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

     Any date they might have chosen to get married was thrown out the moment they decided to send Hope away. It wasn't postponed indefinitely—she hoped—but they truly had no idea how long this would drag on for before they could return to normal. The Mikaelsons had to appear as if they were grieving the death of baby Mikaelson despite the fact that she was alive and healthy; and with Rebekah Mikaelson. It didn't make sense to get married in the midst of such grief. Klaus had mentally checked out once he returned from giving his daughter away. It seemed he most likely didn't realise how much he'd struggle with the idea; but at least he could play it off as if he was actually grieving the death of his child.

     The Mikaelson home doors had been closed off to the public, only welcoming a select few inside as the family continued to 'grieve' privately. Caroline didn't exactly agree with the idea of postponing their wedding possibly another year, but after she explained that Klaus' child died after she was sacrificed, she understood that they needed time and that neither she or Elijah could stand there and celebrate happiness and love when they were holding such a secret.

     Hayley wasn't doing much better either with her transition. She struggled with the fact that she was no longer just a werewolf and that she now held this insatiable thirst for human blood—and the blood of the enemies that played a part in the attempt on her daughter's life. It also didn't help that the rings meant for the Crescent wolves that now resided on the fingers of the Guerrera wolves and was drawing strength from Klaus; severely weakening him especially on the full moon.

     He hated the feeling of being weak, severely. He wanted to kill them all and he wanted to kill anything in sight.

     In a fit of rage, he tore through a canvas across the room that he had previously trying to stretch over the wooden frame for painting. Overwhelmed with frustration, he yelled out at the top of his lungs that made Rhea run into the room thinking that something had happened. Elijah had also just returned in time to see the commotion and walked into the art room, picking up the canvas that had been thrown while Rhea was by his brother's side, more calm that she realised he was just having a moment, "I suppose we shall have to call this your 'white period'." Elijah remarked as he examined the blank canvas.

"I'm missing a crucial color in my palette—that of my enemies' blood." Klaus responded angrily.

     Elijah shrugged, "Well, I recommend a Venetian red, with a dash of rust..." He joked and Rhea shook her head at him with a sigh.

She was right to do so as Klaus quite literally lost his temper seconds later, "It's been months! I've adhered to our plan: sit and do nothing, sell our grief. And now, my child is safely away, and another full moon is upon us—another night of pathetic weakness as the moonlight rings steal my strength!" They gave him a sympathetic look, and Klaus calmed down slightly, though still clearly upset, "The inertia is killing me. I need to act. I—I—I need—I need to spill blood." He added quietly.

"Well, then, you'll be pleased to know that I've located the last of the twelve rings forged with your blood." Elijah spoke, "At least it's just twelve, it could've been more had Rhea not killed some of the brothers when they attacked."

Rhea offered Klaus a small smile as he perked up, "Then it's time!"

"And none too soon." Elijah shook his head before he said, "I'm concerned about Hayley."

Klaus visibly tensed up at the mention of Hayley and started sorting through his art as an excuse to turn away from Elijah and Rhea, "She looks well enough." Was all he said.

"Well, she's not." Rhea retorted, crossing her arms, "She looks like you; defeated and depressed. You two need to talk and process everything that happened instead of treating each other like acquaintances."

"She has you two for that." Klaus deflected.

"Our child wasn't almost sacrificed and then taken away. You need to talk to her." Rhea reminded him, "And be there for each other. You're both going through this, and it always helps to have someone by your side instead of trying to face your demons alone like what you're both trying to do."

     Klaus only rolled his eyes and walked out the room, no longer interested in listening to Rhea's lecture when she doesn't necessarily lean on anyone when she experiences something drastic in her life.

     Cami managed to sneak into the Abbatoir. She looks around the courtyard for Klaus. She wandered through the covered-up furniture and headed for the stairs, but stopped when she hears a noise, "Hello?" She called out before she continued to look around. She hears a whooshing sound nearby, "Klaus?"

     She headed up the stairs, but stopped when she sensed someone behind her—that someone being Klaus Mikaelson, who was refusing to speak while he only looked at her with sadness. She instinctively touched her neck, "Klaus?" She whispered. When she turned around, Klaus was gone and she was left with disappointment but she continued to ascend the staircase, "Klaus, I know you're here somewhere. We need to talk!"

     Rhea walked out of one of the rooms and with a sigh she said, "He doesn't wish to see you."

     "Ahh!" Cami screamed, startled by Rhea's entrance who only sent her a weird look considering she didn't exactly sneak up on her, "Rhea! Where the hell did you come from?"

     "My room? I live here." Rhea reminded her, "I hate to tell you this, Cami, but, Klaus won't see you. He doesn't care much for conversation these days. And, he definitely wouldn't like that you've put yourself in danger by coming here."

     "I'm already in danger." Cami frustratedly huffed, "I have Guerreras following me like it's a police state. The city's being run by gangsters, and you guys aren't doing anything about it. Marcel took them out a hundred years ago without any of you. Don't you think he might be up for lending you a hand?"

     Rhea only blinked at her with an unreadable expression on her face for a long moment at the mention of Marcel before she spoke, "They need time, Cami. The city can wait. Just give us some time." She said in a soft voice as she crossed her arms over her chest in a way that made her seem vulnerable.

"I know your family is grieving. But, I know you don't believe those rumors that Marcel killed the baby. So, if you want help taking down the Guerreras, you have a weapon across the river just waiting to be fired. Use it." Cami then turned away and left while Rhea stayed watching her from the balcony. In all honesty, she wanted to laugh out loud at the situation. Everyone in New Orleans had always told them that they were fine without the Mikaelsons and how the city was better without them in it, but now that they were gone; everyone wanted them back and they wanted their help.

     After a moment, Elijah was beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist while she instinctively leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He smiled as he said, "I like her spirit."

"So do I." Rhea breathed out, running a hand through her hair, "It seems those Guerrera wolves see it too."

Elijah pressed a kiss to her hair, "We'll take care of them before they can even think to harm her." He promised.

     Elijah and Rhea were in Hope's nursery, silently packing it up. The situation felt too real as if Hope was actually gone and they were grieving her, even though she was safe and sound. Packing up her nursery felt like the final nail in the hypothetical coffin. Rhea could only look at the items in quiet sadness. She never really thought about having children of her own; she knew having kids was what most people did when they grew up, but she never really saw the allure of them since she was still so young and immature to even think about raising another human to become another her.

     Then, when she became a hybrid, the idea of it went out the window along with any minuscule desire she might of had for them with it. Since Elijah was also an immortal, they knew the possibility of it was slim so the conversation never came up, but then Hayley got pregnant by Klaus and she could see there was a small amount of hope in Elijah's eyes—but he could never bring it up because the chances of it happening were quite literally one-in-a-million.

     Rhea could never bring a child into the world after seeing the pain and suffering that Hope went through within the first few hours of birth, not to mention everything else that tried to kill her before she was even born. It wasn't fair to them to welcome a child into the world and force them to have to try to defend themselves against enemies a hundred times their age and strength. Rhea would never blame Elijah's past for her decision, but it helped strengthen her disdain. She was struggling herself against his enemies, she could only imagine how defenceless a baby would be against them.

     Not to mention, if she could have children, she was a twin—what were the chances of her genetics kicking in and her having twins? Three Original tribrid babies running around New Orleans would cause more chaos and violence than the world would have ever seen. Every witch, werewolf and vampire would come for them to stop the growing of the species that was a true apex predator.

     But, Hope—Hope was everything. She was worth the pain, the suffering and the misery. After only being with her for a few short moments, Rhea could feel the familial bond and it was just so powerful. Rhea knew that as long as she lived and breathed, that nothing would touch that child. And it was why it hurt so much to send her away but deep down she knew it was for the best. The world was not ready for Hope Mikaelson yet, but they would be. New Orleans would be her home like it had become for the rest of them... they just had to smooth out some finer details for her to make it truly safe.

     When Hayley returned, she followed the rustling sound up to the nursery. She saw Rhea and Elijah moving things around and she stopped in her tracks, "What do you think you're doing?" She asked them angrily.

     "Months have passed. It's the appropriate time." Was all Elijah said in response, holding back his tongue to comment on how much she had left the compound and disappeared for hours without any notice.

     "What's next on the 'appropriate' list? Klaus and I hold our heads up high and say we're ready to try again?" Hayley snapped sarcastically.

     "Hey, we're just trying to help." Rhea snapped at her for how she was talking to him, "I get that this is difficult for you—"

     "—What's difficult is knowing that Francesca Guerrera is still breathing after she was the one who plotted with the witches to kill my baby!" Hayley shouted at her and Rhea's eyes flashed at her.

     Before a fight could break out between the two hybrids, Elijah stepped in the middle of them and turned to Hayley, "You will have your vengeance, I promise you this."

     Hayley only glared at him, "Well, until then, this is my room, and I'll tell you when it's appropriate to clean it out." She says as she snatched the picture frame out of Rhea's hands.

     Elijah sighed at her but grabbed onto his soulmate gently and walked her out of the nursery so they could let Hayley be alone. When they walked out, Klaus has returned to the compound and urged them to follow him to the study so they could discuss the plan.

     Rhea sat herself down in Klaus' chair and ignored the annoyed look he sent her as he moved to another seat while Elijah stood behind her. It was a few moments while they waited for Klaus to gather some other things when Hayley walked into the room awkwardly. It was clear that she felt guilty and uncomfortable after the encounter she had just said with Elijah and Rhea. She knew that they were just trying to help but when she saw them moving her baby's things, she snapped. It just felt like they were erasing her from their lives completely—like she didn't exist. But, she did exist and Hayley wasn't ready to completely let go.

    "We have the Guerreras where we want them." Klaus started, "We have them waiting, we have them worried, and now, we know they're an army with no defenses against an original."

     "We don't know that for certain." Elijah reminded with a disapproved look. He didn't want them to go in there blind because they had underestimated them. They had done it once and it almost cost them the life of their niece—and while the wolves think that Hope was gone, Elijah still had someone he could lose to them if they weren't careful.

     Klaus only shrugged, "I'm willing to gamble."

     "It's still risky." Rhea bit on her bottom lip, "Not to mention the White Oak stake is still in play; in unknown hands."

     "One enemy at a time." Klaus shrugged again and Rhea sent him a flat look, "In the end, we'll slay them all." He then sighed, feeling weaker, which told him that one of the moonlight rings had been activated, "Tonight, we just have to plant the right seeds, and for that, we need help."

     "We're taking the twelve original rings. Now, four of them sit on the hands of the Guerrera brothers. One on Oliver, one on Francesca, three with the home security detail, and the rest scattered amongst her lackeys. Now, each ring is distinguishable by its setting—gauche, like those that wear them." Elijah stated and Rhea snorted at his insult.

     "If they believe they can get their hands on the stake, they will come for me when I am weak." Klaus brought up, "Each ring you retrieve will strengthen me, but I will still at a disadvantage."

     "So, any hope of us succeeding depends entirely on us working together." Rhea said pursing her lips, "We can't afford to be in seperate corners anymore."

     Hayley looked over at Klaus, who sighed and stood up to look at her, "This is our fight. Are you ready for battle, Hayley?"

     "Just promise me that Francesca doesn't come out of this alive." Hayley requested in a small voice.

     Klaus smiled weakly as he promised, "Her head will be delivered to you on a silver platter, little wolf."

     Elijah turned to leave, "I'll deal with the last piece of the puzzle."

     It was night time when the Guerrera wolves and Oliver entered the Abattoir unannounced—but as expected. They split up to invade the compound quicker and to cover more ground. Two of the werewolves headed for one of the staircases, where Hayley sped toward them and snapped both of their necks instantly. She slipped each of their rings off of their fingers, and Klaus smirked, having regained more strength.

     Two more werewolves walked around the corner where Rhea was waiting for them, standing in the middle of the hallway with her arms crossed and her head tilted to the side, "Good evening, gentlemen." She greeted, her eyes then spotted the moonlight rings on their fingers. Her face skewed up, "I wasn't aware you were given a key."

     The wolves then snarled at her and ran at her. Rhea roared, her hybrid face flashing as she charged at them, they tried to dive over her but she slid underneath until she was behind them. They turned to look at her when she leaped up from the ground and landed on the shoulders of one of the wolves, her hands around their head as she twisted roughly, using her strength to tear his head off completely; the two of them landing on the ground in a heap as he died quickly and savagely,

     The other wolf jumped on top of her from behind to do the same thing but she grabbed onto his hands and flipped him over her so he was on his back and she sank her teeth into his neck before tearing out his flesh with a snarl, his blood splattering everywhere and dripping down her face.

     Rhea spat out his flesh before reaching down and taking off the ring from both of the wolves.

     Upstairs, two Guerrera wolves had made their way to Klaus' study, where they saw him kneeling weakly on the floor despite majority of his strength being returned. Sensing that they were approaching, Klaus flips the paintbrushes in his hands and waits until they get closer. Once they were close enough, Klaus smiled and quickly turned to forcefully throw the paintbrushes toward them, impaling the wolves in their throats and killing them instantly,

     Oliver slowly walked around the downstairs of the compound, but is quickly found by Hayley, who violently beat him up before slamming him against the wall, "You think you're strong because of that ring you wear? You're NOTHING!" She roared in his face furiously, "We were strong, we were part of a pack, and you ruined it!" Hayley pulled the ring off of his finger, holding it in front of his bloodied face and warned, "If I see you with one of these again, I will kill you myself."

     Hayley then ran off and Rhea walked into Klaus' art room after dumping the bodies in a pile in the backyard and setting them alight. Klaus was half done his painting when she returned, his paint being the blood of the werewolves he killed, "I see you found your Venetian red with a hint of rust." Rhea joked as she wiped her hands and mouth of the blood that had set dry on her skin.

     He only huffed at her, but it wasn't one of annoyance; more as if he was happily agreeing with her. Elijah walked in the room just as the Original hybrid said, "I'm still not at full strength. Which of the rings are unaccounted for?"

     "Only one." Elijah told him, a smirk appearing on his features as he added, "I must say, the brothers fought valiantly before Ms. Guerrera escaped."

     Klaus turned to Elijah and gave him a look that is both shocked and incredulous, "You let her get away!?"

     Elijah shrugged slyly as he answered, "Not exactly." He told him and Klaus only seemed confused, "You promised Hayley, Francesca's head on a platter—I gave her the opportunity to put it there herself."

     Klaus only smirked.

When Hayley returned home, she went straight to the nursery and began to frantically destroy the furniture, completely overwhelmed by her various emotions; blinded by rage and guilt. Rhea heard the commotion and ran up to see what is going on, freezing in her tracks when she sees Hayley tearing the room apart, "Hayley!" She called out and ran toward her, grabbing the things out of her hands, "Stop it!"

Hayley almost flinched away from her like as if she had been burned. She looked down at her feet, seeming exhausted and disgusted by herself, "I killed her." She whispered, "Francesca looked me in the eye and begged me for her life as I tore her apart." She elaborated and Rhea only seemed concerned about how she felt instead of the fact that she had killed Francesca, "But, I don't feel better! I don't feel peace! I don't feel anything!"

Rhea held her hands up to try and calm her down, "It's perfectly natural given what you're experiencing—"

"Nothing about what I am, is natural!" She roared at the older hybrid.

"Hey! As a hybrid, everything is heightened, more than normal. It will take time to master control." Rhea explained as she grabbed her shoulders.

Hayley shook her head, "I don't want to live like this, Rhea. I hate it! When I was living with the Crescents in the Bayou, I finally understood the... purity of being a wolf... the nobility." She paused for a moment, biting on her lip before she said, "I killed eight wolves tonight before I got to Francesca. Eight of my own people. What's noble about that? I acted no better than a..."

Hurt splashed across Rhea's face as she answered for her, "Than a vampire?" She knew she didn't mean it but it felt like she was saying that Hayley did things that only they would do—like hurt people.

"I'm a monster." Hayley sniffled as she avoided Rhea's gaze, "I was a mother... and now I'm a monster."

"Hayley, those wolves that you killed were just wolves. They weren't your people because you know your people would never come after you or your baby." Rhea reminded her, "Sometimes you don't need to be a hero in order to save the people you love; sometimes you need to be a monster. But, that doesn't mean the people around you will love you any less."

Hayley shook her head in disagreement, "Things are different now—"

"No, they're not. The only thing that's different is that you're stronger, faster and harder to kill—meaning you can help bring your daughter back faster." Rhea reminded her, "You might be feeling everything and nothing all at once right now, but one day, this will all be a memory; and you'll know that you did all of this in order to bring Hope back safely to you. Just remember that." Rhea gave Hayley one last smile before she left her alone in the nursery to think about everything she had just said. When she walked downstairs into the courtyard, Klaus and Elijah were destroying the stones that they had plucked from the rings when the Guerrera's attacked.

"Could you not just take a sledgehammer to them?" Klaus asked his older brother as he watched him place the stones into a stone bowl while Rhea joined them by their side.

Elijah rolled up his sleeves as he said, "These were forged by a witch, brother. And, as such, only the elements of fire and water can destroy them." Elijah then gathered a pitcher of water and poured it into the bowl with burning charcoal already in it, "I'd have thought this would have brought you greater pleasure."

"As would I." Klaus said, his tone clearly deflated, "This was my fault. All of it." Elijah and Rhea looked at him in surprise at his confession, "If I had just accepted Hayley's pregnancy instead of... playing king..." His voice cracked, "I should have listened to you. Instead, my greed and my envy robbed me of my daughter. My actions led to the release of the weapon that can kill not just me, but you."

Elijah offered him a smile, "In a thousand years, I've survived your attempts to destroy me, brother." He gathered up the stones and dropped them in the bowl with the burning charcoal, "I imagine I can survive this."

"You chase my redemption, like a man rolling a stone up an endless mountain." Klaus stated with confusion.

Elijah picked up the pitcher and poured water over the stones and the charcoal, destroying them both, "Well, no mountain is endless, brother. Some are just steeper than others." Klaus and Rhea stared into the bowl, where the stones had broken apart, revealing small drops of Klaus' blood that were magically forged within them.

"As much as I think that she would like to be alone, I think she needs you to talk to her. You're the only one that can understand her grief." Rhea said to her sire.

"As you like to remind us, we lost our child." Klaus reminded her, "But, what could I possibly say to ease her pain?"

Rhea only placed her hand on Klaus' shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly, "Whatever she needs to hear."