Hey guys! Sorry for the wait! The end of the month is always busy because of scrambling to get bills paid lol. Either way, Ill be getting back on track :) hope you enjoy. Please keep going with those amazing reviews! They make my job easier for sure!
Chapter 20:
Mari stirred the next morning, her body protesting as she stretched. She was still a little sore from the night before, and with that realization came all of the memories of the events that played out. Her cheeks immediately flushed at the thought of it, but when she looked to her sides, she realized she was alone in the bed.
Then, as she lifted her head to look around, she finally noticed the sink water running in the bathroom. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and taking deep breaths, pushing the tiredness away as best as she could so she wasnt tempted to lay back down and go to sleep again.
The bathroom door opened after a moment, and Kol came out with a towel wrapped around him. When he saw her, he smiled a little.
"You're finally awake," he chuckled. "I was beginning to think you never would." Mari's eyes trailed down from his shoulders to what parts of his hips were exposed from underneath the towel. She had seen all of him the night before, but it was still hard not to admire his physique.
"Where's Klaus?" She asked curiously, prying her gaze from him and blushing. Kol smirked at her reaction to him, finding it amusing especially after they'd bared all to one another the night before. She was still so innocent sometimes.
"He had to get back to the compound," Kol explained, reaching for the shirt he left on the floor. He shook it out, then tossed it onto the edge of the bed. "Hayley arrived today with Hope. I'm due to arrive there shortly, but I'm in no hurry."
"Oh," she brought her knees up to her chest. She wasnt too thrilled that she wasnt going to be able to see them much that day. It felt a little weird, considering, to not talk about everything that happened. She was so confused as to what they were supposed to do now, or what their future held for them.
"Why don't you come?" Kol asked her, seeing the expression on her face. "If I know Klaus, and I do, he would love to publicly lay claim to you. Even if he has to share."
"What will your family think about... all of this?" Mari asked nervously. She didnt want to be a burden or embarrassing to them. Kol shrugged his shoulders in response,
"Elijah will be concerned that Klaus and I will end up fighting even more, but... if they worry about anything, they'll be worried about you. Our family is generally destructive. Dangerous. And this is something new to all of us."
None of what he said sounded very pleasant, and she couldnt think of a response to it that wasn't just repeating the same question as before. She chose to stay silent instead. Mari crawled out of the bed, throwing her legs over the edge and reaching down for her clothes. One arm covered her chest, which Kol also found amusing.
"No need to cover up anymore, love," he commented slyly as he began dressing himself. She glanced up at him from under her blond waves and her cheeks went flush. Her arn stayed over her breasts. "Really, you needn't be shy around us any longer, darling. The time for that has passed, don't you think?"
"I guess." She took a deep breath, sliding her arms into the straps of her bra and clasping it together behind her. Mari took a few deep breaths, hoping to steady her still rapidly beating heart. Kol walked over to where she was sitting on the edge of the bed, and he knelt down in front of her so he could look up at her and hold her gaze.
"Do you regret it?" He asked her softly, brushing her hair from her face and tucking it away behind her ear. Hsi touch was soothing, reassuring. She shook her head. "Good. I know intimacy is an important matter to you. You dont take it lightly, and I didn't either. Not with you."
"I'm just afraid that it's going to just... be over one day." She chewed on her lip a bit. "Your family is... immortal." It was something they hadn't talked much about before, but after their hot night of blistering passion, it was definitely something she had to bring up to them. She would age and die, and they would live on to love and make love to numerous girls after her.
"Let's not think about that right now. Please." Kol knew her concern was valid, but he wasn't going to let the family curse take her away from him. She came into his life when he needed her most, like it was fate. Kol wouldnt let go of her easily.
"Okay." Mari nodded, grabbing his hand in her much smaller one. "You go to the compound. Ill take a shower and meet you guys there."
"Alright, love." He leaned forward to kiss her head softly, then stood to finish getting dressed. Once he was ready, he shot her a quick smile, then left the hotel room. She flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, replaying the night in her head. It was amazing, more than amazing, but she had no idea how long it would last.
About an hour later, Mari was headed out of the hotel's doors. She had showered, dressed, and even put on a little bit of makeup to present herself properly. First impressions were important after all. She forgot to put in contacts, though, so she went with her black framed glasses.
She had barely taken a few steps down the street when she was yanked, suddenly, by her arm into the alleyway between the hotel and the small restaurant beside it. She half expected it to be Kol or Klaus, but she was frightened when she looked up at an unfamiliar face.
The strange man held out her arm, and he pulled a syringe from the inside pocket of his jacket. As he brought it over to her arm, Mari grabbed onto his hand in a frantic attempt to stop him from jabbing her with the needle.
"What are you doing?" She asked in a panic, practically hyperventilating as she tried but failed to stop him. She winced as the needle slid into the bend of her arm, and the liquid inside emptied into her veins. Mari started screaming, but the man put his hand over her mouth.
"Take it easy, Marigold, or you'll make yourself sick." She didnt know how he knew her name, or wht he was attacking her to begin with. However, when he looked at the droplet of blood forming where he'd stuck her with the syringe, his eyes darkened. A vampire. Of course it was a vampire.
Within seconds, her vision began to blur. Her limbs went numb entirely, and her legs gave out. The man effortlessly lifted her, and as he sped off as inhuman speeds, she lost consciousness completely, enveloped by darkness.
She woke some time later, possibly hours, possibly minutes. Mari couldnt be too sure, but she woke up with an uncomfortavle grogginess. Her head was spinning, and her stomach was churning. She moved to sit up, but something tugged at her wrists. She pulled as them again and heard what sounded like chains clanging together.
"Lay down, Mari," came an all too familiar voice. Her vision cleared after a series of rapid blinks, and Marcel's face came into focus. Her eyebrows furrowed.
"Marcel?" She yanked on the chains holding her wrists down again, keeping laying down instead of being able to sit up. The table, or slab, underneath her was cold against her skin. Skin. She looked down to see herself without a shirt. Her bra and pants were still in place. Perhaps the more unnerving discovery was the symbol painted on her chest in something sticky and red.
"I didn't want to do this, Mari. You have to believe me. But I don't know another way." He checked the chains to make sure they werent too tight and chafing the skin underneath. "I wanted so badly to keep you from getting involved with Kol. I tried. I really did."
"What's going on, Marcel," she whimpered, her back arching to get away from the cold concrete for just a moment. "Please, let me go. I-I won't tell them about this."
"I've been waiting for Kol to fall in love for a long time, Mari. I hate that it's you. I didnt want it to be you." He was being vague, and it only made her more afraid. "I found a witch that knew a way to bring Davina back. I just had to wait until Kol found someone knew. And eye for an eye. Heart for a heart. You for Davina."
"Marcel, don't do this..."
"See, Mari, a dead witch can possess a new body. Where Davina is, she... she needs help. I have to rescue her. I swore I'd protect her. I'd do anything for her." His eyes were watering, on the verge of letting those tears escape. Mari almost felt bad for him, but to give him what he wanted, Mari had to die. "I'm sorry, I really am. There's no other way."
A woman approached the slab, then, a knife in hand. She was chanting something that Mari couldnt understand. Latin, she guessed, based on what she knew about witches. She stood over Mari, then began to carve another symbol into the skin on the opposite side of her chest as the first one. Mari screamed and cried as the knife effortlessly sliced through her skin. The cold against her back was contradicted by the warmth spreading on her chest.
She saw Marcel's eyes darken. Mari briefly wondered when the last time he ate was, and almsot as soon as the thought crossed her mind, Marcel reached down to push her hair away from her throat. She frantically pulled and flailed her limbs, though she knew she would never be able to break metal chains. Marcel put his hands on her shoulders and held her still as he bent down and sank his fangs into the side of her neck.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as he fed from her and the witch continued her chanting. It felt like the last few moments of her life were going to be spent afraid and in tears instead of in the arms of the people she loved like she always hoped for. It only made her sob harder. Marcel pulled back when she began to weep, sympathy in his gaze.
All of the chanting and noise came to an abrupt halt as the sound of a door flinging open echoed through the room. Mari turned to look at Marcel, but he was gone. Her head turned to the witch, but something suddenly covered her eyes. Two hands. Familiar hands.
The witch let out a guttural, piercing scream, and Mari could only imagine what was happening to her. After a few seconds, it ended, and the room fell into silence again except for Mari's ragged, heavy breaths in between sobs.
The hands lifted from her eyes, and Mari was relieved to see Kol's face. Her eyes fluttered closed as relief swept through her like a tidal wave, calming her pounding heart ever so slightly. Kol pried the chains from her wrists, freeing her. She immediately flew up from the slab, throwing her arms around his neck and clinging to him as she cried.
"It's okay," he cooed to her softly, rubbing her back and holding her tightly. "Mari, you're okay. I have you now."
"Her neck," came another familiar voice. Mari pulled from Kol a little, enough to turn around and verify that it was indeed Klaus she was hearing. Her eyes widened a bit at the side of him, eyes dark, lips and chin soaked in blood. A hand flew up to cover her mouth. He'd never looked so terrifying.
Klaus tried to ignore the damning expression on her face as he made his way over to where Kol held her. He gently swept her hair to the side to expose the bite on her throat. He pierced the skin of his thumb, rubbing it over the wounds gently. Kol did the same, healing the cuts on her chest. The pain eased slowly, then disappeared altogether.
"H-How did you find me?" She sniffed, trying to stop crying long enough to find out what exactly just happened to her. It all happened so fast, already becoming a blur in her memory.
"Not all of Marcel's men are loyal to him. Some of them work for me," Klaus explained quietly. There was an unnerving rage in his voice. Killing the witch hadn't been enough to satiate the desire for revenge. "No longer will I spare him out of some idiotic sense of sentiment. Marcel will pay with his life and so much more."
"Klaus, please," Mari begged, reached out to touch her stubbled jaw gently, her hand shaking violently still. "I just want to go home." He took a deep breath and nodded, softening his expression though she could still see his jaw tightening and tensing.
"Let's go home, then, shall we?"