A/N: Sorry for the long wait and for not making this chapter as long as I wanted. Getting back into the groove of writing once more. I do hope this will hold you guys until I get back to writing longer chapters.
12
Bastianna was troubled. Sophie and Katie hadn't answered their phones in hours despite her clear instruction to contact her by nightfall. Without their magic, she couldn't track them either. She should have just asked them to bring her blood and let the vampire doppelgänger go but the plan was to kill her once they did the locator spell for her descendant.
They couldn't just let her flee knowing that the Supreme would feel her wards breaking. If she were found, then it would all lead back to them, and they couldn't afford any loose ends.
"Call me back and tell me where you are. We don't have much time left," Bastianna whispered harshly to her phone before dropping it onto the countertop. She'd gotten Sophie's voicemail for the third time. The bell to Jardin Gris sounded with a soft chime.
A rush of frost went from her tailbone to the base of her skull. Alerting her to an enemy coming inside.
Marcel Gerard swaggered in, both hands in his pocket and a deceitful easy-going smile on his face.
She pressed her lips together leaning fir against the counter. "We're closed."
"Could have fooled me with that open sign still facing the door," he smirked. His brown hat was lifted off his head and placed on his chest in a flourish.
"I was just about to flip it. What can I do for you vampire?" the word was uttered with all the disgust she could summon.
The vampire king was not phased by the frosty welcome. "Heard you might be missing some girls. I came to offer my services in finding them."
Bastianna did an admirable job of keeping her expression neutral. Her normally pinched expression didn't shift nor did her breathing hitch or waver. Her heartbeat even managed to remain steady. "I'm afraid you've heard wrong. There's no one missing. Some younger girls decided to take a trip out of town. A bit short notice since they're meant to be in training but what can you do? They're young and impulsive after all."
Marcel grinned widely. "Ah, to be young again. Don't you miss it?"
She curled her lip. "Is there anything else I can do for you? If not, you're going to have to leave so I can close."
He shrugged. "Don't let me stop you. I was just extending my courtesy as a concerned faction leader. It seems my guys got some wrong information. It would truly be a shame if one of our dear city's most beloved covens went through any sort of crisis."
"Josephine is our faction leader. Any witch business you have should be taken up to her." the Regent had a much greater tolerance for vampires than she would have liked.
He shrugged. "Normally yes, but my men informed me that the girls are French Quarter witches. So I decided to cut out the middle man."
Her nails pressed inside her palm until it nearly broke the skin. She stopped herself knowing that he would scent the blood.
Bastianna smiled woodenly. "Should I be concerned with how you seem to have so much knowledge in the ins and outs of my coven?"
Marcel smirked. He resembled his sire at that moment. "I just like to keep my ears to the ground. After all, we all share this wonderful city. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to a fellow citizen. I'm just being neighborly."
"How generous of you to offer. But like I said, no one is missing. Just some wayward girls taking a trip out of time."
"Good to know." his smile was exaggerated. After hearing from Klaus and Cordelia about the witches in Mystic Falls, Marcel couldn't help himself. He knew that making Bastianna aware that they knew what she was up to was a foolish plan. But rattling her just a little bit was too good to pass up. Just enough to know that he suspected something but didn't know the details.
That was satisfactory.
He gave her one last look then wore his hat once more to tip it forward. "Have a good evening."
Bastianna offered no goodbye of her own and kept her eyes on him until he left, the door closing with a soft chime. Once he was gone, she picked up the phone and called Katie who didn't answer either. "Pick up you stupid girl!"
She threw the phone to the ground in anger, chest heaving and nostrils flaring. This wasn't how it was all supposed to go. Not at all. If she didn't get control of the situation now, they would lose everything they'd planned for so long. Bastianna couldn't wait another year. Not when the cancer was spreading and her prognosis worsened. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Something must have happened to Sophie and Katie. Something that perhaps Marcel knew about. No, not when they'd been so careful all this time. Only three people knew the ritual: herself, Sophie, and Agnes. Not even Katie knew all the details so there was no reason it would leak to the vampires.
She couldn't take any chances this time. Whatever it was needed to be dealt with without delay. She glanced at the shelves where a full jar of potion she gave the girls before their trip sat. As for a dark object, another trip to the church to sweet talk the priest was in tow.
She would give them another day and if they weren't back, she'd head to Mystic Falls herself and get this damn thing back on schedule. For now, they would have to work with what they had.
"Agnes! We have a problem!"
"Of all the pig-headed things to do." Cordelia rubbed her temples in irritation. Her protégée and great great grand-niece sat sheepishly on the bed covered in a soft blanket. Her mate sat beside her with a comforting embrace even though it was obvious he was vexed himself. But he managed to exercise some of that rarely found self-control of his. Underneath the red haze clouding her faculties, she could admit it was a fascinating sight to see Klaus Mikealson temper himself for the sake of Bonnie. Normally, he would have put two holes in the wall by now. Cordelia was worried he would the moment a panicked Dwayne rushed upstairs with Bonnie's limp body in his arms.
"I was just trying to help," Bonnie mumbled. Her head rested sideways on Klaus' shoulder.
"And if your brain turned into soup who exactly would that help?"
"It didn't." Bonnie weakly defended.
Cordelia snorted. "Darling, that spell you attempted on Sophie took me three years to master. I am very angry with you for using it even though I know your intentions. I am also proud, but the fear of losing you is overshadowing it. Just a few seconds longer and the effects would be irreversible. Do you understand that?"
Bonnie knew that well. She knew the risks of what she was planning to do the moment she stepped down to that basement. But she thought it was worth it.
"I'm sorry." She sounded sincere.
The Supreme witch sighed loudly feeling burdened with a bucket load of emotions. Was this what parenting was like? She had no idea. Weren't they supposed to be easier to handle after eighteen? Yet another falsehood not stated in parenting books. She remembered Amelia's baby, Marissa, being a sweet little thing that barely cried or made a fuss. It was like that until she was ten when her mother died and Cordelia exiled herself in grief after making sure the girl ended up with her Bennett relatives.
It was a decision she regretted at times. She watched over Marissa when she could seeing her from her teens till adulthood. She too, like Bonnie's mother Abby, had no love of witchcraft and shunned it. Her last tenuous connection to Amelia. That sent Cordelia stumbling away once more engrossing herself in studying to become a Supreme witch, angry and disheartened with Marissa's choice. Her mother loved magic and treated it like a second skin so to see her own daughter push it aside broke something inside her.
"I'm going for a short ride. Please don't do anything like that again Bonnie," Cordelia spoke curtly before leaving the bedroom and pointedly avoiding eye contact.
The door closed and Bonnie felt her chest slam shut too. She swallowed feeling choked. Klaus felt the dip in her mood. "She was just worried about you."
"I disappointed her." Bonnie's voice was hoarse. The thought made her stomach feel heavy with lead. Apart from Grams, there weren't any steady role models in her life. She couldn't remember her mother and her father was a figure who signed the checks and left. It was worse than if Cordelia was angry with her. The anger she could deal with.
But seeing her so curt and disappointed was a special sort of hurt. One that hit in a special place.
Klaus kissed her forehead. "She adores you too much to be angry with you. In a few hours, she'll come around. There is a bright side."
She sniffled. "What?"
"I'm going to delay being angry with you for now myself."
Bonnie huffed a laugh looking at him. Despite the nonchalant smirk he wore, she knew he was serious.
"I was almost scared when Dwayne brought your unconscious body to me," he said grabbing her hand. Klaus's expression was imperceptible.
Bonnie licked her chapped lips. "Almost?"
He placed her hand on his lap fiddling with each finger. She brushed his thigh ever so slightly making Klaus nearly forget his reply. His want for her was rivaled by his anger at her actions though, so he powered through. "Yes, mostly I found myself puzzled and a little bit angry when informed of your actions. But mostly baffled that you would do such a thing."
"I wanted to help," she tried.
Klaus grasped her wandering hand firmly. "If I can recall, I didn't exactly complain about your contributions so far. I don't understand why you then felt the need to put yourself in danger through overexertion."
"Look, I'm not going to keep defending myself. I know what I did was dangerous and risky but it paid it. I did it because I thought the risk was worth it," her voice was raised this time to accompany a sharp expression.
Klaus opened his mouth to say something but closed it. He didn't want to argue. Not tonight or any time in the future. He just sighed and kissed her knuckles. "Next time, just tell me first alright? I will worry and I'm not going to stop. Just give this old man a head's up before trying any heart-attack-inducing stunts."
Bonnie felt some of her annoyance ebb away. Deep down she knew she had no right to even feel annoyed. Klaus and Cordelia had every right to be angry with her. In their shoes, she might have torn herself a new one. Sometimes foolhardy seemed to be the way to her. A side effect of spending too much time with Damon and Stefan maybe. Or maybe it was a Bennett family trait.
"I promise old man." she leaned forward to peck his lips. Her throat felt parched when she pulled away. "Can I get some water?"
"Of course." He reached for a glass of water on the bedside table and handed it to her which she greedily gulped down. "Did you get anything useful to make it all worth it?"
She nodded. "Bastianna is sick with cancer. She isn't getting better and the ancestors won't help unless she does the sacrifice. Sophie was holding that back."
Klaus mulled over the information. He took the cup from her and set it down on the table. "Nothing I couldn't have gotten from her myself with a few more uncomfortable incentives."
"You mean breaking more of her body parts," Bonnie deadpanned.
He reached for her face, cupping her cheek and drinking in her admirable features. He'd felt it before Dwayne came rushing with her in his arms. It was a searing stab to the gut both physically and metaphorically knowing that his mate was hurt. He'd hurried torn his wrist open and fed her his blood, relief filling his pores when the healing effect took place. It was not a sight he wanted to see ever again or an experience he wanted to have. While Bonnie laid in bed asleep Klaus sat to keep watch over her.
He wondered if this would not be his downfall. Her pain had become his and vice versa. The old him would have snarled at the obvious weakness. Perhaps she was. But it was far too late to let the logical arguments overtake him. He was not a slave to fate no matter what anyone said. But his choice to indoctrinate her into every aspect of his life no longer felt like a choice. All those years spent roaming alone with the on-and-off presence of his siblings now felt incomplete. He was now realizing that even then it felt that way but consumed with finding a way to break his curse and end Mikael for good helped steer his mind away from it.
" I would break a thousand more limbs to keep you safe," he answered bluntly. "I would do worse in fact. I have done worse. But none of that compares to the hell I will inflict should anything ever dare to harm you, Bonnie."
His words made her uncomfortable. The intensity and honesty of it. But something else bloomed in her chest.
Joy.
Was it terrible to be happy that someone was willing to do terrible things for you? It might be. Bonnie found that she didn't care. Not when she'd done a terrible thing just hours ago for Demi's safety. Something she'd yet to feel regret for.
"Easy there Shakespeare." she moved on her knees in front of him, straddling him so she was seated on his lap. "I'm sorry for worrying you."
Klaus tentatively cupped her waist. "Don't do it again or I'll spank you."
She quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? I thought you're supposed to discourage me from acting out. Doesn't sound like discouragement to me. That's just incentive."
"Is that right?" he muttered trailing his hands down her bare thighs. The air in the room shifted to something more tense and heated. His eyes now glowed gold and Bonnie could feel a wave of just rush over her. In a split second, she was tossed over in her stomach and her bottoms torn away. She yelped at how quickly it all happened but she wasn't alarmed. It was something she'd been waiting for. Anticipation flooded her belly as she looked over her shoulder to see her mate buttoning his trousers and looking at her like she was something to be devoured.
She bit her bottom lip. "What are you doing?"
"Giving incentive," he answered with a wink. That went straight to her groin. Klaus caressed her bare bottom, stroking the soft, plump flesh and imagining all the things he planned to do with her in the future. He would take her slowly, fill every inch of her until she cried begging for release. After that, he would give it to her until all that remained on her lips was the cry of his name. That was how he wanted the first time he took her to be. But his stubborn brat of a mate decided to shake things up.
"If at any point this becomes too much for you, tell me alright?" Klaus prompted tenderly.
She nodded. "I will." Her skin sang with excitement. Her core was already beginning to drip. The first smack came by surprise. Bonnie squeaked the moment his palm made contact with her bottom. It sent a shock of pleasure into her pussy completely turning on the switch. A moan escaped her.
"Oh, you like that?" Klaus grinned dipping two fingers inside her. She took him easily, moaning and thrusting back against his fingers. He fingered her with precision, making sure to hit every pleasurable spot much to her delight. Her hips writhed and little whimpers escaped her lips made his wolf purr. He was pleasing his mate.
He slapped her bare bottom harder and she tightened around his fingers. They were going to have some fun now.
Stefan threw his brother two blood bags with no particular care. Damon glared at him from the bed where he laid but weakly accepted and began tearing them to drink. If he knew what was good for him, he would savor it. They weren't sure when he'd be fed again. The hybrid who gave Stefan the blood wasn't friendly and didn't want to risk asking him again. If they were lucky, they'd get to leave the house soon enough without needing another meal.
"No need for the hostility," Damon huffed.
"You wouldn't be in this mess if you didn't stupidly try to attack Klaus," Stefan snapped.
Damon rolled his eyes. "Excuse me if my first instinct is to attack against the raging psychopath who first attacked us years ago. A self-preservation tactic you seem to lack."
"A world of good it did you." Stefan mocked now pacing across the room. "Klaus doesn't even give a shit about us or Katherine. You heard him. He wants Elena's blood."
"And Bon Bon is helping him get it," his brother said somewhat mournfully. "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that judgy would bend over for the Original Hybrid of all people."
Something inside Stefan tightened. "They're mates. I doubt she had a choice." He wondered what force in the universe would engineer such a match. Bonnie was the opposite of Klaus in every way. He watched the man rip his own father to shreds years ago and according to Katherine, that wasn't the first parent he offed. Did Bonnie even know that? How could she be ok with that? With being with someone capable of such a thing?
Damon sucked the first bag empty then tossed it on the floor before giving his brother a bloody grin. "There's always a choice. Bonnie made hers. Not one any of us saw coming but can't say I'm surprised. Good girls and bad boys are such a cliché."
"Oh, so you think she's acting out or something? Hell of a way to do so," Stefan said dryly. He perched on the stool at the foot of the bed where Damon lay.
"Why do you even care?" Damon turned it on him.
"Bonnie's my friend. I'm not sure you know what that means but I'm sure that I'm allowed to be worried about her. Especially she turns up with the most dangerous person we both know." Stefan knew he sounded defensive but he chalked it up to irritation with Damon's prodding.
Damon hummed sinking his teeth into the next blood bag. "If you say so. I don't know much about friends like you but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to call them more than once a year."
That hit right where he knew it would. Stefan's expression turned sullen and he stood up. "Fuck you." He left the room and slammed the door.
"Was it something I said?" Damon called out in a fake innocent voice but chuckled at his brother's ire. Served him right. Stefan wanted to act like he could do no wrong but that didn't matter in Bonnies' eyes. The Bennett witch held her grudges well. Damon was also on the receiving end but he was never invested in her. The one woman he wanted, he got. None of the other airheads in this place mattered.
Outside the room, Stefan went down the stairs ignoring the boring looks the hybrids guarding the place gave him. He needed some air. Well not really, but he wanted to be alone. He walked outside the mansion to the front porch and took a deep breath in. Despite how uncouthly he articulated it; Damon was right. Stefan had no right to call Bonnie his friend after what happened to Sheila. It was his fault she died. All for a person who tricked and lied to him at every turn.
When Klaus told him that Katherine was trying to run away after making the brothers believe she was dead, he wasn't surprised. That was her way. Tricking and using everyone around her. That was who he tried to help. And for what? For Damon? Or because he just couldn't let the past die?
It didn't matter. Bonnie lost her family because of it.
He sighed wondering what to do next. Elena seemed to be seriously considering Klaus' offer. As much as he hated it, it wasn't a bad deal. These witches would just be the first wave. More would come for Elena and her blood. With Klaus Mikealson's protection, nothing would come near her. It was more than himself or Damon could give her. That didn't mean he didn't have a bad taste in his mouth.
Klaus of all people offering protection.
He never thought he'd see the day.
Apart from his obvious need for doppelgänger blood, Bonnie was the reason.
"This is just fucking crazy," he muttered to himself leaning against the railing. And something told him it wasn't going to slow down any time soon.
