Chapter 3

Power, loyalty, family

"She's pregnant. You're the father. She's carrying your child."

Elijah was desperately trying to clear his thoughts, but he really couldn't do that. How could this be possible? Was it possible? Could this be some kind of trick? He still wasn't completely sure about that, but he needed to help Cate. If, by some miracle, she was really carrying his child… The thought felt nothing but unreal. He didn't know what to think.

What he knew for sure was that Cate was pregnant and she had been dragged in the middle of this. Her fear had most certainly been real. She hadn't been the sweet, smiling girl he had met in Atlanta; she had been like a cornered animal. She most certainly didn't deserve any of this. He had thought about her a lot after the night they had spent together and he would have wanted to contact her. Unfortunately she had left before he had even managed to find out her last name.

It wasn't difficult to tell that she had been through a lot after that night. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt her, whether the child was his or not. A child… A son or a daughter… No, he couldn't think about that right now, he needed to focus. Convincing Niklaus to help him would be no easy task. Fortunately he had finally found his brother who was standing on the balcony of one of the finest hotels in the city. He was leaning on the railing, carelessly observing the celebrating crowd on the streets.

"Evening, Elijah," Klaus stated without turning to face his brother.

"Niklaus," Elijah replied.

"What an entirely unwelcome surprise."

"And what an entirely unsurprising welcome," Elijah retorted. "I need you to come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere until I find out who's conspiring against me."

Elijah hesitated for a brief moment before replying.

"I believe I just found that out for you."

Slowly Klaus turned to look at him.

"Really? Do tell."

"I will, but right now I need you to come with me. Please, brother, this is very important."

Klaus looked at him piercingly and crossed his arms.

"And where exactly are we going?"

"To the Lafayette Cemetery."

"Why?"

"Well… It's a long story. I'll tell you everything on the way."


45 minutes later

Klaus stared at Sophie for a while before bursting into laughter.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled. "This is just…hilarious. You must really think I'm an idiot."

"It's true," Sophie replied. "The girl is carrying your brother's child."

"Sure she is. You do know that vampires can't procreate?"

"Normally that's true, but somehow your brother got her pregnant."

"Oh please," Klaus snorted and turned to look at Elijah. "You don't actually believe this nonsense, do you?"

"I do," Elijah replied firmly. "I'm asking you to help me, brother."

Klaus couldn't believe how foolish Elijah was; couldn't he see that this was obviously a trick? Apparently Klaus needed to show that to him. He placed a charming smile on his face and looked at Sophie.

"Alright then. I would like to meet this miracle girl."

Sophie nodded and told couple of other witches to bring the girl here. Klaus crossed his arms and observed the human who was walking between the witches. She was a short and petite girl who had an oval face and large light blue eyes. Her skin was pale and she looked quite delicate, like a porcelain doll. So scared and helpless… No wonder Elijah had bought this little bedtime story. His inner knight must have been thrilled by this little damsel in distress. Klaus' guess was that the girl was working for the witches and she seemed to be a very talented little actress.

"Are you alright, Cate?" Elijah asked.

She didn't reply, she simply pressed her lips together. Klaus smiled and walked over to her. She tried to back away, but the witches blocked her way.

"Hello there," Klaus purred. "Aren't you a pretty little thing."

"What do you want?" she murmured tensely, she wasn't looking at him. She flinched when Klaus touched her cheek.

"Easy now, love. I just want to talk."

"Don't touch me!" she cried out when he took a hold of her chin.

"Niklaus…" Elijah started.

"I'm not going to hurt her, I just want the truth. If you want my help, you'll let me do this."

The girl started to struggle, but Klaus managed to force eye contact.

"It's alright, just relax, sweetheart. Everything is alright."

She stopped struggling and all her tension was gone.

"Everything is alright," he repeated softly.

"Everything is alright," she murmured.

"That's right. You're completely relaxed now, there's nothing to fear."

"Nothing to fear…"

"Good girl. Now tell me, who's the father of your child?"

"Elijah," she murmured.

Klaus frowned. The compulsion was working, he could tell, but somehow she was still lying to him. Apparently he needed to try something else.

"You'll be completely relaxed," he hummed softly and cupped her face. "Don't fight me."

She gasped when he penetrated into her mind. He barely managed to get started when someone yanked him away from her.

"That's enough," Elijah snapped.

The girl was trembling and her eyes were watering up. She seemed to be shaken to her core.

"Cate…" Elijah started.

"Stay away from me!" she shouted. "All of you!"

"Well," Klaus hummed. "It seems that she hasn't been with anyone else after you… did the honors, so apparently the child, whatever it is, really is yours."

"That's what I've been saying," Sophie snorted. "My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy. Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice, the lives of this girl and her baby are now controlled by us. We can keep them safe or we can kill them."

The girl gasped and Elijah moved protectively in front of her.

"If you don't help us take down Marcel, so help me, the girl won't live long enough to see her first maternity dress," Sophie continued.

"Enough of this," Elijah snapped. "If you want Marcel dead, he's dead. I'll do it myself."

"No," Sophie replied. "We can't, not yet. We have a clear plan that we need to follow, and there are rules."

"Well, unfortunately I've never been very good at following rules," Klaus huffed. "And I don't take orders from anyone."

"Niklaus," Elijah said tensely. "She's carrying my child."

Klaus looked at the girl who was still shaking. Then he looked at his brother. He could see that Elijah was willing to do anything to protect her and the child. Elijah had always been there for him, no matter what he had done. Elijah had always forgiven him. Klaus knew that if anything would happen to the girl or the child because of him, he would lose Elijah for good. The truth was that Klaus had already considered overthrowing Marcel. He wanted to be the king. He wanted what Marcel had. Power. Loyalty. Family. This whole thing could help him to achieve all that.

"Well," he stated after a long silence. "If I would choose to help you, there are things I want in return. And before you ask, none of those things are negotiable."

Sophie frowned.

"I thought I made the situation clear to you…"

"And I thought I told you that I don't take orders from anyone. So, let's talk, little witch."