The last time these dozen or so individuals had gathered together innocent people had been murdered.
Lives lost, homes destroyed, survivors scattered to the wind.
And it turns out it may have been all for nothing.
They gather now on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, in an ill-used church hall because whilst Jacques and Lila had demanded full attendance, they hadn't been willing to offer their ample homestead for the meeting.
The witches arrive first, casting spells around the area to ensure their safety before sitting down to wait. The vampires are next, freshly fed and bored.
Out of all the werewolves, Jacques and Lila arrive last to preserve their dignity.
They swan in, both dressed to the nines in flashy business suits to flaunt the wealth and privilege they'd gained after the fall of the Arctos pack.
The casually dressed witches and the raggedly dressed werewolves all felt the sting of their careless statement.
The vampires were wondering who'd put the show-offs in charge when the pair boarded the barely off the ground stage.
"Thank-you for coming" Jacques begins, clearing his throat,
"Now, as you know- Caroline Forbes, daughter of William and Elizabeth Forbes, the Arctos Alphas and therefore their heir…"
"She ran away last week" Lila interrupts impatiently, seeing eyes glaze over "Worse still, the bitch seduced Alpha Klaus and has become his whore"
Now that got everyone's attention.
For centuries the Originals had been fireside stories one told to frighten their children, myths that they hoped had no basis in reality.
All that had changed when Klaus had emerged from the woodwork to claim his pack, to return to Mystic Falls and lead them. A few idiots had challenged him in the beginning and their body parts were still scattered throughout the forests of Virginia.
Those that were wise had tried to build alliances with him but had never managed more than idle courtesies, promises that he would not seek their lands and safe passage through his territory.
Nothing more.
They'd considered him a dormant monster, a sleeping beast until the damn Labonairs had caused issue with his son Marcel and prodded him awake, causing him to raise his head and sniff the air.
And apparently pick up the scent of a bitch in heat.
"Why didn't you just keep Caroline Forbes out of sight?" one of the witches questions smugly, enjoying the discomfort on Lila's face.
She was one of the few who hadn't brushed off the five year old orphan all those years ago but had kept an eye on her, she'd seen the way the Labonairs had trotted the Arctos heir out every chance they'd had, showing off their power and strength through their captive wolf, assuming she was a quiet pup.
Only that pup had turned out to have a vicious bite.
"That's not important!" Lila screeches,
"What is important is our next move, what if the whore decides that she wants vengeance for the slaughter of her pack?"
That drew the concern of the Triple Alliance.
This was the reason so many of them had voted for the child to be killed all those years ago, to ensure that she would never have the chance to rise up and seek revenge.
"Perhaps we can negotiate with Alpha Klaus?" a vampire suggests, "He is reasonable, we'll explain that her presence in his lands is dangerous and threatening, especially when they border her former territory and ask that he return her immediately…or at the very least banish her from his home and his pack, without his protection she'll be forced into hiding and will be completely powerless"
Jacques and Lila are quite put out that they weren't the ones to suggest this but after another hour it is agreed upon that a delegation will be sent to the North East Atlantic Pack.
A young witch named Lucy, barely legal age herself sits silent throughout the meeting, wide-eyed as she tried to understand the situation.
"Why do we hate her so much Auntie?" Lucy asked as they stepped into the parking lot,
Abigail sighed, "It's not that we hate her Luce, it's just that she was born under a blood moon and held too dangerous a destiny, it was simply safer if she was…contained"
Tyler Lockwood sits in his car two blocks away, the burner phone strapped to the ceiling fan and the call going through loud and clear to him.
He listens with adrenaline racing through his veins.
He'd been waiting years for this chance.
He'd grown up in exile, with his frightened mother who'd in turn refuse to tell him anything about their lives before and then reminisce fondly about those days and his father.
When Tyler had turned eighteen he'd begun his plans to rescue Caroline Forbes, the Arctos heir, he'd tracked down old pack members and wrung promises of aid or alliance from them if he could pull it off.
Now he didn't have to.
Typical Alpha female, she'd rescued herself.
And together they could rebuild the pack.
The sun had only just begun to flicker through the large bay windows when Caroline was woken by a gentle hand caressing her bare arm. She mumbled and burrowed deeper into the blankets, seeking a few more minutes of sleep.
Half an hour later a loving kiss was placed on her cheek. She protests but opens her eyes with a soft sigh when those same lips trail down to her breast,
"Good morning" Nik whispers as his hand dips between her thighs, "Sleep well my love?"
She chuckles and stretches, "I would have, if somebody wasn't a complete horn dog"
He grins innocently, "Maybe that evil somebody is just so enchanted by you he simply can't control himself?"
She rolls her eyes but pushes the doona out of the way and draws him down into her embrace,
"Fine…but no tickling"
He grinned and kissed her stomach, "No promises"
It had somehow only been one week since Caroline had arrived in Mystic Falls but somehow it felt longer.
She'd come into the Mikaelson manor and studied all the rooms and exits, walked over every inch of the grounds and despaired at the messy gardens.
She'd observed every piece of art in the house and tried to figure out which had been created by her Alpha and which had not.
She'd sat quietly when Cary had come over and watched the way he and Nik interacted, determining the information he usually required before he would make any final decisions.
Most importantly, Caroline was learning about how Mystic Falls was run and how Klaus ran his pack.
She was by his side whenever he attended pack business, quiet and unassuming but present so that people got used to seeing her there.
So that everyone got used to the idea of their first Alpha female in over nine hundred centuries.
Including his own family.
She gave Rebekah a shy smile as she padded into the kitchen, embarrassed about what the vampiress may have heard throughout the night.
Elijah was already at the counter, serving breakfast which he insisted on doing a few times a week as he claimed it wouldn't be fair for the duty to be placed solely on her shoulders.
Caroline felt a stab of disappointment however, because while guests shouldn't be imposed upon, family members definitely should and if Elijah was still treating her so politely than he must still consider her an outsider.
She greets him good morning and looks about for Elena and Bonnie, frowning when she doesn't catch sight or scent of them,
"Where are the girlfriends'?" she asks Elijah and Rebekah smirks around her bowl of fruit,
"Bonnie isn't Kol's girlfriend" she announces loud and clear, "She's far too smart to be caught with him"
"Claws in little sister" Kol snaps as he comes around the corner, "It's too early to be dealing with your issues"
"Hey" Caroline jumps in before the siblings can begin their daily bickering,
"Rebekah I was thinking of heading to Richmond today to go shopping do you want to come with?"
She gets a suspicious glance from the blonde original but if there is one thing she's learnt over the last few days it's how to step in and distract the siblings before food, chairs or punches were thrown.
"I have business in Richmond today" Nik calls from the front door as the postman hand delivers their mail in return for a ten dollar tip,
"I'll take you shopping"
Rebekah snorts, "Really Nik? You, the rough and tough Alpha of Alphas are going to sit in Forever Twenty-One and tell Caroline whether the dress she's trying on works or not?"
He comes into the kitchen, sorting the mail in his typical fashion- everything for him was placed neatly in a pile, everything else was tossed carelessly aside-
"I'm an artist dear sister and I've seen women make fashion faux-pas for nine centuries, I figure by now I'll have picked up a working knowledge"
"But your sister is probably an expert" Caroline points out, "And as I have no idea what's in fashion at the moment, I need all the help I can get"
"She's right" Rebekah sighs, "God knows she can't go another day wearing denim shorts and your t-shirts Nik, she needs a wardrobe now"
Caroline grins as the ploy works, winking at him as Rebekah goes upstairs to grab her handbag,
"Thank-you" she whispers as he squeezes her hip, leaning against the counter opposite her as he rips open an envelope and peruses the contents before holding it to the stove top and turning one of the dials to set it on fire.
"Brother" Elijah scolds as the smoke rises from the burning card, "You'll set off the fire a…"
Everyone in the room winced as the shrill alarm sounded, blaring loudly above their heads,
"I thought we dismantled that bloody thing after Kol's cotton candy incident" Klaus apologises as he grabs a fork and tosses it up into the air expertly so that it hits the off button on the device,
"I put it back in after Elena tried cooking pasta that night" Elijah explained as Caroline darted around Klaus and holds up the envelope that he was planning to burn next,
"Ten years I spent writing Jacques and Lila's correspondence" she tells him, pinching the gauche parchment between two fingers,
"I'd know their stationery anywhere, especially when Lila insists on spraying every letter with Chanel"
"That's what that smell is!" Kol exclaims, "Burnt perfume…never smelt that before strangely enough"
Both werewolves in the room ignored him, Klaus made a half-hearted grab for the envelope but Caroline held it behind her back and then tucked it into her pocket, "Why are they writing to you Nik? I'm guessing it's not a 'Thank-you for attending' note"
He grimaces, "They're sending some representatives onto my land they wish to talk to me about...your situation"
Caroline nods, "Representatives from the Crescent Clan or the Triple Alliance?"
He shook his head, "Didn't specify my love but not to worry, I can handle…"
"If they mean the Crescent Clan then they'll have the majority of their wolves distract you while others try to kidnap or kill me, if they mean the Triple Alliance then there'll be witches in play- the only creatures who have a hope of stopping you and your family long enough to kill me"
She runs her hands through her hair before pulling it up into a ponytail, "When will they be arriving?"
"At the end of the week"
She nods, "Okay" she grabs his car keys, "Can I drive?"
A quick affirmative and she bounds out of the house, her perky attitude at odds with her cold deliberation regarding her enemies mere seconds before,
"There's something not adding up there" Kol points out unnecessarily.
"So," Caroline begins as she parks the car in the lot at the Short Pump Shopping Mall, Klaus riding shotgun and Rebekah grumpily confined to the backseat,
"Why is the Alpha of the North East Atlantic Pack…which barely includes Virginia by the way, based in Mystic Falls when you could be using Richmond or D.C as your capital?"
Klaus laughs lightly at the idea of him running his Pack from the political capital of America, eating climate change deniers and oil lobbyists on the full moons,
"Wolves don't tend to do well in built up cities sweetheart" he points out as they climb from the car and he rounds the hood to tug her close with his hands on her hips,
"Too many of us heading to public camping grounds on the full moon catches the attention of people we'd prefer not to deal with, besides Mystic Falls was my home when I was human and traditionally speaking the lands belong to my pack, my biological father was Alpha there and now, so am I"
She hums in understanding and he kisses her goodbye, "However, I do have wolves who live in the city and I have to go see them but it's a small matter and they can meet you at the next full moon"
She smiles and pushes him away, turning to where Rebekah is tapping her foot impatiently,
"Okay" she studies the beautiful open-air shopping centre, "What should we hit first?"
Klaus waited until Caroline and Rebekah invaded Macy's before turning to the park barely half a mile from the shopping centre, when he'd known where his sister and his ma…peculiar little wolf were headed he'd texted the head of the wolves he was meeting to gather close by.
He knew that Caroline wasn't likely to receive any challenges in a crowded area with far too many witnesses and security but since receiving that letter from the Labonairs that morning, he wanted to be close by in case anyone planned on kidnapping her.
Although they'd have a hard time with Rebekah at her side.
He darts across the highway and between the trees, quickly disappearing from view as he heads deeper into the large park, looking for the playground and spotting his ten wolves sitting at the tables near the pagoda.
Whilst the oldest and most important members of Klaus' pack chose to live close to their alpha, a large number of wolves were scattered across his territory, watching over his lands lest any other packs get the idea of encroaching. As such, he had a trusted member overlooking each town where more than five of his people resided. They reported to him every week but at least once a month he would make the journey to see them personally and if possible, they would come down to Mystic Falls to run on the full moon.
"Hello mate" he greets David, pulling him into a quick hug and clapping him on the back,
"No disasters then?"
David shrugs, "Not with this lot anyway, Henry's thinking of getting married to a normal but we're not sure how to play the werewolf card, or whether or not she'll go screaming to the authorities"
Nik nods, "What's her name?"
"Anne" Henry answers as they approach the tables where a platter of sandwiches sit in the attempt to pass the meeting off as a group of friends having lunch.
He snorts, "The last couple I knew named Henry and Anne ended their relationship with accusations of adultery and incest, divorce and decapitation and only barely in that order. Let's see how long we can keep the secret in house hmmm?"
Henry nods, accepting the decision immediately. Satisfied, Klaus grabs one of the ham sandwiches on the platter and after taking a bite, motions to his wolves that they can commence eating as well.
Not that he's hungry, he's having a hard enough time adjusting his body to the daily consumption of breakfast and dinner without throwing a third square meal into the mix but werewolves never turned down the opportunity to grab food and he knew his doing so would remind his pack that he was part-vampire.
Speaking of,
"Any trouble from the vampires in town?" he asks around bites, somewhat relieved when he receives a collective shaking of heads, "Nah, not since Elijah came up…but they did ask if we couldn't repair the double-glazed windows of the café he broke"
Klaus shrugs, "Send me the bill…anything else?"
"Uh…"
There's momentary hesitation from David before Klaus raises his eyebrows ever so slightly, reminding him that the last time a pack official kept information from him he was exiled for three months.
"Well…every weekend, one of us will head to a different park or reserve around Richmond, just checking everything's okay you know and last week we picked up a scent in Joseph Bryans Park, at the very edge of our territory by Young's Pond…we think that it might have been an omega and then when we found out that you'd brought Caroline Forbes into the pack…"
"You think it was a former Arctos wolf?" Klaus asks, blinking in surprise, but David nodded,
"Yeah…this isn't the first time we've caught omegas in Virginia and most of them really knew the lay of the land too, which makes sense as technically anything west of Midlothian and south of Sussex is Arctos territory…was Arctos territory" he rapidly corrects himself but Klaus isn't about to take offence.
He claimed the state of Virginia because after the Arctos fall it was just territory going to waste and the actual line where the Arctos territory began had always been murky at best, especially when they had been expanding every few years.
He momentarily wondered if, now that he had Caroline, he could also make a claim on the South East Atlantic territory. The Beta of the pack was a distant cousin of Caroline's who'd taken over when her grandfather had died shortly after her parents had been murdered and she'd been taken into captivity. Now however, her blood-claim was stronger than his and if she went after it, their packs could merge and would control the entire Eastern United States.
But first they had to get through her first full moon with his pack.
"Tell any omegas that you find that if they were Arctos they are welcome to come apply to myself and Caroline for entry into my pack" he tells them, "And I expect all of you there at the next gathering"
Now…to find his beautiful albeit peculiar little wolf.