Chapter 51
At times, Tyler wished his inner wolf could speak to him. His entire body was humming. Excitement thrummed through his veins as his enhanced eyes spotted the city sign yards ahead. Before the hybrid could get ahead of himself, he still felt the sense of danger lurking. Memories of attacking Caroline despite how vocally he had refused reared their ugly head. The months he spent trying to free himself were worth it but the knowledge that he had ever been at Klaus's whims boiled his blood.
The idea that Klaus's status as alpha could potentially make Tyler's wolf bow before the original, infuriated him. As the vehicle drove forward enclosing the distance between the Original family and himself, Tyler couldn't help but hear a familiar voice in his head. Matt Donovan, the constant voice in the back of his mind, the one that always seemed to take the form of his best male friend.
"I'm sorry, Matt." Tyler frowned to himself. Klaus had left him with no choice after taking away his future, his girl, and the continued threats against those he loved. Deep down the reasonable part of him whispered that the only thing he could truly be mad over was forcing him to transition and become a threat to the people he had known all his life.
Caroline had left him on his own. Hayley had chosen a weak link to her parents over the pack she had bonded with…deciding to chase after her past over what he offered her on a silver platter. Tyler grounded against his teeth, he really had poor choice in women. Tyler growled as the voice chirped in his head that not wanting him was hardly a sin. Clenching his fingers, he formed tight fists. Soon he would help lure Elena out and together they could finally get revenge against Klaus.
Caroline would understand. Filled with anger, sure, but the blonde would eventually forgive them, she had never failed to do so before. But then again there were rumors. Tyler couldn't even be certain if Caroline was pregnant. The car had come to a stop, forcing Tyler to blink at a cheap motel sign on the outskirts of town.
His door opened.
"Are you ready?" The mysterious leader of the Traveler's interrupted Tyler's internal ramblings. The first successful hybrid physically shook his head to clear out the rest of his musings. Taking a moment to really look at the man he made a deal with, Tyler couldn't shake the feeling of uncertainty.
"I'll follow through on our deal." Tyler assured the man despite his internal struggles. His anger and thirst for vengeance warred with the idea he was falling into a trap. He couldn't get his last conversation with Matt out of his head.
Matt was certain that this path would lead to his ruin. That making any deals against the Mikaelson's would fail, they were not what they once were. No longer were they divided siblings whose strongest link was the fact that they were blood and one of them had the ability to dagger them all into a deep slumber.
"Don't be so nervous. I never doubted your sincerity," Markos clapped the hybrid on the back. "We will rest for the night. Don't be surprised if we are followed. This is a town full of ancestral witches. They are unable to practice outside of their city and thus are a bit prickly about boundaries."
"I'm more concerned about getting Elena away from the Mikaelsons. If they have her trapped here, as you say they do, then it's going to be tricky helping her escape. That's if they haven't managed to get her on their side." Tyler muttered, knowing just how far Elena would go for herself and her friends.
The question really was 'Is her love for Caroline and Bonnie more powerful than her hatred of the Mikaelsons'. "Can I trust you? I mean really trust you?" Markos asked.
"I'm in this." Tyler insisted. If Markos had anything that would make his job easier, the hybrid had to know what it was. He wasn't afraid to die trying to get his revenge against Klaus. Tyler hated the idea of leaving his mother alone, but he couldn't drag her any further into this mess than she already was.
It was better for her to think that he was traveling. Trying to figure out his next step, at least that was what he told her. Markos looked pleased at his answer, "Good. You will begin your hunt for the doppelgangers tomorrow. Our scouts have learned that those who hold the doppelganger live outside of town in an old plantation. They've seen newcomers coming into town with the group."
"You think I'll be able to spot her during a trip into town?" Tyler asked skeptically. He knew Klaus. Especially the angry, defensive side of the original vampire. Klaus, most likely, would be on high alert and anyone working with him would know to take extra precautions.
"We will assist if needed but you're a friend of the doppelganger so you will have the most successful chance of getting her on our side." Tyler listened to Markos words, his gut twisting as he realized that there was something the group was not telling him.
"Elena will come to me. We just need to make an opening." Tyler said with more gusto than he was feeling. He watched as Markos face turned thoughtful, from the little that Tyler had been able to gather and what Nadia had whispered to him the group preferred to keep a low profile.
"They already know we are coming." Tyler pushed, wary of pushing too hard. Being so close to his revenge against the life taken from him, he had to push against his instincts to use brute force to obtain his way.
"Nadia, the traitor," Markos shook his head, "We will have to deal with her once we are in the city."
"Then why not give them a show the city will never forget?"
XXX
There was one thing about being a wolf that Hayley loved above all else. It was the absolute sense of freedom one felt while in their wolf form. Everything else from needing to be the cause of someone's death, the physical pain of the change, even the hyper-awareness of the senses that sometimes became too much was all worth it for the absolute freedom one felt while running on all fours.
Becoming something other than human, gave you confidence. The brunette could see it as she watched her pack move in sync. The surety of their movements. The strength of their muscles, as they flexed to grab various supplies. It was obvious in the well-practiced way her wolves moved along their land.
She had only known this pack for half a year at this point. Now she watched them as they prepared for war, fighting alongside the oldest vampires in existence. An alliance that Hayley never believed could be possible. Her cursed pack, the one she was shipped away from as an infant, had gained much from the alliance already.
The hair on her arms stood up as the fear that she made the wrong choice filled her. Would teaming up with the Mikaelsons be worth it in the end? Her wolves would sort themselves into groups. Older pack members that would run into town, quickly ran down drills with those staying behind, the young ones needing the practice. Nadia's arrival signaled the start of the plan Elijah and Klaus oversaw with the input of the leaders of the Witch and Wolf factions.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
"Jackson." Hayley breathed, leaning into his chest and enjoying the aroma of forest, berries and rain that enveloped her at his closeness. Hayley closed her eyes, allowing herself the moment of safety she felt in the arms of this relative stranger.
"I can see the wheels in your mind turning." Jackson murmured in her ear, both feeling the stray eyes of the wolves on them. The combined bloodlines that made up their pack, as well as years of friendship binding them by vows made at the cradle.
"I'm thinking about the battle." Hayley admitted quietly.
"The pack can handle it. We're more comfortable in our wolf forms than the pack's you've encountered before." He comforted her, massaging her shoulders softly.
"I never thought I'd be working with an Original. Let alone the whole lot of them." Hayley sighed. "This could put our pack in danger and it would be all my fault."
Jackson turned her around locking their eyes together, "You made that deal for our people. I agreed to it. I am the pack alpha."
"Co-Alpha." Hayley corrected.
Jackson smirked, "Took you long enough to accept that."
Hayley growled lightly, punching him in the chest, grinning at the slight wince that crossed Jackson's face. Turning towards where their pack continued to go through their training, Hayley licked her lips, "We've already received what we wanted. If I could get us out of it, I would. Our wolves should not have to fight someone else's battle."
Jackson merely raised a brow, "We gave our word. Our pack will be fine. We've fought before."
"It was immediately followed by a threat of violence from Marcel. He cursed our entire clan and shipped me off to a family that had no way to care for a wolf child."
"I've heard that Marcel will get what's coming to him. Once we can be sure the supernatural world won't go extinct."
"I'm just worried, Jackson. I've learned the hard way not to trust other supernatural creatures. The only reason I even listened is because Caroline was a part of that idiotic Mystic Falls gang. For a bunch of stupid teenagers, they've survived a lot of things the supernatural world has shot at them. Hell, Caroline even gained two lapdogs, a witch who vowed complete retribution if we went back on our promise, as well as that vampire she collected, Enzo."
Jackson's eyes were filled with understanding, "And how she's done so worries you?"
"No. Caroline she's…annoying but from Tyler, I've learned she has never backed down from a promise. They've managed to confirm that the Traveler's want to destroy magic, just like Nadia and Katherine spoke of. What Caroline is unsure of is the effects of it on other supernatural species. Because of our origins, Caroline is certain it would mean the death of us as well."
"We're sure the plan will work, yes? You attended more of the planning sessions than I did." Jackson muttered, his mind taking in the new bits of information calmly.
"There's something else," Hayley whispered. "Something that I could definitely be killed for if anyone ever found out."
Jackson frowned, "They allowed you to learn this secret?"
"Caroline told me herself. Apparently she was tired of my attitude around the vampires and informed me of things that she could not have found out on her own."
"Hayley, what is it?" Jackson whispered, low enough so that none of their wolves could hear.
"Caroline somehow managed to go back in time. She's lived this all before and no surprise her little gang has a shit show of a life."
"Well that answers why a bunch of ancient vampires listen to a human girl." Jackson nodded. " They must be hoping that by combining the power of the factions together we can deal with whatever magic the Traveler's have access to."
"Or cause a distractrion as our indestructible vampires go on a murder spree." Hayley frowned. "That's not all she told me, Jackson."
"Does it change anything?"
"It puts things into perspective," Hayley spoke softly. "The other me…I don't want her fate."
Jackson didn't reply, just wrapped his arms around her shoulders pulling her into his chest. He pressed his face into her hair, "Then you won't."
"I want to protect our pack, Jackson," Hayley whispered. "The other me…she didn't make a deal with the originals. She was a part of them through….someone."
"A child."
"It's not a future I ever want to see pass," Hayley said with conviction. "Her fate…no child should go through that."
"Yet Caroline's pregnant." Her fellow alpha pointed out.
"Caroline's determined to avoid the same issues." Hayley replied in her tone, applying exactly what her thoughts on that were.
"Are you upset about it?"
Hayley glanced over, "Upset over not being the baby mama to what will be the most powerful being in the world? No. I'm more concerned about what getting into bed with the Mikaelsons means for our pack."
"We can renegotiate after this battle is over. We already had our most pressing concern met. The least we can do is ensure the woman who helped make it happen can keep the idiot who put her in that position." Jackson said jokingly.
"For how long?'' Hayley muttered to herself. "He's lived thousands of years without her. She's human now. Just how long will her pull last? Especially with the cure in her system."
The she-wolf sighed and groaned loudly, "I'm still upset I can't be in the middle of the action." As the couple made their way towards Jackson's truck, the rest of the fighters climbed into the various vehicles around their land.
"Someone needs to make sure Caroline doesn't attempt to do something stupid."
"How the hell did anyone think that person should be me?" Hayley muttered to herself hopping into the car.
XXX
"Liv!" A dark-haired woman hissed, crossing her arms around her chest glancing around the area in concern. The woman huffed as the younger woman ignored her. The witch internally groaned at the fearlessness of the other woman. Jo watched warily as her little sister led the duo into what looked like an old Southern Plantation. The witch contemplated just what her father put her two surviving siblings through to make them so brazen.
"Hurry up," Liv rolled her eyes. "This place gives me creeps."
Jo gritted her teeth as she avoided saying something that would cause the younger witch to push away. The last thing they needed was to separate, powers or not, Jo would not leave her teenage sister out in a strange city alone. Especially one that was essentially the vampire capital of the United States. Surely, vampires could have picked somewhere more convenient than an old plantation?
"Then stay close to me,"Jo snapped. "You aren't a match for an original, especially alone."
Then again Jo was certain an abandoned plantation would be perfect. Jo and her sister had spent the day within the city, subtly trying to figure out any unique visitors that might have made it into the memory of the locals. Luckily for them, the pair overheard some local witches whispering about the Mikaelsons. Jo and Liv had shared a look, the chances of the supernatural family not being involved were slim. Liv appeared pleased while her older sister Jo fought the urge to take her sister and run.
"You know I could always call Luke," Liz rolled her eyes, looking back towards her sister. "This is a part of our job, you know."
"No, it is not your job. Your job is to be a kid!" Jo hissed. "Not galloping across the country on Dad's orders."
"Dad wouldn't have to lean on Luke and I if it weren't for your own twin!" Liz whispered furiously. Jo flinched at the reminder that her aging parents had tried again and again until they once more were blessed with twins in hopes that the two of them could go through the merge safely and leave the coven intact.
"What we're asking of you is unforgivable." Jo shook her head, "We didn't know that Kai.."
"That Kai would murder all our siblings once he found out that Dad never planned on letting you do the merge? That we all knew you couldn't take Kai on and win?"
"You do know that airing family businesses on another's property is rude right?" A male voice came from only a few feet away.
The two witches flinched as Jo pushed Liv behind her despite Liv's objections. Jo watched as the male figure walked closer to them gently lowering his cargo. The man was lean with short brown hair, dressed in a leather jacket and dark blue jeans while Jo noticed his cargo was a human. A curly haired blonde in a sundress obviously pregnant. From Jo's observations she looked like she was due soon.
"We were just looking for help. Our car won't start and our phones died." Jo lied. The blonde looked at her with a smile as her male partner rolled his eyes and laughed in an almost manic manner.
"Really? Because here I thought a couple of Gemini witches were snooping around my family's territory." The man gave them a grin. Liv frowned looking over at Jo in concern.
"We're here because we think you have something that is ours." Liv said from behind her sister moving to stand beside her, shooting Jo a disgruntled look.
"Something that's yours?" The blonde repeated with a frown. "Last I checked it's illegal to own a human being."
"So he is here!" Liv exclaimed much to her sister's annoyance. Jo shot her younger sister a look before turning towards the couple, "He's under our protection. We've come to collect him after one of our own was killed protecting him."
The brown-haired male snickered, "More like keeping him sedated along with the other doppelganger. Nice try."
"I apologize for my sister." Jo squeezed Liv's shoulder begging her silently to keep quiet. "Tom Avery has been under the protection of our family for a long time. We just want to ensure both he and Elena are safe."
"Your family has a funny way of keeping people safe," The blonde's lip curled in a sneer. "Did your father ever explain how he planned on keeping you safe from Kai?"
'How the hell did they know about Kai?' Jo's eyes narrowed as Liv got defensive, "How do you know about our brother?"
The male rolled his eyes, "For a bunch of witches you sure don't have a lot of imagination or investigation skills. How do you think we know?"
"Kol," The blonde brought her hand to his arm. "Remember the plan. We don't have much time."
"Right," The vampire muttered. "I don't feel like getting another century long nap because your lover is an overprotective manic."
Turning towards the duo with a stern look on her face, the blonde focused on the two witches, "Tom is safe in my home. Elena is one of my childhood friends. I would never hurt either of them."
"Do you know what kind of danger they're in?" Liv butted in.
"The Travelers are coming here already." The man, Kol shrugged. "Honestly trying to leave now would only put them in more danger, not less."
"Then you know why we've come," Jo said softly, "I don't know how you know about my family or about the Traveler's but it's essential that they never get their hands on the doppelganger's bloodline."
"The Traveler's will be here within hours. We have a plan to deal with it and we would like your help." Caroline said. "In exchange we can help you with your merge problem because you know as well as I do Kai will find a way out."
"He can't." Liv shook her head. "He's stuck with no magic."
"In a Prison World. Those can be broken you know," Kol rolled his eyes. "Honestly you witches think you're all so knowing but you clearly aren't."
"Kol!" Caroline admonished.
"I'm speaking the truth," Kol countered with a wink towards his female companion. "Besides, the Gemini coven is known as inbreds."
"How dare you!" Liv cried, bringing her hands together as she began to chant only for a light to flash around the pair.
A darker-blonde haired woman appeared from the shadows, "Time's up. We have to get going now. We can try to convince the crazy witches to help on the way."
"Aw Freya, you're no fun!" Kol pouted as he watched his sister magically lift the frozen pair into the air.
XXX
"Do you have a death wish?"
The dark-haired witch stared at Sophie Deveraux, shaking her head as the witch was barely able to look her in the eye. Damn them all!
"You got exactly what you wanted. Now you are willing to risk it all by pissing off the oldest vampires in the fucking world? Don't you care about Monique at all?" Davina accused.
Sophie's eyes flashed, "You're the one who ran away. I did what I had to do."
"Yet Caroline is still linked directly to you," Davina said coldly, "and the counsel plans on ignoring the deal you made in good faith."
"There are other witches in charge of dealing with the Travelers. Why should we do another coven's job?" Sophie countered. Davina could see in her eyes that the witch didn't exactly believe in what she was saying.
'Coward', Davina thought.
"What do they have on you?" Davina whispered.
"All I wanted was my niece back. Except now that she is back it's like she has no mind of her own. I have to protect her from them." Sophie shook her head. "Our leader wishes to fulfill our end of the agreement but the counsel does not and the other Harvest girls… they… they've returned with undying loyalty only to the elders."
"That's not how the ritual is supposed to work!"
"The ritual isn't supposed to last nearly a year either!" Sophie snapped. "Actions have consequences Davina. This one on you."
"So, their answer isn't to warn the Mikaelsons? They'll kill all of you! Monique will die Sophie."
"Why do you think I'm warning you? Everyone knows you've been going over there. Monique talked about the way Kol Mikaelson has been following you around. I can't control the counsel but I can make a new deal of my own."
"You want to make a deal?" Davina looked skeptical.
"I'll unlink Caroline's life force from mine as long as they spare Monique and I. We'll leave the city even."
"You're an ancestral witch, you have to stay here if you want to practice!" Davina exclaimed softly.
"I never thought any of this was a big deal. I honestly thought most of it was stupid and not real." Sophie shook her head. "I just wanted to protect Monique and if that means living a life without magic then so be it."
"Then why warn us at all?"
"Because I have no idea what the Traveler's spell will do. It'll either strip us of our magic or potentially kill us all because we have magic. The Mikaelsons have kept their end of the bargain… I'm willing to bet that they'll find their way out of this mess."
"But you won't help."
"I'm not a powerful witch. I'm average at best, not like you. Now do we have a deal or what?" Sophie demanded.
It was several minutes later an aggravated Davina walked away from the quarter. She scowled darkly as she rushed towards the car whose keys she had liberated from her so-called coven sister. Caroline and the rest had done nothing but act in good faith and they were trying to backstab them?
Davina barely acknowledged the way people moved out of her way as a sleek sports car pulled up, and the passenger door swung wide open.
"Get in Bitch." The vampire, Davina knew as Katherine smirked at her. The teenage witch slid in without complaint, surprisingly used to the prickly vampire from her time spent with the Mikaelsons.
"We need to hurry." The witch whispered.
"Buckle up kiddo." The vampire flashed the younger woman a grin. "We're going to see what this baby can do."
Davina gripped the door handle as the vampire switched the car into gear and a loud vroom echoed along the road. The witch vaguely recalled Caroline saying that vampires had a thing for speed during one of her training sessions.
"What's with vampires and speeding?" Davina asked with a yelp as her hip hit the door when Katherine turned unexpectedly.
"We lack what stops others from doing it." The brunette shrugged. "It's not like we could actually get hurt in a crash."
"That explains so much." Davina muttered to herself as Katherine once again swerved. "Can you stop that!"
Katherine raised an elegant brow, "Chicken?"
"A witch without super healing abilities! Now slow down!" Davina cried as the vampire swerved, finally leaving the packed roads of the inner city heading towards the old plantation.
Katherine sighed, "Fine. Be a spoil sport."
"Now I know why Caroline refuses to allow anyone else to drive me home but her or Bonnie." Davina grumbled, sighing in relief as they reached the plantation. Davina quickly unbuckled herself from the seat, scowling at the vampire who was already waiting by her side.
"You said we needed to hurry," Katherine sang, grabbing the young witch by her wrist. "Would you like a piggyback ride or should I carry you princess style?"
"You just like dramatics don't you?"
"Darling you are in bed with the Mikaelsons, nobody is more dramatic than those assholes."
Davina sighed, "Piggyback at least then, so if I vomit then that's on you."
Katherine rolled her eyes, "Teenagers and your dramatics."
"Say's the ten times grandmother." Davina snarked back as she was lifted onto the vampire's back.
Katherine laughed, "Oh you're coming along so nicely. Rebekah is going to hate that you're growing up so fast!"
Davina closed her eyes the moment she felt the wind against her face. Burying her face into the back of the vampire's neck, she prayed for a safe delivery. It wasn't as if she was afraid of the vampire. She had been a comedic backdrop to her lessons for months now. But a lifetime of lessons of being wary of their strength of what she grew up knowing to be her enemies doesn't just go away.
Besides she wouldn't put it past the brunette to do something that would terrify her just for Davina's reaction. Between Kol, Katherine, Klaus and at times Rebekah, the witch knew that something was bound to happen sooner or later. She heard Bonnie muttering about a prank war that had Caroline scowling for weeks.
Soon after that Davina had witnessed the most interesting scene. Kol and Rebekah on their knees with brushes washing the floor with Caroline standing over them like a drill sergeant. As hilarious as the memory was Davina was generally wary of the vampires with a K to their name.
"Katherine, why do you have the Claire witch on your back?" Came the velvety voice of Elijah Mikaelson.
Davina looked up, "We have a problem with my former coven."