick we had yet to learn. All we knew was a fear of being hunted. That and a terrible
hunger.

So we ran as a family and when we needed to as a family We fed.

We define ourselves by our family. From birth we share their names, entrust them to protect that
which we hold most dear. We value them above all others, and yet inevitably, we are forced apart.
Promises are made then left unkept. Children in particular turn their backs on those who raised them,
seeking lives of their own. The bond of family is not a bond forged by choice. In fact, some would see
family as a terrible burden.

Once upon a time, there was a wolf king who fought a war for the most precious treasure in all the
kingdom His beautiful, little Princess But victory came at a price Allies lost New enemies made And so
the wolf king stood alone.

Happily ever after it was not, but sometimes even the worst endings are not really endings at all. And
you should know, my littlest wolf, that, even when all seems burnt to ash, in our story, there is always
another chapter to be told.

Once upon a time, there was a majestic king, who lived with his noble brother in a colorful kingdom
where music and art were celebrated. The king did not foresee having a child, but he lived in an
enchanted land where all things were possible. In time, he was blessed with a beautiful baby daughter
for whom he wished only peace and happiness. Still, the king had demons who pursued him. There was
a ruthless beast who wanted to take the kingdom for her own. Armed with a pack of untamed creatures,
she drove the other magical beings from the land, and there was a wicked sorceress with enchanted
stones that weakened the king on every full moon. Seeing the shadow his enemies cast upon his home,
the king was driven to send his beloved princess away, convincing all who remained that she was
forever lost. The king, in his sorrow, turned away from the world. The castle closed its doors, and the
kingdom fell. Some say that the only light that shines in the castle illuminates the shadow of the once
mighty king in the room meant for his child, but as the ruthless beasts took rule over the falling king's
realm, little did they know that he and his brother would not rest until their enemies were vanquished
For they believed that one day they would heal their kingdom and bring their princess home so that she
might live happily ever after.

We are the demons lurking in shadows. We are the savage villains in fairy tales told to children. But not
for my child. Not for Hope. In her story, we are the knights in shining armor. Without you by my side I
dont think I can survive my own love for my daughter. I need you. I need you, brother.