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

Rhea hadn't realised how much she actually missed Caroline until she called her. Before she found out about vampires, werewolves, witches and hybrids; Caroline was the thing that kept her grounded in life. She was her best friend through it all since first grade. They had gone through so much stuff together that they were each other's rock—they planned to move to New York together once they finished high school as well. Caroline was going to pursue her dream in singing while Rhea was going to try and work within the nursing field—both very competitive fields for two competitive girls who never backed down from a challenge.

     When the supernatural came into their lives, everything changed. Caroline became a vampire because of Katherine's spite and Rhea found out she was a werewolf and destined to be the soulmate of one of the most oldest vampires in history. Elijah changed her life, and she loved him more than anything to ever want different, but she wished that she could have her best friend by her side to talk to face to face when the going got tough. They tried to make it work over video chats and regular phone calls but it just wasn't the same—only seeing each other briefly every few months. But, there was something about seeing her best friend's heartbroken look on her face that pulled at her heartstrings to race towards Mystic Falls to give her a tight bear hug.

     "How's your mom doing, Care?" Rhea asked for an update. Liz Forbes had been diagnosed with a rare type of cancer that was spreading quickly and would end up badly if not dealt with soon.

     Caroline bit her lip as she held back tears, "Um... it's not doing good." She said, "I took her to Duke and I found a patient that has her same condition. I tried feeding her my blood because it worked at first but it made it so much worse for them." She explained and Rhea's eyes widened at the news, "But, I had the blood siphoned immediately before it could hurt my mom. She nearly died but she's okay... for now." Caroline frowned and Rhea matched her expression, "They don't know how long she has left."

     "Do you need me there?" Rhea asked. After her argument with Hayley about family, Rhea realised she needed to be there for the family she did have left—including her friend back in Mystic Falls. They might not be related but Caroline was her sister and Liz was like another mother to her.

     Caroline shook her head, "No, my mom doesn't want you to see her like this. She has hope that maybe there'll be a breakthrough and she'll recover." Rhea gave her a sympathetic smile and nodded. She was sad that she might not be able to say goodbye in person but she had to understand Liz's wishes, "And besides, she doesn't want to pull you away from Elijah considering everything that's happened with you two."

     "Okay." Rhea nodded, "Give her my love, but please keep me updated." She pleaded, "And if you need anything, call me and I'll drop anything and be there, okay? I love you."

     "I love you, too." Caroline says before hanging up the phone.

Rhea watched with boredom as Elijah taught Gia how to fight like a vampire. They had arrived to Marcel's loft while they were discussing an ultimatum that they were given by the werewolves just a few minutes prior to their arrival. Marcel was giving them an out—an opportunity to run—before he got newbie vampires involved in a war with a pack of super wolves. The vampires had faith that Marcel would be able to fight off the wolves again since he had done it before. Unbeknownst to them that the only way he was able to overpower the wolves all those years ago in the first place was because he had help from a witch—he didn't have that assistance now and the wolves were much stronger than him; with a much bigger advantage such as a toxic bite.

Gia goes to punch Elijah's chest but he blocked it almost instantly, his arm out wide as if he anticipated her move from a mile away, "As a devout feminist, I refuse to say you hit like a girl." Elijah told Gia bluntly as he held onto her fist with ease.

"Your fiancée is standing right there." Gia nodded her head in Rhea's direction who was sat on the couch with her crossed arms, "Who also happens to be female."

"If you punched as good as Rhea does, I'd tell you that." Elijah responded and sent her a wink, causing her to roll her eyes at him.

     "If she's so good at fighting, why isn't she the one teaching me then?" Gia asked.

     "Because my love doesn't particularly like you so she might just get bored and kill you instead." Elijah pointed out and Rhea smiled innocently at her, "Unless you'd prefer that?" Elijah asked the new vampire who gulped nervously and shook her head. Elijah then let her go and she spun to face him with frustration all over her face as he said, "Let's try this again, shall we?"

Gia almost pouted, "If either of you don't like me, tell me again why I don't get to be outside with everybody else. You know, with the nice teacher?" She asked again and Rhea could see Marcel teaching his other vampires outside from the window.

Elijah began to roll up his sleeves and take off his tie to better move around while Rhea rolled her eyes, "Because you're apparently our responsibility." She stated, "Well—you're Elijah's responsibility but since he's the love of my life, that makes you my responsibility too."

Elijah chuckled at her bluntness, "Marcel can't reach you how fighting is rhythm. There is a music, there is a meter, there is a pattern. Let that rhythm beat within you." Rhea resisted to roll her eyes again since he was trying to relate to her and her music passion while he moved to stand defensively and nod at her, "Again."

Gia put up her fist and started to fight him, but he easily blocked her blows. The two spun and continue practicing until Gia manages to hit him despite Elijah blocking the majority of her hits, "And then, once you've established your cadence—" Gia spun out of his grip, kicking him and pressed him up against the wall while he was distracted.

Gia smiled as she finished his sentence, "—You change the key."

"Very nice." He complimented.

"Getting sloppy, babe." Rhea sang as she checked her nails, fighting the urge to claw into Gia for how close she was to Elijah, especially once he put her hand on his chest.

"Now—the head, or the heart?" He asked her and Gia hesitated, "None of this matters if you cannot make the kill."

"What if I can't do it?" She asked and let go of him but he grabbed her arm and put it back to where it was on his chest again.

"You will. To survive." He told her, "Now—the head, or the heart?"

Gia looked terrified, but she shoved her hand into Elijah's chest and grabbed his heart. Elijah winces in pain but looked at her proudly while Rhea hissed at the stabbing pain she felt in her heart.

Suddenly, Hayley entered the lot and was horrified at what she saw, "Uh... what?" She asked with confusion, seeing Rhea watching as Gia had her hand inside Elijah's chest, "What's going on?"

"Elijah's teaching her how to fight while I'm resisting the urge to kill Gia for touching my fiancé—even though I know it's training." Rhea answered casually and Gia instantly took her hand out of his chest and let go of him. The hybrid let out a sigh of relief as Elijah healed and the stinging sensation around her heart went away.

Hayley was still confused as she approached them because Rhea was way too calm—the Rhea she knew would've killed anyone if they looked at Elijah the wrong way, but Gia quite literally hand her hand around his heart, "Okay... well, we need to talk." Hayley stated and Aiden—one of the werewolves, and Oliver followed her into the loft. Gia looked as if she was about to lunge for him but Elijah held her back, "We're not here for a fight. Just hear him out."

The wolves were under the thumb of Finn. No one really liked them since Esther had given them moonlight rings and now they were running around New Orleans with an ego bigger than the city and with a thirst to kill any vampire that entered the city. Aiden was also one of the wolves that had literally just threatened the vampires so none of them were impressed that he was in their line of vision again, "Speak. I suggest you be succinct." Elijah scowled right as Marcel and Josh walked into the room wondering why the hell the werewolf decided to show his face around them again.

Aiden sighed, "Please. I need your help."

Rhea laughed, "Oh, this is ironic." Aiden sent her a look and she laughed a little harder into her hand before she pointed at him, "Didn't you just come up here to threaten them?"

"The witch wants the vampires out of town all together. He plans on recruiting more of the pack to trigger their curse tonight as a rite of passage—the issue is that they're kids. He wants these kids to kill people; he wants soldiers." Aiden explained and Elijah's face turned to one of horror while Rhea felt sick to her stomach at the idea of a child killing to join a war that they probably didn't even understand, "So now, it's either join up, or pay the price."

Killing wasn't an easy thing to get over—and as a child, it would've ruin someone. Their brain wouldn't of completed developing and adding the trauma of taking a life and then triggering a painful curse would seriously effect them in the long run; turning them savage and inhuman like a true wolves' reputation.

"I've known my brother Finn to be merciless, but I'll admit, this exceeds even my expectations." Elijah shook his head.

"They're kids." Rhea whispered as she looked up to her fiancé, "How could Finn do this?" She found it hypocritical—Finn hated his existence because of him being forced to become what he was, but he was forcing kids to become werewolves and fight in a war fuelled by his hatred for his siblings. She just couldn't wrap her head around this whole thing.

"He's desperate and he's angry." Elijah answered her, "He'll do anything to suit his agenda."

Hayley sighed before turning to Marcel, "You know the Quarter like the back of your hand. If anyone can get them out of here, it's you, Marcel."

Marcel's eyebrow raised as he asked, "Oh? And take 'em where?"

"There's still wolves deep in the Bayou. Ones that didn't take a ring. They can look after them." Oliver answered.

"The ones that never sold out, you mean." Rhea corrected him with narrowed eyes.

"You wanna look at it like that, that's fine. We did what we had to do." Oliver responded, "Not all of us wanted to be hybrids like you."

"Okay, it's not like I wanted this either, but it's called acceptance—why don't you give it a try?" Rhea snapped sarcastically.

Marcel sighed at them, "Your wolves have been fighting us for decades. Why trust us now?" He asked, changing the subject before an argument for out of hand.

"One of the recruits is my little brother." Aiden admitted hesitantly and Josh looked shocked, "There's no way I'm sending him to war."

Marcel looked over at Elijah, who sighed and said, "Tell us what you need."

Josh only sent Aiden an awkward glance as he answered, "Alright, the kids are being held in the City of the Dead until we bring them through the Quarter to St. Anne's Church. Now, meanwhile, Vincent is holding a meeting with a few humans in-the-know. The ones who have been... reluctant to fall in line with his new leadership. We need to stop them before they reach there."

Elijah was stunned as he realised, "He's going to use the children to kill any opposition."

Aiden nodded while Rhea sighed, "Activate their curse; send a message to anyone who's thinking about going against him. It's two birds, one... bloodbath. This is messy."

"You're right, hitting them while the kids are on the move is the best chance of stopping this." Marcel agreed with Aiden.

Elijah looked at the werewolf, "Aiden, make certain you and Oliver escort the children. We'll handle the rest."

Oliver blinked before shaking his head in refusal, "Wait, wait, wait, wait—Esther and her psycho son are already giving me the stink-eye. If these kids go missing on my watch, I'm as good as dead."

"And if you don't do it, your people go against you regardless for being a traitor—you pick what side you want to do down on." Rhea told him while crossing her arms and shrugging, "You said you wanted to help your people and make amends for the past. This is your chance."

Oliver only sighed before reluctantly agreeing, "Okay."

     It was night time and the All Hallows Eve party was raging on in the streets of the Quarter. They decided it was the perfect cover to stage a coup and they were just waiting for the signal. Everyone was in costumes as Aiden, Oliver, and the other werewolf leaders walked the werewolf children toward St. Anne's Church.

     Gia held a drink in her hand and pretended to drunkenly run into one of the werewolf leaders, who stopped to start a fight with her. Gia shoved him backward, where Marcel then caught him and snapped his neck. Marcel met Aiden's eye before he and Gia ran away, allowing Aiden and Oliver to pretend to chase after them in the name of tracking them down. Before they leave, Aiden pointed to Oliver, "You take the kids." He turned to address two other leaders, "Split up and find them!"

     After they leave, Oliver approached the crowd of werewolf children and spoke to them as quietly as possible, "Listen up, listen up. We gotta go, don't ask questions. Just move!" He clapped his hands, "Come on!"

     Oliver led the children through the Quarter. He stopped and looked around anxiously when he doesn't immediately see any familiar faces, but he quickly sighed in relief when he heard Hayley's voice whispering at him, "Ollie, this way!"

     Oliver and the kids followed her through an alley and into Rousseau's, where Josh was waiting for them. He opened a door hidden behind a cupboard in the kitchen, "Go ahead." He ushered the children before he turned back to Oliver and Hayley, "It's a passageway from the Prohibition days. It'll take us pretty much anywhere we want to go."

     Josh crouched down and enters the passage, and Hayley followed behind him. Oliver watched them nervously as they closed the door.

     Once the doors were closed and the coast was clear, Oliver went to the parking garage where Elijah and Rhea were waiting for him.

     "Where are they?" Elijah asked the blonde werewolf.

     "They should be right behind me. Any minute now." He told them when almost seconds later they all heard a noise, "Here we go. About time."

     Suddenly, they're surrounded by a large group of werewolves. One of them stepped up to them saying, "Don't bother trying to run. We've got you surrounded."

     Oliver laughed in his face, "What, you don't think that we would be dumb enough to bring 'em here, do you?"

     "Yes, we so do apologise for any inconvenience. The little ones you seek are elsewhere." Elijah smirked, "Which, I suppose, leaves you here with us." He gestured between himself and Rhea, who twinkled her fingers at them.

     The same werewolf laughed, "You're the ones that don't seem to understand! We're not looking for the kids. The witch wants her." He pointed at Rhea who looked shocked—what the hell did Esther and Finn want with her?

     Elijah stiffened intensely—and as if he was anticipating a fight to defend her, he started to take off his jacket as he stepped toward the werewolf, "Listen to me very carefully—I told a good friend that I'd do my very best to spare the lives of her people. You leave right now? I will honor that and forget that you just threatened my soulmate in front of me." He smiled patronisingly, "Stay, and the situation becomes irrefutably awkward." The werewolf's lip twitches as he braced himself for a fight. The rest of the wolves do the same. Elijah turned to Oliver, and rolled his eyes when he realised the other wolves intend to fight as well, "Very well." Elijah shrugged. It would be their death if they intended to put their hands on Rhea.

Rhea looked at Oliver, "You should probably leave." She bit her lip, "You've helped but this doesn't have to be your fight."

Oliver sighed, "Either I'm in, or I'm out, right?" He responded and Elijah nodded his head in understanding—and appreciation for helping protect Rhea before they stood in a circle, their backs to each other in preparation for the oncoming violence.

     Just as one of the wolves lunged for Rhea, she lunged back, going lower and aiming for their abdomen to tackle them to the ground and get on top of them to snap their neck.

     Oliver grabbed the one that tried to grab Rhea from the back, putting him in a headlock and strangling him to the point of death.

     They each kept fighting and before they could blink, everyone was dead and each of them were covered in blood—Elijah having taken down the majority of them before they could blink due to rage.

     "Well, I guess this is all they got." Oliver panted as he looked at the scene of dead bodies in front of them.

     Elijah looked around also, "So it would seem." He stated.

     Suddenly, Rhea screamed out in pain as her muscles seized up, she fell to her knees in pain and Elijah was by her side almost instantly while Oliver looked around in alarm to see that Finn was there. He smirked as he juiced up the pain infliction spell on Rhea, the hybrid screaming bloody murder as her head felt like it was about to burst and her body was catching fire, "Actually, I am just getting started." Finn stated.

     Before he could ball his fist, Elijah lunged for Finn, as did Oliver. Finn then used his magic to throw them backwards against a car—their bodies denting and smashing the vehicle. Oliver fell to the ground unconscious while Elijah slumped against the car, hissing as he felt some glass pierce his side.

     Rhea used Finn's distraction of his focus on her to her advantage and she ran toward him and pinned him against the car, "Don't you touch him." She snarled at him before she went to snap his neck before hers suddenly twisted to the side violently and she fell to the floor unconscious.

     Elijah groaned in pain, feeling his soulmate's pain before he sat up to see Esther standing behind Rhea's body. He was up on his feet instantly and went to lunge for her but Esther staked him using her magic. She then held out her hand and twisted it, which twisted the stake until Elijah fell, neutralised, to the ground.

     Meanwhile, Oliver had just woken up and could only watch in horror as he had just watched the whole thing unfold.

     It was after the mission when Hayley, Marcel and Gia had returned to Marcel's apartment, where he was pouring the girls a drink each to celebrate while they awaited the return of Elijah, Oliver and Rhea. Hayley accepted the drink that Marcel offered her with a smile, "Well, we did it! I never thought I'd see the day when 'we' meant us." She laughed happily.

     Marcel smiled at how carefree Hayley looked for once, only noticing how unhappy she had been since the death of her daughter, "Well, you're a vampire now. First rule is never say never, 'cause never ain't that long." He reminded her, "And, what we did today was the right thing. But, you know it's gonna make things worse between your people and mine."

     Hayley then noticed Gia staring out the window, "There's a life lesson for you, baby vamp. It always gets worse before it gets better." She called out to her before she grabbed a second drink and walked over to sit next to Gia on the window seat.

     She handed Gia a drink, but Gia still looked worried, "We left Elijah and Rhea out there."

     "Look, I wouldn't worry. Elijah and Rhea are extremely protective of each other. They won't let anything happen to each other if they could help it." Hayley assured her, "But, trust me—they can take care of themselves." Hayley offered a smile to Gia, who only smiled weakly back.

     Meanwhile, Elijah had awaken to find that he was in one of the crypts. He's suspended by his wrists, which are bound by chains. He looked around the room, taking note of the dozens of lit candles surrounding him, before he sees Esther sitting nearby with an unconscious Rhea next to him, also bound by chains. She smiled at him and he snarled as he yanked on the chains, trying to break free of them so he could release her, "Let her go." He growled, "What do you want?"

     Esther stood to her feet and walked over to him so she could look him in the eye, "I only want us to be a family again, Elijah." She held his chin in her hand and she looked at him sadly, "But, I'm so sorry—in order for that to happen, I need her."

     She turned and walked away, leaving him bound in the crypt as he continued to struggle against the chains.