Author's Note: I wanted to know what was going through Rafael's mind as Hope was consumed by Malivore. Now you all know, too. Spoilers for S1E15.

I have Rafael still humanly conscious in his wolf form based on the similar side effect he experiences in his human form from the potion Hope had him drink. This is why he A) didn't maul those TRIAD soldiers to death and B) didn't attack any vampires. Since his prolonged exposure to his wolf form is inevitable at this point, I feel like it will ultimately help cure the side effects soon, but that might not be a good thing, either.

I have the ring morph into a cuff when he turns wolf, because the object cannot just disappear, and it's magic so... yeah.

Dedication: Angel! My partner in crime and comrade in arms in the name of Hope x Rafael! (Proper Ship name to come.)

Word Count: (Per Google Docs) 1,010

Rafael turned the ring Hope gave him between his fingers, taking in its shape, design, and markings while lost in thought. It had her initials engraved on the back, and he let out a sigh as he lightly touched them. He knew it was the only way to help his friends get the upper hand on TRIAD, and he knew Hope would understand why he chose to transform so soon after she gifted him the artifact. She wanted him to stay out of it, but an adult shooting a child drew the line for him. Lizzie and Josie—as sick as she was—had their cloaking spell ready and waited for him to make the change.

'No time like the present…'

Slipping the ring over his right middle finger, Rafael took in the brief moment to examined the silver ring against his dark skin until the gems on it started to glow. He closed his eyes as the excruciating pain of transforming overwhelmed his conscience and took over. It shut off the subconscious struggle he'd been enduring the past couple of weeks triggered by the trauma of witnessing his brother murdered right in front of him.

He almost murdered someone again that night, too.

The twins uttered the cloaking spells incantation while they hovered their hands over his crippled form, knowing that he was going to bolt from the room the moment he was transformed. Time was of the essence.

They got a glimpse of the charcoal grey wolf with golden yellow eyes before Rafael vanished before them. The rush of wind was their only indicator that he had taken off to track down the enemy.

With TRIAD subdued with little more than moderate bite wounds on their arms and legs, Rafael took off into the woods behind the house to wait. He had to avoid tempting his werewolf instincts to kick in and attack his friends in the aftermath. He had faith that they'd let Hope know he was not far and needed her to help him turn back. Until then, he roamed around the forest's edge, listening with his heightened hearing and sniffing the air for any hidden dangers. He patiently waited for Hope to return from her mission from retrieving Landon so he could be released from this enchanted ring.

Rafael hoped that once things settled again at the school, he could finally work up the courage to properly talk to Hope about his feelings for her.

The light was fading from the sky, and Rafael detected the headmaster had returned from whatever self-appointed task he set out to do. Based on the scent, Alaric brought Dorian back from his temporary hiatus. He paced the forest, sniffing the air for any signs of Hope or Landon returning, but the wind offered him no comfort. Were they alright? Should he try and track them?

'No,' he thought, growling to himself. 'That is too risky…'

It felt like hours had passed, the sun had completely set now, and still no signs of either of his friends were detected. Rafael grew restless and nosed at the ring-turned-arm cuff that held firm against his right foreleg, he attempted to chew at the metal to no avail. He snorted in frustration before he suddenly froze on the spot, nothing but his ears surveying the area, hearing the faint crackles of a fire. A twitch of his nose picked up a strong smell of a heavy smoke, someone was having a bonfire.

Rafael took off in the direction of the source, breaking the treeline at the front of the school, he settled into a walk. Seeing the bright flames illuminate a figure standing nearby the fire gave the werewolf pause. Alaric held a large box full of files, his face was damp from fresh tears, and Rafael's thought process immediately assumed the worst.

Something terrible had happened to Hope and Landon.

He gave a quiet whine, hoping to catch Alaric's attention before the headmaster tossed the box into the fire, causing the orange embers to roar with greed as it consumed the fresh kindling. Rafael's mind raced, wondering what to do. Without thought, he started to paw at the cuff on his foreleg once more, feebly hoping it would come off before he completely lost the human side of his conscience to the instincts of the wolf.

He felt himself ebbing away with every passing minute now.

Were the side effects of Hopes potion finally wearing off?

She said she had to take off the ring before he could turn back.

What if she was never coming back?

Who was this she he was thinking of?

Something was happening, but he couldn't figure out what. Looking up, he met the eyes of Alaric looking back his way. He was holding a note, and Rafael knew that it had to be from someone… someone he knew; someone the headmaster knew. As he tried to think of who this person was, the warm feeling in his chest at the flighty memories started to subside into an ache—the same feeling he felt when he watched Landon be murdered.

A mournful whimper escaped him as he felt a pang of grief in his chest for someone he had no name for. No face to recall.

Who was he mourning for?

Then he looked around, confused as to how he became a wolf in the middle of the day to help the school fight TRIAD. He nosed the cuff on his leg and wondered if it had something to do with it. What was it? Did TRIAD get to him and condemn him to his wolf form? What did HM mean? What was Alaric doing in front of a bonfire burning papers? Where did Landon end up and why?

He should go search for him, he'd know what happened and what to do about this situation Rafael found himself in.

With one last glance back at his headmaster, the trapped wolf wandered back into the forest, mind now set on finding Landon despite the underlying risk.