Song: Never let me go (Florence + The Machine)
Hope POV
Hope had been overjoyed when she saw the look Jinx gave her surprise.
But she couldn’t help wanting to hear her say what she was thinking.
Without it, she knew her thoughts would keep spiraling.
“I love you.”
Hope had never truly known silence.
Even when she had been trapped in the darkness of Malivore.
And when she became the Tribrid, silence had become little more than a fantasy.
Her hearing was sharpened to an extreme degree, and her own thoughts never gave her a moment’s peace.
Until now.
“I love you.”
Those three words.
Three words she had heard before, but never like this.
Never as though she had just touched something sacred.
At that moment, the ever-present grief of losing so many people she loved should have fueled her fear.
She should have remembered the promise she had made to herself—that she would never again give someone that much power over her.
A thousand thoughts should have rushed through her mind, warning her against taking this step, against binding herself even more tightly to another person.
But her mind was empty.
All she could see were Jinx’s eyes, filled with vulnerability and the faith she was placing in her.
“I love you too.”
Later, neither of them would be able to say who made the first move, but their lips met.
There was no urgency.
It was as if they wanted to rediscover one another slowly.
Every time their eyes met, they fell back into that haze of joy neither of them wanted to leave.
“I love you,” Hope whispered again, breathless.
Jinx answered by pulling her closer.
“I love you so much I don’t know what to do with myself,” she said.
The kiss deepened.
Slowly, a jacket fell to the floor, then another piece of clothing.
Beneath the candlelight Hope had lit, their silhouettes intertwined.
When they were finally naked, Hope simply looked at her and bit her lip.
Her eyes were damp, rendered speechless by the vision standing before her.
Then she lifted her beloved into her arms and carried her silently into the tent.
She laid her down on the bed.
When their eyes met again, Hope smiled—a smile capable of stopping a heart for a few precious moments.
Jinx gently brushed a finger along her cheek.
“Touch me,” she said in a husky voice.
Always,” Hope replied before kissing her.
Jinx’s arms wrapped around her neck, as though she still wasn’t close enough, as though their heated skin pressed together still wasn’t enough.
“Hope,” Jinx whispered, her voice softer now, speaking the name of the woman she loved for no reason other than to say it.
Hope shivered at the sound of her voice.
Her lips brushed across the Zaunite’s cheeks before trailing down her neck in a series of kisses, each one like a spark setting a trail of powder alight.
Her gaze met Jinx’s for a moment before drifting lower.
She wanted to leave her mark everywhere.
She explored her chest with her fingertips, then with the tips of her lips, then with the tip of her tongue, lingering over every inch as though committing it to memory.
Then she moved lower, accompanied by Jinx’s intoxicating moans.
She felt Jinx’s skin tremble beneath her touch.
She lost herself in her taste, in the vulnerability that belonged to her alone.
No one else would ever see this masterpiece.
And as her beloved’s sounds grew steadily more intense, Hope admitted to herself that she was truly lost—that if anyone tried to take what was now hers, she would become their downfall.
A final cry pierced her soul, and she lost herself along with it.
Then, suddenly, she buried her face in Jinx’s neck and bit down.
Jinx POV
“I love you too.”
Those words echoed through the deepest parts of her soul.
She was loved.
She was cherished.
She should have felt the pain of the bite.
Instead, all she felt was her desire reigniting.
As Hope bit into her neck, Jinx explored the body that would now accompany her own.
The journey of her fingers across this new map she longed to explore was a slow descent.
And when she finally reached her warmth, she felt Hope pull away from her neck.
Then Hope kissed her.
Their lips met as her hands moved with increasing urgency, Hope’s soft sounds swallowed by their kisses until, at last, a wave of pleasure swept through her and left her breathless.
And as they slowly came down from the heights they had reached, they looked at one another.
An entire universe hidden within their eyes.
“I love you,” Hope said.
“And I love you,” Jinx replied.
“It was the books, wasn’t it?” Hope said with a tired but teasing smile.
Jinx rolled her eyes.
“It was the books and your charm,” Jinx replied.
Hope laughed at that.
“Now I know how to seduce you.”
“You already knew that,” Jinx said before taking Hope’s hand and pressing a kiss to it.
“Hope,” she whispered.
“Take me.”
Hope’s eyes widened at those words.
“Make me yours.”
Hope kissed her passionately.
Over the hours that followed, the night was filled with soft sighs and murmured expressions of pleasure.
Their hands intertwined, their breaths mingling, they basked in the warmth of their passionate love.
At dawn, they finally fell asleep.
As they surrendered to their exhaustion, a golden mist rose from Hope and slowly enveloped them.
Wherever the mist passed, glowing lines appeared, tracing intricate patterns across the skin of both young women.
The mist seemed almost sentient.
Whenever one of them shifted in her sleep, it would pause for a moment before continuing its work.
Once it had covered them completely, it split into two streams and sank into them.
Jinx slowly opened her eyes several hours later.
Her body was exhausted, but it was the kind of exhaustion that left her deeply satisfied.
A soft smile spread across her face. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
A smile so gentle that it would have shocked—or frightened—those who knew her.
Here, in this bed, she was just a young woman who had made love for the first time with the person she loved.
There was no Jinx, Silco’s mad daughter.
No Jinx who was always guilty, always sad, always angry.
There was only Jinx and Hope.
Her eyes settled on Hope’s sleeping face.
She looked peaceful.
Jinx had always known Hope was beautiful, but seeing her asleep and vulnerable left her speechless.
Gently, she brushed a hand against her cheek.
She didn’t want to wake her.
Carefully, she slipped out of the arms holding her and stood up.
She stretched before walking toward the bathroom.
The moment she passed the mirror, she screamed.
Hope POV
Hope was dreaming.
The wolf ran through the forest.
Free.
The moon illuminated her white fur, making it seem as though a ghost haunted the woods.
There was only her and the moon.
Running filled her with such joy that she howled.
Suddenly, she heard a sound behind her.
There was never anyone else in her wolf dreams.
But when she turned around, she heard a scream and woke up.
The first thing she felt through the bond was panic.
But behind that panic were more complicated emotions that left her confused.
Anger.
Hope.
Joy.
Hope rushed toward the bathroom.
She stopped in the doorway, facing the naked woman staring at herself in the mirror.
Hope wanted to admire her a little longer, but unfortunately, her attention was drawn to something else.
“Why do you have a red oak tattoo on your back?” Hope asked.
No one in this world knew what the red oak meant to her, or why it would appear on Jinx’s back right after they had made love.
Jinx turned at the sound of her voice.
“Fuck, fuck, that’s impossible.
That’s impossible,” she repeated when she saw Hope.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Hope asked, seeing the panic rise again.
Jinx shot her an incredulous look before motioning for her to stand in front of the mirror.
When she looked at herself in the mirror, she went pale.
Blue clouds danced across her arm.
She had seen them every day since arriving in Runeterra.
They belonged to Jinx.
Suddenly, she had a terrible suspicion.
“Do I have the red oak on my back too?” she asked.
“Yes.
And I didn’t notice it at first, but between the branches, there’s an M.”
Hope trembled at those words.
She slowly approached Jinx, with a certain hesitation, and looked at her back.
The letter M was there as well, surrounded by the branches of the red oak and the blue clouds floated harmoniously around the tree.
She remembered the day Landon had cast that spell on her.
What had he said?
At first sight, you will be consumed by love and desire.
Kiss your soulmate, and your feelings will become bound together.
Make love to them, and your souls will be bound, the bond completed.
On that day, my gift will fully reveal itself.
Oh no.
No, no, no.
What had Landon done?
Was it just the tattoos, or had he done something else?
“Jinx, you told me that matching tattoos mean something on Runeterra.
Can you tell me more about that?”
Jinx looked just as stressed as she felt.
But the moment Hope asked the question, her panic spiked.
Hope quickly pulled her into her arms, trying to calm her down.
“Everything will be alright, sweetheart.
No matter what you tell me, I’ll stay by your side.
I’m yours, Jinx.
I love you.
I love you, my love,” she whispered.
She let Jinx’s tears soak into her shoulder and gently stroked her hair.
“Wearing the same tattoo on Runeterra means you belong to the same clan.
A clan can be officially recognized, like the great clans of Piltover—the Kiramman Clan, the Medarda Clan.
Those families don’t always wear visible tattoos, but they’re there.
Then you have the informal clans.
Most Zaunite clans are like that.
They’re less strict.
My biological parents led a clan.
When my sister and I turned sixteen, we were supposed to create branches of that clan.
As the eldest, she would have belonged to the main branch, and I would have belonged to a secondary branch.
As a member of the main branch, she would have had the right to wear our parents’ complete tattoo.
I would only have been allowed to wear a small part of it.
I chose the blue smoke.
I customized it so it would look like clouds.
When a couple comes together, they decide which clan they want to belong to.
Sometimes the choice is obvious—between someone from a secondary branch who will never inherit anything and someone from the main branch.
You might as well choose the main branch.
But regardless of which clan they choose, they both wear the same tattoo as a symbol of their union.
It’s like saying, ‘Even if I choose to live under your clan, I will carry your clan on my body out of respect or love.'”
“Jinx, what does that mean for us?”
Jinx sighed and looked Hope in the eyes.
“It means we’re married, Hope.”
“Married?
“Yes.
You might as well call me Jinx Mikaelson, because I don’t exactly have a family name to give you,” Jinx said, a hint of bitterness creeping into her voice at the end.
“Look, take all the time you need.
I know this is a lot to process all at once.
We haven’t known each other for very long.
This is normal in Zaun, but you’re not from Zaun, and you’re probably angry about all of this,” Jinx spoke in an almost resigned tone.
“Is that really all you think I’m feeling, Jinx?
You can feel my emotions,” Hope said.
“I’m terrified of feeling them, Hope.”
“Sweetheart, please.
Please.”
Then, in a matter of seconds, Hope watched Jinx’s expression change dramatically.
“You’re angry.
You’re worried…
confused…”
“Keep going.”
“You’re happy.
You love me.” Jinx hesitated.
“You’re…
happy?”
“These tattoos mean that you’re mine.
That you’re part of my clan.
That you’re a Mikaelson.
If…
if that’s what you want,” Hope finished softly.
“Hope, of course I chose your clan.
Maybe you don’t realize it, but you’re incredibly proud of that name.
And I want to share it with you.”
Hope let out a sigh of relief.
“Always and forever?” she asked.
Jinx smiled, and Hope thought,
Finally.
Finally.
“Always and forever,” Jinx replied before kissing her new wife.
Over the next few minutes, Hope led her into the shower, pressing gentle kisses against her new tattoo.
Then they headed to the kitchen to make breakfast.
At least, that had been the plan.
Until their eyes fell upon a letter sitting on the counter, with Hope’s name written across the front.
“I thought no one could enter this tent,” Jinx said.
“No one can.
But this letter must have been written in such a way that it would only appear at a specific moment.”
Hope slowly opened the envelope.
⸻
Hope,
I know you probably feel as though I betrayed you during our last conversation.
But I’ve always known just how stubborn you can be.
If you’re reading this letter, it means you decided to open your heart, and that you found your soulmate.
I hope that person understands how lucky they are to be with someone as incredible as you.
Now that your bond is complete, it means your souls are fully joined.
That day, I touched the bond to make it more tangible.
I strengthened it so that your soulmate’s lifespan would be tied to your own.
As long as you live, she will live as well.
Tears streamed down her face as she read those words.
She didn’t have to be alone.
She didn’t have to lose Jinx.
Losing the people she loved had always been her greatest fear.
It was one of the reasons she had refused to make friends for so long.
Hope wiped her cheeks and continued reading.
⸻
This way, your greatest fear is gone.
The fear of watching the person you love die and then being forced to endure the centuries—or millennia—that follow without her.
If there are any side effects to what I’ve done, I don’t know what they are.
⸻
Landon!
There were side effects.
The tattoos, for example.
⸻
There is one more thing, Hope.
The magic shared between soulmates is incredibly powerful—one of the purest forms of magic in existence.
So powerful, in fact, that it may be capable of miracles.
I wasn’t able to grant your wish the last time we spoke.
So I may have channeled some of the magic released during your first night together.
If it worked…
if it worked…
Hope, I wish you all the happiness in the world.
Be happy.
Your most devoted friend,
Landon Kirby
⸻
Hope stared at the final words.
“What was he talking about…?” Hope murmured.
Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door.
“I thought no one could see the tent,” Jinx said curiously.
“No one can unless they have my permission or they’re…”
Hope abruptly got to her feet and rushed toward the entrance.
The moment she saw who was standing there, the letter slipped from her hands.
It’s…
it’s impossible.
“Hello, my littlest wolf.”
“Dad?”