Klaus POV
I walked along the beaten green ground, the silk moist air sat heavy in my lungs as I stood in the tomb of my deceased husband. I had hoped I would never come back here but with Tyler missing a part of me hoped that Mikeal's was twisted enough to hold him here. I hope more than anything that he was alive. I could feel it in the pit of my chest. The thought of losing him was far too much for me to bear. I couldn't live another 1,000 without my son. I couldn't and I wouldn't.
I took in a long heavy breath staring up at the sullen gray rock tomb until my eyes ran to Maddox Andino. They hailed from Greece and when they moved here about 1,000 years ago give or take they put down roots here. The magic that ran in his blood was old and powerful. I never thought that I would be standing here wishing that he hadn't died. Washing the white oak stake ran through my heart.
At this point, they all would have been better off if I was the one that had died, I have never had good luck but the thought of my life-ruining that of the people that I loved most. It made me wish that Damon had killed me instead. My Maddox was dead and no my son was the only god knows where. Taking in a long heavy breast I ran a tender hand along the smooth gray bedrock.
Thunder boomed in my chest, my heart raced and my mind grew heavy with all the places that they could be. I knew that Mikeal wanted me to suffer and I knew that there had to be tortured and pain or else he would feel like he was robbed. He would torture my son until his throat was raw and he could no longer cry out. The only way to make me suffer is by killing Ty he was a kid and he hadn't even made it to his 16 birthday just yet.
"Niklaus?' The soft questioning tone of my father fills my ears and it brought up all those feelings of rage and pain that came bubbling to the surface. No matter how many times that I tried to shove them down I knew that fear and hopelessness that wasn't going to disappear. It sat like lead in my stomach as a small voice taunted me screaming that it was what I got for all the evil that I brought into this world. The only good that I did was Ty and now he was going to die and for what. So that some wanker could kill him. How does that help any of us?
"The coffins are missing the one that held a mother and the others, I'm sure by now Elijah has found them and is going to raise them. I had hoped to kill Mikeal before then. How can I defend my family with all of these thoughts? If I thought that for even a moment Tyler would be safe if I gave myself up I would do it a second thought. But I can't, I can't find him, I couldn't save my husband from a baby vamp. How the hell am I supposed to save my pup from my tormenter."
My voice broke and my eyes stung not with pain but with tears but I blinked rapidly I would not let them be shed. If I have to castrate myself in front of Mikeal if I had to stab myself with the white oak then that is what I'm willing to do if it meant that I got my son back. If it means that he would lead my pack when I die then I would gladly do it.
"Our last name, do you know what it means?" My father's voice was questioning and warm as he glared at me. I could see the outrage burning in his eyes as he glared at me. His bright blue eyes turned into a searing red that was locked on me. I knew that his rage was beginning to bubble over.
I took in a slow breath as I spoke in a cold and cautious voice. "Atsila, it means fire" I turned as I rolled my eyes and usually hate-filled my stare but only pain bubbled in my stare as I ran my fingers gently tracing the M for Maddox on his tomb.
I knew that dad was smiling weakly as he nodded his head as he grinned like he was lost in his own thoughts. "Yes, and the fire is power, a force of nature that burns down everything in its path. You are powerful, and when you want something not even nature herself can't stop you. I will not let you give up you are my son and I won't watch you die any more then I will watch Tyler die. They are going to find him, we will get him back and then we will work on what's next. Now please Niklaus think rationally you two have been hunting each other for centuries. No one knows him better than you, you just have to think"
Even as he spoke I knew that he was right. I leaned against the wall feeling Maddox's spirit running over me as I let myself forget my utter loss and despair before taking in a long heavy breath. Letting my mind clear each time that my chest began to expand and collapse in. My lids shut and auras swirled around me as I let the coolness of the tomb rake against my skin. I could hear the chirping of birds and the loud crunching of twigs as dear prance over them with wide eyes.
I thought back to New Orleans to the last attempt of trying to kill one of my children, to the night that he tried to kill Marcel and the crescent queen, the women that I had come to love. He wasn't just going to make Tyler suffer he would make him watch me die before making his way over to killing my Ty.
I knew that he could have made his way to his father's compound but that isn't likely seeing as how he wouldn't dare waste the stake on him. Plus he wouldn't be able to find the compound with Ty and he wasn't simply going to tell him because he threatened him. That leaves him with only one choice to hunt and kill me. Mikeal won't waste the stake on father no matter how much he hated him he hated me more. I besmirched his mighty honor, taking in a long heavy breath I let my eyes snapped open.
"There was a network of caves that we used to play in as children, one night after one of the long hunting trips that I was really spending with you ended on a bad note. Mikeal found out that I was in the wolf village. He took me to those caves and beat me half to death and left me there. I survived and found my way back to camp and my mother healed me. But in the span of a thousand years that cave was turned into a tomb that was then later spelled by the bennet witches more than a few times in the past 1,000 years. If he wanted me to suffer then that is where they took him. I have to go"
I tried to lurch forward in the hopes of getting out of the tomb but father gave me a cold pining stare, one that told me not to do anything foolish. Looking in vain to my father he gave me a pinning stare, one that told me not to move or I would regret it.
"You are not going to fight head first. We need a plan, send a few of your hybrids to watch the place Niky. I need you to think. I won't let you die. We have to leave with a plan. We are the last of our kind. We can't simply run ahead first please Niklaus for me, for your son don't let your patience and hot temper get you killed. There will be no coming back from this. You know that" Fathering pleading voice didn't match the intensity in his stare. I knew that if it came down to me or Tyler he would save me and I loved and hated him for it.
There was a coldness and commanding tone filling his voice but I could smell the determination running off for him, he thought that I was going to die and if it meant getting Ty back that was fine with me. He was right but I didn't do something soon would Ty last all that long. Taking in a calming breath my heart thundered as loudly, my mind was just a bit more clear and for the first time since this whole mess started, I felt clear. "Okay, what's your plan?"
Derek POV
I watched him pacing back and forth, a glass of bourbon clenched tightly in his hands as he looked over to his father. Ansel's lean form and flashing red eyes told me that he was just as worried as Nik, only he had a better way of hiding it. I have known Nik since I was a kid, I had to be 13 when I met Nik. I was one of a few wolves left from my mother's clans. The Hales was one of the original bloodlines, I killed my mother, she died giving birth to me.
Somehow the universe thought that was my fault and as a result, I have been shifting since I was born. Luckily for me, everyone in my clan turned at the age of 16 men or women and were sent out to trigger the curse. In the end, I came across a few vampires that didn't like my bloodline and had a bone to pick. In the end, I was close to death when Nik saved me. I had been loyal to him since. My father told me that he was pretending to be my friend so that he could use me in the sacrifice. But not a day or two after Maddox tracked me down and here, I am a hybrid owing him my life and my freedom once more.
"Mates calm down we know where he is and from the looks of it he is alive" My tone was casual as I tried to keep my voice calm as my accent flowed from my lips. Nik was usually calm and cool around me but instead, he looked ready to kill me. I could see the crazed look in his bright golden eyes as he looked ready to stalk over to me to rip my throat out. The fact that his eyes hadn't turned red yet were telling. The moment that his eyes turned red then we would all know that he was made heir to his clan.
Blood lust and tension rolled off of him forcing the entire room to stiffen and I looked to see scattered glass and easels resting on the ground. The paint had been flung on the marble floor and now maids were struggling to clean it up. The scent of fury was pungent and sharp slamming into my nose like a fist. It felt like a stabbing pain in my nose, but it was something that I had gotten used to being around Nik. Mason was off to the side trailing his fingers along with the black and white keys of a piano.
The soft taunting beat filled my ears as his blue eyes faded with pain as he spoke in a low murderous tone of his own. "He is barely alive. You saw the way that he looked half beaten to death with Mikeal feeding on him like an all you can eat buffet. You call that alive, I call it borderline dead." Nik's voice was bubbling with outrage. I knew that he would happily run after Mikeal in the hopes of getting him back.
I gave him a pointe glare as I looked at Dany. She was sitting on the piano and the glistened black wood stared back at me as I was taking in a deep breath. I knew that none of them were thinking rationally; this was the exact reason that I was in their pack. I looked over to Nik narrowing my gaze as hatred filled my state and venom and cold numbness pooled in each world that I spoke.
"Stop acting like a gimp, you know that running off half-cock isn't going to save him, I have known Tyler since he was a baby and sure it would be easier to lash out but let's be honest. Nik if you go there now the way that you are you are going to lose your shit and get yourself killed and then he will kill Ty anyway. Take the night plan and tomorrow we will act. You the alpha so you can do what you want but I doubt you want to get Tyler killed"
My tone was cold and husky as I shifted my gaze over to Mason, his finger slammed on a sharp key and it felt like someone was jabbing a q-tip into my ear forcing me to shutter as I glared at him. Dany rolled her eyes as the dazzling gray locked on me as she sneered. His lips curled over her teeth as they began to elongate, and her fangs started to make their appearance on her face. I knew that she would kill me just for speaking out of line to our alpha. She was devoted to him and I didn't mind that, but I wasn't dumb enough to trust her. I have been with Nik since the beginning. I'm the one that knows what he's thinking when he can't trust his own thoughts.
His bright blue eyes came back as his gold faded away, his shoulder collapsed, and it looked like his chest was about to cave in at any moment. His sandy blond hair was a deep brown from him sweating profusely, the soft crackling the flames in the living room could be heard here for the dining room. I could hear the soft thumps of a heart beast filling my ears as I took a deep breath.
"Very well how many did we lose; you each took 15 hybrids to the tomb how many of you really made it out of there alive and tell me the truth!" I gave him a smile making my way more to the steps that lead into the parlor room.
The smooth marble felt like heaven against my burning hot skin, just another thing that I got to look forward to. I knew one thing that I was never going to have to turn ever again and that was the only good thing about this moment.
"Aye mate I always tell you the truth, out of the 30 hybrids that we took with us there are about 10 left and that is including Dany, Mason, and myself. He cut them down like he was carving a piece of cake. Dany and the other would be dead if they hadn't listened to us. We left but from what I saw, and smelled Kathrine was dying. Tyler bit her, she would have given you the location in exchange for the cure, but we found them first and Mikeal would have killed her before she got the chance to stab him in the back. He had the white oak stake. I could smell it on him, and I could sense the power. It's in his inner jacket pocket. I'm sure the moment that he sees you he will take the spike out."
My tone was casual, but I could see the flicker of pain and annoyance that flashed across his face. I'm sure that he was kicking himself for sending us out. I might be a new hybrid but I'm an old wolf with 25 years of experience. I turned back to look at Mason. He had a sour look on his face as he looked to me as if to say do you need to tell him all of it?'' But if he thought I was going to lie to Nik then he looked dumber then he looked.
Ansel sighed heavily as he nodded his head "It would be better to come up with a plan where my son doesn't die. But that being said it would be better to fight him in an open space rather than a tomb. I don't like our odds. That being said we need something to lure him out and I don't think they would leave that tomb for anyone but the two of us so I'm going to be the bait. Once he brandishes the weapons, we are going to encircle him rip it from his grasp and then kill him."
Ansel spoke in such a commanding and matter of fact tone made me think that is the only way to play this, but Nik looked like he was going to lose his shit. He stood up in outrage "Father, he will kill you I won't let that happen. No!"
Nik's voice boomed with rage, but I could hear the light quiver. Anyone else wouldn't think anything of it but I knew better. Nik loved his father and cared about what he thought about him. I always knew that he wouldn't let anything happen to his father if he could help it.
"You will not command me, boy! I am the alpha you are pup, I'm the parent you are the child! I will not let you die for me is that understood!" The sight of the two of them made me think that they were nearly twins. Both stood firms, their shoulders stiff with rage as their first clenched tightly, their fingers biting deep into their palms. Hatred flared in their eyes as they looked to be reaching their boiling point.
Jumping quickly to my feet I walked over to Nik gripping tightly to his shoulders as I spoke in a warm casual voice. "Your both acting the maggot, there is no need to fight nothing will happen to Ansel he is an original wolf and hybrid he has a power that the rest of us could only dream of he isn't going to go down easy and the minute that he pulled the white ash stakeout we will be on top of him. Now come on mate lets go get ossified."
I did my best to steer him out of the room as I nodded politely to Ansel. I knew that he wasn't the kind of man that stood for disrespect. He nodded his head in thanks as if to tell me that he was close to doing and saying something that he would regret. Sighing heavily, we started to make out the room this is going to be a long night.