Savior | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 37

Klaus shook his head. "No. I may have wished to be a father before but now... I cannot imagine anything more awful."

Maddy frowned. "But... why?"

"I had a son. I was a terrible father to him. And to top it all off, I lost him. Mikael murdered him. Left him to burn in that opera house. My father killed my son. I will not allow it to happen again. I apologize, love, but I would not want to adopt another child. I don't wish to be a father."

Maddy tried to pretend that this didn't hurt her in the slightest. She squeezed his hand and said, "If it's not in the cards for us, that's alright." To finish convincing him, she added, "Can we maybe get a puppy in the future, though?"

Klaus didn't realize that on the inside, her heart was breaking. "A puppy?" he inquired. "Perhaps I ought to get you a horse first."

"But puppies are smaller, easier to handle. I've never owned a horse, I don't know how to care for one. I've had many dogs in the past, though, I love them."

"Very well, then, a puppy it is. In a couple of decades, unless you wish for it to arrive by Christmas."

"I can wait a few decades while everything settles down."

Klaus's phone began to ring, and he answered. "Nate," he said, speaking to one of his hybrids. "What news do you have for me, mate?"

"We have a problem. We went to keep watch on the Hunter, like you said to, but he managed to put up a fight and... Dean accidentally killed him."

Klaus's smile dropped. "Kill Dean."

"Wait... what?"

"Trust me, mate, it's better you put him out of his misery, now. Kill him."

He hung up without explaining any more.

"What's that about?" asked Maddy, confused. "Why does Dean need to die?"

Klaus heaved a sigh. "I killed the original five Hunters, remember? When one kills a Hunter, there's a bit of a consequence. The Hunters were spelled by witches to kill vampires. If you prevent one from fulfilling his destiny, then he'll take you down with him."

Her breath hitched with realization. "They tormented you, didn't they? Even in death?"

He assented. "Yes, they did. For fifty-two years, four months, and nine days. I was tormented, in my dreams, every waking moment, relentless, never-ending torture. It was the only period of my life when I actually felt time. It drove me so mad, I tried to end my own life. Problem is, I'm immortal. I kept coming back. Eventually it just stopped."

She pulled him into a hug. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that."

"It's been a long time since then," he admitted. "I hardly remember it."

His phone began to ring again, and he drew away from her. "Tyler," he said. "To what do I owe the pleasure? I do hope you're not causing problems."

"I can do whatever I want. I'm not sired to you anymore. I just stopped Nate from ripping out Dean's heart. You can't make us kill our own kind. If you want Dean dead, you're going to have to kill him yourself."

Klaus's lip twitched. "Fair enough. I do suggest you lock Dean up in the meantime, however. And how about you take on the lovely task of keeping Dean from tearing his own heart out? When the hallucinations start, he will not be in his right mind anymore. I did want to inquire, though, about your little secret regarding your time in Appalachia. What was your friend's name? Hayley, was it? You probably prefer I keep that to myself." He smirked. "Enjoy."