Sardonic - The Originals (The Hunter Book 2)

Chapter 31 - 'Decisions, Decisions. All Of Them Wrong.'

Wolfgang stabbed Tristan in the shoulder. The vampire wrenched the knife out and then stabbed it into his stomach.

"Tell me where Rebekah is." Wolfgang demanded and Tristan still remained silent. Wolfgang pressed a heated iron to his face instead.

Although he screamed out in pain as the metal seared his flesh, Tristan still didn't talk. Wolfgang's patience wore thin and he launched at Tristan.

The hunter slammed his hand into Tristan's chest, breaking through his skin and wrapping around his heart. Wolfgang started to pull it out when an iron grip wrapped around his hand and held it in place.

"Wolfgang, leave him. We need Tristan alive." Elijah said. Wolfgang huffed and withdrew his hand from Tristan's chest before he snapped his neck.

"You're too unhinged, Wolfgang. I don't think you should continue." Freya advised as she entered. Wolfgang shook his head in protest but Freya silenced him.

"You need to sleep and feed to restore your strength." Freya pointed out. Wolfgang wanted to argue but knew she was right. Wolfgang hadn't slept or fed since the Thanksgiving dinner and he was drained.

He owed it to Rebekah to endlessly try to find her. After all, Rebekah had been the only Mikaelson to stand by him through everything. Even when Klaus had stood against him and exiled Wolfgang from New Orleans, Rebekah had been the one to convince Klaus to allow his return.

Wolfgang slumped down on the bed in the guest room, knowing that sleep would evade him and even if it didn't, it would be haunted by the past.

Chicago, 1922 -

Wolfgang's mind had locked itself away in an effort to protect his sanity. As he dreamed, Wolfgang was unsure of how long his body had lain in darkness, deprived of the one thing needed to sustain him - blood.

Wolfgang rarely dreamed when he slept. On most nights of his undead life, Wolfgang was not granted the reprieve of sleep but on the special occasions when his rest was not haunted by the past, his dreams were never peaceful.

As he wasted away in the coffin, Wolfgang was plagued with nightmares. While he was keenly aware of the sensation that his body felt as though he had been dried out in the desert and then had his insides scraped out slowly by a toddler using a spoon, his mind was trapped.

Being desiccated lowered Wolfgang's mental barriers and Nachtstern took full advantage of this. This was how Wolfgang had spent his time, fully conscious of his body's torment while his very psyche was tortured by Nachtstern manipulating his dreams to cause Wolfgang unfathomable agony.

Then the darkness broke.

It began as a wet sensation on his tongue that vastly contrasted how drained his body was. Moving long unused muscles in his mouth and throat, Wolfgang forced himself to swallow the blood.

As he finally managed to open his mouth, more blood poured into him until he had enough blood in his system to regain enough control over his own body to move.

Wolfgang was aware of Rebekah's presence as soon as he shot up. Almost immediately, the blonde engulfed Wolfgang in a hug.

"Rebekah, I'm still weak." Wolfgang managed to get out. His voice was weak and grating from not being used.

"Feed from me." Rebekah offered and Wolfgang immediately bit down into her flesh, tasting her blood as it flowed into his mouth and he gulped it down hungrily.

Drawing upon every last ounce of his newly regained strength, Wolfgang pulled away and took in Rebekah's appearance. She was wearing a flapper dress and her hair was done up elegantly. Which meant that Wolfgang hadn't been desiccated for longer than a decade.