Chapter Eleven: War and Peace
Mason never liked New Orleans. It was too crowded, too humid, just too much.
He liked it even less when he was sitting around restlessly while his Alpha was off somewhere with that damn Hybrid. He had no way of knowing if she was alright, and he had to listen to her command to keep the pack far away from the French Quarter.
So he sat alone in his wolf form, moodily glaring out at the swamp in front of him. In this form, his coat was so dark it was nearly black, providing him coverage in the shadows. And like his hair, his coat was streaked with gray.
He was ripped out of his thoughts by a long, loud, and very familiar howl. He stood immediately, fur bristling, before he went to find the pack.
The other wolves were waiting for him, all shifted, with anxious golden eyes. Jackson, shifted into a black wolf, stepped forward before shifting back so he could speak to Mason.
Mason shifted as well. "We need to move."
"What about Hayley?" Jackson demanded on a growl, his eyes still gold.
"She's the one telling us to get out of here," Mason snapped. "And since she's not here, I'm in charge. We need to move- now."
Jackson growled, but shifted back, before turning and running with the other wolves deep into the woods.
Mason felt torn between leading the large pack away, or going to help Hayley. Reminding himself that their Alpha was more than capable of taking care of herself, Mason growled before moving away with the others.
He didn't see a slender white wolf slipping away into the other direction, silently running towards the danger rather than away.
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Hayley had a distinct thought run through her mind in the midst of the chaos.
Who the fuck uses a sword anymore?
The man wielding the sword seemed undeterred when Hayley managed to rip it from his grasp with her teeth. He picked up his bow and began firing arrows so quickly that Hayley had to duck and roll away from the silver.
She snarled, circling the Hunter slowly. Her side already bore a deep gash from the broadsword, and her cheek was open and bleeding from an arrow she managed to avoid with a good amount of luck.
The vampires were scattered, mixing in with a panicked crowd of humans who saw the group of Hunters and fled in terror. Witches were clustered together in the distance, and the few wolves who had been captured by Klaus either laid dead or fought close to Hayley, drawn to the Alpha.
The only two wolves that stood alone were Klaus and Tyler. Hayley tried not to think about how Tyler's wolf looked just like his uncle's, minus the gray, and how his gold eyes watched his sire's every move as if in a trance.
Suddenly the Hunter lunged again, drawing a serrated knife, which caught Hayley along her shoulder. The silver burned and Hayley snarled, snapping her teeth and feeling a dark satisfaction when she tore open the Hunter's hand.
Hayley refocused her attention on the man, who wasn't even breathing heavily. Most of his face was covered, but she could see his dark eyes and how they were void from emotion. He wore the Hunter's symbol on his chest, pinned to the lightweight gear they all wore.
When she lunged again, Hayley shifted midair and went for those eyes with sharp nails. That seemed to be enough to throw off the man, who wasn't ready for her weight to slam into him. He stumbled and gave a shout when her nails dragged across his face.
When the mask covering his face gave way, Hayley glared at the leader. She tried not to show her surprise when he saw he was younger than her, younger than the Hunters she remembered from before.
Hayley didn't give it any more thought before she attacked again, using her strength and his surprise to her advantage. She kept shifting back to her wolf form, not letting him grab her, letting her speed to stay one step ahead of him.
But when that knife caught her ribs again, Hayley gave a sharp cry of pain when she felt it tear even deeper into the open wound. She stumbled, nearly falling, but stood trembling on four legs. She panted, looking up at the Hunter with hate-filled eyes.
The Hunter picked up his discarded sword, twirling in his hand, before lifting it up to deliver the final blow.
Hayley didn't close her eyes.
Then there was a terrible sound, like a snarl only worse, then the sound of flesh being ripped open.
Hayley turned her head only briefly when the blood sprayed, soaking her coat and the ground in front of her.
When she looked again, she froze.
Standing over the Hunter, who was now pinned to the ground with a torn shoulder, was Klaus, a massive gray wolf with a blood streaked muzzle, snarling down at him with an expression that could have scared the bravest of men.
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Later Klaus would admit- only to himself- that the moment he saw the Hunter lift that sword to strike down Hayley, he lost all semblance of control.
In the moment, however, he was powered by nothing but rage. He could taste it on his tongue along with the blood, he felt it pounding through his veins, and it reddened his vision.
The Hunter stared up at him, if only for a second, before he flung Klaus off of his person and the two men sprung apart.
Tyler inched forward, baring his fangs, ready to jump at his sire's command.
Klaus barely noticed when Hayley moved and snapped at the younger Hybrid, moving him away from the Hunter. And like before, the young Hybrid seemed to be swayed by the Alpha, even while under Klaus' influence.
The Hunter lifted his hand, only to give a sharp whistle. Then he darted away, running like a ghost into the shadows along with the other Hunters.
Klaus shifted back immediately, shouting at Marcel to send some men to track them. A few vampires gave chase, and within seconds, the entire area fell into silence.
Klaus turned to find Hayley and Tyler shifted back. Klaus then realized at one point, Tyler had been shot with an arrow. Hayley stood close to him, inspecting the wound.
Then she turned her gaze towards him, her hazel eyes surprisingly calm even though her face and body were smeared with blood. "He needs help," Hayley said in that matter of fact tone of hers, which seemed to push Klaus the rest of the way out of the rage he was in.
"Marcel, have one of our witches attend to Tyler," he said without looking at the other vampire.
When Tyler was lead away, Klaus eyed the wounds that were healing slowly along Hayley's ribcage, shoulder, and cheek. "You're hurt too," he said.
Hayley glanced down at the wounds. "I'll live," she said decisively. Then she lifted a brow, giving him an oddly curious look.
Klaus arched a brow back at her. "Do I have Hunter on my face?"
He felt pleased when he saw the briefest flash of humor lit up her eyes.
"It's nothing," Hayley said. Then she looked around.
Bodies of vampires and a few wolves were scattered across the Abattoir and the streets. The air reeked of blood and silver.
Klaus stepped to the side, placing his hands behind his back. "My men will clean this up."
"They aren't some dishes that need to be washed, you know," Hayley said with a familiar bite.
"But they aren't your mess to clean up either," Klaus replied bluntly.
Hayley looked at him, the curious expression gone, which was now replaced with mild disdain. Instead of replying, she walked towards the bodies of the wolves. She knelt down beside them, closing their eyes.
Klaus felt some surprise when she did the same for the fallen vampires. He watched her with a furrowed brow, this blood soaked girl who had just fought off a group of Hunters, tending to the dead with a gentle hand. With hands that not moments ago had been curled into claws, ready to strike and kill.
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Hayley stood out on the balcony that overlooked the streets of the Quarter, gazing out to the distant trees. She absently rubbed a thumb over the crescent moon mood ring she wore, which was a deep amber color.
It was dawn, and the sun was slow to make its appearance on the horizon. Hayley marvelled how calm the morning was, especially after such a chaotic night.
The vampires that had been sent after the Hunters returned with one less man than they had left with. They claimed one had been staked before the Hunters disappeared into the swamps.
Hayley twisted her ring again. Part of her, the biggest part, ached to go check on the pack, to be the Alpha and to tend to her duties. She could feel her wolf all but reaching out for the familiar feeling she got when surrounded by her pack.
"Glad to see you healed up, Alpha."
Hayley jumped at the sound of Eve's voice. She turned and saw the older woman standing behind her, as though she had been there the whole time.
"What-?" Hayley began, then shook her head. "The pack-,"
"Is fine," Eve finished, moving to stand next to Hayley. "Mason has things under control. They've moved twenty miles out from where you left them."
Hayley exhaled, letting some of the tension leave her body. "And what, you just decided to go for a stroll?"
Eve rolled her eyes. "I wanted to see for myself how you were. After last night, I figured you'd be up, if you slept at all."
"Not even a little," Hayley admitted. "Leftover adrenaline, I guess." Then she realized something. "You were there last night?" she demanded, frowning.
"I came in right when that Hybrid nearly tore that Hunter's arm off," Eve said. Her clear blue eyes assessed Hayley. "He seemed… defensive."
Hayley snorted. "Klaus? He probably did it because he was bored and wanted the Hunters to focus on him."
Eve quietly noted the way Hayley said Klaus' name rather than referring to him as the Hybrid or the King like she did before. "You're probably right," Eve said evenly.
Hayley shifted on her feet, unsure of the look in Eve's eyes. "Please let them know I'm okay. You'll keep them in line if they give Mason a hard time, won't you? You know Jackson…"
Eve rolled her eyes again, with more exaggeration. "Jackson is a pup who doesn't like taking orders. But age trumps beauty."
Hayley smiled. Then she looked around. "You better go before the King or his minions find you here. Wolves don't seem to last long in these parts."
"You are," Eve pointed out, before disappearing over the railing. She then gave Hayley a wave from the street below before shifting into a wolf, then heading for the woods.
Hayley sighed, then winced. The wounds on her cheek and shoulder were healing fine, but the tear along her ribs was deep and would take time to heal completely.
"You look like you need a doctor, little wolf."
Hayley didn't jump this time. She ignored Klaus, poking at the bruising surrounding the gash, then wincing. "I need a damn whiskey," Hayley muttered out loud, scowling.
Then she looked up when a glass full of amber liquid was held out for her. Klaus lifted a brow when he saw her expression.
"It's dawn," Hayley said.
"Well, as they say, it's five o'clock somewhere."
Hayley narrowed her eyes, then took the glass, draining it in one go. Then she put it down, moving to sit down on a chair.
Klaus stayed where he was at the balcony door, leaning against the frame.
Hayley sighed, more sharply this time, then gave him a dirty look. "Are you just going to stand there and stare or are you going to leave me alone?"
Klaus smirked. "I haven't decided yet."
Hayley crossed her arms. "Then riddle me this, smart guy, what happened last night?"
Klaus looked away, as if disinterested. "Well the sun set, then we had a lovely game of-,"
Hayley cut him off with a short snarl. "I mean the whole saving my life bit." When Klaus didn't answer, Hayley scowled. "What, can't you remember?"
"I remember," Klaus said in a surprisingly soft tone. "I remember watching that… man standing over you, ready to kill you."
"And then what?" Hayley challenged.
Klaus met her gaze. "I almost killed him."
"Why?"
Klaus looked at her, eyes dark. Then his somber expression gave way to a smirk. "Because, little wolf," he said condescendingly. "If anyone is going to kill you, it's going to be me."
Hayley stared at him. Liar, she thought, but didn't say out loud. Instead, she said, "Glad we cleared that up. You can go away now."
Klaus chuckled, but surprised her by doing what she asked.
Hayley sat alone out on the balcony for most of the morning, staring at the space where Klaus had been standing.
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Disclaimer: I do not own the Originals.
Author's Note: Please review!