Chapter Ten

Elijah

While gazing at the sleeping wolf snuffling softly into a pillow, her beautiful dark hair sprawled out over the couch, my heart swells with an emotion I haven't felt in centuries. I'm struck with the realization that I could never let her go. The mere thought of parting with this enchanting woman fills me with such misery. How could I go on without her energetic and tenderhearted spirit around me? To make her stay, I must stop being a coward. I need to tell her the truth: that I don't want her to leave New York. And I've fallen for her.

Ah, but can I tell Hayley the truth without giving her more sustenance? I remember how she warned me to never risk dealing with a hungry wolf, and suddenly I think of just the place to grab the perfect meal for the famished wolf girl.

I rush out of my apartment to the Bakery Fantastique, located around the corner from my building, to purchase a couple croque madames and nutella crepes. Collecting the bagged up cuisine from the friendly French patissier, I head back home where I hope to find a sleeping beauty on my sofa, but a familiar voice stops me dead in my tracks.

"Elijah?" a smooth, feminine voice asks.

Spinning on my heel, I face a tall woman with shining brown eyes and long blonde hair. My sister, Rebekah, has returned.

Immediately, I'm greeted with a warm smile as Rebekah bounds into my arms and pulls me into a tight embrace.

"Brother, how I've missed you!"

Rebekah's spontaneous display of affection and cheerfulness—a rare occurrence for my often-melancholic sister—fills me with happiness. "Rebekah, where did you disappear to?"

She steps away from me and tosses her hair, "Did you not suspect that our ne'er-do-well brother would drag me with him to his travels across Europe? It's been four bloody months of his obnoxious, devious scheming—from London to Paris—it's been nothing but—"

"Say that again," I interrupt her, my pulse quickening, "You mean to say that you went abroad with Niklaus? I thought you were catching the sun…in Florida."

Rebekah laughs and jabs me playfully on the shoulder. "Do you honestly think Klaus would ever go somewhere on his own? He's the loneliest of us all."

"Where is he now? Still in Europe?" I hold my breath waiting for her answer. Please, please let him not be in New York.

"You silly. Of course, he's back with me. I expect he's waiting for you to turn up at the apartment—he went ahead of me."

Panic seizes my heart and my blood runs cold. Klaus and Hayley. Together. They must be at the apartment now. I'm not worried about abandoning Rebekah or the humans watching me from the street. My only concern is getting to Hayley as soon as possible. Tapping into my vampire speed, I arrive inside the apartment in a matter of seconds and find Klaus cornering Hayley against a wall near the entryway.

Hayley turns to me with pleading eyes, while Klaus has the look of the cat who ate the canary.

"Ah, brother, perfect timing! I was just inquiring who your special guest is, but she's being…a little shy at the moment."

Klaus is beaming like an idiot, clearly entertained by my discomfort at this unfortunate situation. And all of thisis a nightmare. Klaus is nothing if not unpredictable—who knows what he intends to do with Hayley. I have to think fast. I must get Hayley out of here...but how?

Fortunately, Rebekah appears next to me in an instant.

"Elijah, why did you run off like that? What's gotten into you?" Then Rebekah notices Hayley and Klaus a few feet away, and points in the wolf girl's direction. "Who is she?"

Before I can answer my curious sister and dubious brother's question, Hayley takes charge and answers for herself. "I'm Hayley. I'm a…friend of Elijah's."

"Oh, friend is it?" Klaus repeats mockingly. He takes a few steps closer to Hayley and inhales deeply. Then he glances at me with a sly smirk, "Why does this friend have your scent all over her?"

My hands ball into fists and I'm a split second away from pummeling my impertinent brother into the ground. I utter a low growl, "Niklaus—"

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," Hayley interrupts exasperated, "Look, Klaus, I'm sorry I wasn't completely forthcoming. I am Elijah's friend, but more importantly I'm his ally—and yours."

Klaus cocks an eyebrow, "Ahhh…an ally, little wolf? Anyone care to explain?"

I take a step toward Hayley, concern plain on my face, but she nods as if to assure me she's alright. Then I turn my attention toward Klaus, "Brother, you've been away too long. Our favorite vampire—Katerina—has been plotting against our family. With the help of a witch, she's been raising an army of every creature imaginable—witches, humans, wolves—to run us out of town. Out of our home."

Klaus backs away from Hayley. I see the anger in his eyes, bubbling just beneath the surface. It's time to tread carefully around my brother.

"I see. And how does this…chit fit into all this?"

"Don't call me 'chit'—and now that I think about it, don't call me 'little wolf' either," Hayley exclaims in annoyance.

Well, so much for treading carefully. In the corner of my eye, I see Rebekah raising a hand to her lips to hide a small smile.

"Don't mind my brother, Hayley," Rebekah chimes in, "he never did learn any manners."

Placing his hands firmly on his hips, Klaus glares at Rebekah, "What a lovely sentiment, sister. But don't you want to know how this cheeky wolf comes into play?"

"Katherine sent her minions after me when she couldn't turn me into one of her mind-controlled zombies. Elijah was also attacked by wolves who were turned into Katherine's slaves. We joined forces to investigate," Hayley explains to my perplexed brother and sister.

"Investigate? What is this nonsense? Why not just kill the bitch?" Klaus says, turning serious, "Elijah, has this chitmade you soft? I suppose it'll be up to me to finish what I started centuries ago…"

Hayley's scowl mirrors my own.

I've had enough of this.

"Don't be a fool, Klaus. Don't you think if I had the opportunity to end Katherine, I would have? Listen to reason: Katherine can make any creature do her bidding in a second. Are you ready to fight half of New York? We must eliminate the witch helping her."

Rebekah walks over to Klaus and places a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Hear them out, Nick. It makes sense."

But watching the way Klaus's face darkens with anger, I can tell that neither my sister nor I can get through to him.

He shakes off Rebekah's hand and stalks toward the opposite end of the room. "Oh, it's two against one, I see. Just like it always is. I suppose our brother-sister road trip to Europe wasn't all it was cracked up to be, eh sister?"

Rebekah scoffs, crossing her arms in annoyance.

I suppose that means it's up to me to try to appeal to my brother's rationality. "This is not the time for your idiotic pride, Niklaus. Our focus should be stopping Katherine and the witch aiding her. Don't you agree?"

Klaus simply glowers in response.

Looking over at Hayley, I see she's observing the unfolding scene between the Mikaelson siblings with a hint of amusement. At least she isn't running for the hills.

"Hey, Elijah, what do you have in the bag?"

I completely forgot about the perfect French treats I've been holding in my hand. "A few croque madames and crepes."

"From Bakery Fantastique? I love their pastries!" Rebekah practically swoons.

Hayley chuckles. "Why don't we all sit down, enjoy our food, and talk about our plan of action?"

Rebekah hops to my side, grabs the bag of pastries, and winks in Hayley's direction. "I'm in!"

Elijah's grouchy disposition remains unchanged, but he shrugs and stomps over to the kitchen where Rebekah is already setting up plates and utensils.

Sidling up to Hayley, I whisper in her hear, "Absolute genius. Thank you."

Hayley blushes and nods, "Anytime, Original."

After our family meeting, complete with delectable French cuisine and minimal snide commentary from my brother, we come to an agreement about how to defeat Katherine and her minions once and for all.

We decide to strike tomorrow—first capturing the witch and then finding Katherine, who will be weak and completely at our mercy once her powers are gone. To ensure that we finish the job as quickly as possible, my brother and I will find the witch—and 'convince' him to help us—while Hayley and Rebekah will lure Katherine out in the open. I'm confident our plan will work. And then this…partnership between Hayley and I will be over.

We're still huddled together in the kitchen as I observe Hayley chatting up Rebekah about her tales from her recent trip to Europe. She teases her about the young, hot prospects she must've come across, while Rebekah laughs with an abandon I've never seen before. And, to my astonishment, I see Klaus's thin lips curve up in the slightest smile, as if he too, is enjoying the conversation.

My heart warms seeing Hayley interact with my siblings this way. Could she actually handle being part of the cursed Mikaelson family?

Suddenly, Hayley leans into me and lets out a tiny yawn. I notice it's nearly midnight and that all of us have an important day tomorrow.

"Rebekah, Niklaus, excuse me while I escort Hayley out. We do have a long day tomorrow."

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Hayley. Until tomorrow," Rebekah says.

"It was great meeting you too," Hayley replies, offering my sister a friendly smile.

Then all of us turn toward Klaus expectantly—and he grins—soaking up all the attention like a love-starved puppy.

"Oh, right. Farewell and goodnight…little wolf."

Hayley groans, "I'm never going to get you to stop calling me that, am I?"

Klaus merely shakes his head and looks up at Hayley with a smug grin, "I'm afraid not, love. Sorry."

Rolling my eyes at my brother's immaturity, I place a hand on Hayley's back, leading her out of the kitchen. "I'll return in a moment."

Once Hayley and I are out of the apartment, I walk her down the hallway toward the elevators.

"So…weird meeting your family," Hayley mutters.

"Yes, many apologies if they offended you. They were just being…themselves."

Hayley laughs softly. "No apology needed. I've decided I kind of like them. I mean, I definitely jive with Rebekah, but even Klaus toward the end was almost…nice?"

I step back from her and gasp dramatically, "Now you've gone too far!"

The wolf girl giggles and punches me lightly in the arm. "Hey! You know what I mean."

My smile broadens and I muss up Hayley's hair playfully. I have no words. When has anyone said anything complimentary about my family?

Stopping near the elevators, I grab Hayley's hands in mine and pull her closer to me. "Hayley, there was something I meant to tell you earlier, before, well, everything happened. I—"

"Don't worry, Elijah," Hayley cuts in. "Let's not do this now. We both have a lot at stake tomorrow—what with bringing down Katherine and her crazy, zombie army. So, save it for after the epic showdown, ok?"

I nod, a bit saddened I can't tell her what's been bottling up inside me, but then an idea sparks in my mind. "Agreed, but you must allow me to do one thing first."

"Oh yeah? What's th—"

My lips seek hers before she can finish speaking, and my arms wrap around her as I kiss her deeply. Tongues, teeth, and soft lips clash as Hayley's hands caress my back, encouraging me to continue the kiss. We're so close I can feel her heart beating, I hear the sound of her panting breaths, and her scent of lavender and vanilla swirls around me. I soak it all in, hoping to commit everything to memory. This divine moment with Hayley in my arms.

We finally pull away from each other and Hayley reaches up on her tiptoes to plant one more, brief kiss on my lips. "Goodnight, Elijah. See you tomorrow."

Her cheeks are flushed, she's smiling broadly, and even with her mussed hair she looks like the most beautiful creature I've ever beheld.

I want to say all of this to the wolf girl, but instead I simply say, "Goodnight, Hayley."

As Hayley leaves on an open elevator, waving goodbye in her bashful, adorable way, it occurs to me that words alone shouldn't mean anything between us. We both know how we feel for one another. We've understood each other so well since we first met. Our connection is unlike any I've experienced with anyone else. And yet, I still can't wait for our mission to be over tomorrow. Then our bright and happy future together can finally begin.