Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise.
Thank you so much for all the reviews and well wishes, I really appreciate them. Hope you enjoy this longer chapter!
Saiyanprincess1511: I don't think it's weird at all, for the Originals, it kind of is fluff.
Hearteyesmf: Thanks, it'd been a while since we had any chaotic sibling energy and someone needed to call Rebekah out.
sam: You're welcome!
Blue3b3rryT3a: I'm hoping that Rebekah's advice and support will prevent Klaus from murdering her next lover, the girl deserves love. Kol panicking is one of the best parts of the last chapter, the idea that he freaked out over accidentally 'pulling a Klaus' makes me giggle.
Guest: Thank you!
KEZZ 1: Thanks!
EmeraldGhost11: Thank you! Don't worry, they'll work things out soon, in fact I already have an idea of how it's going to happen.
Hoshijanaitte: Thank you.
sammyleann: Bex needed to be reminded! You know, just in case!
Serena Salvatore: Maybe…you never know what's in store for Elijah and Jenna, but she's dating Alaric now.
Edwardsgirl21: Bekah kind of deserved it!
ImInLoveWithYou: Thank you!
musa22lbl: I figured we needed a cute moment after all the sadness.
Heyo: Thank you!
WiseGirlDivergence46: I couldn't keep giving you angsty chapters, that would just be mean!
NaRuKo-InuTaiSHo-XD: Hope you enjoy!
RyuuRaikou: Thank you!
xotinkerbella: Thanks! Him daggering Elijah and then panicking just makes me laugh, but I like the fact that Elijah's truly realising that Klaus trusting Kol isn't just a phase. I really believe that if Mikael hadn't have been hunting them at every turn, Klaus and Kol would have gotten along far better.
HaleyKTbear: Thank you!
Klaus sighed as he pulled up to the compound in Arizona, he couldn't believe that he'd allowed Kol to talk him into taking Freya along with him and Rebekah. Thanks to the distance between his eldest sister and youngest brother, and the failsafe that Maya had placed on her spell to wake his sister up, he at least didn't have to worry about Freya casting any unwanted magic. But that didn't make him feel any better about the fact that he now had both of his sisters in his pack's territory, about to meet his children and he wasn't sure that he was ready for that, but he couldn't turn back now.
He stepped out of the car, and was immediately met by the children racing over to him, "Daddy!" they yelled, reaching out for him.
For the first time since Maya left him, he felt himself smile as he crouched down, grabbed both of them and picked them up, one in each arm, "Hello my Little Wolves."
Luna threw her arms around his neck, "Daddy you were gone forever!" she pouted.
Liam tugged on his collar, causing Klaus to look at him, "Don't do that again," the boy far more solemn than his sister.
Rebekah marvelled at the way the pain had just melted off of her brother, the way that he looked at his children…it reminded her of how her mother and father once looked at her, it was beautiful and heart breaking all at the same time. Freya came to stand beside her, "I've never seen him look like that," she whispered.
"Me neither," Rebekah replied, not taking her eyes of her brother and his children.
"Right!" Klaus said, gently placing the children on the ground, "I'd like to introduce you to some people," he guided the two towards the women, "You've already met one of them. This is Rebekah," he gestured, "My baby sister, and Original Vampire."
"Uh first," Rebekah corrected, "The first Original Vampire."
"Rebekah," Klaus rolled his eyes.
"No Nik, if you're going to introduce me to my new niece and nephew then you're going to do it right! I was turned first, which makes me the first Original Vampire."
"Fine, this is my baby sister, your Aunt Rebekah, the first Original Vampire. I'm sure you remember her from your rescue." The children nodded, looking up at the blonde Original.
"We remember," Liam said, rather stoically.
"And this," he waved his hand at Freya, "is your Aunt Freya. She is my older sister, the eldest sibling in the family, and a very powerful Witch."
"Like Maya?" Luna asked innocently.
Klaus ignored the pang in his heart and nodded, "Yes, like Maya." He looked back at his sisters, "Rebekah, Freya, these are my children, Liam and Luna."
Regina, Alexandra and Scott, three of Klaus's Enforcers, stared at the dilapidated building in front of them, "This is where we're going to live?" Alexandra stated in disbelief, "This?! It's a dump!"
"I'm not even sure that it's safe to live in," Scott said, "And that's coming from a Werewolf."
Regina shook her head, "We can't fix this."
"But he asked us to," Scott replied.
Regina pulled out a credit card from her back pocket, "We're calling professionals."
"What?! We can't do that!" Alexandra exclaimed, "He said that we had to fix this, and that card is only for emergencies."
"No, he said that we had to make this place liveable, he was non-specific as to how, besides, he put me in charge."
"He was also non-specific as to what constitutes an emergency," Scott pointed out, "And I'd classify this as an emergency."
Regina nodded, "We're calling contractors," she said, "They're gonna demolish this, and rebuild it, to our standards."
"Regina," Alexandra cut in, "Up until a year and a half ago our standards were tents and cabins, and caves deep in the forest!"
Regina shrugged, "Well, my standards have improved, and if we're gonna have to stay in this rinky dink, civil war obsessed town of Mystic Falls, we're doing it in style."
"But…what you're thinking is going to cost…thousands!"
"It's a good thing for us that our Alpha's had a thousand years to accumulate his riches then. Because I for one am not going to back to living life on the run."
"Fine," Scott sighed, "But when Klaus is pissed, we're blaming you, after all, you are in charge."
Rebekah and Freya had been shown to their room, the sisters preferring to share while they were in Werewolf territory. They had just finished unpacking when there was a knock at the door, opening it, revealed the blond Werewolf that had been stood with the children when they arrived.
"Hi," he said, "I'm Cary, Klaus asked me to show you two around the compound, make a few introductions. I'm sure you can understand that most of us are fairly skittish when it comes to Vampires, especially the kids. So if you're ready, we can head out now, and then meet Klaus and the kids for dinner." He looked at both of them with a hint of nervousness in his eyes, being Klaus's Beta, had toughened him up, his Alpha had a temper and had shown him what it was like to live with a Vampire, but he didn't know Rebekah or Freya, he didn't know what they were like, so had to be on guard. Something he hadn't had to be in a while, now that the pack had their own home and permanent territory.
Rebekah glanced over at Freya who nodded in return, perhaps now was a chance to learn a little about Klaus, and his life away from his siblings. "Alright," she and Freya stepped out of their room, closing the door behind them and gestured for him to lead the way.
"Great!" He guided them to the library first, pointing out the stairs to Klaus's floor, which housed his office, his studio, his bedroom and Liam and Luna's rooms. He then brought them down to the main part of the house, introducing them to Jessica, Emma and David, three of the pack's Enforcers, and therefore the people in charge when neither he nor Klaus were available, and then to a couple of the Elders. Once that was done Cary brought them outside, "And here we have the pool, as you can see, it's mostly a gathering place for the teens." He spotted a couple of the teenagers balancing on the edge of the pool on just their hands. "Hey!" he yelled, "You flip back round! One of you is going to fall and die and I am not cleaning that up!"
They pouted, but righted themselves as they received an order from their Beta. Rebekah eyed the teens with interest, she'd noticed it in the Enforcers, the Elders and now some of these older teens, who could sense that she was a Vampire, "You know it's odd, everyone here, I can see the fear in their eyes." Cary looked over at her, but she continued, "Don't get me wrong, they make a valiant effort at hiding it, but it's there. And yet, you don't show a sliver of fear for me. One would think that my brother has shown you that fear is the best way to respond to us."
"Well I'm his Beta," Cary shrugged, "I wouldn't be a good one if I feared him."
"Tell me, how did you become his Beta?"
"My father was the previous Alpha, besides, Klaus is family."
Rebekah and Freya's widened at that, and they stopped at stared at each other as he continued on, "What did he just say?" Freya asked.
"I-uh-" Rebekah shook her head and they both quickly caught up with Cary, stepping in front of him, "What do you mean 'family'?"
"Uh…" his eyes flicked between the two and widened as he realised that he might have said too much, "I uh…I just mean that we're Wolves, the pack is family and he's part of the pack."
Freya crossed her arms, and scowled, "He's lying."
"What did you mean, 'family'?" Rebekah repeated.
"I told you, he's part of the pack!" Cary shrugged, almost certain that Klaus was going to tear him a new one for letting that slip.
"I don't do well with liars," the Original stated, "Make me ask again, and I'll eat you." She growled and let the Vampire surface.
Cary steeled his spine and shook his head, "I said what I said, and if you want more information, then maybe you should ask your brother. Dinner's at 6 in the private dining room off the west wing of the compound, we'll see you then." He left as quickly as he could, before he could lose all of his nerve, Klaus's sister was terrifying, and he didn't even want to think about what his Witch sister could do.
"What the bloody hell do you think he means?" Rebekah asked her sister.
Freya shook her head, "I have no idea," she looked around, "But we have two hours before dinner and an entire pack to investigate."
Rebekah smirked, "Split up and see what we can find?"
"Definitely," Freya nodded, whatever Klaus was hiding, they would find it out.
Maya and Caroline were on a video call with Davina, "I know I said I was taking a break from magic for a while, but it's only been two freaking days and I'm so bored!" Maya complained.
Davina gave her a smile, "Have you ever even done anything that's ordinary?"
"Not since I was seven," Maya shook her head.
"Then enjoy being a regular teenager," Davina said, "Some of us don't get that opportunity!"
"That's what I've been trying to tell her!" Caroline exclaimed.
Maya frowned as she felt like she was missing something important, "What's going on?"
"The Elders of the coven are really pushing the girls and I, and I don't know why. I mean I know that they want us to be strong, but we're the only ones getting pushed like this."
"Are you okay?" Caroline asked, she didn't like the sound of what Davina was saying.
The younger Witch shook her head, "They're talking about pulling us out of school! Something's going on and I don't know what!"
"I'm missing something," Maya said, "I can feel it."
"You think you know something about this?" Davina asked, stunned to think that was important enough to have made it into Maya's foreknowledge.
"I do know something, but whatever it is, is stuck behind that stupid wall!" she threw her head in her hands, "I can't, I can't remember!"
"So what do I do?" Davina looked worried, if Maya thought something was wrong, then it probably was.
"Be careful, check in with us every week, we're going to have to play this by ear."
"What happens if her mom takes her computer?" Caroline asked, from what Davina had told them about her mother, it was very likely that she might take away Davina's communication if she felt like it.
"Oh! Hang on!" Maya got up and rushed out of her room, she came back minutes later with the Bennett grimoire. "There's a spell in here! It's to communicate over long distances." She took a picture and sent it through to her friend. "You'll have to study the spell, make sure you know it by heart."
"This says I need the hair of whoever I want to talk with."
"I'll send you a couple of strands of my hair."
"Mine too!" Caroline chimed in.
"Caroline's too," Maya rolled her eyes, "As long as you know the spell, and you have our hair, you should always have a way to contact us. For now it's gonna have to do, at least until I figure out what's bugging me about New Orleans."
"Or you know, you could run away to Mystic Falls," Caroline threw in.
"Caroline!"
"I can't just run away from my coven!"
Caroline shrugged, "Suit yourself, but know the offer's out there."
"I-"
"DAVINA!"
Davina flinched and looked towards the yelling, "I have to go! Mom's been in a mood. I'll try and call you guys later."
"Anything?" Rebekah asked Freya as the two of them met in their room just before dinner.
The Mikealson Witch shook her head, "Everyone I've asked says that Klaus came to the pack to learn more about Werewolves because he's going to unlock that part of him soon. But no one will tell me why this particular pack."
"There's something that they're hiding," Rebekah agreed.
"They all said the same thing, if we want to know more, ask Klaus."
"And of course my bullish brother has got them all scared enough not to betray him," Rebekah rolled her eyes.
"So how do you want to play this?" Freya asked, "Do more sleuthing?"
"No, these wolves don't seem to be stupid enough to let anything slip."
"So we're going to ask Niklaus directly?" Freya looked incredulous at the thought, "I may not have known him long, but I know enough to know that that won't work."
"Well... we do have a niece and a nephew… they might know something."
"You're not seriously suggesting that we should question the children?!"
"Not question," Rebekah shrugged, "We're here to get to know them, and if we happen to ask a few pointed questions that get us some answers…well, then that's a happy coincidence."
Freya sighed, she wasn't sure about this plan of action, but she was certain that Klaus wouldn't be open with them, and she was curious about why this particular pack allowed him into their ranks, "Fine, but if we get caught, I'm blaming you."
After seeing the possible blood in Enzo's cup, Miranda had been doing some investigating, she's thought about going to Liz, after all the Sheriff was her best friend, but Liz was also close friends with Jenna, and Enzo was staying at Jenna's house. She couldn't go to the Sheriff without some concrete evidence that he wasn't who he said he was, and so she'd done all her own research on the town's newest arrival. But she hadn't come up with anything of note, the only thing that she did know, was that according to his passport, Lorenzo St. John was apparently born in Southampton, England, on the 21st of March 1979, but there was also no record of him working anywhere. She had no idea how he made his money, or travelled the way he did, all of which made her more suspicious than ever.
Sighing Miranda took a seat in the small room Grayson had used as an office for his work. She hadn't been in there since her husband had died, as evidenced by the thick layer of dust on every surface. But it was the only place that she could get any privacy, Jeremy was working on a project and Elena was hanging out with her boyfriend Stefan. Miranda huffed, she needed a drink, and she believed that Grayson kept an expensive bottle of scotch in one of his desk drawers, he'd been saving it for a special occasion, but now that he was gone, she didn't feel much like celebrating anything. She started pulling out the drawers and searching through them. "Ah-ha!" Miranda pulled the bottle from one of them, but frowned when she saw an old journal that she didn't recognise.
Grabbing it she flipped it open and started reading, "Nathaniel Gilbert, 1956," it was Grayson's grandfather's journal. "Hmm…Augustine…what's this?" she muttered to herself. As Miranda continued to thumb through the pages, her eyes widened at what she read, the descriptions of the experiments…the torture being done to the Vampire. As she turned the page, Miranda gasped, it was a picture, a picture of Enzo! She was right! He was a Vampire! She had to tell Liz right away!
Luna was running around the compound, giggling in delight as her brother chased her, "You're not gonna get me!" she yelled.
"Yes I am!" Liam called back, she'd just dumped an entire box of sparkly pink glitter on top of him and made a mad dash out of the room. "You're gonna pay Luna!" he would make sure of it.
She ran around the corner, looking back to see if she was getting away, "No you're no-" she crashed into a pair of legs and fell on the floor, "Oof!" Looking up, she gasped as she saw her daddy's sister Rebekah looking down at her with a smirk.
"What are you doing?" Rebekah asked with amusement.
Luna looked up at her with wide eyes, she was about to say something when Liam called out for her again "LUNA! GET BACK HERE!"
"Aah," Rebekah said in understanding, "Tormenting your big brother I see, would you like some help escaping?"
"Yes please!" Luna replied and Rebekah reached down, picked her up and whooshed away.
Liam rounded the corner, stopping short and looking around in confusion, where did she just go? "Damnit!"
Freya came down the stairs and saw Liam, "What happened to you?" she asked with a laugh, the poor boy was covered in pink sparkles.
He looked at her with a scowl, "Luna," he replied simply.
Freya bit her lip to stop her laughter, "Come on," she grabbed his hand, "Let's get you cleaned up, then you can go and find your sister."
Maya had almost had a full week of no magic, and while she found being a regular teenager boring, there was no doubt in her mind that it was also kind of refreshing, she hadn't had to worry about the Originals, the first three turned Vampires, Sheila, Bonnie or Elena, and it was almost relaxing. She wouldn't get used to it, but it was a nice break, a well-deserved break. Every night she woke up screaming, thanks to nightmares brought on by memories of her past lives, and every morning she had to remind herself where she was, who she was, and what her purpose was, and she wasn't sure whether they'd ever stop, but all she could do was try to get through it. It's not like she could speak to a therapist about her past lives, about the pain she felt when she thought of Kol, the agony she was in when Klaus's face drifted through her mind.
Shaking her head, Maya wasn't going to allow herself to wallow, at least not where her mother or Caroline could see her, she'd put them through enough as it, she wasn't going to worry them further. Coming down the stairs, she headed straight to the kitchen, it was her turn to make breakfast, and she was running late, "Morning Mom!" Maya paused when she saw breakfast already on the table, "Uh Mom?"
"Yes honey?" Jenna gave her a nervous smile.
"Those are croissants from 'Mike's Bakery'…you only get these when you have bad news to give me…what's going on?"
"Well…while you were away, Liz wanted to know more about you and your magic, and we may have discussed Augustine a bit, and I may have told her that we released a Vampire, who then came back to save your life." Jenna replied hesitantly.
"MOM!"
"And now she's coming over to talk to you about it!"
"Oh my God!" Maya threw her head in her hands.
The doorbell rang, "And there she is now!" Jenna smiled and rushed out to answer the door.
"Why is nothing ever simple?" Maya muttered, following her mother out of the kitchen, she'd have to eat breakfast later.
/ / /
Maya, Liz and Jenna were settled in the family room, the cosy little space was hidden away from the rest of the house, used for just the closest of their friends and family. "So what do you want to know?"
"Everything," Liz replied.
Maya let out a little laugh, "I'm pretty sure we had this discussion before Liz, you need to be more specific."
"Fine…tell me about Augustine. How you got involved, how you found out, how you thought it was a good idea to release a Vampire out into the world."
Maya sighed, "Okay, I'll start with the easiest… Augustine was a society that came about almost a hundred years ago, they kidnapped supernaturals, experimented on them in the name of 'science', and in some time in 1940, they kidnapped a Vampire when he left his post to go and feed. They were based out of Whitmore College. Key members of the staff on campus know about the society, it's why most of the buildings aren't under eminent domain. They're privately owned, so Vampires can't get in without an invitation."
"And how did you find out about them? The Vampire that Grayson was experimenting on?"
"You mean the Vampire he was torturing? I was snooping through Aunt Miranda's house when we went over for family night, and I found Uncle Grayson's journal, detailing torture, like actual torture. But I didn't believe it, I thought, Uncle Grayson could never do that, you know, he barbecues and goes to football games, and takes care of people. But…it was bugging me, so I snuck away one day, when the babysitter was watching us in the park, and slipped into the basement of the medical clinic. I found the Vampire there. He was almost completely desiccated-"
"Wh-What does that mean?"
"When a Vampire is drained of blood, they desiccate, they can't die from not eating, but their bodies lose all fluids, their veins collapse in on themselves and turn to sandpaper, they're basically living zombies. It's an awful way to exist. I went up to him, and he told me to leave, said that he wouldn't be able to control himself and that he didn't want to hurt me. But he couldn't hurt me, because he was tied down. I fed him some blood-"
"YOU WHAT?!"
"He couldn't hurt me, he was as weak as a baby kitten, he needed my help so I helped him," Maya defended.
"Maya you were a child, you fed him your blood! He could have killed you!"
"No he couldn't!" Maya shook her head, "By the time I was seven, I had a good idea of how to use my abilities, Vampires are made of magic, so I siphoned him enough to stop him from going too far. I spent the next three years sneaking into that room, keeping him company, keeping him sane. He says that I was his hope. And then when I was ten, I was strong enough and confidant enough to save him, so I told Mom about what I could do, about the man in the basement, and she helped me free him."
"He's not a man, he's a Vampire!" Liz said.
"And that's why I didn't tell you about him when you found out about me!"
"Ma-"
"No Liz!" Maya shook her head, "He fought in two world wars! He didn't have to! He could have just ignored them, embraced life and leave the human race to fend for itself, but he didn't! Because he's a good man, Vampires started out as humans, all of them. They were human first, and then they turned."
"Vampires kill."
"So do humans!"
"Not like they have here!"
"Liz you just don't get it, Vampires feel everything more deeply than humans do!"
"What does that have to do with their killing?"
"It has everything to do with it! With Vampires, happiness is euphoria, love is obsession, anger turns to wrath, dislike to hatred, and sadness to depression. Imagine for yourself Liz, if all of that anger that you felt when Bill left, turned to rage, turned to wrath, you would have killed him, violently."
"No," Liz shook her head, "I know right from wrong."
"So do Vampires! Some of them care some of them don't, just like humans. The only difference is that they are, by definition, a predatory species. Even the ones that care, will kill, because they're the top of the food chain, and that's what predators do."
"We-"
"And don't tell me that that's not true. Lions and tigers and bears, eat those that are weaker than them, humans eat animals, and Vampires eat us. That's life."
"If that's life, how can you trust a Vampire? How can you trust that the one you rescued won't come for you one day?"
"Because he loves me. I gave him hope when he'd given up, I saved him-"
"A-hem," Jenna cleared her throat.
"Sorry, we saved him," Maya gestured at Jenna, "And for that he gave this family his loyalty. I mean without him, I'd be dead. He pulled me out of the car when it went into the water, he saved me, when he didn't have to. When I'm in trouble he's always there for me. Even if he's half way across the world, he'd come for me. He'd come for Jenna, he'd come for Jeremy because I love Jeremy, he'd come for Caroline, because I adore her, he'd come for you, even though you'd probably try to kill him, but he knows how I feel about you, and because of that, he'd do everything in his power to keep you safe. Just like I will do everything in my power to save the ones that he loves."
Liz wasn't sure what to think, for most of her life she knew about Vampires, and she knew that they were monsters. But here Maya and Jenna were, telling her that while that may be the truth, it wasn't all they were. Maya was saying that she trusted a Vampire, loved a Vampire, and that she would put her life, and the lives of the people that she loved, in this mystery Vampire's hands, and she didn't know how to process that.
Liz scrubbed her hands over her face, never in her life did she think that her goddaughter would cause her this kind of stress, she needed more information, and really, she believed that it would only come from one person. "I want to meet him."
"What?"
"You say that you love him, that you trust him, I want to meet him."
"No," Maya shook her head.
"Maya if there's a Vampire in this town, I deserve to know who he is, it's my job to protect our home."
"And that's why I'm not going to tell you who he is, because while I trust you, and I love you, I can't trust that you won't to try to kill him."
"Maya-"
"I'm sorry Liz, I can't take the risk. And I don't think that you're ready for a meeting like that. We can re-visit it at a later date, but not now, not when all of this is so fresh in your mind. You need time to process."
"So tell me," Rebekah said, putting her niece down on the grounds just outside the compound, "What did you do to your brother that made him chase after you like that?"
"I was bored," Luna shrugged, sitting on the ground and pulling up the grass.
Rebekah sat with her, "And?"
"And…I don't like arts and crafts, and Jessica bought loads of stuff, I just took some to mess with…"
"What did you do?"
"…Threw pink glitter on Liam," she finally admitted, and Rebekah had to stifle a laugh.
"Really? I'll have to remember that for when Nik upsets me."
Luna looked up at that, "You're not mad at me for it?"
"No sweet girl," Rebekah shook her head, "I'm not angry, I think it's rather funny…but don't tell Nik I said that!" Luna was still looking at her with suspicion so she continued, "Do you want to know a secret?" Luna nodded, "I have four big brothers, and each one of them has annoyed me, and upset me at least once in their long lives. So I retaliate, on occasion, by pulling pranks."
"Really?" Luna asked.
"Yes," Rebekah replied, neglecting to mention that her version of 'pranks' were much more violent than anything the little girl could come up with, "I know that Nik's your father, but believe me when I say that my brothers are annoying little so and so's that need to be taken down a peg or two from time to time."
Luna nodded, "I believe you, I've met Uncle Kol."
Rebekah paused at the reminder that officially, Kol was the first one to meet the children, "Ah yes, Kol is probably the most mischievous out of us all."
"…Aunt Rebekah?"
"Yes love?"
"When will we meet the rest of the family?"
"Ah," Rebekah took a breath, "I believe that Nik just wants to make sure that you're ready to meet the rest of us. I know that your short life has been…very hard, and I can't imagine what you went through before I found you. But your father wants to make sure that you can handle meeting us all. We are a lot to deal with."
"But when will we meet them?"
"I'm afraid that that is up to Nik, when he decides you're ready."
"Are you all going to be with us when we move?" Luna asked.
"When you move?" Rebekah repeated, "When are you moving? Why?"
"Daddy's going to break his curse soon, and become a Werewolf like the rest of us! He said that when that happens, he wants to be closer to Mai," Luna shrugged.
"Mai?" Rebekah thought for a moment, before deducing who her niece was talking about, "You mean Maya? The Witch?"
The little girl nodded, "Uh-huh, have you met her before? She's so nice! She made me this." Luna showed the Original her ring.
"What is that?"
"It's my moonlight ring."
"Moonlight ring? What is it for?"
"Well… The pack says that we're not supposed to break our curse until we're at least twelve," Luna looked out at the vast expanse of lands in front of her, she could pick up the faint sounds of some of the teenagers being run through drills with the Enforcers. "They said that if you break it before then, you die…they were right."
"That can't be true, you and your brother broke your curse, and you're not dead." The blonde refuted.
"I was going to die…" the girl said quietly, she hadn't told her daddy or Liam this, because she didn't want to upset them, "I could feel it, I got weaker, every time I turned, and then the last time, it wouldn't work. It hurt so bad I thought I was going to die, but then Daddy came, he fed me his blood, and helped me change, and let me sleep in his lap because I was too tired to move."
Rebekah looked at her with sympathy, she couldn't even begin to imagine the kind of pain the girl had gone through. She'd never seen Nik turn, but they had come across wolves later on in their lives, she'd seen what happened during the full moon, and she did not envy the wolves one bit for it. "Then what happened?" She spoke softly, unwilling to break Luna's trail of thoughts.
"Daddy said he had a plan, and the next month, Mai came, and made me and Liam these rings, and we didn't have to turn."
"They stop you from changing into a wolf," Rebekah said in understanding. She'd had but a small glimpse of the Witch's power when she was saved by her, but this was completely different. Ever since Werewolves walked the earth, nothing like a moonlight ring existed, once Werewolves broke their curse, they were stuck. But now, after over a thousand years, the young Witch…or rather Old Soul had managed to make not one, but two.
"I can still feel my wolf," Luna said, "I'm strong and fast, just like I was before, but I don't have to change anymore."
Upon hearing this, Rebekah realised that this was probably a large factor as to why the pack was so willing to bow before her brother. If the children could access their wolves, but not have to suffer the agony of the change every month, the rest of the pack must have been up in arms about it. They must want rings of their own, they must be envious…Rebekah's eyes widened, "What stops others from taking your rings?" Surely her brother hadn't given the children such a powerful gift without protecting it.
"They can't," Luna replied, "If they try it hurts them."
"What do you mean?"
Luna looked over at Rebekah and held her hand out for the Original to take, "You can try if you want."
Rebekah eyed the girl warily, before reaching out and tugging very gently on the ring, instead of it coming off like she believed it would, it shocked her, "Owe!" she snatched her hand back and looked down at her palm, where a nasty burn was healing.
Luna giggled, "Even if they take it, it won't work for them."
Rebekah rubbed her hand, still feeling a phantom sting of pain, "That's a very powerful gift your father gave you."
"Daddy saved my life, I know him," she said, with a voice that betrayed how much she'd had to grow up, despite her age, "He didn't have to, but he did. I don't know why…"
"Because he loves you, sweet girl, you and your brother, he loves you both."
/ / /
Liam hopped out of the shower, and quickly got dressed, he'd tried to get as much of the glitter off as possible, but there was still some clinging to his hair, and skin, it was going to take forever to get off. "Are you alright now?" Freya asked, attempting to brush the remaining glitter from his hair.
"No," he scowled, "I'm still going to find Luna."
"Of that I have no doubt," she smiled, "But perhaps, you should cool off for a little before you go and find her."
"But she needs to pay!"
"And how are you going to make her pay?" Freya asked, wanting to make sure that he wasn't planning anything violent, she'd been on the other end of familial violence far too many times.
Liam frowned, he hadn't even thought that far ahead, sitting on his bed with a huff, he moaned, "I don't know!"
Freya did smile at that, "Well perhaps, I could provide you with some help."
Liam perked up, "With your magic?"
"Absolutely not, I will not be using magic on your sister, Niklaus would kill me," she replied, neglecting to mention that at this distance from Kol, she couldn't practice.
"Then how?!"
Freya crouched down, eyes meeting his, "Let's have a think shall we?"
/ / /
Rebekah sighed, and stood up, "Come on Sweetheart, it's almost time for lunch, and I'm sure that Nik wouldn't like it if I made you miss a meal."
Luna looked up at her with her puppy dog eyes, "Will you carry me?" she asked sweetly, "Please?"
Rebekah melted at that look and scooped the young girl up immediately, "Of course Love, come on. You're going to have to guide me, I haven't quite figured the ins and outs of the compound just yet."
"Okay," Luna nodded, happy that her Aunt had picked her up.
"You know, you were afraid of me, and Nik not too long ago, what changed?"
Luna shrugged, "He's my pack, you're not supposed to be scared of your pack."
"And yet, many of the Wolves here are scared of Nik."
"They don't know him," Luna insisted, "Not really, Daddy was born to be the Alpha, so they bow to him, but they don't know him yet. They'll stop being scared soon."
Rebekah froze, "What do you mean that 'Daddy was born to be the Alpha?' Nik may be a wolf, but we don't know who his father was in his pack."
Luna looked at her funnily, "Yes we do, Daddy's daddy was the Alpha of this pack, which means that Daddy's the Alpha, that's how wolves work."
Rebekah's eyes widened as she processed the information, Nik's father was the Alpha…the Alpha of this pack…that meant that this was Nik's pack, not just in name, but by blood, this was the pack that Mikael had believed he wiped out! "And Cary?" she almost whispered, "How did he become Beta?"
"Cary's daddy was Alpha too, but he didn't wanna be in charge. Daddy said that he wanted to keep everything in the family, so he made Cary the Beta. He's a good Beta."
"Keep it in the family," Rebekah repeated, "Cary is Nik's family…oh my God!"
Miranda had called Liz over to the house, Elena had finally gone out with Bonnie and Jeremy was serving a detention in school for getting into another fight with Tyler Lockwood. Just when she thought that her son was shaping up, he'd fall back down again, causing her to be called into school, it was a vicious cycle that she wasn't sure Jeremy could escape.
Shaking her head at the thought of her troubled son, she grabbed the journal that she had found in Grayson's desk and paced the floor as she waited for Liz. It had been a while since she'd spoken to her best friend, with all the 'animal attacks' and her daughter's accident, they hadn't really had time to spend with one another. They'd tried on the night of Caroline's birthday, but she and Jenna couldn't stop arguing with each other, so Miranda had just left. Unfortunately, Miranda wasn't in the mind to catch up with her friend, she needed to make sure that Liz knew exactly what Enzo was, and help her figure out how to get the Vampire out of her sister's house.
There was a knock on the door and Miranda quickly let the Sheriff in "Liz."
"I came as soon as I could, what's the problem?" Liz asked, her Sheriff face on, when Miranda had called her that morning, she had sounded both frantic and scared.
"You need to see this," Miranda opened the journal, and showed Miranda the one picture of Enzo, who was chained to a metal table, several sharp instruments on another.
"What is this?" Liz asked warily, her mind instantly going to what Jenna and Maya had told her about Augustine.
"What do you know about Augustine?" Miranda asked.
Liz paled, she was hoping that it wasn't true, but that was a perfect likeness of Enzo, sure the photo was in black and white, and a little blurry from age, but it was definitely him. "I know they're a group that tortures Vampires."
"They don't torture them!" Miranda refuted, "I read through this journal, they do medical experiments on Vampires, for the betterment of the human race!"
Liz was feeling a little sick, she knew Enzo, she'd had dinner with him, invited him into her home, he was close friends with Jenna and Maya, Caroline had spent plenty of time around him, hell her daughter had been to New York, and California with him and the rest of the family! But he'd always been so respectful, charming even, and yet here was concrete evidence that he was a Vampire… A Vampire that had been tortured over and over again, from, according to Maya, the 1940's up until a few short years ago. He was a Vampire…and yet for not a single moment had she doubted that he was a regular human being. "When was this taken?" Liz whispered.
"1956! Liz do you know what this means?" Miranda asked. "He's a Vampire! In our town, in our homes, Liz he's staying with Jenna! He's manipulated his way into her house! He could be doing all sorts of terrible things to them, and we wouldn't even know it!"
Liz's eyes locked with Miranda's, "I have to go!" She grabbed the journal from Miranda's hands, "Stay inside, lock your doors, I'm going to deal with this." She turned on her heel, jumped in her police cruiser and peeled away. How could this be happening? Never for a moment would she have suspected Enzo as a Vampire, hardening her resolve, Liz stopped at the station and grabbed her wooden bullets.
Liam was showing Freya around his favourite places in the Compound, so far he'd shown her the pool, the games room, and the library. "I play inside with a few of the other kids," Liam said, "But when I'm outside I train with the Enforcers," he said proudly, it was rare for Enforcers to train someone of Liam's age, and it wasn't just because he was the Alpha's son that he got special treatment, he had the instincts and reflexes of an Alpha himself, his time spent locked up, always on edge had seen to that.
"Why don't you train with the other children?" Freya asked curiously, so far Liam had been rather tight-lipped about his life before Klaus.
"Because I'm stronger than them," he said, "They haven't triggered the curse, I have, it wouldn't be fair to train with them. And the Enforcers say that I'm a natural."
"You're very young to have triggered your curse," Freya mused.
"I didn't get a choice," he replied curtly, it wasn't something that he wanted to talk about. He was eleven now, soon to be twelve. It had been a year and a half since Rebekah had found him and his sister, but it didn't mean that he wanted to talk about it. Ever.
"I'm sorry," Freya frowned, she was no stranger to painful childhoods, and her new nephew most definitely had one, she bent down so that she could look him in the eye, "I didn't mean to pry, and I won't ask you about what happened to you. But I would like you to know, that I understand what it's like to be taken from your loved ones and then tormented by your captors. You never have to talk to anyone about what happened to you, but I am here if you do."
Liam nodded in understanding, he wasn't quite sure whether he would trust his Aunt Freya, his dad had said that she was new to his family, that they'd spent a thousand years without her, but he'd also said that he wanted to trust her. So Liam would give her a chance, see what she was like, and learn if she could be trusted. "Do you want to see my absolute favourite place?" he asked.
"I'd like that," Freya nodded.
Liam guided her to the one place where he always felt comfortable, the art studio, he pushed the door open and they found Klaus inside, working on something new.
Klaus turned to face them, "What's that in your hair?" he asked, his Vampire eyesight easily picking out the remnants of the shiny pink flecks in Liam's mane.
"It's still there!" Liam exclaimed, furiously brushing through his hair.
Klaus raised an eyebrow, amused at his son's actions, "What's going on?" he whispered to Freya.
"Uh, he had an unfortunate run in with Luna, and a glitter bomb," she whispered back.
Rolling his eyes, Klaus put down his brush, "Of course he did." He placed a hand on Liam's shoulder, stopping the boy from dropping anymore glitter on his floor, "Liam, I just got in some new oil paints, would you like me to show you how to use them?" he asked.
Liam's eyes widened and he grinned excitedly, "Really?" at Klaus's answering nod, Liam rushed over to where he kept his own art supplies, and started pulling out a canvas to work on.
Freya smiled as she saw the excitement on Liam's features, "You know, you're very good with them, your children." She said, looking over at her brother.
Klaus shrugged, "I know what they need, so I give it to them."
Freya knew that was a grand oversimplification, "You know, I've spoken to many members of this pack, your pack. They all know about your curse. I'm surprised that you told them."
"Only a wolf can be the Alpha of a pack, soon I'll be one, with or without your help."
As she'd toured the grounds, and spoken to the pack, one thing had been made very clear to her, Klaus was providing these wolves with a better standard of life, and not just with money, for the most part, the wolves didn't seem to be very materialistic, it was mostly the young and very old that spent most of their time inside, while the rest enjoyed the grounds. Klaus provided them with protection, a sense of purpose, and most of all, he gave them the hope that they wouldn't have to always be on the run from Vampires, he gave them the hope of becoming something more. "They're all waiting for your curse to be broken," she said, and he nodded in response, "I've decided that I'm going to help you."
Klaus raised a brow in question, "I thought you already were."
"I was," Freya conceded, "But don't pretend like you weren't unsure of how well I was working with Kol, you and I both know that when a Witch is under duress, their spells aren't as strong. Your curse was the final thing mother left on this earth. I'd like to see it broken…if only just to hurt her."
Klaus smirked, "Revenge against mother? Now there's a motive that I can trust."
Enzo and Damon were enjoying a drink together at the Boarding House, Stefan was with Elena, so they got to have the house all to themselves. They were nestled together on the couch, Enzo running his fingers through Damon's hair, while the older Vampire was stretched out like a cat, they were enjoying their alone time, no new drama, supernatural or otherwise, it was nice to take a break before things started getting complicated. There was a loud banging on the door, startling them both out of their relaxation.
"Who's that?" Enzo asked.
"No idea," Damon replied, "Everyone we know usually just barges in."
"DAMON!" Sheriff Forbes yelled.
"The Sheriff?" Enzo asked perplexed, he was sure there were no emergencies that needed to be dealt with.
Damon sighed, hauling himself up, "I'll guess I'll get it then." He sauntered over to the front door, opening it, "Liz what-"
She cut him off by barging straight in, upon seeing Enzo on the couch, she pulled out her gun and pointed it directly at his heart. "Don't move!" She commanded, "These are wooden bullets!"
"Ah shit."
Thanks for reading! If you have time, please leave a review, they really help!