Anemoia • Mikaelsons mate

Chapter 20

• • • Cádiz, Spain, June 1701 • • •

"He scares me a little." Beatriz admits softly, not wishing to offend Elijah with her fear.

Elijah had taken Beatriz out for a stroll, and they had come to rest under the shadow of a large tree, trying to cool down a little. Beatriz had been telling Elijah all about her brothers and her other family members, telling all sorts of anecdotes and fond memories, when Elijah had suddenly asked her opinion on his family. Beatriz had been hesitant to answer, she wished to be honest with him but didn't wish to offend him either. From what she had seen and heard, his family seemed complicated. She figured that centuries of hurt must be the main reason for the tense dynamics.

Beatriz clears her throat before continuing her assessment of Elijah's younger brother. "He seems to harbor quite some anger." Niklaus's anger had never been directed at her, she hadn't known him long enough for any real conflict, but she had witnessed some of his outbursts to others, in particular Kol and Rebekah.

"He has been angry for a long time, most of it directed at me." Elijah admits with a heavy sigh, fingers brushing over the colorful patterns on Beatriz's skirt.

Beatriz follows Elijah's movements, hesitating before speaking her thoughts. "It doesn't seem that way, he seems very fond of you."

"I have betrayed him in the past."

She nods despite not fully understanding. She didn't think she could betray every betray her brothers, except when it came to manipulating them into doing her chores maybe, but that seemed far less serious than whatever Elijah was hinting at. "I'm sorry to hear that." Beatriz mumbles, not wishing to force Elijah to embellish.

Elijah smiles sadly, allowing the comfortable silence to settle over them. He grabs her hand, grateful for the unspoken comfort the human girl offered him so willingly. "Our parents wished to restrain a part of my brother's nature, suppressing his true form."

Beatriz looks up at Elijah, curious. "What form is that?"

"Half wolf, half vampire." Elijah sighs, eyebrows drawing together. "Our mother placed a curse on him, usefully locking his wolf side away. I believe she did it for him, to stop him from becoming a monster, not knowing it was already too late."

Beatriz's brows furrow. This wasn't true. There were plenty of stories of real monsters, monsters with no hearts and no morals. The kind and gentle man in front of her had hurt other people during his long lifetime, but there was a good side to him, she was certain of it.

"We are monsters, dearest." Elijah states after seeing Beatriz's disbelief. "And I believe our mother would have given everything to keep his wolf side suppressed and to stop the spread of such creatures."

"Everything is an awful lot." Beatriz shakes her head. Perhaps she was naïve, but she couldn't imagine a mother wishing to hurt her children. Her own kind and loving mother would never be able to harm her or her brothers, even if they messed up badly. "She's your mother, mothers are supposed to love unconditionally."

"Sometimes love isn't enough." Elijah rumbles, eyes darkening a little in response to the emotions he was experiencing.

• • • Chicago, present-day • • •

"I felt no connection to Rebekah at all." Florence replies thoughtfully as she and Kaleb cross the street. They were making their way over to Gloria's, and Kaleb had been spurring her on to share some more details on her meeting with Rebekah and she was happy to rant. The meeting had bothered her enough to result in a restless sleep.

"That's odd." Kaleb frowns before continuing to stuff his breakfast burrito into his mouth. If the theory of a soul connection between Florence and the Mikaelsons were true, there should have been some sort of indication. Not necessarily sparks, but something.