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chapter twenty-one ━ bad moon rising

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❝ i see trouble on the way ❞

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THE MOONLIGHT RINGS were in the process of being made since Genevieve decided to cooperate once she was given Esther's grimoire. Athena did not trust her still, even if she did help Hayley, the uncertainty that her loyalty was true, lingered. Jackson and Oliver were meant to deliver the stones needed to make the rings and the others were merely waiting for them to arrive so the devices could actually be created. The wait was antagonizing for some odd reason and she could feel something stirring, like this was too easy, like there was something not right. It was a foreign emotion since she was never one to get bad feelings about things. She supposed she was adapting.

Klaus was out and about, leaving his two siblings to stay at the compound with Hayley, the witch-bitch, and Thomas for the wolves to show. They were in the study, in different corners of the room. By the couch, Hayley was sitting with Elijah standing by her, Thomas was with Athena as the two of them were leaning against the desk, and Genevieve was by the entrance of the room. Not a single word was spoken. Awkwardness filled the space.

Athena was absentmindedly fiddling with the hem of her red dress which was decorated with white polka dots that had buttons going down the bottom half, a tie around her waist. She was biting her lip out of nerves, unsure why this was taking so long when they should have been back a while ago.

"They're taking an awfully long time," she spoke up, the rest of them turning to look at her as she shrugged. "Shouldn't we try calling them to make sure something didn't happen?" Her question went unanswered for a moment before Elijah exchanged a glance with Thomas who nodded to him.

Elijah withdrew his phone from his pocket, calling the alpha first, and then Oliver, but neither picked up the phone. He lowered it from his ear and sighed deeply. Everyone knew what he was thinking: the wolves screwed them over. Hayley was not going to let him think that for long because she stood up, shaking her head.

"Something must have happened, they would have been here already."

"Or perhaps they betrayed us," he calmly replied, not looking over at her, staring off into space. He was trying to come up with a plan from the looks of it, hearing everything around him but he was more focused on his train of thought.

"They wouldn't," Thomas chimed in, defending Hayley. "Jackson swore he would let you help, he wouldn't abandon your trust. Something must have gotten in their way, stopped them before they could get here. Now I say we call Klaus and figure out what happened before things get worse." Before anyone could move to do just that, he went ahead and took out his phone, pressing Klaus's contact.

Athena could not successfully hide her shock, surprised that her boyfriend had his number or even bothered keeping it and adding him as a contact. She watched as he walked towards the middle of the room, the phone ringing as he waited for the hybrid to pick up. He had been acting different ever since the situation with the veil. Though she told him she wouldn't push him to tell her, she was getting concerned. He was much tenser, didn't talk, didn't smile, was not carefree around her.

"Thomas!" Klaus greeted with a cheerful attitude, one that displayed pure amusement. "Ready to discuss—"

"The wolves haven't showed up with the stone," he responded, interrupting him before he could finish. "We need to find them as soon as possible."

Athena caught that, frowning as her eyebrows furrowed. Did Klaus know something she didn't? She pushed the thought away, not wanting to be selfish and put things out of proportion. They had other, more important, things to worry about compared to the idea that her brother may know something regarding why Thomas is acting the way he is.

"Well, that might be a bit tricky," Klaus told him. "You see, we've located their car on a back road in the middle of nowhere. I suspect they've been shanghai'd."

Elijah tossed one hand up, and he seemed to share the same disbelief Athena did since their brother didn't even bother telling them about this. He did not need to speak louder in order for him to hear him, seeing as they had supernatural hearing anyways. "And you didn't feel the need to share this information?"

"It was my intention to present you with a problem only after I had found an appropriate solution."

"Do enlighten us."

Klaus sounded rather pleased with himself, his smirk heard through the phone. "I'm closing in on it as we speak. The only person who would be bold enough to snatch my wolf allies is the one who has the most to lose."

Every single one of them knew who that was, she could tell from their matching expressions. Athena shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "Bloody Marcel." How Rebekah ever had feelings for him was beyond her, she could barely stand the guy, let alone imagine her sister with him. And her sister was deeply in love with him. Then again, she tended to do that from what she's heard, not that it bothered her.

"No, he'll kill them!" Hayley spoke, sounding genuinely fearful for the wolves.

"Genevieve assures me that Marcel has procured a cloaking spell. The only witch who will aid Marcel is Davina. I just need to get one last bit of leverage before I pay her a visit." This entire time Genevieve hadn't said a word. Yet, suddenly, when Klaus spoke her name, she stood up straight, suddenly paying attention. The hybrid hung up, making the group rather annoyed that he wasn't allowing them to help.

Elijah grabbed his coat, making a move to leave. Hayley followed after him, stopping him before he could leave the room. "Where are you going?"

"To find Niklaus before he makes matters worse. You are going to stay here with Genevieve and Athena."

The said female frowned deeply, pushing herself off the desk and took a few steps forward. "No, I want to come with and kick Marcel's ass myself. He doesn't get to screw us all over because he's having a tantrum since Thierry's dead, who by the way, let Rebekah get tortured." She planned to stand her ground, not going to budge or cave in to what he wants her to do. She was old enough to make her own choices, perhaps a little too old.

"You're staying," Thomas argued, causing her to do a double-take. He got on his jacket, putting his phone back in his pocket. "Hayley needs someone to watch after her that we trust. And besides, Marcel could have set a trap and we'll be walking straight into it. We need you safe."

She scoffed a bit, not understanding why he was so persisted in making her stay. "Okay, you can't make choices for me. If I want to go, I can, you don't control me." The intensity in the air suddenly spiked after she said that, making her uncomfortable, eyes on them but no one dared intervene.

Thomas slowly turned his head and she saw the softness, the desperation. Athena knew it was his way of convincing her to stay, the conversation they had before about how she's all he has, came to mind and she sighed, giving up. "Fine, I'll stay. But from now on, you don't get to choose for me, got it?"

She gave him no time to reply as she walked right past him, grabbing Hayley's arm and took her with her out of the room.

———

More hours passed by, the guys were gone to go find Jackson and Oliver and yet no call or text had been sent to either of the females. Athena wasn't too worried, Hayley, on the other hand, could not sit still, pacing back and forth, her heartbeat faster than usual because of her panic. Genevieve was lurking, watching over the two even if the oldest of the three didn't know it.

"Elijah should have called by now," the pregnant wolf pointed out.

The Queen heard her and sighed, sitting on the bottom of the steps of the staircase. "Relax, they'll be back soon, I'm sure they're fine. Come sit down with me, please? Don't stress yourself out, it can't be good for the baby."

"She's right," the witch hummed. "Worrying isn't going to help. You should sit down, try to keep calm."

"What are you, now, magician slash zen-life-coach?" Hayley snapped back.

"The treatment of pregnant women has advanced remarkably since I was a nurse, but even I know high blood pressure is bad for you, and your baby." Now that made her sit beside Athena, the said girl smiling at her softly, rubbing her back to help soothe her. "Especially now, since you're so close to term."

Hayley stared straight ahead. "I hate this. I feel completely useless."

"Mm, join the club," Athena replied with a little shrug. "But hey, you got a valid excuse, I stayed because I didn't want to worry Thomas. However, you and I are still very much strong females who can kick ass so don't feel too discouraged. Our time will come, you'll see."

"Is there anything I can get you two?" Genevieve asked, causing the two to look over at her, both equally surprised to hear the genuinely kind question. She seemed to already know what they were going to ask, chuckling to herself. "The spell can't be performed until the full moon reaches its apex. And, of course, I need the stones, which will be here soon enough. Have a little faith!"

Athena did, Hayley did not. The latter stood up, walking away before the conversation could continue.

———

Elijah and Thomas met up with Klaus before they headed to the docks, hearing of his leverage against Davina which was none other than Josh, her best friend. The gentler of the three didn't like the idea but knew there was no other option, seeing as they were running out of time. When they arrived, they found Jackson bound to a chair, a black hood over his head. Marcel and Diego were nowhere to be found. Thomas pulled the hood off, making the alpha flinch before he soon settled down, realizing he was being rescued.

Klaus grabbed his face in his hand. "Accolades to Marcel, he did quite a dance across the bridge of your nose." The redhead behind him rolled his eyes. "Where is he now?"

Jackson didn't speak, looking around and then looked down at the floor to find that there was an explosive rigged to the legs of the chair he was confined to. And it was connected to a crate which had an even bigger bomb inside.

"Nowhere to be found," Elijah responded for him, opening a crate to find yet another explosive. "Although, he did leave us a delightful parting gift."

"What about the stones?" Thomas asked the wolf, raising an eyebrow. Something that struck odd to him was that Oliver was nowhere to be found and yet, he had been in the car with him. So where was he now?

Jackson was frantic, his eyes wide, looking around. "I don't know. Untie me, I'll help you find them!"

"Alright, relax, stay still until we get the bombs dismantled." He walked over to some other crates, opening one to find another bomb, making him rather irritated. Marcel was never one to do things half measure that's for damn sure. He blocked out the bickering between the two brothers, making his way towards another crate and opened it up, finding a total of six bombs. "Wow. Definitely a safety hazard over here."

Elijah's phone rang, drawing his attention. He kept looking through other crates but was listening to the phone call.

"What's going on?" Hayley's voice came through, demanding an answer. He could hear Athena in the background, pleading her to just calm down and let them do what they needed to do, making him a bit relieved to know that she hadn't up and left. Yes, she could make her own choices and she couldn't die easily, he didn't want to risk her getting hurt.

"Jackson is fine," the noble brother replied. "He's a little tied up right now. Can we call you back?"

Klaus sniggered at his joke, flipping open another crate to reveal a handful of bombs with a folded slip of paper on top. Thomas came over, frowning. Then they both watched as the red blinking light on the bombs turned green.

"Well, shit," Thomas cursed, blankly staring at the flashing light.

Jackson noticed what had happened and became angry. "Are you trying to kill us?"

"Elijah, tell me what's going on, now!" Hayley exclaimed from the other line, clearly hearing Jackson's distress and sensing the disastrous situation they have just gotten themselves into.

Klaus picked up the folded piece of paper, the other two behind them watching. He read it aloud in a whisper but it was heard just as clearly. "'This is for Thierry'." Thomas realized they had been set up, slowly turning around. Elijah quickly grabbed Jackson while Klaus grabbed Thomas's arm, vamp-speeding them away just as the warehouse blew up.

Hayley and Athena heard the explosion, both going wide-eyed, terrified.

———

Thankfully the guys returned not long after the call ended because otherwise, Athena would have gone barreling to the warehouse with the pregnant wolf in tow. They all walked into the compound, looking disheveled and smothered in ash. Jackson was injured and bloody, walking over to the girls who were dashing towards them, looking relieved.

"Thank god you're alive!" Hayley sighed, giving Jackson a hug, looking at Elijah over his shoulder. "Thank you." He nodded to her and watched as she brought the alpha over to sit down, tending to his wounds.

Athena hugged Thomas tightly who embraced her back, inhaling her scent. Then she pulled back and gave him a light slap to the face, making him wince a bit. "Never, ever, go on a suicide mission without me again. Look at what happened. Next time, I'm going with, end of discussion."

He nodded with a little side smile. "Yes, ma'am."

Klaus spoke up from nearby, sounding annoyed. "I'm fine, too, thanks for asking."

His sister glared at him, narrowing her eyes. "Well if you give me a moment, I would have asked." She sighed, rubbing her temple as she looked at them. "What about the stones? Does Marcel have them?"

"They're scattered across the bed of the Mississippi, I'd imagine," Elijah responded, giving her the answer she expected because there was surely no point in him keeping the stones. He would rid of them the second he got his hands on them. Suddenly, she frowned, realizing that Oliver was nowhere to be seen. Hadn't he been in the car with Jackson?

Klaus poured himself a drink. "Marcel's not a fool. He knows an empowered werewolf army would mean the end of vampires in New Orleans. The explosion is his way of saying he means to prevent that. For all the good it'll do him."

"This is my fault," Jackson told them, trying to sit up. "I'll find a way to fix it."

Hayley rubbed his shoulder affectionately, shaking her head. "No, Jack, you're hurt. No one's blaming you."

"I'm blaming you!" Klaus shouted, making the rulers both roll their eyes, not knowing that they did at the same time, crossing their arms over their chests in sync. "Those stones will be hard to replace." He looked over at his siblings and smiled evilly. "Fortunately, I always have a backup plan."

That is when Francesca walked into the compound with five other men, all of whom were wearing suits, looking professional as ever, one was even carrying a briefcase. They all turned around to see them, Hayley looking appalled at the sight of who Klaus just invited into their home.

"You can't seriously mean her! She's a gangster!"

"I see her more as a means of procuring rare items at short notice," Klaus disagreed. He spun to the human and her entourage, grinning as if he had just won a battle. "Greetings, Ms. Correa! I see you've brought company."

"These are my brothers," Francesca explained vaguely. "I always include them in delicate business matters." She looked at her family. "Fellas, meet Mr. Mikaelson."

The said male smiled, hands clasped behind his back. "Please, call me Klaus. All my friends do."

It was clear that Thomas was trying his best not to laugh, looking away. Athena caught it and couldn't help but smile, biting her lip to keep her amusement hidden. She was happy to see him in better spirits, not knowing what triggered it but she guessed that the scare at the warehouse must be the reason. Perhaps he realized that she had been right all along. Or, at least that's what she hoped was his train of thought.

"I don't know if I'd call us friends," Francesca drawled, staring at him for a moment before reaching to the briefcase her brother was holding, opening it and pulled out a small black drawstring bag. "But, if you and Marcel are planning on having a little throw-down, I'd prefer my family to be on the same side as the inevitable victor." She held out the bag which no doubt contained the stones. "Not enough for an army at such short notice, but it's a start."

Elijah joined into the conversation, displaying what the rest of the group was thinking. "Strange, I wasn't aware that she was familiar with our plan."

"My price for doing business is full disclosure. Your brother complied."

"And what does the Human Faction stand to benefit from all of this?"

There was a pause, causing Athena to become slightly suspicious of the leader of the human faction. It was odd that all this time they were quiet, but now suddenly they wanted to be involved with vampire and wolf business. Not to mention that they hardly knew anything about the woman. And yet, Klaus was blind to that fact.

"I only want us to solidify our allegiance to the ruling class," Francesca spoke elegantly as if she knew exactly what to say. "It's good for business."

Klaus examined the stones. "If only everyone shared your capacity for reason."

"Sadly, they don't. Marcel is being especially vindictive. I'm worried he might come after me, or my family, just for meeting with you." She took a deep breath that Athena thought was only for show. "It might be in our best interests if we combine our efforts."

"So be it! The more bodies we have to defend the compound, the better. Let's get started, shall we?"

And just like that, Klaus formed an alliance with an ally they hardly knew. Athena was wary and so was the rest of the group. She looked at Thomas who hadn't spoken at all, watching the human closely, studying her almost. Hayley clearly did not trust Francesca and neither did Jackson. But they had no choice. It was too late now.

———

They had all they needed for the spell so Genevieve got to work, casting the moonlight spell over the rings. Athena, Thomas, Klaus, Elijah, and Hayley all watched carefully, making sure that she didn't screw them over or even make a move to attempt to. She held her hands out, chanting away. "Tua virtuse. Materi lunare tua virtuse. Materi lunare tua virtuse."

Athena touched her palm which had healed already from when she sliced it open to give blood for the spell. Her and Klaus both needed to donate some which did not make sense to her but she had because she knew she had to help the wolves.

Francesca ran in suddenly, eyes wide, making them turn to look at her. "My people say Marcel is on the move, and he's bringing friends."

"Get Hayley to safety," Klaus told his brother before rushing out of the room. Elijah did as he was told, though he had planned to do that anyway. Hayley ended up providing an argument that she needed to stay and oddly enough, Francesca offered to watch over the wolf which was quickly accepted as Elijah left.

Athena followed after them and Thomas grabbed her arm when she was about to make her way to the balcony. He looked concerned, unsure of whether her fighting with them was a good idea. "Are you sure about this?"

"Positive," she whispered, sure of herself as she nodded, standing her ground this time. "I'm going to protect my family and you can't stop me. So either you fight beside me or get out of my way." The tone in her voice made him crack a smile, leaning forward and kissed her softly but quickly, keeping their foreheads against one another.

"I'll fight beside you, always."

They made their way downstairs where her brothers, along with Francesca's and their security guards were aiming guns at the vampires who were flooding in from every direction it seemed like. Athena moved to the center of the room with her mate and her brothers, feeling determined, a new sense of strength and pride in her veins. She could do this, she could fight back.

Klaus smirked. "I thought this lot had learned their lesson!"

"Well, they're not exactly renowned for their genius," Elijah responded as if they were making casual conversation.

"So, where's the ringleader of this circus? Too afraid to show his face?"

Marcel appeared on the balcony and they turned to look at him, showing no fear, no uncertainty, only bravery, unafraid of what was to come. "I'm here! And I'm gonna offer you one last chance to pack your stuff and get the hell out of my town." His words boomed across the courtyard but the power was not there, it lacked heavily. She thought it to be pathetic of him to come out here once again, expecting to win.

"You'll allow your men to rush to their deaths?" Athena questioned, surprising Marcel. She was using the same voice she did the night of the bayou bombings, the night that Oliver rounded up all of the wolves, ready for revenge that would ultimately lead nowhere but more pain and destruction. "Again? Isn't that silly of you?"

"Look around. Every vampire in the Quarter is coming out! They want their city back. No surrender this time. You're gonna have to kill us all." He vamp sped away and Klaus quickly followed after him, declaring that he was to be the one to kill Marcel before he had vanished.

Elijah confidently unbuttoned his jacket, Thomas fixed his jacket, and Athena merely pushed her hair back over her shoulders. She took a deep breath before exhaling, looking around her. "Well, this'll be great practice."

The vampires lunged for them, jumping down from the balconies or merely running towards them. The fight began and the three fought back. Elijah swiftly grabbed the stakes that the vamps were trying to temporarily kill him with and used them against them. Thomas had shifted into his wolf form, biting down on anything he could, hearing screams and cries. Blood splattered all over his fur, tearing through flesh and bones. Sebastian was somewhat in control, his jaws clamping around at the skin of the vampires.

Athena tore the hearts out of one vamp that tried jumping at her. One shoved her to the ground with his foot, making her grunt as she collapsed. Then she was grabbed by the arm, but before he could snap it, she grabbed his head and smashed it against the ground. She swung her leg over his body and removed his heart. She jumped up, racing towards another enemy.

The three went back and forth, winning the fight of course. Marcel's friends were severely outnumbered. All of a sudden, a cut formed on Athena's hand. She gasped loudly and fell to her knees, crying out. Her body felt as if each bone in her body was snapping over and over again, and yet not a single bone of her's was breaking. Thomas's head snapped over and saw her state.

He growled and dashed towards her, tackling a vampire who tried to attack her, his fangs slicing through his throat until he was decapitated. She screamed again, hunching over as she held her stomach. Elijah couldn't hear her over the yells. Thomas stayed close to her, protecting her as his eyes scanned for an injury but only found the one on her hand. His electric blue eyes were wide with worry. What happened to her?

While he was assessing her body for any indication as to why she was in pain, a vampire got a hold of him, kicking him to the ground, causing him to roll a bit aways. Thomas got up and launched himself at the guy, his claws ripping through the fabric of what he was wearing and then bit his neck until his head fell off. He came back over to her, his fours on either side of her body, underneath him. He snarled at other vampires and eventually, they started to back off, seeing his eyes growing darker.

Elijah took care of the rest of them, injuring the rest. Athena had stopped screaming but was clutching her belly, her cries quietening down. Her body felt weak, limp. Thomas whined from above her, leaning down, careful not to get more blood on her, nuzzling her cheek with his nose.

"Something's wrong," she gasped, her eyes shutting tightly.

Francesca entered the room suddenly, smirking. "Well, nice job! Saved me the trouble of killing all these vampires myself!"

The three looked up at her, confused. Elijah was then taken down by two of her brothers, being bitten viciously. Thomas growled, huggering down to cover Athena up more but since his focus was on the now, non-humans, he did not see the other brothers appearing from either side of them before they pounced on him, pushing him away from the injured hybrid.

Diego, one of the wounded, yelled for everyone to run. His friends listened, trying to run but Francesca ordered her brothers to chase after them and kill them all. Thomas was bitten by three different wolves, growling. Athena tried to stand and the second she did, she was grabbed by two men and dragged her out of the compound.

———

Athena was missing. Hayley was missing. Thomas had shifted back the second the brothers and Francesca were gone, tossing on some clothes quickly and followed Elijah through the rest of the house to find the girls but came up empty. Both males were furious, storming to the entrance of the home when they sensed Marcel arriving.

"Marcel! Where are they!" the noble brother yelled, enraged. "Where are Hayley and Athena?!" He tossed a chair in anger, seeing Cami there, who attempted to protect the vampire behind her, standing between the three men.

Thomas was not having this, his eyes still the blue hue, but darker, showing just how infuriated he really was. "You have ten seconds to tell us." He clenched his hands into fists, staring which such intense anger that Cami had trouble speaking up.

"He doesn't have them! Please! I know you don't trust him, but you know I wouldn't lie. He doesn't have them."

"Someone does." He walked around her since she cowered away. He approached Marcel, staring him down, taller than him so that only intensified his authority over him. "Where is Klaus?"

"I left him in the street. He was gonna kill me. And then he got jacked up by some witch's spell."

That's when it all hit. Both Klaus and Athena put their blood into the spell for the moonlight rings. And both appeared to be suffering the consequences. The King doubted that the witches would kidnap Klaus but they dare take his mate away since she wasn't as strong. Yet. He inhaled, trying to at least calm himself a bit. He couldn't. No, as much as he wanted to tear those monsters apart himself, he knew a better way to get back at the witches.

———

As much as I absolutely despise the male hero and damsel in distress dynamic, I am including it only because it's extremely unrealistic for Athena to be amazing at fighting when she just started training not too long ago. She'll get stronger physically (and mentally) as the book goes on. But for now, this won't be a regular occurrence but it may happen sometimes.

What do you think Thomas's plan for the witches is?

I hope you guys have a great day/night and don't forget to vote on this chapter, comment your thoughts, and follow me for updates!

( credit : @pepperronys )