The Power of Love

by ncbexie25

Bella's on the run, fighting against the oppressive mating bond she shares with Edward. Running to Mystic Falls, however, she stumbles straight into the arms of a mate who will give her the truest love she's ever known. But Edward warned her of the consequences. He'll come for her. How will the Originals handle this threat to their new family member, while battling her scars?

11. Radioactive

Hi everyone!

So, here's the next chapter, right on schedule! I'm not so sure how I feel about it, but I hope you all like it and please tell me if you do!

The review count dropped quite a bit last chapter but I'm hoping this one and as we go forward will have it go right back up. This coming chapter will be a bit more difficult but I am sure I can have it up on time. I do have time during the night and day now plus the writer's block is completely gone!

Once again, there's a lot of info in this chapter as we are introduced to TWO new characters (BTW, we have some quotes from The Originals' second season here... but I won't say which chapter; don't wanna spoil anything! :D You'll need to remember a lot of the shit that is said/goes down in this one... it's really important.

A hint for mates in this chapter as well... *Grins* Well, someone's, anyway.

Thanks everyone who reviewed last chapter and I hope to see you all after you read this-and a few more of the lovely faces I missed out on as well!

:D

P.S.-Cliffy warning... sorry... (not)... LOL.

;) See you down the bottom!

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Chapter 11—Radioactive

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"Just how exactly are we going to find a thousand year old pile of bones here?" asked one of the younger witches as she looked around the empty forest. The turn of her lips and scrunched nose denoted her disdain, as did her tone when she spoke to no one in particular.

Unfortunately for her, she was answered by Sophie Deveraux, who was walking alongside her sister, the both of them rolling their eyes. Sophie turned to her, a cool look on her face. "If you had been listening you would know that the ancestor left a mark so we'd find the site relatively easy considering we're too far out to use magic. All you have to do is look." The word rolled off of her tongue as she raised an eyebrow then turned to smirk and roll her eyes again at her sister.

At their ages—older than the little witch who'd spoken—they knew better than to question the will of the ancestors. There were, after all, always consequences.

And it was for that precise reason that the entire coven had listened when one ancestor approached the Elders through use of a spell. Said ancestor had ordered them to turn their cheek against the Harvest and its missing girl, Davina Claire, for the time being—even though this was an order that upset the Deveraux sisters and those members of the community close to the fallen three witches sacrificed for what seemed now to be no reason. Jane-Anne and Sophie wanted Monique back and back now rather than later. But they had to wait, and wait they would, for neither had the courage to evoke the anger of the ancestors on a topic that held so much importance.

Although, as Sophie Deveraux had pointed out to her elder sister, that did not mean they had to lay down and take it. Thus the two girls had been in a foul mood since the reveal of the new plans the night before the Mikaelson Ball.

And what a doozy that show had been.

The wispy sound of their movement through tall grass stopped when the two Elders at the front of the herd halted in the middle of the open field, right in the center of the forest. The group of perhaps twenty witches behind them stopped as well and watched, speaking in whispers as they waited for the older women to speak. They were not left waiting for long as Bastianna and Agnes continued walking then turned some yards away. The red-head raised her chin as she spoke in a loud voice. "Our ancestor spoke and asked that we resurrect a fallen werewolf on this night. You are all familiar with the Original witch's resurrection spell, I trust?" At the harmonious nod of twenty heads, Bastianna continued. "Good; that is the spell we will use tonight once we have located the bones and brought them back to Lafayette Cemetery."

"What's the nexus vorti?" Jane-Anne Devereaux asked as she and her younger sister stood with their arms crossed over their chests.

"We will harness the power of the Comet Ison," Agnes answered with patience, glancing at Bastianna as she stepped forward.

Another young witch asked her own question, features scrunched up in confusion. "How is this comet a miracle?" She had been under the impression that it was a supernatural miracle needed for power and if they were to resurrect a werewolf who had been dead a thousand years, then they would need a lot of power.

Sophie sighed, making her more even-tempered sister look over at her and step closer to rest a restraining hand on her arm. Neither wanted to be here in the first place, still sore over the fact that the Harvest Ritual would be held off but, unlike her sister, Jane-Anne had taken it in stride as much as she could, satisfied enough with the reassurance Bastianna and Agnes had given her that the Harvest would go ahead as soon as it was allowed and they would indeed be reunited with Monique, despite Kol Mikaelson's troublesome words that the Elders—or, at the very least, Bastianna—were not going to bring the girls back. Sophie was of a different mind all together; she was still immensely distrustful of the Elders after what the youngest Mikaelson brother had said. After all, Kol was notorious for his good relationship and knowledge of witches and their craft all around the world and one hundred years ago, he'd apparently even mentored a number of New Orleans witches. With that knowledge, it was difficult to so much as be in the Elders' presence and remain calm. Thus, if they were going to do this, Sophie wanted to get it over with. She turned to the younger witch. "This comet only comes around every ten million years or so and we'll probably never see it again. If that isn't miraculous, I don't know what is," the brunette said, a raised eyebrow and crossed arms completing her picture of supremacy. Then she turned back to the two Elders facing her and the rest of the present coven. "Can we get this over with now?" she asked with steel in her voice as she ignored her sister's hushed urgings to quiet.

The Elders' eyebrows rose at her tone but they said nothing. Instead, they turned toward the rest of the field, their keen though aged eyes taking in all they could see as they felt for the magic of the ancestor's presence. Despite the distance from their center of power, it was easy to find. "Come this way," Agnes said and the group approached a tree at the far edge of the forest, standing a few yards away.

"As we cannot use our powers, we will have to dig his bones out," Bastianna said, and the witches set to work. Sooner rather than later, bones were uncovered and the red-headed Elder nodded at the Deveraux sisters. They wrapped the bones in sheets and carried them between themselves back to the road.

The crowd dispersed to a multitude of cars before they drove toward the French Quarter. Each witch worked in quiet harmony to gather everything needed and bring it all, along with the bones, within the gates of the City of the Dead, their actions methodical as two witches set the bones on fire to gather the ashes and captured them using the magic they now had access to within the Quarter. Once that job was complete, the Deveraux sisters drew a circle on the floor while the Elders passed off the ashes onto a few of the younger girls, who dusted them into a smaller circle within the confines of the one the Deverauxs had drawn.

Once ready, the coven linked hands—Esther Mikaelson had been powerful enough to perform the spell on her own given her lineage but the ancestor had specified the need for perhaps twenty witches to perform the spell to balance out the power and make sure none suffered from any ill effects that could have been caused.

As one, they chanted the incantation, drawing on the power of Comet Ison.

"La cendre à l'os, de la chair à la vie. De la cendre à l'os, de la chair à la vie. From ash to bone, from bone to flesh, from flesh to life!" the band of witches called. Despite their precautions, the witches fell unconscious just as well-built limbs and an as-well-built torso then a grizzled face, worn by the hard conditions of Middle Age wartime, became of the ash and dust.

Blue eyes popped open and a rasping breath was drawn into lungs that had not breathed air on this plane for one thousand years, the power of new life singing deep in his bones as he woke. The return of his werewolf instincts took his breath away as a growl ripped from the man's throat and he leapt up, standing at his full height of just a little over six feet. His eyes took in the cemetery around him before he looked down at the twenty bodies surrounding him.

A message that had gone unnoticed by the witches was left written on paper. It was trapped by stones and sitting perched on the closest tombstone to his right. He reached down and took it, eyes narrowed as he read—a thousand years on the Other Side and adaption to some things was in no way difficult even as the ways of his own time stayed ingrained within him. Once he was done, his head whipped up to take in his surroundings once more, his wolf on edge inside of him as it picked up on an impulse he'd felt in his previous life but had promised to ignore. After his death, he had been released from his word, able to give in, spending almost every waking moment watching. But he could not give in now; the urge to encounter when he was unsure he'd be allowed to stay—no matter what the note said—would destroy him.

He pushed the thoughts away and sat down on the stone covering the grave next to him, waiting for the witches to awaken. Gripping the parchment in his hands tightly, he re-read the words again and again, his impatience reaching new heights each time.

Welcome to the new age, Alpha.

The witches unconscious at your feet will explain everything if you wait for them to wake up.

You are under no threat and will be united with the one you have longed to meet.

~ MAC

~TPoL~

Elijah sighed as he leaned against the wall separating him from his Hybrid brother and his mate, waiting for his other siblings to appear. By now, all were aware of last night's happenings once they'd departed and thus they were prepared but concerned. One question was resounding through all three Original's minds.

Rebekah was the first to arrive, her hands clenched into fists at her side and face closed off in her anger as she stalked to her older brother's side. Stopping by the door, she could not help the persistent tapping of her foot against the wooden floor. They were waiting for a far more sluggish Kol, the blonde Original vibrating with need to see her dead sister and reassure herself with the knowledge that everything would be okay.

I swear, if this is another of Nik's self-destructive phases I will bloody—

"Sister, I suggest you wipe the glower off your face before we go in…" Kol's words rang through the hall as he turned the corner, a grin on his face though it didn't quite meet his eyes and both knew he was worried as well. "I don't think Nik would take kindly to it given the circumstances—"

A growl ripping from Rebekah's throat told each brother just how bloody much she cared about what Nik would take kindly to and she turned her gaze on Elijah, taking in his grim expression with a sigh. "She has begun the transition then?" Rebekah asked the one question she did know the answer to, her hair flowing down her back, arms crossed over her chest, eyes tight and jaw clenched.

"Indeed," Elijah replied, though his concern matched Rebekah's. "Though I have no clue how he proposes to have her complete transition. You said you destroyed the last of Elena's blood that Niklaus had in his possession?" He rose an eyebrow, his mind wandering to ponder just why the female may have done that though he was quite sure he knew the answer. To ask would but induce more ire he did not want to face at this point in time.

The door opened and their brother stood in the shadows of a blackened room, hand still gripping the door handle as he looked between the three of them. "Not quite," Klaus replied in a tone that gave nothing away. Then he spun to return to Isabella's side, leaving Elijah to frown slightly and swallow, teeth gritting in preparation. It was going to be one of those days. He motioned for his siblings to enter the pitch dark chamber before he did, Rebekah marching in to see how her sister was fairing. She glared at her Hybrid brother. Though the room was without light for Bella—so as not to overwhelm her when she woke with all the new sensations racing through her body—it did nothing for their eyesight, Klaus fully capable of seeing the glare sent his way.

"How the bloody hell is she going to properly transition, Nik?" she asked, her voice loud and commanding an answer. It had little effect on her older brother, who rolled his eyes at her dramatics as he turned to his sister, halting her before she could continue her rant.

"Obviously, Rebekah, I have more of the doppelgänger's blood," he said, raising an eyebrow at her. There was a light smirk playing the corners of his lips as his sister's eyes widened then narrowed. The blonde Barbie Klaus, as she had been dubbed before, clenched her jaw to trap the growl building in her throat as she stared at her brother in disbelief, sinking with grace into the chair on the other side of the bed.

Kol had a grin on his face, amused by the two blonds of the family, whereas Elijah stood close to the door, both hands in his suit pockets as he peered at his brother. "How exactly did you come into possession of it?"

"You are no fool, brother. Surely you can work it out," Klaus said, growing frustrated by his siblings and their questions. At least Kol had been wise enough to keep his bloody mouth shut.

It was Rebekah who first responded, her tone incredulous and tinged with more than just a little outrage. "You hid it!"

Klaus's smirk was full blown as he turned to his sister. "Of course I did," he told her in a smug tone—as if the words alone were not enough to enrage the blonde further.

Her features twisted into a picture of fury, eyes darkening a little as her visage peeked through. She jolted up out of her chair and stepped forward. "You bloody—"

Elijah stepped forward and spoke over their sister, knowing the word about to come out of her mouth just as he knew the understandable reaction that word would garner from their half-brother. Ever the one to try to maintain peace and preserve his siblings' sensibilities, he steered the conversation away from Rebekah's ire and more to the curious question now playing on his own mind. "Why would you do that?" He watched his brother for any reaction.

Kol scoffed and smirked, turning from the lot because he already knew the answer and thought the question was preposterous. He may not have spent much time with his siblings between long stretches in a box and his travels visiting witch covens around the world, but he was aware of his siblings and their tendencies all the same. It took a paranoid brother to know one; Niklaus and he were far more alike than either cared to admit aloud.

Niklaus's eyes narrowed and his tone was somewhat bitter even as his expression grew stony. "Before recently, I had little reason to believe so whole-heartedly that my siblings would not betray me. Kol has done so before, as have you, Elijah, and I knew of Rebekah's feelings… thus, of course I had a contingency plan." The three brothers ignored Rebekah's muted growl and mutterings about the "paranoid wanker" as Niklaus spoke over the top of her with a raised eyebrow. His tone was dark when he spoke again, his eyes having escaped to his mate, the words ringing true just from recent events alone. "I may be powerful but I am also hated." He turned to Kol. "Where's Davina?"

"She's with Marcel and don't try to change the subject," Rebekah demanded with vehemence, a fire in her eyes as she stood. Her hands were on her hips as she glared at him. "I cannot believe you hid this from us." Unspoken were the added words "from me;" the sister who had stuck by him for the past thousand years without fail. She had never left his side despite daggerings and killed beaus even as Elijah had.

Elijah was consumed by his own thoughts, his eyes narrowed as he regarded his half-brother. The 'tainted' blood had never meant anything to any of the Mikaelson siblings as much as it had to Niklaus; having grown with him, they ignored it for the most part, in fact. He drew in a deep breath and stepped forward as Klaus's eyes flashed and he rose to reply to their sister, the eldest surviving brother's cool tone washing over them like a wet blanket to fire. "You kept the blood hidden so that you could change your mate were you to ever find her," he stated, his tone slow and thoughtful as he regarded the younger with new eyes. "Isn't that right, brother?"

Klaus looked away, back to Isabella, but the stiffening of his shoulders and clenching of his jaw, the sight of his eyes hardening to an impenetrable, unclear ocean in the moment before they were removed from Elijah's sight gave the rest of them the answer they sought.

Kol cocked his head to the side. "How could you have been so sure your mate would be a wolf?" he asked Nik, his eyes narrowed as he thought. His mind was racing and buzzing with questions, calling for an inquisition of his own.

Klaus's head turned back to the younger brunet. "Given the discord Mikael caused between the wolves and vampires after killing my entire pack when he found out about my true parentage, it is a logical assumption. I've never heard of any vampire mating with a werewolf. Have you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the end, his expression clear in telling his siblings that he was both not in the mood for this conversation and not prepared to admit anymore.

Kol didn't care.

He studied his brother while he rose an eyebrow of his own, lips twisted in stubborn disbelief. "But you're also a hybrid," the brunet countered. "Half werewolf... half vampire."

"Doesn't. Matter," Klaus spat, voice dark. He stood roughly from his seat, causing the chair he'd been sitting in to skid into the wall, that tell-tale anger bubbling within and threatening to explode like a volcano. Sensing that dangerous ire, Rebekah swallowed while the two male Mikaelsons remained impassive and closed-off against it, though a small amount of fear pooled in Kol's eyes making Klaus growl in frustration when he saw it. "I said I wouldn't bloody dagger you again, Kol!"

Kol bristled, anger causing his jaw to lock. His voice was quiet and distant when he replied with: "Well, I guess you're not the only one who has trust issues in this family, Nik."

Elijah stiffened and stepped forward whilst Klaus looked away, eyes tight as he swallowed. Rebekah turned her attention to the still-unconscious girl laying in the bed to whom they should have been giving their attention in the first place, her blue eyes sad.

"Kol—" the blond brother began in a murmur, his head turning just a little back to look at the youngest Mikaelson brother, but Kol shook his head and was about to begin a rightful tirade… only to be interrupted when Isabella's eyes snapped open and she gasped in a breath.

Bella's head lifted off the pillow underneath it as she tried to breathe, filling her lungs and then letting it out in a quick rush. Her actions were sluggish when she looked around the room as she sat up. Her eyes were quick to fall on her mate and she whimpered as now both the wolf and the new vampire inside her called out for him. They seemed to know something she did not.

Klaus snarled at her discomfort. Curbing his fiery impulses, he grit his teeth as he forced himself to speak in low tones so as not to cause the just-woken hybrid more pain. "Leave us," he breathed to his siblings, eyes never wavering from his mate, nostrils flared. The sole sign of their departure was the light breeze which was accompanied by whoosh sounds. Even that was too much for the girl and she turned on her side as her hands raised to clamp over her ears. A low whine left her, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks and, in that moment, Niklaus knew he'd been right to lower all the blinds; she was struggling enough as it was without harsh light.

"Bella, love," Klaus whispered and, though pained, Bella dove for him as she felt the bed dip when he sat on it. The Original Hybrid caught his vulnerable mate and pulled her in. His arms closed tight around her form, his lips pressed against her forehead. He did nothing but hold her for a time, both hybrids sitting with their eyes closed as the younger relaxed, her mate's light scaring away the pain and new sensations to a less-overwhelming presence in the back of her mind. Eventually, Niklaus was too unsettled and he drew back to look with tender and understanding eyes—a look not many knew from him—as he pressed a palm to her cheek. "Sweetheart, let me get the blood for you to complete transition."

At the mention of it, the ache built within her and her mouth opened as her visage shifted just a tad. She looked up at him with wide eyes but he grinned and kissed her then disappeared. Bella breathed in and out as she settled back against the pillows, but Nik was already back by the time her head hit them.

He took the blood bag and made a slit, watching with avid attention for Bella's reaction. It was instant as her breath hitched and she swallowed then cried out as her fangs pierced through her gums and lengthened for the first time, black veins swimming under her amber eyes as she looked up at Klaus with unadulterated hunger. She panted, a whine mingling with the sound as his grip tightened on the glass and he raised an eyebrow telling her to wait. She did so though both were surprised by her restraint. Klaus smiled at her, seeming to be pleased.

When he was finished, he binned the bag and sat on the bed again, reaching up to capture his thumb between his lips to suck away errant blood drops. Bella growled at the action, coveting both the blood and him but he chuckled, smirking, and lifted the glass to her lips. "Doppelgänger blood," he informed her as he pressed the cool glass to her lips. "Drink, love."

She did as told, moaning and clenching her hands in fists as her whole body slumped in pleasure at the first taste of the blood. Klaus chuckled and licked his lips as his body reacted to his mate's pleasure. "She does taste exquisite, doesn't she?" he asked and the moan he received was more than enough of an answer.

Bella took the glass from his hand when it was finished, licking her lips and swallowing to get it all before she let her head fall right back, tilting the glass, arching for the very last drop. Klaus's eyes trailed down her body as she did that and the sheet fell, revealing her naked torso. A wicked grin darkening his features, he surged forward, throwing away the glass and ignoring when it shattered against the wall. He pulled her in and lowered them onto the bed, mouths ravaging as their bodies joined. The conversation Niklaus was supposed to have with his mate about being a hybrid and all it entailed was no longer important as they were consumed by one another.

"Bloody hell," they heard a female voice mutter before she exclaimed much louder over the sounds of pleasure and breaking furniture echoing through the walls, "they're at it again!"

~TPoL~

The eyes of seven Cold Ones watched Damon Salvatore's every move as he poured himself and his mate, Elena, a drink before sitting down on the couch across from them. Their friends stood around them but their penetrating gazes did not affect the Cullens at all as Edward leaned forward.

"It is my understanding that you want to awaken the powerful Silas for the cure, yes?" he began, his crazed eyes eager as they flashed from face to face. He was irritated that he couldn't read a single mind of the Original vampires he was sitting across from, the frustration worse considering the added threat of their superior strength. However, he had learned due to his mate how to read people and thus he did not miss the brightening of the doppelgänger's eyes.

"That's right," Damon replied, not giving in to the urge to look down at his mate or pull her close as he felt her tension as well as her hope. He could not afford to give away that his words were only a half truth given the fact that Silas was very much awake already. He perused the Cold Ones to distract himself only for his head to cock to the side as a question came to mind. He met Edward's posture as he leaned forward as well, putting his glass down on the coffee table all the while holding the amber gaze. "The question is why do you want the cure?" he asked with a smirk, his arms outstretched as he shrugged. "What's your problem with Klaus?"

Edward gritted his teeth and his head twitched in his father's direction, indicating for the blond to speak. A pleasant smile blessed the doctor's face as he sat forward. His warm voice would have set any human at ease but these were vampires of the so-called 'superior' race and they were used to reading between the lines of Cold One manipulation. "My son's mate has recently fled and we have come to understand that she has found her mate in the Original Hybrid."

Caroline's breath hitched and she inhaled sharply, spinning and leaving the room. Stefan followed after her in worry—though not before glancing at his brother.

"How is that possible?" Elena asked in husky tones, features pinched in confusion as she looked between them, her arms crossed over her chest. She leaned into Damon's side, having felt through their own unique connective trait how the older vampire's emotions had risen to surprise.

The doctor smiled again and a huff of air left him, causing Damon's eyes to flash, his expression hardening a little as he knew Elena was being mocked for not knowing when the blond Cold One spoke. "As the lesser of the two species of vampire, our mates, if they are human, are able to find another mate in your species."

"So this mate of yours is human," Damon drawled, his disbelief growing. He could not picture Klaus Mikaelson, the Immortal Hybrid, having a human mate.

"Not quite, as it seems," Edward continued for Carlisle after a look. "She is a werewolf."

"I'm more interested in what this has to do with us?" Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow at the Cold Ones as she crossed her arms over her chest, gaze narrowed at them. She knew there was more than met the eye, that there was something these Cullens weren't telling them. "So you've lost your mate—that sucks and I'm sorry for you, but how the hell are we supposed to help and what's in it for us if we do?"

Edward looked down, a smirk on his lips before liquid gold met first the brown of the witch then the ice blue of Damon Salvatore. "We have information, as we said before, that will help you in gaining what you want—retribution and Silas."

Damon's eyes narrowed. "What about the cure?"

Edward matched his expression, voice strong. "We will be using it for my mate; at some point, the monster will turn her into a hybrid, I'm sure."

Damon scoffed, shaking his head. He felt Elena clutch his hand as his anger rose and he pushed away the calm she was trying to give him. "No dice; we use the cure."

Edward's face twisted into a snarl and a growl burst from his chest, but that was all halted by Carlisle. The blond patriach shook his head at his son then turned back to Damon, taking the reins as Edward breathed in and out hard, trying to calm himself. He felt radioactive—uncontainable, uncontrollable, impossible to reason with, angry and violent... ready to explode. "There is always another option. But it requires a powerful witch," the blond father figure said.

Bonnie stepped forward, head high. "I'm the latest of the Bennett line."

Carlisle perused her through narrowed eyes. "That may not be enough."

The dark-skinned witch's eyebrows raised. "Then who else would you need?"

The doctor looked down as his eyebrows twitched and his lips curled up in a smirk.

Damon growled. "No, no way; we are not using the Original Witch in this plan. I don't know if you're aware but all she wants is to kill off the entire Original species and I, for one, am pretty damn happy with my life right now," he spat, tone sardonic and eyes dark as he picked up his glass and took a long swig of the bourbon to calm his anger and bloodlust as he, at last, let Elena's influence wash over him, sending his gratitude back. He could not afford to lose his cool. For her, he reminded himself, glancing down at Elena as she smiled up at him with a warmth he had missed. This was for his mate; he couldn't screw up a good chance at getting her what she wanted—what she needed—to be happy again.

Edward's jaw locked as he was shut down again, not used to it in his hundred years on earth. "Then we will need to gain alternative help for your little Bennett witch," he said and the witch in question bristled at his tone, glaring at him in indignation as his eyes swept over her body. His lips twitched before he turned his attention back on Damon when the Original vampire spoke.

"What exactly is your plan here? Why do you need so much power?" he asked, and suspicion colored every syllable as his narrowed eyes never strayed from the two who had spoken.

The bronze-haired boy glanced at his father, who spoke again. "If both of us have uses for the cure we are unwilling to forsake, then we will need to go back in time in order to gain additional supply. We will need to get three cures."

Edward blinked at his father's ingenious plan, the man glancing at his son as his plan echoed in his mind and a grin blossomed on the angular face of the youngest Cullen teenager. It was he who spoke, his awe at such a well-rounded plan coloring his breathless tone, eyes far away as he pictured the results. "Indeed… one for my mate, one for your own use—whatever that is, though I must say I would be surprised if it's for your mate—and… one for Niklaus Mikaelson." His smirk was full blown now, eyes dark as they met Damon Salvatore's, who was trying not to glare at him with that little dig about the cure being for his mate—which it wasn't. Edward shrugged. "If he is a mere wolf then not only is he mortal but he's also a thousand times easier to kill."

"Sounds like you're planning a vampire revolution," Damon uttered, eyes narrowed.

Edward smirked. "I suppose you could call it that... The Mikaelsons are a necessary presence, but they're a pestilence easily taken care of in ways that do not hinder the rest of your species."

Damon Salvatore gaped in incredulity. He leaned back, shock and regret at such a brilliant plan that they had never been able to quite perfect echoing through the bond he shared with Elena. He looked over in time at her to see her grin for the first time in two months and the Cullens watched with amused eyes how he, all of a sudden, jumped at the plan just from that reaction. They would never understand Original vampire mating ways.

Bonnie, unaffected by madness—as in Edward Cullen's case—or by a mating bond—as in Damon's—was more skeptical. Her eyes were narrowed and she sighed, the voice of pessimism as she spoke her own immediate thoughts to their plan in a slow voice, surprised no one else was thinking this way. "But… that could also make the rest of your species mortal, Damon—at the very least everyone descended from Klaus which is every vampire in our immediate group. Then we're all targets for not only our own enemies gained over the past four years—and yours and Stefan's from the past one-fifty—but also the rest of the Mikaelsons. After Kol's death, we know how they'll react if harm is brought to one of their family. It means we have no chance against them."

Seeing that Damon and Elena's eyes dimmed under her logic, Edward's own orbs narrowed as he jumped in with a lighter tone than the witch. "Unless… we have the right leverage," he said with a raised eyebrow. A slow smirk graced his lips as he leaned back against the couch he was sitting on, shrugging. "Say, an Original's mate?"

Elena frowned, looking down as she spoke, brows pinched. "If we take Klaus's mate he'll just come after her… and kill all of us."

"Of course," Alice spoke for the first time once Edward and her own mate had given her permission. "But she is not whom we are speaking of." Her elfin features were childlike as she grinned at the three of them from her perch on her mate's lap.

Bonnie was confused as she sent Damon and Elena—who were still and not looking at one another—looks, wondering what the Cullens knew. "None of the other Originals are mated," Elena said in a careful tone, peering at them. Her hand gripped Damon's hard as panic welled within the both of them.

Edward chuckled and the two knew that he knew. "But that's where you are wrong. It appears all four Originals have found their mates… only one is hiding theirs from their terrible Hybrid bastard brother while the other remains… according to rumor, utterly unaffected, strangely enough." His eyebrow rose.

The number four went off in Elena and Damon's minds and they relaxed infinitesimally even as they picked up on that last bit; if what this Edward was saying was true, they were somewhat safe… they were sure they would be able to deflect attention from one of the mate's in lieu of the others. They hoped.

Damon snorted. "And you think they won't come after their mate?" he asked them, looking between each Cold One as he raised an eyebrow. "Obviously, you don't know a lot about our kind."

Oh, but we do, Carlisle thought in a wicked, smug tone and Edward glanced at him, his own expression as impassive as his father's though inside he was much the same as the doctor. "It's a risk we are willing to take… however, given what we do know, I am sure there is a lot that can be done so they wouldn't try to track the mate down."

Damon's eyes narrowed as curiosity sparked. He regarded them all for a moment longer, Bonnie's intense gaze on the side of his head almost begging him to leave all alone while the memory of his mate's pain the past eight weeks spurred him into action. He smirked slow and leaned in, confident and cocky as always. "What's the plan?"

Bonnie sighed hard, but she was ignored as Damon and the Cold Ones began. All the while, Elena grinned for the second time that morning. Her happiness filled Damon up and that was all he needed to know. The little kinks such as Silas already being awake would be sorted out later... when Elena was safely out of the Cullens' reach.

What did I tell you, son? Carlisle thought to Edward, who never reacted to his father's pointed thoughts though the elder knew that the bronze-haired boy was listening. The most detrimental feature of the connection between Original species mates is their willingness to do anything for their mates to be happy. This is something we will use in our plans going forward.

And the blond was more than satisfied when the frozen seventeen year old immediately brought this up with Damon Salvatore as they developed their plan. No one was phased when Caroline entered the room with her own hidden agenda as Stefan Salvatore trailed behind, his green eyes sweeping over the room and a frown on his face as a familiar voice ghosted in his ear, straight from inside.

You shouldn't be here…

All the while, Edward felt a hum he'd thought he would not feel again until after Niklaus Mikaelson's death build inside of him and he trapped the knowledge within, knowing what was occurring but unwilling to share with any just yet as he focused.

They were planning a revolution far more than Damon Salvatore realized... cloaking themselves in disguises to fit right in and lock away their true intentions.

None would be able to check out from the prison they had locked themselves in until it was too late and the bus had arrived at its destination.

~TPoL~

"We mean you no harm!" Agnes shouted as she and twenty other witches backed away from the enraged and impatient wolf in front of them.

"You have resurrected me," he said in a low and dark tone, his piercing blue eyes glaring at each of them as he took another step forward. "I want to know why."

"We must do as our ancestors say," Bastianna answered in a far more calm tone as she stepped forward, not even flinching when a snarl burst through the air in response.

"And what did they say?" The wolf hunched over, knees bent and arms outstretched in a position that screamed he was ready to attack at any moment. The impulse, the urge to seek someone he'd never even met before but had watched for a thousand years—someone his wolf felt without a doubt—was blooming, becoming harder and harder to ignore by the second and a wolf was not one to ignore his impulses to begin with.

"We were to resurrect you and reunite you with your son," Agnes said, her voice level even as she shook and her wide eyes were filled with fear. At one motion, the rest of the witches dispersed and left the two Elders there with the new-resurrected werewolf—all three unknowing to the ancestor watching them.

"Why?" he asked in a rough tone that demanded his question be answered with immediacy.

The witches glanced at one another, cursing the ancestor for their task. "We cannot tell you. That is not an answer we were given. All we can tell you is that you are free from stipulation for your resurrection. All we can tell you is to wait until tonight before you approach your son."

The wolf peered at the two, curious. "Who was it that demanded my resurrection?"

The witches swallowed. "We were told we were not allowed to share."

The answer displeased the Alpha, and he growled then breathed in and out. "Then tell me everything you can share."

Sharing a look, it was Agnes who spoke though the wolf watched Bastianna, eyes unwavering. "You are going to have to fit in with society, so we are to dress you and speak of the rules... You may have observed on the Other Side but in order to live here, you must truly embrace and be in this century. If you wish to fit in you will do as we say."

He relaxed but only just; although he knew he could not trust them in the long run, he could sense they were at least speaking the truth now. His shoulders dipped as he nodded once, ready to listen to what he had to do.

And as they spoke, he sweat the rust of a thousand years, having woken this time into rich color and life instead of the ash and dust of the afterlife and all its forgotten, isolated members.

~TPoL~

"Now, sweetheart, as a hybrid of the Original species, it is important that you remember control comes easiest through the consumption of two things: alcohol and normal food. Both of which you are free to consume as much of as you'd like," Klaus said as he introduced her to the topic of being a hybrid as Kol had called it on his brief interlude in their room before he had been kicked out for telling her all sorts of sordid details of vampirism—among which being how he'd "painted the town red" a dozen times over. It was all poppycock that the Original Hybrid felt his newly-turned mate was not ready to hear.

Bella watched her mate with an indulgent smile as she hugged the sheet to her naked body while Nik lectured her, enjoying his little show. "When does all this… heightened sensation go away?" she asked.

"It doesn't, love," he told her but he rushed to her side when her eyes widened. "You get used to it… as you get used to the thirst for blood you are now experiencing. You should speak with Elijah; he has excellent control if that is what you want."

Bella swallowed and looked down as she took in a deep breath, nodding. "Why did you give me the doppelgänger's blood?" she asked.

Klaus chuckled, looking down as a broad grin lit up his face. He could not say he was surprised that she had picked up on that. "When my mother bound my werewolf side through the curse, she forced upon me a stipulation. In order to free my werewolf side, I had to sacrifice a werewolf, a vampire, and a Petrova doppelgänger as the blood my siblings and I had in our systems when Mikael murdered us belonged to the first doppelgänger." Teeth gritted, his eyes burned with anger and when he spoke again his tone was far darker. "But, in order to prevent me from ever making other hybrids, she also added the stipulation that any werewolf I tried to turn would have to consume the doppelgänger's blood in order to complete transition."

Bella's eyes narrowed as her hate for the original Witch rose. If Nik hadn't found that out, he would have been forced to live without any of his kind around him and, were he to ever have found her, she'd have been stuck as a wolf once she'd triggered the curse, dying a human lifetime later and leaving him to an eternity alone—but this time, he'd have opened himself up to love and would have to adapt to life without her once she was gone. The thought made her anger mount and threaten to overcome her, her need for blood rising again already but she swallowed it back as she leaned into Klaus's touch. She gasped and jolted back a little.

Noticing this, Klaus frowned. "What, love?" he asked her but she shook her head with an errant "later" before she steamed ahead in her questioning.

"What do you mean 'complete transition'?"

"A newly transitioned vampire must consume human blood within twenty four hours of waking up after they have died with a fellow vampire's blood in their veins. If they don't, they die." He regarded her with narrowed, analyzing eyes as he brushed his lips over the skin of her cheek and Bella whimpered at the touch as the feelings welling within her lessened at his contact—just as the thirst did.

"What else do I need to know?" she asked in a faint voice, breathless as she burrowed into him, climbing into his lap, the sheet shielding her gorgeous body be damned.

Klaus traced patterns on the exposed skin of her back as he spoke in a soft, far away tone as he thought through what all he had to inform her about. "You're faster and stronger than any creature but my siblings and you will only get stronger and faster with age. The full moon will boost you even more… Your supernatural senses are just as strong…" He chuckled and the sound sent shivers down Bella's spine as his voice lowered to an even quieter whisper though it was still quite loud compared to what it may have been before she had died as asked. The seductive tones had her throbbing with want all over again when he told her, "Your stamina… your flexibility… your reflexes, agility, and dexterity are stronger than any but my family as well…"

She moaned at the thought of what that meant and she leaned back to look at him, leaning closer but he leaned out of her reach, lips quirked in smug satisfaction as he rose his eyebrows at her and spoke in that haughty tone of his that told her just how pleased he was by her reaction. "Do you want to know this or not?"

She swallowed her growl and nodded, making him chuckle.

"You will not die by stake or arrow and you're able to resist the bullets of hunters should they ever find you," he said though he growled at the end, expression darkening as he sneered. "Which they will not…" He pushed her back on the bed, hands drifting over her skin and she arched into his touch with a hum as her eyes fluttered closed while she bit her lip. "You're immortal… you have no use for the daylight ring my siblings and the rest of the Original vampire species need… you can turn off your humanity—"

"What's that?" she asked, eyes snapping open as she sat up on her elbows.

Klaus frowned, not wanting to elaborate. The thought of this sweet woman without her humanity was daunting... and not something he'd ever allow to come to pass. However, he had to tell her; he could not allow his protective tendencies and fears to confuse his intentions as being anything like Edward Cullen's. "It's a switch. Every vampire has it. If you turn off your humanity you are no longer susceptible to emotions…" He then switched gears, continuing his heavy petting of her skin as he continued on in his speech of all the advantages she now had. "Emotions are felt keenly, far more than any but our family… love, joy, happiness… pain, anger… every emotion is heightened.

"You'll have claws sharp enough to penetrate skin with ease, you'll have both vampire and werewolf fangs just as I do… even in human form. You are no longer forced to transform into your wolf during the full moon; instead, you can choose to do so at will and you can transform partially, manifesting single features of your wolf form… you can compel humans… you can enter the minds of others.. create illusions and manipulate dreams… your bite is fatal to vampires except for my siblings and can cause great pain and hallucinations and death to Cold Ones, though they succumb much faster than the vampires of the Original kind."

Bella leaned in closer to him, biting her lip, only for her eyes to widen as she realized something.

Seeing the look in her eyes, Klaus raised an eyebrow. His brow furrowed as she looked down between them, her fingers playing with the bedspread.

"Love, what is it?" he asked, trying not to let his worries consume him. Was she already having doubts about transitioning?

She swallowed. "You said everything is heightened, right? When I became a wolf, the... scars weren't fixed, but I've changed now, haven't I? Does that mean…?" She chanced a look up at him and swallowed at the expression she was met with.

The worry in his eyes had dimmed, but they did not show the emotion she had hoped for and tears suddenly stung her eyes, disgust making her swallow rising bile.

"They're still there, aren't they?" she whispered in defeat.

Klaus sighed, nodding. "I'm not sure why, love, but yes… they are…"

A bitter little laugh left her and she refused to show her face, but Klaus would not allow her to hide from him. Cupping her jaw, he lifted her chin. "You are still beautiful to me, scars or not." His eyebrow raised as he leveled her with a challenging look, daring her to convince him to feel otherwise.

Then he leaned in close, finally brushing his lips to his mate's, rekindling the emotions that had been brewing prior to her discovery. Pulling back ever so slightly to whisper against her lips: "the last thing you must know, sweetheart, is that you are now immune to silver," he then crashed his lips to hers as he pulled her body up to mold against his, the two rolling in a now-familiar fight for dominance before Bella gave in but, just as things were getting good, they were interrupted.

Klaus tore his lips from his mate and growled at the door. "What?" he asked with his usual amount of tact and grace making Bella giggle into his shoulder.

"Just wondering exactly what time of day you're planning on gracing us with your presence?" came the words out of Rebekah's mouth on the other side of the door.

Bella pressed her lips together as Nik's forehead fell upon hers and he sagged in defeat. He could not deny his sister this. Thus, the new hybrid decided to make things easier for her mate; she flipped them over then sat up on him while she reached for her dressing gown. She slipped it on then rose off of his lap, sending him a coy smile over her shoulder as she did it up then went to open the door to Rebekah just as Klaus disappeared to get dressed for the day.

"Hi," Bella said to the blonde Original and she bit her lip as Rebekah sighed at her appearance—mussed hair, swollen lips, and obviously naked under her bloody robe.

"Get dressed and meet the rest of us downstairs," she told the girl before she disappeared.

"Okay!" Bella shouted after her. She rolled her eyes then turned and used her heightened speed for the first time to do just that, releasing a stunned "whoa!" She had just gotten used to her werewolf speed but this… this was somethin' else.

Klaus watched on with a fond but amused grin on his face, content—something that was difficult for him to get used to and even more so as he felt this old feeling within him strengthening throughout the day. He'd felt it since some time last night as he lay holding his mate and waiting for her to wake and complete transition. He wasn't sure what it was and the paranoid side of him, the product of both Mikael's treatment and one thousand years on the run surrounded by a continuously unravelling web of lies told him that this contentment he was feeling would not last long… that he should prepare.

But every look, every touch from his mate and those thoughts drifted from his mind, strengthening his conclusion that this was the connective trait he shared with his Isabella.

Bella's arm wrapped around his waist, pulling Nik from his thoughts as he shifted to circle her waist with his own arm and the two walked at a leisured pace down to meet the three Mikaelsons awaiting the first sight of their transitioned hybrid sister. Over in a corner of the open-roofed compound—making it an ideal place for Bella to first come and interact with everyone—Davina was working on her magic, testing it with narrowed eyes on something she herself had been feeling all day.

Control.

"You called?" Klaus asked in a loud voice as he and Bella appeared on the balcony, whooshing down to stand in front of them. He rose an eyebrow at his siblings, taking in Davina's presence. "Hello, little witch," he said to her with a charming smile. "I was not aware that you were here." Kol had taken to leaving the compound with his mate almost every day for one reason or another.

"That is why we wish to speak with you, brother," Elijah said as he stepped forward while Kol darted to his own mate, watching over her as she worked—and from her enhanced hearing, Bella could hear every whispered word that fell from the teenager's lips as if they were spoken right into her ear. Though as Niklaus had said, already she could feel herself adapting to the heightened… well, everything.

Especially when Rebekah handed her a glass of blood and she downed it in a flash, her visage peeking before she reined it in to the surprise of all watching.

"What's the matter?" Klaus asked, narrowed eyes darting over everyone in front of him.

"The witches approached us during the ball," Kol said, his tone now of even volume considering his proximity to Davina and Bella's supernatural hearing; there was both no longer a need for raised voices and also the threat of Nik lashing out at his mate's pain should they overwhelm her enhanced senses before she had a chance to readjust and thus gain control over them. And as already expressed, Kol still worried about the state of his heart should he evoke his brother's ire—even accidentally.

Klaus's expression darkened. "What did they say?"

"They won't hunt Davina for the Harvest any longer," he said in a happy tone even as he turned to face the rest of them, his expression betraying his true and far more worried emotions. "An ancestor asked them not to."

"An ancestor of Davina's?" Klaus asked with a raised brow.

"We don't know," Rebekah interjected, her arms crossed over her chest and she glared at the wall, not meeting his eyes. She was still upset with him, then, Klaus noted with a grin. "They won't bloody tell us."

"What's the issue then?" Bella asked as she looked between them, failing to see what the big deal was.

"The problem, darling, is that for some reason the ancestors want Davina to have four times the power she is supposed to have," Kol informed her. "And we have no idea what those reasons are. Furthermore, we have no idea what the ancestral spirits are so worried about that they would call for the delay of a ritual performed once every three hundred years to strengthen the coven's power and their hold over them. It makes no sense."

"And," Davina interjected, making them all turn to her as she looked up. "I woke up this morning with complete control over all of my powers. Instead of being overwhelmed by them, they feel... right, now. The balance is restored."

Each Original stiffened and Bella looked up at Klaus then at their expressions to try and figure out the impact of that statement. Her eyes narrowed. "Well, that's good then, right?" She looked to Kol with her eyebrow raised.

"Yes, it is," Kol agreed at once, though his eyes shifted to Nik's over her head to share a meaningful glance that Bella could not begin to interpret. "However, we want to know why. Especially considering having this amount of power is normally extremely dangerous. Once the ancestor stops helping Davina control it, the Elders won't need to kill her; the magic will do the job itself." The look on his face told them all that he would not let this happen, but it was a troubling thought—how could magic, something about nature, kill one who held the power within themselves?

It was a question that Bella voiced, a frown on her face as she eyed the witch working away on small spells to test her control—something Bella could tell Kol didn't like by the way his eyes kept trailing back to her, his face impassive but for the infinitesimal pull of his brows.

Kol's lips were pulled tight and his face devoid of emotion in a way that would have made anyone shiver at the sight of such an unhinged, dangerous creature. But then his expression cleared and his tone of voice was even as he spoke to Bella as a teacher would a student. "Witches are only ever supposed to have a certain amount of power. After that, if they have too much, they can't control it, the balance tips and things get nasty. Certain witches are more powerful than others but their power has been mastered and survived generation after generation, handed down through the centuries; the Bennetts for example – they're one of the most powerful families in history. The latest witch, Bonnie, has so much more power than most others because her bloodline has been around for at least 2 thousand years and the bloodline is far less polluted than others. Our own lineage we have never traced but we already know that we come from a powerful bloodline as well. Davina, however powerful she may be with just her own power, is both a new witch to the craft and holding four times the amount of power her lineage is ready for at this point in time. Without the control of the ancestral spirits we would have a real problem on our hands – the magic would begin to overwhelm Davina's body, looking for an out. Soon enough just coughing would set off an earthquake."

Bella swallowed, stiffening now as the realization of how severe the situation was hit her. Her mind was racing as she tried to think of what they could do, but she was coming up with nothing so she asked Kol.

He shook his head and went back to his mate's side. They shared a grin before the young witch turned back to her work and Kol to Bella after dropping a kiss to Davina's temple. "There's nothing we can do until the time comes to complete the Harvest Ritual. Right now, there's no danger and though I would like to know what they're hiding from us, there's little we can do if we want to maintain the peace needed for the coming war. All nine covens of New Orleans are powerful and would make extremely good allies but my relationship with them only goes so far, and with some covens more than others. Besides, Davina's coven has already promised she'll be returned immediately with a simple spell when it is time to complete the Ritual… and when she does come back she will have only the amount of power she is supposed to have right now. The balance will have been restored. Everything will be fine."

There was silence for a few minutes as each pondered Kol's words before Rebekah sparked to life, stepping forward as she gripped the hybrid's hand and then turned back to Davina with a smile before facing her brothers with a raised eyebrow. "Now to get away from all this depressing talk about death… how about my idiot brothers leave us girls to ourselves. I, for one, would like to spend some time getting to know my newest sister," she said, referencing Davina as she aimed a look at Kol for the last bit. His eyes narrowed and he stiffened, about to rebut, however, the blonde sighed and smiled. "She'll be safe with the two of us, Kol," she said and she gestured between herself and Bella.

It was only when Davina confirmed that this was something she wanted that he relented, and the brothers disappeared into the town together for an afternoon of god-knows-what while Rebekah turned to the two brunettes in front of her. "What shall we do now, loves?"

~TPoL~

Silas looked around at the people he was surrounded by, dissatisfied as he tried and failed to get a read on his mate's location. He knew she was still alive; Qetsiyah, in her drive to break them apart and unleash eternal hell, had overlooked the mating bond that had been strengthened by the spell that had turned them into the first Immortals.

Indeed, upon first waking up surrounded by strangers and a girl who was the spitting image of his mate—and yet someone he could tell in an instant was not her—while also facing a man just like himself, he had known that she was still alive, that there was hope for him to cling to of reuniting with his mate, his Amara.

Thus he took the first chance he could to escape the company of a group of vampires of the Original species—created after himself and Amara by a spell modeled upon theirs, he had later come to know. Their desires for him to destroy the Other Side—a creation of the lovely (note sarcasm) witch he'd been betrothed to—were not his concern. He was wrapped up in the feel of all the ways he was still connected to her.

Amara.

All he wanted—all he needed—was to find her. Then they'd spend forever together, never dying and always together. Consequences be damned.

The Cure was irrelevant now, no longer needed in the face of the truth that his beautiful soulmate was alive, waiting for him to awaken her from her entrapment. He was all systems go. The sun had not died and until it did, taking life on earth with it, he would be looking. Though the feeling he had deep in his bones, coming straight from inside, told him that in this new age, he would find her in due time—and fast.

His features twisted in anger and bitterness as he looked down and tried to control his mounting anger. He longed to see Qetsiyah again, to be able to kill her for what she had done to them; keeping him away from his mate for two thousand years.

But first, to find Amara.

That was most important now that he had become knowledgeable of the world around him in the just-over-a-month since his awakening. Knowing of hunters designed to kill him, of two species of vampire, of the witches and werewolves still roaming the earth after all this time… he knew what to look out for and he would be careful.

He closed his eyes as he let himself feel the multiple connective traits that sprung from his mind, body, heart and, indeed, his very soul, stretching out to encompass his Amara. The joined heartbeat, the emotions, the confidence, the light, the telepathy… among countless others. As the first Immortals bound by a soul mate bond, they had them all and, when the time came, he would use the healing touch they both had for just one another to wake her and free her from her binds.

He breathed in the chemicals he no longer needed to stay alive, simply enjoying the feeling as he scented the air. His eyes snapped open as he sensed something closing in on him. All the while the feel of the bond, reaching out to his mate, calmed him.

He vanished in the crowd.

~TPoL~

That night found the Mikaelsons and Davina and Bella in the sitting room together, enjoying one another's company. Davina and Bella were curled up in their mate's sides as they watched and listened to the banter of the Original family with amused and indulgent grins, sharing looks every now and then in reaction to whatever was being said.

Bella leaned into Klaus when she felt him stiffen and she looked up in worry; he had been like this all day. Stiffening for no reason and when she asked, he would give no explanation—he would just take a swig of yet another glass of his scotch or bourbon or whiskey (whatever the hell he was drinking; it was changing as the night bore on). "Tell me what's wrong," she demanded under her breath, having felt him relax at her touch.

"It's nothing, love," he told her, avoiding her eyes since he knew they'd make him give in.

"I want to help," she whispered back.

He paused then put his glass down and turned to look down at her with soft eyes and a small smile. "You are, sweetheart."

"How?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms over her chest. The look in her eyes made Klaus smile and sigh, resigning himself to explaining because he knew—and loved—that his mate was just as stubborn as he was himself and she would thus not back down until she knew. Plus, she'd be able to tell if he was lying.

Klaus stood, downing the rest of his glass. He took her hand and the two flitted from the room to go upstairs. He sat on their bed, pulling her with him, and looked into her eyes as he began to explain. "Mating bonds are unique in that each bond manifests a different way the two who are mated will be connected," he began and Bella's eyes narrowed before she nodded a second later, understanding him so far though she could already tell it was a confusing topic. "It is generally something that both need and personal to the couple; no two couples have the same connective trait though they may be similar. For Marcel and Camille, it's a confidence they feed off of from one another because their own paths have caused doubt. For Elena and Damon from Mystic Falls, it's emotions because that is where both—though in particular, Damon—feel weak in relationships, the reason why they close off. In order for them to function, they are able to feel one another's emotions and perhaps manipulate them a little as a security in their own relationship—Damon needs it because he was played by the older Petrova doppelgänger, Katerina. She told him she loved him but she did not… and now he finds it hard to trust. This connective trait, as they are called, allows him to feel confident in their relationship just as Marcel and Camille's does."

"What's ours then?" Bella asked, wanting confirmation rather than to voice her own thoughts. Considering this was all new to her, she was hoping that she was correct in her assumptions but she would rather Niklaus tell her than for her to have to guess.

As it was, her mate disagreed with that method. Klaus inclined his head a little as his eyebrow rose, a faint smirk ghosting on his lips. "I think you know, love," he whispered and Bella licked her lips as he pressed his fingers against her cheek. Her breath hitched and her eyes fluttered closed as their bond's connective trait washed over the two of them, healing old wounds by swathing their souls in a light they were already addicted to and unashamed of admitting that they very much needed.

Bella pulled away a little though not enough that his touch was nowhere on her body. She looked into his eyes for a moment as the light within dimmed a little but did not dissipate. She swallowed, her voice a whisper when she spoke. "I felt it earlier, just before we started talking about... my scars... Whenever you touch me, whenever you talk to me… I… Anything negative goes away. I feel safe and loved and sure… of myself, of you… your love—it's this light that scares the darkness away."

Klaus nodded. "That's right," he told her in a soft tone, leaning forward. "It makes me feel the same."

A knock on the inner wooden doors interrupted them before they could go any further and the two groaned, Klaus chuckling as he pulled his mate up and the two whooshed downstairs to the courtyard where the rest of the family was waiting in front of the doors.

Klaus, ever paranoid, knew they were not expecting anyone and the feeling within him—the one he'd felt yet ignored for almost twenty-four hours now—exploded deep inside him, making his wolf keen as he hesitated in front of the final barrier. He shifted Bella behind him, gripping the door handle. At last, at soft prodding from Elijah, he pulled it open.

A gasp left his mouth as he saw a face he'd not seen in a thousand years, though now well-shaved and dressed in modern clothing to adapt him to the new age. Klaus stepped back involuntarily as emotion welled inside so strong he was breathless. It caused his voice to shake as he spoke just one word, unaware of how all the others watching questioned him on what was happening and who this person was.

"You…"

The werewolf swallowed and stepped closer. "Niklaus," he breathed, his eyes drinking the man in front of him in as he saw him without the veil of the Other Side hindering his view. He was so different now without the veil dimming what he saw.

This propelled the Hybrid into motion and the tears which had welled in his eyes were kept at bay as he shouted, sounding strangled and hoarse with emotion. "No, no! You're not real!" he said, eyes glazing over as flashes of memory from a thousand years ago continued to plague his mind. He backed away, arm up as he could not remove his gaze from the man in front of him.

"Nik—" Bella whispered, looking from her mate to his siblings. Klaus couldn't hear her.

"Niklaus—" the man tried again, his tone sad and almost breaking under the weight of the Original Hybrid's anguish.

"No!" Klaus shouted and then he spun, eyes crazed and darting to his eldest brother. "Elijah, call the witches; I want them here. I know that thing is not real and whoever has done this—created this phantom—they will pay for it with their lives!"

"Niklaus—"

"Now, Elijah," he growled, halting whatever placating words had been about to come out of the Original's mouth.

Elijah pursed his lips as he stared at his brother then looked toward the man and, seeing the similarities, he made sense of the situation almost instantly. He promptly froze.

All the while the newcomer continued to step forward, trying to reach Klaus. His tone was gentle but commanding as he ignored Isabella's hiss. She tried but failed to comfort her mate all while the younger Mikaelson siblings looked for guidance from their eldest brother. But he, too, was lost in a sea of incomprehension. He knew not what to do, had no idea of just how to comfort his brother, just how to help him in this time of need…

He was powerless, they all were.

"Look at me, Niklaus," the man beseeched and Klaus had to obey. He clenched his eyes shut and turned around, forcing them open to stare at the man before him though he could not see him clearly through the haze of tears.

There was a small smile on Ansel's face as he looked at his son, their eyes boring into one another's for the first time in one thousand years. "I am flesh and blood. Your flesh and blood."

---

So how was that? How are we all feeling right now after this chapter? Did we catch the plot points coming into play? Did we catch the missing mate?

I know I'm being a little (okay, a lot) mean for giving you a cliffy, but that's exactly how I saw this chapter ending once I got the idea of Ansel coming back. This is, after all, a story about the power of love-all types of it, as well.

A lot of information in this chapter and, again, all stuff you'll need not only coming soon but in the distant future as well!

Will see you in a week... PLEASE review and let me know what you think! Thanks a bunch!

ncbexie25