Chapter 2

Katherine had seen her fair share of shady motel rooms but this one was by far the shadiest. The walls were painted a lovely light green which, after forty years, had turned into the color of something a former guest had thrown up. The disheveled curtains looked like rags hanging in front of the dirty window and I'm not even going to mention the horrifying details of the bathroom.

She was leaning back in a chair placed in the middle of the room. Mostly because she didn't want to lie on the bed. (The smell coming off the sheets indicated they did NOT wash them on a regular basis.)

She needed to think. Think about what her next step would be. Elijah's doppelgänger story had caught her interest. But she knew how he could be like when he was doing Klaus' bidding. Elijah was a kind man, a man with morals and dignity. But Klaus had none of those qualities. When they were together they were both cruel and without mercy. But then again if she didn't go with Elijah, more people might get hurt than If she was there. Elijah had asked her to help HIM. Not just anyone she fancied. So he wouldn't be too happy If she didn't follow his plan.

I can't believe I got dragged into this again. Stupid Elijah. Thinking I'll do whatever he says. Well, that's not gonna happen...I suppose I could just take a quick peek at what's going on around there. Have a look at the doppelgänger and leave. What could go wrong? Damn, I can't believe I said that. Things always go tits-up when someone says that. Well, It's downhill from here on out. Maybe I should just...take a gander then.

Mystic Falls. It had been a long time since she'd been there.

She grew up there and she hated it. Her parents had moved there from England long ago to build a peaceful, happy life for their family. Katherine chuckled. Yeah, that worked out great. There was never a moment of peace in that place. Her father was a tyrant towards her older brother, Niklaus. Always making sure he knew who was boss. That's what probably did it, pushed him over the edge... Never once did he raise his voice towards her though. She was daddy's little girl. She liked it that way. At least one of her parents she could please. Her mum wasn't the nurturing type. Having an army of children doesn't necessarily mean you're a good mother. Witchcraft was the only thing they shared. Well, shared.. Esther made her practice it. "So you can protect you family if it comes to it.''

She didn't think much of it then. Protect against what?

A "little" ways down the road

An ear-piercing howl shredded through the air as the sound of a dozen wolves stampeding through the woods grew closer. A wolf pack, striding between trees, leaping with ease over fallen tree branches. Almost synchronous. Almost. One of them had caught a scent and wandered off.
It recognized the scent. It seemed so familiar but so...unfamiliar at the same time. There were two of them. Two traces of that scent. Side by side. Running fast, but not fast enough. The wolf followed it. First in a slow pace, then a little faster. Faster. Faster. So fast he could barely see his surroundings. Trees became just shapes in the distance. He didn't recognize anything but he knew exactly where he was going. Towards the scent. Focus. Focus! Where is it going? Left, right, left. There! He could hear his pack howling in the distance, the wind coming through the trees, the running water of a nearby river.
An ear-shattering growl.
Then everything was quiet.

'Come on, Nik! I want to go and watch!' A young boy, barely in his teens, was dragging his older brother after him by the arm. His long ,dark brown hair ruffled by the wind.

Nik, or Niklaus was quite a bit older. A man even. He had long, blond, wavy hair and was wearing a white shirt with a black leather vest over it. His sword resting in the scabbard on his belt. He wasn't the best swordsman but he could hold his own in a fight.

'I'm coming, I'm coming. You know, father will be furious when he finds out we're out here during a full moon. Are you sure you want to do this?'

'Well, It was your idea. And you know I've always wanted to see them transform. So yes!' They were almost at the edge of the forest. 'You promised for my birthday, so let's go!'

The boy, and his brother behind him, leapt through the woods. Darting between the trees so fast, Nik could barely keep up with him. He kept running for almost 20 minutes and then he stopped. Looking between the trees he saw what he thought were about a dozen men and women standing in a open field. It had gotten much darker than when they left and he had trouble making out any faces.

'Can you see them?' Nik whispered in his brothers ear. He had finally caught up.

The boy turned sideways, looking at his brother he put his right index finger to his mouth and pointed at the open field with his other one. The men and women weren't doing anything. They were just standing there, gazing up at the sky. Waiting. For a while, nothing happened. Then a minute or so later, the moon had risen to the point when it's light filled the open space like silver burning torches had been lit up in the night sky. Filling every crevice, shining on all their faces with its gentle touch. Then, a moment of dead silence. It lasted only 1...2...3 seconds until a single scream echoed through the forest. Followed by the screams of eleven women and men. The two brothers had heard those screams countless times before whilst hiding in the safety of their own home. But that wasn't nearly as frightening as it was at that moment. They were standing so close they could see the pain etched onto their faces as they dropped to the ground. The sound of breaking bones was deafening. Nik and his brother both wanted to leave but it was like they were paralyzed. They could only stand there and watch. One of the older men in the field stopped screaming. The ending of screams from the old man was only noticeable by the following of a wolfs growl coming from his mouth. His mouth was no longer a human mouth, it was filled with teeth designed to rip the flesh off its prey. His eyes had turned a golden shade and his chest had narrowed. Moments later a pack of a dozen wolves was standing in the open field. While the werewolves were still adjusting to their new form, the brothers were able to move again and instantly made their way back. Running swiftly through the woods, they didn't speak a word. They knew that a single syllable would be heard by the werewolves.

It felt as though they had been running for ages but they weren't even close to the edge of the forest. The moonlight was blocked by the overgrowing trees so they couldn't see a thing. They were tripping over rocks and bumping into low hanging branches every which way and they couldn't see them but they knew the wolves were right behind.

Then an ear-piercing howl shredded through the air as the sound of a dozen wolves stampeding through the woods grew closer. A wolf pack, striding between trees and leaping with ease over fallen tree branches.

'Come on, this way!' Niklaus tried whispering as he dragged his little brother in a different direction. Still unable to see anything through the trees, they just kept sprinting further and further. They had kept running for as long as they could until they were both out of breath and stopped behind a lining of big oak trees. The sound of wolves had faded. It was quiet except for the sound of the wind and of a river nearby. Exhausted, the boy sat against an oak tree.

Niklaus looked at his little brother.

Trying to hide the fear on his face, he said: 'We can't stay here. We need to keep running until we reach the clearing.'

The boy nodded, not able to say anything.

As he was getting back on his feet, Nik saw a glint of gold flicker through the leaves behind his brother. But before he had the chance to grab his sword, a terrifying growl rose up from deep inside the wolf and was ended by the scream of a young boy.

The wolf, having its powerful jaws clenched around the child's neck, paid no regard to Niklaus. The latter, now filled with an all-consuming rage, swung the sword he was holding at the beast.

He barely nicked it's ear but it was startled enough and disappeared into the darkness.

Niklaus stood there for a second, holding up his sword, when he saw his brother's lifeless body lying on the ground. He dropped the blood-stained blade and ran towards his little brother.

'Henrik!'

Leaning over him, Nik wrapped his arms around the cold body and held him tight. Tears streaming down his face as his mind tried to comprehend what had happened.

'Wake up. Please wake up, little brother. Please. I'm so sorry. Please wake up.'

But he never would.

He kept rocking him back and forth repeating over and over that he was sorry, until rays of sun began shining through the trees.

Morning had come and he hadn't moved an inch. Niklaus knew he needed to get up but his limbs had become numb and tingly. With effort, he was finally able to stand. While he was still holding his brother in his arms, he put one foot in front of the other and made his way out of the forest.

His eyelids had become heavy and he could barely walk, the weight in his arms becoming increasingly heavier. But Niklaus' adrenaline started pumping, thinking of the news he was bringing to his family.

'Mother!' He yelled as he reached the cabin, struggling to hold his brother.

'Mother!' Nik stopped and put Henrik on the ground.

'Henrik!'

A blonde girl came running out of the cabin towards him. Rebekah, his sister. He dared not look at her, he couldn't bare to see the horror on her face at seeing her brother's dead body on the ground. How could he have let this happen? Their mother had heard the screams of her son and came out from behind the cabin, followed quickly by their brother, Elijah and sister, Katherine.

'No. No. What happened?' she asked Klaus, falling to her knees in front of the boy.

'The wolves...' he answered, barely able to speak through the tears. 'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry'

Rebekah, Elijah and Katherine had sat down next to him and were comforting each other, grieving the loss of their sibling.

'We must save him. Please, there must be a way.' Esther begged Ayana who laid her hand on Henrik's chest. She was a very powerful witch but not even she could reverse death.

'The spirits will not give us a way, Esther. Your boy is gone.'