Chapter 11
She wasn’t too happy with the fact that Jeri thought it would be kind to rescue Jessica from Bella’s bite. Granted, Jeri waited until the last possible moment but Jessica was saved. And she hadn’t learned her lesson, but Bella tried her best not to respond to it. She wasn’t violent. Deep down, she knew she wasn’t. It was something else entirely to control every impulse, every emotion. It was hard, she had more than enough experience with it, but it was hard. She didn’t like the aggressiveness she felt in her bones. It wasn’t like her.
It took a couple of weeks to level out for her, Jeri and Jessica and she was amazed by the constant patience the Mikaelsons showed them. Bella felt as if she had gone from one extreme to the other emotionally and was glad it was all over. Klaus had gone and found the rest of the vampires that had been around Carlisle and was about to return and she couldn’t wait.
Bella was sitting in the courtyard with Rebekah, browsing through fashion magazines because Rebekah wanted to go shopping again when a whiff of death wafted to her. She scrunched her nose, it didn’t smell like any leftovers from the basement, besides, those had been cleared out. This was more pungent, almost as if it was on her skin. “Do you smell that?”
“Smell what, darling?” Rebekah flipped another page in her magazine.
“I don’t know, I can’t tell, but it’s smelly. Like rotten fish.”
“We’re in the middle of the French Quarter, you should be familiar with the smells wafting through here by now,” she said amused. “Oh, this dress is lovely!”
“No, it’s not that, it’s something else. Can you look down the street and see if—”
“No, I’m not going to, it’s probably nothing. Look at this dress!” Rebekah nearly pushed the magazine in Bella’s face. “I think it would suit you perfectly.”
Bella grabbed the magazine with a huff and looked at the dress. “No, you’d look great in that.” She then handed the magazine back and got off her chair. She was going to walk to the opening from the courtyard to the street and take a peek. That’s it. She wasn’t going outside, just to have a look.
She took a deep breath and stopped a few steps away from the exit, there were still a few steps to go until she’d be toe to toe with the pavement. People were passing her by with smiles on their faces, tourists. The music from the street was louder now. She applauded their bravery while she could feel her heart beat faster and faster, almost as if it was pounding out of her chest if she didn’t back away. She gasped in another breath before taking a step closer and was then surprised to stare into the face of Peter, former bodyguard and gentleman of the bedchambers of Edward Cullen.
Backing away, slowly, she knew she had been right; the streets were dangerous, and now Peter was standing there. Dressed in a hoodie in an attempt to hide the sparkle. And she then remembered she now had vampire speed. She turned around and quickly ran to Klaus’ study to hide out.
It was Peter; she had nothing to be afraid of, he had always helped her but it was still Peter. Peter who looked after Edward. Peter, who she sent Rosalie to, because Peter was nice, or maybe that had been something she’d been telling herself to make things easier on her. She opened the French doors to the balcony and kept an eye on the entrance. So far, he hadn’t made an attempt of going in, not even after seeing her.
Bella could see that Rebekah had now gotten to her feet and was now heading towards the entrance. Bella was quietly willing her to turn back. While Peter had always taken care of Bella when he could, he was still one of them. She didn’t want Peter to hurt Rebekah. What if Peter was here on Edward’s orders to get her back? Peter wouldn’t do that, would he? He’d flat out refuse!
“Forgive me for not properly greeting you,” Rebekah’s voice sounded. Bella wished she could see the exchange instead of hearing it. “But who are you and what do you want?”
“My name is Peter Whitlock, and I don’t mean any harm,” Peter replied in a velvety smooth voice that came with the package.
Rebekah huffed. “Let me be the judge of that. What was your position with them?” Bella’s hasty exit had spoken volumes; she didn’t need to be a genius to figure out that Peter had been in Bella’s life.
“I’m ashamed to say that I was forced to be Edward’s lackey, taking care of all his needs. But wait… Bella’s turned?” Peter sounded confused, or astounded, Bella couldn’t really tell. “Wow, what are the odds.”
“Explain yourself.”
“Do I have to? Surely you know about the experiments they did on her. But to find the one person who could actually save her? That’s… well, for a lack of a better word, incredible.”
Rebekah let out a low growl. “What do you want?”
“I mean you or Bella no harm, I promise. You can ask her, I have never hurt her. I was offered her many times, but I only accepted so she could sleep, take a breather from what was happening to and around her. You can validate my story with her.”
“Yeah, well, she hasn’t been entirely forthcoming about her past like that as she thinks it should remain buried. You still haven’t answered my question.”
“I’ve been protecting Bella as well as I could from my end. We’ve been covering our tracks and feeding the family misinformation, but I believe that our time is up. There’s no immediate danger, so there’s no rush. I’ll come back when she’s ready for me. When you’ve been able to validate my story with her,” he spoke kindly. “I’m staying at this hotel for the next few days. That’s my name and room number.”
“That’s it?”
“What do you mean?”
“No offense but the mere thought of a Cold One associated with them makes my skin crawl. You’re not pushing it. You’re just saying, here I am and talk to me when possible.”
“Of course. I have no hidden agenda, and as I said, it can wait. I can understand why she’s scared, even when I’ve never laid a hand on her. It brings back memories, and not particularly good ones. Why would I want to traumatize her even further?”
“Very well. You shall have to wait until my brother gets home, and I expect him back shortly. He’d want to have a chat before he’d allow you to talk to her.”
“I understand. Have a good day, miss.”
It took a few minutes before Bella could hear Rebekah’s voice again. “I can’t believe he tipped his invisible hat to me,” she muttered as she walked back into the courtyard, looking up at Bella. “You okay up there?”
Bella nodded.
“Any chance of you coming down again any time soon?”
She shook her head in response.
Rebekah sighed and shrugged. “I’ll have someone bring you something to drink. I’ll give Nik a call to see where he’s hanging out.”
~o.O.o~
Klaus returned late in the evening and Bella couldn’t be happier about it. She felt as if she could finally breathe again. However, his body language was tense when she ran down to greet him and didn’t dare to hug him. Rebekah had called him and told him about Peter, hadn’t she?
“Wipe that confused look off your face and kiss me, woman,” he smiled at her, opening his arms for her to disappear into. “I’m simply a little bit frustrated because there’s still one vampire missing. Imagine my surprise that nobody I encountered wants to tell me who it is,” he said as he put his arms around her and softly kissed her. “It’s a woman and they’re all afraid of her. Any idea who it is, love?”
“She’s probably dead,” she replied with a shrug. “She liked getting on Edward and Carlisle’s nerves. I think I only saw her once or twice.”
“Ah, so she does exist!” Kol said cheerfully. “That makes the hunt so much more entertaining.”
“Do you remember her name?”
Bella shook her head. “I’m just glad you’re home again. I don’t like it when you leave.”
“You could have come with Kol and I, that would have been fun.”
She let out a low growl and hugged him tighter. “I couldn’t even breathe anymore while being a few steps away from the pavement today, that wasn’t fun.”
“Well, I could always compel that fear out of you.”
“I might have to take you up on that offer…”
He put his arm around her and guided her towards the stairs. He needed a shower, and he needed his bed. He also needed his Bella to be present in his bed. “Rebekah told me you had a visitor today?”
“No, I ran away.”
“I thought Peter was the good one? You told me about him.”
“I wasn’t so sure anymore,” she murmured. “I don’t know; maybe I was making it up to make myself feel better, or maybe he was a good one, and I just panicked.”
He smiled as he took her to his study. “A hybrid who’s afraid of her own shadow.”
“Hey!”
“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?” he said teasingly. “You could have easily put him into his place and perhaps even damaged him if you wanted to, and you chose to bolt.”
“That’s not fair.”
“It’s alright, love, I didn’t want you to talk to him by yourself in any case.” He closed the door and kissed her. “I’d rather have you not interact with any Cold One at all if I could help it, but Rebekah said that he had something of importance to tell you?”
“Are you going to entertain him and invite him over for a talk?”
“If he was as courteous as my sister said, then yes. If he was an idiot like Jacob… then yes. We’ll kill him afterward if needed.”
~o.O.o~
She still wasn’t happy that Klaus wanted to hear Peter out, but she was happy about the fact that Peter came looking for her. It was a bit strange if she had to be honest. She wanted to show him that she was doing well, and then maybe he could go away again. They were sitting in the courtyard, a beautiful, open space and plenty of places where the rest of the family could observe without being noticed too much. To Bella, this somehow felt a lot safer as well rather than being inside the communal den. At least she had lots of places to run to if needed.
But who was she kidding? Klaus was right, she was more than capable of handling herself. Kol, Elijah, and Rebekah had taken it upon themselves to assure her of that and given her some additional training but not much. The best part about being a vampire, or in her case, a hybrid, is that she now possessed natural vampiric and wolf instincts that would come out if she had to fight for her life. She wasn’t as fragile as she used to be.
While they waited, she and Klaus were having tea with mini pastries and Bella nearly ate them all before even finishing her drink. They were that good. Or perhaps she was that nervous. What was it that he wanted?
“Stop fidgeting, love,” Klaus said as he took a sip of his tea. “We’re simply going to have a nice cup of tea with an old friend of yours. You said you loved him like you love Kol, so why are you so anxious?”
“Because I’m not sure if I was right in my assessment, despite him taking care of me?”
Klaus smirked at that. “Careful love, don’t want to become too paranoid. Granted, I only want to talk to him to learn more about the Cullens and how they work, but he’s your friend. You told Rosalie to go and find him, did you not?”
She sighed and nodded. “You’re right. I have nothing to be afraid of.” Bella popped another mini pastry in her mouth and relaxed in her chair. “He should be scared of me now.”
“Exactly.”
“And his kind of vampires don’t drink human things, so I doubt he’d love a cup of tea.”
“Blood then, we’re all civil here.”
“Yay, blood,” Bella giggled.
“Oh, don’t you start, you just had your shot,” Klaus said playfully. While all of them were drinking alcohol to stave off the hunger, even the former Mormon virgin, Bella’s first experiences with alcohol wasn’t all that great. Sure, with alcohol in her system, her inhibitions fell away, and she was less collected and certainly unable to control certain urges, driving Klaus bonkers.
But she also couldn’t function very well, her tolerance even as a hybrid was incredibly low. They then decided that they’d ease her into drinking and give her a shot of blood every couple of hours to stave off the hunger. This assured them that she wouldn’t accidentally grab a human off the street as it passed the courtyard entrance. And maybe, once or twice, slip in a tablespoon of booze in her blood or drink to get used to it.
Bella blinked when she saw Kol run passed and followed him with her eyes. He seemed to pull someone off the street and shoved him straight up a wall. “Kol!”
“You have a lot of nerve coming here, mate,” Kol said as he looked Peter straight in the eye. “My brother may want to entertain the idea of you and him having a chat, but I’m against it.”
“Kol, stop!” Bella repeated and wanted to get off the chair, but Klaus shook his head.
“Leave him, he has some issues to work through as well.”
“I don’t want him to kill him! Peter protected me, just like Kol’s doing now!”
“It’s okay, Bella,” Peter said calmly as he kept his eyes on Kol. “Search my mind then, Kol. I know that traditionals can do that.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Kol said with a growl and put his hand against Peter’s head so he could dig in.
“She’s all yours, Peter, have fun.” Edward closed the door behind him as he left.
Peter turned and looked at the young, naked girl in front of him and sighed. “Alright, Kitten, let’s get you into something warmer than your skin.” He walked over to the dresser and grabbed one of Edward’s shirts and pulled it over Bella’s head. “How’s that?”
It was almost as if she didn’t notice the new cloth on her as she looked up at him from her position on the floor with a small smile on her face.
“No. We’ve been over this, I won’t do that to you. Get on the bed and sleep.”
The girl scrambled to her feet and ran to the bed, laying down as she obeyed Peter’s order. Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair. “One of these days you need to start trusting me that I’m not like them, Bella.”
~o.O.o~
“Oh man, you should have seen her yesterday,” Jacob grinned as he fell in step with Peter. “Edward sure knows how to give out rewards.”
Peter smacked Jacob against the wall. “It’s Prince Edward or simply the Prince for you, kid,” he said with a growl. “Remember your position.”
“Whatever.”
“And fucking the Royal concubine? Show some respect!”
“He gifted her to us!”
“I don’t care. She’s a tool, but that doesn’t mean you should not respect her or the Royal family. Your father raised you better than that.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Jacob pushed Peter away from him. “You know nothing.”
“I know enough.”
~o.O.o~
“I don’t care who you are,” Kol growled as he pointed at the room behind Peter. “That’s a human girl you’re exploiting.”
“And your point?” Peter raised an eyebrow. “If I’m not mistaken, your position is even lower than the guards. Why should I listen to you? Because you’re older? Because you’re a traditional? You want a sip of her yourself? Why are you even here?”
“Because it’s inhumane to treat her like that.”
“To you, maybe. To us? Not so much. She’s a great fuck. I’m sure if you behave yourself; you might get a shot at her.”
Kol punched Peter in the face and then skulked off. “We’re not done.”
“I think we are,” Peter called after him with a smile on his face before entering Edward’s bedchambers. “Right, kitten, I think that was all of them. Did you have a nice shower?”
Bella nodded.
“Good. I got you some fruit. Have at them,” he handed her the apple and a handful of cherries before returning to the door. “No one should disturb you today, I told them you weren’t feeling too well, that things could get messy. Get some sleep after you’ve done eating, alright? I’m going to pick up Edward from the Airport.”
Bella nodded, the blank expression on her face never changed, he wished it would. But maybe he should feel fortunate that she wasn’t trying to have sex with him anymore.
~o.O.o~
Peter watched as the wolf handed Bella over to Kol and sighed relieved in the midst of the chaos. Kol was a good vampire; Peter hadn’t been quite able to read him correctly but he trusted him enough. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. The wolf, however… he wanted to keep the girl all to himself.
At least now she had a shot at surviving the rest of her life.
Edward and Carlisle were being taken away by the police; not that a human prison would hold them for long, and Peter snuck back in to free his best friend and his friend’s wife before making a run for it themselves.
“He’ll find her,” Alice said as they headed towards the nearest woods to quickly feed before making a quick getaway.
“Don’t worry, between the three of us we can keep her safe.”
~o.O.o~
Alice gasped as she dropped her shoes. They were going to move today as Peter suspected someone was hunting them, but she wasn’t quite sure who or what. “Something’s changed. I— I can’t see her anymore!”
“Relax,” Jasper picked up her shoes and handed them back to her. “Focus on someone else.”
“I can’t. They know how my gift works. They know how all of our gifts work.”
“Where is she?” Peter said as he looked out the window. “Rose should have been here by now.”
“I don’t know, but I do know that we have to move, I’ll try to find her again when we’re safe,” Alice said urgingly. “He can’t find her. Even if it’s the last act that I’ll do, she will not go back to that life again.”
“We all agreed on that,” Jasper said as he helped Alice into her shoes. “Let’s go.”
“You fucker,” Kol said as he released Peter and took a step back. “You absolute wanker!”
“That’s me,” Peter said with a smirk. “Am I okay to walk in now?”
He grunted, turning away with a wave of his hand as his only permission. Falling into the seat beside where Bella had been sitting, he scowled as he glared at the table as if it had scorned him personally. Kol thought about the information he pulled from the Cold One’s head, not sure if it would be wise to share it with his newborn friend.
“Peter Whitlock pleased to meet you,” he extended his hand to Klaus with a smile on his face. “I must say, I’m more than thrilled to find out that Bella ended up with the one person who could save her. It sure explains why she dropped off Alice’s radar! And you got her to talk! How amazing is that!”
“I’m right here!” Bella snapped her fingers in front of Peter’s face, just as Jeri had taught her to. “I’m not invisible!”
Klaus eyed her. “You should stop picking up Jeri’s bad habits, love.”
“Hey, I take offense to that,” Kol huffed. “Jeri’s nothing but a positive influence on her.”
“My apologies, kitten,” Peter smiled at Bella. “You are most definitely visible, and you look fabulous. I’m glad to hear your voice.”
Klaus growled possessively at Peter’s nickname for Bella. “You wanted to talk; please tell us whatever you wish.”
Peter smiled at that as he sat down in the empty chair and lowered the hoodie, the shade wasn’t too bad. “The night that Bella came to live with you – and I’m glad you didn’t turn her away, I freed Jasper Whitlock and Alice Cullen from their incarceration and we ran. I’m sure that Bella’s told you about them?”
“A little,” Klaus replied. “Neither Bella nor my brother have been very forthcoming about what happened.”
Peter sucked in a breath as he looked at the two in question. “While I understand, it’s also important that you know everything that needs to be known, even if it concerns some… stories that should remain unspoken. Jasper and Alice were imprisoned because they couldn’t be killed; they were family after all. On top of that, they’re special. Alice can see the future based on decisions people make, and Jasper can influence other people’s emotions. Carlisle wanted to use Jasper’s power during Bella’s… training, but he flat out refused. He and Alice were going to try to overthrow the rule of Carlisle and Esmé for a better life, but they were caught off guard and dragged off. In prison, they were safe. Jasper would influence every person who’d come too close to them and managed to ensure that he and Alice were untouchable. Of course, I made sure they didn’t die from starvation. The night of the raid, I broke them out, and we fled, knowing that they’d come after us and wanting to use us for our gifts to bring back Bella.”
“Are you saying you’re here to take her back? Because if so, you should be lucky if I let you leave in one piece,” Klaus threatened. “She isn’t going anywhere.”
“No, we’re here to help fight them. They’re close, and they won’t stop until they have what they want and that’s Bella.”
“Why are they so obsessed with her, though?” Kol asked. “Not that we wouldn’t be because she’s an amazing girl and Klaus is rather fond of her, but why her?”
“Well, for one, Carlisle put all his time and effort in experimenting on her, making her into what she became. Two; Edward has a one track mind. He’s obsessed with Bella, mostly because she’s the only human he’s come across whose mind he can’t read. Thirdly; Carlisle wants to continue his experiments and Four; Carlisle wants his son to be happy, and as long as Bella isn’t home, Edward isn’t happy.”
“Do they know what she is?”
“No,” Peter smirked. “And that’s the beauty of it all, isn’t it? They think that Bella is hanging around with run off the mill traditionals, easy to get. I knew that Kol was someone else, he claimed to be an ordinary vampire, but I knew he was special because I couldn’t get a good read on him. All the other regular traditionals that crossed my path were simple to crack, but Kol? No. Which was why I told Jacob to hand Bella over to him and hoped that I was right in my assumption that he would take her to you. The one person who could save her, to show her what it’s like to live.”
Klaus’ interest was peaked. “You’ve crossed paths with the other vampires?”
“Oh yeah, you killed them all, didn’t you?” Peter smirked. “Well done! What about the female? Did you manage to find her?”
“I know that there’s a female. I keep wondering who the hell that female is but no one is talking; they seem to be afraid of her.”
“Well yeah, Katherine Pierce was a definite piece of work.”
Both Kol and Klaus growled loudly. “What the hell?”
“You know her?”
“Oh, Nik knows her intimately. So does our brother Elijah.”
“What?” Bella blinked at Klaus.
“You knew her name! You said you didn’t remember!” Klaus looked at her. “Why didn’t you tell me her name?”
Her eyes furrowed as she stared at him. “I didn’t want to remember! You know how badly those memories hurt! So what if I had a hard time saying the name of one of my tormentors! You knew her?! Did you have her too?” She questioned, hurt crossing her face as she stood from her seat and backed away from him.
“I’m old, Bella. Katherine is old, too. There aren’t a lot of us, of course, we’ve crossed paths.”
“Nik had to woo her, at least that was what I’ve been told,” Kol explained as he looked at Bella, who looked ready to run or take a bite out of Klaus. “She was critical in breaking the curse before she decided to become a vampire as she didn’t want to die, and Klaus had to wait for another doppelganger.”
She growled angrily as she turned her hazel eyes on her friend. “More secrets? What more is there? Any more surprises?”
“He had a fling with a blonde teenager,” Kol said with a shrug. “Quite obsessed he was.”
“Kol!” Klaus sneered.
“What? You obviously neglected to mention all of this. In all your history lessons, you never even thought about telling her about your conquests?”
“Did you tell Jeri?”
“Of course I did,” Kol huffed. “But she also knows that we’re old, and as it turns out, she’s not a saint herself. Blatantly eye fucking you while I’m standing right next to her… That was such a turn on… and a turn off at the same time.”
“You are so awesome,” Peter said in awe as he looked at the brothers. “When this is all over, can I come and live here with you? Share the joy?”
“Stay out of this,” Klaus said defensively.
“Another surprise might be that Klaus just loves his threesomes.”
“Kol!”
“Come again?” Bella questioned, her face carefully composed as she looked at her boyfriend, or whatever he was to her.
“Oh, he only told you the good bits, didn’t he?” Kol said with glee. “Klaus the saint. Klaus the misunderstood Mikaelson. Klaus the haunted, Klaus the hunted… Klaus the victim. Well, let me tell you, Bella if you remember all the things I’ve told you about myself, he’s worse. Did he tell you that he and my siblings liked to keep me in my coffin? Boxed up with a dagger in my chest?”
“Jeri mentioned something about that,” she murmured quietly.
“Oh yeah, but it was worse for our brother Finn, who… well, he was a goody two shoes and a mummy’s boy, and we all didn’t like him but still. Who does that?”
“I think I need… I um… Where’s Jeri?” Bella asked.
“Bella, don’t do this, let us resume our chat with your friend,” Klaus said with a small smile on his face. He might dagger Kol for this. It was a shame that he needed to discuss it with Rebekah and Elijah first, and since they were watching in the shadows, they were probably going to take Kol’s side on the matter.
Her eyes flashed amber as she glared back at him when she growled. “Not now. You get what you need from Peter. You and I will speak later when I’m not so angry with you,” she responded.
“Bella.”
“No,” she growled again and stomped off when she saw Jeri standing on the stairs. “He’s a pancake face! A big pancake face with a giant pickle!”
“I know sweetie, all men are fat sausages,” Jeri put an arm around her. “And he’s the biggest one.”
“Yes!”
Peter had been quietly observing the brothers and Bella and was surprised at her eyes, how they flashed amber instead of red, a color he came to associate with traditional vampires. “Tell me about Bella. She’s not an ordinary vampire, is she?”
“No, she’s not,” Kol said, his eyes fixed on his brother. “My girlfriend spent days, weeks, even, trying to figure out what exactly had been done to Bella when it comes to the magic that made her… almost immune to dying and resistant to turning.”
“I always wished that they wouldn’t have done that. It was torture to see her so drained afterwards. I can’t imagine what her heart must have looked like after a few arrests. Carlisle always managed to get it pumping again and fill her up with blood.”
“The potion he had given her ensured that no matter what blood entered her body, it would magically turn into a bastardized version of Nik’s. Additionally, some of his genetic makeup was absorbed into her. Not changing her one bit, but enough to have her werewolf side triggered when she killed.”
“So she’s not a vampire?”
“Oh, she is. She is what we call a hybrid. Nik’s one, obviously.”
Peter’s eyes widened as he realized what the information meant. “When exactly did she change?” He asked curiously.
“Around six weeks ago.”
The Cold One couldn’t help but laugh as he scratched the back of his head. “Well, that explains why Alice suddenly couldn’t see her anymore. Shit. Wow… Holy fuck!”
“What?” Klaus said as he took a sip of his alcohol, grateful that one of the servants had been observant enough to bring one over. She deserved a raise.
“Alice does have limitations to her gift, no matter how powerful she thinks she can be. Rather annoying, the little bitch can be but she’s my friends wife. What can I say? In any case, Alice can’t see wolves. Which explains why she hasn’t been able to keep an eye on Bella to make sure she was alright. We almost came back when that red head took off with her, but she assured Jasper and I that she saw one of you there to handle her. It wasn’t one of you from who she described.”
“Interesting,” Klaus said thoughtfully. “Bella sent her mother your way. I hear you talk about this Alice and Jasper, but nothing of Rosalie. She never arrived, did she?”
“Sadly, no,” Peter said regrettably. “We found her head on a pike just outside Baton Rouge and the area around it was smouldering so…” he took a deep breath. “We buried her remains in a field.”
“Baton Rouge?”
“As I said, they’re very close, it’s only a matter of time before they find her.”
“Not necessarily,” Kol said as he thought. “Jeri might know a spell or two to cancel out Bella’s scent, hide the compound from prying eyes.”
“Or you could leave.”
Kol snorted. “That one time in the Bayou after Jessica took her, shook her up even further. She doesn’t dare to set foot outside, and we’re not going to compel her to do so.”
“She may not even be capable of being compelled any longer,” Klaus murmured. “None of us have attempted it since she has turned. She hasn’t had the usual turning, why should she be the same in that sense?”
“You reckon she’s like us but with the weakness of an ordinary vampire?”
“I’m not willing to test that theory,” Klaus said reluctantly.
“Well, I am,” Kol smirked as he got to his feet. “Hey, little mooner?! Would you like to come down for us and have me test something on you?”
“Does that involve grabbing Klaus’ cherries and squishing them?” Bella popped up from the balcony.
Jeri flashed to her side and leaned on the railing, narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend. “What are you looking to do to her?”
“Just a theory. Figuring something out. Harmless and you can be a witness if you don’t trust us.”
“You are not going to dagger her, you asshole!”
“No,” Kol rolled his eyes at her. “Something far less traumatic. You see, daggering isn’t the only thing that sets us apart from other vampires, babe.”
She looked to Bella and shrugged a shoulder, knowing it was her decision if she wanted to go through with what the idiots wanted to try. “It’s up you. I’ll fry their asses if they pull something shady.”
“Fine,” Bella muttered. “As long as you do it, Kol, and not that banana of a Klaus.”
“She’s not swearing?” Peter snorted as Klaus rolled his eyes.
“She calls us food related things as an insult, but I think that comes from her obsession with it,” Kol shrugged. “It’s quite endearing, really.”
Bella and Jeri went downstairs again, and Bella ignored Klaus, going immediately towards Kol. “I’m here, what do you want me for?”
“You know how we can compel humans and other vampires, don’t you? Jessica did it to you, and I did it to Jessica.”
“Yes…” Bella said slowly, not liking the direction this was going.
“We haven’t tried to compel you after you turned. Can I please try?” Kol smiled at her. “I promise I won’t let you do anything you wouldn’t want to do in the first place or something bad. Jeri will keep an eye on you and will fry our asses when I do something stupid.”
Bella let out a breath and nodded. “Fine.”
He got to his feet and looked her in the eyes. “Bella, I know my brother is an asshole, but you must forgive him for not telling you about Katherine and his other conquests.”
Bella was quiet for a moment and saw the hopeful look on Kol’s face.
“Do you understand, mooner?” he caressed a strand of hair out of her face, giving her the perfect opportunity to retaliate and bit his arm. “Ouch!”
“Yeah, right,” Bella huffed. “Try that on me again and I’ll find Niklaus’ stake, wherever the mutt is hiding it in this place.”
“That’s my girl,” Jeri said proudly with a big smile on her face. “Did you have to bite him, though?”
“He won’t die from it,” Bella muttered as she walked away. “Either way, he’ll have you or Klaus to cure him if he doesn’t want to ride out the insanity. Right now they both need to stay away from me before I’ll do worse. And I don’t want to do worse.”
“I do have to admit, the idea of seeing Kol lose his mind for a while… it opens certain doors,” Jeri said with a grin.
“Klaus, please, give me some of your blood,” Kol said as he looked at the wound on his arm. “Your girlfriend bit me.”
“You decided to want to test a theory on my angry hybrid lover. I think that it’s your mistake and not mine,” Klaus said, taking another sip of his bourbon. “However, it’s safe to say that she is indeed like us. Unless you want to dagger her to test another theory?”
“I don’t want to hurt her, Nik,” Kol spat at him, waving his injured arm in front of his brother’s face. “Give me your blood.”
“And neither do I! Which is why I was reluctant to tell her such details that you seemed so happy to divulge! I’m not giving you my blood!”
“Jeri!”
“Fuck off!”
“What did I do to piss you off?”
“Nothing! I’m on Team Bella! Love you!”
“Bella!”
“Walk the plank, Kol, I just bit you, I’m not going to give you my blood!”
“Oh, that was so close to a good swear,” Kol grinned as he flopped in his chair and smirked at Peter. “She’s got fire.”
Klaus took a few moments to compose himself before addressing himself to Peter. “It’s safe to say that things are slightly… chaotic at the moment. Would you mind returning tomorrow when hopefully everything’s back to normal?”
“Oh, don’t mind me, I’m easily amused,” Peter said with a big, knowing smile on his face. “But I take it you have a history with Katherine then? It explains why she left all of a sudden when Kol came to live with us.”
“Katherine has a long history with all of us, yes,” Klaus reluctantly replied. “She’s made things miserable for us, and frankly, she’s a manipulative bitch.”
“And that’s mildly put,” Kol pointed out.
“But, should our paths cross again, I shall not hesitate to end her,” Klaus said truthfully.
“And what about the blonde Kol told Bella about?” Peter smirked.
“Recent but ancient history. No one ever said no to me before, and that intrigued me. Of course, I tried to manipulate everyone around her in retaliation, but still… Bella is where my heart lies, as much as I’m hesitant to share that fact.”
“Yeah, she’s special, isn’t she?”
Klaus nodded as he took another sip of his drink. “Now, about those Cullens.”
“Emmett is the one you should look out for. He’s the strongest of them, and Bella’s adoptive father. However, his head has always been with Carlisle and not with his wife and daughter. If you weren’t loyal and disobeyed orders, you’d be destroyed or, if you were human, you were used as a snack. The lie was that they had been kicked out. With the family… well, he set a great example with Jasper and Alice by locking them up. Killing family members was forbidden but he sure as hell could make their lives miserable for as long as he saw fit. Apart from Jasper and Alice, Carlisle created every single member of his family and could brainwash them from the start to be loyal to him, that his way was the only way to survive.”
“What about rational thinking?”
Peter shrugged. “Carlisle was their creator, who were they to go against him? Edward’s naturally twisted. He likes the attention he gets from Carlisle, the freedom, the presents. He’s his favourite son, and they won’t let anything, or anyone, stop them from getting their favourite toy back. As for the humans in league with him… Carlisle was, and still is, charming. They worshipped him, them, for their charm, good looks and longevity.”
“How fickle.”
“Humans are fickle and obsessed with youth. Carlisle used his position as a doctor to gain more followers from all around, as he travels a lot and comes into contact with a lot of people. Whenever he goes, he takes his wife with him and leaves his mistresses at home. He promotes love, unity and wealth. Acceptance.”
“How did you end up there?”
Not deterred by the cross-examination, Peter continued. “I wanted to save Jasper from making a big mistake and then had to stay when he got in trouble. I couldn’t leave my best friend, my brother, behind. The three, well, four, of us didn’t have the power to overturn Carlisle’s rule. Now that the tables are turned, and Bella’s with you, we might have a chance to get rid of him. I’m sure the Volturi would rather see them gone as well, after all the attention they pulled towards themselves. The cleaners are working overtime.”
Klaus slowly nodded. He wasn’t sure if he could believe a word the man was saying, but in a way, he liked him. “I have to admit, I’d rather eradicate every single one of you Cold Ones for messing with Bella like that. However, as with any group, there are a handful of good people.”
“He’s good,” Kol muttered. “I read his mind. I believe him.”
“We’ll have to see about that, but for now, I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Should you cross me, or hurt Bella in any way, I will not hesitate to kill you like I’ve killed the wolf.”
“It’s all good, Klaus,” Peter smiled at him. “You’ll accept our help then?”
“I think you and your friends have just as much reason to seek revenge as Bella does, as long as she gets the chance to do some damage herself for therapeutic reasons.”
“Of course, I’ll even hold the fucker down if she can’t reach for him.”
Klaus smirked at that. “I’d like to meet your associates. Can you bring them here, tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
“Then rejoin us tomorrow, I’ll make sure you get to see more of Bella.”
Kol huffed. “Jeri’s siding with her, I won’t be too sure about that.”
~o.O.o~
Klaus was mildly agitated when Bella didn’t join him in his bedroom that night. Kol had slept on his sofa after being kicked out by Jeri because she and Bella were having a girl’s night. Kol had started to unravel during the night, moaning and hallucinating, and Klaus had been unable to sleep. He’d wanted to snap his brother’s neck or even feed him his blood, but he figured it would be best to wait for Bella’s permission. He did not want to suffer the wrath of his love even further. And Rebekah was there too, also siding with Bella. Jessica hadn’t been invited, not that she’d mind, she was on the prowl in the city.
He had to restrain himself from scooping up his love at breakfast as she joined them wearing a new dress that looked a little bit more daring than the semi-modest ones she’d been wearing previously. She looked delicious. From the look on Jeri and Rebekah’s face, this had been a devious setup.
“Good morning,” the girls chorused as they marched in. While Jeri and Rebekah sat down at the table, Bella rounded the table towards him with her vampire face on.
“Love, your bite won’t affect me at all,” Klaus said with a soft smile. He wasn’t sure about that if he had to be honest. No werewolf bite affected him, ever, but Bella was special. It could very well be different.
She sat down on his lap, facing him and tore open a piece of his shirt for easier access. “Shut up,” she muttered before she sunk her teeth into his neck.
“What are you…” Klaus managed to bring out before letting out a soft groan. It felt so good to have her drink from him like that, and with her in his lap… Wait, was she staking her claim on him in front of his family? That was ridiculously hot. “Oh, I see…” he murmured before returning the gesture.
“Okay good, now that’s over and done with,” Kol said as he looked at Jeri. “Care to take care of me, sweetheart?”
Jeri huffed. “In your dreams.”
“Well, I’ve been dreaming about you last night.”
“I bet.”
“Please, please, please,” Kol begged. “I don’t want to go through this any longer.”
Jeri sighed. “You’re pathetic.”
“I know!”
“Bella, I know you’re kinda busy right now, but he’s pathetic.”
Bella growled and sunk her teeth into Klaus’ neck deeper. Her eyes were closed as she swallowed gulps of his blood, moans echoing through her chest, vibrating against his body.
Klaus put his arms around her and got up from his seat before rushing them to his bedroom.
“Damnit!” Kol whined. “I’m sweaty all over; I look as if I’ve been yet again resurrected. Not handsome at all and I’m seeing images of you and bloody Davina having sex right in front of me and I just want my bed. Please, Jeri, please.”
“Oh for the love of God,” Rebekah sighed exasperated. “Cure him already.”
“Fine,” Jeri grumbled and put her hand on Kol’s arm to siphon out the magic.
They were having a quiet breakfast, all trying to ignore the sounds coming out of Klaus’ bedroom when their attention shifted to a sniffling, Jessica. While neither of them quite liked her, crying never bode well. Elijah was nowhere in sight. “Are you alright, Jessica?” Rebekah asked as the girl made her way over to her. She looked dishevelled, her makeup obviously runny from the crying, but parts of her outfit were hanging on by a thread. “Did you just come home?”
Jessica nodded as she sat down at the table. “I’ll be okay, it’s just…”
“What happened?”
“Elijah told me to experience things I’ve never done before. I went out and partied all night, and it was great! The music, the atmosphere, the alcohol… The attention…” Jessica wiped the tears from her eyes with a big grin on her face. “I spent most of my time in the French Quarter but I met someone who said that there was a lot more fun to be had elsewhere, and I went along with him,” she took a sip of the water that Jeri placed in front of her. “Stupid, of course. But I was drunk and didn’t care.”
“He sent you out on your own?”
“No, I went with Diego and Raoul but I must have lost them somewhere. That party wasn’t a party, of course, just that guy. And he was nice at first but then… I think it was another vampire, I wasn’t strong enough to fight him off.” Jessica started to cry again. “I was so stupid! Elijah is going to kill me; I’ve really fucked up now!”
Rebekah and Jeri shared a look and sighed. “No, sweetie, I think Elijah will want to hunt the bastard down, just like we want to, it wasn’t your fault.”
“Do you remember his name?” Jeri asked as she rubbed the vampire’s back.
“Eddie. His name was Eddie, and he was new in town.”
“Eddie?” Kol blinked, suddenly intrigued. Sure, it was utter distasteful what had happened to Jessica, she didn’t need to say it, it was obvious, but by a guy named Eddie? “Do you remember what he looked like?”
“I don’t want to!” Jessica said as she pushed herself away from the table. “I’m going to take a long hot bath and pray to God that Elijah won’t reject me. Forget this happened. Please.”
“Jessica…”
“No!” She squeaked as she backed away from Kol. “Stay away from me! I want Elijah, and just him, and he’ll probably kill me for this anyway. Stay away!”
“What the bloody hell is going on?” Klaus called out from his balcony. There was blood trickling down his neck, but at least he had the decency to pull his pants back on.
“Jessica was assaulted last night,” Jeri explained as Rebekah followed the upset girl to her room. “By a fucker called Eddie, want to go hunting?”
He looked over his shoulder and immediately felt torn between the idea of a hunt and his Bella, who was sprawled out beautifully naked on his bed.
“I don’t think we should,” Kol said carefully, ducking when Jeri threw something at him. “Just hear me out!” he said defensively before lowering his voice to barely but a whisper so Bella couldn’t hear. “I asked her what he looked like because it might be Edward. I won’t know for sure until someone gets inside her head and tells me.”
“What the bloody hell do you think I’m doing?” Rebekah’s voice sounded. “Keep your shirt on brother.”
Kol scowled as he rolled his eyes before looking back up at his brother. “Kissed and made up have you? I hope you two settled your little relationship issues now.”
“We didn’t have any issues, Kol, but I promised her that I will no longer hide certain aspects of myself to her,” Klaus said calmly before closing the French doors again and joining Bella back in bed. If Jessica were assaulted by Edward, then he’d be in a world of hurt. More, really. There was a chance that this Eddie could be him; the Cullens had been close to New Orleans, according to that Peter guy. Maybe he specifically lured Jessica because he read her mind and saw Bella.
If that was the case… Sighing, he softly kissed Bella. “Get some rest, love, I have to deal with something and your Peter is coming by today with Jasper and Alice.”
“I’m not tired,” Bella said as she put her arms around his neck. “And you don’t have to deal with things. Deal with me.”
“Oh, but I plan on dealing with you tonight for another round,” he grinned and kissed her lips. “I’m just going to make sure that we have enough vampires in the compound should we get unexpected visitors. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Okay,” she said with a long, drawn out sigh. “I’ll make myself comfortable then,” she lazily stretched herself, arching her body into his as he was hovering over her. A big wide grin appeared on her face. “Are you sure?”
“Minx,” Klaus muttered, kissed her again and got off the bed in search for a clean shirt. When he walked into the courtyard, he could smell their guests already. When he turned to the entrance, he blinked. “I thought you wouldn’t come round until this afternoon?”
“Things changed, I’m afraid we don’t have much time left,” Peter replied solemnly. “May we come in so we can talk?”
Klaus nodded as he fumbled his phone out of his pocket and wrote his brother a message to come home immediately. “Rebekah! Kol!”
“Oh goodie, I get to participate!” Rebekah said joyously after making sure that Jessica was comfortable in Elijah’s room. She had tried to get inside Jessica’s mind, but all she saw was pure, raw emotion and just flashes. It had been unclear to her who her assailant was, but she was going to try again once the girl was asleep. “Where’s that wanker of a brother, Nik?”
“On his way.”
“Good, he will want to rip apart that asshole who messed with his girl,” she muttered before noticing Peter and his friends. “Hello. I’m Rebekah Mikaelson.”
“I’m Peter; this is Jasper and Alice.”
“Pleasure,” she said as she sat down in a chair and crossed her legs over each other as she waited for Elijah to arrive.
“I’m sorry, we can’t wait,” Peter said, rushed. “We thought we’d have another two months but for whatever reason Edward decided to come into New Orleans. As it was a last-minute decision, Alice couldn’t do anything about it. Something happened last night, and he knows that she’s here. Not just in the city, but the exact location.”
“We know what happened,” Kol said with a scowl. “I knew it! It’s his thing, isn’t it? Scanning people, finding what he needs and then charm the pants off of them, literally, before screwing them over – also literally.”
“It’s not her fault, Kol. The redhead’s mind was easy to read due to her inexperience,” Jasper said calmly. “However, we might now only have days if we’re lucky. He will come for her.”
“Over my dead body,” Klaus and Kol chorused and watched as Elijah sauntered in. “Where the hell have you been, brother?” Klaus asked him.
“I’ve been helping Marcel with setting up perimeters around the city, Niklaus, what have you been doing?” Elijah countered.
“Yeah well, those perimeters are too bloody late! Jessica paid the price for them!” Rebekah snapped.
Elijah blinked at that. “Please explain, sister.”
“Your newborn is upstairs resting right now, but she won’t let Kol or Nik near her try get a read on who attacked her during her night out, something you encouraged her to take. I could barely get glimpses, nothing concrete. Vampire or not, a girl can still be overpowered by another if she is unprepared,” she whispered the end.
Elijah wanted to rush upstairs, but Klaus took hold of his arm. “We need you here right now; you can go to her later,” he said gently.
“I thought you said we’d still have some time, Niklaus. Otherwise, we’d have set them up sooner,” Elijah looked grief-stricken. Of course, he did, but there wasn’t anything he could do at the moment. “I insisted on her having a fun night out with some of Marcel’s vampires because I thought it would still be safe for her. I would never do something to intentionally harm her or Bella, you know that, brother.”
“I’m in the mood for chicken and waffles,” Jeri said as she waved her hand and had things transport themselves from the kitchen to the table. “Oh, don’t forget the maple syrup.”
The other vampires just looked at the table for a moment and then at Jeri, who merely shrugged, sat down and grabbed a chicken leg to munch on. “I thought you were a vampire?” Peter eventually asked.
“I am.”
“But that was witchcraft.”
“Yep.”
“But how?”
“I’m a hybrid,” Jeri shrugged again and continued eating her chicken leg. “Dig in, everyone.”
“Don’t you understand the gravity of the situation?” Alice blinked at the woman. “They’re in New Orleans. The only thing that will surprise them is that they think you’re regular traditional vampires. Not hybrids or Originals. They will burst through your defenses, and they will get to Bella.”
“And I’m from the Gemini Coven of witches. Klaus and Bella are hybrids. Let the bastard come,” she repeated as she stared at the pixie vampire. “One of our own was assaulted by the fucker. Be happy in me not running out there to chase the bastard down on my own. Now don’t piss me off!”
“Easy, no need to get angry,” Jasper said calmly. “Nothing will be resolved when you get upset.”
“Fuck you,” Jeri said as she grabbed a waffle and doused it in maple syrup. “I vote for taking action now. Flush them out and tear them apart.”
“And you’ll die,” Alice said sharply after a moment of silence. “Carlisle and Emmett are no doubt hatching a plan to move in swiftly and they don’t care about the casualties. Human or supernatural. If we go on the offense, they’ll punch through and take Bella.”
“As much as I hate waiting and being a sitting duck, a good defense is better than going in with force,” Jasper continued. “As Alice said, they think she’s with standard traditionals.”
Before Klaus could speak up and side with Jeri, Elijah spoke up. “I agree, whenever we’ve encountered vampires of their kind we never fought them, it was always civil. We don’t know what we’re up against.”
“Well, we could give you some training, you’ve got three of us here now,” Jasper said with a nod. “To have you prepared. How big is your army?”
“We have vampires spread out all over the city, our inner circle has about 30 vampires. I’ll have to confer with my lieutenant,” Klaus said as he reluctantly took a glass of juice that was on the table. “He knows the exact numbers.”
“That’s not enough,” Jasper blinked. “Against them? No. Not enough.”
“I’ve been trying to get the witches on our side, but Davina’s ignoring me for some reason. And if she’s not ignoring me, she’s stalling,” Kol said with a pout. “I used to have such a good relationship with the witches.”
Jeri frowned as she eyed him. The information didn’t bode well with her, and she always hated whenever the young witch was brought up. “I think I have a spell for protection amulets. I may only be able to create maybe ten of them though to keep you warded from witches magic.”
Klaus looked at Elijah and shrugged. “I’m sure Elijah wouldn’t mind giving you our mother’s grimoire for the day.”
“Oh,” Kol said in awe. “Yes, please!”
Jeri hesitated as she glanced to the man that protected the relic. “Uhh I’m sure I can come up with spells with what I have,” she said, even though she desired deeply to be able to have access to an Original witch’s grimoire.
“No, that’s alright,” Elijah said calmly. “You can have it for the day to see if maybe there’s something useful in them to bolster your spells,” he continued. “As long as Kol keeps an eye on it.”
“You trust me with it?” Kol blinked at his brother. “Honestly, brother, I thought that you found me irresponsible?”
Elijah thought for a moment. “Very well, I’ll be in the room.”
“I’m… I’m honored, thank you,” Jeri eventually said after finding her voice again. Was she going to lay her eyes onto the Original Grimoire? That was like a dream, the holy grail. Every witch’ dream and Elijah trusted her enough to show it to her? To have her browse through it? She had died and gone to heaven.
“Very well, let us start planning a defense then,” Klaus said as he took his phone to get Marcel back to the compound.
