A/N: Thank you all for sticking with me despite my long absence on this story. Other stuff just happened to take precedence. But I'm back and here to leave you with a punch of an ending for this chapter!

13.

"That was an absolutely foolish thing you did," Rebekah remarked leaning against the door frame. Marcel sat alone in the sunroom sipping from a glass of whiskey. It amused her how much he resembled Klaus at that moment. Like father, like son. Marcel managed to at least get most of his good habits and alter the bad ones. Still, the brooding silence was one that didn't skip him at all. Demi was sleeping peacefully after a day spent reading Alice in Wonderland and Little Women. Rebekah wanted her to expand her vocabulary and reading level since she wasn't enrolled in traditional schooling for the moment. She still remembered some things from her time spent as the governess to the children of a Duke she tried to seduce once. He ended up being drained by Klaus for some infarction she couldn't remember, but the children were sweet from memory. Good students too.

"I didn't reveal anything. I didn't say anything," he replied.

"But you showed up to the doorstep of a panicked woman and gave her more reason to worry. People in that state tend to do desperate things."

"I know."

Rebekah assessed him for a moment longer. "That's what you want, isn't it? For her to slip up and do something stupid."

The corner of his mouth spread and she hated how it stirred something warm inside her. "Bingo. If she's crazy enough to tell her coven members that she can wipe out all the vampires in the city, no doubt she'll try anything to let her plan go through. That desperation is how we'll catch her." Klaus called to inform them about the information gotten from Sophie.

Sophie.

That was a painful one. What they had wasn't built from romance, at least not on his part. But he respected her as a friend and felt grateful for her part in rescuing Demi. Little did he know that she felt the opposite way and blamed him for Jane Anne's death. He hadn't killed her that night but his anger at seeing the small child bound and crying blurred all sense from him that he didn't realize he'd killed all the siphons in the room until the very end. Knowing that she was involved was both infuriating and heartbreaking.

"I want all of this to end. I just want Demi to wake up for once without visions of people coming for her," his voice was low but the resolve was audible. "I want her to live and see her next birthday."

Rebekah walked in and took a seat opposite him. "She will. We'll get her a normal life."

Marcel twisted the cap off the decanter. "Lourdes says she might not make it to the end of next year if we don't find a solution. At least not with her magic or whatever that is. We know now that her mother did some ritual to anchor her soul with the help of a necromancer. That's not an everyday run of the mill spell. There should be a breadcrumb of some sort left behind. A trail in fact. How the hell is a rare witch this difficult to find?!"

"Endangered species know how to protect themselves," she pointed out.

"We're hunters," he growled.

"We are predators," Rebekah corrected placing a hand on his balled fist. It immediately loosened in her grasp. "To catch a prey takes time and patience. Diligence most of all. We are on the right track. We will find her and we will end the French Quarter witch." Predators didn't kill for sport. They did so for survival. That was what she reminded herself day after day in this existence. Some days it boded true while others made it laughable to even utter the words.

"I have a feeling that we are out of time," he breathed. Marcel did a good job of keeping himself collected but the springing board of fears in his head made him restless. Time and chance were slipping from their grasp it felt like he had to do something soon.

She caressed his hand ignoring the shivers she felt when the tips of his fingers brushed her palm. "We are never out of time."

The words were firm but soothing. Having Rebekah this close was both wonderful and terrifying because he'd missed her for so long even after having her back in the compound. Between Demi's needs, Bonnie's arrival, and the eldest Mikealsons' always around, it felt like they never had any time alone together.

Impulsively, he bent his head to kiss her hand gently. "Always hoping for the best."

Rebekah impressively kept her resolve without shattering at the feather-like kiss that set her insides on fire. "It's all any of us can do in this chaotic existence."

"Hmm, here you are sounding like some wise old mage. Are you sure you've been living with only Klaus these past few years?"

Rebekah laughed at that. She shrugged with a smile. "Well, when you're surrounded by my brothers for so long, you because the wisest by default. Elijah tries but he slinks off away most of the time. Kol is, well, still adjusting if I'm honest."

Dying once as a human and waking up as a vampire was traumatic enough. To have to do it again as a vampire was another double-barrel of confusion. It had been a hundred years but that didn't mean it wore off. Cordelia's selfless act was an appreciated solution but not without its demerits. There was a reason they left Kol behind. He had his episodes and despite his protests, the stately castle was a comfort to him. He was getting there but it took time. A hundred years was nothing to a vampire.

They'd gone through so much. Sometimes she found herself paralyzed with fear at the oddest moments imagining that Mikael had tracked them down with a dark smile and the white oak waiting to strike. His death didn't feel real. His shadow would always haunt them in some way for the rest of the eternity they would spend.

The trick was learning how to keep living with it. Well, remain undead with it.

"How long will you stay in New Orleans?" he asked her all of a sudden.

"As long as it takes to get Demi well."

"I mean after."

There was silence. Rebekah had always followed her brothers ever since their undead life began. Most of that was spent in a coffin but the majority of the time was of her own free will. After Klaus broke his curse, there was a renewed effort to exorcise their bond from all the previous toxic elements of their relationship. It was still ongoing but progress was made. After seeing peeks of the old Niklaus before their parents drove swords into them and made them drink blood, her desire to flee left. But her heart still yearned for other things outside Vargrland.

It would be a lie not to say New Orleans was not one of them.

"I'm not sure," she whispered in admittance.

"If I asked you to, would you?" he put out without hesitation. They'd danced around this for the past two hundred years. The distance should have eased her presence from his mind but it did not. Their true biggest hesitance came in the form of the smirking Original Hybrid. But Klaus wasn't against their hypothetical union from all Marcel knew. So what stopped them?

"Marcel," Rebekah started but she was unsure of what to say. Spending so long telling herself it wasn't a good idea. All her other entanglements led to disaster and disappointment. If it went wrong the result would alter their family dynamics and that wouldn't do.

"Don't tell me no. Think of a reason, anything, take your time, as long as you want, but please don't tell me no," He pleaded with such sincerity that she was shaken. Marcel took the time to learn many things. Klaus always told him that he was too thick-headed for them not to be biologically related. But he'd known since he was a teenager that he loved Rebekah. Right at the point when he was old enough to know what that word meant.

At the time Klaus hadn't exactly been the healthiest embodiment of it. He tried his best but a thousand years' worth of insecurity, pain, and disappointment amplified did not aid in the matter. Somehow, Marcel was a little jealous of Bonnie. Sure, Klaus improved tremendously after breaking his curse, but her presence sparked something unreal in his sire and father. He'd never seen the paranoid hybrid allow himself to fall so deeply. Even with his siblings, vulnerability was earned and not offered freely. But Bonnie Bennett was the exception to the rule.

"Just give it a thought please?"

Before Rebekah could say anything else, Elijah entered the room with Lourdes who was clutching a rather large and worn book. He took a moment to glance with a questioning look at their position but the news he got was too important to be left until later.

"We've found something on the necromancer!" Lourdes spilled excitedly.

"What?" Marcel was immediately at attention.

She walked in and dropped the book on the table. "Elijah went to the National Archives to find if there were any traces of a witch family with necromancers."

"Why would that be in the archives?" Rebekah asked with a furrowed brow. "Surely witches like to keep their records closer to their chest."

"Cordelia informed me that witches were quite fond of putting their detailed histories in plain sight during times of tribulation. I anticipated that would be spelled to the teeth so I took Lourdes with me," Elijah explained.

He bent over the open book. "Since necromancy is forbidden, several covens would have their family members mark them as deceased early on when they're chased out of the coven."

Lourdes sneered. She had a similar experience being kicked out of her coven and family and she wasn't even a necromancer. For a species that loved to preach togetherness and family, they had no qualms removing those who didn't fit a specific narrative. She cleared her throat. "In the New Orleans area, there haven't been a lot of necromancers within the past hundred years. We've found ten who were declared dead in their teens and early twenties but once we investigated found people with similar looks alive and living under different names in other states. When expanded to other different states, the pool becomes wider. For now, there are about thirty names between ages of thirty to fifty."

"How do we narrow down the person we're actually looking for then?" Marcel scratched his head.

"We assumed that the necromancer only visited each state once. One of my contacts found these after digging a little," Elijah opened a file to show two different driver licenses with a picture of the same woman. There were different names, addresses, DOBs but it was the same person. She was in her late twenties, dark-skinned and attractive. Unfamiliar to everyone in the room.

"I haven't been able to discover her real name but three years ago, she went to Shreveport and one year ago, Baton Rouge. This was after Demi's birth. Other than that, there's another instance in which she visited the same state thrice although never the same place. That tells us that she was comfortable enough to risk it or sentimental."

"So, she's been in Louisiana more than once. That means she's done magic for people here. If we can track them down. then there's a chance we can find out more about her," Rebekah said excitedly.

"You said she visited Louisiana twice and another place three times. She's been on the run for a long time now and knows that she's unsafe in any place multiple covens convene." Marcel pondered. He stroked his chin. "Where was the other state that she would have felt comfortable enough or willing to risk going three times?"

That was a good point made. Rebekah looked at her brother expectantly. He and Lourdes exchanged looks. From the look on Elijah's face, she guessed that it was significant information.

Elijah inhaled a needless breath and spoke. "Virginia."

Just then a vampire came into the room looking nervous. He was a new daywalker and held a letter with a familiar seal. "Sir, this came for you."

Marcel took it and tore it open reading over the contents. His eyes widened and he swore tossing the letter to Elijah. "Fuck!"

"What is it?" Rebekah asked alarmed at his behavior.

"He's being summoned by the council," Elijah said after reading the letter himself. He looked at everyone in the room. "It seems that Bastianna has made an accusation."


Bonnie sighed tucking her head further into the crook on Klaus' neck. He wasn't asleep and she knew it but he seemed to enjoy these comfortable silences with his eyes closed. An act reminiscent of resting when he was still mortal. Vampires didn't need sleep like everyone else. Years of forced imitating due to several circumstances did cement the current habit.

"I have to get up and pack eventually," she mumbled.

"Darling, that's why I have hybrids. For menial heavy lifting," he replied. His hold on her was unrelenting. Not that she was complaining.

She snuggled closer humming. "As tempting as that sounds, I'd rather not let Dwayne take a peek at my underwear."

"I'd tear his head off first."

She rolled her eyes. "Your first reaction to everything doesn't have to be violence. There are other ways to solve your problems."

"The fees I'd rack up in therapy would eat into my rather voluminous fortune so I think it is." Klaus opened his eyes and winked. Bonnie did a poor job of acting unaffected. She chose to sigh dramatically.

"Is this the life I have to look forward to with you? Lazing around, doing naught, and leaning into every bad influence?" her tone was teasing.

Klaus kissed her naked shoulder. "Just one bad influence, love. Me alone. Occasionally Rebekah if you must but I can't let the two of you be in the same room alone for more than two hours."

Bonnie giggled sitting up. The blanket dropped and barely covered her chest. Not that he minded. His eyes were zeroed in on the mark he gave at the top of her left breast. He'd healed it but marks given in his wolf form didn't fade away that easily. A good thing since seeing his mark on her fulfilled all those primal wolf urges. Quite disgusting to be honest. He couldn't wait until the more permanent one would be found.

"Remind me to take her on a girl's trip then." The twinkle in her eye made him groan. She chuckled at his reaction, finding the strength to finally get out of bed. Her legs were predictably weakened. The exchange of blood during their steamy encounter didn't do much to change that. Her body felt better than it should have. Sex with a vampire was a taxing feat.

Klaus folded his arms at the back of his head watching her naked form prance around the room. "I will be glad once we leave this place forever. I pity Henry if I'm honest."

Henry was the hybrid staying behind to guard Elena. The plan was to surround her with a revolving door of hybrids so that her blood would be ready on the tap every time he needed it. Henry was a tall, imposing man but he was courteous to Bonnie. Caroline had already attempted to chat up a storm with him and received a few grunts in return. Something told Bonnie that Henry was going to endure a lot of that in the future from her friend.

Bonnie rolled her eyes wearing a robe and pulling her hair out of it. "It's not that bad here. Wasn't this your home too? I mean a thousand years ago that is."

"The concept of home is flexible once you've stepped foot on every corner of the earth," the hybrid admitted. Not to mention not all the memories were pleasant. Growing up with his siblings was a small happy spot but that was sometimes overshadowed by the death of Henrik, Mikael's tyrant ways, and the incident that transformed him forever. "Mystic Falls is what I consider a short pit stop. Now that our pleasant visit has been done and dusted, I'd rather get back to civilization."

"What about our prisoners?" The words felt heavy in her mouth but that's what they were. Katie had a relatively easy stay since she knew very little about anything but Sophie bore the brunt of it all. Guilt seeped into Bonnie when thinking about the lengths she went to. It seemed necessary and even empowering at the time but with time her normal mind frame scolded her for the act.

At least Cordelia wasn't so angry anymore.

"What about them?" Klaus asked lazily.

She tied her robe. "I wonder if Bastianna will agree to the exchange. We've basically boxed her into a corner. She has no doppelganger blood, her two witches are incapacitated and time is running out for the ritual. Boxed people tend to lash out the most and I'm afraid she'll do something rash now that she has nothing else to lose."

Klaus pulled the covers off his body and stood up from the bed, walking towards his mate in the nude unashamed. He placed both hands on her folded arms and pulled her close until they stood chest to chest. "There is nowhere for a boxed animal to go. She might attempt to swipe a few claws but she can do no real harm. Marcels' men have been watching the French Quarter coven. They're within the city. Even if she attempted to come here, her powers would die before anything important happened. We have won, my dear."

He whispered the last words to her lips. The scent of blood from her bite enticed him. The previous night was spent taking her in different passionate ways and he still wasn't tired or sated. His hands wandered down her waist to her plump bottom and cupped it. "The sooner this is over, the sooner I can take you to Vargrland and we can finish mating. Then you'll be queen of the entire supernatural world."

"That's a lot," she muttered kissing him languidly. Her arms went around his neck. "Will I get a crown for my trouble?"

"Only the very best," he promised.

It was premature to say they'd won. There was plenty that could go wrong. But they were strong and they were ready. They'd outmaneuvered Bastianna at every turn. Whatever came, they would be ready for her.

Downstairs, Stefan was zoned out as Caroline and Elena chatted over breakfast. The grand dining room at the mansion held a bountiful spread that would make any human water at the sight. He was unmoved.

Damon was on his fifth Blood Mary.

"I can't believe she's leaving today. We barely got any time with her," Caroline mourned while biting into a bagel.

Elena sipped her coffee. "At least we'll see her again soon. She promised not to make the next visit take too long." Elena held some skepticism over that idea. Seeing Bonnies' new life with her powerful mate and important duties as a witch made it clear that her mind wouldn't exactly drift to this little town do much. But she held out hope.

Of course, they didn't exactly know about Vargrland yet or that she might not be a stone throw away in New Orleans.

Damon snorted. "Witchy will be fine. She's too busy hopping on hybrid dick to notice us lowly beings."

"Damon!" Caroline and Elena chorused.

Stefan just rolled his eyes at his brother. His snark didn't exactly ease up during their stay. At least he wasn't getting his neck snapped every two seconds again.

Bonnie and Klaus chose that moment to make their entrance into the dining room. Klaus certainly wasn't going to play happy host and eat with them no matter how much he wanted to please his mate, so he kissed her with his usual exhibitionist fervor and excused himself with final touches for their trip.

Bonnie looked high on the affection when she took her seat. "Good morning guys."

"I can't believe you're leaving today!" Caroline wailed.

Bonnie grasped her hand. "I know. I'm going to miss you guys. Hopefully, when I come back it won't be because another coven is getting pesky ideas."

"I hope so too," Elena added.

She was getting used to the idea that she was going to have a revolving door of bodyguards for the rest of her life but things could be worse. She'd seen the damage caused by the Augustine Society and even though they were human, their effect was just as brutal. Elena didn't want to imagine what other witches or vampires or werewolves could get up to.

At least Klaus guaranteed safety because he needed her. Bonnie cared enough so pragmatism was thankfully not the only reason she was being kept alive.

"We'll miss you, Bonnie," Stefan spoke up surprising everyone. Damon snorted while Elena felt a strange emotion blooming in her chest.

Bonnie pursed her lips and looked away unsure of what to say. She finally settled on. "Thank you." Their former budding friendship was unfortunately a thing of the past. Too much had happened to make it that way. While she no longer felt that sizzling need to get even as strongly as before, it was sad for anything to come to an end. Stefan seemed to understand that and would live with that regret.

Dwayne came into the room hurriedly and went to where she sat. "What is it?"

He lowered himself and whispered into her ear. "Elijah called. There are some new developments in New Orleans."

"What is it?" she felt her panic rise to the puzzlement of everyone around the table.

"Come with me."

Bonnie plastered a fake smile on her face and stood up. "I'll be back guys. Klaus and I just need to talk about something important."

They went up to the study where Klaus was pacing up and down. Cordelia was perched over the desk looking serene but her expression was as stormy as ever. Bonnie took both their countenances in.

"What's the matter?"

"Bastianna and Agnes have made their move," he spat in anger. His eyes glowed gold.

"They've announced to the supernatural council that three of their witches are missing and named the king of the vampires as suspect number one," Cordelia explained. "Now, we're not exactly innocent since Sophie and Katie are with us and haven't quite been treated to Geneva conventions. Marcel is being summoned because this could be considered an act of war against the treaty signed."

This was not good at all. A desperate woman had done a desperate thing. Throwing this all out put her in the open but dragged them along with her. Things were now a thousand times more complicated. If the other supernatural creatures felt that the hybrids and vampires were causing trouble, it could cause war. That was the last thing anyone needed.

"Who's the third witch? Last I checked we have just Sophie and Katie," Bonnie pointed out.

Klaus laughed humorlessly at his mate. "That's the best part darling. The third witch was allegedly kidnapped six years ago by my son after the cruel slaughter of her coven members."

Cold poured down her spine. "You mean -,"

"Demi is who she's referring to. Bastianna claims she was stolen years ago," Cordelia completely solemnly. The FQ went through pains to conceal her birth. If Bastianna did this, then she didn't have any fucks to give any longer. A caged woman who just landed her final few swipes.

"Oh fuck," she muttered.

Thought I'd end my hiatus with a cliffy. You're welcome.