Hey guys!
Here's chapter 7, I'll be consistent and upload every week just to let you know!
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Hope you enjoy! Thanks :)
Rebekah wandered the streets of New Orleans on her own. She had left Kol back at the hotel by himself, whether he was still there was another story. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, once again checking her messages for Klaus; she hadn't heard form him since the night he went out with Marcel. She had already left him countless amounts of messages and his overdue absence left a tinge of worry in her stomach.
Rebekah walked completely through the French quarter, the crowds that once filled the streets were eventually far behind her, and she walked entirely alone in the cold, night air. She wasn't walking to anywhere or for anything; she just walked, like a human would.
As she walked, however, she occasionally heard small cracks of twigs, or the scrapes of pebbles against the road behind her and she began to ready herself for a possible threat. The faster she walked, the louder the sounds became and after a minute she stopped in her tracks and sharply turned around. Sure enough, a young man she didn't recognize jumped out in front of her, his eyes glowing yellow, his canines flashing through his snarling mouth and a low growl droning through his chest.
"I wouldn't if I were you." Rebekah threatened, standing a few meters away from the predatory werewolf. He made no reply and Rebekah cocked her head to one side, while slowly approaching the man. "Do you have any idea who I am?" She squinted her eyes and a smirk swept across her lips to intimidate him, but he didn't back down. "Bad choice, dog."
Rebekah stabbed her open hand into his chest and pulled out his heart, drowning her hand in his blood. His eyes went blank and he fell limply to the ground, landing with a thud. But as she dropped his heart to the ground, five other men surrounded her from all angles, and Tyler Lockwood was one of them.
"You've got to be joking." Rebekah snarled, turning to face Tyler. "What the hell do you want from me?"
"I haven't made it clear enough?" Tyler sneered back.
"You're out of you mind if you think I'll tell you where my brother is." Rebekah said. She then shot her hand out and pointed to the dead body of the werewolf. "And don't even think about trying to kill me, or I can safely say you'll all end up like your little friend here."
"He's replaceable. In fact, you probably did us a favour, he was becoming dead weight." Tyler proclaimed. His voice then dropped to a nasty whisper. "I wouldn't threaten me if I were you. I have unsired every single one of Klaus's hybrids and I have a whole other werewolf pack on my side. We are all going to be after your brother. If you get in our way now, you'll face the price."
Tyler then looked around to the werewolves surrounding Rebekah and himself, and gave them a nod to leave.
Tyler then leaned in to Rebekah's ear and his aggressive voice brushed through her ear. "You don't have to be a part of this. Nothing will happen to you, if you want nothing to happen to you. Just tell me where Klaus is and I'll turn a blind eye your way. But if you don't tell me where he is right now, I can swear to you that you won't live to see the full year."
Rebekah closed her eyes and swallowed a growing lump in her throat. She knew that her and Klaus had always fought with each other, and Klaus had staked her multiple times before, but they were family, forever and always… and family was placed above all else. Even if it meant her death, she wouldn't live even a slither of a happy life knowing she was the cause of her brother's.
Rebekah pushed Tyler away. "I'd rather die." She spat back at him.
"Suit yourself." Tyler said. He turned around and walked away, once again swallowed by the darkness.
Elijah and Katherine were both back in the hotel room, Katherine had come back there immediately after talking to Luke. Elijah stood outside, while Katherine sat inside, drinking a glass of scotch and holding her head in her hand. Elijah knew what he had done to her was wrong, but he had no choice, and he only could pray she would forgive him. He rang Kol, telling him about everything he had heard from Luke.
"You're a bit late for that, brother. Rebekah was nearly killed tonight because of these bloody animals. Perhaps if you hadn't have been so slow in telling us they were in New Orleans, we could have avoided it. But the plans could be helpful. I'll tell Klaus once I see him, but you should know that I haven't for the past day." Kol replied, his muffled voice coming through the mobile.
"Alright. Give my apologies to Rebekah." Elijah said, and then hung up on Kol.
So hurting Katherine was all in vain…. Elijah thought.
He walked back inside and sat down on the couch with Katherine and turned to her.
"I'm not certain if I have the words to properly apologise to you." He murmured, searching Katherine's face as she looked down at her glass. "You have to know that I didn't do it to hurt you. I had no other choice, Katherina."
"Now that you're finished using me, are you just going to throw me out?" Katherine said, her low, rough and cracked voice piercing Elijah.
"Only if you want to go." Elijah said.
Katherine slowly looked up and met Elijah's eyes. She opened up her mouth slightly, wanting to say something, but not finding the words.
The truth was… she didn't want to go.
Elijah's eyes stared back into Katherine's, he was praying that she didn't want to go. But after her not replying, her silence spoke louder than words.
"I think you already know the answer." He spoke quietly. Elijah then leaned into Katherine and gently pushed her hair away from her face, and softly pressed his lips into her cheek. Katherine caught her breath and closed her eyes, her heart fluttering from his closeness.
"Don't fight it Katherina." Elijah whispered into her ear. He then stood up and left, leaving Katherine alone with her new yearning.
Caroline stood outside the hotel in the boulevards of the French quarter in New Orleans. She looked around in wonder, watching people sing and dance to the constant music in the streets. It was midday and Klaus had told her that he needed to go out and do something, and that they would drive back as soon as he was done, so there Caroline was, alone once again in a city she didn't know.
But Caroline had refused to lock herself inside all day, if she was going back to Mystic Falls; she would see New Orleans first.
Slowly at first, she meandered down the streets, stopping often to look around and remember where she was, but eventually she was just walking, taking in all the culture around her. She looked in cafés and sat down to stare at the window, watching the bustling streets blur. She walked through parks and she even visited part of the city before returning back to the French quarter.
Klaus was right; it truly was a beautiful city. Something about it was so entrancing and different to Caroline. In comparison to this fascinating city, Mystic Falls was… bland.
Klaus had spent the whole afternoon with Marcel – once again filled with meaningless chatter and meaningless people. All Klaus wanted to be doing was talking with Caroline, but Marcel had forced Klaus to see him.
"Don't look so excited." Marcel laughed as Klaus glared around the bar they were drinking at.
"What are you trying to do Marcel? The days of idiocy and youth are far gone for me. Do you have anything of substance to tell me today or should I leave?" Klaus glared back at Marcel, frustration in his voice.
"Well I was going to show you later tonight, but I guess now would be better. I've been gathering a few people together that I think you should meet." Marcel announced, standing up from the bar and nodding his head to the door. "So let's go meet them."
Klaus and Marcel traveled to the outskirts of New Orleans into an empty field away from any houses in the area. It was later then and the sun had begun to set.
Klaus walked into the field and looked around, lifting up his arms to shoulder height and gesturing to the emptiness.
"Is this a jest?" Klaus laughed at the empty field. "Where are these people I am supposed to be meeting?"
Marcel shook his head and his faced turned grey. "I'm sorry Klaus, but they paid a high price."
"What?" Klaus asked, starting to question his safety.
Suddenly a pack of hybrids appeared out of nowhere and started to surround Klaus. Klaus recognized most of their appearances; they were hybrids he had made.
"What's going on, Marcel?!" Klaus yelled as the hybrids began to enclose around him. "I made you all! How dare you defy me?" He now yelled at the hybrids.
Klaus pushed through the wall of bodies and ran to Marcel, reaching out to grip his neck.
"You're trying to betray me?" He spat at Marcel, lifting him off the ground and hitting away any hybrids that tried to attack him from behind. "Without me you would be six feet under! I am truly immortal, and when I get myself out of this mess, which mark my words I will, I will give you no mercy in ripping your heart out of your chest."
Klaus tried to fight against all the hybrids, but eventually he was grabbed and pushed to the ground, left to fend for himself against a whole pack of those who once obeyed him.
For what seemed like only moments in the city, hours had passed.
Shit.
Caroline hadn't realized how much time had actually passed and there was a very good chance Klaus had gone back to the hotel and found Caroline gone, and knowing Klaus, that wouldn't have gone down too well. She quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket, but strangely Klaus hadn't tried to contact her, maybe he hadn't come back yet after all.
Caroline began to run back to make up for the lost time and eventually she was back at the room, but Klaus wasn't. By then it was already eight at night and they were supposed to be travelling back to Mystic Falls.
Caroline tried calling him – repeatedly - but there was never an answer.
She sat alone in the room, waiting endlessly for Klaus's return, but in vain. Time went on, and Caroline still waited, well past midnight.
But now another problem grew, she was hungry. She had expected to be home by this hour where she could get a drink from a blood bag, but now she was stranded in the city without any blood.
She searched the room completely, without finding a drop; obviously this wasn't where Klaus was staying before he brought her here.
By 4 am Caroline was starving, and she was left with no choice but to go out – luckily New Orleans never slept, all she had to do was go into a bar. Perhaps she could find Klaus as well. Caroline left the room and began walking to a bar she had seen earlier wandering the city – it looked popular.
Upon her arrival, she was immediately swept up into the nightlife of New Orleans. There were at least a hundred people in the bar and they were all dancing, drinking and laughing. At first she was naturally taken aback, it was so different form the normal teenage parties of Mystic Falls – but then again she could never truly enjoy those because of Elena and her dramas. Men all around Caroline were offering her drinks and trying to dance with her, but she only had hunger and Klaus on her mind and after a few moments she had managed to herd a young man into a corner of the room.
"Don't fight back, don't scream." Caroline compelled the man, over the blasting beat of the music. He blankly stared back at her and she leant in and began gently drinking from his neck.
After partially nourishing herself, she began to search for Klaus. She didn't know where to start and only thought to check the various bars – but to no avail. She searched hundred of faces, but none of theirs were Klaus's and her frustration and worry grew larger by the minute. She had left Klaus hundreds of messages, all alone the lines of, "Where are you!?" or "Have you just decided to leave me here alone?!"
Finally, Caroline sat on a bench in the street in the cold darkness and watched the sun slowly rise from the red horizon, a new day dawning to the girl who hadn't slept. She had given up on finding Klaus and sat there, confused and angry. Fatigue began to take over and her eyes drooped, aching to rest.
Suddenly, she felt something, like a shot of electricity, she didn't know where it came from nor why it happened but it forced her to open her eyes and look up.
Just in front of her, she could see the silhouette of Klaus limping up the street she was sitting on and unexpectedly the heavy weight of worry was lifted off her shoulders, she stood up and half ran, walked to him.
"Klaus where have you been?!" She asked, as she walked to him.
She had a soft smile across her lips because of her happiness at his return; little did she notice the bruises and the blood splattered across Klaus's broken body. He limped slowly, a look of agony across her face and only until he was close enough for Caroline to notice the damage, did she drop her smile.
"Klaus!" She screamed, running to him. She grabbed his arms to hold him up and examined his face and body. "Oh my god. What happened to you?"
Klaus tried to reply, but the pain of his broken bones and his loss of blood left him unable to speak.
Instantly Caroline lifted one of Klaus's arms over her shoulder and started to help him walk back to the hotel room.
"Was it the same people that did this to me?" Caroline asked as they walked.
Klaus shook his head. "I don't know." He spluttered. "Marcel… he… tried to kill me. He led me to this place and these bloody hybrids were everywhere."
"I thought Marcel was your friend." Caroline said, anger in her voice.
"How do you know about Marcel?" Klaus genuinely asked.
"You've told me about him before." Caroline answered nonchalantly.
Klaus had never told Caroline about Marcel, not since compelling her.
"Well, you have no friends when you're the most powerful creature on the planet, love." Klaus laughed, but catching his breath as his ribs punched through his chest at the laughter.
Once they reached the room, Caroline went to get cloth and Klaus sat himself down on the couch.
Caroline came back over and instantly went into nurse mode, gently pulling off Klaus's bloodstained shirt, as he smirked at her confidence. She wiped a wet cloth over his chest to wipe clear the blood and dirt over his open wounds, which resembled sharp claw scratches. Her soft hands glided over his skin and Klaus couldn't help but watch her as she tended to him.
"You've done this before?" Klaus asked, smirking up to her.
"Of course I have." Caroline smiled back, still tending to his wounds and bandaging the deepest ones.
"When?" Klaus asked.
"Seriously, Nik?! I've had to do this for you so many times I've lost count!" Caroline laughed.
Maybe it was because of her lack of sleep or maybe it was because of herself being lost in the action of repairing Klaus, but it was like all the compulsion over Caroline was gone.
"I'm pretty much an expert at this now." Caroline smirked. She finished attending to his chest, and then moved the cloth up to his face to wipe away the sweat and dirt which glimmered upon it. She caught his eyes in her own and stopped moving her hand, just holding it against his cheek. A soft eruption of adoration came coursing through her as she stared back into Klaus's eyes, which looked back with longing. Absent – mindedly, Caroline lifted her other hand up to Klaus's other side of his face and cupped his head in her hands as she slowly stroked his jaw with her thumb.
"I hope you're okay." Caroline whispered, still looking into his eyes.
Klaus swallowed and clenched his jaw. He slightly closed his eyes as Caroline held his face, relishing in the touch of her hands; which he had come to so badly miss.
"I'm much better now, Caroline." Klaus said back, with a slight roughness.
Caroline slightly leant forward towards Klaus and moved one of her hands behind his head and ran it through his hair, now looking down at Klaus's lips. She caught her breath and stopped moving as Klaus marginally sat up and also leant forward, trying to meet his lips with her own. She somewhat held back as he pushed forward and began to breathe heavier as her heart began to flurry. Just as her lips were about to meet his, Caroline's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion and her hand stopped pushing Klaus's head forward. Klaus sensed her apprehension and instantly regretted his forwardness. He dropped his head down and opened the gap between them.
"Sorry… I …" Caroline whispered.
"Please …don't apologise." Klaus cut her off. "Thank you so much for helping me."
Caroline smiled and breathed out, now staring at the ground.
Klaus stood up and walked upstairs to dress himself.
As Caroline watched Klaus walk away, she couldn't ignore the subtle growing feelings for a man she knew she should hate. Despite everything she had told herself to feel, despite all her confusion… a feeling became so clear to her, a feeling she had no way of explaining… but a feeling that she knew had been there all along. A feeling she had no other name for than… desire.