𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙒𝙊
ミ★ ( reign of wolves, act one ) ★彡

     Hayley Marshall thought she heard the sound of a car come from outside and went to investigate it, feeling the sense of a threat approaching. She's been on edge ever since she came to the Mikaelson home, and every sound made her jumpy. She quickly reaches a fire iron and walked wearily down the stairs while Rebekah Mikaelson parked her car in front of the Mikaelson mansion, while she dialled her older brother's number.

     "Elijah, if not answering your phone is part of your clever plan to get me back to this godforsaken city, then well done. I'm here, and I'm worried. Now, pick up before I kick in your bloody door." She says as she storms up to the house.

She walked up the front steps and opened the door. She walked in as Hayley almost reached the front door, the fire iron in hand. "Who the hell are you?" Hayley asked the blonde, having not seen her beforehand.

Rebekah blinked, "Oh, you must be the maid. My bags are in the car—get them, will you?"

Hayley smiled wryly and put down the iron poker. "Hello. Not the maid." She informed.

Rebekah let out an exasperated sigh, "Right. You're that werewolf girl my brother, Klaus, knocked up." She realised before looking down at Hayley's stomach, "I was expecting to see some kind of supernatural, miracle baby bump. Guess you're not showing yet." She remarked before her blue eyes met Hayley's once again, "It's Hayley, isn't it?"

Hayley half smirked, "You have your brother's manners."

Rebekah cocked her head to the side, "And his temper, too, so watch it." She responded before looking around, "Where's Elijah and Rhea?"

Hayley shrugged, "Beats me. They're long gone."

Rebekah's eyes squinted, "What do you mean, 'long gone'?" She asked, it didn't sound like them to just leave after the commotion they made—or more specifically, Elijah made—about protecting the baby.

Hayley shrugged again, "Well, one minute he was here making epic promises about protecting me in this predicament that a bottle of scotch and some bad decisions got me into—he was all poetic about how we're family—and then Klaus told me he bailed.  I guess Rhea had something to do with it because I know she hates me—that's what I get for trusting a vampire."

Rebekah scoffed, "Elijah is not just any vampire, and he doesn't break promises; and Rhea wouldn't make him welch on any of them knowing how much his word means to him. Which means Niklaus has done something dastardly and Klaus-like." She realised before looking around the house and shouting, "Klaus! Get out here and tell me what you've done with our brother and Rhea, you narcissistic, back-stabbing wanker!"

Klaus opened a pair of doors and entered the room. "Enough with all the shouting!" He exclaimed, "Little sister, I should have known. I assume the six dead vampires were your doing?"

"They were very rude." She pouted, "Trying to victimise a poor, innocent girl just trying to find her way to the Quarter. So sorry, were they friends of yours?" Her head cocked to the side sarcastically before she shook her head, "Oh, that's right, you don't have any friends."

Klaus looked offended, "I do have friends. I have Rhea, and I have Marcel. You remember him, don't you?" He asked her and a look of recognition fell upon Rebekah's face at the mention of Marcel, "Yes, of course you do. He fancies himself the 'King of the Quarter' now, and he has these rules about killing vampires. It'll be fun to see what sort of punishment he comes up with for you."

Rebekah scowled, "I don't care about Marcel or his rules. Elijah doesn't welch on deals, and Rhea is gone. What did you do to them?"

Klaus shrugged, "Perhaps they're on holiday..." He smirked and right on cue, a crashing sound came from upstairs before a loud growl.

Rhea quickly stormed out of the room like a rabid animal. Her hair was disheveled like she had pulled on it in a fit of rage, her hybrid features were on full display; targeting Klaus directly, "You bastard!" She shouted as she charged at Klaus, shoving him so harshly his back hits the wall and leaves a dent, "How could you?"

Rebekah's eyes widened in realisation when she notices the slightly greying of her skin on her chest, "You daggered him?" She snarled at Klaus, her nostrils flared in anger, "Why would you do that?"

"How could you assume that I was the one to dagger him? Or the fact that he's daggered at all?" Klaus questioned his younger sister, a hand over his heart.

Rebekah crossed her arms, "I'm not stupid, Nik. I can read a room—Rhea went to attack you, she's clearly pissed at you, and the fact that the desiccation has already appeared on her chest from where a dagger is in her soulmate." She stated while Rhea only continued to shoot glares at Klaus as she holds him against the wall.

"Not to mention he's been snapping my neck to keep me quiet about it this entire time." Rhea added, venom dripping in her voice, "Now, where is Elijah?"

Klaus' phone started to buzz and he lightly moved Rhea away from him as he checked it, and moves to leave instead of answering the younger hybrid's answer, "Where are you going?" Rebekah asked him.

"It appears the night is not quite over yet. I'm off for another drink with Marcel." He said, waving his phone screen in front of the blonde.

"Elijah told me about your plan to take apart Marcel's empire piece by piece. I don't remember it involving you two drinking New Orleans dry together." Rebekah narrowed her eyes at him.

"I know you don't have many friends, Rebekah, but, what some friends do when they get together is they drink. And when they drink, they tell secrets. Marcel has somehow found a way to control the entirety of witches in the Quarter, and I aim to uncover the 'how' so I might take it for myself. Finding Elijah didn't make my to-do list today." Klaus then went to turn to leave and walked to the door, but paused before he left, "Oh, and welcome home, little sister."

     The door shut behind him and Rebekah turns on the spot, contemplating what he's said. Rhea turned to Rebekah, "I'm going to search this house inch by inch until I find where your evil brother has stashed my fiancé, and when I find out—I'm kicking your brother's ass for it."

     Rebekah looked up to see Hayley standing on the landing above, "You, wolf girl. You're helping." Rebekah grabbed onto Rhea's arm gently and lead her down a spiral staircase while Hayley followed after them, "The governor had lots of secret rooms. I'll show you his favorite." She says to Rhea, "If Klaus has Elijah in this house, it'll be down here."

     They arrive in a dusty, cobwebbed cellar room. Hayley spots the coffins that Klaus usually keeps his siblings daggered in. Her eyes widened, "Do you think Klaus killed him?"

     Rebekah rolled her eyes, "We can't be killed, silly girl. That doesn't stop Klaus from finding ways to torture us. He has a set of mystical silver daggers. One in the heart sends us into a deep slumber. Klaus gets his jollies from keeping us in a box, until he decides to pull the dagger out. But, while it won't kill us, it'll kill Rhea if we don't find Elijah and get the dagger out in time." She states and Rhea looked at the ground sadly, gently brushing her fingers over the grey veins on her chest while Rebekah walked over toward another coffin and placed her hand on it, "This one's mine."

     "He keeps your coffin on standby." Hayley said incredulously.

     "He likes to be prepared for when his family members inevitably disappoint him. It's his paranoia; keeping his coffins close by relaxes him because he knows where he can put his siblings when he eventually does dagger him." Rhea rolled her eyes before she looked around, "Elijah's isn't here—he's stashed him elsewhere."

     Hayley felt the bike ride up her throat at how casual they were about the situation, "I feel sick."

     "Welcome to the family, love." Rebekah says sarcastically, "You should've run the second you realised Elijah and Rhea were gone."

     "Yeah, well, she can't even if she wants to." Rhea stated with annoyance, "The witches have put some sort of hex on her."

     Hayley nodded in agreement, "As long as I'm carrying this baby, I can't leave New Orleans. If I do, they kill me."

     "Well, knowing Klaus, he's planning a box for you the second you give birth to whatever's cooking in your tum." Rebekah responded, "I'm leaving as soon as we find Elijah. Being daggered in a box for decades sucks, trust me. You'd best find a way to break that hex and run." She warns Hayley once more before grabbing Rhea once more to continue their search, leaving Hayley to consider what she just said.

     Sophie was scrubbing a table inside the restaurant when the door shuts suddenly and she hears the whoosh of a vampire running unseen. She walked around cautiously, listening for further sounds, "Hello?" She asks out, but hears nothing in response. She grows annoyed almost instantly, "Seriously, Marcel? Trying to scare me? I had nothing to do with the attack on your guys last night!" She called out to the shadows.

     Some hanging pots start moving behind Sophie, as though a wind has passed through them, and she turned around. She walked toward them slowly, grabbing a knife, which she lifts in time for Rhea to appear and grab her raised, knife-wielding arm, "We need to talk." Rhea told the witch before taking her arm and dragging her out of the restaurant and toward the cemetery.

Sophie quickly invited Rebekah in and the three of them walked among the burial vaults. "Klaus has Elijah daggered somewhere. It's a magical object, you're a witch, and we need to see if you can find a way to locate the dagger—or Elijah himself."

"There's no way to do it without magic." Sophie shook her head.

"There has to be something you can do without actually using your magic. You said that you have a gift of sensing when a girl is pregnant. Can't you find someone that can sense magical objects?" Rhea asked Sophie again.

"You're a witch, aren't you? Why can't you just do a locator spell?" Rebekah asked the witch.

Sophie shook her head furiously, "I can't use magic. It's punishable by death—Marcel's rules."

Rebekah's eyebrows furrowed, "Marcel?"

Rhea let out a snarl and grabbed Sophie by the throat, holding her up into the air, "What do you think I'm going to do to you if you don't give me what I want?" She questioned her, her hybrid eyes taking form, "I want Elijah back and you need to help me get him whether you like it or not."

"I've been linked, so anything you do to me, you do to Hayley." Sophie choked.

Rebekah's eyebrows furrowed, "Who?" She asked and both Rhea and Sophie sent her an exasperated look and she closed her eyes and shook her head, "Oh, right, the mumzy."

"I don't really care about Hayley's life, I would snap your neck right here, but unfortunately, you're lucky that Elijah seems to care about her." Rhea growled as she put Sophie down, "Which is why it's imperative that we find Elijah before I kill Hayley and you, myself."

"Again, I can't. Marcel will know I've used magic and lured the Originals into the city. I'll be killed!"

"How did Marcel get so bloody powerful, anyway? He wasn't like this when I left a hundred years ago." Rebekah asked.

Sophie rubbed her neck to ease the pain of Rhea's grip, "Marcel has a way to tell whenever there's magic done in the Quarter. The 'how' isn't relevant."

"I'll tell you what's not bloody relevant—a coven of witches who can't do magic." Rebekah snapped, "Here's an idea: move away."

"We practice ancestral magic. This cemetery is filled with the remains of our witch ancestors. Without access to them, we're powerless." Sophie explained, "If we run, we're leaving our legacy behind—our home, our family."

Rebekah sighed while Rhea grumbled, "Well, family's overrated." She said, her mind thinking back to her broken family that she left behind in Mystic Falls.

Rebekah hummed in agreement as she sat down, "I'm back in a city that's given me nothing but heartache, looking for a brother who's hell-bent on protecting a baby I don't care about before his soulmate dies because he's incapacitated."

Sophie gave a flat look, "I find that hard to believe. You're here, aren't you?"

Rebekah's eyes hardened, "I'm here for Elijah and Rhea. The instant we find him, I'm gone. He was the one who idiotically believed this baby would be Niklaus' redemption."

Rhea glared at her also, "And now he's missing, at the hands of Klaus himself." She reminded her, "You were naive enough to believe that Elijah could convince Klaus to go against Marcel, when everyone knows that they have a history."

"Klaus sired Marcel. I'm aware." said Sophie.

Rebekah shook her head and held out a hand, "You don't understand. Marcel is not just some guy that Klaus turned into a vampire. Klaus loved him like a son." She started while Rhea rested her body against a stone wall, "Klaus saw himself in the boy. He remembered how our father used to beat him. He, too, was the bastard child of a man who saw him as nothing but a beast."

Rhea's head turned to Sophie once again, "And that is why your plan will fail. All you've done if bring back together two long-lost souls. Without Elijah between them, who knows what they'll do together." She said and walked off with Rebekah following after her.

"Are you okay?" Rebekah asked the hybrid who stopped in her tracks.

     She turned to face Rebekah, "No, I'm not okay. I can't do this." She said, "The only reason I agreed to come here was because he assured me that it wouldn't be like Mystic Falls and it's exactly like it, and we've been here for less than a week!"

     Rebekah was by Rhea's side in an instant, "Hey, we will find Elijah. I promise you that." She said, placing her hands on her shoulders, "We'll get him back."

     Tears brimmed in her eyes and Rhea quickly wiped them away, "I'm so sick of crying all the time." She scoffed at herself, sniffling lightly, "I just don't know how much longer I can do this—I can feel the bond reaching out for him, but, he's just not there and it hurts."

     Rebekah's blue eyes landed on the desiccation on Rhea's skin, "I can see that. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

     Rhea let a chuckle, "Don't make any promises you can't keep, Rebekah. You know the history with this family." She responded, "You know if we don't find Elijah in time that I'll be dead."

     Her phone then vibrated in her pocket and she reached for it, seeing a text from Klaus.

KLAUS: Marcel has sent nightwalkers to kill a werewolf in Bienville Park. Deal with it.

     She looked up to Rebekah from her phone, "We have to go. Marcel sent some people to kill a werewolf in Bienville Park." She says stiffly, her tears drying up quickly, "The only other werewolf other than me brave—or dumb enough—to enter the Quarter is Hayley." She said walking away from the cemetery.

     After receiving the text from Klaus, Rhea and Rebekah arrived in Bienville Park. Hayley was sat on a bench, dripping the poison into a cup. "Come on, Hayley. One upset stomach and all this stupid drama is ancient history." Hayley muttered to herself.

     She lifted the cup toward her face, closed her eyes, then opened them to lower the cup again without drinking it. She sighed. She then heard a branch snap nearby, and she stood up to look around for the source. When she turned around again, she found a vampire standing right in front of her, "Dumb move, coming into the Quarter." He scolded Hayley, "You're coming with me, wolf."

Hayley stood up, "I have had it up to here with vampires telling me what to do!" She snapped and threw the cup's contents into his face, the vampire roared out in pain as his skin burned. She spun around, only to be faced with two more vampires. Suddenly Rebekah and Rhea showed up, Rebekah snapping the neck of one while Rhea ripped the heart out of another, tossing his heart to the side carelessly while the vampires fell to the ground in a heap.

Hayley gaped in shock, "Now, that is no way to treat a pregnant lady." Rebekah said to the dead vampires, "I do hate bad manners."

Rhea looked around before grabbing onto Hayley's roughly, "Let's get the hell out of here, before any other vampires want to take a bite at you." She said pulling her away.

Rhea watched as Klaus threw the final body into a small pile in the front courtyard while he berated her, Rebekah and Hayley for their behaviour. "This is why I told you never to leave the house. Werewolves are banned in the Quarter." He scolded Hayley, "I had a plan, and your little nighttime stroll put it all in peril!" Rebekah started walking toward the pile of bodies as the one who's neck she snapped was still alive, "Leave him!" Klaus commanded. Rebekah stopped walking, "You've done enough, don't you think? Leaving a trail of bodies like a road map to my door?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry that we didn't do your dirty work for you to your liking, master." Rhea said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Don't give us that crap about having a plan." Rebekah snapped, "You've had all the time in the world to execute a plan, and no one's seen you do a damn thing! Elijah made a deal to protect your child, so that it could save you from your selfish, rotten self. But, you obviously don't give a damn about the child or Elijah, because what have you done to honor it?"

"I have done everything." Klaus argued, "Let me spell it out for you, shall I? From the day I arrived, Marcel hasn't trusted me. From day one, he's had his vampires ingest toxic vervain which, as you know, little sister, protects them from my mind control." He explained, "I needed a spy, someone on the inside with me who Marcel would never suspect. So, I created a day zero and got there first. Marcel had just lost six vampires, thanks to your little murder spree, and he needed new recruits. So, I made the new one mine, before he'd had even a drop of vervain."

Klaus grabbed the vampire that was still alive from the pile, "And this one—I'm gonna drain him of vervain, compel him to believe his mates found religion and moved to Utah, so that he can explain to Marcel why he lost three more vampires tonight." He dragged the vampire into the house; while Rebekah, Rhea and Hayley follow him inside. "Does anyone have any more questions? No? Good, because I have a question." He turned his head toward the werewolf, "Hayley, what were you doing in the bloody French Quarter in the first place?" Hayley doesn't answer and he snaps, "Answer me!"

Rebekah stepped protectively in front of her, "Leave her be."

Hayley stepped out of it bravely, "You wanna know what I was doing? I was buying poison, so I could put your little baby out of its misery." She answered and Klaus' jaw clenched before he rushed at her quickly and pinned her to the door by her neck while she gasped for air.

Rebekah ran to pull them apart while Rhea watched from the sidelines. Rebekah eventually pushed him off of Hayley and grabbed him by the shoulders. Hayley coughed and spluttered, massaging her throat to ease the pain.

"Keep your hands off her! She is pregnant, for God's sake!" Rebekah shouted at him, "All of this bluster about not wanting the child, and then the second she tells you she's ready to get rid of it? It's okay to care. It's okay to want something. That's all Elijah was trying to do, all he's ever wanted for you. All we've ever wanted."

Klaus calmed down but was clearly still reeling from being confronted with his feelings. He sat down on the stairs while Rebekah sat beside him. "I gave Elijah to Marcel."

Rhea perked up, "What?" She asked him dangerously calm.

"Marcel was nervous. It's bad enough one Original returned to town, but, two? His crew was getting antsy. He wanted Elijah gone, so... I gave him a peace offering." Klaus explained.

Rebekah's jaw clenched, "You bartered our brother?"

"Not only did you dagger your brother and snap my neck repeatedly for days, you gave my soulmate to the man you don't even trust while he's incapacitated! He can't even defend himself if Marcel decides he wants to lash out his anger onto him!" Rhea raged at him, holding back the urge to punch Klaus repeatedly.

"I have a plan. Gain Marcel's trust, dismantle his empire, honor Elijah's wish that that baby be born. I am executing that plan the only way I know how." He assured them.

"Right, and where do I fall into this plan if you can't get Elijah back from Marcel in time? Do I just die?" Rhea questioned, showing him the desiccation, "This is here and it'll stay there until Elijah is no longer daggered. If I die because you don't make him a priority, he will never forgive you."

Klaus doesn't say anything in return for a moment, he only looks down at his feet, "If you don't like it, there's the door. See if I care."

Klaus rises from his spot and leaves the room, as does Rhea. She felt the walls closing in on her and she needed fresh air immediately so she could think.

She saw what Marcel could do, she could see how influential he was in New Orleans—and she could see his hatred towards the Mikaelsons. Marcel held a secret weapon that controlled the witches and drove out the werewolves from the Quarter, there was no telling what he could do to Elijah. That was what worried her.

She sat down on the back porch, lightly swinging on the porch swing, sadly fiddling with her engagement ring. Rhea was in love with the ring—and more in love with the person that had given it to her, but, she was so worried about him. It was a weakness.

She hadn't even noticed that Rebekah had sat beside her, or the fact that Hayley had even come out to join them either, "I know you don't know me very well... but, thanks. I appreciate what you did in there." The werewolf said to Rebekah before she turned to Rhea, "And thank you for helping me in the park."

"Us girls have got to look out for each other." Was all Rebekah said in return, offering a half smile.

"What is it with you guys? You say you hate him, but, the way you deal with him, it's so clear. Even when you hate him, you still love him." Hayley observed.

"I guess when you spend a thousand years with someone, deciding to quit them is like losing a part of yourself. But, sometimes the hate is just... so powerful." Rebekah explained, "Emil wasn't the only boyfriend of mine that Klaus killed. He did it again, and again, and every time I found someone to care about. He just kept doing it until, finally, I stopped falling in love. He said he was protecting me from my mistakes, that no one was ever good enough for his little sister. Until one day, someone was." She said sadly, "And Rhea unfortunately feels Elijah's love for Nik—which is more powerful than my own, she can't help but love him regardless."

"If you know Marcel has Elijah, why don't you just get him back yourself?" Hayley asked the two.

"Believe me, I want to. But, if Klaus himself can't get him back, I won't be able to. I'm nothing to Marcel." Rhea sighed, "Klaus is his sire, and his father. Rebekah is his ex-lover. I'm nothing. He owes me nothing. He won't give me Elijah out of the goodness of his heart when the reason he had Elijah daggered was because he and his guys were antsy having so many Originals in the city. He won't just bring one back because I asked and because he's the man I love."

"And I would do it myself, but, if I cross my brother, there's still a coffin downstairs with my name on it." Rebekah gave a sarcastic smile, only for it to drop as she placed a comforting hand on Rhea's momentarily. She wanted to help her get Elijah back, but, she knew if she stepped out of line that Klaus wouldn't hesitate to dagger her. Hayley eyed Rebekah for a moment before reached down and retrieved something wrapped in cloth. She unfolded it and revealed the two silver daggers. Rebekah's eyes widened, "Oh, my God." She gasped.

Hayley shrugged slyly, "I found them under your coffin." She told the Original, "So, if a couple of antique steak knives were the only things stopping you two from getting Elijah back, then here you go."

     Hayley offered the daggers to Rebekah, who took them in slight awe. Finally, she smiled, and Hayley smiles back.

     Rebekah then walked off while Hayley and Rhea stayed put. Rhea kept her eyes trained forward into the distance, soaking in the view before Hayley spoke up, "I know you don't like me—"

     "—I don't." Rhea interjected.

     Hayley shot her a pointed look before she sighed, "I know. But, I wanted to say that I'm sorry for how things happened back in Mystic Falls. I did what I did because Shane told me he would help me find my family if I helped him. I tried to protect Tyler from it all."

     Rhea closed her eyes at the mention of her brother's name, "You know, every time I look at you, all I see is Tyler and it reminds me of how much he hates me now because of what you did." She admits and Hayley stays silent, "I bet you didn't even know that he asked to break our bond because he hated me that much." Hayley's eyes widened at the mention of their rare bond and guilt flooded through her right after.

     "I'm sorry, Rhea. I just wanted to find my family." Hayley looked down at her feet, fiddling with the hemming of her shirt.

     "I know, and you destroyed what remained of mine in the process." Rhea reminded her, "You probably didn't even tell him that it was you that told Klaus about the hybrids' plan to take him down." Hayley didn't respond once more, giving Rhea the confirmation she needed, "I thought so."

     Rhea went to stand up, having had enough of the conversation before Hayley grabbed onto her wrist lightly, "What do you want me to do to make it up to you? I'll do anything." Her eyes were pleading her for an answer.

     The hybrid pondered it for a moment before she answered, "Look, Elijah has a point. You're carrying my niece or nephew so you're family whether I like it or not. But, right now, all I want is for you to not get yourself into any more trouble so I can focus on getting my soulmate back. Elijah wouldn't forgive me if I let you get hurt."

     "Done."

     The next morning, Rebekah came storming into the front door, slamming the door behind her right as Klaus was walking downstairs. "You were right. The girl, Cami—she's the key." She tells her older brother right as Rhea also walked into the room, holding a mug of tea in her hand.

     The hybrid's eyebrow raised, "The bartender, Cami?"

      Rebekah nodded in confirmation, "Marcel likes her, and because of that I got to see the secret weapon of his that you've been going on about." She told them all.

Klaus looked at her expectantly, "Well, don't stand on ceremony. What is it?"

     "It's not a 'what', it's a 'who'. A girl, Davina. She can't be more than sixteen, and I have never felt power like that." Rebekah answered him.

     Rhea's eyes widened, "A witch." She realised. A witch that was punishing her own people was unheard of, no one ever did that without reason and something told her that there was something not being said.

     Rebekah shook her head, "She's not just any witch, she's something I've never seen before, something beyond powerful, and now because of you she has Elijah. Who knows what she could do to him." Her eyes glared daggers at Klaus.

     "Where is she?" Rhea asked the blonde, wanting to go there immediately and beg the witch so she could get her soulmate back. Even if it was Marcel's weapon, she hoped that she could at least try.

     Rebekah stopped to think, then her face contorted to one of confound. "That clever bitch. I don't know."

     Klaus's eyebrows furrowed, "What's wrong?"

     "She wiped my memory of the location." She said with shock.

     Rage immediately filled Rhea's bones again as she turned to Klaus, pointing his chest harshly, "Marcel possesses a weapon bigger and more powerful than an Original, and you handed my soulmate to him!" She snarled, "Do you have any idea what you've possibly condemned him to!?"

     "I didn't know!" Klaus exclaimed back, "I did what I had to do! Marcel took our home!"

     "And our home is worthless without family!" Rebekah reminded him.

     Rhea closed her eyes and took a deep breath in before calming down, "I am finding Elijah—whatever it takes. If you want any forgiveness from me or Elijah, you're going to help. Understood?"

     Klaus simply nodded, "Whatever it takes."