Chapter 12
The first night they simply took their time to decompress and generally lazing about before heading out into New Orleans together the next day. Bella decided to wear the wrap dress they had bought at one of the regular retail stores. Rebekah didn’t like going into that store much, finding it all mass produced and the same, but Bella had seen a gorgeous dress in the window outside and wanted to try it on. It was a soft red dress, with a few spots where there were multi colored hearts, and she loved it. She didn’t even mind that the dress came above her knees, either.
And she could tell that Isaac loved it.
They went on a typical sight seeing tour, visited some museums and one of the more infamous cemeteries that Bella really wanted to see before going on a steamboat dinner tour. The boat went up and down the Mississippi river, there was live Jazz music on board and amazing Creole food. After that, they went on a Ghost and Vampire tour. Just for shits and giggles, because today, they were tourists and weren’t thinking about the more pressing matters.
And it was good, to spend the day with just the two of them, talking about nothing in particular and taking things easy. And by the time they arrived back at their hotel room, Isaac’s hands were all over her, his lips had been on her in the elevator and she had jumped in his arms to get them to their room faster.
For the first time in a while, the both of them slept wonderfully, nestled in each other’s arms, satiated, satisfied. Loved. Sex as a werewolf was awesome, Bella found. Not only was Isaac more sensitive than a regular guy, so was she, and her body had been on fire all night.
The next day, she and Isaac explored the more immediate neighborhood, getting familiar with the alleys and roads around the compound. It’s what Isaac had wanted, seeing as it would be important to know where to go if things went sideways during the fight with the Cold Ones. Places to hide. And for some reason, Bella felt as if they were being watched and it annoyed the fuck out of her. She ignored it at first, but she couldn’t help but ask Isaac if she was crazy or not while devouring a beignet. “So… is it just me, or are we being watched? I feel like we’re wearing big neon signs or something, saying ‘look at us, we’re tourists!’”
Isaac let out a snort. “No, not tourists, babe. We’re an unknown type of werewolf to most of the New Orleans supernatural community. Jeremy had me turn when we met with Hayley and that bar was filled with werewolves and witches.”
“Oh, great, so we’re a curiosity! A freak show!”
“They’re just curious, that’s all. Because the wolves here, they turn into real wolves when it’s the full moon and they don’t have control over it unless they’re wearing a ring similar to Myriam’s protection ring, or unless they’re a hybrid. We don’t turn. We get stupid.”
“Speak for yourself,” Bella grinned as she took a bite out of her beignet. “You think we should try asking the witches for help again? Show them that we mean no harm but that we need their help?”
“Do we, though? I mean, I think with the allies we’ve gathered thanks to the Mikaelsons, and with Peter and Jasper still coming with two Cold Ones that are on our side… or maybe three if he decides to bring Charlotte… I think we can manage.”
“And don’t forget my brother. I had expected him to show up by now.”
“Maybe he’s already here and Myriam convinced him to leave us be for a couple of days?”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t put it past her to do such a thing,” she sighed as she relaxed into her chair. “So we’re just going to have to tolerate the eyes on us?”
“Until they are certain that we are no threat, I think that’s the best we can do. No doubt their behaviour stems from their leader, Vincent, who wasn’t happy about the Mikaelsons being involved, and truthfully, I doubt Kol will even want them to help.”
She munched on her beignet and finished it as she gathered her thoughts. “It would be a hell of a lot easier with some magic on our side.”
“And the witches would also be more vulnerable to the Cold One venom, they might end up seriously hurt if one gets too close.”
“Like I did?”
“Well, your werewolf side was being suppressed, of course you got hurt.”
“Asshole,” Bella let out a laugh. “But I see your point. What about Freya, though?”
“She offered willingly.”
“Meh. You know what? Fuck all this. I want to talk to this Vincent. Just out of principle. Because of Kol. I want to hear more of this story.”
He smiled as he ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah… I figured you would want that,” he then pointed across the street where the bar Rousseau’s was. “I met him in there. No doubt he’s in there again. I can smell him from here.”
“Great! Let’s go!” She pulled Isaac along with her and crossed the street without even looking out if she was able to and opened the door. “So, who’s Vincent?” She asked loudly, her eyes scanning the inside of the bar. It looked old, worn and kinda cozy. There were some vampires inside, she could smell the other kind of wolf and then there was this black skinny dude who tried really hard not to look at her. “Great, come on, Vincent, you and I need to talk. Outside.”
“Isaac, what the hell?” Hayley demanded.
“Trust me, it’s best if they talk outside. Reduces the chance of blood and mayhem on our behalf,” Isaac shrugged as he scratched the back of his head. “I uh… told my observations from the other day and Vincent is on her… our shitlist.”
“Right now he ranks even higher than my two faced, manipulative uncle, who has actually killed my sister to gain her Alpha status. So, yeah, let’s have a chat,” Bella added, her lips pulled back in a tight smile, baring her teeth.
“Look, I said the witches wouldn’t help because the Mikaelsons are involved and whenever they’re involved, this city goes into ruins.”
She narrowed her eyes on him. “I don’t give a shit what you think about them. I’m here about your personal attack on someone I’ve come to consider a friend.”
“What? Kol?” Vincent laughed. “Oh please, if you consider him to be your friend, I’d really question your sanity.”
“Hold on,” another guy stood up and walked over, making sure he was between Vincent and this girl and this Isaac. “You know the Mikaelsons?”
Bella looked him up and down, quickly dismissing him with a sniff. “Yeah, so? What’s it to you. This is an A and B conversation…”
“I’m just curious to how long you’ve known them, that’s all, and I want to make sure you won’t hurt my friend here.”
She looked over at Isaac who shrugged. Sighing irritably, she threw her hands up. “I don’t know. Klaus a few months? Though I saw him twice in that time. I met the rest of them when I arrived in New Orleans and we had dinner the first night. What’s the big deal?”
“How did you get in contact with them?”
“Why do you want to know so much? Writing a book?” she questioned. “We have mutual friends where we live that put us in contact.”
“They’re friends of Hope’s teachers,” Hayley explained to him. “It’s okay, Marcel, Klaus didn’t seek these two out for trouble. Hope’s impression of Isaac was that he was a goofball and harmless, and Bella’s merely looking out for everyone else. They’re good people. Helping other supernaturals with the hunter problems.”
“Oh, like those idiots in California?” Marcel huffed. “I’ve heard the stories.”
Bella shrugged and studied her nails. “That pup doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing. We just do it bigger and better. Next time I see him, remind me to shove his snout into a concrete wall, Isaac.”
He then blinked at her. “You could have just allowed me to keep beating the shit out of him when I was doing so!”
“No, because I would have jumped you there and then. You’re mine, now. He’d better stay away from us,” she smiled at him as she gently pat his arm before looking at Vincent. “Are you coming outside with us or not? Because I don’t mind having this conversation here, but the risk of blood being spilled in large quantities is much higher than when we do it outside.”
“I’m coming with,” Marcel said as he followed Vincent out.
“Hey,” Hayley said as Bella and Isaac were about to follow Vincent. “You need to watch your backs. Marcel’s dangerous, even Klaus is wary of him now while he raised Marcel like a son. He can’t be killed.”
“Thanks, Hayley, I appreciate the head’s up,” Isaac nodded as he followed Bella out.
Once outside, Bella smacked Vincent against the side of the building. “You need to enlighten me, Vincent, because you’re a witch, and from what I was told, Kol Mikaelson is a friend to all the witches here.”
He held up his hands as he let out a breath after getting the air knocked out of him. “Relax, I’ll tell you some of the witch history of this city and then tell you my story and why Kol Mikaelson in particular grinds my gears.”
“Better give us the cliffnotes,” Bella threatened, her eyes briefly glowing red as she held him against the wall. “My patience is running a little bit thin today and I’m not in the mood to entertain.”
“The witches of New Orleans perform Ancestral Magic. We consecrate our witches, in the City of the Dead, which acts as the Ancestral Plane and basically the power we use. Davina Claire used to be one of the Harvest girls,” Vincent started.
Bella began to growl under her breath as he explained about witch history 101 that she was briefed when she agreed to come to New Orleans.
Vincent told her about the Harvest Girls, Marcel’s involvement, the MIkaelson’s involvement. Then Davina becoming the regent. Esther Mikaelson fooling around with her sons, using Vincent as a vessel for her son Finn and another body for Kol, who had been killed by Jeremy years before.
“I’ve gotten a lot of this already from Myriam. The vampire doesn’t shut up when she’s drunk.”
“Oh, great. Myriam,” Marcel groaned as he leaned against the wall. “That woman is batshit crazy.”
“Watch your mouth, Marcel,” Bella shot at him. “She may be batshit crazy, but she’s my kind of crazy and my friend!”
Vincent continued the story with Kol’s resurrection and his relationship with Davina. And the witches. How he became regent and lost it – briefly. How Kol was cursed by the Ancestors and eventually killed Davina because he couldn’t control himself, and how that made Vincent feel.
Bella socked him in the stomach before turning away. “You are a real fool if you see him as the guilty party here while you’re now the regent and the Ancestor’s puppet yet again. Yet, you don’t do anything to make his pain any less. Quite the opposite, isn’t it? You’re turning the witches away from him, as a punishment for what Kol did under the influence from your precious Ancestors. Jesus fuck, you are a bunch of dicks! He has no support system. He has no one to talk to about his girlfriend who died because of external influences and you’re only making things worse for him!” She hit him again, this time she hit him in the face, bones could clearly be heard breaking.
Marcel eyed her, his hands slipping into his pockets. “You are taking this awfully personal for someone who just met the guy.”
She glared at him. “We should. I’m Isaac’s Alpha and he’s already lived that same story. So, yeah, we know it well. And here’s another little bit of information you may want to know about our kind. We’ve got empathic abilities. So I know you are here for something other than just being a referee. Come on Isaac, let’s go. I got what I wanted.”
Vincent held Marcel back as he made an attempt to follow the two werewolves. “It’s not worth it,” he said, slowly shaking his head.
“I can see why the Mikaelsons wish to help her with her little problem though.”
“It’s not a little problem, Marcellus, it’s a big one. A big Cold One problem and soon our city will be filled with sparkly vampires. Now, I don’t know how much help they will be getting, apart from Hayley and her pack, but New Orleans will be a battle zone once again.”
“Because of the Mikaelsons.”
“No, because of their bleeding hearts for once. For once, their heart might be in the right place,” he said as he motioned for Marcel to follow him back inside where Hayley was pouring her blood into a glass for Vincent to take.
“So you’re going to help, then?” Hayley asked chipper.
“Hell no,” Vincent shook his head. “But I won’t stop any witch from helping them if they choose to do so. The Ancestors will have my head if I stick my neck out again.”
“Or you could consult with your Ancestors and maybe they can make an exception,” Hayley suggested. “We could really use your help if those Cold Ones are that nasty.”
“Or maybe the two were right and you just don’t want or can’t admit to it,” a voice spoke up from the bar. “Because it definitely looks like you’re blaming someone else for something your beloved ghosts did, hurting him in the process.”
“And who the hell are you?” Marcel asked. “You weren’t here before and I didn’t see you walk in while we were outside.”
“Oh, I was at the back,” he said lightly, pointing towards the toilets. “Because I knew those two were coming, I’ve been following them around town all day… and yesterday. They didn’t recognize my scent because Bella’s not been around it for long and I know how to hide it from other wolves anyway.”
“Again, who the hell are you?”
“Oh, I’m one of the main reasons Bella’s beta was hurt in the past,” the man grinned. “I wish it was a pleasure to meet you but you truly are quite something. Not even I could be this bad,” he downed his drink and as he passed Vincent, he pat him on the back. “Good job, asshole.” The unknown man then left the bar and disappeared.
Once they were away from the bar, Bella turned to Isaac and put her arms around him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he smiled at her and kissed her. “That was hot.”
Bella let out a giggle then. “Imagine how I felt when you beat the crap out of Scott,” she returned his kiss before dragging him back off to the hotel. “Tomorrow, we’ll go back to our friends, but for now, I want some more of you.”
~o.O.o~
Bella and Isaac checked out before lunch and then went back to the Mikaelson home where they found Derek sitting in a chair talking to Myriam and Kol. Immediately Bella felt Isaac tense up. “Hey, we talked about this,” she said calmly as she caressed his arm. “He’s my brother and he’s here to help.” Bella then let go of her boyfriend and headed over to Derek to hug him. “Hi! Sorry we weren’t here to greet you, Myriam and Rebekah put us up in a hotel room.”
“I know, I’ve been following you around,” Derek grinned. “Great to see you, sis.”
“You what!” Bella narrowed her eyes on him. “You’re such a pervert!”
“I needed to know you two were okay, to see if you two had talked before I showed up here and would get my head smashed in or see you without your sanity,” he smiled at her. “Don’t worry, whenever you retreated to your hotel room, I went back here.”
Isaac was pissed off. Once again, Derek was trying to control, to manipulate. “I didn’t smell you,” he said from the other side of the courtyard as he leaned against the stairs.
“No, because I’m older than you and I’ve been a wolf for longer than you. I have my tricks, Isaac. You know this,” he explained calmly. “Don’t worry, I didn’t tell them anything about your trips, although that thing at Rousseau’s yesterday was awesome, Bella.”
Kol quickly got to his feet, slightly looking nervous. “What did you do?”
“We had a chat with Vincent,” Bella said calmly as she walked over to the Original vampire and gently rubbed his arm as she looked up to him. “I’m sorry that the community you love doesn’t love you anymore, Kol. And that those Ancestors are nothing but power hungry bitches. When this is all over, would you like to come back to Mystic Falls with us? While you’re not a werewolf, you can be part of my pack. We’ll take care of you.”
Derek let out a groan. “Bella, you can’t have non-werewolves in your pack, they don’t add any value to you or your pack.”
“You don’t get to say anything about how I live my life or how I should be as an Alpha, Derek,” Bella said, her voice with a sharp edge to it as she was picking up on Isaac’s emotions. “It was a choice by Isaac and myself. We want to help Kol. We do that, you know, help other supernaturals? But this one will be staying with us,” she smiled up to Kol and ruffled his hair. “Like a cute little puppy.”
“I am not a charity case!” Kol growled.
“No, but Isaac and I want to help you,” she smiled kindly at him. “And we’re aware that it might take a while because you’re… well… old, but we can put you to good use. Especially with the plans your sisters and sister-in-law have.” She then let out a breath. “But ultimately, it’ll be your decision. Just know that Isaac and I want to help you.”
Isaac stifled a grin. While Bella had dared him to use the puppy reference to Kol, she had done it instead and he wasn’t surprised that the vampire lashed out, if only just a little. He’d likely never hit Bella, which was a good thing.
“Alright, time for lunch! And text that sparkly vampire of yours, Isaac, we need to know where he is and when he and his friends will arrive,” Myriam said as she shepherd everyone into the dining room. “But so glad to see, and smell, that you two finally had sex. Well done, you two!”
“Myr!” Bella whined.
“What? We can all smell it, it’s not a secret,” she grinned as she sloppily kissed her friend on the cheek. “Young love, it’s so beautiful!”
It took a few more days for Peter to arrive with Charlotte, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie and it gave Bella some time to catch up with Derek. Isaac was less stressed around him, but he tried to get along with Derek for the sake of her. He mostly hung with Jeremy and Kol, playing video games.
It was only when Marcel marched the five Cold Ones onto the courtyard that everyone came together as Marcel was shouting. “Klaus! You’re gathering an entire army for this pathetic lot?!”
“I told you many times, we’re not the bad guys,” Peter sighed exasperated. “If we were, you’d be dead.”
Isaac made sure he was close to Bella. While he trusted Peter in knowing that Emmett and Rosalie had turned over a new leaf right as he and Bella were leaving town, he wasn’t quite sure of it himself. They’d been Cullens, after all. Same with Jasper, but the guy genuinely tried to do better and had been doing better. It still didn’t take away that now three of the Cold Ones responsible for Bella’s misery were now close. “Yeah, they’re with us,” Isaac said with a nod. “That’s Peter and his mate Charlotte, his brother Jasper and those two are Rosalie and Emmett.”
All the questions Marcel had asked at Rousseau’s made sense now, he was still the Mikaelson’s guard dog. Or perhaps only looking out for New Orleans and bringing the Cold Ones in was for Marcel wanting for Klaus to take the responsibility. “Don’t worry, Marcellus,” Klaus said to his former protege. “They’re only here to help and once everything is done and dusted, they’ll be out of the city.”
“Freya, dear, could you dull their sparkle, please?” Elijah asked his sister. “At least for the duration of that they’ll be spending time in New Orleans.”
“Gladly, they’re giving me a headache,” Freya muttered before casting a spell that she had worked on with Kol. It worked like some sort of blanket, it didn’t take away their genetic makeup, the spell simply covered it all up.
“Thank you, dear sister,” Klaus smiled at her before turning to the Cold Ones. “I know that you’re here to help our young Alpha, and you’re free to roam the city as you wish. I understand that it has been a long time since you were able to pretend to be an ordinary human. However, do refrain on snacking on the locals and if you take only one step out of place, you will be destroyed. Have I made myself clear?”
“Don’t worry, Klaus, I’ll keep them in check,” Peter winked at him. “But thank you for allowing us to feel a little bit normal for the duration of our stay in your lovely city. Unfortunately, our arrival comes with some bad news. The reason we’re late is because we found the Cullens and they know you’re in New Orleans, Bella. They’re close, and they’re not alone. They have their cousins from Alaska with them and some of the Volturi Guard.”
“Well, that’s exciting news, isn’t it?” Klaus beamed at Myriam. “I knew they’d do anything to please their Golden Child!”
“He’s the first to die,” Rosalie replied venomously. “And then Carlisle, and Alice.”
“Eh, unless they bring Jane and Alec. And Felix,” Jasper winced. “Then it’s likely they have to go first.”
“Yeah well, bring it!” Emmett cheered. “They deserve everything that’s coming to them!”
“Forgive me if I’m being rude, but, weren’t you part of the same coven of vampires?” Elijah questioned Emmett. “You, your wife and Peter’s brother? Shouldn’t you get the same treatment as the rest of them?”
“Hey now,” Peter said as he stepped in front of Rosalie and Emmett. “Both Rose and Emmett were under the same influence as Bella was. As Jasper was. Upon realizing that, they left immediately without any possessions and have been in hiding for as long as Bella’s been with Isaac.”
“No offense, but how do the Cullens know that Bella’s in New Orleans?” Kol asked curiously. “I mean, nobody knew except for you lot. You knew all the plans. There has been no sighting of the Volturi tracker Demetri so someone within your little circle must have run their mouth.”
“I wouldn’t know!”
Bella looked at Kol, a look of determination on his face. Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah and Myriam had the same look and Isaac looked just puzzled. “Would you, though? Emmett and Rosalie know how your gift works. They know how Jasper’s gift works. You’re not infallible and you don’t know everything.”
“Relax,” Jasper could feel the tension rolling off of the vampire family who so graciously offered their assistance in getting rid the Cullens and protecting Bella. He needed to stop this from escalating or else it would be all of their heads, but it was quite difficult to influence these ancient vampires. “Your question is valid, as is your paranoia, but you have nothing to fear from us. We’re here to protect Bella and to make sure we all get our revenge on the Cullens for what they have put us through.”
“Then how would they know I’m here?” Bella demanded before turning to her brother. He was the only unknown among them and surely, the Cullens wouldn’t know about her brother, would they?
“What?”
“Did you tell Peter?”
“Bella, don’t be ridiculous. Every phone call, every message was private and deleted when needed. I told Peter I was going out of town for a while to help out a friend in need, that’s all,” Derek defended himself.
“But Stiles is a computer geek and works for the FBI,” Isaac piped up. “His father is the local sheriff. Bella’s dad is a sheriff. Peter could have gone to Scott and whine about not being able to find you and you do use a smartphone, don’t you? It’s simple, really.”
“For god’s sake, Isaac, stop making me the bad guy!” Derek said angrily as he took a few steps towards him, making Isaac take a hesitant step back. “I apologized to you, several times, for my mistakes as an Alpha, for my mistakes towards you, get the fuck over yourself!”
“Or, hunters dumped your phone and had a run in with the Cold Ones, causing them to involuntarily give them the information they didn’t know they were looking for,” Peter said.
“Screw you, you just want the heat off of you,” Derek growled.
Bella pulled her brother away from Isaac and moved between them. “Stop it and give me your phone.”
“Why? It’s off.”
“Give me your phone, Derek,” Bella said as she took a step closer to her brother. “If it’s truly off, you have nothing to worry about. If it’s on, you have nothing to worry about either, but then you’ll be the one who has lead them straight to me and we’ll have to give Hayley a call and prepare.”
Derek handed it over, concern on his face but not for him. “If I did lead them here, I didn’t mean to, Bella. You have to believe me. I don’t want to lose another sister.”
“He’s truthful,” Jasper nodded. “He’s not lying.”
“No,” Bella sighed as she showed everyone the phone. The location settings were on, bluetooth was on and there was a voice recorder running. “But they did get to his phone,” she said as she crushed it with her hand. “I guess that means that playtime is over,” she added as the pieces of the phone fell to the ground.
Isaac let out a low, threatening growl. Sure, Derek technically couldn’t have known, but anyone who was being hunted for who they were knew that they’d have to ditch phones every so often. He wanted to beat the crap out of Derek for being an absolute dickhead. Instead, he took the steps towards Bella and gently took her hand as he let out a breath and felt her calmness wash over him.
“Right, call Hayley, invite her over,” Klaus said as he pointed towards the dining room. “We’ll all have a gathering inside. Marcellus, you’re staying.”
“This is not my fight, Klaus. I didn’t choose to help out,” Marcel countered before being pushed against the wall by Rebekah. “Rebekah, this is not my fight.”
“You’re going to make it your fight, Marcel,” she said as she narrowed her eyes on him. “I don’t care about your own motivations, but this girl needs our help and I know that there’s nothing more that you’d like is to help others. Besides, with your involvement, we might be able to keep New Orleans in one piece for once.” She then smiled sweetly at him. “Do it for me? Please?”
Marcel sighed. “Fine. How can I resist a pretty face like yours?”
“Thank you,” she smiled at him before releasing him and following everyone inside the dining room.
They talked about possible strategies all day long, had dinner and then everyone, including a handful of Crescent wolves, went to the Bayou to get some practice in for fighting Cold Ones. And Bella had a lot of fun with it. While Isaac had taught her a lot of hand to hand combat and what not, seeing the different styles everyone fought with was exciting and Bella picked up a few new tricks.
Practice was called off for the night when Bella accidentally severed Jasper’s pinkie, misjudging her own strength for a moment. While Jasper wasn’t in any pain and his pinkie could easily re-attach, she felt a little bit guilty. “It’s alright, Bella,” he smiled at her. “Now I know I’m confident that you’ll be able to hold your own against Edward, because I reckon you’d want to take care of him yourself?”
“Hell yeah,” Bella nodded as she let out a breath.
“Edward’s fast, but he’s stupid when it comes to fighting. You’re not. You’re focused and you’ll absolutely manage to take him apart,” he said as he held his hand in his good hand so that his pink could re-attach. “I think that for now, a good night’s sleep is what ya’ll need.”
“Did you and Peter bring your special juice?” Bella asked brightly. “Or didn’t you bring anything?”
He let out a small chuckle. “After we’ve dealt with the Cullens and the Volturi, then you can have what we brought and share it with your traditional friends. I’m afraid that if I hand it over now, you guys will all be drunk and the Cullens will surprise us and things will go sideways.”
“Party pooper,” Bella pouted.
~o.O.o~
Bella and Isaac’s first night at the Compound and they couldn’t sleep, instead they watched Netflix on their phone while they were laying on the bed, Bella comfortably laying against Isaac with his arms around her.
They had slept for maybe a couple of hours and joined everyone for breakfast. It was strange to have breakfast with so many people, and a handful of them drinking blood, but on the other hand it felt nice. Although Bella would never want to give up her and Isaac’s breakfast routine at home. Much too comfortable.
It was around lunch time when they were surprised by two people walking into the courtyard. “I’m telling you, Scott, the last known location was right here!”
“I hate it when I’m right,” Isaac mumbled as he rushed to his feet and knocked Scott straight on his ass before punching Stiles in the face.
“Woah,” Jeremy blinked when he saw his friend move like that. “Isaac, take it easy, dude.”
Isaac grabbed Scott by the collar and slammed him against the nearest wall. “What the hell are you doing here? Do you have any idea how much danger you put Bella in with your jealousy and distrust of those closest to you? Do you?”
“Friends of yours?” Klaus asked Bella as he kept his eyes on her beta.
Her eyes narrowed as they flashed bright red. “No. And they weren’t invited.”
“Oh, goodie, so we can kill them then?” Kol asked excitedly.
“I don’t object,” she muttered, her lip curling in disgust at seeing Isaac’s former Alpha.
“Hey, no killing,” Derek piped up. “They may be morons, but no killing.”
“Speak for yourself, Derek, you’re lucky that you’re Bella’s brother and still breathing after being a security hazard,” Myriam shot at him.
Isaac had heard Derek’s words and took his eyes off of Scott to look at his former Alpha. “Excuse me? Did you really just say no killing? I think you been around this asshole too long.”
Derek sighed then and nodded. “Perhaps I have been hanging around him for too long,” he replied. “But if you kill him, his pack won’t have an Alpha. Beacon Hills won’t have an Alpha. It could get really messy.”
Scott pushed Isaac away from him, flinging him across the courtyard. “We came here to help, that’s all.”
Bella growled and took off from Klaus’ side to go after the other Alpha. “You need to hack my brother’s phone to track where he’s going because you wanted to help?”
“Yeah man,” Jeremy agreed. “Sounds to me like you don’t trust him.”
Isaac got back on his feet and growled as he looked at Stiles. “You’d better stay down, Stiles, because while Beacon Hills might not be good without an Alpha, in your case it’s an entirely different matter.”
“Funny you should say that, Jeremy, because Scott here is very big on trust,” Derek replied with a smirk on his face. “I suppose he has the same issues with me, still, that Isaac has and has never fully trusted me despite all my actions to try and make things right.”
“But by not trusting you, he put Bella in danger and by showing up here, he’s severely ticking off your sister and Isaac,” Jeremy pushed. He had heard stories about Scott from Isaac on their little trips out and he simply didn’t like the guy. “I mean, that asshole had Isaac’s girlfriend dying in his arms while Isaac was close by.”
“Are you sure about this, Derek?” Freya asked him as she passed him with a clean cloth. “It’s not too late.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” he replied as he watched Freya walk over to Isaac who had Scott’s blood on his hands. Last night, when Bella and Isaac had gone to bed, he had talked about his suspicions with the Mikaelsons and about how what kind of an Alpha Scott was. Admitting to the fact that he himself hadn’t been a good Alpha but had learned from his mistakes. And had gained a lot of perspective after evolving into an evolved werewolf. He was more at peace now. He could be a better Alpha for those in Beacon Hills than Scott currently was.
But, to take Scott’s status, he truly needed some magical help because he wasn’t Scott’s beta. Scott was a True Alpha and Derek had already given up his spark once to save his sister. And Freya was willing to help, and Klaus was willing to help too, ready for a science experiment, a new pet. And, much to Klaus’ surprise, his siblings were more than happy with a new pet, especially because they had all taken a liking to both Bella and Isaac in the short time that they had known each other.
As Freya went back to her siblings to start casting the spell, Klaus made his way over to Bella, who was now holding Scott against the wall with one hand, only because Scott allowed her to. “Do you trust me, love?” He asked quietly as he stood beside her.
Her glare shifted from Scott to Klaus. “I told you to never call me that.”
“My apologies,” he kindly smiled at her. “Old habits die hard, but do you trust me?”
She hesitated for a moment before giving him a single nod. “You haven’t done anything to garner mistrust – yet. Unlike others…”
“Thank you,” he said as he bit his hand as he pulled Scott towards him, kicked him in the shins but held him up by his hair as he force-fed the wolf his blood.
“What the fuck?!” Stiles shouted, trying to reach for his friend. “What are you doing?! What are you people?!”
Isaac crouched down next to Stiles and put a hand on his shoulder. “Ever heard of vampires, Stiles?” he asked as he cocked his head, his actions mirroring his actions from many years ago after he’d just been turned and had been fucking around in science class, threatening to kill Lydia. “No? Nothing? Because they are a huge part of the supernatural community and these guys? They’re alright. The ones that we’re here for because your actions lead them to Bella, not so much. But whatever Klaus has planned, I’m pretty sure that Scott’s deserved it.”
Klaus pulled Scott up by his hair and grabbed his arms to spin him around, pinning him against him as Derek approached them. “Whatever you’re planning…” Scott warned him as his eyes flashed red. “Don’t.”
“Ah, but Scott, I’m not your beta,” Derek said playfully. “You see, back home we’ve held a vote amongst us werewolves, and oh boy, your pack really doesn’t like how you’re handling the hunters. You have an awful sense of morality, you constantly break your own rules, and your organisation skills are really really poor. You’re using your pack only for the added strength they give you, and you don’t pay attention to them at all.”
“At least I’m better than you!”
“Isaac? Care to say something?”
“He knows,” Isaac said as he kept his hand on Stiles to keep him down. He was struggling against Isaac’s hold and had gotten a little bit stronger due to his FBI training, but he was still a human. Whatever was going on had him curious though. What had they planned for Scott? “He knows that I could have used his support as my friend and Alpha when Allison died. Never responded to any text message or email. I know now that he likely accepted me to be in his pack to stay close to Allison and for my added strength to his own. At least you tried to reach out to me, Derek, but I ignored you because I was still very angry with you, too. But I see that you’ve learned from your mistakes and I’m dating your sister, so… I suppose we’re good. You truly cared, even when you kicked me out for my own safety when the Alpha pack was coming.”
“See, Scott? Your actions hurt deeper than mine, how can you say you’re better than me? I mean, I’m not saying that I’m better than you, but I am saying that I can do a better job at keeping Beacon Hills and your pack of idiots safe by doing things differently. Because Isaac was right about that too, I have been hanging around with you for too long.”
“You can’t take my Alpha status, Derek. You’re not my beta and I’m a true Alpha.”
“But I’m a born werewolf, who gave up his spark to save someone. I’m an evolved werewolf now, all I need is a little bit of extra help that the Mikaelsons have granted me. Honestly, hadn’t you come after me, nothing would have happened, but by coming here, you’re truly showing how stupid and not trusting you are.” Derek then looked at Bella and smiled at her. “I’m not just doing this for Beacon Hills. I’m doing this for you and for Isaac. It’s gonna get messy.”
Bella nodded as she took a few steps back. Derek turned into a wolf then and dug his claws straight into Scott’s chest with a tremendous amount of force causing Scott to cry out in pain, his eyes flashing red as it was clear that bones were breaking. Blood was dripping out of him and Bella couldn’t feel sorry for the boy.
“Scott! Scott! No! Stop it!” Stiles cried out as he wrestled against Isaac’s hold. “Let me go, you overgrown puppy!” He managed to turn himself around so he could try to push Isaac away but all Isaac did was holding him tighter. “Scott! Scott! Don’t kill him!”
As soon as Scott’s eyes stopped flashing red and Derek could feel the Alpha power inside of him, he retracted his hands and Klaus bit Scott’s neck as he drained him dry. Once his heart stopped, he dropped him on the ground. “Let’s see how long it takes for him to come to.”
“Scott!”
Isaac let go of Stiles as the other scrambled to his feet to go over to his best friend. “Uhh, what just happened?”
“Plan B, for when Scott and Stiles would arrive,” Derek smiled widely as he was wiping his hands on a piece of cloth. “Because those two can’t leave well enough alone. Freya and Klaus were so kind as to lend me their assistance with this,” he said as he flashed his eyes, they were bright red again.
The young beta tensed for a brief second, blinking in surprise. “Well, that’s just wrong…not that I don’t appreciate the effort, but personally, just weird now.”
“Don’t worry, Isaac,” Freya smiled at him. “He knows that the moment he steps out of line that I can take his newly found Alpha status away from him again, too,” she smirked as she thumbed over to her brother Kol. “He thought it’d be nice to have a back door in the spell, seeing as Derek himself admitted not having been a good Alpha in the past.”
“Somehow, that’s even more disturbing,” he said as he joined Bella’s side. “But thank you.”
