Fangs sank through my skin and I felt blood spill down my shoulder. I struggled, still in disbelief at what was happening. This was Elijah! He would never hurt me!
I felt myself getting lightheaded as the blood was drained from me.
"EL…Elijah…. Stop…" I tried to find something resembling the man I knew inside his hungry eyes. Nothing.
A burning sensation ripped through my body and suddenly Elijah was catapulted across the room. I looked around for my rescuer but saw nobody. Had I done that?
"Elena?" Rebekah banged at the door.
"Rebekah! Could use some help!" She slipped through the gap in the door and came into the room. She took in the scene, her nose wrinkling at the smell.
"What… what the hell?" She stared at the bodies. I turned on her sharply.
"I thought you said they weren't eating?"
"I thought he wasn't!"
"Well I'm surprised there are any brunettes left in town after him!" I pinched the bridge of my nose, breathing shallowly so I wouldn't throw up. We went over to the corner where Elijah was sprawled. I knelt beside him.
"What did you do to him?" Rebekah asked.
"I'm not sure…" It wasn't really a lie. I knew it was magic I just didn't know what kind. "I guess we should restrain him before he wakes up? And then you need to get rid of the bodies. Because I'm not touching them." Rebekah grimaced.
"Fine. There should be some manacles around here somewhere. You secure him, I'll deal with the bodies."
I headed out of the room and looked around. I eventually found some chains and manacles tucked away. I didn't want to know what they were for. I returned to Elijah's room where Rebekah was busy dragging bodies out to the courtyard. We carried him downstairs and I carefully fastened the manacles around Elijah's wrists, attaching them to hooks built into the wall.
I sat nearby, waiting for him to come round as Rebekah continued to dispose of the bodies, looking more and more disturbed each time I saw her. Eventually, Elijah's eyelids flickered and he groaned.
"E…Elijah?" I got to my feet and approached hesitantly.
His eyes opened slowly. They registered me standing there and he lunged forward, snarling. I shrieked and jumped back, praying that his restraints would hold.
"Elijah, stop this! It's me!" I told him. "I'm not a hallucination, I'm Elena!"
He didn't respond. I let out a huff and sat down again. Rebekah came and stood beside me.
"How's Finn doing?"
"He's okay. Still weak but he should be back on his feet by tomorrow. I wish I could say the same for him." She nodded at Elijah.
"What's wrong with him?"
"He just needs time to dry out."
"Dry out? He's not an alcoholic."
"No, but blood is intoxicating stuff. He's been rampaging, he needs time for it all to leave his system so he can think straight."
"I don't want to leave him like this…"
"You can stay but I don't think it'll do any good." She produced a book of matches from her pocket and lit one, tossing it onto the pile of bodies. I grimaced and moved closer to Elijah. I reached out and gently touched his cheek. He snapped at me, trying to bite my wrist.
"I'll be back Elijah. I've got a lot to tell you."
I left reluctantly and returned to the compound, feeling exhausted. My shirt was stained with dried blood and when I entered, the assembled vampires looked up, some of their faces slipping to reveal their fangs. I went over to Marcel.
"Umm… you know the vampire who was killed…?"
"Yes…?"
"Was it a girl? With dark hair?"
"Yes. Why…?"
"I think Elijah did it." I turned and headed upstairs, wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed. I made it to the hallway before Marcel appeared at my side. I groaned and leant against the wall. I was still a little lightheaded from the blood loss. Marcel blocked my way and folded his arms.
"Explain."
"Rebekah wanted me to help get her brothers back to normal. Finn and Elijah. I went there and it turns out Elijah has been rampaging around massacring brunette girls." He reached out to touch the wound on my neck. I flinched automatically.
"He did that?"
"Yes. He's been secured. I just thought he might be responsible for it."
"Alright… thank you for telling me. Do you want me to heal you?" I shook my head.
"No, I'll be fine. I'm just going to go and rest up." I went upstairs and opened the balcony door, hoping that Kol would come by a little early. I ran myself a bath, emptied my pockets and climbed in fully clothed, sinking deep. The hot water stung the bite. I watched as it changed colour, tinged with red. I felt a sudden urge for company. I picked up my phone and rang Kol.
"Hello Darling."
"Hey. What are you up to?"
"I'm just lurking, waiting for the sun to go down."
"You might want to check in on Rebekah. Elijah's gone a bit…"
"A bit what…?"
"Kind of ripper-ish? I think he's been taking out his inner demons on any girl who his brain convinces him is me."
"Shit, are you okay?"
"He took a chunk out my neck. But I blasted him across the room."
"That's my girl." I smiled to myself. It was nice to have someone who I could share all of this with. Sophie was okay but she was an outsider. Kol was in the middle of all this, he had to deal with it just like me. It was good to have someone who was going through the same things that I could talk about my feelings with and freak out to when weird things happened.
"But I've been thinking, I want to tell them soon."
"Are you sure?"
"I feel bad. I mean, you know and there's just as much chance of it being Elijah's."
"Thanks for reminding me."
"Sorry. But when Elijah's back to normal I'm going to tell them all."
"Okay, if that's what you want to do. I'll see you tonight?"
"Yeah. Love you K,"
"Love you too darling." I hung up and sank down in the water until I was completely submerged.
I spent the next two days at the Mikaelson house, sitting with Elijah. He didn't seem to be improving. Rebekah said that when I wasn't around he was perfectly quiet, only snapping if someone got too near to him, but when I came in the room he went into a frenzy, pulling at his chains until I feared that he'd tear them from the wall. Eventually he'd tired himself and fall quiet, starting up again if I moved. I tried reading to him, hoping that my voice might bring him back to reality. It didn't seem to do anything.
When I left that evening, I noticed the full moon sitting low in the sky. I considered for a minute before making up my mind. I headed out of the quarter, making a brief stop on the way, before going out to the bayou. I wasn't sure why I was going there, it just felt right. I hesitated as I moved through the trees. I knew that I was probably safer out here that night than any other, given the condition that the werewolves had to live under.
As I got nearer to the cabin where I'd spent my recovery, I heard the sound of voices. Laughter, music. I saw the light of the fire and hesitated at the edge of the circle it cast, worried about intruding. I spotted Eve sitting nearby and, as if she sensed my presence, she looked over.
"Elena!" She came over. "You came back!"
"Hi. Looks like quite a party?"
"Well it's nice to see everyone again. What can we do for you tonight?"
"I was hoping I could talk to the wolves who found me… when I was hurt?"
"Oh yeah, sure. Jackson! You have a visitor!"
A tall man with messy dark hair came over. He paused as he neared, eyes running over me.
"Hi."
"Hello."
"I'm Elena."
"I know."
"I wanted to thank you. You and your friends for rescuing me."
"It's alright. I just wish you'd stuck around a bit longer."
"I was kind of freaking out."
"Understandable."
"But I brought a pie. As a thank you. It's not much but they don't make 'thank you for saving my life' cards." I held out the pie that I'd brought.
"Thanks." He took it. "I assume you didn't come out all this way just to bring us pie?"
"I may have had an ulterior motive. Are you the alpha?"
"I am."
"Can I talk with you privately? I appreciate that you guys don't get much time as human and you want to make the most out of it… but I'm not sure if this can wait for another month."
"Certainly. Inside?" I nodded. We headed into the cabin. He leant against a wall, arms folded. I shifted nervously, beginning to wish that I'd brought someone with me. "What's the problem?"
"Well obviously you helped look after me… when I was ill. So I'm presuming that you know about my... Condition?"
"You're expecting, yes, I am aware."
"Did Eve tell you about the parentage…?"
"She mentioned that it was… complicated."
"I'm going to say it. It's at least part vampire. It may also be part werewolf… but I can't say that for certain. I appreciate that your species haven't really gotten along…"
"That's putting it mildly." I decided to stop trying to be tactful and go straight for the jugular.
"Are you going to want to kill my babies?"
"That was direct."
"I had to make sure. This isn't anything against werewolves. It's just… people try to kill me fairly frequently, and I'm sort of making a life here in the city and I don't want to have to worry that I'm going to wake up one morning and find that I've inadvertently gone to war with your people."
"I understand. We do not kill babies."
"What about me? Do I get the same courtesy?" He eyed me.
"You don't seem like much of a threat." I bit my lip, deciding to take this a step further.
"Would you… consider an alliance?"
"An alliance? With you?"
"Yes. These children… they're vampire. They're witch. If they're werewolf, it could unite… or destroy. And given my experiences with the supernatural world, I don't think that many people will be happy with the idea of vampires having kids. And some might be a little too eager to exploit the possibility of super powerful hybrid children."
"So you want us to protect you? What's in it for us?"
"While I am pregnant… I have access to some of my children's abilities. The witch ones. I also have a very old book with some spells in it." Book might have been an exaggeration. More like, loose collection of paper scraps.
"You think you can break our curse."
"I'd be willing to try." He gave me a considering look.
"You're quite a girl."
"I've had my life controlled by vampires, witches, hybrids… you name it, I've had them with mess with me. I want my children to be safe. And I will do whatever it takes to ensure that."
"You have my interest. You can produce a cure, I guarantee our support."
"Even if it's not a werewolf?"
"Yeah."
"Thank you."
We regarded each other for a moment before stepping out of the cabin. I looked around at the happy people.
"I'll leave you to enjoy yourselves. I'll come back when I've worked out what to do."
I left. I'd not gone far when the enormity of what I'd just done hit me. I had no idea how to cure their curse! I couldn't even read half the spells I'd found, let alone perform them and I had no idea if the spell I needed would be in there! But if I managed… I would have secured my children an ally and prevented at least one wolf pack from savaging them in their cribs. It was so fucked up that these were things I had to consider. Most parents just had to worry about play dates and headlice! I had to make sure that my children made it through infancy without being torn to shreds by wolves, hexed by witches or bled dry by vampires. And I had to make sure that I didn't get abducted by other vampires who might want their own baby.
Oh yeah, and I hadn't even bought a crib for them yet.
I had to do this. It was important. I would read every spell I could find until I worked out how to free the wolves.
That was exactly what I did. I took the spells I had with me during my trips to the Mikaelson house and sat on the floor in the courtyard near Elijah. None of them seemed to be of any use. The ones that looked like they might be important were impossible to read. A combination of faded ink, yellowing paper and language I didn't understand meant I spent hours reading the same ones over and over again.
Elijah growled, breaking me from my concentration. I sighed and put down the paper.
"Stop it." I told him.
"Why do you bother talking to him? He doesn't recognize you," Rebekah chimed in from where she was sitting.
"Because it's better than sitting around doing nothing."
"I told you. We have to wait and eventually he'll go back to normal."
"It's been five days Rebekah. He's not changed at all." She sighed.
"What do you suggest then Elena?"
I put my papers to the side and got to my feet. I stood in front of Elijah and considered.
"Let him loose."
"What?"
"Excuse me?" said Finn, appearing on the upper floor balcony. "That doesn't seem like a good idea."
"Well I can't just sit here and watch him."
"So leave?" suggested Rebekah.
"No. I want to try this. If Elijah's really in there, he won't kill me."
"He bit you last time?" Finn reminded me.
"And I managed to subdue him. You guys don't have to watch, just give me the keys and I'll do this myself." Rebekah and Finn exchanged glances, clearly uncomfortable with my plan. To be honest, I wasn't even sure what I was doing. Rebekah got up and came over. She handed me the key.
"This is suicide." She went up to the balcony where Finn was and leant against the wall to watch. I clenched the key in my hand and moved closer to Elijah.
"Elijah. I'm going to unchain you. And you are not going to hurt me, because you are a good man."
I reached up to undo the first manacle. My arm passed by his face and he turned his head slightly, inhaling my scent. He let out a soft growl. I paused. I was trying to seem braver than I really was. Inside, I was terrified. He didn't try to bite me which I took as an encouraging sign. I released one of his manacles and stepped back, waiting to see what he would do. He didn't move, just watched me with quiet hungry eyes. Hand trembling, I reached out and unlocked the second one but didn't open it. I stepped back. He gave the manacle an experimental tug and his hand came free.
I looked him in the eye, keeping my face perfectly still. He took a step, every inch the predator. He prowled around me, not really moving towards me, but at the same time I knew he was hunting me. I stood my ground, keeping him in my line of sight at all times. He came to rest a foot from me, watching me intently. It was like the hunter part of his mind couldn't quite work out what to make of me. Prey was small and meek. Prey ran.
I stretched out my arms and beckoned him.
"Come on Elijah," I said softly. "Come and get me."
His lip curled slightly. His body tensed. I was ready for him.
He darted forward, fangs sprouting. I knew I couldn't move out of the way and I didn't try to. He grabbed hold of me, knocking me to the floor. He snarled and bit me, drinking deeply. I didn't struggle. I reached up and tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling his mouth away from my neck. More blood spewed from the wound as his fangs tore through the skin on the way out. I guided his mouth to mine and kissed him, ignoring the blood and the fangs. I kissed him, eyes closed. With my free hand, I found one of his and guided it to my stomach, pressing down firmly enough for him to feel it.
He reared back, fangs still bared. I closed my eyes, resigned to my fate. If I was to die trying to save one of the men I loved, so be it.
I waited for the bite, for him to tear open my throat and end me. But it never came. I could still feel his weight on top of me so I knew he'd not been dragged away. I opened my eyes slowly. He was sat on top of me, watching me. I bit my lip.
"Elijah…?" I was scared my voice would set him off again. He blinked and cocked his head as the sound registered. "Elijah." My voice was more confident now. I saw something flicker in his eyes.
"Elijah. It's me. Do you hear me? This is real."
"Elena…"
"Yes." I reached up and touched his cheek, my bloodstained fingers brushing against his skin. He turned his head slightly.
"You're bleeding."
"I am. Do you remember what happened…?"
"You died…"
"No… Klaus just said I did. But I'm alive. I'm alive and I'm here." I wrapped my arms around him and held him close, burying my face in the crook of his neck and inhaling his scent. It smelt like home.
A/N: I have some things to say. Firstly, yes I was joking about taking a three month break. That being said, you guys are the best. The amount of love I'm getting at the moment is so incredible. I wasn't even going to write anything for tonight because I felt so low but you guys keep me going. I love you all.
Secondly, I am trying to do a chapter a day (more when I can't sleep) however next week I cannot guarantee any chapters as my mum is going into treatment and I'll probably kill any characters I come across. Then again, I might need the distraction and write extra. Who knows?
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!