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║ Chapter 45 – The Bond Goes Dark 🐺🔥🖤 ║
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Hope's POV
Hope tried to keep her breathing steady after Nova left.
The dorm felt temporarily quieter without her.
The twins would be there later.
Their cribs were ready.
Their blankets folded.
Their magic layered in protection.
Hope needed something to do with her hands.
So she painted.
The canvas sat on the desk by the window. Soft afternoon light filtered in as she dipped her brush into white paint, dragging careful strokes across the surface. A forest scene—instinctive. Two wolves beneath towering trees.
Her wolf.
Nova's wolf.
Lydia, Josie, Penelope, and Lizzie sat cross‑legged nearby, painting their nails in various shades of pink and dark red.
Isaac and MG were on the floor reading a comic book, arguing over which superhero would win in a fight.
Stiles, Ethan, and Aiden were loudly battling each other in a video game.
"Stiles, you're literally button‑mashing," Ethan complained.
"It's called strategy," Stiles shot back.
"That's not strategy," Aiden muttered. "That's chaos."
Lizzie waved her hand dramatically so her nails could dry. "If anyone bumps me, I will scream."
Penelope smirked. "You scream anyway."
Hope smiled faintly, brush gliding over canvas.
Everything felt normal.
Almost peaceful.
Thirty minutes passed.
And then—
The bond shifted.
Hope's brush paused mid‑stroke.
At first it was subtle.
A flicker.
Nova's emotions—bright, nervous excitement—twisted.
Irritation.
Anger.
Unease.
Hope straightened slowly.
Fear.
A spike of it.
Her wolf stirred.
"What?" Lydia asked softly, immediately noticing Hope go still.
Hope didn't answer.
The bond flared again—stronger this time.
Shock.
Pain.
Something chemical.
Then—
Allison.
The name crashed into her like a blade.
Hope shot to her feet so fast her chair toppled backward.
Everyone froze.
They had seen that look before.
The hospital hallway.
The premature labor.
The blood.
Fear and fury at the same time.
"Hope?" Josie whispered.
Stiles dropped the controller. "What happened?"
Hope's voice came out low and shaking with rage. "Nova."
Malia was already standing. "What about her?"
Hope's eyes were wild now, glowing faintly gold. "Her emotions changed. Fast. Anger. Fear. Then pain. Wolfsbane."
A collective growl rippled through the Beacon Hills pack.
"And then," Hope swallowed hard, "one word came through the bond."
"What word?" Lydia demanded.
Hope's jaw tightened. "Allison."
The room erupted.
Malia swore loudly.
Stiles grabbed his phone. "I'm calling Derek."
Isaac was already dialing. "Peter needs to know."
"Call Melissa," Lydia ordered. "And Sheriff Stilinski."
Ethan and Aiden exchanged dark looks. "We'll track."
Hope paced like a caged predator, her wolf pressing against her ribs, snarling for blood.
"She went dark," Hope whispered hoarsely. "The bond went dark."
Lizzie moved to her side. "That doesn't mean she's gone."
Josie nodded. "It could mean unconscious. Or magically suppressed."
Penelope stepped away from the group, already pulling out her phone. "I'm calling Klaus."
Hope didn't even argue.
Her hands were shaking.
"Hope," Lydia said firmly, stepping in front of her. "Look at me."
Hope's glowing golden werewolf eyes snapped up.
"We will find her," Lydia said calmly. "Like we always do."
Hope's wolf snarled inside her.
"She was afraid," Hope breathed. "I felt it."
Malia's voice was deadly quiet. "Allison is dead."
Stiles glanced up from his call. "Derek's on his way. Peter too."
"Melissa and Sheriff Stilinski are back home in Beacon Hills, looping in their contacts in Mystic Falls," Isaac added.
Stiles pressed his phone tighter to his ear. "Yeah. Yeah, I know it's out of jurisdiction, Dad— I don't care. She's family."
A pause.
Then Stiles straightened slightly.
"He's going full sheriff mode," he reported.
On the other end of the line, Noah Stilinski's voice had gone cold and professional—the tone that meant paperwork would be buried, favors would be called in, and lines would be crossed if necessary.
"Cross-check traffic cams. Toll booths. Gas stations. Any vehicle leaving Mystic Falls within the last hour," Stiles relayed. "He's contacting the Mystic Falls Sheriff directly. Says he wants patrol units notified discreetly."
Josie snapped her fingers suddenly. "Wait—Matt Donovan. He's my uncle. He's the Sheriff in Mystic Falls." She hurried over and rattled off the number. "Have Sheriff Stilinski call him directly. If anyone can quietly move patrol units without tipping off the wrong people, it's Uncle Matt."
Isaac nodded. "That's good."
"Dad said if Allison Argent is involved," Stiles continued, voice hardening, "she's officially a person of interest."
Penelope stepped back into the room. "Klaus is mobilizing everyone. Elijah, Kol, Marcel—they're moving." She paused, then added dryly, "Also, Klaus is... more murdery than usual. Which is impressive. I just learned at least six new curse words in three different languages." She added, more seriously, "Hayley and your aunts are heading to the hospital to guard the twins—just in case Allison decides to go after them."
Her eyes flicked to Hope. "And he said to tell you that he's with you. Whatever you decide to do next."
Hope dragged a hand through her hair.
"She reached for me," she whispered. "She tried."
Josie's voice softened. "Then she's fighting."
That was all Hope needed.
Her fear hardened into something lethal.
"Find her car," Hope ordered. "Track her phone. Every camera in Mystic Falls."
Lydia nodded sharply. "Already working on it."
Malia's eyes flashed. "I'll scent the town."
Hope inhaled once.
Slow.
Deadly.
Malia stepped forward, jaw tight. "Nova isn't just our alpha," she said, voice rough with emotion. "She's our friend. She's family. She's always there when any of us need someone. Every single time."
The room shifted at that.
Isaac's jaw clenched. "She was there when I had nightmares."
Stiles swallowed hard. "She stayed with me after the Nogitsune. Didn't leave."
Lydia's voice was steady but fierce. "She sat with me when I thought I was losing my mind. She didn't treat me like I was broken."
Ethan nodded once. "She gave us a place when we didn't have one."
Aiden's expression darkened. "Nobody touches her."
MG looked up from where he stood, comic forgotten. "She's one of the good ones."
Even Lizzie, usually sarcastic, spoke quietly. "She showed up for all of us. Over and over, which as she was pregnant at the time wasn't the best idea."
Hope stood in the center of it, hearing every word.
Not just her mate.
Not just the mother of her children.
Their alpha.
Their friend.
Their family.
And the room hummed with the same unspoken vow:
They were going to bring her home.
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Nova's POV
Pain dragged her back to consciousness.
Her head throbbed.
Her limbs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.
She tried to move.
Metal clinked.
Nova's eyes fluttered open.
Dim light.
Concrete walls.
No windows.
Basement.
Her wrists were chained to the arms of a chair.
The chains shimmered wet.
Liquid wolfsbane.
She hissed weakly as it burned against her skin.
She tried to shift.
Nothing.
Her body felt poisoned. Drained.
She reached for Hope.
The bond was faint.
Muted.
Like shouting underwater.
"Hope..." she rasped.
The door upstairs creaked open.
Footsteps descended slowly.
Nova forced her head up.
"Allison?" she croaked.
A shadow fell across her.
But it wasn't Allison.
A woman stepped into view.
Blonde.
Smirking.
Familiar in the worst possible way.
The woman crouched in front of Nova, gripping her chin and forcing her head up.
"Well," the woman drawled softly. "You've grown up."
Nova's breath hitched as she glared hatefully at the woman.
The woman glanced toward the ceiling. "This will be our little secret."
She leaned down and pressed her mouth against Nova's in a possessive, unwelcome kiss.
Nova growled, trying to jerk away, but the wolfsbane weakened her limbs.
The woman deepened the kiss first—forcing it, her grip tightening in Nova's hair as she tried to take more than she was given. Nova's stomach twisted in revulsion. Summoning what little strength she had, she bit down on the inserted tongue, not as hard as she would have liked, the wolfsbane dulling her power, but enough to make the woman hiss. The woman pulled back slowly, a smear of blood at the corner of her mouth, and instead of anger, her expression shifted into something darker. She dragged her tongue slowly across her own lips, savoring the taste with sadistic pleasure and glee, eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction.
Nova spat at her.
Her voice, when it came, was venom.
"KATE."
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What do you think? There was some foreshadowing about who might be secretly helping Allison. I honestly don't know anyone else would help Allison in this situation. Drama is ahead and it will be interesting to write what happens next. I am thinking that maybe there will be a Allison redemption arc.