Nursing a hot cup of coffee, Elena sat on a chair next to the living room window, watching the sunrise and enjoying the serenity and peacefulness of the morning; her mind raced between her indiscretions with Klaus and the horror that could potentially unfold from her day.
She wondered how she was stuck in the middle of yet another vampire fight and how she had gone against nature when she and Klaus slept together but most of all, she wondered how she allowed the dark sides to her win and connect with the original hybrid. When she was with him, she felt different and acted unlike herself but her very actions would only lead to a feeling of hate and disgust for herself.
But she couldn't stop.
Even as she thought about the nights they had spent together, the flashes of memories brought a heat and a rise within her that couldn't be explained; her demons yearned for him and she was completely out of control with them. Maybe it was fated, maybe the universe was leading her or just maybe, this empty darkness within her was who she was truly meant to be.
She stood from the chair and ended her downward spiralling chain of thoughts and walked into the kitchen, filling her mug up with coffee and calling out, "Klaus."
Within seconds, he was standing in the doorway, leaning against it and watching her, "Yes, sweetheart?"
"We should really get going, I'm going stir crazy in this house," she brought the mug to her lips and drank half of it, "there's an entire city of vampires and witches trying to kill you, we need to get on top of it."
"Of course," he entered the kitchen, grabbing himself a cup from the cupboard and pouring himself a coffee, "but there is one thing I must ask of you first, something you're not going to like."
"What is it?" A small sigh escaped her lips at his words.
"There's a clinic not far from here, I had one of my hybrids compel a nurse," he locked his gaze onto hers, a small look of regret etched into them, "I need some of your blood if we're going on a wolf hunt this evening."
Elena was unsurprised by his request, she knew this day would come eventually, it was the whole reason he had took her in the first place, "fine, we'll go there first, I want that out of the way as quick as possible."
"As you wish," he agreed, that famous smirk spread across his lips once again, "you know, I do find this controlling side of you quite intoxicating, the warrior within you is ready for a fight."
"You speak to highly of me," she spoke, before finishing her coffee and putting the empty cup in the sink.
"I don't think so, there's a little warrior inside of you and it'll win any battle that comes its way," he caught her chin in his fingers, tracing his thumb along her skin before placing a soft and gentle kiss on her lips.
The emotion shared between them in there kiss made her heart flutter, a hint of sadness overcoming her when they had to separate, but if she didn't force herself to stop, they'd never leave, "it's amazing we get anything done."
Klaus laughed, his dimples prominent and she swooned at his cold demeanour now broken, "fine, let's go before I change my mind."
After visiting the clinic to collect two bags of Elena's blood, they found themselves standing outside of the compound; Klaus was listening in, trying to learn as much as he could about the enemies within those walls.
"There's quite a lot of vampires in there, Elena, I'd feel much more comfortable if you remained at the plantation, it could be dangerous," Klaus spoke, pointlessly.
"You know I won't do that, so shall we just get this over with?" She smirked slightly at him.
Klaus nodded his head before using his strength to blow open the compound gates, both of them entering and standing in the centre of the foyer.
"Come out, come out wherever you are, Marcel," Klaus called out, his voice echoing across the entire building.
"Klaus, what an unexpected surprise," Marcel spoke as he appeared above them on the balcony, a false and empty grin plastered on his face, "What can I do for you?"
"We need to talk," Klaus spotted a table with four chairs around it, he nodded his head towards it and both vampires sped towards it, Klaus pulled out a chair for Elena and she obliged, sitting beside him and opposite Marcel, "I need to know everything, what happened with the witches, what the harvest is and why the wolves are cursed."
"And why would I tell you all my secrets?" Marcel responded defensively.
"If you don't, your secrets may very well be your downfall," Klaus watched as one of Marcel's lackeys brought over a bottle of scotch and 3 glasses, placing them all down in front of him.
"I'm guessing you figured out the business Jane-Anne had with you then," he spoke as he filled the glasses to the rim and sliding two of them across the table, a glass each landing at Klaus and Elena, "did you meet with Sophie?"
"Perhaps."
"I see this as an unfair disadvantage, you want me to reveal how I run my kingdom when you won't share either, I don't even know your friends name," Marcel pointed towards Elena, before shifting his line of sight to her, "who is she, Klaus?"
"None of your concern," he forced a smile, tempted to snap his neck at the mere mention of her on his lips.
"I'm Elena," she interjected, rolling her eyes quickly at Klaus, the conflict between the two vampires was starting to bother her, "look, can we just get to the point? We could sit here all day bickering or we can try and fix what's happening here."
Marcel was instantly intrigued by her, the fight in her bringing an excited grin to his face, "I like this one."
"Yes, thank you, Elena," Klaus cleared his throat, sitting straight up in his chair and watching Marcel cautiously, he didn't like the way he looked at his doppelgänger, "yes, we met with Sophie, she threatened me and Elena, proving her point by casting a linking spell on her, anything that happens to Sophie Deveraux will happen to Elena too."
"Why would she do that? It must be big if she's going up against you, the original hybrid," Marcel didn't trust Klaus and this was apparent in his unwillingness to share information; he turned his attention to Elena, "and what do you have to do with this?"
"She wants the city back, to have the witches in control again and the vampires either dead or cast out, and as for Elena, we'll get to that after you tell me how you control the witches and what the harvest ritual has to do with it."
A short while later, Marcel caved and told Klaus everything; what happened the night of the ritual, how Davina is helping him control the witches and the power she possesses. So in return, he revealed Sophie's plan to kill Marcel, take back the Quarter and fix the balance between good and evil by restoring power to the covens within the city.
"This doesn't seem like Sophie," Marcel stared into his glass, trying to make sense of everything that was happening, "I know she wants me dead and the Quarter back in power but I don't know why she would involve Elena and ask you to kill me."
"You think there's more to the story?" Klaus queried, his mind wandering to the same places his was.
"I believe everything she says but I feel like there's something more," Marcel thought on, he knew there was something missing and the answer was there, he just couldn't get to it, "if there is an imbalance in nature then she must have considered what uniting us could do to it as well, if we joined forces, we could make the Quarter great again."
"But what you're failing to remember, Marcel, is that she's linked to Elena, she'll kill her if I don't kill you," Klaus argued, "I think what you're saying has some truth to it, though."
"I'll find out what I can, come back tomorrow and I'll hopefully have more for you," Klaus nodded his head at Marcel's words before leaving the compound and returning to the car with Elena.
"We left with more questions than we originally had," Klaus was frustrated, he detested not knowing what his enemies wanted, "time to blow off a bit of steam, little warrior."
The sun was starting to fade, there was maybe an hour left of daylight before the night crept in; Elena and Klaus where hiking through the Bayou, in an attempt to find the packs of werewolves living within them.
They knew of the crescent wolves and how they would be in beast form so they hoped to avoid them, especially Elena, who didn't feel like having to run from a werewolf; The Bayou was huge and had other packs lurking within it, they only needed to find one.
"We've been looking for hours, Klaus, maybe there aren't any more wolves out here," Elena spoke hopelessly, her entire body ached and she was starving, home was the only place she wanted to be.
"I can sense them," he responded, using all of his heightened senses to track the wolves, "they're hiding from me but they're definitely here."
Elena was starting to hate the way vampires always looked perfect; like now, there wasn't a hair out place on his head, a drop of sweat on his skin or look of fatigue about him, he was stunning and she had to struggle through looking like she hadn't slept or washed in days, "are they close?"
Klaus nodded his head, bringing his index finger to his lips and asking her to remain quiet; the next second, he was gone, leaving only Elena in the middle of the woods, she knew he wouldn't go far and she had nothing to be scared about but nothing good ever came from leaving the doppelgänger alone.
A loud gasp escaped her lips as Klaus had flung someone across the floor, a young man, no older than 25 went rolling past her, "found one!"
"Oh my god," she muttered under her breath before kneeling down beside him and checking his pulse, he was definitely alive though, he shot up to his feet when he felt Elena touch him and Klaus instantly brought her away from him, standing in front of her in a protective manner.
"What is your name?" Klaus asked as he approached the wolf.
"Luka," he answered, Elena could hear the fear in his voice.
"Well, Luka, I suggest you ask the rest of your pack to join us before I kill you and everyone else you care about.
"There's no need to threaten him," a voice emerged from behind the trees, Elena glanced around the area and could see no-one, "you're not welcome here, hybrid."
Klaus gripped Luka by the throat, squeezing forcefully at his life source until the rest of the pack started to appear from behind the bushes; they where in defensive mode, several of them even attempted to subdue Klaus and rescue there brother but failed attempts, to say the least.
Elena was struggling with Klaus and his need for violence, she always did when she had to witness him in hybrid mode; he was like a completely different person to the one she had come to know since their arrival in New Orleans, it was hard to look at him knowing he was going to kill all of these wolves and turn them but she had no choice but to watch, she was completely out of control of her emotions.
"I'm here to offer you the deal of a lifetime," he spoke, spinning slowly on his heel to look at each one of the 10 werewolves surrounding him; he had his arms held out, proud about what he was going to do next.
"We have no interest in becoming hybrids," the leader of the coven yelled back, he looked to be in his early 30's, unshaven and quite rugged looking, he was dressed in a black t-shirt and old blue jeans, Elena couldn't tell how long they had been out in the woods but from the look of it, a long time.
"You will be able to control your transformation, you'll be stronger, faster and immortal, I offer you eternity to be together as a family, no more living in fear of Marcel and exiled to live like animals," Klaus smirked as he watched them all start to consider his offer, several of them had already stepped down and were willing to undergo the transformation.
"If we join you, will you return us to The Quarter?" the leader spoke.
"You'll be welcomed with open arms," Klaus retracted his fangs and punctured his wrist, leaving two deep wounds with blood pouring out of them, "just one drink and you'll be unstoppable."
Elena had to watch whilst the wolves drank Klaus' blood, they where all too willing to transition and that made her nervous, she could only imagine the chaos they where going to unleash on the city; one by one Klaus snapped their necks and killed the entire pack off, Elena couldn't watch it, she had to turn away, the sound of it alone was enough to turn her stomach.
Once Klaus had finished, he sat down beside Elena on the ground and looked up to night sky; it was clear, not a cloud in sight, only the twinkle of thousands of stars, "you hate me now, don't you?"
Elena followed his gaze and stared upon the endless night sky, as if she was soul searching and trying to make sense of everything that was happening to her, "no, I don't hate you."
"You can barely look at me," he said, Elena detecting a hint of sadness in his tone of voice; she turned to face him, placing her hand over his and trailing her thumb across his skin.
"I'm looking at you now," she saw a lot of emotion on his face, but also blood, his and some of the werewolves', "I don't hate you, I just don't understand you either, I know why you're doing this, you want to protect yourself with an army of hybrids and claim as much power as you can, what I don't get is how this will help you heal."
"I'm not doing this just to protect myself, little warrior," a faint smile spread on his lips as he continued to stare into the night sky, he couldn't look her in the eyes, not yet, he feared her judgement, "I want to protect my family, our home and most of all, you."
"I truly do believe you but the safest I've ever felt with you is when we're together, just us two, working through whatever demons we have," she cocked her head to the side, trying to read him further when an amused grin spread across her features, "I mean, it's probably not the healthiest way to heal and I never dreamed this could have happened but on some twisted level, I'm glad it did."
"Elena, I have a thousand years of demons to fight and yes, you calm them, when we're together, it does things to me that I cannot explain, I feel things I thought I would never experience again," he paused for a long moment, trying to find the words to voice his deepest and darkest emotions.
"But?"
"But they are still there, there is still an emptiness in me that can't be fulfilled with sex and long talks in the woods, I'm still that heartless beast that took you from your home, you'd do well not to trust me."
Elena's eyes widened slightly at his confession and she was rendered utterly speechless; she didn't know why but his words did hurt her slightly, a twinge of pain deep down in her core, she moved her hand away from him slowly and turned to face the night sky once again, still at a loss of words.
"I'm sorr-" Klaus was interrupted by a loud gasp, the wolves had began waking up and desperate for air; he looked at Elena, trying to push the tension between them away for now until he could talk to her properly, she only nodded her head coldly at him before he re-joined with the pack.
Elena was terrified, there was a grand total of 10 hungry hybrids in transition right in front of her and she was a part of it, she'd been there the whole night and not once did she feel as though she was in danger. But there was a lot of yellow eyes and vampire teeth in front of her, a lot.
Klaus retrieved the bloodbags from the duffel he had brought with him and started passing it out to the newly turned hybrids, "this is the final stage in your transition, the blood of the doppelgänger that will seal your transformation and grant you unlimited power."
He grabbed the second bag and ripped off the top but what he hadn't anticipated was how hungry and feral they would be and before he knew it, it was gone.
There was 3 hybrids left that had yet to complete there transition and they all stared at Elena with a ravenous hunger in their eyes; now she was paralysed with fear, she waited for Klaus to say something or stop them, race her out of there or anything but he didn't.
He just watched as they approached her and she knew he wasn't going to help her; instead, he appeared behind her, moving the hair away from her neck and revealing the vein beneath her skin. She was too scared to speak, she couldn't move with him so close to her, she was utterly powerless when all three lunged at her, two of them sinking there teeth into her skin and drinking from her.
A loud scream emitted from her lips at the pain soaring through her neck from the wounds and she couldn't fight them; Klaus pulled the first two off of her and allowed the final one to make his mark on her as well, taking what blood he needed to be sated, she scrambled to her feet and ran.
It was too dark to see where she was going and she was weak, the blood loss alone was making her dizzy but she had to get away, what little adrenaline she had left was keeping her going. That is, until Klaus appeared in front of her and caught her with his arms, "Elena, calm down."
She shook her head repeatedly, punching and shoving at him in an attempt to free herself but to no avail. She could feel the hybrids behind her and she started to have a panic attack.
"Elena, you need to calm down and let me heal you," Klaus had only just realised that he had screwed up; to him, what he had allowed could be fixed, he could just heal her and he assumed they would be fine but when he saw the blood and bite marks that covered her neck, he knew he wasn't going to be forgiven so lightly.
"No, no," Elena repeated frantically as she tried to escape, "I don't want you near me, let me go."
Klaus whisked her into his arms and sped her out of the woods, the hybrids would follow slowly but Klaus had instructed them to give him space whilst he tended to Elena; he stopped dead in his tracks on Bourbon street and Elena took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the oxygen they so desperately needed. She looked at him with wide eyes, edging away from him as much as she could whilst she held onto the wounds on her neck.
"Stay away from me!"
"Elena, please?" He was practically begging for her to hear him out but she was having none of it; he saw the look in her eyes, the fear and abhorrence towards him and whatever look of love she had went the second he allowed her to become a human bloodbag and his guilt was immense, "I didn't think-,"
"You never think!" She screamed, tears escaping and her pain apparent, "I trusted you and you let that happen, you claim to feel things for me but you can so easily see me hurt."
He sped in front of her once again, a last veiled attempt at comfort and connection; he placed his hands on her face and locked his gaze onto hers, "I never wanted to see you hurt, I never wanted this, I thought I could just heal you and-,"
"And what, Klaus?" She lowered her voice, her anger taming and her pain winning over; tears started to roll down her face when she closed her eyes at their contact, all she felt was fear, a need to be away, "we'd just be fine, we can go back to the plantation, have sex and business as usual?"
His eyes were filled with pain and sorrow, he shook his head lightly at her words and took a step back away from her, "I don't know what I thought."
Elena could see a few of the hybrids in the corner of her eye and she looked straight at Klaus, "I can't even look at you, I have to get away from you, just let me be."
And with that, she ran as fast as she could away from them, leaving Klaus alone in the street with his guilt and remorse; she kept running until she got back to the plantation, as soon as she slammed the door shut, she pressed her back to it and slid down slowly until she was sitting on the floor, her frenzy of crying not settling, not any time soon.
Everything was hurting her, her heart, mind and body were writhing in a shock of pain and torment and she knew she wasn't going to survive her life with Klaus, not on her own anyway.
That's when it came to her, her eyes widened slightly at the thoughts racing through her mind; she mustered up the last of her strength and stood from the floor, she began pacing up and down the living room, trying to connect the dots and figure out where he could be.
Where Elijah could be.
Klaus was paranoid and protective, he'd keep his daggered brothers close by in case he needed to leave quick, so she knew he must be here; she ran through the house and into the kitchen, opening the door that lead to the basement. She slowly descended the stone staircase, peering her head around the corners until she saw it, the coffin that held Elijah.
Without hesitation, she ran too it, lifting the lid and seeing his desiccated body before her; she wrapped her hand around the dagger and pulled it from his heart, tossing it to the side and sitting beside him, waiting for him to awake.