The house was set up like army barracks, but on a smaller scale. We exited the room and appeared on a balcony that ran the perimeter of the house. On the first floor was an open courtyard decorated with patio furniture and doors lining it, parallel to the ones on the balcony.
"I am the King of New Orleans, sweetheart, and this compound, my castle," he guided me towards his brother Elijah and a dark-haired girl. "Anna, I would like you to meet Hayley," he presented her and while keeping a hand on my lower back and whispering in my ear. The words are barely audible, no louder than a breath and had I still been human, I would have heard nothing. "She is the mother of my child and engaged to the werewolves' alpha. Only my family knows that Hayley is alive," he warned me.
I shook her hand politely, but inwardly ground my teeth.
"It's nice to see you again," Elijah said emotionlessly. "Klaus, may I have a word?"
"It must be strange, your first day as a vampire," Hayley tried to make small talk. "They say all your emotions are heightened."
I shook my head. "I've always been pretty temperate in my emotions, I don't like this feeling."
She laughed. "Clearly you had some emotions because they're coming out now."
I looked around the compound. There are several other vampires in the corners. I needed to get out of here. I assessed the number of creatures and exit points. They are all older and stronger than me, but I was able to best plenty of vampires as a human. Before I could make a move, Klaus returns to my side and excuses us.
"Why did you tell me a secret like that?" I asked, referring to his child. I'm not even sure how he could have a child, but that was the least of my problems. Being a blood-sucking beast trumped anything else at the moment.
"Because if I keep secrets from you, you won't trust me and then you'll leave," he explained. "I know how to get what I want, darling. Mostly it involves my power or threats of violence to keep people loyal to me. But you will not put up with anything less than honesty. You're different; you've never been afraid of me."
"I don't want to be here," I told him.
"You don't really have a choice, sweetheart. You still need to help me with my witch problem," he winked.
"And here I was beginning to think that you saved me because you liked me," I sighed.