Grief, after all, is grief.
"Are you all right?" Elijah asked Hayley when the door of their home closed behind them. She turned around to look at him. Her eyes were red from all the tears that she had cried since her daughter was born.
She was quiet.
He took a few steps to reach her face and caught what he wished to be the last tear. Knowing deep down that it was not. There will be many more till she is reunited with her daughter again. And he will be there to catch them all.
"I will never leave you. You have my word on that," this was the moment he promised himself that no matter what happens he will never leave her alone. Ever. She nodded and he cupped her face in his hands. "You should rest, Hayley," he took by the hand. "Come with me."
When they reached her room she sat on her bed looking straight into the nursery. Elijah kneeled to her feet taking her hands into his own. "She will return to you, Hayley. When it is safe for her, you will see her again."
"I know," she said simply. "I just miss her so much," she started crying again. The picture of a woman he loved crying over her own child she had to let go from her arms to give her her best chance made Elijah's heart broke into piece. He so wished there was something he could do to ease her pain. A compulsion slipped his mind but the very second he thought of it he knew she would never wanted that.
"Hayley?" it was like she could not hear him. "Please, look at me," he said waiting for her reaction. She turned her eyes to him. "Is there anything that you need from me?"
Need. When she heard the word leave his lips she felt it. The need. The hunger. Despite everything that she had been through that day and how tired she was, her entire body tensed and she started to feel an urge that was coming from her heart. An urge to feed.
Blood. In that very moment it seemed like the only thing that she could think about, the only thing that made any sense to her.
Blood. She could feel the veins under her eyes filling with blood.
"Blood," she whispered. Elijah looked up to meet her eyes and he knew exactly when he would see. The basic instinct of a predator in a body of a young woman.
"Of course," he said and stood up. "I will get you some but I cannot risk taking someone from the street. There are too many eyes now," he didn't move for a while, thinking. "You will have to feed from me."
She rose up.
"No, Elijah," she said quickly. "No way, I might be a part vampire now but the other is still a werewolf. Do you understand?"
"Hayley," he wanted to say something but she would not let him.
"I know it will not kill you but I was there when Klaus bit you the last time and I will not put you through that again just because I feel a little hunger."
"We both know that it is not a little hunger, Hayley. In this moment, your body must be burning," he said placing his hands on her shoulders. "And you do not need to worry about me," she looked confused. How could he say that? "My brother's blood is still running through my veins. It is an antidote. Your venom will not affect me."
"Are you sure, Elijah, I would not forgive myself if I hurt you in any way," she looked into his eyes.
"I assure you, you will not," he smiled.
She nodded and he would swear that for a slip of a second he saw her smile too.
She placed her hands on his tie and slowly undid it. He kept his gaze on her. Then she laid it on the chair. Her hands found their way under his suit and she let it fell from his shoulders catching it and placing it along with the tie. He started to undo his Cufflinks and she put down her sweater.
Hayley look up into his reassuring eyes when he offered her his hand. She took it taking a couple deep breaths burying her teeth into his palm. The instant her canines broke his skin and she felt his blood on her tongue a wave of indescribable energy run through her entire body. Her vampire instincts reached the top she felt like there were was a beast inside her that was now set free.
Drinking Elijah's blood was like nothing she had ever experienced. It was rich at taste and even more rich by its scent. If she was to ever describe a moment of her life that felt like heaven, after holding her daughter in her arms for the first time, she'd pick this moment.
After the first wave of unknown feelings hit her she started to experience something else.
Pleasure.
Pure pleasure and desire was building in her own body. And she couldn't cope with it.
Elijah was holding her in his arms to make her more comfortable. He was running his hands through her hair to deal with the same feelings that she was experiencing in the same moment.
A new urge ran to the surface. She stopped feeding and raised her head to meet his eyes.
"Elijah?"
He rubbed his thumbs along her lower lip to clean the blood. "I know," he said and pressed his lips to hers. She ran her hands up to the back of his neck while his hands travelled down her spine to her waist.
It was a need that she felt before but being a vampire made its meaning up to a whole new level.
A need to become one with the one you love.