Life update: There are some things happening in my personal life that require my full attention and I feel I can no longer give 100% to my stories.
For now, Sacrilege is being put on hold. I will go back to it. I might even rewrite it. There are some things about the story I would love to change. I have a few regrets that I've come to realize are hindering the writing process and I am not gonna lie, it's driving me crazy. I'm also having some serious writer's block.
Life's a Witch will continue but updates will be slow. Very slow.
As I've said before, I will never abandon one of my stories. But right now, my personal life must come first. I'll keep you all updated and hopefully life will settle down again in a few weeks.
A/N: Kol was just screaming for a little attention and wouldn't leave me alone. So, here we are. An entire chapter of Kol and Bella bonding while Klaus is searching the forest for missing shifters. Enjoy. xoxo.
– Forks, Washington –
"You know, darling," Kol said as he walked into the living room where Bella was still sketching on the sofa, "you have quite the mug collection."
Bella smiled. "Some people collect dolls or cars or trains," she shrugged, "I collect mugs and teapots. I have a vast collection but dad wouldn't let me bring them all so, unfortunately,' she sighed, "they're in storage in Seattle."
"Do you collect anything else?"
Her smile faded and she sighed. "I used to have a huge collection of teddy bears, all different soft, cuddly animals, but, uh . . ."
"What, poppet?"
"I came home one day to find one of my mom's boyfriends burning them all in the backyard while she watched and drank a pitcher of margaritas," she told him.
He hated to see the sadness in her eyes. "But not this little guy," he smiled, indicating to the pink bunny tucked under her arm.
She shook her head. "Tessa was the only one left. I found her hidden under my bed." She shrugged her small shoulders. "I'm still unsure how she managed to get under there."
"Maybe you have a guardian angel," he suggested with a smile.
Kol understood collecting trinkets. He had a vast collection of grimoires and dark objects stored all over the world. Perhaps one day, he'd be able to share his knowledge with Bella. For now, he'd take pleasure in his mate's collection.
With a wicked grin, he held up the mug he'd chosen. It was white with a picture of a unicorn holding up two middle fingers. Beneath the unicorn were the words: 'Bitch please, I'm so fucking fabulous I pee glitter, shit cupcakes, & fart RAINBOWS.'
"I picked this one out myself," he grinned. "Your Nan wanted to go with some weird yellow bear."
Bella smiled. "Winnie the Pooh."
"Yeah, that's him." Kol nodded. "Who in their right mind would name a boy Winnie, let alone The Pooh?"
"He's a fictional teddy bear created by A. A Milne. There are hundreds of books and movies about him, his friends, and Christopher Robbin. He's beloved," her dark eyes narrowed, "especially in this house."
"Well," he smirked, "far be it for me to poo-poo the Pooh."
He handed her the mug as he crouched in front of her, watching as she smelt its contents and sighed happily.
"What is it?" She wondered, taking another tentative sniff. "It smells like . . .
─── ・。゚: *. .* :゚. ───
Bella took a deep breath, letting the fragrance wash over her. It was unique. As it took hold of her, she had a sense of being whisked back in time. She could almost feel the atmosphere of a private establishment. Somewhere dark and intimate. A little jazz club.
The elegant smokey scent of cigars filled the darkness as the warmth of cognac—rich and smooth—exhilarated her entire being. She could feel it . . . in her body . . . in her soul.
There was music in her mind. She could almost hear it as the scent filled her. Listening to the jingling of cocktail preparation and lively conversation that intertwined with the soft melody of jazz music played by a piano, a double bass, or a saxophone . . . she enjoyed the saxophone best.
The scent was rich, woody, and smoky. It was sexy. With no hint of summery flowers or fruity, frilly notes. It wasn't sweet at all. This was dark. It was overwhelming. Captivating. Pure masculinity and a heat so fierce her body felt like a furnace.
When her eyes opened, she looked back at Kol. "What is it?"
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"It's Nik's blood," Kol answered, watching her closely, waiting for her reaction.
Heat flooded her cheeks, bringing with it a lovely rosy color that he found he enjoyed. The scent of her blood was captivating but it was nothing compared to the sheer mouthwatering scent of her arousal permeating the air between them.
"That's his blood?"
Kol nodded.
She looked from the mug in her hand back to Kol. "I'm supposed to drink it?"
Again, he nodded. "The, uh, parasite needs blood. Right now, it's feeding on you. Drinking Nik's blood will heal you if you're injured again and ensure you survive this. It'll also nourish you and make you stronger. If you want to survive this, you need to be stronger."
Bella nodded. "That makes sense. Its father is a cold one. Of course, it would need blood. But if we feed it blood and I get stronger, won't it get stronger, too?"
His little mate was smart. Observant. "Yes. But if you don't drink the blood, you'll waste away as it feeds on you."
She took a deep breath as she chewed on her bottom lip.
"Now, darling," he said gently, brushing his thumb beneath her bottom lip to force her to release it, "there's no need for you to be worried. I'm not going to . . ." he shook his head and cleared his throat, "Nik and I," he corrected," will not let anything happen to you.
"Is my survival something you can guarantee, Kol?" She asked. "Realistically, what are my chances?"
He sighed. "With Nik and I here . . . with Peter and The Fates on your side . . . and if you drink Nik's blood . . . I'd say you have a seventy percent chance of survival."
He wouldn't lie to her. There was still a chance she wouldn't survive this. But those were good odds considering the other pregnancies he'd seen. Those women had less than a five percent chance of survival. He was better prepared this time. He knew what to expect and had other people to help him achieve his goal. For his mate, failure was not an option.
He offered her the mug again, hoping she would take it. He wasn't going to tell her Charlie's werewolf toxin was mixed into Nik's blood. Hopefully, neither she nor the parasite would know it was there. It wouldn't hurt Bella. Werewolf toxin doesn't affect witches or untriggered wolves. But it would—at least he hoped it would—weaken the parasite just like any other cold one or vampire.
After all, he and his brothers and sister were affected by werewolf toxin if bitten. It wouldn't kill them, but they suffered its effects. He hoped the parasite would as well.
On the other hand, Nik wasn't affected by a werewolf bite as he's part werewolf. Kol believed Bella would be the same, which meant the parasite could be as well. It is part Bella and she carries the wolf gene, which likely means it was passed onto her child. The parasite could be some freakish tribrid.
On the other, other hand, the parasite isn't a traditional vampire. Its father is a cold one. And cold ones can't be witches or wolves or hybrids of any kind.
In the other births he'd seen, the parasite was a pure cold one. It had no link to its mother. No humanity. No hybrid status. No compassion. No conscience. No soul! Kol assumed the parasite Bella was carrying would be the same. But, as they could inherit powers from their parents, there was always a chance this parasite would be even more powerful. If he couldn't take blood or DNA samples, or perform any tests, there wasn't a way to know for certain.
Unless he could do it magically. There are ways to determine a witch's power from the womb . . . he'd have to have Marie investigate. It would help to know what they were up against.
Without any more hesitation, Bella took the mug from Kol and took a tentative sip. As soon as the blood bathed her tongue, her eyes slid closed and a soft moan left her lips.
"It definitely doesn't taste like blood," she murmured, taking another sip.
Kol let out the breath he'd been holding and relaxed as he joined her on the sofa. He was a little surprised when she moved to curl into his side, resting her head on his shoulder.
He half expected her to be frightened of him. Of all of them, really. But here she was, perfectly content to curl up with one of the world's greatest killers. Despite spending centuries of his life daggered in a box. Kol knew who he was, who he'd always been as a vampire. Unlike some of his siblings, he didn't hide behind excuses. Kol Mikaelson is a vampire. A killer. And he reveled in it. He got off on it. The hunt. The kill. The taste of blood bathed on his tongue. It was a game. One he excelled at.
The only one of his siblings that could ever compare to his brutality, could ever reach him in this area, was Nik. That man took murder and mayhem to a whole new level. It was another art form to him. There were times when even Kol was impressed.
"How do you not know who Winnie the Pooh is?" Bella asked, lifting her head to look at him. "You and Nik are pretty old, right? Winnie the Pooh's been around since like the twenties, I think."
"Ah," he sighed as he lifted his arm to rest it across her shoulders, bringing her closer to his side. "Well . . ." He hesitated a moment, debating whether to be honest with her or not. "I was daggered and put in a box in December 1914. So, there's quite a lot I don't know about this modern world."
"Daggered?" She asked, her frown deepening. "What does that mean?"
"Back in the twelfth century, a powerful witch created five silver White Oak Ash Daggers. Weapons forged as a means of subduing myself and my brothers and sister."
Bella's dark eyes widened in horror. "That's awful."
"Mm." Kol nodded. "What the witch didn't realize is that due to Nik's dormant werewolf side, the dagger made of silver would not affect him. So, when we were attacked by the witch and her soldiers—The Brotherhood of the Five—their plan to put us down backfired and Nik killed them all in retaliation."
With a frown still upon her lovely face, Bella leaned back into the couch and stared at him, making him wonder what she was thinking.
"It just occurred to me that," she said softly, as if she'd heard his thoughts, "you and Nik are a thousand years old. I—I can't imagine living that long and accumulating that much history. The things you must've seen and been a part of . . . the history . . .and what exactly do you mean, you were daggered and spent the last . . ." she frowned, "what is it, ninety years in a box?"
"Ninety-five," he corrected with a smile.
"Excuse me for missing five years," she huffed. "I'm not very good at math. Now, please answer my question. Who daggered you and left you in a box?"
Kol sighed. "I probably shouldn't, darling."
"Why not?" She asked. "Oh! Is it . . . you know, personal?"
"No," he shook his head. "It's, uh, family drama. Nik would be upset if I told you about our past without his, uh," he shifted awkwardly. Why had he started this conversation again? "Permission."
"You need your brother's permission to tell your story?"
"Well, the parts that involve him," Kol said lightly, hoping she wouldn't catch on. But Bella Swan was quick.
Her dark eyes narrowed. "Your brother daggered you and put you in a box for ninety-five years?"
Kol sighed. "Nik is gonna kill me."
"I thought you couldn't be killed . . ."
He sighed again. "That's debatable. Our father, Mikael, possesses a weapon that can kill us. Permanently. He's been hunting us—hunting Niklaus—for the last thousand years."
Bella stared back at Kol, bewildered by his comments. "Is your family insane?" She asked, making the Original Vampire laugh.
It was the first time he'd laughed in . . . well, ninety-five years. Possibly longer. The expression on her face. The bewilderment in her eyes. The honest sincerity in her tone. It was all very innocent and . . . strangely beautiful.
─── ・。゚: *. .* :゚. ───
Bella wasn't sure what made him laugh. It was a genuine question. She'd only heard the tiniest details of his very long life and already she was starting to wonder if his family just had issues or if, perhaps, longevity slowly warped the mind and made you insane. If that were the case, she might have to rethink the whole ordeal.
Plus, a thousand years . . .
Stupidly, she'd never really thought about it before now.
The three hundred and sixty-nine years Carlisle has walked this earth seemed minuscule compared to Kol's thousand years!
Edward was practically a newborn compared to the Mikaelson family.
What would she do with all that time?
She couldn't even begin to imagine what the world would be like a thousand years from now. And, seriously, she had to ask herself, did she want to know?
She supposed it was too late to be asking herself this question now. She didn't have much choice in the matter. The moment Nik whooshed into her life, that was that. The fat lady had sung and her path was decided.
But, still, a thousand years . . .
It was unimaginable.
And frankly, more than a little terrifying.
Forget what the world might look like. What would her life be like a thousand years from now? Where would she be? Who would she be? And would her romance—her mate bond—with Nik stand the test of time?
Would he still love her a thousand years from now?
If she turned, she'd be doing it for him. Turning to be with him for the rest of time. Would he still want her a thousand, two thousand, years from now? Would she still want him? Would their love diminish or strengthen in that time?
And if—God forbid—their love died and their bond broke, what would she do with her life?
She'd be immortal.
What if he sent her away or decided he'd had enough of her and wanted something different?
It's not like it's never happened before.
It happened to her just twenty days ago!
Edward had promised her forever. He'd pledged his love to her, his life. He'd told her she was his soulmate. And then he'd left her alone and broken on the forest floor.
She was nothing more than a toy to him. He chewed her up and spat her out and left her wet, soggy, and broken.
Oh, yeah, and pregnant!
Even if the monster child wasn't Edwards. If she'd stayed out of the supernatural world none of this would be happening right now. Though, that wasn't entirely Edward's or his family's fault. She can't blame them for everything. If she hadn't been so nosy and left well enough alone, she never would've learned about the supernatural world.
Uh, hello, are we forgetting you're a witch-wolf hybrid? This world is your world, too. It's in your blood. One way or another, you would've found out about it.
While that may be true, she wouldn't have found out until after her eighteenth birthday and the revelation would've come from Nan. If she hadn't been so damn curious, there would've been a lot less pain and danger in her life. And in Charlie's!
Charlie is a werewolf. And a cop. The man knows how to take care of himself.
Not against cold ones he doesn't, she argued with herself. And then sighed because she was arguing with herself.
The fact is, the past is in the past. She can't change her introduction to the supernatural world. Perhaps it was always meant to be this way.
It did bring you to Nik . . .
That was true.
If she hadn't found herself here and now, knocked up with a monster baby, would she have ever met him and Kol?
What if Nik turned out to be the same as Edward? Or . . . worse.
What if he left her . . .
What if he used her up, broke her apart, and then walked away?
How would she survive?
How would she live?
And if she could figure out a way to move on . . . who would she be in ten years? Or a century? Or a thousand years from now?
She can't imagine all that time wouldn't influence her. Or would it? Perhaps traditional vampires are as unchanging and immovable as cold ones.
She didn't know what the answers were.
The questions were enough to terrify her, she wasn't sure she was ready to hear the answers yet.
─── ・。゚: *. .* :゚. ───
"That's also debatable," Kol answered. "I've certainly been called worse," he mused. "The thing about us is . . . our family, each of us in our own way is damaged. We're broken, Bella."
"Because you've lived for so long?"
"Partially, perhaps yes," he nodded. "Over time, though," he sighed, "we've each done unspeakable things to the world and to each other. There is not one of us who has not betrayed the other in some way. Niklaus," he sighed again and leaned his head on the back of the sofa, "he could be considered the worst of us due to the things he's done, but he is not alone on that ledge."
"In December of 1914, I was daggered because I was making a weapon to put Nik down," he admitted. "Not permanently. I was working with witches to make a dagger that would work on him. My sister Rebekah found out. I begged her not to tell Nik. I begged her to let me put him down so that we might all be able to live and give him a taste of his own medicine for once. I did not wish to kill him or harm him. I just wanted to be free and not have to worry about getting a dagger in my chest if I did something to upset him."
He turned his head to look at her. "I did not want to harm him, Bella. You must believe me. I would never wish death on my siblings. I just wanted to be free."
He wasn't sure why he needed her to believe him. It wasn't something he'd ordinarily care about, to be honest. But she was his mate. And, the things he was telling her would hurt her. He didn't want her to think he was capable of truly harming one of his siblings. He doesn't think any of them is capable of that, not even Niklaus. They may come close at times. They may hurt each other. But he doesn't believe one of his siblings is capable of killing another. He needed his mate to believe that. To understand. If she did, then maybe Nik would, too.
"I believe you, Kol," she promised him, with a gentle smile.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "despite giving me her word, Rebekah told Nik what I was doing. She betrayed me. And because of Nik's paranoia and his temper, I spent the next ninety-five years in a box."
He chuckled darkly. "When Nik undaggered me, I found out that he'd daggered Rebekah ten years later and she's been in her coffin for the last eighty-five years. Imagine if she'd kept her word and I'd succeeded. Neither of us would have lost all that time . . ."
─── ・。゚: *. .* :゚. ───
Bella leaned into Kol, resting her head on his shoulder. There was nothing she could say to make this better for him. It was something he and his siblings would have to deal with in their own time.
She couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be stabbed in the heart and wake up nine decades later in a world you no longer recognized.
It still baffles her mind that when she's home sick from school, the world goes on without her. She can't imagine what it would be like to wake up decades or centuries after being daggered.
All that time missed.
And for what?
Because you pissed off your brother?
There must be more to it than that, right? She understood why Nik would be upset. His brother was trying to create a weapon that would do to him what he'd done to his siblings. It's enough to piss anyone off. Not that he didn't deserve the retribution. He absolutely did.
But why did he dagger the others?
Why did he keep them daggered for so long?
And why is he the only one who gets to be dagger-happy and stab his brothers and sister in the heart? How was that fair?
From where she was sitting, it seemed like the Mikaelson family had issues.
There was so much she didn't know. So many questions that needed to be answered. And she assumed each of them would have a different perspective on what happened.
Why did Rebekah betray Kol?
Why didn't one of the other brothers step in and put a stop to Nik daggering him?
Why didn't one of them take the dagger out?
Here's a better one, why not just steal the daggers, destroy them, and be done with it?
Are they afraid of Nik? And if so, why? They're all equally as powerful, are they not?
She'd only heard the tiniest bit of their family history and already she knew they were all as messed up as each other!
They could do with some serious family therapy!
And that certainly wasn't something she could give them. She's eighteen, not a trained therapist.
No. There'd be no trying to fix this mess. They'd have to do that on their own. If they wanted to do the work.
But she could be there for them. She could listen. She could be their friend. And Nik's mate. She could offer them comfort and, perhaps a place within her own family. She could offer them her love and understanding. But she couldn't, wouldn't, try to fix them. Not that she thought she—or anyone else for that matter—could.
From her perspective, she did have to wonder if the way it all went down when Kol was daggered was fate.
If The Fates were real—and from the little Peter had said so far—it seemed like they were. Then maybe, they stepped in and ensured the weapon to put Nik down failed. Because if Kol had succeeded, there's a big chance Nik would still be daggered right now, and she would surely die when this parasite rips itself from her womb.
It was just a thought.
Maybe she was wrong.
But maybe everything happened for a reason.
Not that she would mention this to Kol.
Edward might have thought she had no self-preservation, but she knew an angry vampire when she saw one. And right now, Kol was upset. That could easily lead to anger and she didn't know him well enough to trust that he wouldn't try and hurt her if she voiced her opinion.
There was also another thought that niggled at her. Maybe, just maybe, finding his soulmate would soften Nik. Just a teeny tiny bit. But she wasn't going to hold out hope of that. She also didn't want him to be something he wasn't. He's a thousand years old. He is who he is. And she doubted there'd be anything she could do to change that.
─── ・。゚: *. .* :゚. ───
With a soft sigh, Bella shifted closer to Kol. "I'm sorry for how you've suffered."
Tightening his arm around her, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. She was easy to talk to and the fact that she didn't try to make excuses for his siblings made him feel a little better.
As far as Kol was concerned, there was no excuse for Rebekah's betrayal. They all could've been free. But instead, she'd ratted him out and then found herself in a box, right beside him, a decade later. It was almost poetic, really.
"I wonder . . ." she said softly, ". . . what the future holds for us. How finding my soulmate will change me. Or him. Or your family. Maybe life will be altered somehow. But, maybe it won't. I'm not naive enough to think I could ever have an impact on a family whose lived for a thousand years. You're all so much older and wiser. All I am is an eighteen-year-old girl who got knocked up and I haven't a clue how it happened . . ."
Kol frowned. "You don't remember anything about that night?"
Bella shook her head. "Not the sex part."
She went on to tell him about the birthday party she didn't want but was forced into by two of the cold ones. She bled. Her boyfriend overreacted and threw her into a glass table. All hell broke loose. And then after being stitched up by the good doctor, she was driven home.
"You didn't notice anything different the next morning?"
"No." She shook her head. "Everything was normal."
Kol frowned. "You weren't in any pain?"
"Nope. I had no idea anything had changed until I started throwing up and my body ached. I thought it was the flu until I realized my period was late. I couldn't understand why that would be . . ."
"And that led you to take a pregnancy test?"
"No, it led me to think it was just the stress of them leaving. But then," she sighed, "I felt something move inside of me . . . and that led to the pregnancy test . . . after I'd finished freaking out . . . ."
"But you have no memory of how you got pregnant?"
"Nope."
Kol looked at her in shock. "You'd think you'd remember something like that . . ."
She nodded. "A penis popsicle entering my warm oven, I'd think so, too. I'm actually surprised he didn't melt . . . or, maybe he did and that's why he left so quickly afterward . . ." she looked down at her hands in her lap, "or maybe I just wasn't that good . . ."
Kol's arm tightened around her. "Oh, darling," he sighed, "this had nothing to do with you," he assured her. "I can tell you, if you'd had sex with a cold one, you would know. At the very least there would be bruises and possibly broken ribs. Cold ones don't have the kind of control we do, though even with a traditional vampire, there will likely be some damage. The difference is, our blood will heal you right away and ensure you're strong and healthy."
Bella looked up at Kol. "You don't think I had sex with whoever did this to me?"
"From what you've told me, it seems unlikely you were violated in that way, but I don't know how else a pregnancy is possible. I'm sure modern medicine has evolved since 1914 . . ."
"It's possible," Bella told him. "I know there's IVF for women who can't conceive. But I believe that's where an egg is fertilized by sperm in a test tube outside the body. And, just from what I've seen on TV that takes weeks and involves taking hormones or having injections, I'm not sure," she shrugged. "As far as I know, none of that happened to me . . . unless . . ."
"You were made to forget," Kol sighed.
Bella nodded. "Apart from IVF, there's always the turkey baster method . . ."
"What the bloody hell is a turkey baster? And why are turkeys involved? That doesn't seem sanitary . . ."
Bella giggled. "No turkey's necessary. The baster is a long cylinder tube with a silicone bulb on the top. You use it to baste a turkey with its juices while cooking. The same could be applied with a man's . . . you know . . . sample . . ."
Kol chuckled, amused by her sudden embarrassment. "A man's, what now?"
Bella shook her head. the blush on her cheeks darkening. "You know," she huffed, "a man's . . . you know . . ."
He smirked. "You can tell me, darling. Go on," he encouraged. "Just think of me as one of the girls . . ."
Bella sighed. "A mans," she huffed, "sperm."
"Ah, I see," he laughed, "so the cold one's sperm is put into this baster thing and . . . then what?"
Bella's blush darkened. "I guess, you'd use the baster to insert the . . ." she sighed again, "sperm . . . into the vagina . . ."
"And this would work?" He wondered.
Bella shrugged. "I have no idea. I guess there's as much chance as the more traditional way of conceiving. I'm not sure if there are other medical procedures . . . I suppose, someone like Carlisle would know and be able to perform the procedure . . ."
"Do you think it's a possibility he was involved?"
"If you'd asked me that question a month ago, I would've said no, absolutely not. Carlisle," she shook her head, "the Carlisle I knew would never do something like this. But then again," she sighed, "the Edward I knew would never say the things he said to me in the forest, so . . . I'm not sure I ever really knew them . . . any of them . . ."
As she spoke, she began scratching her wrist again. He'd noticed every time she spoke of Edward—if her words were unfavorable toward the cold one—she'd start scratching her wrist. He'd have to remember to tell Nik when he came back. If it was what Kol thought it was, it would need to be dealt with soon.
"It'll be okay, darling," he assured her, holding her tight against him. "I promise you. I know you're scared but Nik and I are here, and we aren't going to let anything happen to you, Isabella."
"You can't promise that," she whispered.
"What I can promise," he took her hand in his, placing it against his heart, "is that you are ours. And there is nothing we wouldn't do to ensure your safety and protection."
She shook her head, ready to argue with him.
"What you must understand, angel, is that we are not the Cullens. Niklaus and I are monsters . . ."
She shook her head. "You're not a monster to me."
"But only to you," he said seriously. "Between us, Nik and I have a body count in the thousands. Hundreds of thousands."
He watched her closely as he spoke. It wasn't his intention to scare her but she needed to know. She needed to see and accept who they are and have been for the last thousand years.
"One thing I've learned over the years is that there are no limits to the lengths we Mikaelsons will go for the ones we care about. And there is nobody in this world—nobody—we care for more than you, angel."
"Why me?" She whispered. "I'm nothing special."
He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Isabella, you are the heart and soul of us and that makes you extraordinary."
─── ・。゚: *. .* :゚. ───
Leaning back, Bella looked up at Kol, trying to make sense of what he was saying to her.
Instinctively, she felt she knew. But her mind wouldn't allow her to go to those places.
Despite how she felt every time he touched her, how wonderful it was to be in his arms, and how safe she felt with both him and Nik, it couldn't be possible.
Nik told her it wasn't possible.
"Is . . ." she sighed, she needed to know, ". . . is it possible to have two mates?"
"No," Nik answered, his tone hard, unyielding. His arms tightened around her, holding her close to him. "No matter the species, it isn't possible to have more than one soulmate."
Whatever this was, whatever she was feeling, it was wrong. It couldn't be. Nik said it was impossible. No matter the species.
"I miss him," she whispered, the feeling hitting her suddenly. "Is that weird? He's only been gone a few hours and I don't even know him, but I miss him . . . and I don't know why . . ."
"It's normal," Kol assured her. "For our kind, finding our soulmate is exceptionally rare. In a thousand years, I've met maybe two vampires who've found their soulmate. That's how rare this bond is, angel."
Tears welled up in her eyes as she curled into him, resting her head on his chest. "Nik told me," she whispered, "that it isn't possible to have more than one soulmate . . ."
Beneath her, she felt Kol stiffen.
"Is that true, Kol?"
"I, um," Kol frowned, unsure what he was supposed to say. He couldn't lie to her and he didn't like the idea of keeping this information from her. But Nik had asked him to wait and he knew, deep in his heart, that was the right thing to do. He didn't want to upset or confuse her any more than she already was . . .
"You can relax, brother. I'm home. And I think it's time the three of us had a little chat."
Kol's head snapped up at the sound of his brother's voice. And, for the first time in his life, he felt relieved to see Niklaus, standing in the doorway.
─── ・。゚: *. .* :゚. ───
Bella hadn't heard him come in. But the moment he spoke, her heart began to race and a smile lit her face as she turned to the doorway to see Nik standing there, his dark expression lingering on his brother's arm wrapped around her shoulders.
She wasn't sure why he was staring at her with such a . . . murderous look . . . but she didn't much care, either. Perhaps she should've worried. But she was too excited about his return. A part of her—a bigger part than she'd like to admit—had feared he wouldn't come back. That he'd seen her and decided she wasn't worth the time and effort.
But he was there.
He'd come home to her.
As soon as she heard his voice, the pain in her chest vanished. She knew, in that moment—as she stared into his dark eyes—it didn't matter what he'd done in his past—as horrible as it might be—he was hers.
She might not know him or his history. And she wasn't in love with him yet. But there was hope in her heart. She had a sense that, maybe one day, she would love him. And, maybe, maybe he would love her, too.
