Now,
"You will not believe the crap week I had," Hayley said as she entered the living room, where Elijah was sitting in a brown leather armchair.
He was in one of his black three-piece suits, one leg propped on the other, a whiskey in one hand. His other hand was on his temple, as he often did when he was thinking. He stared deeply into the fireplace. She wasn't sure he even heard her.
"First, I've been attacked by amateur Chicago vampires, then I've had to find my way out of an old castle filled with strange coffins and whispers that I am pretty sure were from very angry witches, and last, their descendants tried to murder me because they thought I was the devil incarnate," Hayley monologued as she walked in front of him, ready to go into another monologue when she realized he wasn't even looking at her.
"Earth to Elijah," Hayley snapped her fingers before his eyes. He seemed to finally acknowledge her presence. The last time she saw him like this was ninety years ago, when they fled New Orleans with Mikael on their backs. He was deeply troubled, seemingly unable to reach a decision.
"Forgive me," he said without hesitation, and she put her hand behind his neck to take a better look at him. "Spirits and evil witches, you were saying?"
"Oh yeah, all dead and buried," Hayley said as she sat on the arm of the chair. "Tell me, what is it that troubles you?"
A ghostly smile graced Elijah's lips—her favorite smile. He took the hand that was behind his neck and kissed her knuckles softly.
"It always amazes me how you adapt to every century with their dialects and their strange expressions."
How clever of him to comment on how I say things rather than what I said, Hayley thought, but he wouldn't distract me.
"I guess it is the survivor in me that kicks in," Hayley said, caressing his cheek as he closed his eyes. "Will you tell me now what has got you so out of touch with reality that you didn't even acknowledge your very beautiful wife?"
Elijah chuckled softly. His eyes bore into hers, both full of love and respect. But there was something else in the brown of his eyeballs. She could tell it was mostly doubt, but she also saw a shimmer of anger. He pursed his lips, fully knowing that he wouldn't hide anything from her—he couldn't.
"I have received word that a new doppelganger was born," he said, his slight nervousness only known to him. He rarely let his emotions affect Hayley. "Seventeen years ago."
"What will you do about that?" Hayley asked him softly.
His arm pulls her to him, and she finds herself on his lap with her legs dangling off the armchair. He placed his hand on her waist, touching her skin where her shirt had risen. His fingers started drawing small circles, and she put her head on his shoulder. He was quick to kiss her forehead and to lean into her. She waited patiently for his answer as he took a deep breath.
"I will find her, and I will get her to complete the ritual so I can kill him," he answered calmly, even though she heard his heart beat faster and faster.
"Are you sure that is the right thing to do?" She asked, already aware of his answer.
"Hayley, he dropped their coffins in the ocean, we may never find them again," he said, frustrated with himself that he let such a thing happen. "If I know about her, then so does he. Either she dies and he becomes a hybrid, terrorizing her family, or I kill him. There is no other way. I have to do it."
Hayley caught on to that quickly, and she said, "Elijah, it wasn't your fault." She looked him in the eye before adding, "Had we stayed, you would have ended in the same place as them, wherever that is."
Her vague words alerted him, and he shot her a significant look of disbelief.
"You do not believe he threw them in the ocean."
It wasn't a question, but a statement. He felt that a fight was about to erupt between them, but he wasn't so sure. But none of them moved. His fingers were still on her waist, and her head was still on his shoulder.
The time of storming off with anger and broken vases was long gone.
"Look, we both know that Niklaus has significant anger issues, and he is so many other deranged things, but don't you think drowning them is a bit too much, even for him?"
"I do not think there is such a thing as a bit too much for him," Elijah retorted, shifting to a more comfortable position.
He took a sip of his whiskey before giving the glass to Hayley. His free hand was instantly on her bare thigh. She couldn't help but shiver. His hands had an unspeakable effect on her, even after a thousand years. His lips quirked slightly, unable to conceal his smile. She shoved her hand at his chest lightly, and they both broke into smiles. He was wrong about the fight.
As the centuries passed, Hayley had waited for their love to wither, slowly fading into resentment or simply indifference, but it only became stronger. Even Niklaus, the man who believed love was only a weakness, had admitted to them that they were the exception to the rule. He had let them live out their love in peace.
Most of the time, Hayley thought.
"Elijah, as fucked up as his ways are, he only ever wanted to protect you. Finn has been in a box for nine hundred years because he spent every waking moment trying to find a way to kill himself without it being at the hands of Mikael and Kol..." His fingers on her lips interrupted her monologue.
"I am aware of that, but he looked me in the eye and swore they were forever lost."
"Come on, Elijah, he isn't you." She sat up straight, straddling him quickly. Her hands were on his face and neck, his on her waist. "Sometimes he says the truth, but most of the time, he doesn't."
Elijah's eyes stared into the fire again, lost in thought. He didn't know what to believe. His brother, whom he swore to protect and help, to finally swear to bring him on the road to redemption? A redemption now he believed impossible. For a second, he wondered if his stubborn attempt at believing the worst of his brother, the one time it was not, was a way to absolve himself of his promise. Then he looked at his wife. She was the one who taught him to keep promises, no matter what happened. To ask for forgiveness when he couldn't do so. But most importantly, to never break the one they made a thousand years ago.
"Look," Hayley finally said, seeming to have come to a resolution, "Whatever you decide, I will support you. If you want my help, you only have to say the word, and it is done."
He took a deep breath, awed by her. They hadn't always been so strong, definitely not at the beginning. But now, they knew nothing could tear them apart, not even his brother. He moved a hand up her waist until he reached her neck. He pulled her face closer to his, their noses slightly brushing. She smelled like earth after a heavy rain. She felt like a cool breeze on his burning heart. She was everything.
My brave Andrea, he thought.
"I will follow this lead," he finally says, pulling her body to his by the waist. She stifled a moan, breathing heavily against his mouth. "I will send you the address, and I will call once I reach my destination. I will only be able to make my decision once I am confronted with my brother, my hand holding his heart."
He paused for a second, locking his brown eyes with her mesmerizing green ones.
"I will not ask you to accompany me, but if it is your wish, I would be glad if you joined me," Elijah said firmly, both knowing the real meaning behind his words.
I will never take your choice from you.
Elijah knows that the best choice for her, the right one, is the one she makes herself.
"If I asked you to not kill him, even if he really threw Rebekah and the others at sea, would you spare him?" Hayley asked him out of curiosity. She knew deeply in her heart that she wouldn't take his words personally.
"That is a promise I cannot make," Elijah interrupted himself for a second before continuing, "And for this, I am deeply sorry."
She nodded with a sad smile. Then she did what she had wanted to do since she first entered the room, almost two hours before. She threw her arms around his neck, and she kissed him deeply. His mouth moved against hers in a perfect symphony of lips, tongue, and teeth. He bit her lower lip softly, enticing a small groan from her. She grazed his fangs with her tongue, tasting her own blood as she played with his. He didn't dare come close to her poisonous ones, as he knew the abominable pain it would cause. One hand was always on her neck, holding her to him, while the other wandered on her skin. Hayley shuddered with desire as his hand went under her shirt and sprawled on her back before unclasping her bra. Her own hands didn't shy away from his body as she held onto his hair, scuffing his middle part that she found oh so sexy.
She pulled at his tie and regretted how many layers he was wearing. She tore her lips from his, but he kept kissing her cheek until he grazed her ear with his teeth. No amount of self-control could stop her moan from erupting.
"Let's make a deal," Hayley said, breathless as she kept unbuttoning his shirt and his vest. "Next time I come home, the tie, vest, and jacket will be off, deal?"
He chuckled against her neck, and soon enough, she was on her back on the couch on the opposite side of the room. His lips were slowly kissing a trail towards her breasts, his hand pulling up her shirt slowly. Hayley pulled it over her head quickly, along with her bra, which only amused him even more. He liked seeing her like this—unguarded, careless, and free, like she deserved to be. He wished he could see it even more.
"Do you want the sun to be up and shining before you do anything?" Hayley growled, her eyes glowing yellow for a second.
"Darling, it's merely midnight," was his only answer, but he had moved his hand towards her breast, his mouth blowing on her nipple. His right hand was clasped in hers above her head, and he could feel her claws silently threatening him not to keep up his game. He ignored it.
His tongue came out to lick her nipple, and he felt it become hard and goose bumps erupt all over her body. The reaction of her body to his touch was always a source of amazement to him. She was always so sensitive, always so receptive to his touch. But so was he. They wouldn't have it any other way. His other hand squeezed her breast slowly, his thumb and forefinger rolling her nipple. She breathed heavily at that and brought his face to hers as she kissed him passionately. She took advantage of his momentary distraction and sped them to the wall next to their bedroom. She tore his shirt and vest; the jacket discarded a long time ago. His hands were roaming on her ass, and his mouth only cared about her breasts.
Her skirt was next on the floor before her boots flew over to the other side of the room. She swore that she broke a vase, again. Elijah's bare chest was before her eyes, and she roamed her hands on it. His heart was beating fast, and her claws grazed his nipple. She drew blood, quickly licking it away. She was on her back again, on their bed. She heard Elijah's shoes and socks hit the floor as he kissed his way down her toned abdomen. The lace that covered her pussy was quickly torn from her body. She wanted his face between her legs, but she was too impatient.
"Fuck me, Elijah," she ordered him, fully knowing he would comply, but not before tormenting her.
"I will," he simply said, ignoring her gorged clitoris as he kissed her left thigh down until her knee. He went up the other one, fully aware how frustrated she was becoming. Her hand in his hair was his only warning before she turned them over. She was on him, in all her naked glory. She unbuckled his belt, throwing it on the floor. She pulled his trousers down his muscled legs, discarding them without a second thought.
"That was a nine-thousand dollar suit you just destroyed," he said with a fake glare, and the second it took for her to look at him with feigned annoyance, she was on her back, again.
Her hands were on his back, claws out, threatening him that blood would be spilled if he didn't fuck her quickly. He was also done playing their little game of wolf and vampire—two predators, but prey to one another. He succumbed to her as he removed his last piece of clothing.
Her right hand was holding his left, while he was on his elbow and her other hand in his hair. Pride glinted in her eyes as she saw him so disheveled, his hair tousled, and his body covered in her marks. Claw marks took more time to heal, even for an Original.
He looked at her deeply in the eye as he thrust into her. It elicited moans and groans from both. He picked up speed as soon as he was sure Hayley was comfortable. He knew just the right spots to hit, the right moment to pivot his hips ever so slightly so that she shuddered in pleasure. His thrusts didn't falter; he kept a steady rhythm. Hayley was pulling him for a kiss every few seconds, but he moved to her breasts to lick her nipple and gently bite one. Her moan made him groan, and he sped up a bit. He could feel her on the verge of coming undone. But he knew she needed something essential. Something they haven't done in a long time.
As he thrust harder, he bit her breast, and she shook with the intensity of her orgasm. He kept drinking off her as he came as well. As she tried to breathe normally again, his fangs tore away from her skin, and he licked the remainder of her blood. She pulled him to her, and he nestled his head in her neck as she threw her arms over his shoulders. Both were breathing the other one in.
His smell of sandalwood and sunshine mixed with hers. The combination that came out of it was intoxicating. She felt ready for another round.
As the sun was rising and his rays shone into their bedroom, Hayley was coming down from her fifth orgasm, slowly riding Elijah as he held her by the waist and kissed every inch of her skin he could reach. She was wearing his shirt from their earlier escapade to the kitchen to get blood. They both needed it, and he ended up eating her out on the counter.
"I think it is time for Cinderella to become a pumpkin again," he teased her as he nipped her ear.
"A very beautiful pumpkin, mind you," she retorted, and she heard him snort.
She dropped her head on his shoulder and turned her eyes towards the window. It took up an entire wall, and she had made the stained glass herself. She chose this house just to see the sun rise over the ocean, its rays warming her skin. Different colors erupted in the room. The blue of her lake and the green of the grass peppered with autumn colors. It was why this house felt like home.
"Do you want to talk about amateur vampires, evil spirits, and even worse witches?" He asked her into her ear, and it was her turn to snort.
"I think I've channeled all my anger into passionate sex," she answered, and she felt his hand pinch her ass slightly. "But those witches really came at me, I thought I would have a headache for the rest of my life."
"Do you know why they attacked you?"
"It was like they... didn't want me to find something," she said, raising her head and staring into his eyes. "Something they were willing to sacrifice a lot to keep hidden from me."
"If I asked you to drop it, would you?" He asked her, tempting his chance even though he knew the answer.
"Not a chance in hell," she answered with a mischievous smile and a kiss.
"Call me if you need me. I will come, Niklaus be damned."
"I will, I promise you, if you promise to do the same."
"I give you my word," he replied, kissing her forehead as the clock in the living room hit six.
It was time for him to get his revenge. Or his siblings. Whichever came first.