[ Chapter Nine ]

EVERYONE HAD BEEN on edge since the White Oak trinket was stolen by none other than Cami. Klaus called the newly turned vampire after they figured out she had taken it, but the woman was not being very cooperative. She seemed to be using it as leverage against the hybrid until he returned the dark objects he took from her home.

Raylynn thought the entire situation was ridiculous. Cami made herself target number one in New Orleans, and Klaus created another loose cannon in a sea of loose cannons. Something the city did not need at the present time.

While Klaus dealt with a stubborn Cami, Elijah went out to confront the Strix. About what, Raylynn did not know, but she could only guess it had something to do with the last few enemies that wanted to do them in.

During that time, Raylynn stayed inside the compound with Hayley and Hope. Ever since Jackson's death and the capture of her favorite toy, the little girl had been near inconsolable. She cried all the time and did not want to sleep a wink. She had begun to drive everyone in the home crazy. But, could they blame her? She just lost her step-father, a man she spent almost all of her time with when the family was busy, and a toy she had since birth. If Raylynn were Hope, she would probably act the exact same way.

Hayley proceeded to bounce her daughter on her hip to try and calm her cries. So far, Hope only continued to wail at the top of her tiny lungs. "I don't know how to help her," the woman exclaimed to where Raylynn sat on her bed. "All she's done for the last few hours is cry."

"She's upset, Hales," Raylynn told her. "It's going to take a while for her to be okay, especially since Cami took her favorite toy."

Hayley just sighed in frustration. "I know. I just -hate seeing her so upset," she said as she continued to bounced the tearful toddler.

Raylynn nodded and pushed herself up from the bed. "Alright, hand her over," she said, holding out her arms to her best friend.

Hayley shifted Hope over to the huntress without a word. Raylynn took the child into her arms and began to rock her from side to side. Hope continued to cry, but the intensity calmed as Raylynn started to sing.

"You are my sunshine, my one sunshine.

You make me happy, when skies are grey.

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you.

Please don't take, my sunshine away."

It took a few more verses, but eventually, Hope's wailing ceased altogether. Raylynn proceeded to hold and rock the little girl, slowly letting her fall asleep against her chest. The huntress moved into the nursery and set the child down into her crib to sleep her distress away. Raylynn turned back to the larger bedroom and found her best friend staring at her in awe.

"How did I not know you could sing?" Hayley questioned.

Raylynn shrugged as she shut the nursery doors behind her. "I guess it never really came up before."

"But," Hayley shook her head in disbelief, "how did you get her down so fast?"

"She liked it the first time I sung it to her, and I thought it might work this time. And it did," Raylynn said, stepping back into the room.

Hayley huffed. "I still don't understand how I missed you being able to sing."

"It's really not that important. And I don't it often," Raylynn told her, waving her off in a dismissive manner.

"Well, you should," Hayley stated.

Before Raylynn could retort, there was a loud crash from somewhere in the compound. And as soon as another one followed, Raylynn and Hayley raced out of the room to discover what had caused them. The noise continued as they made their way around the second level of the home, ending up at the open door of the study. Inside, Klaus roughly packed Cami's dark objects with a scowl plastered on his features.

"Hey! Hey!" Hayley called out to gain the hybrid's attention. "Are you serious with all the noise?"

Klaus faced her and exclaimed, "oh, I'm sorry. Has my therapist's betrayal inconvenienced your otherwise tranquil day?" he questioned.

Raylynn rolled her eyes, while Hayley sighed. "Our daughter has been upset. She's -still dealing with the fact that Jack is gone, and the only thing that calms her is Ray's singing and her favorite toy, which Cami stole to get back at you," the younger hybrid told him.

Raylynn nodded. "And I just got her to sleep, so if you wake her, you'll have to deal with a very angry pregnant witch and pissed off hybrid mama," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Klaus sighed dramatically and lowered his voice, "it pains me that Hope is upset. So, I'll add it to the long list of grievances I'm already tallying, hmm?" he ended with a hum.

"I know that you're angry at Cami, Klaus, but you know as well as I do that she's not in her right mind," Hayley said in a gentler tone.

Klaus glanced between the two women, the frustration clearly written over his features. "I beg to differ. Camille seems quite lucid, tucked away behind that barrier spell in the City of the Dead as she taunts me with the very means of my demise!"

Raylynn released a long exhale. "Just -don't kill her. I know you're pissed, but she's still my friend. Your friend."

Klaus met her gaze and said, "I will reframe myself from ripping out her heart."

"That's all I ask."

_______

Later in the day, Klaus left the compound and returned with the news that the White Oak knight had been stolen, yet again. One of the Strix's personal witches grabbed it and disappeared. Elijah also revealed that the entire vampire club was now under new leadership. That person being Marcel.

Thanks to the self-proclaimed King of New Orleans, they found out who took the knight. The Strix witch turned out to be double crossing them the entire time and teamed up with the crazy vampire bitch, Aurora. The psychotic redhead now had the only weapon that could kill an Original.

Over the course of the next week, Freya tried to figure out the location of White Oak and Klaus questioned various people to find Aurora. Or, he more so tortured it out of them. But even with going to such extremes, they still ended up with nothing.

As a change of pace, Raylynn and Hayley decided that they were going to try and help Cami with hone her new vampire abilities. The woman relied too heavily on her dark objects, which could end up leading to her death if she found herself in a situation where she could not use them. She needed to become a fighter if she were to survive the harsh world around them.

Raylynn and Hayley strode through the O'Connell woman's front door without a word. They found Cami at her kitchen table with an old, yellowed book spread out across the flat surface, as well as several of her dark objects. At their arrival, the blonde immediately turned to them unamused.

"Your doorbell is broken downstairs," Hayley stated, moving further into the room.

Cami nodded. "I keep forgetting to compel the shady landlord to fix it," she said, shutting her book and moved to face the two women. "Next time, text. You could get hurt, sneaking up on someone with a stockpile of dark objects."

Raylynn pressed her lips together as she voiced, "I'm a pretty powerful witch and Hayley's a hybrid. I think we can handle a few toys."

Hayley pointed in the huntress's direction. "She's right. And also, was it worth it? Risking the lives of -oh -every vampire in existence over your petty fight with Klaus?"

Cami rolled her eyes, picking up her book to placed on her bookshelf. "And here I thought this was a social call."

"More like a wake up call, Cami," Hayley started. "You haven't been yourself lately, and in your less-than-sane moments, you have been people that Ray and I care about in danger."

Cami released an irritated huff. "See, I sort of thought I had proven myself. I did risk what was left my life to save yours. And maybe what I need is some space -to deal with this whole -I don't now, being dead, drinking blood, living forever." Hayley rolled her eyes, while Raylynn gave her a blank expression. "If you two have come to lecture me, save it. I have been lecturing myself for weeks."

Hayley sighed. "You're right," she said and turned to a chair nearby, grabbing the coat that hung off of it. "Is this your coat? Great." She moved forward to shove the garment into the blonde's chest.

Raylynn smiled tightly. "We're not going to give you a lecture, Cami. You don't need it," she stated and spun toward the door. "We're gonna take your ass to school."

_______

All three women departed form the apartment to end up at the renovated St. Anne's Church. Raylynn did not feel entirely at ease in the room that Aurora kidnapped her and Cami and almost killed her, but there was no other place where they could train a new vampire.

"So this is you taking me to school?" Cami questioned as they entered the building.

Hayley tossed her coat onto a bench press when she walked past it. "There is a fight coming, Cami. That's what the prophecy says. And you're not gonna be much good to the home team if you're just standing around, waving a bunch of antiques. We already have one contender sitting out, we don't need another."

Raylynn stripped her coat and tossed it onto her best friend's. "Not my fault," she voiced, raising her hands in a mock surrender. "Well, not completely."

Cami rolled her eyes and pulled a small wooden box from the bag hung off her shoulder. "Huh. You see this? This will paralyze anyone who tries to attack me."

Raylynn laughed. "Great. But what happens when that wears off?" she questioned in a more serious tone. "You'll be defenseless."

"Come on, Ray. Everyone knows a baby vamp is borderline useless," Cami exclaimed. "Even Josh could wipe the floors with me. I need these."

"We're not saying for you to throw them away," Raylynn said as she set on the same bench press she placed her coat on.

Hayley nodded, before she began to speak. "This used to be a church, right? And then it got condemned. If Marcel hadn't seen the possibilities, someone would've bulldozed it and turned it into some generic chain store. It's still a church. But it's also something more," she continued on. "I'm a hybrid, but I'm also a mom. And a widow. And an Alpha. Ray's a hunter. And a witch. And a soon-to-be mother." She gestured to Cami. "You're a psychologist. And a bartender. And, yes, you have some insane family legacy that comes with a bunch of cool toys, but..." she trailed off and stepped closer to the blonde. "If you don't embrace the fact that you're also a vampire now, you're gonna end up dead. For real, this time."

Cami glanced between Hayley and Raylynn with a mixture of surprise and annoyance. "You know, I'm not used to being on the receiving end of solid advice."

Hayley shrugged. "Well, you caught us on a good day."

Raylynn nodded. "And trust me, you wouldn't want us on a bad one," she said, exchanging an amused look with her best friend.

Cami stared at him and asked, "so, now what?"

Hayley moved over to an equipment rack and picked up a pair of kickboxing gloves. "We're gonna get in that ring, and you're gonna try and punch me."

Cami smiled.

_______

Once both women were gloved-up and inside the metal caged ring in the center of the room, the impromptu training section could proceed. Raylynn sat the session out, but she would call out improvements if there needed to be any. She really did not need to get into a sparring match with a hybrid and a vampire.

Raylynn watched Cami lunge toward Hayley, but the woman dodged her hit with ease. She evaded a second, before stuck her foot out and tripped the blonde into the side of the cage.

"Again," Hayley exclaimed without breaking a sweat.

Cami quickly turned away and sung toward the hybrid's face. Hayley dodged it, yet again, and sped behind the vampire, pinning her arm behind her back. Hayley then shoved Cami forward into the side of the cage, holding her there before she let go.

"Come on, Cami. You can do better than that!" Raylynn shouted from where she moved to stand just outside of the ring.

Cami ground her teeth together and lunged with her newfound speed to try punching the hybrid. Hayley simply swatted the woman's arm away, before she grabbed her in a chokehold. Hayley then raised Cami up, throwing her back into the side of the cage.

Cami yelped, while Hayley stated, "again."

The O'Connell woman reacted fast, successfully tackling the hybrid to the ground. Cami flipped Hayley over, rearing back to kick her across the ring. The Marshall-Kenner woman harshly hit the chain-link and slammed back onto the ground.

Hayley pushed herself up, giving the blonde an impressed stare. "Oh, look at you. We keep that up, you might be giving Josh a run for his money," Hayley said as she wiped away a trickle of body from the side of her mouth.

Raylynn nodded. "That actually wasn't half bad. You might actually be getting the hang of this."

Cami looked between them in an appreciative manner. "Hey -thanks for coming to find me today."

Hayley rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't get all mushy one me. You're a bartender. You can thank me with a better," she stated, exited the ring with the blonde.

"Well, I can't drink right now, so you can thank me with dinner," Raylynn told her.

Cami laughed. "Deal."

In that moment, Hayley's phone began to ring loudly throughout the room. She pulled it from the pocket of her jeans and moved away for slightly more privacy. "Hey," she answered, until the caller forced her brows to crease. "What?"

Suddenly, the door of the church swung open to reveal hooded coven of the Strix. Their long black cloaks flared behind them as they entered the room in a single-file line.

Hayley dropped her phone and turned to Raylynn and Cami. "Get out of here. Right now!" she shouted.

The lead witch thrusted her hand out in the hybrid's direction and sent her flying across the room over the caged ring. Hayley slammed into the far wall of the church, falling to the former sacristy with a yell.

Raylynn glared toward the witches and raised her hand. While the first one was occupied with Hayley, she focused her attention on the others behind her. She squeezed her hand, forcing them to scream in pain. A blonde one somehow recovered faster than the rest and held out her own hand. Raylynn yelled as she was involuntarily shoved backward and collided harshly with a wall. She collapsed to the ground, falling on her side to make sure she did not harm her baby.

Hayley screamed, a large blood stain appearing in the center of her chest. Raylynn pushed up to glanced around the room, finding Cami unconscious on the floor, one witch dead, and the other two stood in front of the Marshall-Kenner woman.

"Oh -you want my heart?" Hayley choked out, before she yelled, "then come and get it!"

The witches increased their spell and caused the hybrid more pain. Raylynn forced herself to her feet, a surge of white-hot rage filling her body at the sight of the witches hurting her best friend. She raised her hands, sending a wave of power in their direction. She screamed as the magic inside her was expelled at a rapid speed. The witches dropped their arms, clutching their heads as they fell to their knees. Raylynn continued her spell, watching them convulse before they finally fell silent and unmoving.

When the huntress was sure they were dead, she lowered her hands and breathed heavily to calm her erratic heartrate. Hayley rushed over to Raylynn's side, still recovering from her own face-off with the now lifeless witches. They remained next to each other, wondering silently what exactly just happened. Before either of them could say a word, the doors of the church swung open a second time to allow the former leader of the Strix, Aya, into the building.

Hayley continued to breath heavily as she voiced toward the vampire, "I thought I smelled arrogance."

"I think you meant confidence," Aya stated in a smug tone. "But I can understand how the uneducated are apt to confuse the two."

Hayley scoffed. "Yeah? You want to tell me what your dead-eyed drones want with my heart?"

"It's nothing personal. I just value my life above yours," Aya said, rolling up her shirt sleeves.

Raylynn stepped back, knowing that another fight was about to ensue. As much as she wanted to intervene, Hayley needed to be the one to take down Aya. Not only because she was once with Elijah, but because it was her and her witches who wanted her heart.

Aya lunged toward Hayley, causing the hybrid to spin away and grab a weight from a nearby rack. She raised it above her head and slammed it onto the vampire's head. Twice. Instead of it affecting the woman, she reached out and grabbed ahold of Hayley. She wrapped her hand around the hybrid's throat and shoved her back into the weight rack. Hayley fell limp in the vampire's arms, which gave Aya the perfect opportunity to shove her hand into her chest.

"NO!" Raylynn screamed as she stepped forward. She made a move, but she was stopped when Aya's free hand shot out and grabbed her neck. She choked, until the vampire banged her head against the rack beside Hayley's unconscious form and knocked her out cold.

_______

After Raylynn and Hayley woke from the surprise witch attack, shockingly with the hybrid's heart still inside her chest, the two women made it back to the compound to find out why Aya wanted her heart in the first place. As it turned out, Hayley was the one and only transitioned hybrid without a sire. Because of that, her heart was the key to breaking the sirelines between Klaus, Elijah, and the remaining vampires around the world.

The only thing that stopped Aya from tearing out Hayley's heart and taking it with her was Marcel. The man appeared just in time to stop the vampire, but that meant that she set her sights elsewhere. Since the unification ceremony between Hayley and Jackson at their wedding, the wolf's heart was identical to the hybrid's. So Aya stole his heart from where Hayley buried it under a tree sapling to one-day visit with Hope in tow. Sadly, that could never happen.

They also learned that Klaus and Elijah spent the entire day tracking down Aurora, after the crazy redhead kidnapped Freya to lure the brothers to her. She carved the White Oak knight down into wood tipped bullets, so she could kill them easily. But she never got the chance.

That night, Raylynn laid across her bed with Freya next to her. She asked the witch to check up over to make sure that she and her baby were alright. Getting knocked around by witches was not entirely healthy for a pregnant woman. And it was not like she could pop into the nearest doctor's office with Aurora still on the loose.

Raylynn was flat across her bed, while Freya held her hands over her swollen stomach. The witch had her eyes closed as she used her magic to check on the unborn child. She remained in that position for a few moments, before she removed her hands and opened her eyes from where they had fallen closed.

"Well, your little one is doing just fine," Freya told the huntress. "No damage done."

Raylynn breathed a sigh of relief and propped herself up onto her elbows. "That's good. I guess that means I should be careful then, doesn't it?" she quipped in a somewhat joking tone.

Freya nods. "I would say so. I know how you hate to be copped up here, but I think until this baby is born, you should remain here."

Raylynn groaned as she pushed herself up to sit in front of the witch. "You sound like Klaus."

"Well, he happens to be right this time," Freya stated, causing the huntress to groan louder. "It won't be long before you have your child. You should take care of him before anyone else."

Raylynn nodded, running a hand through her hair. "I know. And I will try to be more careful..." she trailed off when the other woman's words registered in her mind. "Wait. Did you just say him? As in -a boy?" she questioned.

A bright smile formed on the witch's lips. "Yes, Ray. You're having a son."

Raylynn beamed as she launched forward and wrapped Freya in a tight hug.

<October 24, 2018>

My new glasses should be here in less than two weeks! I never thought I would be this excited about eyewear. Does this mean I'm actually an adult now, or my life is just very boring?

Don't forget to vote and comment.

-Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.