Chapter 10
Everything had become more intense after she had drunk a little of Jeri’s blood. The light hurt her eyes, and the sounds were giving her a headache. And she was hungry. But at least no longer at risk of immediate death. Had it been the right decision? Yes. A full-hearted yes. She thought that she would drastically change, but she was still her, just with everything seriously heightened.
She could hear the soothing sounds of birds singing, the annoying cars with their engines, she could feel the vibrations of the trucks passing by as if there was an earthquake. It was a good thing that Klaus allowed her to stay in bed to adjust a little and out of the sun. Otherwise, she was sure she’d fallen over.
She could hear Kol and Jeri argue about her own plans. She tried not to listen, but they were loud, almost as if they were arguing in the room next to Klaus’. Kol could understand where Jeri stood, why she wanted it, but he liked her as a human too. Jeri called him selfish – just like she was.
“It’s not polite to eavesdrop, love,” Klaus’ voice sounded before she felt movement on the bed. “Listen to my voice instead.”
“I didn’t mean to,” she said as she rolled to her other side and right into him. He smelled incredible. Manly. A hint of paint and paint thinner. Blood. Tea. Bourbon. Everything. She took a deep breath as she inhaled his scent; Bella wanted to wrap it around her and make love with it. “I love the way you smell,” she said with a whisper. He was close now, his warmth against hers.
“Do you?” he asked teasingly, a big grin on his face. He made sure not to touch her; he wanted her to ease into the intense feelings as they were glorious. “What about this?” he brushed her lips with his and could feel how her body responded to that.
“More,” she giggled, pulling him closer, for another kiss. It felt as if her whole body was on fire with a mere brush, a simple kiss and she wanted more. It felt euphoric. He kissed her chastely again, and she didn’t want that. “More,” she said a little bit more demanding before nearly crawling into him to have their mouths collide and their tongues battling for domination.
She got on top of him without breaking off the kiss and tugged on his shirt. She wanted it off. Realizing that she couldn’t get rid of his shirt without breaking off the kiss, her hands went for his pants before she winced when she heard Jeri yell. It went through her bones, her body, and immediately she wasn’t in the mood anymore.
“You two-faced son of a bitch!” she yelled, which was followed by something smashing and Kol groaning in pain. “I’m going to do this with or without you, Kol. And if you’re going to stop me, if anyone tries to stop me tonight, I’ll find some seedy vampire in the gutters of New Orleans to turn me, and you can kiss my ass!”
Klaus laughed and pulled Bella back to him, back into the bubble they just had. “Poetic, really, because Kol is the son of a bitch, if you think about it.”
“Oh, hilarious,” she muttered as she sat up. “This isn’t funny. This is getting out of hand. I mean, is this how it’s going to be from now on? Getting turned off by the slightest things? Interrupted by the craziest, tiniest sounds? This sucks.” She covered her ears when she heard a door slam.
He smiled as he let out a sigh at his feuding brother and his witch. “You will learn to adjust to your new senses. It will take time, though, just as you had when you joined the family initially.”
“I hope it’ll be a shorter process,” she muttered as she pulled the covers over them as a shield from the rest of the world, at least it was darker. Underneath the covers, Klaus’ scent and heat started to hug her again like a warm blanket, and she let out a content sigh. “You do smell so good…”
He ran his finger up and down her back, causing her to moan and him to grin. “Every sense is heightened, and it’s very alien to get used to, to stop responding so easily to them. It won’t ever go away, but you’ll learn control.”
She hummed as she traced a finger over his chest, in the same motion he was doing on her back. She couldn’t believe that her body was back in the mood, and so was she, but she was also very comfortable right now.
“I could make you climax without even touching your sensitive areas. Would you like a demonstration, love?” He whispered and she whimpered in anticipation. “Good,” he smiled and kept drawing things on her back. She had her eyes closed; he knew that which was only going to enhance the experience. “You are so beautiful, Bella. You’re irresistible, and I never know how to quite handle myself around you… whether to fuck you senseless or to treat you like the princess you are. The Queen that you are… now that you’re no longer human… it’ll be a little easier to give in to what I want…” he said with a low growl, sending sound waves through her body and she let out a small moan. He could tell that she was wet already, even through her clothing. Heat radiated from her, and he was going to light that fire and set her ablaze.
“I could have you on the table, put you on display just for me, and I would kiss every inch of your body. My lips against your skin, my stubble teasing your skin as I move all over your body with my lips. The cold table warming up from the heat coming off your body. The slight breeze coming in from the window, caressing your skin, leaving a tingling sensation on the slightly wet spots on your body… I never said my kisses were dry… maybe I could use my tongue to swirl around your nipples…”
“Klaus…” she breathed as she buried her face in his shirt.
He quietly laughed as he continued. “My fingers would replace my tongue and I would kiss my way down your body, worshipping every single inch of your stomach, swirling my tongue in your belly button before going further down, licking your lips below, lapping up all your fluids before licking them again, slowly. I’ll occasionally twist your nipple to make sure you’re still with me. How does that feel?”
Bella hummed a response and squirmed a little against his erection, causing him to let out a groan.
“I’d seek entrance with my tongue and push a bit through, my nose now buried against your clit, pushing against it as my tongue tries to go deeper…”
Bella’s breathing had hitched for a moment before she threw the covers off of them, and she tore open his pants without blinking.
“Careful! You nearly took me with you!”
“Sorry,” she blushed as she looked at him. Holy pancakes, she was stronger than she thought she’d be!
“And I was telling a story, so lay back down and listen,” Klaus said as he pulled her down again, wrapping his arms tightly around her so she couldn’t easily move. Now that his cock was free, though, he had a hard time concentrating. He was quiet for a moment, and he couldn’t quite remember where he’d left it. “Oh, bollocks,” he sighed as he rolled them around and pushed her into the mattress. “I was so close.”
Bella giggled as he tore away her sweatpants and looked at her with darkened eyes. “Would you like to finish inside of me then?” she asked coyly.
“You leave me no other choice.”
“Klaus!” Kol’s voice had sounded before the door swung open, revealing a stunned looking Original vampire. “Oh, can’t you keep it in your pants, really?”
Bella flew off the bed, but instead of hiding, she crossed the room super fast and knocked Kol against the nearest wall. “That’s the second time you’ve interrupted us!” she sneered as she looked up to him.
Kol blinked for a moment, as if his brain was trying to register what was going on, and then started to laugh. “Oh, you’re adorable. Look at the anger in your eyes. So cute!”
Shocked, she took a step back and looked at Kol. Had she actually just pushed him against a wall? She? Her own strength? She narrowed her eyes and punched him in his chest before turning around and walking back into the bedroom to find a pair of pants that she could wear. “You stupid pancake!”
“What do you want, brother?” Klaus growled as he, too, looked for an intact pair of trousers. “Come to complain about your girlfriend? How she has a death wish?”
“We can’t allow her to go through with this, Nik,” Kol said as he stood in the doorway to the bedroom once both vampires were dressed. “There’s a possibility she won’t turn into a Heretic, sure, she’s a Gemini, and she’s a siphoner, but what if she doesn’t become a hybrid? What if she has to stop doing what she loves? Helping people?”
“She could still help people as a vampire, Kol.”
“Yes, but her magic will be lost! Her light will go out!”
Klaus smiled at that and gently patted his brother on his shoulder. “She knows what she’s doing, brother,” he said calmly, although he’d rather stick a dagger in his chest for interrupting some fun times. “Siphoners are the only supernatural beings who can be a witch and a vampire. She won’t become a Heretic, she’ll become a hybrid. It’s easier to refer to it as a Heretic, but it’s not correct, she’s not part of that group that caused mayhem in Mystic Falls. She’s family, sure.”
“Fine, then there’s a possibility that she won’t become a hybrid,” Kol spat. “Same shit.”
“She will. You of all people should know that. You know witchy stuff better than I do. And hasn’t she taken every precaution? Turn on a full moon? Draw strength from that? She has your blood in her system, and I’m sure you’ll top her up before you and Bella drink from her.”
“Yes, I don’t like that idea either. Jeri is mine, and she’s not going to change.”
Klaus recognized a lot of his own anxiety in Kol’s behavior. Granted, there were higher stakes with Jeri, but it all came down to the same thing; commitment issues. The fear of abandonment. The idea of letting someone come even closer to you and have them to tear out your heart and crush it once they’re through with you. He put his hands on Kol’s shoulder and smiled at him. “It’s alright to be scared, brother.”
“I’m not scared, Nik.”
“Yes, you are, and I’ve learned that there is nothing wrong with that. We’ve been living our lives for so long, allowing some people get closer than others. But never to the extent of opening our hearts to someone who sees us for who we are and still seem to like us. To someone who isn’t afraid to give us shit if we do something stupid. We’ve been living for so long minding our own business that we forgot what it felt like to be complete with someone.”
Kol grumbled something inaudible as he lowered his head in resignation; he knew his brother was right.
“For the last six or seven months we’ve been teaching Bella to live, haven’t we? To take chances, risks, when it comes to doing things that scare her. What it’s like to be human. We are nothing but hypocrites if we don’t do it ourselves,” he continued. “I have to admit, I’m a little bit hesitant myself to turn Jeri into a vampire-witch hybrid, but there is nothing we can’t face if we stick together, Kol. Should she ever break your heart, we’ll rip out hers. No matter how long it will take us to get close to her. Now is a good time as any to let a little bit of positivity in our lives. If it doesn’t work out, at least we’ll still have each other. Don’t we, brother?”
“Promise me one thing, Nik,” Kol said with a slight smile on his face as he looked at his older brother. “Stop giving motivational speeches. It scares the piss out of me.”
“Trust me when I say that I’ve had enough of them myself,” he said with a grin and then hugged Kol. “It’s going to be alright, little brother. Take a leap of faith, see where it lands you.” He let go of his brother and looked around. “Any chance you’ve seen where Bella went?”
“I was listening to the sound of water so I didn’t have to overhear your conversation,” she replied as she emerged from the bathroom. “Don’t worry, I didn’t go and find the nearest human to eat although I’m getting hungry.”
“Well, maybe it’ll ease your mind to know that both Elijah and Rebekah are currently seeking candidates for your diet. You have Nik’s blood in you and Jeri suspects there’s more to it so you might get ravenous after drinking her,” Kol smirked at her. “Bloodlust is so much fun! I can’t wait to see you and Jeri slaughter as many as you can.”
“Not to get all giddy about it, but yes, I have to agree, it’ll be quite the spectacle,” Klaus agreed. “The cleaning crew is going to get a kick out of cleaning up the mess.”
~o.O.o~
“Glad to have you on board with this, Kol,” Jeri smiled at him as she caressed his cheek. It wasn’t every day that someone could choose their own death and resurrection. Now was the time for her transformation. She’d be completely autonomous because she could feed off herself, and that was incredible. No longer she’d have to be a Magical leech.
“I’m not really on board, darling,” he muttered and kissed the top of her head. “I just don’t want to lose you, so you’d better come back from this, or I will find someone to resurrect you and I’ll kill you myself.”
“Good to see that chivalry isn’t dead,” she grinned as she looked up at the moon from the window. She could feel its attraction, it’s power, on her skin. “Can I have some more of your blood please?” she asked as she looked at him. “Just to be sure.”
“You promise me a taste of yours?” He put his arms around her and pulled her against his chest so she could still look up to the moon, but he could have the pleasure of feeling her still human body against his.
“Take a sip.”
Kol let out a content hum and bit his wrist to feed it to her, as usual. He then sunk his teeth into her neck and started to drink.
“Leave some for the new vampire,” Jeri said with a little moan as his lips were on her neck. She took hold of his wrist and started to drink his blood. She was going to do this, and she was going to come back even more kickass.
Was she scared? She was scared to death, absolutely. This whole idea was insane, and it was likely going to be traumatic as well. Bella didn’t know how to feed yet; it was going to be messy and painful for her. But she was going to do it anyway. The prospect of truly dying was freaking her out, but she wasn’t going to back pedal.
Even though the Originals could take care of themselves, it didn’t hurt to have her on their side either. Especially if the Cullens would come knocking.
“Shit!” Jeri said as she let go of Kol’s wrist and wiped her mouth as she tried to bump him away from her with her ass. “I completely forgot!”
“Forgot what?” he asked with a whine. “Relax, Jeri,” Kol pulled her closer and gently started to massage her shoulders. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait until tomorrow.”
She huffed a response. “I was doing another blood test earlier on Bella, to see how things changed inside of her after completing her transition. I want to know the results.”
“Yeah, that can wait until tomorrow,” he snickered and kissed her neck. He started to laugh when he heard Bella stomp around in Klaus’ study, ready to blow a fuse as she was starving. “Are you ready? I doubt we can have her wait any longer. She might even run into the street to find someone.”
“And here I thought you were hesitant,” she said with a snort as she leaned back in his arms. “But yes, I’m ready.”
“Are you sure? No second thoughts? No other things you need to take care of before you stop being a human?”
“Let’s get it over with.”
“Bella! Feeding time!” Kol called out, earning him an elbow in the chest from Jeri. “Oh, look, we’ll have an audience,” he said slightly frustrated when not only Klaus and Bella entered their room, but also Elijah with Jessica and Rebekah. Bella already had her true face on, hers matching Klaus’, which wasn’t freaky at all. “Oh, she’s hungry.” If it hadn’t for Klaus holding her arm tightly, she might have attacked Jeri on sight.
“And yet, she has remarkable self-control,” Klaus said like a proud boyfriend. “She’s been pacing back and forth ever since the sun went down, itching for blood, but she waited. I can’t say she’s lucid, though.”
“Won’t Jeri’s magical blood be too much for her?” Elijah wondered. He’d been wondering about that all day if he had to be honest. Stranger things had happened with Bella, even though she was supposed to be in perfect health right now.
“No, it’ll be okay, just like snacking on any other witch,” Kol replied with a shrug.
“Please,” Bella whimpered as she looked at Klaus. “Please, I need.”
Jeri walked over to Bella and pulled her into a hug. “Go on then,” she said soothingly.
Kol wasn’t sure if he could watch this. The new vampire didn’t have to be told twice as she sunk her teeth into her neck. He had already seen that Bella was being sloppy and blood was already all over her, Jeri and the floor and he simply couldn’t. Not because he was squeamish, he didn’t want to see Jeri die. Taking a deep breath, he went into the bathroom. He’d come back once Jeri’s heart stopped beating.
“Easy, love,” Klaus told Bella, but she was too focused on finally being able to feed, and she was greedy, just like he was. Jeri was in pain; he could tell from the look on her face. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to have her be Bella’s first. Was there a right decision in this matter? Not really.
She started to squeeze Jeri like a Capri-sun pouch when nothing came out of her body anymore. Her bones were breaking and before Klaus knew it, Kol had rushed back in and had tossed Bella across the room. He caught Jeri’s limp and broken body with ease and gently placed her on the bed. “You didn’t have to break her!” He scolded her.
Bella blinked at Kol as her face reverted to her usual self. “I didn’t mean to!” She countered, her head all of a sudden bright as day. “Is she alright?”
“Yes, she’s dead, and nothing is beyond fixing,” Elijah replied as he approached Bella with his handkerchief and handed it to her. She looked like a savage.
Something inside Bella started to move; a low rumbling was coming from her stomach. “I don’t feel so good…” A sharp pain in her abdomen caused her to double over. “Oh, that’s not good… I had too much…”
“Take a breath, love,” Klaus said as he took Elijah’s handkerchief and tossed it back at him before the sound of bones breaking drew the eyes of the Original Vampires onto the new vampire.
“I don’t think that was supposed to happen…” Rebekah muttered.
“Well, there was always a possibility…” Elijah added thoughtfully. “Didn’t think it would actually happen.”
“Well fuck,” Kol said with a growl. “Get her out of here!”
It felt wrong to take her off the floor and run downstairs to the holding cells, but for her safety – and those of others, but mainly hers – she needed to be locked up. It made sense that this was happening, she had his blood in him for years. No doubt Carlisle had done something to mess up her genes as well. Or maybe it was the spell, they would have to ask Jeri about it when she’d risen again.
To see Bella in so much pain hurt him. But he took solace in the idea that this was going to be her only time she had to go through this; they were going to work on control when she snapped out of it. Klaus didn’t like it to be on the other side, watching someone he loved go through this alone. He had done it. Mikael and Elijah had run from him while it happened. He needed to be with her.
“Whatever happens, Elijah, please do not open this door,” Klaus said as he opened it. “Only to throw in one of those guys for her to maul when she grows to frenzy. I’ll stop her from escaping.”
“Niklaus, you’re not going to do what I think you’re going to do?”
“I don’t want her to be alone.”
“She won’t know what she’s doing. It’s highly irresponsible.”
“Is it? She can’t kill me, Elijah,” he said as he could already feel his body preparing for his shift. He pulled his shirt off and joined Bella in her cell as she lay writhing on the floor. “Do take a picture of her once she’s fully turned. I think she’ll love to see what happened.”
It had been a long time since he’d seen the part of his brother that he kept hidden; the perks of being a hybrid was that he never needed to turn or could turn at will. He was more vulnerable as a wolf. To do this, for Bella, was a touching gesture, and he’d follow his brother’s instructions out of respect. “Good luck, brother,” he said as he moved to sit on a bench and kept his eyes on the cell in front of him.
His brother’s transformation was fast and with ease and by the time he was done, Bella had completed hers as well. She was unlike any other wolf he’d seen. All the werewolves he’d encountered appeared natural. They could blend in with the regular wolves. Bella, however, was white all over. She wasn’t quite an albino as her eyes were yellow like the rest of the wolves, but her entire coat was white. It fit as he thought about it. Bella’s whole life had been unusual. She became a vampire in the most unusual way and due to unnatural circumstances, why would becoming a hybrid be any different?
Bella snarled at Klaus as she paced around the cell, it was one of the larger ones that Klaus had brought her to, but she was searching for a way out. His eyes calmly followed her, but when she got near him, she snapped at him. He let out a growl in response and Bella kept circling the cell, eyeing Klaus, but her body language was not letting up. Elijah was wondering how far Klaus would let Bella go before he’d do something about it.
It was sometime after midnight when Bella finally stopped pacing and started to approach his brother. It was remarkable how calm and collected she was, perhaps they had underestimated her. She sniffed Klaus, before biting his tail, hard. Klaus retaliated by letting out a roar, and a swung at her head with his paw and soon, both wolves were fighting. While Bella was intentionally trying to hurt Klaus, Klaus did his best not to hurt her but still establish dominance.
When Bella drew blood, Elijah knew it was time to throw in one of their captured criminals. It was entertaining to watch their reactions to the wolves in the other cell. He could smell the fear coming off of them. Grabbing the closest, he pulled him out of the cell and walked back to where Klaus and Bella were. “Watch it, Niklaus,” Elijah said before opening the cell door and threw the man in.
Without hesitation, Bella’s attention snapped to the man and pounced on him, pushing him to the floor and removed a piece of his torso with her teeth. The sound of bones breaking and meat being devoured could still be heard over the man’s screams. Klaus patiently watched as Bella ripped the man apart, the blood staining her white coat. Elijah took a step back when the man’s genitals flew through the air, towards him, and he could swear he could hear Klaus huff in appreciation.
Elijah didn’t want to know what was going on inside his brother’s head right now.
Bella howled when there was nothing left for her to take apart before flopping down on her stomach with a content huff and started to lick her paws clean. Klaus lowered himself to the ground and crawled towards her before putting a paw on her head and began to help her clean herself up.
Eventually, Bella rolled over to show her belly to him, and Klaus started to lick that. Yes, she had settled down, and Elijah could go back to watching from afar.
He threw another deviant in the cell after two hours and then was joined by Rebekah, who gasped when she saw Bella. “Elijah, she’s…”
“White, I know.”
“Beautiful!” She replied and then scrunched her nose. “And they’re both being very disgusting right now.”
“I suggest you take a few steps back, sister. Bella likes to throw body parts around.”
Rebekah did as she was told. “Jeri’s already awake. I came to get her a body to feed on.”
“Awake already?” He said surprised. “How on Earth is that possible?”
“I don’t know, Elijah, and frankly, I didn’t ask. We’ve had enough surprises in the last two days to last us a lifetime,” she walked over to the other cell and pulled a guy out. “Confess your sins,” she compelled him.
“I beat my wife and children.”
“Good enough for me, come on,” she said as she dragged the man with her towards Kol’s room. “For your sake, brother, I hope the wolves aren’t going to have sex.”
“Oh lord help me,” Elijah muttered as he quickly fetched a bucket of water in case he needed it. But apart from them playing, challenging each other and yelping as they ran around the cell, nothing else happened. The moment he saw the first signs of Bella changing back, he ran up to Klaus’ room to fetch the both of them some clothing. He then threw them in the cell as he had his back turned towards it. “Good morning,” he greeted them.
Bella groaned and blinked at Klaus, who was getting dressed. “What happened?”
“Congratulations, love. You’re a hybrid,” Klaus smirked and softly kissed her. “Get dressed, we’re going to have a wash and discuss this over breakfast.” He then looked at his brother. “Did I hear it correctly? Jeri’s already awake and fed?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Well, breakfast is going to be interesting then,” Klaus smiled as he wrapped his arm around Bella and headed upstairs with her. He remembered most of the night, maybe not as sharply as normal, but he knew most of it. The last time he was in wolf form was after he’d broken the curse, and that had been his second time. There was no need for him to be transforming, and so he didn’t. But he couldn’t let Bella deal with hers on her own, and he had to admit, it had been an entirely liberating experience.
And Bella. She had surprised him. She kept surprising him, and that was fascinating. He had sensed the feral inside of her, but she remained – mostly – calm. She had tested him, of course, and for a while he thought he’d surrender to her, but he wasn’t ready for that. He was the big bad wolf, and he wouldn’t surrender like that, not to her, not to anyone. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
After their refreshing shower, he and Bella joined the rest of the family for breakfast. Including Jeri, who had the biggest smile ever on her face. She still looked a little worse for wear, even after feeding, but she’d perk up soon enough. “Good morning!” she greeted them.
Bella hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“That’s okay, I’m whole now,” Jeri said with a grin and gently tapped Bella’s arm to let go of her. “You should try a waffle, it’s extraordinary.”
“I’m not really hungry,” Bella said as she sat down next to Klaus and reached for the tea. “You’re heavy on the stomach.”
“Hey!”
Klaus smirked. “Actually, Bella, you’ve had two humans to eat during the night. And you didn’t drink their blood but had some of their meat.”
“Oh! Yeah!” Jeri said enthusiastic. “That was what I was figuring out last night, whether or not she could turn into a hybrid. It seems that’s a definite yes.” She slapped Kol on his arm. “And you said that could wait until today. Wouldn’t it have been a lot better if they knew before it happened?”
“Don’t hit me, Bella was hungry.”
“A hybrid? That’s what you are, isn’t it?” Bella looked at Klaus. “And what Jeri is now.”
“And you.”
“But I can’t be, as far as I know I don’t have any weird genes… Carlisle would have found a way to get rid of them,” Bella said as she took a sip of her tea and moaned at the taste. “Oh, so good…”
Klaus was tempted to pull the tea out of Bella’s hands, but he had to control himself. Everything tasted new and good to her, and Jeri, now and he was sure that Kol was currently in the same boat as him.
“No, but you see,” Jeri said excitedly. “This is where it gets interesting; to bind you to Klaus, some of the blood changed a little bit of your genetic makeup and voila. You’re a hybrid. Well, it’s a little bit harder than that but you know,” she shrugged as she devoured another waffle. “As I said when I first met you, some serious magic was involved in assuring that Bella wouldn’t be corrupted.”
He smirked when he took a sip of his tea.
“Oh, would you like to see pictures? I took a few,” Elijah offered as he took his phone out. “It’s quite spectacular.”
Klaus took the phone and showed Bella the images. “Tell me, love, which one are you?”
“The grey one?” Bella was astounded when she looked at the images. Had she really turned into a wolf? That was quite surreal, wasn’t it?
“No, love, you’re quite special. You are the white one.”
“Wow,” she said surprised. “I’m sorry… I… it’s still weird that a human can become a wolf… a real wolf.”
“And being a vampire is normal?” Kol snorted.
“Well… yeah. It was being human that was so awkward. Fragile, I guess.” She had only been a vampire for such a short amount of time, but it already felt right, as if she was in the right place. That she finally belonged. She took another sip of her tea and despite its deliciousness, she tried not to moan, she had seen how Klaus had responded to that earlier.
“Well, you can turn into a wolf,” Jessica said with a pout. “I feel like I’m the most normal person at this table right now.”
“You are very… fu— vulnerable,” Elijah said as he hid his smirk when he took a sip of his tea.
“Yes, and because you were on babysitting duty last night, we didn’t get to do what we had planned,” Jessica still pouted. “You’ll make it up to me, right?”
“No, he won’t,” Bella murmured as she gingerly took a pancake of the plate and hoped it would taste better. “Neither of you are going to get any. Klaus and I haven’t had some either.”
“And it bites!” Kol cheered.
Jeri sat there with her bite of waffle paused at her lips. “Cockblocking already Bella? You know I won’t put up with that shit. Wolf venom or not. I’m the only one in the house truly immune from the two of you so rethink your strategy.”
“You two probably had sex when Klaus and I were tearing up two people,” Bella said as she took a bite of the pancake and spat it out again. “Ew.”
“Excuse you,” Rebekah said disgustedly. “Kol and I were taking care of Jeri last night, to make sure she was well fed just as Klaus and Elijah were taking care of you. So, if you lot want to turn this place into a brothel amongst the six of you after I finish eating, have at it! I’ll be at Marcel’s.”
Jeri dropped her fork on her plate. “I just lost my appetite. Kol is mine. I might have swung for Klaus at some point if either of us weren’t attached, but beyond that, the rest of you aren’t my type.”
“Thanks, I think?” Klaus blinked at her before eyeing his sister. “We will not do any swapping of the sort.”
“You weren’t shying away from that a few hundred years ago,” she said playfully as she put her napkin on her plate and rose to her feet. “Have fun!” Before Rebekah left, she turned around with a smile on her face. “Oh, do teach the girls how to slow down and how to use their new strength before they break things around the house. Ta!” She said with a slight giggle and ran off.
Kol huffed. “As if we’re novices.”
“You are a bit irresponsible,” Elijah noted.
“Says the one that was ready to hand his own newborn back to the pound,” Jeri muttered into her coffee mug.
“Ah, but that’s entirely different. I didn’t sire her; I merely took her in for the night, and I hoped that Marcel would take care of her. Things turned out differently.”
“And here I am, still mourning the fact that pancakes are now problematic in taste,” Bella pouted as she looked at her pancake. She grabbed the maple syrup and the icing sugar and covered her pancake in that before trying another bite. “Okay, that’s better.”
Jeri stared at her with a raised eyebrow. “There’s nothing wrong with the food unless it’s something with your new wolf traits fucking with your taste buds.”
“I know,” Bella grumbled as she took another bite from her pancake. “I love pancakes.”
“You’re a dog; you’re supposed to eat everything.”
Bella’s head snapped to Jessica, and she let out a growl. “Excuse you?” She’d never have done this before, but something inside of her just snapped when Jessica spoke up.
“Oh fuck,” Jeri muttered as she sat back in her chair and watched the spectacle about to ensue. She couldn’t help but to smile in anticipation, barely restraining herself in her seat not to lash out for the comment herself.
“What? That’s how it works, doesn’t it? You’re a hybrid now, part dog. You basically eat scraps.”
Klaus growled and wanted to move to do something, but Bella was already on it. She leapt over the table and grabbed Jessica’s arm before biting it. She wanted to tear it off, but she figured that if werewolf bites were toxic to vampires, then a bite would suffice.
Elijah wasn’t fast enough to protect his new protégé, nor reprimand her as he was too, stunned by her comments. “Bella!” he called out as he jumped from his seat, reaching to stop her, but her growls forced him to step back. “Let her go before you kill her.”
Kol grinned as he too, sat back and watched Bella take a bite out of Jessica. “Don’t piss off a vampire who can’t filter emotions that well yet, Jessica,” he teased. “Look what happened!”
Bella released Jessica as she looked at her. “Don’t you ever say something as stupid as that again!”
“Fine,” Jessica quickly got to her feet and tried to feed on Bella, but Bella moved back to the other side of the table before Jessica could do so. “Bitch! Even as a mutt you’re special needs! I hoped you’d be cured of that!”
Bella circled round the table again as Jessica came after her and on the next round, Klaus managed to grab Jessica by her throat and growled at her. “We treat each other with respect in my house, Jessica. You should know your place and it’s certainly not amongst Jeri and Bella. Bella could have killed you for her remark, but she chose to bite you. You will not forcibly take the cure from her, and I am not willing to give it to you either. This leaves Jeri to siphon it out of you but from the look on her face; you have some grovelling to do. Choose your words wisely because she might not feel charitable either.” Then, as if she was a ragdoll, he threw her in Elijah’s lap. “You should have taught your toddler better, brother.”
Bella bit her lip as she looked at Klaus. His voice had sent pleasuring vibrations through her body, and he was simply irresistible. But was she in trouble for biting Jessica?
“And you,” he said as he looked at Bella. Why was she biting her lip? Didn’t she know that it was something that could make his insides melt in a good way? “Take your tea and go upstairs, I’ll be with you in a moment.”
There was a promise in his voice. She nodded as she took her tea and grabbed a piece of toast and headed towards Klaus’ study. Bella waited for him in anticipation, and sure enough, once she had finished her tea and her toast, he appeared, his eyes filled with lust. She grinned, she was in trouble alright, but not the kind that immediately popped up in her head. “Sorry?”
“Oh, don’t give me that puppy look, Bella,” he said huskily as he lifted her up and brought her to his bed. “You were well in your rights to bite her, if you hadn’t, I would have.”
“Not sorry then,” she giggled as she kissed him eagerly.
